NYC Department of Education builds the pipeline for future cybersecurity professionals

There’s been a lot of talk over the past few years about a shortage of skilled cybersecurity talent, but from where we sit at the NYC DOE Division of Information and Instructional Technology (DIIT), we see budding security pros all around us. As cybersecurity leaders of the DIIT, we work with 1,800 schools and approximately 1 million students across NYC to ensure secure internet access and offer innovative solutions in education technology.

As part of our efforts to empower educators and students to thrive in our digital age, we partner with technology vendors and government agencies to train and mentor students for careers in cybersecurity. In 2022, the NYC DOE formalized these efforts to support career-connected learning opportunities so that all students in metropolitan New York can reach long-term economic security and job satisfaction. It’s been our privilege to foster the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Based on the progress we’ve made in such a short time, we can say with certainty that the future looks bright.

Paving the way for the next generation of cybersecurity pros

In 50 years, the classroom hasn’t changed much. In most school districts, the focus is strictly on academics, and students are rarely given the chance to gain the skills they need to enter the workplace. At NYC DOE, we do things differently. While students are still in high school, we expose them to many different career pathways—including cybersecurity—and provide opportunities for hands-on experiences.

There are four programs that comprise the NYC DOE’s career-connected learning initiative, each serving a specific segment of the student population:

  1. Career Readiness and Modern Youth Apprenticeship (CRMYA)
  2. New York City’s Grades 9-14 Early College and Career Schools (P-TECH Schools)
  3. FutureReadyNYC (FRNYC)
  4. CUNY Fellows

The Career Readiness and Modern Youth Apprenticeship (CRMYA) is a three-year internship program students can apply for in the eleventh grade. The DOE cybersecurity team hosted its first cohort of eight students, five assigned to the CISO team and three assigned to the CTO team. During this time, they work on cybersecurity initiatives such as network protection, endpoint protection, incident response, and data validation. Interns complete a curriculum for a minimum of three technical certifications in areas of their choice and build relationships with technology vendors like Zscaler. Upon graduating from the program, students receive assistance in job placement or higher education programs.

P-TECH schools are part of the NYC DOE and are supported by the Career and Technical Education (CTE) team and the CUNY Early College Initiative. The six-year high school program is designed for students who don’t have a clear path to college, often for financial reasons. CUNY works in conjunction with the NYC DOE to offer them free tuition for a two-year Associate degree once they are approved. So far, 100% of participants have been able to go to college. The grades 9–14 schools also work with industry partners to support students in exploring careers and attaining skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industries.

CUNY Fellows is aimed at first- and second-year college students who have successfully completed their coursework. After they are screened through an interview and background check, they work up to 34 hours per week with our team on various assignments with specific completion timelines and have the opportunity to provide feedback on how they perceive their progress.

Technology partnerships prepare students for future work

The students are incredibly eager to learn and apply their knowledge. Early on in the apprenticeship program, we had a handful of high school students join us for a six-week session. We brainstormed what they could achieve during that time and introduced them to the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange.

When we saw that our apprentices were interested in learning more, we reached out to Brian Wong, a customer success manager at Zscaler, and asked him to help us define a curriculum for a Zscaler certification. At his suggestion, we enrolled our students in the Zscaler Academy Zero Trust Career Program. They earned certifications, developed practitioner-level skills in zero trust, and were given the opportunity to get advice and inspiration from cybersecurity professionals in Zscaler’s Career Development forum on Zenith Community—all at no cost. Brian even shared code that the students could use to practice their skills. Now, when interns come in for apprenticeship sessions with the NYC DOE security team, they learn how to work with various tools and sit in on calls with our vendors to troubleshoot and manage these products. Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is one such example. Since we launched the program, we’ve had nine students earn a Zscaler certification that they can use in the workplace.

Student successes signal the strength of training programs

These programs help students obtain real-world experience in the form of internships. They also earn college credits while exploring areas of interest to which they might otherwise not be exposed. We have one student working with us who had a healthcare background but was pursuing an IT degree. We noticed her passion for learning and eagerness to work, so we gave her an opportunity to work on content filtering and she ran with it. Now she’s doing data loss prevention and is one of our best CUNY interns.

In her own words, Franchesca Fargas Rios describes her journey:

“Originally, I did not intend to go to college, but on a whim, I decided to enroll. Although I began my career in the medical field, my growing interest in technology and my aspiration to make a positive impact led me to pursue a career in technology. The CUNY program has played a crucial role in this transition, offering internships that provide real-world experience along with academic credits, which has allowed me to explore diverse areas. Despite my healthcare background, I chose to pursue an IT degree. My dedication and eagerness to learn were quickly recognized, leading to my involvement in projects related to content filtering and data loss prevention, areas where I have excelled as one of the top interns at CUNY.

