FYI - For Your Innovation

Blood is a crucial supportive therapy within healthcare. Approximately 18 million blood components including red cells, platelets, plasma, cryoprecipitate, and a small amount of whole blood are collected each year in the United States, meaning it is of critical importance that blood remains pathogen-free. Today’s guest is Dr. Larry Corash, the co-founder and chief scientific officer of Cerus (CERS), a patient-centric medical technology firm focused on massively improving the safety of the world’s blood supply. Cerus is helping to shift medical paradigms around the prevention of transfusion-transmitted diseases from reactive to proactive. Before 1971, there was only one test that was done on blood before transfusion, which was a test for syphilis. Since then, tests for other viruses have been invented but the method remains cumbersome and accident-prone. Dr. Corash’s experience with patients who had been infected with HIV through blood transfusions was ultimately what brought him to do the research that lead to the development of the technology Cerus uses. Dr. Corash appears on the show today to speak more about Cerus’s mission, the science behind INTERCEPT technology, legalities around FDA approval in the US, and some of the great work they have already done to revolutionize blood transfusion safety practices globally.

On the podcast this week, we have Will Hershey, cofounder and CEO of Roundhill Investments, to help us breakdown Esports and the Gaming Industry. Will is responsible for the company’s indexing, research, and product development efforts, in addition to firm-level partnerships and operations. Before founding Roundhill in 2018, Will served as the Head Trader with Yorkville Capital Management, and prior to that he was with Yorkville ETF Advisors, where he was instrumental in the creation and growth of two NYSE-listed ETFs. We dive into the latest trends in gaming, what we are looking forward to as new tech develops, and different business models between streaming platforms, both in the east and the west. Will gives us his perspective on cloud gaming and the introduction of VR. For an incredible look into the world of Esports, be sure not to miss out on today’s episode!

Join James Wang as he interviews Cathie Wood (CEO and CIO at ARK Invest) on our recently published Big Ideas 2020 report. On this podcast Cathie will share her perspective on some of the biggest breakthroughs ARK believes should not be missed in the coming year.

As we wrap up 2019, we would like to thank everyone who listened to the FYI — For Your Innovation podcast. We received incredibly positive feedback for our podcast show and had some truly amazing guests in the past year, ranging from world class geneticists to founders and CEOs. In this final episode of 2019, we put together a “greatest hits compilation” of our five most popular episodes.   1. On the Road to Full Autonomy with Elon Musk (EP11) Elon Musk talks about how his engineering background drives his decision making for Tesla and why he is so confident that Tesla will achieve full autonomy. On this podcast: Elon Musk, Tasha Keeney, Cathie Wood. (Listen to the Full Episode)   2. Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer with Charles Graeber (EP21) For decades cancer was something that was treated rather than cured. Author of the book The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer, Charles Graeber unpacks the history of immunotherapy, why it remained on the fringes for so long, and why cancer might become a manageable disease. On this podcast: Charles Graeber and James Wang (Listen to the Full Episode)   3. The Genomic Revolution with Prof. Dr. George Church (EP26) Professor George Church is one of the pioneers of modern genetics. We dive into the stage of genomics, next generation oncology, the security and regulation of genetic information, gene editing, and the increasing speed of the genomic revolution. On this podcast: George Church, Manisha Samy, Simon Barnett, and James Wang. (Listen to the Full Episode)   4. Wright’s Law—Understanding Technology Cost Curves with Brett Winton (EP07) Brett Winton explains how Wright’s Law makes simple and robust predictions about technology cost declines, and why it’s at the center of ARK’s research. On this podcast: Brett Winton and James Wang (Listen to the Full Episode)   5. Cerebras’ Wafer Scale Engine AI Chip with CEO Andrew Feldman (EP37) Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras, joins us to discuss the Wafer Scale Engine, or WSE, an AI chip that is 50 times larger than the largest chips produced by Nvidia and Intel. On this podcast: Andrew Feldman and James Wang (Listen to the Full Episode)   We will be back in 2020 with new episodes and more exciting topics, because investing in innovation starts with understanding it. Until then, stay innovative!

