David Luan

My epic co-founder Tim Cheung did an excellent job (as always) in his latest post for Factory AI. The article is about how manufacturers can leverage the goldmine they’re sitting on—their data. First, he clears some of the fog on today’s hot topics: AI, ML, Deep Learning, and Gen AI. Second, he shares six relevant use cases, each accompanied by a case studies for each. Check out the link to the post in the comments. Give it a read and let us know your thoughts as always. #Manufacturing #FoodAndBeverage

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NEW: Ex-TuSimple CEO and cofounder launches a new robot truck startup Xiaodi Hou, the cofounder and CTO behind the failed startup TuSimple, is making another attempt to master robotic trucking. His new company just raised $20 million from venture investors and aims to launch commercial operations next year. Houston-based Bot Auto plans to operate autonomous semis on highway routes in Texas, hauling freight between warehouses and logistics facilities in Houston and San Antonio. Unlike San Diego-based TuSimple, which delisted shares early this year after a major implosion, the new company will own and operate its trucks directly rather than provide autonomous cargo-hauling technology as a service, Hou said. #selfdriving #trucking

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We’re in the transition phase from value creation through human labour to value creation through machine labour — labour being the key word. The jobs that’ll be replaced first are the most laborious. Three areas stand out: 1. Movement of People & Goods Autonomous vehicles. Wayve, Tesla, Waymo. 2. Movement of Parts Warehousing and robotics. Figure, Tesla. 3. Movement of Information AI agents. OpenAI, Anthropic. My back-of-the-napkin calculation suggests that over 250 billion human hours are spent each year in these areas. From delivering packages to component fabrication or intra-company accounting, we’re headed toward a future where over a billion people will need to rethink how they spend their working time. What’s interesting is that training for these laborious roles is incredibly skill-specific, making them particularly vulnerable to automation. In a way, they’re very non-human tasks, requiring situational awareness within the capabilities of today’s machines. This suggests a stark truth: each year, 250 billion hours of human life are spent enduring non-human behaviours to make a living. The issue? Many adjacent roles face a similar risk, pushing unprepared workers into potentially major career shifts. I think we’re dropping the ball when it comes to preparing today’s workforce for this shift. And we’re certainly failing the workforce of the future through outdated education. The shift to machine labour is happening. It’s glacial — slow, unstoppable, and world-changing. On balance, I think it’s a net positive. Fewer laborious, non-human jobs being done by people. But we need much greater emphasis on preparing people for that change.

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The newest issue of The Pragmatic Engineer found a surprise uptick in eng hiring in the typically slow summer season - I'm curious to see how the macro environment impacts this uptick as we head into the fall, but I remain hopeful. I asked Gemini to give me the tldr of the article to share with my team (sorry, Gergely Orosz) and found it missed one of the most interesting pieces of the article. Gemini's highlights - Unexpected surge: Tech recruitment has seen an unusual spike in June and July, contrary to typical trends. Increased demand: Startups, especially AI-focused ones, are driving the hiring uptick. Global phenomenon: This trend isn't just limited to the US; Europe is also experiencing increased recruitment activity. Reasons for hiring: Companies are backfilling positions, investing in growth due to improved financials, and responding to increased VC funding. Challenges remain: While the job market is improving, finding qualified candidates and offering competitive compensation remains difficult for many companies. What I found most interesting - The nature of the backfills: the article finds that a lot of new headcount are actually backfills of folks that were "over-slashed" during rounds of layoffs. Not entirely surprising with the "trim the fat" and "rebuild lean" mentality, but interesting nonetheless. Either way, the uptick is encouraging (and don't always rely on Gemini's tldrs). #hiring #startups #VCbacked #softwareengineering

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After a long hiatus, I'm excited to share my first newsletter! 🎉 Breaking down the unexpected Waymo-Uber partnership: - Former rivals join forces in autonomous ride-hailing - Uber gets AV tech, Waymo gains massive user base - Both face risks & regulatory challenges What does this mean for the future of transportation? Check out the full analysis in my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gQHPTKeh

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Shout out to Thomas Culhane, a student at UC Berkeley that is helping to bring real-time device data into Hotter Times this summer. He has already made some fantastic improvements to the site, and I'm excited to see what else he can achieve. Our vision is to realize the UN's dream of protecting everyone with an early warning system. Hotter Times will be the public-facing site for the Climate Adaptation Data Platform, where sensor data is transformed into personalized climate risk alerts. When you install a device, the data will immediately become visible on the site and anyone can view active climate risks tied to that device. https://hottertimes.com #climatechange #climateadaptation #reducesuffering #extremeweather #climateaction #iot #datascience

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This week I rode in a Waymo for the first time and it immediately made me think of the parallels between autonomous vehicles and smart home technology. Both are about taking complex and inefficient systems, removing friction, and creating a seamless experience for the user. With Waymo there’s no driver to guide the car yet everything feels intuitive and effortless. In smart home tech it’s the same goal: to give people solutions that simplify their lives—whether it’s automating temperature control, streamlining access, energy efficiency or customization. What excites me most is how these technologies are evolving to not just meet expectations but exceed them. The common thread is efficiency and time—freeing people to focus on the things that matter most. It’s amazing to see how these innovations are redefining industries and how much potential there is ahead. Smart tech isn’t just about convenience—it’s about creating a better way to live.

