Faraz Hoodbhoy

I find it hard to believe that with millions of EVs entering the market and the proliferation of AI compute that PGE is actually going to have excess capacity in 2040 without any additional generation from 3rd parties. I am also curious if there are enough transmission lines and if PGE views that as someone else’s problem. Maybe they are planning on AI and ACTUAL figuring it all out! https://lnkd.in/gybsMmaw

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Brad Gerstner’s Invest America initiative is focused on addressing the growing wealth gap in the U.S. by creating long-term financial stability for future generations. The basic idea is to set up investment accounts at birth for every child born in the U.S., starting with a $1,000 contribution from the government, invested in the S&P 500. This initiative would allow each child to benefit from compound growth over time, providing a financial foundation as they grow up. It’s far less expensive than some of the expanded child tax credit proposals (which could also be great!), and deepens the connection between young people and overall U.S. economic growth and productivity. The goal is to create more equitable access to wealth-building opportunities, especially for lower-income families, while promoting financial literacy. Invest America is working now on nonpartisan coalition building and support from business and nonprofit communities, with the goal to propose legislation in early 2025. Check out the great Prof G Markets podcast below or the initiative website here: www.investamerica.org

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From 2017 - 2021, I lead growth efforts for Southern California’s largest innovation lab, Toolbox LA. 🚀 It was HQ for MiLA Capital, an early-stage hardware fund investing in tech you can touch. 🤖 I was fortunate to have amazing leaders who believed in my abilities and let me experiment. They also took the time to teach me new concepts about project management and finance. This was critical to our success. Without exceptional leaders, it's really hard to scale anything successfully. I feel so fortunate to have worked for smart, kind, and thoughtful investors who taught me so much. Thank you, Noramay Cadena, Carmen Palafox, and Shaun Arora for all that you've done to help my career. Here are some results I achieved through strategic marketing initiatives around customer acquisition (we had 2 business models: monthly membership fees and event space booking fees) 🚀 Grew memberships and revenue within the 24 months of operation from $4,000 to $35,000 MRR 🚀 Maintained a sales pipeline of over $500k in leads utilizing the HubSpot CRM system 🚀 Leveraged new and emerging industry-related digital channels (Peerspace, LiquidSpace, Croissant) for brand awareness and $150k in lead generation 🚀 Worked with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s team to launch Toolbox LA in tandem with LA’s Manufacturing Week, resulting in over 1000+ RSVPs, media coverage, and a continuation of successful government relationships 🚀 Launched First Fridays, a monthly event series showcasing local artisans, small businesses, creatives, and DTC brands There was a lot more we accomplished, but those achievements are the ones I am most proud of. Reflecting on this time, I am incredibly grateful for the ability to experiment. Freedom and trust within an organization are key to sustainable growth. We also had a major advantage in our value proposition: we were the only innovation lab in Southern California with open, community access to a full maker space, wet lab, and coworking amenities. I learned so much about product prototyping from the members and portfolio companies. I wish I could tell you this place still existed, but we were one of the unfortunate consequences of the pandemic. We shut down in January 2021. Now, it serves as home to Machina Labs, which is doing some truly innovative work in AI and manufacturing. I still use the Toolbox LA mantra when tackling hard problems: "Wake up, kick ass, repeat" This is just one chapter in my 16 years of experience in marketing, community building, and partnerships. Would you like to learn more about customer acquisition strategies? The RAR Studio is now accepting applications for Cohort 2 of Founder Bootcamp. You'll get to learn all my tips and tricks. And you'll also get 1:1 strategy sessions each week. Apply now: https://bit.ly/4aRHzF8 Would love to hear from anyone who's building something interesting and chat about growth strategies! #marketing #community #innovation #growth #leadership

