Have you heard the old quip about overnight success taking ten or more years? Anyone who’s started a business knows it’s true. Think Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Though they’ve reached tremendous recognition now for their business acumen, they were once everyday guys. No paparazzi were following them — and they certainly weren’t carrying tickets to space. Nevertheless, they persevered and ended up at the top of the corporate food pyramid.

Google is actively looking to hire a team that will develop an augmented reality OS for its 'innovative AR device'.

The head of Google's AR-based operating system efforts Mark Lucovsky put out a call to prospective hires on his LinkedIn page. He said that the company was looking to fill a number of positions for their next augmented reality project.

As 9to5Mac noted, Lucovsky was previously with Meta and worked with the Oculus VR team for four years. He was also one of the engineers on the Windows NT team and helped build and design the operating system.

Image: https://www.moneycontrol.com

Quantum computing won’t be an incremental improvement – it will be a step-change in the power of the technology that underpins a huge part of our economy. Exponentially faster computing won’t just help us solve problems more quickly, but it will also allow us to tackle problems that have been impossible to answer and find answers to questions we did not know to ask.

Chad Rigetti, founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing, speaks to Azeem Azhar about just how revolutionary quantum computing will be.

Image: https://hbr.org

At first glance, Lizzo, the singer, rapper and style icon, might not seem to have a lot in common with Katalin Karikó, the molecular biologist whose research on mRNA technology enabled rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Nor perhaps does Bela Bajaria, the Netflix executive whose global content strategy led to the streaming phenomenon Squid Game, seem naturally connected to scientist Tammy Hsu, who is making eco-friendly blue jeans, or engineer Amay Bandodkar, who is developing batteries powered by human sweat. Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur who's doing everything from pioneering reusable rockets that send well-heeled tourists into space to fostering AI enhancements to the brain, and Darnella Frazier, the young woman who ignited a worldwide social justice movement with her cellphone? Not what you'd call an intuitive pairing.

Image: https://www.newsweek.com

Mike Aldred is the principal engineer in robotics at Dyson’s UK headquarters. When he joined the company 23 years ago as a software engineer, he and others on his team were tasked with the job of building a robotic vacuum. His group promised to deliver that robot—in what seemed at the time—a long three-year window. “Seventeen years later, we delivered it,” says Aldred.

Bellevue’s Suburban General Hospital, located just outside the city on Pittsburgh’s west side, closed its doors in 2010. Now a partnership between Allegheny Health Network (a major nonprofit healthcare system) and Innovation Works (a major seed-stage investor) has brought the 230,000-square-foot facility back to life as a healthcare powerhouse, with a twist. 

The newly christened AlphaLab Health welcomed its first cohort of seven startups last January. It is a comprehensive life-sciences business accelerator that has transformed every part of the former hospital.

Image: https://www.keystoneedge.com

It has always been difficult to measure what “good” looks like in corporate innovation. For one thing, companies are always changing what they do.

“Nothing is crystallised, everything is always evolving,” says Alberto Onetti, chairman of Mind the Bridge, an open innovation consultancy. Companies have tried many different ways to innovate their businesses — setting up accelerator programmes for startups, encouraging staff to become intrapreneurs, investing in startups through corporate venturing arms. It is not always clear which of these work best.

The adage “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” has endured because it’s true. That's why it's crucial to diligently prepare ahead of investor meetings, especially in these three areas.

Think about how much money you truly need

The cost of building startups has dropped dramatically over the past few years. I often see first-time entrepreneurs seeking to raise larger-than-required sums of money for their pre-seed or seed rounds, which decreases the number of investors likely to invest. In other words, they’re trying to satisfy what could be multiple rounds of financing in one fell swoop. Or, they’re accounting for roles in their plan that aren’t suitable for their current phase — such as hiring assistants or salespeople during product development.

Elon Musk has made many predictions about the future of society and the role that his companies Tesla and SpaceX will play. The millionaire has very strong opinions and is not afraid to express them in interviews, conferences, and even on social networks. This time, he spoke about the impact that Artificial Intelligence will have on the jobs of the future and mentioned the careers that will be safe.

Image: Patrick Pleul / AP

December 13, 2021 – Augmented reality (AR) technology firm Geenee Inc. has announced the release of a WebAR Full-Body Tracking SDK. The 3D augmented reality try-on solution allows users to wear digital garments or avatars that follow their movements in real-time, without the extra step of downloading an app.

