SF Weekly Pulse: Issue 02

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🌟 Editor's Note

Welcome to another exciting week in San Francisco's vibrant tech ecosystem! We've got a packed newsletter full of insights, events, and inspiring stories from the heart of innovation.

🗓️ Upcoming Deadlines

🚀 Stay Inspired

The Rise of Generative AI in Unexpected Places

• Healthcare Revolution: AI now generating personalized treatment plans in 67% of major hospitals

• Creative Industries Disruption: Generative AI creating initial drafts for films, music, and design projects

• Unexpected Stat: 42% of Fortune 500 companies now have dedicated generative AI teams

Quantum Computing Goes Mainstream

• Major tech companies investing billions in quantum infrastructure

• First commercial quantum computers now available for enterprise rental

• Potential to solve complex problems in minutes that would take classical computers thousands of years - article here

🦄 Startup Spotlight

Pixel Pioneers: The Quirky Startup Redefining Digital Creativity

They are a startup to watch as they are democratizing high-end design for small businesses, reducing design creation time by 80% & proving that creativity can be both seriously innovative and seriously fun.

The Backstory: Founded by three former Pixar animators who got tired of traditional design workflows

Key Innovation: An AI-powered design platform that turns stick figure sketches into professional-grade illustrations in seconds

Funding: $5M seed round, backed by Silicon Valley's most eccentric investors

🔥 In Case You Missed It…

Funding Roundup

• Quantum Leap Technologies secured $45M Series B, led by Sequoia Capital, to advance quantum computing infrastructure for enterprise solutions.

• EcoGrid AI raised $22M to develop machine learning algorithms for renewable energy grid optimization.

• MindSync Neurtech closed a $15M seed round to expand its brain-computer interface research.

🏆 Reader of the Week

The Flip Phone Rebel 

Despite developing state-of-the-art AI technology, Alex Rodriguez sports a beat-up flip phone that's become something of a local legend in San Francisco's tech circles. "It's my conversation starter," he jokes. "I can build complex machine learning algorithms, but I refuse to give up my trusty Nokia."

His colleagues often tease him about the phone, but Alex sees it as a symbol of his unconventional approach to technology. "Just because something is old doesn't mean it's not valuable," he says with a grin. "Same goes for people, algorithms, and apparently, mobile phones."

A graduate of Stanford's computer science program, Alex embodies the innovative spirit of San Francisco's tech ecosystem—proving that breakthrough innovation can come from someone who still uses T9 texting.

Did You Know? The first computer bug was literally a bug—in 1947, Grace Hopper found a moth trapped in a Harvard Mark II computer, coining the term "debugging" in the process.

Till next time,

SF Weekly Pulse

Humanoid Robot built especially for warfare

A San Francisco company called foundation has built a Humanoid robot by the name of Phantom MK 1, this robot is built especially for the purpose of fighting in a war situation. This is the first humanoid robot built especially for warfare and breaking away from the normal functions of humanoids robots.

Phantom MK 1 only function is fighting in a war battlefield, this is blurring the line from science fiction to reality. Phantom MK 1 is teleoperated and is primarily controlled like that, the goal is to also for war and Mars exploration which is under military control

Phantom MK 1 is around 5foot 9 and about 170 pounds, by 2026 Fundation plans to make 10,000 Phantom MK 1 robots that will be deployed to the military. Phantom MK 1 is controlled by telepresents VR headsets. The goal is to create these robots for combat safety for human soldiers who don't have to be in the line of danger on the battlefield. This maybe the beginning of robots who can be in the battlefield and the human soldiers controlling them via headsets from a save distance.

Find your customers on Roku this Black Friday

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Once you’ve done this, then you can easily set up A/B tests to flight different creative variants and Black Friday offers. If you’re a Shopify brand, you can even run shoppable ads directly on-screen so viewers can purchase with just a click of their Roku remote.

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Use code GET5K now