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On June 6th our small and mighty California Senate Bill 54 team was honored on the floor for our groundbreaking work introducing data transparency to the venture capital industry. Participating in our regulatory process was life-changing for me. Everything was a novel experience: initial ideation, writing a bill, collaborating with Senators I deeply respect, testifying in front of the Judiciary Committee, and the tumultuous period before Governor Newsom signed it into law. I'm immensely proud of all of us for our work, collaboration, and impact. Standing on the Senate floor surrounded by my friends, colleagues, and family left me lost for words (and that's hard to do). We took part in our country's democratic process and made history. I was truly inspired. Regardless of your political "side," it's easy to feel helpless and revert to inaction. It's easier not to act. It also makes you feel scared and empty. I urge you to take action however you can. Once you start, the small steps turn into big ones. You'll feel in control and fulfilled. Legislators are people and they need to hear from you so they know what their constituents want. Here are some ideas: 👉 Look up your district Representative and Senator. Read their short bios and check out what Committees they're on. Write each one an email to introduce yourself as their constituent and list issues that are important to you. 👉 If you run a company, invite your Representative and Senator to visit, learn about what you do, and share what issues impact your business. 👉 Look at bills introduced by legislators in your state (they don't have to be your district) and follow the people you align with. If they introduce a bill you support, ask for an email template you can send to your Rep. This is super easy and truly makes a difference. So many people ask me how to get involved in advocacy. There's no magic here. Say what you think publicly and take action. Boom. You're involved. Kelly Kimball Marquesa Finch Divya Reddy Derek Ali Tracey Warren Samantha Katz Amy Kalokerinos Alison Overholt Amy Spurling Gitanjali Swamy Modjossorica (Rica) Elysee Karen Kelly 🌈 Lakshmi Balachandra Victoria Yampolsky #CivicEngagement #Advocacy #Legislation #TakeAction #SB54 #VentureCapital #DataTransparency #CaliforniaPolitics #CommunityImpact #GetInvolved #PublicPolicy #ChangeMakers #PoliticalAction #GrassrootsMovements #DemocraticProcess #Leadership #Empowerment #Innovation #PolicyChange #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Founders #Entrepreneurs

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Introducing the 2024 LA Hard Tech 50! 🚀 The momentum has become unstoppable for the ecosystem of entrepreneurs and engineers building in the hardware industrial ecosystem in Southern California. The story goes back over 100 years to the days of early aviation pioneers Glenn Martin, Allan Lockheed, Jack Northrop, and Howard Hughes, and to the founding of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory just before World War II. The macroeconomic, geopolitical, and technological tailwinds have been brewing for years, and the talent pool that accumulated in the legacy primes and subs became a tinderbox, where SpaceX served as a match and lit the industry on fire. The Algorithm, hardcore work ethic, and sense of responsibility and ownership instilled in SpaceX engineers built a uniquely entrepreneurial culture that is churning out new startup founders, and we’re now seeing second-order centers of excellence like Anduril and Hadrian. New startups are being founded almost every week in LA across space, defense, manufacturing & industrial automation, and energy & critical resources. The list was harder to write this year as the ecosystem has grown. The 2024 LA Hard Tech 50 includes 30 companies that were on last year’s list, and 20 new entrants who made a big impact this year. Nick Kim and I also give shout-outs to 5 key ecosystem builders and 10 exceptional operators in the community. There’s also a link to a more comprehensive Airtable list and a map of the companies. Let us know who we missed!

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⚡ Kicking off 🌎 Earth Day with exciting news as we unveil 8090 Industries' latest investment in Exowatt led by Hannan P. along with Sam Altman Andreessen Horowitz, Atomic, Overmatch Ventures, Protagonist, and many more. As the boom in AI heightens the energy demand for data centers, Exowatt is pioneering a fundamental breakthrough in baseload renewable energy that helps makes $0.01 per kilowatt-hour, 24 hours a day a reality for commercial and industrial use cases. 🏗 How does it work? The Exowatt P3, represents a breakthrough 3-in-1 modular system, a heat collector, a heat battery, and a heat engine capable of providing dispatchable power and heat 24 hours a day. Unlike traditional solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity directly, Exowatt uses a unique approach by storing solar energy in a thermal battery, which can retain this energy for up to 24 hours per day. The Exowatt P3 modules are designed to fit the space of a standard 40-foot shipping container. They can be deployed on small and large commercial and industrial projects, linearly scaling with workload size and infrastructure requirements. Best captured by Founder and CEO Hannan P. himself, an industrialist you're going to want to pay close attention to: “You don’t have to go back to fossil fuels to solve the data-center energy problem…That’s counterproductive and unlike traditional renewable solutions that require significant upfront costs and extended setup times, Exowatt's modular system can be deployed rapidly and cost-effectively – and it's available THIS YEAR. Exowatt is built to respond quickly to the escalating energy demands of the modern world, especially those spurred by the rapid growth of AI." 👀 Who Cares? Exowatt has a backlog of demand for OVER 500 megawatts for data centers across the U.S. and plans to begin deployments later this year. With this $20 million seed funding, Exowatt intends to expand its team and deploy the Exowatt P3 with its first set of data center customers. Stay tuned! Lots to come! cc Kerem Ozmen Wes Mendenhall Filip Vurdelja Haluk Sabanci Dincer Grant Brown Ishan Meswani Garuth A. Andrew Irwin Charles Oppenheimer Fatimah Bello #energyabundance #decarbonization #climatetech

