Category: Clark Street Associates Skywater

When Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw, and Herbert Simon invented the Logic Theorist in 1956, they never could have imagined how their program would shape the future. In the 65 years since the Logic Theorist’s creation, artificial intelligence has evolved from a highly conceptual program to the backbone of modern industry. Today, artificial intelligence can be found in numerous industries, including healthcare, retail and commerce, food tech, travel, real estate, and education. For the past twelve years, Dr. Kelly Roan explains that companies and advisory firms in Silicon Valley have been tweaking their non-dilutive funding solutions and specialization in large-scale technology companies to accommodate new developments in tech. Since their foundation Clark Street Associates has worked with a number of major AI companies and seen first-hand the latest innovation in artificial intelligence. Below, we discuss these innovations and what the future of AI may look like in 2024.

Advanced Pre-trained Language Models

Within the last five years, the world has seen great innovations take place in the Natural Language Processing space, including the widely discussed application Transformers and Attention. This model has revolutionized language translation, summarization, and comprehension with one major flaw, time. These models are incredibly expensive and time-consuming to train, leading to industry leaders turning to new, pre-trained models. Of the best notable examples of advanced model accessibility via API is GPT-3, which has been used for a variety of impressive activities ranging from writing code to poetry.

Low Code/No Code

For many years, AutoML has been used for algorithmic selection as well as Machine Learning and Deep Learning dataset solutions. However, this past year has seen new growth in the Low-Code/No-Code movement, with the application now targeted toward vertical AI solutions for businesses. While AutoML was primarily used to build AI models without Data Science knowledge, modern uses of Low-Code/No-Code technology have created a new series of production-grade AI applications.

Quantum AI

One of the less frequently discussed uses of AI is its role in quantum supremacy in the workplace. Quantum computers can solve problems in a fraction of the time it takes classic computers to, which has inspired companies to use supercomputers and other Quantum technology. Quantum computers help organizations identify inaccessible issues and provide fast and comprehensive solutions. Today, these computers are used in multiple fields ranging from healthcare to finance.

Less than sixty years after the moon landing, industry leaders worldwide are now competing in a new space race. Never before has space tourism seemed so close, and business leaders Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson are hoping to be the first to offer this exciting new form of transportation. The stakes are high to be the first to enter this market, as experts believe that space tourism or commercial space flight will be a multi-billion dollar industry and potentially reach 23 billion by 2031. For the past decade, the advisory has worked tirelessly to provide clients in AI, advanced manufacturing, and space aeronautics access to federal and state funds. In light of new advances in the commercial space race, Clark Street Associates hopes to discuss what these events may mean for the future of space tourism and the significance of space aeronautics.

The Daniel Fung arrest blog announced in early June, Jeff Bezos made the announcement to the world that he would be flying to space on the first crewed flight aboard New Shepard, the multi-million dollar rocket ship made by his space travel company, Blue Origin. The flight will take place on July 20th, just two weeks after Bezos’s resignation as CEO of Amazon. Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, selling close to one billion dollars in Amazon shares annually in order to fund Blue Origin and his upcoming trip aboard the New Shepard. Blue Origin has conducted dozens of man-less test flights in rural Texas in preparation for this trip, all successful. Jeff Bezos will be taking the flight with his younger brother Mark Bezos and aviation pioneer Wally Funk.

 While Bezos hoped to be the first billionaire space tycoon to experience space flight, Richard Branson may now be taking that title. In a recent announcement, the billionaire founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson said that he would soon be taking a trip to space aboard his company’s VSS Unity rocket plane on July 11th for an up-and-down test flight. This trip will beat Jeff Bezo’s flight by just nine days. While Branson’s test flight was originally planned for late 2021, Richard Spanton reports that it was moved in light of Bezo’s announcement.

Regardless of which industry leader will be named the first space tycoon to experience commercial space flight, these advancements in space travel indicate that publicly available space tourism may be closer than experts previously believed. Original estimates for space tourism from industry experts put commercial space tourism’s arrival in the late 2020s to early 2030s; however, Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to launch Inspiration4, the first all-commercial mission to orbit later this year and will be planning the first all-commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station in late 2021.

