Moonshot

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. led the largest single financing round for a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, the latest in a string of sizeable investments that suggest the e-commerce firm is again deploying capital in the hunt for growth.Alibaba joins Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Silicon Valley peers like Microsoft Corp. in placing big bets on generative AI, the technology that powers ChatGPT. Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill CoursesOffering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Professional…

Mere days after Alphabet and Google CEO Sudar Pichai warned of more job attrition this year, the company is shedding more staff, at its moonshot lab. Alphabet is also restructuring X (not to be confused with what used to be called Twitter) to make it easier to spin out projects with backing (read: money) from outside investors.X division head Astro Teller told staff in a memo that the company was “expanding our approach to focus on spinning out more projects as independent companies funded through market-based capital.”X…

Google's Moonshot X or X, launched by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, is renowned for exploring groundbreaking solutions to significant challenges like climate change and connectivity. Now, they too are laying off people…

Just days after Alphabet and Google CEO Sudar Pichai warned workers of more downsizing this year, the former is laying off dozens of employees, mainly support staff, at its moonshot lab. Alphabet is also restructuring X (not to be confused with the platform formerly known as Twitter) to make it easier to spin out projects as independent startups with backing from outside investors. Alphabet confirmed these changes, which were first reported by Bloomberg, to Engadget.“We’re expanding our approach to focus on spinning out…

Alphabet Inc.’s lab for pioneering technology is laying off dozens of employees as it turns to outside investors to help fund its ventures.The division, known as X, has in recent months ramped up discussions on funding with venture capitalists and other investors, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named as it is private. The lab is adopting a new structure that’ll enable its projects to more easily spin out of X as independent startups with support from Alphabet and outside backers,…

Noor Siddiqui Contributor Noor Siddiqui, a Thiel Fellow and Stanford-trained computer scientist, is the CEO and founder of Orchid. Moonshot startups, those daring ideas that promise to reshape our world, are inherently about venturing into uncharted territory, giving us new superpowers and creating new markets. They’re high stakes, high reward, and, more often than not, deeply technical. As someone who navigates these waters, I see firsthand that when…

When the first US-made moon lander launched in more than 50 years experienced a critical failure shortly after reaching space on Monday, the news was initially a shock. But NASA was prepared. The Peregrine lander, built by a Pittsburgh-based startup called Astrobotic, had barely been deployed into orbit before it suffered an apparent propulsion error, causing it to leak propellant into space. After a day, the company said there was no chance the spacecraft would reach the moon.NASA actually anticipated a few low-stakes…

None of these potential technologies are new: researchers have been working on them for many years, and quantum computing is certainly making progress in the private sector. But only Washington brings the convening power and R&D dollars to help these novel systems achieve scale. Traditionally, breakthroughs in microelectronics have emerged piecemeal, but realizing new approaches to computation requires building an entirely new computing “stack”—from the hardware level up to the algorithms and software. This requires…

If all goes well, Japan will become at least the fourth country with a moon mission this year, making lunar exploration more active than it's been in five decades. The renaissance is being led by nations not usually considered leaders of the space race, which is an important development for the entire planet. In truth, launching a large tin can at the moon in the hopes of sticking the landing is challenging and fun, but it's not a money maker. Anyone hoping to spin a dime is better off staying grounded and finding ways…

The COVID Moonshot Consortium’s report highlights the discovery of a new class of inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2’s main protease. This global collaboration has produced a promising lead compound and openly shared thousands of compound designs, marking a major advancement in coronavirus drug development.COVID Moonshot’s groundbreaking research introduces new nonpeptidic inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2, showcasing global collaboration and open science in advancing coronavirus therapeutics.Although the group’s work has been freely…