Juan Benet, the creator of IPFS, discusses the challenges of scaling new technologies from research to production. They explore funding structures, creating markets for impact, and the potential for scaling crypto in the next 10-15 years. They also emphasize the importance of community builders and bid farewell to Juan Benet.
Improving funding structures in the fundamental development stage can bridge the gap between research and productization in R&D, enabling faster innovation.
The bottleneck in the R&D pipeline lies in the transition from fundamental development to productization, requiring better funding and incentives to accelerate the translation of research into tangible products.
Exploring new funding mechanisms, such as longer-term and larger-scale venture capital funds, hyper certs, and improved IP transaction models, can incentivize and reward innovation in the fundamental development phase of R&D.
Deep dives
The Importance of Funding Fundamental Development
The podcast episode highlights the bottleneck that exists in the R&D pipeline between research and productization. The guest, Juan Benet, discusses the need for better funding structures in the fundamental development stage of technology innovation. He explains that while there is ample funding for basic research and production, there is a lack of support for translating early research into potential applications and scaling new technologies. This funding gap hinders the progress of R&D and slows down innovation. Benet suggests that new mechanisms, such as hyper certs and improved grant funding structures, could help bridge this gap and incentivize the productionization of new technologies. He also explores the potential of crypto networks to revolutionize R&D funding by scaling it to the level of nation states.
The R&D Pipeline and its Five Stages
Juan Benet presents his framework of the R&D pipeline, which consists of five stages: early basic research, fundamental development, productionizing, production, and scaling. He explains that the traditional view of R&D tends to focus only on the basic research stage, while ignoring the importance of fundamental development. Benet highlights that the bottleneck in the pipeline lies primarily in the transition from fundamental development to productionizing, where the incentive structures are inadequate. He emphasizes the need for better funding and incentives in this crucial stage to accelerate the translation of research into tangible products. By addressing this bottleneck, the R&D pipeline can be accelerated, allowing innovations to reach the market faster.
Challenges and Solutions in Funding R&D
The podcast episode discusses the challenges and potential solutions in funding R&D. Juan Benet explains that venture capital funding is insufficient for the fundamental development stage due to the early nature of the work and the long time horizons involved. He suggests the need for longer-term and larger-scale venture capital funds to support this critical stage. On the other hand, traditional scientific funding tends to prioritize breakthrough discoveries over incremental advancements, leading to a lack of support for fundamental development. Benet proposes exploring new incentive structures and market mechanisms, such as hyper certs and new IP transaction models, to incentivize and reward innovation in the fundamental development phase. He also highlights the potential of using AI tools to improve capital allocation in the R&D domain.
The Promise of Crypto Networks in R&D Funding
The podcast episode explores how crypto networks can revolutionize R&D funding. Juan Benet envisions a future where the value organized by crypto networks reaches the scale of nation states, allowing for R&D funding on a massive scale. This would enable funding at a level comparable to the United States' non-defense R&D spending, which is in the range of 60 to 100 billion dollars annually. Benet highlights the potential of crypto networks to solve the funding gap in the fundamental development stage and drive rapid progress in innovation. By leveraging new funding structures, incentivization mechanisms, and AI tools, crypto networks have the potential to significantly accelerate the R&D pipeline, leading to faster and more impactful technology development.
Aligning Interest and Creating New Markets
The podcast episode discusses the importance of aligning interests and creating new markets to facilitate impact-oriented research and development. Juan Benet emphasizes the need to identify communities and institutions that already care deeply about specific areas of impact. By connecting these stakeholders and creating mechanisms for collaboration and funding, it becomes possible to drive progress and innovation in those areas. Benet suggests leveraging existing structures, such as Patreon, as inspiration for building mechanisms that connect impact-oriented funders with creators and researchers. He also encourages the exploration of AI models to improve capital allocation and create more efficient markets. By fostering collaboration and experimentation, it is possible to unlock the full potential of impact-driven R&D.
Apple Show Link https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1609313639
Spotify Show Link https://open.spotify.com/show/0l6aXWC94dd0RA3tkKfxjd
🟢🟢🟢Show your support on twitter 🟢🟢🟢 https://twitter.com/carl_cervone https://twitter.com/owocki https://twitter.com/juanbenet ----- TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro Opening Remarks 03:18 Intro Juan and Carl 03:35 Juan on Productizing R&D 14:20 Kevin Recap, Juan muses on Public vs Private Iterations 30:45 Primitaves Juan is excited about 40:47 How to demand the initial demand signal? 49:47 What does this look like in 10 years? 54:50 Anything else? (oh yeah!) 58:02 Thank you Juan 59:26 Closing Thoughts
----- Music by WABI SABI - snowflake - https://thmatc.co/?l=7786B012 ----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Greenpill team writers hold crypto assets.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
