Gary A. Bolles

NFX is amazing. I love this pre-seed and seed funding team because they are the rare VC firm that provides innovative thought leadership in addition to financing. "NfX" stands for network effects, and they are particularly interested in partnering with startups and visionary teams that understand and center network effects in their products and services. The latest thought leadership article by NfX is titled "Why Great Bioplatforms Will Always Win." The key insight is that "a platform built on stellar IP and backed by a sharp business strategy is always “cool” because great platforms should make great assets. Full stop. It’s about balancing platform and asset development strategically. One should fuel the other and vice versa." You can find a link to the article in the comments. * the image below is from the NfX site

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What a difference a dozen years make! In 2012, we created and launched the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program. We could barely imagine at that time the extent and rapidity of the progress that was about to occur in machine learning and related fields. But we believed deeply that having a pathway for getting technologists into high-impact public service mattered. Yesterday, as part of President Biden's AI Talent Surge, the US Government announced a new PIF cohort consisting exclusively of leading AI experts to help ensure that eight key departments -- Justice, State, OMB, DoD, and more -- responsibly develop and use AI tools in order to effectively achieve their missions on behalf of the American people. Just as every organization became a tech organization in recent decades, so too will they need to graft AI onto their DNA in order to meet the rising expectations of the public. I'm heartened that these AI PIFs answered the call and will now use their diverse backgrounds and invaluable experiences in data, systems design, governance, equity, and security to make sure that AI works for everyone. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ebwXZxmi #AI #ML #DigitalGov #TechForGood #USA

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Interesting piece from Marc Andreessen on how startups are not getting the regulatory support they need to sustain America's technological leadership. "Regulatory agencies have been green lit to use brute force investigations, prosecutions, intimidation, and threats to hobble new industries, such as Blockchain. Regulatory agencies are being green lit in real time to do the same to Artificial Intelligence." While many investors themselves (both in the US and Europe) are worried how AI will change our lives, our jobs and social interactions, the top VC opinion leader thinks regulation is already too restrictive. #techstartups #techleadership #strategicgrowth

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Tomorrow! 💫 I'll be presenting my "Getting Started with Generative AI and ChatGPT" webinar for the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County (MD) community. This is designed for folks who want to know the basics of AI -- we'll explore these questions: 👉 What, exactly, is Artificial Intelligence? 👉 What's the difference between conventional AI and generative AI? 👉 What's a Large Language Model? 👉 What are best practices in using ChatGPT and Claude? 👉 How can ChatGPT help with mundane tasks? 👉 How can ChatGPT help with time-consuming tasks? 👉 What are some of the pitfalls of generative AI? 📆 WHEN: 11am - 12:30pm (Eastern) on Wednesday November 13 🌐 WHERE: Online -- register through the link below ⬇️ 🤝 FEE: $10-25, depending on membership. However, if your org is unable to pay the fee, please let me know and I'll make sure you are still able to attend. 🙋 Questions? Just let me know. https://lnkd.in/eUJa3MAC #AHCMC #GenerativeAI #webinar

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NM Entrepreneurs—Thinking of joining an accelerator? Here's good insight from The Wharton School: "Accelerators that include more training activities, like pitching competitions, advice specific to certain industries, and structured learning sessions, tend to improve startup business success rates after they finish the accelerator. A few in-state accelerators exist for all types of businesses (not just high-growth tech). Choose wisely, AND make sure you are willing to do the work. #NMstartups #NMInno https://lnkd.in/gMMSYVRW

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Do not procrastinate. The title of this issue was born out of a conversation with Dan Brassington. Thanks, Dan! We, "startups," need to be "Catalysts" for a change! A startup is an entity that uses technologies to "streamline" the world's inefficiencies. But sometimes, this does not work, especially for Japanese-Traditional-Companies (JTCs). There are times when "efficiency" alone does not resonate with incumbents. They need a story that will move them. https://lnkd.in/gAAYe3Jj #efficiency #JTC #corporates #traditional #innovation #startup #startups #ikuohiraishi #ikuo

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Join us for an important conversation next week about platform design and elections with Glenn E., Ravi Iyer, Kaili L., and Nicole Schneidman - how is tech getting in the way and/or facilitating election integrity? 🤔 https://lu.ma/59uxawc5

