Ralph L. Leung

The Operator’s Edge – Part IX From Entry to Exit: Why Operator’s MOIC Is the New Standard for Realization By George Konstantopoulos | PE Operatinghttps://lnkd.in/gaXnizQj

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Waymo Sets Ambitious Goals with $16B Funding Round Waymo's recent funding round, which totals $16 billion and elevates its valuation to $126 billion, is a striking indicator of the confidence investors have in the future of autonomous mobility. As the leader in robotaxi services, Waymo aims to scale its fleet internationally, opening doors for new market opportunities. At ElevenX Capital, we see this as a pivotal moment in the venture capital landscape, emphasizing the need for strategic vision in AI and transportation investments. How do you evaluate the long-term potential of autonomous mobility companies in your investment strategy? #investing #innovation #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

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I’m lucky to work alongside colleagues like Richard Fruehauf, who constantly push my thinking. His latest piece unpacks why U.S. robotics and drone manufacturing faces uphill economics, and how public policy can help turn the tide. One key takeaway: 232 tariffs on robotics imports could help reset the economics that are holding back U.S. investment and production. It’s a sharp perspective on how policy can shape the future of advanced tech here at home. Well worth a read: https://lnkd.in/edMPTQPQ Richard Fruehauf, Robert J. Szczerba, Michael Lutzky, Edward Ovando, Karl Sanchack, Herman Herman, Jeff Legault, Phil English, Richard Fruehauf, Ryan Aument, Michael Guido, Sheila Fitzgerald Sterrett, David McCormick

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As AI workloads eat up global computing supply, DRAM prices are surging like never before—creating major challenges for teams trying to plan out their data center spend. One of my portfolio companies, Mext, is addressing the largest cost component in the datacenter: server memory (DRAM). From being on the board of Redis for the last twelve years, I’ve learned a lot about the various aspects of this problem and approaches to solving them. Mext found a breakthrough, using new AI techniques, for dramatically reducing the amount of server-DRAM required to run applications, all while maintaining performance. It intelligently manages the server’s memory, keeping hot pages (i.e., those in use by applications) in fast DRAM and offloading cold pages (i.e., those less used) to a much less expensive memory tier (e.g., NVMe Flash). Key to the approach is ensuring cold memory pages that are about to be accessed by an application are back in DRAM before the application needs them or notices that they were gone. This is done without modifications to the application or the OS – so it can run in the cloud or on-premise. Mext thus allows applications to either run using less DRAM or keep their DRAM footprint but do more with it. They're hosting a webinar along with Fred Weber (former CTO of AMD) on Jan 22nd at 10am pacific time. You can register here: https://lnkd.in/gXe9GCeE

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Zoox, Amazon’s self-driving subsidiary, has officially begun offering public robotaxi rides in San Francisco. After a year of testing the vehicle without consumers within the vehicle, Zoox is now taking the next step in its development. Through its new Explorers Program, anyone can now join a waitlist to ride in Zoox’s purpose-built autonomous vehicles which have no steering wheel, no pedals, and are designed from the ground up specifically for urban ride-hailing.   The service is free for now and limited to select neighborhoods as Zoox gathers real-world feedback. While this isn’t yet a commercial rollout, it marks a major step toward scaling autonomous ride-hailing and signals Zoox’s confidence in its tech stack, safety systems, and vehicle design.   This move also intensifies the competitive landscape. Waymo has already launched paid driverless services across several cities, and Zoox’s entry shows how rapidly the autonomous vehicle industry is moving toward consumer-level adoption. It’s another sign that autonomy is shifting from controlled pilots to real-world, everyday use cases. The implications are big: redesigned mobility experiences, new regulatory frameworks, and a reimagining of what urban transport can look like when vehicles are built for autonomy from conception through launch. https://lnkd.in/e2qehPM8

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It's hard to pick my favorite Zeno flex... - the fact that they boost their working class end customers' take home pay by up to 50%? - the fact that they're building critical clean energy infrastructure in markets poised to 'leapfrog' our fossil ways? - the fact that people are organically fangirling over their Zeno Emaras on YouTube and TikTok? - how fast they've built this? - how little capital they've spent? - their choice to build real technical IP that no one else has? - the fact that they could one day become a major energy utility for some of the most populous regions of the world? - the fact that lots of investors said "emerging markets, nooooo....!"? (love a contrarian bet) or all of the above?? So proud and impressed with Michael Spencer and the whole Zeno team, grateful they let me ride along on their journey, and excited for what's next 🏍️ 💫

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Very interesting article about E2E and modular systems in autonomous driving. A hybrid approach is indispensable if AD Stack Provider truly care about the safety of passengers and all road users. For years to come, this will remain the only responsible path toward scalable and trustworthy autonomy. Peter Schaefer, executive vice president and chief sales officer of automotive at Infineon Technologies, said at The Autonomous, “I’m convinced that end-to-end AI will bring us to Level 4 and 5. And it will help us to have faster learning cycles.” But Schaefer cautioned: “We also need to face the fact that we cannot trust the outcome of the E2E AI blindly.” Shaefer isn’t alone. Many automotive engineers are deeply concerned about E2E AI learning’s interpretability deficit. We agree! And cogniBIT has the missing piece of the puzzle. Let's make it withe box!! https://www.cognibit.ai/ We are the global lead in Human Behavior Modeling! 🦾🦾 https://lnkd.in/gpQWrSSC Junko Yoshida, thanks for sharing this great piece of work!

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