Balancing motherhood, full-time studies, and a full-time job has indeed been challenging. The unwavering support and encouragement from my supervisor have been pivotal. His guidance has not only supported my career aspirations in IT but also equipped me with the necessary resources to succeed. I am eagerly anticipating graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and Informatics. Furthermore, I am planning to pursue a Master’s in Cybersecurity and achieve several professional certifications. The hands-on training and real-life experiences provided by this program have been instrumental in defining my path in IT, a field I initially knew little about.”

Another avenue for students to build practical technology skills is through the Career and Technical Education program, which acts as a catch-all for students who are undecided about their career path or college education. We had six students join us as interns this past semester. One, in particular, had no plans to go to college due to financial constraints. We helped him navigate a scholarship as part of a two-year associate’s program at CUNY. We’re proud to say that all six students have gone on to pursue education beyond high school.

Ibrahim Sawadogo shares his success story:

“Before being accepted into an internship role at NYCPS, DIIT Office of the CISO, I was part of the COOP Tech Program, my goal was to attain industry certifications, such as Cisco CCNA, CompTIA Network+. My career aspiration was to just get into technology. I had no intention of attending college to get a degree. While there, I had conversations with my supervisor/mentor, who encouraged me to apply for community college. I was a bit skeptical, as I did not want to accumulate any student loan debts. My supervisor shared some vital information, which then led me to enroll at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC).

I was accepted into B.M.C.C., after being enrolled in college classes that summer of 2023. I also applied to the CUNY internship program. I was fortunate to be offered a position at the NYCPS as an identity and access management analyst. During my time as an intern, I was also able to gain two industry certifications (CompTIA Security and  ISC2 Certified in Cyber Security).

This program has given me hope as a young adult African-American male living in the inner city of New York. I am very thankful for this opportunity. I am scheduled to graduate with an Associates Applied Science (A.A.S) degree in Computer Networking Technology at the end of the spring 2025 semester. I then plan to pursue my Bachelor of Technology degree at New York City College of Technology. The mentorship, hands-on technical experience, and soft skills were game-changers as I am now able to look forward to a promising career in information security.”

Personal and professional mentorship makes a lasting impact

Everybody needs someone to believe in them. Through our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we create a sense of belonging and inspire students from all backgrounds—regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity—to carve out fulfilling careers as cybersecurity professionals. We also act as mentors to our students, equipping them with skills and support as they navigate life’s challenges. Ultimately, our goal is for students to understand that they too have a right to grow and thrive: in the technology sector and beyond.

Demond Waters—CISO at NYC DOE, a graduate of this school system, and co-author of this blog—recently had a full circle moment when a young man stopped him at a conference and explained the reason he got into technology. The young man recalled seeing Demond come into his classroom, dressed like a student in sneakers and casual attire, to fix a computer. Without even knowing it, Demond inspired the young man to pursue a career in technology.

We both know what it’s like to live and grow up in New York City. To be able to show our students that they can imagine a different future for themselves than what they might see day to day—that’s what motivates us to give back.

Learn more about how NYC DOE deployed Zscaler zero trust at a massive scale, securing over one million students and staff members combined. Read the case study.

Drone logistics solution provider Skye Air bags 4 mn in Series A funding

Drone

Skye Air focuses on integrating drone deliveries as a mainstream logistics solution. (Representative Image)

Skye Air, a drone logistics solution provider, on Monday said it has secured $4 million (about Rs 34 crore) funding, which will be used to expand the company’s operations across Gurugram and other cities for healthcare, and quick-commerce deliveries.

The Series A funding was achieved with backing from Mount Judi Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, Venture Catalyst, Windrose Capital, and Tremis Capital.

Faad Capital, Misfits Capital, Hyderabad Angels, Soonicorn Ventures and other existing investors, family offices and angels also participated in the funding round.

“The fresh capital will help the company expand its last-mile network across Gurugram and other cities for healthcare, e-commerce, and quick-commerce deliveries,” said Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO of Skye Air.

He further said that with the Modi 3.0 government at the centre stage, the company envisages a plethora of growth coming in the Indian drone sector, which will make Bharat a global drone hub by 2030.

Maple Capital Advisors were the exclusive financial advisors to the company for the transaction. LexStart Partners were the legal counsel for the company.

Skye Air said it is also the creator of Skye UTM, an advanced Unmanned Traffic Management system, which manages drone traffic, ensures safety, and facilitates efficient communication between drones and air traffic controls.