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Introducing Stephan Little, a pioneer in entrepreneurship, investment, and mergers and acquisitions, who will be joining the AI Panel at the California Investment Forum in Anaheim, CA, on May 8-11. Steve's journey as a serial entrepreneur began at a young age, and he has since scaled six startups to private nine-figure acquisitions and raised over $2 billion in startup and growth funding for businesses across various industries. As the founder and managing director of Zero Limits Ventures and Zero Limits Capital, Steve has become renowned for generating accelerated value growth and delivering extraordinary acquisition value multiples for his portfolio companies and clients. With a keen eye for unique opportunities and a track record of identifying untapped potential, Steve has mastered the art of spotting valuation growth where others may not. In this introduction video, Steve highlighted the transformative power of AI in three distinct areas. Firstly, he touched on the creation and development of AI and generative tools, which are reshaping industries. Secondly, he delved into AI's practical applications within enterprises, emphasizing how integrating AI can dramatically enhance productivity and growth, ultimately increasing value for entrepreneurs. The third area Steve discussed was the middle ground of AI implementation, which presents an exciting opportunity for companies lacking in-house expertise. This gap in the market suggests a burgeoning demand for external AI knowledge and solutions, which can rapidly propel a company forward. AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace and significantly impacting market dynamics. As an "older statesman" in the tech world, Steve expressed his excitement about being part of this "big bubble" of innovation. Join us at the California Investment Forum to hear Steve's insights and expertise on AI deployment, bridging the gap between generic AI models and task-specific enterprise applications. Learn how we can harness the power of AI to drive competitiveness, efficiency, and growth, improve productivity, and enhance business values in the next decade. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's most respected visionaries and game-changers. #AI #CIF Daniel Sieu Darlene Bryant (Chiu)

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"You can’t be truly successful without being true to yourself." I had the pleasure of hearing Kara Swisher speak at the Dean’s Speaker Series at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business a couple weeks ago, and this quote really stuck with me. Kara was incredibly candid about her journey covering the tech world for decades, but it was her advice on authenticity that truly hit home. After the event, I asked her about her thoughts on navigating the entrepreneurship space as a founder from an underrepresented background. I’ve often found myself code-switching or "cosplaying" to fit into certain professional spaces, and I’ve been torn about whether that’s necessary in the exclusive world of venture-backed startups. Kara’s response? Focus on building the best product and staying true to the mission that drives you. That advice resonated deeply, especially as I work on building a product that addresses some of the hardest and most meaningful problems in healthcare and nutrition—areas that have personal significance for me. If you're as passionate about advancing health and nutrition through AI as I am, or if you’re building in these spaces, let’s connect. I’d love to continue this conversation and explore how we can make real impact together. #Entrepreneurship #Authenticity #HealthcareInnovation #AI #NutritionTech #FounderLife

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another great piece by Jennifer Hiller regarding AI's seemingly insatiable demand for energy. Where does this take us? I predict a growing demand for "net new" clean baseload from Big Tech (and regulators). They want more power, but they would also prefer to get it the right way. Not taking it from today's pre-existing baseload, but instead finding net new sources like new-build nukes, geothermal, and more wind/solar + storage. Let's build! Carl Hoiland Joel Edwards Jonathan Webb Patrick Maloney Shayle Kann Jigar Shah Jennifer Granholm Daniel Shugar Chris Anderson Rebecca Kujawa Obvious Ventures

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Friends, Q2 was a quarter of progress and learning for us at HawkTower, where we invest in early-stage startups applying breakthrough computing technologies to maximize California's natural resource markets. Our focus is on technology-enabled interventions (e.g., AI-enabled geospatial radars for lithium-ion batteries in the waste stream) for critical, market-level imperatives (e.g., disaster prevention) that can drive rapid commercial adoption (e.g., placed on every recycling truck in the world). Our current investment priorities are: - Agricultural productivity and efficiency - Biomanufacturing - Labor and mobility automation - Waste stream optimization and decarbonization - Disaster prevention and management Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to: Milestones and Investments: - In late April, we officially launched our fund, filing with the SEC. Yay. - By June, we completed our first fund close ahead of schedule, with backing from family offices, foundations, high-net-worth individuals, and organizations aligned with California's future. - Our portfolio now includes three early-stage investments (Farm-ng, Agriful Software, and Nexstera Tech). Strategic Partnerships: - We believe that startups operating closer to their customers and resources, especially in agriculture and biomanufacturing, have a strategic advantage. For instance, the Salinas Valley, a major agricultural hub, is less than an hour from Silicon Valley and serves as a center of thought leadership in the convergence of agriculture and AI (from Western Growers, Taylor Farms, and others). - Similarly, the North San Joaquin Valley is emerging as a biotech and agtech innovation hub, and we are proud to support BEAM Circular, a startup hub for the circular bioeconomy. Key Relationships: - Karen Warner, CEO of BEAM Circular, joined HawkTower as a strategic advisor. - Jackie Cruz, Ed. D. Cruz, Hartnell College’s VP of Advancement, advises on Salinas Valley and workforce development. - Ben Palone from Western Growers, with his technical background in agriculture, became a trusted advisor. - Matthew Hoffman from Driscoll's Global R&D team provides insights on global agriculture, product positioning, and investment strategy. - We collaborated with Monterey Bay DART for workforce development and automation in agtech. - Dominic Milano and the Milano Technical Group from Merced collaborated on key initiatives and advised us on investments. - HawkTower is participating in Santa Cruz Works's accelerator cohort as a mentor and advisor. Thank you Doug Erickson. - We published an overview of entrepreneurship across the UC system with input from across the University of California system. Moving into the fall, we remain deeply committed to supporting founders shaping California's future natural resource markets. Stay tuned and be in touch! : ) Db