The SDK will be made available to agency partners and developers (anyone interested in a first-look can apply for Geenee’s Partner Labs Program), before it is rolled out to Geenee’s drag and drop WebAR Builder as a no-code interface in early 2022. Partners will be granted 3 free months of non-commercial use of the SDK to showcase various creative examples of the technology for Web 3.0 and metaverse applications. 

Google is actively hiring to create an “Augmented Reality OS (operating system)” for an unspecified innovative AR device, as Meta (formerly Facebook) and Apple aim big on the future of AR and Metaverse.

A senior Google executive Mark Lucovsky said in a LinkedIn post that he will lead the Operating System team for Augmented Reality (AR) at Google.

“If you are interested in joining me on this journey, I’d love to talk,” he posted.

Image: Gray And White Google Building | Image credit: hk/Unsplash

Businesses that want to be digital leaders in their markets need to embrace automation, not only to augment existing capabilities or to reduce costs but to position themselves to successfully maneuver the rapid expansion of IT demand ushered in through digital innovation. “It's a scale issue,” says John Roese, global chief technology officer at Dell Technologies. “Without autonomous operations, it becomes impossible to keep up with the growing opportunity to become a more digital business using human effort alone.”

Image: https://www.technologyreview.com

In my role as mentor to many of you aspiring entrepreneurs, I often find you convinced that all you need to start is a unique innovation or idea, and now you are ready to jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, from my own experience, it’s not that simple, and not doing some preparation first can easily result in stress, lack of satisfaction, and a hard road to success.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

In the business world, there is a slight but important distinction in the terms incubator and accelerator. The terms are often used interchangeably, but technically, an incubator is for earlier-stage startups, and the term accelerator pertains to existing companies that desire to accelerate growth. Incubators and accelerators assist business leaders in the quest for success, including how to raise capital, which often involves connecting with VC (Venture Capitalist).

Venture capital (VC) investing is not easy and requires in-depth research and knowledge about the industry, a good network of people who can generate deal flow and industry insights. There is no equal and transparent access to the information. Only a small group of people has access to the top funnel of the best deal flow. The deal flows in this industry are asymmetrical, meaning you need to know the right people to be in the right deals, while in the public market, anyone from any place in the world has nearly the same ability to invest.

Paul Simon’s multimillion-selling 1986 album Graceland might not sound like the most obvious soundtrack for this week’s World Conference on Creative Economy at Expo 2020 Dubai. But as the three-day celebration of the importance of diversity in the cultural industries came to a close on Thursday night, journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell said Simon's process of making one of the most popular records of all time has become an object lesson in the importance of inclusivity and experimentation.

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Gladwell

With the reality of LinkedIn, Facebook, and dozens of other websites profiling you, the old-fashioned written resume is an artifact of a hiring practice that is now superfluous. The real “resume” that you have to live with is everything that you or anyone else has posted about you on any site on the Internet. You don’t dare hide, since the biggest negative is no Internet presence at all.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

The last year has been extraordinary. A sustained bull market across all asset classes, including venture capital. Rather than the mini-boom in later stage funding predicted 12 months ago, it has been a maxi-boom at almost all stages of raising investment.

Going into 2022, the market continues breaking records. Here are two trends to watch:

The U.S. patent system, which should fuel invention, is increasingly being abused to hinder innovation. It desperately needs reform, and there’s one critical fix that can happen today to help ensure the system works for innovators and entrepreneurs of all sizes.

Kathi Vidal, the Biden administration’s nominee to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), recently had her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senators from both parties — including Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina — asked Vidal about issues related to the NHK-Fintiv rule, which was unilaterally imposed by the previous USPTO director in direct contradiction to bipartisan legislation passed by Congress. NHK-Fintiv restricts access to transparent, expert infringement claim review at the USPTO, instead forcing innovators to enter into expensive litigation or settlements.

During my many years in business, both as a professional and an entrepreneur, I always wished I knew the secret to success. Although I was never able to pinpoint any single one, I have gathered some insights which I’m certain are key. In more recent years as a mentor and angel investor, I’ve been even more determined to pass this guidance to those now entering the workforce.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com