Oct 18, 2017

SoftBank wants to become a major AI player

Steve LeVine

In a Sept. 20 speech in New York, Masayoshi Son, founder of the Tokyo company SoftBank, forecast that by 2047, the Earth will be populated by equivalent number of humans and robots — 10 billion each. And the robots, he said, will be "smarter than mankind." Over the last year, Son has been investing in that moment.

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Data: Crunchbase; Axios reporting; Chart: Chris Canipe / Axios

Why it matters: Son appears intent on becoming as big in artificial intelligence as the U.S. and Chinese tech titans that have dominated AI research — Alibaba, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Tencent and so on. Toward that aim, over the last year, Son's $93 billion Vision Fund has put down large investments in at least a dozen promising AI startups.

Son has also been on the looking for outright acquisitions. In June, he acquired two serious robotics companies — Boston Dynamics and Schaft — for undisclosed sums. The goal is to get ready for what's called “the singularity" — the time when robots and people reach equal numbers.

"What is my belief and vision for this investment? I have only one belief — [the] singularity," he said in New York.

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Caitlin Owens

AI's health care hype

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Two new studies highlight artificial intelligence's potential to improve patient care, specifically by aiding or improving cancer detection.

Why it matters: AI could create enormous benefits for patients and the doctors who treat them, but some experts warn that the explosion of new health technology could put some patients in danger, as the L.A. Times and Kaiser Health News recently reported.

Go deeperArrowJan 7, 2020
Jacob Knutson

Church of England to review ethics of its investments in AI and robotics

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images

The Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group plans to review over the next year whether its holdings in Big Tech firms are compatible with Christianity, the Telegraph reports.

Why it matters: The review will help determine whether the church's $15.6 billion investment fund should back companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google, which are pursuing artificial intelligence and robotics.

Go deeperArrowDec 22, 2019
Kia Kokalitcheva

Snap continues its acquisition spree with video animation startup

Photo: DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images

Snapchat's parent company confirmed to Axios that it has acquired AI Factory, the Ukrainian startup it worked with to develop its new "Cameos" feature that maps selfies onto videos, deepfake-style, a deal first reported by Ukraine tech publication AIN.UA.

Why it matters: Snap has a long history of smartly acquiring small, innovative startups to feed its product development. In 2015, Snap acquired AI Factory founder Victor Shaburov's previous company, Looksery, to use its facial feature detection and manipulation tech as the basis for one of Snapchat's most successful features, "Lenses."

Keep ReadingArrowJan 3, 2020