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The Magnificent 7 "invest nearly $400 billion annually into frontier tech (comparable to the GDP of Norway), of which $20–30 billion is in VC rounds (comparable to UK’s total VC investment)." 🤠💰 Good stuff here from Dealroom.co on the tech giants. Their market caps are big, and there's a good chance they'll all just keep getting bigger. That greatly impacts R&D, CVC, M&A, HR, etc. in deeptech globally. https://lnkd.in/ehExX8sa #vc #venturecapital #tech #technology #innovation #deeptech #ai #artificialintelligence #nvidia #facebook #apple #microsoft #tesla #amazon #google #startups #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #money #business

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Intel’s recent delay with its Gaudi 3 AI accelerator, due to “unbaked” software, is a reminder of the risks of falling behind in an industry that demands agility. As competitors like AMD and Nvidia rake in billions, and replaces Intel as market leaders, Intel’s delay highlights the cost of lagging in AI development. With AI reshaping tech at an unprecedented pace, can companies afford to be anything less than cutting-edge? Or could Intel become the next Kodak—a once-dominant player left behind by rapid innovation? Who’s next to think they don’t need to adapt? I am sure we can all name a few and sadly many are companies you work for #Innovation #AIRevolution #Intel #FutureOfTech #AdaptOrDie

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🤔 Amidst the buzz around Google's quantum computing breakthrough - solving a problem in 5 minutes that would take traditional supercomputers 10 septillion years - I can't help but ask: What exactly was this problem? Despite the headlines, I am finding it very challenging to locate a clear problem statement in mainstream tech coverage. What makes this particular computation so time-intensive on classical computers? And perhaps more importantly: Why choose to demonstrate quantum supremacy with a problem that's essentially unsolvable by traditional means, rather than tackling real-world problems where quantum speedup could make a practical difference? On Google's blog I found this statement: "Willow performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (that is, 1025) years — a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe." I don't understand - This seems to mean that the standard benchmark computation Willow performed - is not solvable (or rather, was not solvable before Willow). So how can this be a standard benchmark? Would love to hear explanations and thoughts from those who've dived deeper into the technical details. Are we celebrating the right metrics in quantum computing progress? Thank you! #QuantumComputing #TechInnovation #ComputerScience #CriticalThinking

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AgTech Ecosystem - sharing this update from Danny Bernstein, founder of HawkTower, an investment firm focused on driving innovation and commercialization in key strategic regions of California, including Monterey County. Danny's metrics are driven by both investment returns and economic development wins. See below for some of the more notable recent wins: 1) Bill Sherrod joins as Venture Partner with a focus on advanced air mobility. Vittoria Lecomte joins as Venture Partner with analyst experience on Fitbit and GoPro IPOs. 2) HawkTower has a strategic partnership with Tesserakt Ventures, an early stage VC firm in Central California. Daniel Emilio Sabzehzar and Phoenix Skeahan join HawkTower as Venture Partner and Operating Partner respectively, to help with sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support. 3) Lenny Mendonca is a new advisor (formerly served as Governor Newsom's Chief Economic and Business Advisor and is also a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company). 4) I have also joining Team HawkTower as an advisor, focused on AgTech innovation that can drive California economic development. HawkTower's first investment was in Farm-ng. Farm-NG is exactly what funds like HawkTower are looking for - strong team with a very cool platform product and 100% locally based at their Watsonville HQ location. Farm-NG has growth opportunities across multiple grower segments, solid partnership and distribution opportunities, and will use the capital to continue to evolve their product and go-to market strategies. 5) HawkTower is working with engineering advisors from UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly, and UC Merced. All of them recognize the opportunity the region represents that HawkTower is working on investing in. These advisors will strengthen the pipeline to keep local talent in the area and make sure the HawkTower investments have access to local talent early and often. Each of these items represents great progress from Danny - together it shows the momentum he and the team are building. If you're a startup looking for an introduction to Danny, please DM me and I am happy to help. If you're an investor looking for a discussion with Danny, same offer. #economicdevelopment #venturecapital #cacentralcoast

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