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This is f*cking hilarious: TuSimple's pivot from self-driving trucks to AI animation and gaming! 🤖🎮 Right now, everyone’s betting on humanoid and general-purpose robotics startups. But after 5 years in self-driving tech and building Kopernikus Auto, here’s the reality: most humanoid robotics companies will be dead. In the self-driving world, we’ve only seen a few real winners: Tesla, Waymo, and Comma.ai. Why?  - Humanoid robotics isn’t a hardware problem; it’s a software problem. - You either have infinite data, cash, talent, or a clear use case—or you won’t make it, no matter how much you raise. From over 100 companies, almost all in self-driving tech are dead or miles away from profitability. ✨ Don’t get distracted by the appeal of humanoids. Focus on real problems you can actually solve. What are you focusing on? 👇

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🚀 San Francisco: Still the Undisputed Tech Capital of the World Despite headlines suggesting otherwise, new research from SignalFire reveals that San Francisco's tech scene is not just alive—it's thriving. Here's why SF remains the epicenter of innovation: 📊 Key Findings: - SF dominates in tech talent and capital concentration - The Bay Area has more big-tech engineers than the next 10 markets combined - SF, East Bay, and Silicon Valley have more top startup engineers and VC-backed startups than Seattle, New York, and Austin combined - 26% of seed or Series A rounds from top VCs are in SF, with numbers rising since 2022 🧠 AI Boom: San Francisco's lead is even more pronounced in AI, cementing its position as the "epicenter of the new AI gold rush." 💼 Startup Haven: Y Combinator startups increasingly choose SF as their home base, especially in AI. 🌉 Why SF? - Unparalleled concentration of tech talent - Proximity to VCs, clients, and other entrepreneurs - Resurgence of in-person networking and collaboration 💡 The Big Picture: While other cities are growing their tech sectors, SF's lead "looks unlikely to be challenged any time soon." The city's tech ecosystem creates a flywheel effect that continues to attract talent and capital. https://lnkd.in/gCnPCBRU

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With the progress of Waymo and the Tesla event yesterday, something I wrote about in 2021 could become true as soon as 2027. In some industries (like ride sharing), marketplaces are just an intermediary step to aggregate independent suppliers. Ultimately, companies will figure out how to provide the service themselves at scale, and we'll have a few very large "super-suppliers". But in other industries (like e-commerce) where the consumer values creativity, consolidated suppliers won't be able to provide all of the new and interesting things that customers want, and we'll still need independent suppliers. Those industries will stay in marketplace mode much longer.

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🪄✨🤖 Magical AI Experiences 🪄✨🤖 In yesterday’s Stratechery Daily Update, Ben Thompson describes his magical first ride with Waymo: “The ride itself was, on any objective basis, pretty uneventful…What was really surprising to me, though, was how I felt about the entire thing. After Waymo greeted me by name, explained the process (which only happens on your first ride), and dropped me off with a cheery “Happy Friday”, I felt a twinge of — what is this?! — sadness as it drove away. I felt like I had just made a new friend, and now my friend was driving away after too short a time together.” Later in the update, he comments, “What was the most striking was how this experience made me think about Google: I felt a genuine surge of affection for the Internet giant.” ^^This is what we strive for at OfOne (YC W23). With voice AI, restaurant brands have a unique opportunity to rethink and deliver a differentiated brand experiences. When done correctly, AI can be delightful and immersive. We’re working really hard every day to enable our partners to provide this to their customers. The technology is there, and it's getting better every day. The brands that lean in and execute on this well will win customers hearts. Link to article below. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, you should be!

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To all my fellow Arizonans in particular… Here’s the Cliff Notes version of why our Silicon State focus on “atoms” in addition to bits is SO on point for our times. The world of atoms shall be underserved no longer. And Avanced Manufacturing (of all kinds of things in all kinds of industries) is right on the $! 🙏🏼🌵🚀 https://lnkd.in/gNbGmPsC

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The future of transportation has arrived in Los Angeles. Last week, Waymo’s fully autonomous vehicles opened their doors to the public, marking a significant milestone for self-driving technology. 🚗💡 Waymo cars rely on a combination of AI, lidar sensors, and high-definition maps to safely navigate the complexity of urban environments—all without a driver. Previously tested in Phoenix and San Francisco, the program’s expansion to LA highlights its potential for large-scale implementation in bustling cities. As these vehicles hit the streets, the question arises: How will this impact the future of urban mobility and ridesharing? Share your thoughts below. Are you ready to embrace this change? #Waymo #AutonomousVehicles #SelfDrivingTechnology #Ai #FutureOfTransportation #Innovation #LosAngeles #MobilitySolutions

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Kim Burgaard Rachel Perez Jay Leverett David Bellotti -- I'll be listening to this one for sure! Sergio H. Serge Madenian Episode Summary: The episode features an in-depth interview with Mike Krieger, the new chief product officer at AI company Anthropic, discussing his background, the decision to join Anthropic, the company's focus on responsible AI development, the challenges and opportunities in building AI products, and his vision for the future of AI technology and its applications. https://lnkd.in/guWW8cku

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Battery Ventures released their State of Open Cloud report last week. Really cool (and humbling!) to see Ravenna featured in the report alongside industry innovators ... including my other favorite Seattle startup Clarify - I see you Patrick Thompson Austin Hay Ondrej Hrebicek ;). The report analyzes the current AI market "supercycle," and projects a whopping $4 trillion in market value up for grabs 🤯. The point that caught my attention in the report - the emphasis on product design as a "critical force driving fast adoption and accelerating time to value" in AI-powered solutions. I couldn't agree more with this point. At Ravenna, we place a ridiculous emphasis on great product and user experience design as we believe they are essential to driving AI product adoption. Huge 🙏 to the Battery Ventures team for including Ravenna in the report! Link to the report in the comments below.   #Cloud #AI #Innovation #Enterprise #Tech #ITSM #ESM

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Waymo's recent doubling of its paid ride volume is an impressive business result. But what does the feat say about the state of the self-driving industry? And how does Waymo stack up against self-driving rivals like Tesla, and ride-hailing giants like Uber? We dive into these questions on the latest episode of TWIST

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