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12 Jul, 2023

Musk announces formation of xAI

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Musk announces the formation of a company called xAI. The startup is geared toward artificial intelligence and employs several engineers who have worked for companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Along with the amount of funding it has, xAI’s specific objectives are unclear, as is exactly what it will focus on regarding AI. The company’s website says its goal “is to understand the true nature of the universe,” but adds that more information will be forthcoming “over the next couple of weeks and months.” Musk:

Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality

8 May, 2023

Musk breaks ground at Tesla lithium refinery

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Joined by Governor Abbott (R), Musk breaks ground at the site of the Tesla’s $375 million lithium refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, after arriving in a Cybertruck with shovels strapped to the sides. Tesla says the facility will help it secure a domestic supply of lithium hydroxide, a key ingredient used to make its batteries. Musk says the availability of battery-grade lithium is a “fundamental chokepoint” for the electric vehicle industry and others. Tesla aims to produce enough battery-grade lithium at the refinery to manufacture one million vehicles per year, and to produce more lithium than the rest of North America’s refining capacity combined there.

Tesla promises it will use an “innovative” process, designed to consume less hazardous reagents, such as hydrochloric acid, and create “beneficial use opportunities” from byproducts, which they expect to be mostly sand and limestone. However, the company did not disclose the specific chemistry it would rely upon for processing. Musk:

There’s no toxic emissions or anything — you could live right in the middle of the refinery and not suffer any ill effects.

Abbott praises Musk as the greatest entrepreneur on Earth, saying:

Texas wants to be able to be self-reliant, not dependent upon any foreign hostile nation for what we need.

16 Apr, 2023

Musk launches X.AI

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Musk launches X.AI, an artificial intelligence company. The company, incorporated in Nevada in March, has Musk as its director and Jared Birchall, the director of Musk’s family office, listed as its secretary. Musk plans for the firm to compete with the Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Musk reportedly sought funding from SpaceX and Tesla investors to get the company started. The X.AI name matches the branding of the X Corp. name he has since assigned to Twitter, along with the ‘X’ label he’s applied to his vision of an “everything app.”

10 Jun, 2020

The Majority

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The Devlins launch The Majority, a website that aims to unite the silent majority who are dismayed and frustrated about the rise of Nationalism in Scotland, and give them the tools to fight back.

4 Oct, 2018

NewsBlocks launches Blockchain-based trusted news platform

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The Social News Company Ltd. launches NewsBlocks, a blockchain platform for building next-generation news applications, such as trusted news feeds, fact-checking systems and fake news detectors. NewsBlocks starts from the insight that the traditional news article — a form of news designed to be printed on paper and thrown away each day — is not well suited to the digital age of mobile, instant data. The project’s primary goal is to convert all the world’s news articles into data, and store it permanently on a tamper-proof, censorship-resistant blockchain, where it can be searched, sorted, filtered and organised by anyone in new ways to create trusted news applications. Because each piece of data also has a price, NewsBlocks also creates the first global marketplace for news data.

Mark Devlin, CEO:

Once news is data, it can — for the first time — be verified, stored and priced so that anyone can use it to create the next-generation of news products and services.

21 Jun, 2016

Launches Smashd Group

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Carter and Havas launch Smashd Group, an extension of his online news vertical and business accelerator, at Cannes Lions. Carter’s team of 20 Smashd employees at Atom Factory will assist Havas’ global network of corporate clients on brand consultancy, technology strategy and other innovations. Carter, on the difference between large brands and artists social media presences.

We don’t touch our artists’ Twitter or Instagram accounts. [But] when you have multiple people running a digital department, it’s very difficult for that voice to translate throughout the organization into the community…If you’re Coca-Cola, General Mills, one of these big companies, they’re a big inspiration to most of these startups. So when you can marry that thirst for innovation within the biggest companies and the thirst for business development from these young entrepreneurs, we think it’s a perfect match, The idea of being able to do [Smashd] Labs on the tech side, and brand innovation, we can bring these two worlds together.

Carter also talks about the next area he sees that is set for disruption:

Banks are dead. I met with the founder two weeks ago who’s building a platform for music artists, from STEM, and basically they were gonna handle collections for music artists to collect royalties from YouTube and all these other platforms. After the founder showed me an artist’s PayPal account, which contained $250,000, she said, ‘None of the creators are gonna have bank accounts. For these kids, everything is happening on mobile.’ This group aren’t buying cars, so they’re not paying loans. They’re renting and not buying houses, they’re waiting to get married til their mid-to-late 30s. These kids aren’t going to college soon because they don’t want the student debt. So I think banks are ripe for disruption.

2 Oct, 2015

Leaves Atom Factory, launches Friends At Work

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Stiklorius leaves Atom Factory to start Friends At Work, her own own management company, where she will work with Lindsey Stirling and John Legend. Carter:

The only thing that I love as much as artists are entrepreneurs, and Ty has the makings of a great one. Although I’m sad to see her leave, I’m grateful for our time together and extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last three years. She and John are going to build a great company that will help other artists and have an impact on the community. They’ll always be a part of our family here at Atom Factory.

12 Aug, 2015

$200 million investment

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NBC Universal invests $200 million strategic investment in Vox Media, to form a partnership between the new and old media companies to collaborate on programming, advertising and technology.

10 Aug, 2015

Alphabet founded

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Page and Brin found Alphabet to hold all Google-related businesses. AlphabetAlphabet Google screen shothabet Inc will replace Google as the publicly-traded entity. All shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet — with the same rights. Page:

Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet. Our two classes of shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq as GOOGL and GOOG.

All of the businesses that fall under Alphabet will have their own individual chief executives. Page says that with the new structure, the company is planning to implement segment reporting for its fourth quarter earnings results. As such, Google’s financials will be provided separately from other Alphabet’s businesses. Page:

We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity’s most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search! We also like that it means alpha-bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for! I should add that we are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products–the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands.

