FYI - For Your Innovation

The world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is a rapidly evolving sector that has grown tremendously in popularity in recent years. However, the original philosophy of crypto and blockchain has been altered by interests in capital gain and convenience, eroding the founding ethos of the technology. This was not acceptable to today’s guests, Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, who decided to build a blockchain technology that ensured the original spirit of the technology was preserved. Arthur and Kathleen are the creators of Tezos, a public blockchain that enables decentralized governance by allowing self-amendments. In today’s conversation, we dive into the underlying Tezos protocol and discover the various ways people are applying it. We learn what a rollup is, the different versions of rollups, and what data availability is as a concept. Hear about their approach to scaling, how scaling has changed from a research to an engineering problem, and why the Breitman’s believe gaming will catalyze the next wave of users of blockchain technology. “I started my journey by thinking: Bitcoin, it’s not an algorithm. It’s not a software. It’s a network. It’s consensus around a ledger.” — @ArthurB Key Points From This Episode: Background about our guests and what got them interested in crypto. The motivation for Arthur and Kathleen to build their own blockchain. How the narrative around cryptocurrencies has evolved and where Tezos fits in. How Arthur and Kathleen formed the idea of on-chain governance as a middle ground. An outline of the upsides and downsides to the on-chain governance approach. The shift in motivation and ethos of the average crypto-user. Past updates and the current state of the network. Whether scaling is achieved by upgrading the core or Layer 2. What data availability is as a concept and why it is essential. A breakdown of a rollup and the various approaches to scaling. What rollup approach the Tezos network uses to scale. The many ways people are using the Tezos network. How Arthur and Kathleen measure the growth and use of the Tezos network. What they think will cause more people to adopt the network in the future. Why venture capitalists have become interested in cryptocurrencies. Comparing the railroads of the 1900s with public blockchains that exist today. Ways in which capitalization of crypto and blockchain technology will be overcome. An outline of the future for Tezos and how the community is involved. Arthur and Kathleen’s take on the regulatory environment and how it’ll change in the future.

Today, Will Summerlin hosts a conversation with Manu Sharma, founder and CEO of Labelbox, a privately held data curation and artificial intelligence (AI) company. In the episode, Manu unpacks the role of AI in powering real-world solutions, discusses why he believes the AI paradigm shift is really all about data, and what motivates him to create a product suite to orchestrate AI activities. We also dive into the rapid AI driven transformations that enterprises are facing today, how they navigated solutions for data engines before Labelbox, and what the impact of unsupervised learning is on the need for labeling. You’ll hear why Manu believes AI is more accessible than ever before, and how John Deere is implementing artificial intelligence in their daily work. Additionally, you’ll hear about the role of the government, and about remote and in-person culture. “These computer systems are getting better and better. They are going to be able to abstract and generalize knowledge from their natural interactions humans have.” — @manuero Key Points From This Episode: How Labelbox tries to improve mission-critical AI systems across industries by building software products. Manu’s experience working in satellite imaging at Planet Labs before starting Labelbox. What it was like to see AI applications powering real-world solutions for the first time. Why the Manu believes the AI paradigm is really all about data. How the need to create a product suite to orchestrate AI activities motivated Manu to create Labelbox. The rapid AI driven transformations that enterprises using Labelbox experience today. How enterprises navigated solutions for data engines before Labelbox. How Tesla has built a data engine to create a closed loop system. What AI labeling actually is. The impact of unsupervised learning on the need for labeling. Three layers of AI capabilities. Why AI is accessible to everyone today. How AI powers John Deere’s tractors through See & Spray technology. The biggest challenge that AI adopters are facing today. Manu’s prediction for the rate of progress in AI technology. Government progress in AI and digital warfare. The importance of finding people who are on board with the values of the company. Why Labelbox has embraced remote culture. Working together in person and building a team culture at Labelbox.

On this episode of For Your Innovation, we showcase Episode 34 of our monthly video series, “In the Know,” from October 7, 2022. ARK CEO, CIO and Founder Cathie Wood, weighs in on M2 growth, inventory pile-ups, liability driven investing, commodity prices, and why we believe the Fed is making a mistake as they base policy on lagging economic indicators. She discusses fiscal policy, monetary policy, market signals, economic indicators, and innovation. To read our full open letter to the Fed, click here. To watch the video version of In The Know, click here.

Please note: as of 6/30/22, ARK’s clients own greater than 1% of the shares outstanding of Beam Therapeutics Inc. On today’s episode, ARK analyst Ali Urman hosts the inventors of the adenine base editor (ABE) and the cytosine base editor (CBE) Nicole Gaudelli and Alexis Komor, respectively. Nicole is the Senior Director and Head of Gene Editing Platform Technologies at Beam Therapeutics, and Alexis is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry DNA damage and repair and Genome editing at the University of California, San Diego. Alexis and Nicole worked together to develop a pair of CRISPR base editors, capable of engineering precise single-base substitutions. In today’s conversation, Alexis and Nicole discuss their discovery of base editing, what base editing is, how they grew interested in the space and what the future applications of this discovery might be! Key Points From This Episode Alexis and Nicole on the discovery of base editing What exactly base editing is How Alexis and Nicole grew interested in base editing Alexis’ interest in directed evolution How CRISPR and antibiotics integrate What itwas like working with Dr. David Liu The potential disease curing applications of base editing Why Alexis decided to go into academia rather than corporate Why Nicole decided to go into industry instead of academia