Headquartered at Delhi-NCR, Skye Air is a SaaS-based autonomous logistics solution provider, which focuses on integrating drone deliveries as a mainstream logistics solution for various industries, including healthcare, e-commerce, quick-commerce, and agri- commodity.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Jun 17 2024 | 5:57 PM IST

Crossover Markets Announces a $12M Series A Led By Illuminate Financial and DRW Venture Capital

Crossover Markets is a digital asset tech firm that focuses on meeting the unique liquid requirements of institutions. It announced that it raised $12 million for its Series A funding led by Illuminate Finance and DrW Venture Capital.

Illuminate joins a growing group of strategic investors, which “includes institutions like Flow Traders Laser Digital, Two Sigma, Wintermute, and retail brokers like Exness, Gate.io, GMO, Pepperstone, Trademax, and Think Markets.”

Brandon Mulvihill, Co-Founder and CEO of Crossover Markets said:


“This fundraise is happening at a time of change in the institutional market structure for digital assets. Prime brokerage and central clearance models are evolving, creating fungibility. This exposes execution venues that bind clients. We are proud to welcome strategic investors who share our vision to create the world’s most innovative execution-only trading platform for digital assets. Illuminate brings a wealth of institutional knowledge, while DRW is one of the world’s largest multi-asset markets makers.

Mark Beeston Founder and Managing partner of Illuminate Financial, Mark Beeston said:


“Illuminate Financial is building out a portfolio since 2019 of institutional grade digital asset infrastructure companies as part of its thesis around the convergence between traditional finance and digital assets market structure. Crossover adds the best-in class execution capability to this portfolio, serving both immediate and long-term requirements of financial institutions who wish to trade digital asset with a future proof 24/7 low latency architecture that traditional markets are increasingly moving toward .”

Kim Trautmann, Partner at DRW Venture Capital said:


“DRW VC is a proven investor in early-stage companies that are committed to delivering innovative market structures both in the traditional markets and crypto markets.” Crossover Markets is a natural fit in our portfolio. We’re excited to work with its experienced management team on delivering a best-in class technology solution for digital assets trading that minimizes counterparty risk .”

Crossover announced the addition of “new Board Members”. Mark Beeston, Founder of Illuminate Financial and Managing Director, will join Crossover’s board of directors, along with Kevin Wolf. Kevin Wolf is the CFO of American Financial Exchange, and former CEO of Euronext FX.

Mulvihill is added.


“Digital assets are undergoing a fundamental change, driven by institutional activity and needs. We are also witnessing the emergence of early-stage discussions about 24/7 trading across traditional asset class. CROSSx was designed to be one of the fastest and most efficient venues in any asset class. We developed the platform specifically to bring 24/7 trading, size precision, and price precision characteristics to traditional markets that are lagging behind in these areas .”

Crossover Markets, a digital asset trading platform for institutional investors, is known as CROSSx. It is an electronic communication network (ECN) that only executes orders.

Crossover Markets reported that “over $3.15 (USD) billion in notional trading values, 415,450 transactions, and over 141 trillion quotes were processed on CROSSx during Q1 2024.”

Hacker Stole Secrets From OpenAI

The New York Times reported on July 4, 2024, that OpenAI suffered an undisclosed breach in early 2023.

The NYT notes that the attacker did not access the systems housing and building the AI, but did steal discussions from an employee forum. OpenAI did not publicly disclose the incident nor inform the FBI because, it claims, no information about customers nor partners was stolen, and the breach was not considered a threat to national security. The firm decided that the attack was down to a single person with no known association to any foreign government.

Nevertheless, the incident led to internal staff discussions over how seriously OpenAI was addressing security concerns.

“After the breach, Leopold Aschenbrenner, an OpenAI technical program manager, focused on ensuring that future A.I. technologies do not cause serious harm, sent a memo to OpenAI’s board of directors, arguing that the company was not doing enough to prevent the Chinese government and other foreign adversaries from stealing its secrets,” writes the NYT.

Earlier this year, he was fired, ostensibly for leaking information (but more likely because of the memo). Aschenbrenner has a slightly different version on the official leak story. In a podcast with Dwarkesh Patel (June 4, 2024), he said: “OpenAI claimed to employees that I was fired for leaking. I and others have pushed them to say what the leak was. Here’s their response in full: Sometime last year, I had written a brainstorming document on preparedness, safety, and security measures needed in the future on the path to AGI. I shared that with three external researchers for feedback. That’s the leak… Before I shared it, I reviewed it for anything sensitive. The internal version had a reference to a future cluster, which I redacted for the external copy.”

