Core Memory

A few years ago, I caught wind that Sergey Brin had started funding an airship start-up called LTA (Lighter Than Air) Research.After hitting up some sources, I came to learn that the man heading up the airship venture was Dr. Alan Weston. And, after digging around some more, I came to learn that Dr. Alan Weston had lived an extraordinary life.Among many other things, Weston performed the earliest bungee jumps while a member of the Dangerous Sports Club at Oxford. He later built space weapons as part of the Star Wars effort under Ronald Reagan. Then, while at NASA, Weston led a team making a super low-cost lunar lander. (The story of that project is documented in When The Heavens Went on Sale.)Post NASA, Weston began constructing airships for Brin in a hangar on the NASA Ames campus.Few people have experienced such a range of engineering adventures and fewer still have such knowledge about the aerospace industry. This is to say you’re going to enjoy the chat with Weston.Also, this podcast comes with breaking news. We can report that Al Weston has left his post as CEO of LTA and now leads up rocket development at Astra. He’ll be looking to get the company’s Rocket 4 into orbit soon.(We recored this before our video podcast era started and before Weston joined Astra. It’s also possible I called this Episode 2. Fear not. It’s Episode 10.) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe

Max Hodak, co-founder of Neuralink and CEO of Science Corp, dives into the intriguing world of brain-computer interfaces. He discusses the revolutionary work in restoring vision through retinal prostheses and the wild concept of lab-grown neurons. The conversation touches on the philosophical implications of naming his company 'Science Corp' to make science relatable. Hodak also explores the future possibilities of BCIs, including enhancing human communication, while sharing his optimistic vision for innovation in Silicon Valley and beyond.

For the past decade, the scientist Suzanne Gildert has been working to imbue robots and AIs with new skills. She co-founded a pair of start-ups - Kindred and Sanctuary AI - that strove to add intelligence to robotic arms and bodies. The results were robotic arms that could do factory work at Kindred and then an upscaled, much weirder version of the technology at Sanctuary.In the background, Gildert spent much of her time longing to really bring robots and AIs to life. She’s been an advocate of a very sci-fi future where humans and androids go about the world alongside each other and share in their day-to-day lives. Gildert has pined for a future in which our metal companions have thoughts and feelings that resemble ours.Her latest start-up - Nirvanic Consciousness Technologies Inc. - is an attempt to bring those hopes and dreams to fruition. Gildert contends that current AI systems based on large language models are likely too limited to result in consciousness (or something like it) arising. Her theory is that the roots of consciousness may actually come from AI models derived from the quantum realm where physics gets funkier.Gildert will forever be better than I am at explaining her hypothesis. So get comfy, open your mind and have a listen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe

Join veteran tech journalist John Markoff, whose reports have shaped our understanding of Silicon Valley, as he shares stories from his remarkable career. He reflects on the intertwined origins of tech culture and psychedelics, examining how creativity has thrived in past countercultures. Markoff also discusses the shifting landscape of innovation, contrasting bold ideas of the past with today's focus on short-term gains. Dive into the evolving political dynamics within tech and how AI is redefining the industry, highlighting lessons from history.

Several years ago, KFC did something ridiculous. It hired a giant, stratospheric balloon maker called World View to put its Zinger Chicken sandwich into space. Or at least near space. This was an expensive, showy endeavor and no less than Rob Lowe came on as a new Colonel Sanders-cum-Mission Control Lead for the stunt. Ultimately, the sandwich did not go quite as high as KFC wanted, but, still, I was entertained. A young man named Andrew Antonio helped drive much of World View’s marketing for the space sandwich. And he became something of a stratospheric balloon guru in the process. He’s now the CEO of Urban Sky, a maker of smallish balloons that can be launched in a matter of minutes and, just as impressively, the guest on this episode of the Core Memory pod. We, of course, talk about the KFC happening and about putting humans, cameras, sensors and all kinds of things into the stratosphere. Antonio’s dream is to have the stratosphere filled with balloons performing useful tasks. As you might expect, China and Russia share in these ambitions. Enjoy the show. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe

Dina Radenkovic, a Serbian-born doctor and co-founder of Gameto, is on a mission to revolutionize women’s reproductive health. She discusses how her start-up is using stem cell technology to significantly reduce the discomfort and time associated with IVF treatments. Gameto’s product, Fertilo, helps mature eggs outside the body in days instead of weeks. The conversation also delves into future applications of this tech for menopause and the need for greater research in women’s health. Radenkovic shares her journey in bridging medicine and entrepreneurship.

In this episode, we’re joined by the test pilot Elliot Seguin to learn what it’s like to put your life on the line on a regular basis. Unlike most of the people in his profession, Seguin did not do the whole Top Gun-style military training. He earned his status as a test pilot the hard way by putting in the hours flying all kinds of aircraft and convincing people to give him a go in their birds. He’s an engineer. A racer. And a brave and possibly nuts soul. We talk with Seguin about the test pilot lifestyle, his career and The Mojave. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe

Fresh off closing a $200 million funding round, Ben Lamm from Colossal Biosciences - now valued at more than $10 billion - joins Core Memory - now valued at less than $10 billion - to talk about bringing extinct animals back to our fair planet. The company has set to work on woolly mammoths, the dodo bird, and the thylacine (aka Tasmanian Tiger) in its effort to restore animals and ecosystems. To pull this off, Colossal must develop a host of gene editing technologies and artificial wombs, and we get into all this beautiful science. It’s cool and bonkers and controversial - the holy pod trinity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe

A few weeks ago, I went out to Zipline’s test facility in Half Moon Bay, California for a dinner and to see their delivery drones in action. I was not expecting much. It feels like we’ve been promised delivery drones for years and years. And, in fact, we have. These visions of the future don’t always arrive on schedule, but the delivery drones were feeling extra tardy. I also wasn’t even sure if delivery drones made that much sense. Drones run loud. They could obviously crash into things. It’s hard to imagine a sky full of these aircraft working that well. During the dinner, though, Zipline pulled off a sneak attack maneuver and plopped some cookies down right beside me without me noticing the drone at all. The technology was quiet and precise, and it made me want to learn more - which is why we’re bringing you Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, the company’s co-founder and CEO, on this latest podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe

Joe Betts-LaCroix, co-founder and CEO of RetroBio, dives into the fascinating world of longevity biotechnology. He discusses RetroBio's mission to extend healthy human lifespans through innovative cell reprogramming techniques. With a background that fuses software and electronics design, Joe shares his journey from MIT to Silicon Valley, emphasizing the significance of hands-on leadership and iterative innovation. He also examines the ethical dimensions of scientific research and the exciting potential of regenerative therapies in combating aging and neurodegeneration.