☕ Essential molecules

Creating new proteins from scratch.

August 05, 2024 It's Monday. Proteins! You can get tubs of 'em in powdered form to mix into your smoothies, or use AI to make brand-new ones. Really! Patrick Kulp writes about a new startup of ex-Meta folks aiming to make never-before-seen proteins. In today's edition: A new AI startup from ex-Meta researchers is creating proteins that don't exist in nature Businesses report some AI growing pains in new survey Q2 auto earnings reflect strength of ICE sales, bumpiness of EV transition —Patrick Kulp, Jordyn Grzelewski, Annie Saunders AI Get your protein Artemisdiana/Getty Images You might not guess it from a trip to the aquarium, but the natural glow of certain jellyfish and other sea life has become key to biology's understanding of ourselves, from the spread of cancer cells to the inner workings of the brain. Biologists use the green fluorescent protein (GFP) derived from these creatures as a visual marker to get a better look at all sorts of biological phenomena. A new startup from a group of ex-Meta scientists claims it can use generative AI to replace the role of the jellyfish in this scenario. EvolutionaryScale says it has used generative AI to create a bespoke GFP that departs from existing luminescent proteins made in previous lab processes. EvolutionaryScale Chief Scientist Alex Rives said the discovery is an example of how the company's latest biological foundational model family, ESM3, can synthesize novel proteins based on a prompt. That ability could eventually have implications for drug discovery, sustainability fixes, and beyond, Rives said. "Most of the diversity in those proteins has come from discovering new ones in the natural world. So a new fluorescent protein in a different species of coral or a jellyfish or some other animal," Rives told Tech Brew. "Known fluorescent proteins have taken 500 million years to diverge. So you can think about the model as simulating 500 million years of evolution to create a new protein." Keep reading here.—PK FROM THE CREW Top marketing minds in New York Join Marketing Brew for their summit on September 12 in New York! They're creating a space for marketers to keep pace with the industry's constant evolution—and drive it forward. In a world where innovation is the heartbeat, performance is the measure, and people are the driving force, the winning formula balances all three. Come for the headline speakers, stay for the networking, and leave with tactical tools to improve your business acumen. Grab your ticket now! AI Is it worth it? Anna Kim A certain level of FOMO seems to be driving businesses to spend big on generative AI, but scaling the tech up can be tricky. That's one takeaway from a new survey released by IT consultancy Cognizant and Oxford Economics. It found that around 70% of companies report they are not moving fast enough to implement AI, with 82% worrying a delay in implementation could lead to a competitive disadvantage. Only about 26% of respondents reported having implemented cross-enterprise use cases. The survey is a companion to a larger report that the tech firm released earlier this year that aimed to map out a timeline for the rise of generative AI and its effects on jobs. That report predicted that up to 13% of businesses will have adopted the tech in the next three to four years, with that number rising to 46% over the course of the next decade. Keep reading here.—PK FUTURE OF TRAVEL ICE, ICE, baby Hispanolistic/Getty Images Combustion-engine vehicles fueled profits for GM and Ford in Q2 even as financial reports reflected ongoing challenges in the EV market. First, let's dig into Tesla's latest earnings. The EV maker's net income fell 45% YoY to $1.5 billion while total revenue grew 2% to $25.5 billion. It marked Tesla's second straight quarter of falling profits, per the Wall Street Journal. "There have been quite a few competing electric vehicles that have entered the market and mostly they have not done well, but they have discounted their EVs quite substantially, which has made it a bit difficult for Tesla," CEO Elon Musk said on the company's earnings call. The results come amid a challenging period for the automaker, which is facing slowing demand, growing competition, and falling prices. Still, Musk reiterated plans to deliver a more affordable electric model in the first half of 2025 and his view that Tesla's value lies in its AI and robotics plays. Tesla is slated to unveil a robotaxi in the fall. Keep reading here.—JG TOGETHER WITH INVESCO QQQ Unlock the potential of innovation. Invesco QQQ gives you access to groundbreaking industry leaders within the Nasdaq-100, all in one ETF. Discover how to access the future of technology and beyond with QQQ here. The future isn't scary, but not investing in it is. Let's rethink possibility. BITS AND BYTES Stat: 154,000. That's how many subscribers Charter Communications lost in Q2, a quarter that coincided with the sunset of the Affordable Connectivity Program, Ars Technica reported, adding that Charter said the scrapped subscriptions were "mostly driven by customers canceling after losing the federal discount." Quote: "We had most people actually out and touching computers, trying to go into the different offices and buildings, roaming the halls and looking for anyone who needed help."—John Lee, an IT manager at the University of Illinois's Grainger College of Engineering, to IT Brew in a tick-tock about how the university handled the CrowdStrike outage Read: The cure for disposable plastic crap is here—and it's loony (Wired) SHARE THE BREW Share Tech Brew with your coworkers, acquire free Brew swag, and then make new friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We're saying we'll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others: emergingtechbrew.com/r/?kid=b3968dba ✳︎ A Note From Invesco QQQ Disclaimer: Invesco Distributors, Inc. Written by Patrick Kulp, Jordyn Grzelewski, and Annie Saunders Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.   Guide → What is AI?   Guide → What is 5G? Take The Brew to work Marketers: Marketing Brew Corporate: CFO Brew   HR Brew Tech: IT Brew   Retailers: Retail Brew Healthcare: Healthcare Brew Get smarter in just 5 minutes Business News: Morning Brew Money & Career: Money With Katie   Bossy   Brew Markets   The Playbook Interested in podcasts? Check out ours here ADVERTISE // CAREERS // SHOP // FAQ Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here. View our privacy policy here. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011