WSJ: “The modern human foot is one of the most unique aspects of our species, he said. What began as a tree branch-grasping organ in a long-dead common ancestor with great apes evolved into something that can carry us upright for many miles at a time. Our cushioned heels strike the ground, and an arched sole transfers weight toward the front of our feet, propelling us forward. Our robust big toes push off into the next step, the final note in an efficient stride for long-distance locomotion. One of the most significant fossilized footprint discoveries in the past several years—multiple trackways uncovered in eastern Africa and studied by Hatala’s group—helps paint a picture of this thing that makes us special.”
Economist: “Between June and early December 2024 Salesforce, the 26-year-old global CRM giant, created more than $120bn in shareholder value, lifting its market capitalisation to a record $352bn. In the past 12 months SAP, a German tech titan which more or less invented ERP in the 1970s, has generated more. It is Europe’s most valuable company, worth $380bn, likewise an all-time high. Both enterprise champions rank among the world’s top ten software companies by value. Maybe not so dull, after all? The source of the excitement is another, much sexier acronym: AI. Builders of clever artificial-intelligence models may get all the attention; this week Elon Musk’s xAI hogged the headlines when it was reported that the startup was launching a $300m share sale that would value it at $113bn. But if the technology is to be as revolutionary as boosters claim, it will in the first instance be because businesses use it to radically improve productivity. And as anyone who has tried—and probably failed—to replace corporate computer systems will tell you, they are likely to do so with the assistance of their current IT vendors.”
Bloomberg: “The artificial intelligence rush has enabled some small startups to grow very big very quickly. But by some estimates, none have grown as fast as Anysphere Inc., maker of the popular AI coding assistant Cursor, which has surpassed $500 million in annualized revenue, the company said. Now, the three-year-old startup has raised $900 million to help drive that growth, Anysphere plans to announce on Thursday. That will bring its valuation to $9.9 billion, including the new capital, underscoring investor enthusiasm for what Silicon Valley sees as one of most promising applications of generative AI thus far.”
Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela on how decision-making: “I think there are different decisions. There are decisions that are much more long-term and irreversible, and decisions that are much more reversible. I think we’re very much of the idea that, again, run experiments and be willing to understand if you are wrong in your assumptions. If you need to make a decision, do it because you’re confident it will work. If it doesn’t, you can change your mind. Sometimes, product decisions come from that taste component. I think overall taste has become a good way of directing the company, I would say, from how we operate in marketing and how we hire. I don’t think there’s one particular framework, but just the overall idea of taste and intuition has become clear in how we make decisions.”
