Why this battery company is pivoting to AI
AI Summary
MIT Technology Review's daily digest covers SES AI's pivot from lithium battery development to AI-powered materials discovery, and Axiom Math's new free AI tool aimed at uncovering hidden mathematical patterns to solve long-standing problems. The newsletter also touches on how volatile fossil-fuel prices may not straightforwardly boost EV adoption, and rounds up major tech news including Meta/YouTube fines for addictive design, SpaceX's IPO plans, and Google's quantum cryptography timeline.
Key Facts
Author Takes
High gas prices and EV demand
Despite EV owners celebrating fossil-fuel price volatility as an opportunity for EVs, even the carless should be concerned about a sustained rise in fossil-fuel prices, implying the relationship is more complex than a simple EV tailwind.
Western battery industry
Almost every Western battery company has either died or is going to die—it's kind of the reality.
Contrarian Angle
Battery Company Abandoning Hardware for AI Software
SES AI, a lithium battery startup, is entirely pivoting to AI materials discovery rather than continuing to compete in the hardware battery market where CEO Qichao Hu says almost every Western company has or will die.
Instead of doubling down on hardware differentiation, the company is abandoning its core battery product entirely to compete in AI-driven scientific discovery.
Independent Longevity State to Bypass Drug Development Regulations
Longevity enthusiasts are planning to establish an independent jurisdiction—potentially in Rhode Island—that eliminates red tape, allows self-experimentation with unproven treatments, and removes laws limiting drug development.
Rather than working within existing regulatory frameworks, this approach proposes creating an entirely new legal jurisdiction to circumvent drug development laws.
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