#30
#30
An update on Tesla's soul, global mobile phone data, ETH2 (EIP-1559) is coming, Warren Buffet resigns at Gates foundation, and how a handful of chip companies came to control the fate of the world
June 28, 2021
Good morning comrades, let’s have an exciting week.
The long-term stock exchange created by Eric Ries (Lean Startup author) announced the exciting news that Twilio and Asana are listing on LTSE. The Long Term Stock Exchange gives companies a way to find long-term incentive alignment with investors. It’s about the most regulated industry on the planet, so a daunting task Eric Ries has been on. Regardless, he seems to be gaining momentum, and it’s so exciting to see these well-known companies listing on the LTSE.
Andrej Karpathy, the director of AI at Tesla gave an update this last week about the progress of Tesla AI. He does a good job explaining how their path to full autonomy is different than the likes of Cruise or Waymo. A supercomputer, >1 million vehicle fleet data engine, Dojo, and solving for vision; Andrej is leading the biggest real-world AI project on the planet.
Benedict Evans’ chart on global smartphone data. See the small North American slice.
Warren Buffet steps down at the Gates Foundation. He wrote a short note worth reading, explaining how this won’t change much.
Today is a milestone for me. In 2006, I pledged to distribute all of my Berkshire Hathaway shares – more than 99% of my net worth – to philanthropy. With today’s $4.1 billion distribution, I’m halfway there.
EIP-1559/ London fork / ETH2, is coming.🦾🌅
How a handful of chip companies came to control the fate of the world
This white paper is short and to the point about the ongoing global supply chain risk of critical chip supply. The United States in particular is extremely dependent on both chips and critical chip components like sensors, switches, modems, etc. that are made in concentrated areas of the world. Alongside supply concentration; specific labor, specialized manufacturing knowledge, and growing unit prices are concerning for the US, notably in the face of further developing conflict with China.
“But how did we get to a place where more than half of all contract semiconductor manufacturing is handled by one company on an island whose sovereignty is in dispute; where a single organization holds what looks like an unassailable lead in photolithography; where virtually all memory is made by just three companies; and where it’s well-nigh impossible to even design a chip without software that only a couple of companies provide?”
-LUCAS