The week's developments in AI, quantum, and biotech, explained | 17.04.24

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In this week’s AI & DeepTech digest, we spotlight a UK startup gearing up to initiate vertical farming in space by 2026, using a fully robotic system to cultivate vegetables in microgravity. Plus, luxury space tourism brand Halo Space has unveiled the design for its zero-emission balloon — would you take a ride for €150,000 a ticket?

Back on earth, EIC head Michiel Scheffer declares Europe the future quantum hub, and a recent survey posits that deep learning could unlock the secrets of mathematical proofs — will AI be the one to solve the Riemann Hypothesis?

Keep reading for lab-grown fish, 100x AI retinal scanning, and the future of digital displays — alongside the coolest AI tools to create, write, and try-on.

— Charlie and the Research & Intelligence Team 

P.S Limited availability for our CogX Transatlantic Accelerator at $795 (RRP $23,621). If you are or know a UK startup, they can apply now for over $20k worth of support to attend, exhibit, and network at the CogX Festival in LA on 7th May here

Innovation and Releases

🌱 Autonomous vertical farming startup is set to grow crops in space in 2026, with a project funded by the UK Space Agency. The initiative will use a fully robotic system to cultivate fruits and vegetables in microgravity, managing all stages from seeding to harvesting. 

🌍 EIC head Michiel Scheffer says Europe can be a hub for quantum. His investment strategy aims to enhance Europe's energy independence, reduce reliance on imported materials, and foster a unified approach in the quantum sector to cement Europe’s position as a leader in global innovation.

💰 Google will invest $100 billion in AI, announced Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind. Hassabis emphasised this commitment in light of escalating competition in the AI sector, highlighting the public's growing acceptance of technologies such as ChatGPT.

🐟 Bluu Seafood has launched Europe's first pilot plant for cultivated fish in Germany, advancing the commercialisation of lab-grown seafood. The process uses fermenters that cultivate cells from Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout to create products like fish sticks and fish balls. 

🚀 Halo Space unveiled a luxury design for their zero-emission space tourism helium balloon. The pressurised cabin, accommodating a pilot and eight passengers, features large windows for expansive views of Earth's curvature and space. Tickets are priced at €150,000.

AI Tools of the Week

🎵 Create: Udio is a text-to-music platform that lets users explore, create, and share music, featuring options for lyric writing, instrumental tracks, and playlist curation.

📚 Write: Novelcrafter is a novel-writing platform offering personal wiki for story details, AI-assisted brainstorming workshops and storyboard for planning.

🛍️ Try: Kopia is an AI virtual try-On tool that lets customers visualise how they look in different items using their body information and a face photo.

Latest Research

🔒 Researchers from Oxford developed "verifiable blind quantum computing," a method that lets users access quantum servers remotely without disclosing their identity or the details of their computations, keeping their information completely private.

📱 The future of digital displays is being shaped by Swedish researchers, who have created a screen where the LEDs can detect touch, light, fingerprints, and even the user's pulse allowing sensor functions to be integrated directly into the LEDs, eliminating the need for extra sensors.

👁️ AI has made retinal imaging 100 times faster and improved the clarity of the images by 3.5 times, thanks to a new technique called P-GAN. The method speeds up the process of capturing detailed images of the retina, helpful for diagnosing and studying eye diseases.

📚 Could deep learning help prove mathematical theorems? This survey suggests that it can, having reviewed 170+ research papers on the use of LLMs across most stages of the proof pipeline, including premise selection, auto formalisation, proofstep generation, and proof search.

In case you missed it

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🚀 Limited availability for our CogX Transatlantic Accelerator at $795 (RRP $23,621). If you are or know a UK startup, they can apply now for over $20k worth of support to attend, exhibit, and network at the CogX Festival in LA on 7th May here