On today’s episode, ARK analysts Max Friedrich and Will Summerlin are joined by co-founders and co-CEOs of Titan, an online investment management platform, Joe Percoco, and Clay Gardner. In this episode, we hear how these business partners met and founded their company, their mission, and vision, how they remove the ‘middleman,’ and more. We also discuss what Titan believes prevents investors from trying to build a distribution channel, and what information investors care about the most. Joe and Clay also share some new strategies they’ve launched on their app, and we delve into how they see their user experience evolving and what their biggest challenges have been thus far. This dynamic duo also tells us their entrepreneurial story, how their vision has changed, and they give out some advice to their younger selves. “I think the world needs to remove these barriers, as opposed to just making wealthy people richer.” — @virtualclay Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to today’s guests, Joe Percoco and Clay Gardner. How Joe and Clay met. How Joe and Clay founded Titan. Joe and Clay explain what Titan is and what their mission is. What is happening with asset classes today. What prevents institutional investors from trying to build a distribution channel with retail. How Titan tries to remove the ‘middleman.’ What information Titan believes investors care about the most. The new strategies launched by Titan and how investors can engage with them on the app. The details associated with Titan’s new interval funds. The feedback Titan has gotten up until this point. How Titan sees the user experience and the product mix evolving in the future. Joe and Clay’s entrepreneurial story and how their vision has changed over time. Joe and Clay share some advice for their younger selves. What Joe and Clay they look for in an ideal venture partner. The biggest challenges Titan is facing and what Joe and Clay are doing to overcome them.

In this episode of For Your Innovation, we sit down with multi-hyphenate Kimbal Musk to talk about food justice, Big Green, and its latest branch, Big Green Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Billed as the first non-profit-led philanthropic DAO, this experiment is aiming to use the power of decentralization and automation to impact lives on the most basic level. Kimbal shares a little about why this work has him so excited and feels like the natural progression of the efforts he has been making in the past years, before we dive into the ethos behind Big Green, and how they are tackling the constant challenges that are associated with this kind of philanthropy. Our guest also unpacks the intricacies of fundraising, the impacts of the pandemic, and what transparent growth means to him. We get to look ahead to the future vision of the project, and Kimbal talks about the cyclical nature of growth seasons in all industries and how this compares to the projects for decentralized technology. “If nothing else comes of the DAO, the community itself is the most wonderful, beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in the non-profit space, and I’ve been working in this space for 12 years.” — @kimbal Key Points From This Episode The current work and projects that are getting Kimbal most excited. The three ways that Big Green approaches trying to change lives through growing food. Kimbal’s reflections on the challenges facing philanthropic work. How Big Green DAO aims to tackle some of the fundraising issues. The pivots and shifts that Big Green made in response to the conditions of the pandemic. The transparent growth of Big Green DAO and how automation makes vetting easier. Confronting concerns around the ability of donors to vote. Kimbal shares his aspirations for Big Green DAO in the near future. The evolution of Kimbal’s crypto philosophy and the cycles of bubbles. Early attitudes towards Big Green DAO, and the usefulness of branding it an ‘experiment.’ Where to learn more and get involved with this great project!

On today’s episode of the For Your Innovation podcast, our Chief Futurist Brett Winton interviews Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas. Eric Balchunas is Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, where he leads the ETF and passive fund research and contributes to Bloomberg Opinion. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences, as well as the co-creator of the Bloomberg podcast Trillions and Bloomberg TV’s ETF IQ. Eric is also the author of the recently released, The Bogle Effect, a book about how john bogle and vanguard turned wall street inside out and saved investors trillions. Brett and Eric discuss The Bogle Effect, and Vanguard’s John Bogle in detail, indexation in the investment management industry, passive vs. active investing[1], the media’s coverage of the investing world and much more. “What we try to tell people and is to go where the indexes aren’t…this industry like any other, you can see this with ETFs in particular, that’s where a lot of the innovation is seen.” – @EricBalchunas Key Points From This Episode: Eric Balchunas’ recent book; The Bogle Effect Indexing and how John Bogle brought indexing to Wall Street Eric explains risks of indexing for retail investors The size and scale of the passive fund market Eric’s views on risk within the active fund industry How exchange traded funds (ETFs) fit into the innovation of financial innovation How ETFs compare to index funds The media’s coverage of the investment management industry Eric’s stock ETFs and the risks they may pose to investors What the future might be for indexation and ETFs What Eric thinks is the primary function of investment advisors The potential of mass adoption of cryptocurrency based investment products