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Kudos to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for convening one of the largest interdisciplinary gatherings of #AI leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers and academics. Thank you to John Werner, Sandy Pentland and Randall Lane for bringing us together. Together with fellow panelists Jeffrey Saviano, Dr. Sasha Luccioni and Ra'ad Siraj we excavated AI Governance, Sustainability, and Scale, and the imperatives of ethics, corporate values and responsible business with a principled-based approach to #AI. As with driving, like business, brakes let you go faster. It feels counter-intuitive, but without brakes we would drive really slowly. A great moment for advancing #AI, with the MIT Media Lab hosting 2000+ attendees, 180 speakers, 80 AI startups, 67 "lightning talks", 36 panels, and 35 technical talks, spread over 4 tracks. #artificalintelligence #startups #entrepreneurship #mit #tech #esg #sustainability #LLM #generativeAI

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Startup radar time! We’re back with another spotlight on startups making moves in Seattle: Govstream.ai, led by Safouen (Saf) Rabah, is using artificial intelligence to help government leaders improve the permitting and urban development process. Integrate, led by John Conafay, aims to help companies streamline program management for hardware development. Sound Games, led by Mike Schmid, is developing video games and “other things related to making games." Tamnoon, led by Marina S., offers a cloud security software platform boosted by AI. Yara AI, led by Joe Braidwood, uses advanced language models and deep memory features to help customers boost mental wellness. Read more about the startups and their leaders here: https://lnkd.in/gVi3KpgK

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This is a fascinating read (...I might be biased) on what makes startup accelerators successful (co-written by Benjamin Hallen at the UW Foster School of Business). The authors found 3 key elements of differentiation: 1. The pacing of mentor conversations, where more condensed exposure to mentors in ‘bursts’ somewhat counterintuitively yields the best outcomes; 2. Encouraging close collaboration and some competition between peers in the program for mutual support, inspiration, and motivation; 3. Delivering a lockstep curriculum with fixed phases and programming for all participants simultaneously, rather than allowing founders to move at their own pace. https://lnkd.in/gkh6Q6pr

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Excited about what Anthropic and Menlo Ventures is doing for early stage companies. I am a non-stop #claude Anthropic user and it's amazing how great the product is and how much can be built on it to solve big problems. I have been very excited about this investment into Anthropic but now I am even more excited about the impact they are going to have in the startup community. More and more companies are doing this , I am hoping this leads to a world where lot's of VC courting startups with favorable term sheets. #founders #ai #startups #fund #vs #investing #familyoffice

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🆕For New America: #Communitycolleges unite to scale #AI workforce education: An exclusive first-look at the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded National Applied Artificial Intelligence Consortium. In recent years, community and technical colleges have emerged as an underappreciated destination for AI education, stepping up to meet employer needs. AI educational offerings exist at community colleges in most U.S. states. They range from non-credit and credit-bearing #certificates to associate’s degrees and, most recently, applied bachelor’s degrees (nearly half of U.S. states permit their community colleges to offer applied baccalaureate.) Unfortunately, community colleges often face #underinvestment compared to their university counterparts, and many need to build their capacity to teach effectively in #emergingtechnology fields, which are subject to more uncertainty than established occupations. A national consortium formed by and for community colleges is set to meet that need for the #AIworkforce. With a $2.8 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant, Miami Dade College, in partnership with Houston Community College and Maricopa Community Colleges, is launching the National Applied Artificial Intelligence Consortium. The consortium will work to scale the access and improve the quality of AI and workforce training at community colleges. “This collaboration among our three colleges represents a significant leap towards bridging the AI skills gap and creating transformative opportunities for our students,“ Steven Gonzales, Chancellor of the Maricopa County Community College District. Miami Dade President Madeline Pumariega, who has written about the college’s approach to AI education, said she was “proud” of Miami Dade College’s role as a national leader in AI workforce development and that the college was “honored to be entrusted with this important initiative.” Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher of Houston Community College, the first two-year institution to launch an associate's degree in AI in Texas and the first community college in the nation to launch a bachelor's degree in AI and robotics, said the initiative "aligns perfectly with our mission to prepare students for jobs of the future." The consortium will be administered by faculty and staff from the three institutions co-led by Eduardo Salcedo, Lead AI faculty, and Antonio Delgado Fornaguera, Vice President for Technology Partnerships at Miami Dade College, who serves as a New America #FutureofWork & Innovation Economy Fellow. Learn more, share your thoughts, and see how to get involved here: https://lnkd.in/eRPA5_aS