In today’s episode, we welcome Manu Sharma and Brian Rieger from Labelbox, a private company which we believe is leading training data solution for machine learning. We have had many conversations on this show about artificial intelligence from a hardware and algorithm perspective, but data is just as important. All production AI systems are based on supervised learning, which requires large quantities of data to be labeled so that the algorithms can understand and compartmentalize it. In other words, data without labels can’t be used by most AI algorithms. While large internet companies like Google and Facebook have built custom tools in-house to help label and sort through their large troves of data, most enterprises have very few options. Labelbox aims to fill this gap by providing a scalable and easy-to-use tool to help companies convert their raw data into labeled data fit for machine learning algorithms. Today on the show, Manu and Brian get into the history of Labelbox, as well as the services it provides to its clients and the machine learning community. We talk about the tiers and iterations of Databox, its pricing structures, the various industries it supports, and what makes it stand out against its competition. We also cover some fascinating ground around human-in-the-loop systems, how a machine learning startup would train its AI and the difference between software 1.0 and 2.0. In our conversation, we also speak about Labelbox in relation to computer vision, drone technology, and labor ethics. Join us to get a taste of the many ways data and AI will continue to penetrate life and industry well into the foreseeable future.

We are joined by Bryan Catanzaro, Vice President of Applied Deep Learning Research at NVIDIA. In his early career he built some of the original deep learning libraries and worked at Baidu in the specific field of deep speech. In 2016 he returned to NVIDIA and has been there since, exploring the ever-evolving field of deep learning at one of the industry leaders. We discuss conversational AI and the newest advancements in the field, Bryan’s thoughts on NVIDIA’s competition and what the market looks like currently. Bryan also weighs in on how far we are from a more general form of artificial intelligence and how far we can get by just scaling today’s technologies. We also cover autonomous driving, related software, hardware and frameworks and the impact of cloud computing on the field. For this informative chat be sure to listen in to the For Your Innovation podcast!

Isn’t everyone talking about streaming wars? This may seem like a new phenomenon, but it all started in 2007 when Netflix introduced streaming for the first time. With Disney Plus and Apple TV gaining traction, we are exploring what the future of streaming might look like and how it could shape the media landscape. On this episode Nick Grous, analyst at ARK Invest, shares his broad perspective and insightful knowledge on the current streaming wars taking place across the globe. On day one of their launch in November 2019, Disney Plus received over 10 million subscribers from just a handful of countries. Nick explains how the growing competition, like Disney Plus and Apple TV, impacts Netflix – the market leader in the streaming space. We explore some of the history behind streaming and why it took other companies over 12 years to start competing with Netflix. Lastly, we discuss how companies are expanding their business models and products in order to win a piece of the pie. Take a listen to this episode if you want to know who ARK believes might be best positioned in these streaming wars.

We are joined by Ro Gupta, the CEO of Carmera to discuss his contribution to an autonomous future. Carmera is a private company that makes real time HD maps for autonomous driving. We talk about his own history and early interest in transportation before diving into the development of digital maps and the apps that have spearheaded this technology. Ro explains data collection, safety policies, and some of the main challenges today. He also describes differences between the US and international markets, notably China. We discuss different solutions, how to share data across platforms, and how Carmera aims to grow in the future.

On this episode of FYI we welcome Eric Vishria, General Partner at Benchmark. Benchmark is a one-of-a-kind venture capital firm based in San Francisco, opting to operate with a small team of just 5 to 7 general partners and no junior partners or other team members. They have helped to bring to market iconic companies such as Twitter, SnapChat, DropBox and Uber! In our conversation, we talk about why he believes SaaS is larger than ever before. Eric makes a strong argument for low barriers to adoption over low barriers to entry. We talk about Benchmark’s recent investments in software and machine learning and get some insight into their work with Cerebras as its first investor! As a venture capital company that does not do a lot of PR, it is all the more exciting to have Eric as our guest to get a peek inside a true industry leader and trendsetter.

On this FYI episode, we are joined by Sean George, CEO and co-founder of Invitae one of the innovative frontrunners in the medical genetic testing space. (This episode was recorded: Sep. 10, 2019) Invitae is driven by the provision of affordable genetic testing, clinical-grade accuracy, and transparent reporting practices. In asking different questions than anyone else in the space, Invitae is spearheading a paradigm shift in the diagnostics industry.1 For them, finding scalable solutions, where anyone can access information about medical risks they face and then tailor solutions accordingly, is an ideal outcome. Sean also talks about the declining costs of DNA sequencing and the implications it has for the future of the medical genetics testing industry along with the host of other industries it will benefit. He also touches on how genetic testing can continue to change cancer treatment to ensure that all patients get comprehensive, tailored treatments that deal with the specificities of their case. While being an innovator in this space has provided altruistic benefits for many people outside of the company, finding investors has at times proved to be challenging for Invitae. Sean then gets into what the current investment landscape for biotech companies looks like as well as his suggestions for raising capital moving forward. For all this and more, join us today!