The Big Story: As broadband subsidy program ramps up, lawmakers eye next steps. The need for universal broadband was back in the spotlight this week as lawmakers discussed the impacts of the digital divide, especially during the pandemic. At a hearing Tuesday, the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government examined the impact a lack of affordable, reliable broadband has, especially on rural communities and communities of color.
Anne Kim—Co-Founder and CEO of Secure AI Labs (SAIL)—is a researcher at heart. While working through her graduate studies, Kim discovered a significant obstacle to her research in her efforts to obtain patient data from hospitals. This led her to the concept of SAIL, a data management platform that focuses on the need for accessible yet secure medical data. We sat down with Kim to hear what brought her to develop the platform, her thoughts on how startups and policymakers can be more forward thinking about privacy policy, and how she thinks the government can provide startups a boost as a partner and customer.
Today, Engine, along with the Charles Koch Institute and Startup Genome, issued a report looking at the overall health of the startup ecosystem. We hope this report can serve as a resource for policymakers considering a wide range of policy issues that impact early-stage companies across the country.
It may sound like a cliched talking point, but it’s true—small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. And that includes the small businesses of the technology sector, the thousands of innovative, tech-enabled, high-growth companies across the country that make up the U.S. startup ecosystem.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cripple economic growth across the globe, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and policymakers need to be prepared for trading partners seeking to recoup lost revenues through new international taxation measures. Specifically, more nations are considering implementing or have implemented digital services tax (DST) frameworks that would largely discriminatorily target U.S. tech companies to help cover budgetary shortfalls.
The Big Story: As broadband subsidy program ramps up, lawmakers eye next steps. The need for universal broadband was back in the spotlight this week as lawmakers discussed the impacts of the digital divide, especially during the pandemic. At a hearing Tuesday, the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government examined the impact a lack of affordable, reliable broadband has, especially on rural communities and communities of color.
Anne Kim—Co-Founder and CEO of Secure AI Labs (SAIL)—is a researcher at heart. While working through her graduate studies, Kim discovered a significant obstacle to her research in her efforts to obtain patient data from hospitals. This led her to the concept of SAIL, a data management platform that focuses on the need for accessible yet secure medical data. We sat down with Kim to hear what brought her to develop the platform, her thoughts on how startups and policymakers can be more forward thinking about privacy policy, and how she thinks the government can provide startups a boost as a partner and customer.
The Big Story: Endless Frontier Act advances through key Senate Committee with changes. The Senate Commerce Committee voted this week to advance a pared down version of the Endless Frontier Act, clearing it’s path for a floor vote. The bill would invest funds to prioritize research into advanced technologies and would authorize $10 billion to create at least ten regional technology hubs. While the original iteration of the legislation directed $100 billion over five years to the bill’s newly created tech directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF), after amendment, much of this funding would be directed to other NSF activities, with a portion of funds marked toward the directorate to be diverted to the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories.
Nombolo is a social media platform that enables users to engage with one another in real time, to answer questions and share experiences through geo-positioned videos and requests. We spoke with Prince Mlaudzi—Founder and CEO of Nombolo—to learn how he developed the idea for the platform from his love of basketball, the challenges he faces as a small platform developing systems for responsible content moderation, and how the government can do more to support underrepresented founders.
“The White House’s decision to formally withdraw the previous administration’s proposed removal of the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) is a victory for foreign-born entrepreneurs looking to launch high-growth, job-creating companies in America. The IER signals to entrepreneurs across the world that our country is a place where their innovative ideas are welcome, allowing the U.S. to remain a global hub of innovation and competitiveness.”
The Big Story: Spotlight back on content moderation as Facebook upholds Trump ban. Internet companies' content moderation decisions are back in the spotlight this week as Facebook’s oversight board—a panel of journalists, activists, and lawyers that reviews the company’s content decisions—announced that former President Donald Trump should remain suspended from the platform, prompting criticism and threats of legislation from Republicans in Congress. Facebook banned Trump in January after the insurrection attempt on January 6th, citing the ongoing risk of political violence. The board also said that Facebook was wrong to impose an indefinite ban and called for the company to decide in the next six months whether to restore Trump’s account, permanently remove him from the platform, or suspend him for a specific timeframe.
Onfleet is a tech startup that uses logistics management software and route optimization to power last mile delivery services for thousands of companies across a wide range of industries. We recently spoke with Mikel Carmenes Cavia—Onfleet’s Co-Founder and VP of Engineering—to learn more about his company’s work optimizing last mile delivery operations, policy concerns related to the legal delivery of cannabis, and how a European court decision last year invalidating the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield has impacted their business.
TLDR: As federal officials hold hearings on potential action against countries that have enacted their own digital services taxes (DSTs), U.S. startups remain concerned that they could be affected by the digital levies in the form of higher costs for needed services, or even subjected to the new taxes themselves. Rather than imposing unilateral DSTs that harm startup growth, countries and global officials should work to reach a uniform digital tax framework that provides certainty for Internet companies of all sizes.
The Big Story: Biden unveils plan to invest billions in education, child care. President Joe Biden unveiled an ambitious $1.8 trillion proposal—known as the American Families Plan—that would, in part, give Americans expanded access to education, create a federal paid family and medical leave program, and extend the expanded child tax credit included in last month’s stimulus package. In a speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Biden said the plan—along with his proposed $2 trillion infrastructure package—would help keep the U.S. at the forefront of global competitiveness.
Jean Anne Booth is a serial entrepreneur who came out of retirement when she and her mother realized an unmet need for technology to promote both safety and independence in aging populations. Based in Austin, Texas, Booth founded UnaliWear and developed the Kanega Watch to provide vulnerable individuals and their families better alternatives to live with the dignity and support they deserve. We spoke with Booth to learn more about her company, the prospects for funding medtech development, and her experience with the U.S. patent system.
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