In this week’s edition of The Prototype, we look at Deepmind’s new fusion collaboration, companies stealthily building humanoid robots, a way to triple wheat production and more. To get The Prototype in your inbox, sign up here.
A worker assembles toroidal field magnets at the Commonwealth Fusion Systems campus
© 2024 Bloomberg Finance LP
Google Deepmind will work with startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems to use its AI expertise to help develop fusion power, the companies announced Thursday. The research partnership builds on two capital investments that Google has made in the fusion company as well as an agreement giving the tech giant access to 200MW of power from CFS’s first fusion plant, which is on track to be built in Chesterfield, VA.
The vast demand for electricity from the data centers powering the AI boom has led tech companies to invest in fusion power, which could provide clean, nearly limitless energy — if it becomes practical (and that’s still a big if, though progress is being made). That’s a primary reason why Google, Nvidia and Microsoft have all invested in CFS.
Deepmind is no stranger to fusion. A few years ago, the AI lab worked with Swiss university EPFL to develop machine learning algorithms to magnetically contain and control the flow of plasma, a key engineering challenge for fusion reactors. The company has also open sourced its plasma simulation software.
Tech companies aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket. Google is also an investor and research partner with California-based TAE technologies. And OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman has put his own money behind fusion company Helion, which has a deal to provide power to Microsoft from its first plant, which is under construction in Malaga, WA.
These Well-Funded AI Startups Are Building Humanoid Robots In Stealth
The heat of the ongoing AI boom has spilled over to a famously difficult hardware space — humanoid robotics. Forbes has learned that a pair of Silicon Valley ventures, each with more than $100 million in funding, have been secretly developing human-shaped machines they hope will someday perform tasks typically executed by people.
The first, Palo Alto-based Rhoda AI, raised a $162.6 million Series A round in April, bringing its total funding raised to $230 million and valuing the company at nearly $1 billion, per Pitchbook. It’s been working on a “general purpose bimanual manipulation platform,” known colloquially as a humanoid robot with two arms, according to documents viewed by Forbes. The company has told people that one of its key innovations is a humanoid capable of heavy lifting, a source familiar with its plans told Forbes. Heavy lifting is a crucial task in many industrial settings, and many of today’s well-known humanoid robots have trouble lifting over 50 pounds while maintaining balance and stability.
The second is “full-stack robotics” outfit Genesis AI, which raised a $105 million seed round earlier this year from investors including Khosla Ventures and Eric Schmidt. Documents seen by Forbes show the company developing a humanoid robot that has two arms, but wheels instead of legs. Genesis AI hopes to bring to market robots cheaper, lighter and less dangerous than other humanoids in development, like Tesla’s Optimus robot. Its CEO Zhou Xian clarified that the company is working with hardware vendors to build custom robots, rather than building humanoids from scratch. The startup is largely focused on training software models that will control them, he said.
Genesis AI and Rhoda AI are joining a group of early-stage startups that have raised significant funds to make humanoid robots that can be used for industrial use cases on factory floors or household tasks like folding laundry.
DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK: A GENE TO TRIPLE WHEAT PRODUCTION
A stalk of wheat normally has one ovary per flower, which becomes a single grain. But there’s a rare strain of wheat that grows three ovaries per flower–tripling the yield. In new research published this week, scientists at the University of Maryland discovered the gene that produces this effect, which is dormant in most wheat species. Armed with this genetic knowledge, breeders can work on new strains that activate the gene, which could one day supercharge wheat production.
WHAT ELSE I WROTE THIS WEEK
In my other newsletter, InnovationRx, Amy Feldman and I wrote about a new partnership between Khosla Ventures and the Cleveland Clinic, a new drug for a progressive lung disease from Boehringer Ingelheim, a crucial gene therapy milestone for startup Immusoft, the CDC’s “Friday night massacre” and more.
SCIENCE AND TECH TIDBITS
Waymo will launch its robotaxi service in London next year, with no human backup driver, which will be the Alphabet unit’s first foray into the European market.
The Chinese military is planning to deploy sensors in the ocean that will enable it to continuously track ships and submarines in real time.
Thousands of scientists employed by federal agencies have had to discontinue their work during the government shutdown, while academic researchers are concerned about losing access to grant money if the Congressional showdown drags on.
SpaceX said it had a near perfect test of its Starship rocket earlier this week.This was the fifth test launch of the second iteration of its large spacecraft, and the second success. The first three ended in explosions.
Chipmaker Nvidia started selling its DGX Spark this week. The computer, priced at $3,999, is marketed as “the world’s smallest AI supercomputer” and designed to give developers the ability to run advanced AI models locally.
Startup Radiant will build the first manufacturing facility for its portable, miniature nuclear reactors at a site in Tennessee that was part of the Manhattan Project. (I wrote about Radiant a couple of years ago.)
PRO SCIENCE TIP: CHOP ONIONS SLOWLY WITH A SHARP KNIFE
Tired of crying when you chop onions? Try using your sharpest knife–and take it nice and slow. That’s advice from researchers at Cornell University, who published a paper describing the mechanics behind the onion’s teary effects. Scientists already knew a chemical irritant in onions makes you cry, but weren’t sure how it got to your eyes. Using high-speed cameras and computer modeling, they discovered that slicing the top of an onion releases pent up pressure from its layers—spraying out a mist of irritants at high speeds. Taking your time with a sharp knife reduces that pressure, slowing down the spray and keeping it away from your eyes.
WHAT’S ENTERTAINING ME THIS WEEK
I’ve been watching the HBO miniseries Task, which was created by Brad Ingelsby, who was also showrunner for the stellar Mare of Easttown. The show stars Mark Ruffalo as an FBI agent running a task force composed of local officers, who are tracking down criminals robbing a local drug-running biker gang. Tom Pelphrey is the second lead, playing the hunted criminal. The show has been phenomenal so far and I’m looking forward to the finale, which airs this Sunday.