Lifeboat Foundation

When Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is prepping to roll out an all-new process technology, it usually builds a new fab to meet demand of its alpha customers and then either adds capacity by upgrading existing fabs or building another facility. With N2 (2nm-class), the company seems to be taking a slightly different approach as it is already constructing two N2-capable fabs and is awaiting for a government approval for the third one.

We are also preparing our N2 volume production starting in 2025,” said Mark Liu, TSMC’s outgoing chairman, at the company’s earnings call with financial analysts and investors. “We plan to build multiple fabs or multiple phases of 2nm technologies in both Hsinchu and Kaohsiung science parks to support the strong structural demand from our customers. […] “In the Taichung Science Park, the government approval process is ongoing and is also on track.”

Continue reading “TSMC 2nm Update: Two Fabs in Construction, One Awaiting Government Approval” »

The Galaxy S24 will also have a new feature called Circle to Search, which will let users search anything on their screen using Google. Users can press the bottom edge of the screen, where the Google logo and a search bar will pop up, and draw a circle around anything they want to search. The feature will work on most content, except for those protected by DRM or screenshots, such as banking apps. Once the selection is made, a panel will slide up showing the selection and the results from Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), similar to image search via Google or Lens, but without needing to open another app or take screenshots. Users will be able to circle items in YouTube videos, Instagram Stories, and more.

The Galaxy S24 will also benefit from Google’s Imagen 2, a text-to-image model that can generate realistic images from text descriptions. Imagen 2 will power the photo editing features in the Galaxy S24 Gallery app, such as the Generative Edit feature which also debuted on the Pixel 8 series. It can automatically fill in missing parts of images based on the surrounding context. Imagen 2 was unveiled at Google I/O last year and recently launched in preview on the web.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in lead generation is transforming how businesses identify and engage with potential customers.

Lead generation, a crucial aspect of business development, is undergoing a significant transformation thanks to AI. By leveraging machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics, AI tools can identify prospective customers more accurately and engage them in a more personalized manner. This shift not only increases the volume of leads but also improves their quality, enabling businesses to focus their efforts on the most promising prospects, Einstein from Salesforce is a leader in customer relationship management (CRM), has integrated AI into its platform through Einstein. This AI-powered tool analyzes customer data to predict buying behaviors and recommend the most promising leads. For instance, a marketing agency used Einstein to prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert, resulting in a 30% increase in sales productivity. HubSpot’s AI Lead Scoring: HubSpot offers an AI lead scoring system that ranks leads based on their potential value to the business. By analyzing historical data and user interactions, it helps companies focus their efforts on leads with the highest conversion potential. A technology startup reported a 25% increase in lead conversion rates after implementing HubSpot’s AI tool.

In addition, we have Drift’s AI Chatbots. Drift utilizes AI-powered chatbots to engage website visitors in real-time. These chatbots can qualify leads by asking pre-programmed questions, allowing businesses to capture information and engage prospects 24/7. A retail company using Drift reported a 40% increase in qualified leads due to the AI’s ability to engage customers outside of regular business hours. Consider LinkedIn Sales Navigator which leveraging AI, helps businesses find leads by analyzing user profiles and activities on LinkedIn. It suggests potential leads based on a company’s customer preferences and search history. A financial services company credited Sales Navigator with a 20% increase in new client acquisitions.

Continue reading “The AI Revolution In Lead Generation: Navigating New Business Frontiers” »

A study led by the University of Oxford has used the power of machine learning to overcome a key challenge affecting quantum devices. For the first time, the findings reveal a way to close the ‘reality gap’: the difference between predicted and observed behavior from quantum devices. The results have been published in Physical Review X.

Quantum computing could supercharge a wealth of applications, from climate modeling and financial forecasting, to drug discovery and artificial intelligence. But this will require effective ways to scale and combine individual quantum devices (also called qubits). A major barrier against this is inherent variability: where even apparently identical units exhibit different behaviors.

The cause of variability in quantum devices.

Winter in the northern hemisphere is always a brutal reminder for the shipping industry that routing vessels efficiently is a big challenge. Winter storms bring low visibility conditions, freezing spray, and sea ice, all of which can lead to catastrophic results if not appropriately navigated, including lost cargo, damaged hulls and even potentially toppling a ship in the most extreme weather. But this January adds additional pressures to the sector with new and enacted regulations around greenhouse emissions and carbon usages. The beneficial news is that in both scenarios, weather intelligence can help those navigating the open seas better plan and safely and efficiently navigate these waters.

While most of us know that weather impacts nearly every aspect of shipping, we likely think of it in terms of safety of people and cargo. According to The Swedish Club 2020 loss prevention report, heavy weather is cited in half of all claims and contributes to 80% of the financial losses. Weather optimized routing uses real-time weather forecasts, oceanic data, and the vessel’s current position to keep captains at sea and voyage managers on land about changing conditions. If there is hazardous weather, most voyage routing algorithms can make numerous calculations in real time and provide one or more alternatives for a ship operator to optimize a route. While ultimately this may not be the most efficient route, it will likely be the safest route for current conditions.

Weather intelligence is also critical in evaluating, and potentially adjusting, greenhouse gas emissions based on vessel performance and fuel usage. The Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) introduced in 2023 is a rating framework that evaluates how efficiently a ship transports goods or passengers from a carbon emissions standpoint. This is the first year that ships will be assigned a rating. The data from the previous year is used in an efficiency conversion ratio. Each ship is assigned an individual CII rating from A to E, with A being the best possible rank.

LG is already one of the most prolific EV battery manufacturers in the US, but it wants to build the devices that charge them, too. The company just opened just opened its first EV charger manufacturing facility in the US, a 59,000 square foot plant in in Fort Worth, Texas capable of manufacturing 10,000 units per year.

The company has already started to assemble 11kW home-style chargers there and will begin producing 175kW fast chargers in the first half of 2024. It plans to built 350kW ultra-fast chargers at some point this year designed for “commercial travel and long-distance transportation,” LG wrote.

The Korean company said it chose Texas as it had existing facilities there and because the state offers “excellent logistics and transportation networks and is home to major operations for companies in industries ranging from automobile manufacturing to finance” (GM, Toyota and Tesla all have vehicle assembly plants in the state).

In the ever-evolving world of financial markets, understanding the unpredictable nature of stock market fluctuations is crucial. A new study has taken a leap in this field by developing an innovative quantum mechanics model to analyze the stock market.

This model not only encompasses economic uncertainty and investor behavior but also aims to unravel the mysteries behind stock market anomalies like fat tails, volatility clustering, and contrarian effects.

The core of this model is quantum mechanics, a pillar of physics known for explaining the behavior of subatomic particles.

Take a deep dive with NFX into the hottest longevity startups, exploring the mindset of the Founders and why they’re on a mission to keep healthy people healthy, to redesigned healthcare that prevents us from falling into disability and disease over time.

Solving this holds incredible financial and societal value — we have only a few decades left.

Continue reading “The Future of Longevity: The Battle Against Human Aging (NFX Original)” »

Zero-emissions long-distance aviation is absolutely possible… Provided you’re not in a hurry. Solar Airship One will take 20 days to fly all the way around the equator, some 40,000 km (~25,000 miles), in a single zero-emissions hop.

The 151-m (495-ft)-long airship will have its entire upper surface covered in solar film – some 4,800 square meters (51,700 sq ft) of it, or about nine-tenths of an NFL football field for those of you who prefer the standard units.

Continue reading “Solar-powered airship will circle the world non-stop without fuel” »