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If you live inside someone else's semantic landscape, you will undoubtedly lose. Thank you to Carl Franzen @ VentureBeat for letting me discuss how New Industry VC's Narrative Command thesis is applicable to elections. What is Narrative Command? Narrative Command is the concept that in every new market there is a startup that defines a vision of the future…which becomes the default future for that vertical. They define the language of the vertical, forcing everyone else to use that language. They define the seminal experience, and then give audiences or customers a taste of that experience. They boundary the discourse, forcing everyone into it. Once a company seizes Narrative Command in a new vertical, competitors — whether pre-existing or new — must live inside that narrative. Taken to its logical conclusion, Narrative Command becomes self-sustaining, where stakeholders, fans, customers, allies, investors — AND EVEN COMPETITORS — perpetuate the narrative. The best example of this is, of course, Tesla, which possesses Narrative Command of both electric and autonomous vehicles. NIVC invests in seed-stage Deep Tech startups with Narrative Command potential: www.nivc.us And if a startup just wants help with NC, my advisory firm is ready to help: www.johnson-roy.com

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It is great to see DARPA engaging broadly with startups and the private sector (as it always has) to discuss what technologies could be most critical to future national security. In such a conversation today ppl mentioned quantum computing, encryption and sensing, semiconductor design and manufacturing, new materials and chemistries, AI Safety and risk of AI aided bioterrorism and biological warfare, zero knowledge proofs, fully homomorphic encryption, US weapons and broader defense manufacturing capacity, hydrogen production technologies, and autonomous swarms.

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Wing Venture Capital's Founder Docs project is a unique collection of startup wisdom, by founders, for founders. The authors of the docs are talented founders themselves, sharing their experience on the topics they are most passionate about. I'd like to highlight the contributions of Edo Liberty, founder / CEO of Pinecone. Edo writes about the special opportunities for the scientist / founder (and he is one of the best of this breed!), as well as some of the risks and challenges they face. I got a lot out of reading Edo's stuff and I suspect you will too! https://lnkd.in/g_wyRMiE

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"One exciting model I’ve been discussing with some of these investors would combine traditional VC incentives (fund that one unicorn > scale > acquisition > get rich) with a commitment to resource tech’s open, nonprofit critical infrastructure with a percent of their fund. Not as investment, but as a contribution to maintaining the bedrock on which a healthy tech ecosystem can exist (and maybe get them and their limited partners a tax break). Such support could—and I believe should—be supplemented by state capital. The amount of money needed is simply too vast if we’re going to do this properly." https://lnkd.in/epryfUCU

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When we launched Scout, we leveraged a third party tool called Partner Fleet. The use case for their product wasn't an economic development and site selection marketplace. But they were amazing partners and we made it work. Since then, Lucas Wiley completely rebuilt our platform. Now, our public (and free) platform (Scout Explore) showcases the best states and cities for business. Employers and Selectors use our site to find: ✅ City/State Economic Overviews ✅ Target Industries ✅ Economic Development Team Contact Info ✅ State and Local Incentive Data ✅ Key Tax Data ✅ Reviews from Local Employers ✅ Industrial Real Estate economic developers use our platform to: 🙌 showcase their community 🙌 use employer reviews to build trust 🙌 list industrial real estate 🙌 attract new biz and retain existing biz So much more coming from Scout. I’ll be sharing the details over the coming weeks. To give you a sneak peak, we’ll have profiles/data for: ⭐️ Industrial Builders ⭐️ Incentives ⭐️ Site Selectors ⭐️ Utility Companies Scout Explore is just one step in the Site Selection and Incentive Discovery Process. But there’s many more pieces to the puzzle. Stay tuned. explore.scoutcities.com

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Lexington Books managed to release my book Disagreeing despite the Data before the election. It argues the belief segregation underway in the US may be irreversible. Today's battles over climate change, disease mitigation, and election results run deep -- they're cognitive, not just strategic. Here's the gist of it. 20th-century revolutions in the philosophy of mind, meaning, and matter uncover three surprising requirements for widespread factual agreement. Critical thinking and community building have the potential to reverse two of them -- the growing refusal to test assumptions and individual isolation. Factual agreement between groups is impossible without the third one, though -- shared projects or other meaningful interaction. And a large part of American society has insulated itself from the rest. Without shared projects, communities gradually lose the ability to tell whether they agree or not regardless of the words they use. Belief segregation with similar roots has led several developing countries to the brink of failure. We'd better watch out. The attached flyer gives a discount code that makes the book -- priced in this initial run for academic libraries -- a little more affordable. Please feel free to forward it and, if you're connected to any libraries or book stores, pass it on!

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Be sure to vote for our session. Carnegie Learning

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