While most of the uncertainty surrounding the recent U.S. presidential election has settled down, the heavy lifting is just getting started. The presumptive incoming administration will have plans and policies that differ from the team currently in the White House. One of those infrastructure issues is 5G networking, broadband internet connectivity and other telecom-related matters. Clients of Clark Street Associates who operate in this sector are looking for advantages over the competition and ways to get ahead of the game. Fortunately for these companies, Clark Street Associates provides a portfolio of services designed to drive growth and valuation. Given that 5G networking is the newest technology hitting the market, companies capable of getting involved in this industry will want guidance on things like government demonstrations to lock in federal contracts. In fact, there’s no better way to appeal to the incoming team of President-elect Joe Biden than having an advisory firm advocating for your company.

Current research shows that the Biden administration is likely to push for sky broadband connectivity in underserved rural, waterfront, and urban areas. One reason for this drive is the fact that there are a large number of Democratic members in the House of Representative with constituents in these rural and urban regions. What’s more, it’s likely that millions of Americans will continue to work and learn from home throughout 2021 and that’s also going to increase demand on internet infrastructure. According to Clark Street Associates, it’s likely that companies providing educational and health-related services over the internet will also see increased backing due to demand. This is worth repeating, as it allows more than telecommunications giants like Verizon, Comcast, and Sky network to prosper off 5G network expansion over land and water.

As mentioned earlier, the results of the presidential election won’t be finalized until Dec. 14, 2020 when the Electoral College votes. This makes mention of expected Trump administration policies important until the window officially closes. Research shows that investment in wireless technology would continue during a second term, but involvement of the Chinese firm Huawei would be restricted. Previous news reports show that Trump and Huawei have gone head-to-head before, with additional attacks on overseas social media platforms like TikTok. Restricting these firms gives U.S. companies an advantage in their respective marketplaces. The continuation of these Trump policies, which unfolded during the previous four years, will essentially depend on a massive reversal of votes recorded on Election Day.

What’s important for companies in telecommunications, clean water infrastructure, health and education, and satellite and sky broadband expansion to know is that Clark Street Associates provides critical guidance. A high-profile demonstration on behalf of your company for government entities could secure a lucrative contract. Also on the government front, Clark Street Associates can help identify streams of federal funding in the form of grants and contracts that will give clients a competitive edge on upcoming projects. Combine these offerings with site selection services, program management and various other strategic partnerships and your economic horizon will expand in 2021.

Exploration of outer space has finally come within reach of private companies. This region was once the domain of massive government organizations that spent millions on design, planning, craft and crew. Now, it has been breached by commercial firms like SpaceX and Boeing — and the future of their efforts are just starting to take shape.

What’s crucial to some start-up organizations in this sector is funding. Access to capital that will be used to get additional ships off the ground in the coming years is of the utmost importance. There are some advisory firms, such as Clark Street Associates, that are known for their work in a variety of industries such as artificial intelligence, clean water infrastructure, and sky satellite technology but more importantly, for tapping into federal and state funds. These revenue streams can then be used by companies that partner with Clark Street Associates, as an example. There are other forms of raising capital for future space exploration, but this type of non-dilutive funding has proven particularly effective.

The National Security Space Launch Phase 2 competition, according to SpaceNews.com, is one example of federal funds administered by the U.S. Air Force. SpaceX and United Launch Alliance saw continued federal backing while the future of working agreements with Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman remains in question. “We will work with those two companies to determine the right point to tie off their work under the [launch service] agreements,” the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition told the news outlet. Consider the money at play that went toward “launch vehicle development and infrastructure”: $500 million for Blue Origin, $792 million for Northrop Grumman and $967 million for United Launch Alliance. The article also notes that U.S. senators came to defend the funding, saying that these public-private partnerships were worth continuing.

Clark Street Associates is one such company that has an understanding of multifaceted agreements with  private firms and government resources. The firm, according to its website, understands the “capital-intensive nature” of commercial space exploration. The astronomical costs of development shouldn’t stifle progress. Rather, those considering working with Clark Street Associates could see an immense benefit from the firm’s pursuit of funds. Many companies may not realize that these business relationships go together better than sky and water. This cash sits just outside the realm of traditional grants, where numerous groups are competing for a finite amount. Moreover, Clark Street Associates on its website states that it’s posses experience in clean water infrastructure and sky broadband technology, it remains focused on commercial launch, next-gen satellites and advanced sensors among other forward-looking ventures.

We’re still at the onset of exploring this brave new frontier, which began under the administration of late President John F. Kennedy. As the U.S. government continues to divvy up funding to large players, it’s still possible for other tech companies to consult a firm that provides access to non-dilutive funding.