27 Jul, 2015

All transgender modeling agency opens

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Apple Model Management, a Bangkok-based agency, is opening a division in Los Angeles that will cater exclusively to transgender models. The agency’s L.A. director:

Our strong commitment to developing them as successful models is never about quantifying or qualifying their gender. It’s never a question of if they are women or men, it’s about their passion and commitment to being the best possible models they can be.

24 Jul, 2015

JFK adds ARK pet terminal

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JFK airport’s animal terminalThe Spot Experience and Racebrook Capital are building The ARK — the world’s only animal terminal — at JFK international airport. The ARK is the first USDA-approved, full-service, 24-hour, privately owned airport quarantine operation for the import and export of horses, pets, cats and dogs, birds , exotic specialty animals, zoo animals and livestock. The facility is at Building 78 and spreads across 14 acres. The ARK is projected to transport about 70,000 animals a year.

Spot is thrilled to sign on as the exclusive operator of such a cutting-edge animal facility as The ARK at JFK. All airline passengers deserve the highest quality of care, including animals.

22 Jul, 2015

Announces SMASHD Labs tech accelerator

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Carter announces SMASHD Labs, an LA-based accelerator. SMASHD Labs will take between five and seven young tech companies whose focus is entertainment and culture and house them for 10 weeks in Atom Factory’s office, providing them with $50,000 in funding for 3% of the company, as well as providing a weekly “curriculum” in order to focus and define their idea.

Atom Factory Presents: Smashd Labs Season 1

8 Jul, 2015

Beyond Type 1 launch

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Jonas Type One Beyond imageJonas, de Baubigny, Lucas and Talbot launch Beyond Type 1, a non-profit organization dedicated to “bringing a new level of respect, understanding and support” to the global Type 1 diabetes community. Each of the founders has a personal connection to the disease: Jonas was diagnosed age 13, de Baubigny’s son was diagnosed at the age of five in 2012, Lucas’ daughter was diagnosed in 1998, age seven, and Talbot was diagnosed age 12. Lucas is the organization’s CEO. A website (http://www.beyondtype1.org/) has been set up to raise awareness. Jonas:

Nearly ten years ago my life changed dramatically when I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Since then, I learned how to manage and live well with this disease and made it my mission to speak openly about it with the hope of helping others deal with the struggles of managing diabetes in their own life. When I share my personal story, the questions I most often hear are, ‘What did you eat that gave you diabetes?’ or ‘Does that mean you were lazy as a kid?’ Although it’s been difficult to deal with the misinformation out there, I always found a way to not let the lack of knowledge surrounding diabetes affect me.  I can’t do that any longer, and that is why I’m excited to join Juliet, Sarah and Sam in BEYOND TYPE 1…With BEYOND TYPE 1, we will create a community for diabetics where they can share real-life stories about how they are living beyond Type 1 diabetes, and how they have shown that living with the disease has not slowed them down.

11 Jun, 2015

Launches Sidewalk Labs

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Google creates a new start-up company called Sidewalk Labs. Its purpose is to use technology and innovation to improve urban life. Page:

Sidewalk will focus on improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies to address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage

2 Mar, 2015

Launches Smashd

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Carter launches Smashd, (http://smashd.co/) an online news site dedicated to uncovering the personalities and trends in “tech, culture and hustle”. Smashd is the result of a six-month plan hatched between Carter and Kozlowski, a former writer-editor at Forbes who focused on covering entrepreneurs and the L.A. startup scene. Carter:

It came from internal conversations we’d been having around the office about where we get our news and information from in the morning. You’d go through blog after blog, and for us — living between the tech, music and pop-culture worlds — it just didn’t feel like there was one place where we could call home or a hub, especially as told through a very original lens.

The initial content is a mix of stories and videos that meet what Carter calls a mix of “Forbes meets Fader”

It’s very rare when you can get a real glimpse inside the life of an entrepreneur. So for us, most of the stories we’re gonna be covering, like through a series called ‘In Residence,’ will give a glimpse inside their environment.

14 Feb, 2015

10th Anniversary

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YouTube turns ten years old. The site was created by three Paypal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and  Jawed Karim, who registered the domain name on February 14, 2005. The first video ever uploaded on YouTube on April 23, 2005 was made by Karim’s friend Yakov Lapitsky and titled  “Me at the Zoo”. It has since been viewed more than 17 million times.

Lapitsky comments on his moment in internet history:

It’s neat, but I don’t think that much of it.

It is estimated that around 300 hours of video are now uploaded every hour.

29 Jan, 2015

Launches presidential exploratory committee

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Graham officially launches his presidential exploratory committee named ‘Security through Strength’ to look into his prospects for 2016 presidential elections.

I’m going to take a look at the presidential primary on the Republican side. We’ll have an organization up and running today…This organization will allow people to donate money and their time and resources to see if there is a pathway forward for me.

26 Jan, 2015

Launches PAC

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Christie launches a political action committee (PAC) in his first step towards presidential bid. The PAC is named Leadership Matters for America. Christie’s chief political adviser DuHaime:

We believe there’s a void right now in leadership throughout the country…We aim to support candidates who are willing to take on tough problems and make tough decisions.

6 Jan, 2015

Launches Right to Rise PAC

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Bush launches the Right to Rise political action committee (PAC)  to lay the groundwork for his 2016 presidential run. His allies also form a super PAC which allows to raise and spend unlimited sums of money.

We are setting up Right to Rise PAC which is a PAC to support candidates who believe in conservative principles to allow all Americans to rise up.

Jeb Bush Announces the Launch of Right to Rise PAC via Smart Phone