Congress advances sweeping tax bills touching on R&D, AI, and more
The market for carbon-free, reliable energy is growing along with a rising electricity demand. Josef Hjelmaker, through his company, Electric Outdoors, plans to save millions of dollars in electrification conversion costs and make long-term access to the outdoors safer and more sustainable for all. We sat down with Josef to discuss his company, his experience raising capital in Michigan, and the recent American trade policy shifts.
Artificial intelligence is a foundational technology driving innovation in every corner of the economy.
Lawmakers are advancing proposals that would require startups to disclose detailed information about their AI training data, specifically the sources and copyright status of the content used.
Charlotte Ketelaar is passionate about using her background in investment to help startups raise capital. While mentoring a variety of startups, she found a wide gap between the founders and investors, which led her to co-found Capwave AI. Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down and discuss her product, the role of open source, and more.
In the name of “individual rights and free expression,” WikiLeaks has released the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Negotiations over this trade agreement began in secret between 12 Pacific Rim countries in December 2012, and despite the secrecy, we know (from a previous leak) that discussions have covered intellectual property, competition and State-owned enterprises, environmental policy, services and investment, and government procurement, among other issues. But how will this impact startups?
Today, 39 prominent venture capitalists sent a letter to Congress urging comprehensive legislation to address the patent troll problem. Together, the signatories have aided the success of companies such as Netflix, Twitter, and Kickstarter, and they invest upwards of $1 billion annually to ensure that even more young, high-tech companies continue to grow and fuel job creation in the United States.
America's low ranking is alarming, especially given the US's assumed dominance in the global political economy and its role as a cross-border cultural arbiter. When you consider that the domestic technology industry is a major exporter of inventions and ideas, the concern over this country’s poor performance on gender equality should become only more acute.
To date I have been operating on a rather simple premise. If democracy equals freedom and freedom equals privacy then - by the transitive property of mathematics - democracy and privacy must be intricately linked. Like all constitutional queries, the discussions we are having about privacy - and those yet to be had - are centered around a single question: what kind of country do we want to live in?
We use the internet every day to work, read, watch and play. But for residents of low-income neighborhoods, internet access can be useful for more than solving “first world problems”. It can mean a plan during disasters, better health, safer streets, a stronger community, and economic opportunity. The Red Hook Initiative is helping one community in Brooklyn turn things around.
Entrepreneurs, young businesses, and emerging, high-growth technologies are powering what resurgence there is in the American economy. But these businesses are subject to an arcane, onerous system of patent regulation that leaves them vulnerable, and that vulnerability is abused by patent assertion entities and their allies to leverage that system against innovators. With this reality, we are faced with two options: a broken system, or the chance of a reformed system that champions innovation and growth.
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law that amounts to a big victory for startups and their investors. Assembly Bill No. 1412 reverses a 2012 adjustment that would have resulted in massive retroactive taxes on investors and small business owners. Engine’s estimate on the new rule's impact on startups empowered advocates looking to overturn the adjustment with a data-rich perspective on future investment, business, and employment growth.
Here’s what we know about the Affordable Care Act: 32 million Americans who would otherwise be uninsured will now have coverage. What you might not know is that Obamacare could also boost entrepreneurship by decoupling healthcare from employment. The pressure to be employed by a larger company is loosening as the Affordable Care Act makes it easier and less expensive to purchase individual coverage.
Despite the current government shutdown, the march towards immigration reform is continuing. Last week, House Democrats released a comprehensive reform bill, and House Republicans too are working on solutions behind the scenes.Amidst signs of poor economic performance that will only get worse with the current shutdown and looming debt-ceiling debates, a comprehensive solution to immigration reform makes economic sense.
On Friday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission announced its intention to launch a study of Patent Assertion Entities, commonly referred to as “patent trolls.” While a host of interesting research on the patent system has surfaced over the summer, the FTC’s involvement could lead to the evaluation of brand new information that will aid legislative efforts.
A new study from the Progressive Policy Institute puts the economic cost of patent trolls at $83 billion. Patent trolls are capitalizing on a system which, as currently constituted, does not adequately service our growing economy. It is a system within our power to reconstruct, and while that work is underway, we need this community to continue to support those efforts to bring them to fruition.
This week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that aims to protect the online privacy of minors in California by fashioning a right to erase content posted on the internet. The new law is specifically designed to protect "the teenager who says something on the Internet that they regret five minutes later," but it also leads to questions about broader online privacy issues.
The lofty aim of the Common Core is to raise achievement levels in public schools across the country. As a nation, we must ensure minimum attainment in preparation for college, a new economy, and for life. We must build this solid base before we can hope to sustainably foster spectacular achievement.
Effective solutions to low educational attainment, specifically in STEM subjects, remain hard to find. Since the United States education system has so far failed to produce enough high-tech talent -- in the right places -- many U.S. firms are sourcing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) talent from around the globe. But immigration reform is only a short-term solution to the talent shortage. To truly solve the problem, we must consider large-scale education reform. Holistic reform of education is a sustainable mechanism for economic growth, and the most direct solution for building a society of skilled individuals prepared to participate in the economy -- and specifically to replenish the high-tech labor market.
In banning software patents, New Zealand has done the equivalent of amending section 101 of the Patent Act that helps define what is, and is not, patentable. As a refresher, this oft-cited section is intended to preclude patent protection for laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. Can the U.S. do the same?
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.