Today CEO and CIO Cathie Wood and Angie Dalton engage Caitlin Long, the CEO and Founder of the privately owned Custodia Bank, in an insightful conversation about her work and her particular take on the possibilities of crypto technologies in the current climate. Caitlin’s approach is one we do not hear about so often, and we get to explore how Custodia Bank is hoping to harness the powers of new technology and at the same time focus on proper regulation adherence and improving the dominant banking systems. We talk about the work that Caitlin is doing as a stepping stone and how we might get through this transitional period of integration, and Cathie and Angie get to ask our guest a number of very probing questions on what a truly modern payment ecosystem would look like. For Caitlin, it is a no-brainer to utilize this powerful, open, and cost effective technology to upgrade banking services. “Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is ensure that the on-off ramps are there and reliable so that legitimate businesses in this industry don’t lose their bank accounts.” — @CaitlinLong_ Key Points From This Episode: The significance of Wyoming to Caitlin’s work and the inspiration drawn from South Dakota. Caitlin paints a picture of the regulatory backdrop for her efforts to start a bank. Creating a bank in new infrastructure while integrating digital assets into the traditional banking system. Why access to the Federal Bank is necessary for this project. The likely impact of ‘open banking’ on the status quo and the incumbent powers. Exploring the idea of rehypothecation and Caitlin’s approach to lending and leverage. Recent lessons in transparency for policymakers. A little about Custodia Bank, its bank charter, and the problems they are aiming to solve. Adjusting the narrative around crypto and non-compliance with regulation. Comparing crypto with card networks and how the infrastructure might be replicated. Caitlin explans how Custodia Bank compares with Silvergate and Circle. Caitlin’s feelings about moving back to Wyoming!

The idea of artificial intelligence (AI) may appeal to many businesses for its cost-saving potential, but ARK believes in its ability to enable scaling reaches far beyond. Today, we are joined by the CEO of Scale AI, Alex Wang, to talk about the problem Scale was born out of, and its mission to enable every organization to utilize AI technology. In our conversation, we touch on everything from Scale’s origin story and its success in improving data set curation systems for machine learning algorithms, to the involvement of humans in the trajectory of AI systems. Alex breaks down the paradigm shift from human as author and editor to AI as author and human as editor, before explaining the market-enabling potential of AI. We discuss the geopolitical relevance of AI and what would could be required for any country to take the lead as an AI superpower. Listen in to find out more about the scaling potential of AI for businesses and the role Scale AI is playing to help make this possible for organizations all over the world! “If you solve the data problems and the data foundations of AI, that’s going to enable almost everyone in the world to be able to build great AI and transform their businesses.” — @alexandr_wang Key Points From This Episode: Introducing Alex Wang, CEO of Scale AI. What Scale AI does and who they serve. Alex shares the origin story of Scale AI. The exponential gains Scale has driven in the efficiency of data-producing systems for machine learning algorithms. The paradigm shift from human as author and editor to AI as author and human as editor, according to Alex. Alex’s prediction for the involvement of humans in the trajectory of AI systems. The market-enabling potential of AI. The notable rate of improvement in the AI field. The magnitude of scaling Scale AI enables for its customers. Alex’s view of the broader trend TikTok reflects, in terms of AI efficiency in a business context. The role AI could play in national security, and why Alex believes regulation is essential. The importance of AI from a geopolitical standpoint. The gulf of understanding between Silicon Valley and DC regarding AI, as told by Alex. Alex explains how Scale fulfills its mission to enable every organization with great AI technology. How Scale communicates the true value of AI to its customers. Examples of the use of AI in various industries. The challenges traditional companies face when it comes to embracing AI. What differentiates Scale from its competitors.

Today Frank Downing and Nick Grous are joined by current CEO of Polygon Studios, Ryan Wyatt! A lifelong gamer and technology enthusiast, Ryan shares his journey through these worlds as a user and then as a professional before we dive into Polygon and some of the foundational elements of what they are doing in the gaming and non-fungible token (NFT) space. Ryan talks about the Polygon protocol, and also how the company relates and compares to its peers and adjacent technologies. From there, the bulk of our conversation is spent unpacking what Polygon Studios is bringing to the table and how they are aiming to attract customers through their unique value offer. We also cover exciting avenues in the gaming world and weigh how much of this is going to the move into the Web3 domain. Ryan also comments more generally on the buy-in to decentralization, interoperability concerns, and his perspective on the realities of the metaverse. “We’re not really a studio. We’re not making any games in-house. We’re not creating any IP in-house. That’s very intentional, because I would never want to be at odds with any of the people that are building.” — @Fwiz Key Points From This Episode: Some background from Ryan on his journey through the world of gaming and media. Unpacking the Polygon protocol and how Polygon Studios fits into the ecosystem. Introducing Polygon’s role in the context of Ethereum and companies like Solana. The main products that Polygon is targeting as a means of attracting customers. Ryan shares some of the development happening at Polygon. The new toolset that is now available for game development. Possibilities for the future of the play-to-earn model and cosmetic purchase options. Considering mass adoption of Web3 and the current readiness for this. The spectrum of investment in the idea of decentralization. Interoperability arguments and Ryan’s thoughts about how best to tackle some of the issues. The transition that Ryan made from YouTube to Polygon and his reflections on the contrast. Ryan’s perspective on the potential of the metaverse.