AI Biweekly: OpenAI Launches For-Profit Arm; Patents Pave a Digital Empire
Biweekly Review
Kelly Xie — Analyst, Global Industry
OpenAI Launches For-Profit Arm
OpenAI is a non-profit artificial intelligence research organization co-founded in 2015 by Elon Musk and Sam Altman, the president of startup incubator Y Combinator. The organization’s mission to promote and develop AI to benefit humanity as a whole grew out of the founders’ belief that profit-seeking tech giants would not prioritize such a goals. It was therefore something of a surprise to the AI community when OpenAI recently decided to incorporate a for-profit model in order to raise money for computing power and scientists. AI-related research is costly and it’s extremely difficult for a non-profit organization to operate in the sector without strong financial support.
March 11 — AI Research Group Co-Founded by Elon Musk Starts For-Profit Arm
- OpenAI is starting a for-profit arm to attract venture capital, and will reward employees with stock options. OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever says the structural change is more about enabling OpenAI to purchase vast computing power than rewarding researchers with high salaries.
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-11/ai-research-group-co-founded-by-musk-starts-for-profit-arm
Robert Tian — Senior Analyst, Global Industry
Patents: The Pavement of a Digital Empire
Patent royalties provide one of the most lucrative profit centers for public companies. Huawei’s telecommunication equipment patents bring it millions in global licenses fees. Siemens is trying to establish the same advantage for itself in industrial artificial intelligence. According to a recent Siemens and European Patent Office announcement, Siemens ranked №1 in patent submissions withing the EU for fiscal year 2018. More than 25 percent of the company’s patents are tied to digitization, artificial intelligence and industry 4.0 strategies. Siemens’ ambitions in the digital manufacturing field are clear.
March 12 — Siemens is the Leader in European Patent Applications
- The European Patent Office announced the application ranks for 2018. Siemens is №1 enterprise in patent submissions (2493) in fiscal year 2018 within the EU region.
- More than 25 percent of Siemens’ submitted patents in the EU are in areas related to industry 4.0 and digitization.
- Siemens also reported a significant increase in patents in the artificial intelligence and cyber security field.
- https://www.siemens.com/press/PR2019030178COEN
10 AI News You Must Know
March 15 — Facebook Launches AI tool to Remove “Revenge Porn”
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/revenge-porn-facebook-launches-ai-tool-to-find-and-remove-revenge-porn/
March 13 — Intel Executive Leads Artificial Intelligence Researchers Linking AI to Quantum Physics Insight
March 12 — British Panel Calls for Stricter Antitrust Rules on Tech Giants
March 8 — Canada’s Space Strategy Focuses on AI, EO and Deep-Space Robotics
March 7 — FDA Grants Breakthrough Designation to Paige.AI
March 6 — Google Brings its Duplex AI Restaurant Booking Assistant to 43 States
March 5 — Self-Driving Trucks to Begin First Commercial Deliveries in China
March 5 — New Federal Directive Looks to Increase Automated Decision Making in Government
- https://betakit.com/new-federal-directive-looks-to-increase-automated-decision-making-in-government/
March 4 — Singapore’s Government Plans an Inter-Agency Taskforce to Assess AI Development Capabilities
March 4 — Google AI Open-Sources New Method to Train Large Neural Networks
Presented by Synced Industry Analyst Team
