POLICY

The Limit Does Not Exist

This week, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) unveiled the Endless Frontier Act (EFA).

I’m normally not in the business of covering laws, much less proposed ones. But EFA is an exception since it seeks to turbocharge American “discovery, creation, and commercialization of critical tech.” By that, the lawmakers mean every technology you read about in this newsletter. 

EFA’s core proposals

• Restructure the National Science Foundation into the National Science and Technology Foundation (NSTF)
• In the NSTF, stand up a Technology Directorate that receives $100 billion over five years and operates like DARPA
• Hand the Commerce Department $10 billion to invest across 10-15 regional tech hubs over five years

This is great news for U.S. universities and businesses, because EFA would pad R&D budgets, establish new scholarships, and create cutting-edge labs and fabrication plants. 

What’s driving the frontier mindset?

As I wrote in the fall, the private sector overtook Washington in R&D investment four decades ago. EFA’s sponsors want to expand the pool of capital so that all of Washington’s tech priorities are advanced in the U.S.

The other reason for EFA, which its sponsors explicitly call out: China. While Beijing’s bid for tech supremacy is better described as a “slow burn” rather than a “Sputnik moment,” the country’s tech industrial base is now a true contender with the U.S. There’s more to come: 

• China plans to invest $1.4 trillion in emerging tech over the next six years. 
• Chinese chipmaker SMIC recently announced a $2 billion investment from state-backed funds. 
• Tencent will spend $70 billion on tech infrastructure over the next five years. 

"The U.S. needs to pursue with all-of-the-above strategy and intensify efforts," a person familiar with the legislation told Emerging Tech Brew.

Bottom line: As Bill of Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill” could tell you, EFA may never see the light of day. But adding $$$ to tech R&D and accelerating the U.S.-China tech decoupling are bipartisan priorities.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Fellowship of the Ring

Left to their own smart devices, researchers are studying whether fitness and sleep trackers could serve as COVID-19 early warning systems. 

Yesterday, West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) and WVU Medicine said they’ve developed a digital platform that utilizes the sleep-tracking device Oura Ring and its companion “AI-guided” software to detect COVID-like symptoms up to three days in advance with over 90% accuracy. 

• Oura Ring tracks body temperature, heart rate, sleep patterns, breathing, and other physiological measures. 
• For the first phase of its study, RNI enlisted more than 600 healthcare workers and first responders. RNI plans to expand to over 10,000 participants.

“From day one, our idea was to give people an overall understanding of their health,” Oura CEO Harpreet Rai told Emerging Tech Brew. “Did we ever expect it would be able to help in a pandemic? No.” In pre-COVID days, Rai said Oura users reported higher temperatures and other abnormal activity before testing positive for the flu.

We’re in the early innings. RNI’s findings have yet to be peer-reviewed, and COVID-19 symptoms don’t necessarily = COVID-19. But the preliminary results of RNI’s study and similar Fitbit research point to a promising future for biometric wearables in healthcare. 

SPONSORED BY NOWRX

The Money Train’s A-Scootin

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They figured out how to drastically cut overhead costs with automation and proprietary fulfillment. The result? An efficient, thorough disruption of one of the country’s biggest industries.

The money train is pulling out of the station. Climb aboard before it’s too late.

Invest in NowRX today.

M&A

Apple.AI

Apple recently acquired Canadian machine learning startup Inductiv, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Giving the signature Cupertino deal confirmation, Apple said it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

Inductiv’s specialty is deploying AI tools that flag and fix errors in datasets. This could help Apple improve the back-end speech data and queries powering Siri—so yes, the AI voice assistant is getting its own AI helper.

Apple frequently acqui-hires engineering teams. It scooped up Siri in 2010 and at least 20 other AI startups since. Recent high-profile acquisitions include edge computing startup Xnor.AI (in January) and autonomous driving startup Drive.AI (last June). 

Zoom out: The pandemic has created a buyer’s market for Big Tech. Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have announced 19 acquisitions in total this year, the highest rate of deal-making since 2015. 

The next big deal to watch out for? Amazon and self-driving startup Zoox are reportedly in advanced talks.

BITS & BYTES

Stat: TikTok parent ByteDance pulled in $3 billion in net profit on $17+ billion in revenue last year, Bloomberg reports. It’s thanks to creators like Charli D’Amelio, TikTok’s biggest star, who has over 59 million followers.  

Quote: “When consumers try to opt out of Google’s collection of location data, the company is continuing to find misleading ways to obtain information and use it for profit.”—Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to WaPo. Arizona is suing Google for misleading location tracking practices. 

Read: Niantic Research developed impressive AR occlusion tools that allow digital Pokémon to seamlessly blend in with real-world objects on your phone.

SPONSORED BY WEWORK

What will the future of work look like? It’s a big question on everyone’s mind. For the folks at WeWork, the future means fostering human connection in a way that’s both safe and smart. Their workspaces are being reimagined with enhanced cleanliness standards, more personal space, and wayfinding reminders to help you and your team collaborate safely. Read more about WeWork’s commitment to the future of work .

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Oppo, China’s second-largest phone maker, is increasing internal chipmaking capabilities and hiring top-flight talent, Nikkei reports. 
• Coinbase said it’s agreed to acquire Tagomi, a cryptocurrency brokerage platform for professional and institutional traders. 
• SoftBank’s Vision Fund, once the mightiest investor in tech, could lay off 10% of its employees, per Bloomberg. 
• Baidu finished building Apollo Park, which the Chinese search giant calls the “world’s largest” self-driving test facility.
• Nuro will deliver CVS prescriptions and medicines in the self-driving startup’s test vehicles. 
• Wearable shipments grew nearly 30% annually in Q1 2020, per IDC.

GOING PHISHING

Today is Friday, which means it’s time to dust off the ol’ phishing rod. Three of the following stories are real; one is fake. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Audi sacked a Formula E driver who cheated in a virtual race. 
2. Quibi is launching a watch party feature. 
3. Russia plans to test a Poseidon underwater autonomous sub nicknamed the “Doomsday Drone.”
4. In an apparent attempt to make as many enemies as possible, Goldman Sachs deemed bitcoin an unsuitable investment.

MARKET RESEARCH

Since a wave of tech companies updated their WFH policies last week, the dust has settled a bit. Here’s a pulse check on the remote work status of a few dozen companies. 

TECH THINGAMABOBS

For clarity: The AP Stylebook breaks down when to use “autonomous,” “driverless,” and “partially automated” when referring to vehicles. The terms are often used interchangeably (and incorrectly). 

For carnivores: Cows are a threat to data centers. Google's Urs Hölzle recounts how a herd of cows stepped on fallen fiber lines, causing intermittent outages across Oregon. 

GOING PHISHING ANSWER

Quibi is not launching a watch party feature.