Clearly, OpenAI is not a happy ship, with many different opinions on how it operates, how it should operate, and where it should be going. The concern is not so much about OpenGPT (which is gen-AI) but on the future of AGI (artificial general intelligence). 

The former ultimately transforms knowledge it learns (generally from scraping the internet), while the latter is capable of original reasoning. Gen-AI is not considered to be a threat to national security, although it may increase the scale and sophistication of current cyberattacks.

AGI is a different matter. It will be capable of developing new threats in cyber, the kinetic battlefield, and intelligence – and OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic and other leading AI firms and technologies are all rushing to be first to market. The concern over the 2023 OpenAI breach is that it may show a lack of security preparedness that could really endanger national security in the future.

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“A lot of the drama comes from OpenAI really believing they’re building AGI. That isn’t just a marketing claim,” said Aschenbrenner, adding, “What gets people is the cognitive dissonance between believing in AGI and not taking some of the other implications seriously. This technology will be incredibly powerful, both for good and bad. That implicates national security issues. Are you protecting the secrets from the CCP? Does America control the core AGI infrastructure or does a Middle Eastern dictator control it?”

As we get closer to developing AGI, the cyber threats will shift from criminals to elite nation state attackers – and we see time and again that our security is insufficient to defend against them. On the back of a relatively insignificant breach at OpenAI (and we must assume that it was no worse than the firm told its employees), Aschenbrenner raised general and genuine concerns over security – and for that, it seems, he was fired.

Related: Former OpenAI Employees Lead Push to Protect Whistleblowers Flagging AI Risks

Related: OpenAI’s Altman Sidesteps Questions About Governance

Related: UN Adopts Resolution Backing Efforts to Ensure Artificial Intelligence is Safe

Related: AI Weights: Securing the Heart and Soft Underbelly of Artificial Intelligence

NATO Innovation Fund announces first investments from EUR1B Fund for these sectors

The NATO Innovation Fund, an independent venture capital company backed by 23 NATO Allies announced on Tuesday its first deep technology investments from the EUR1B Fund.

This investment is aimed at boosting defense, security, resilience, and air travel by transforming manufacturing. It also aims to improve air travel, advance AI, and enable autonomous robotic solutions.

“Enabling capital for strategic technologies and supporting them is crucial to ensuring a safe and prosperous tomorrow for the Alliance’s one billion citizens.” Today, we’re proud to announce that we’ve invested in innovative solutions to help address our greatest challenges, boost growth and strengthen defence, security and resilience for future generations,” says Andrea Traversone. Managing Partner of the NATO Innovation Fund


Direct investment in emerging deep-tech startup

Direct investments of the Fund include:

  • ARX Robotics manufactures scalable robotic systems that can be deployed in mass for defense, commercial and humanitarian applications.
  • Fractileis a company that develops transformative computing technology for collective AI capabilities. This technology allows the largest and most powerful neural networks to run faster, more effectively, and sustainably.
  • iCOMAT produces lightweight, stronger and more sustainable structures in aerospace and automotive vehicles. It is also cost-effective.
  • Space Forge uses the space environment for manufacturing advanced semiconductor materials to ensure more powerful and resilient capabilities in telecommunications and aerospace.

Dr. Klaus Hommels is the Chair of NATO Innovation Fund. He congratulated NIF’s Investment Team on this significant milestone. This initial portfolio of investments is a good example of NIF’s mission, which is to advance defence, resilience, and security and promote the development dual-use eco-systems across the NATO Alliance.

Supporting venture capital fund managers

The NATO Innovation Fund provides support to venture capital fund managers who invest in early-stage deep technology with a focus of the civilian, defense, and security markets.



Message from our partner


This funding helps expand capacity in regions where there is a high demand for funding, such as Southern Europe and Eastern Europe, and grows deep tech startups ecosystems in the Nordics.

The fund is designed to support expertise and interest across a range of deep technology solutions, including quantum cryptography, AI and space tech.

  • Alpine Space Ventures, a fund for early-stage investments in the space sector that draws on over 50 years of experience in the industry, is a fund with specialized expertise. The fund has a portfolio that is focused on supporting startups to deliver important space-enabled technologies.
  • OTB ventures is a deep tech fund for early growth (Seed & Series A), based in Central Europe. It focuses on investing in spacetech and enterprise automation and AI, cybersecurity and fintech infrastructure.
  • Join Capital Is a Berlin-based venture capital fund that focuses on deep tech investments for industrial and enterprise technology.
  • Vsquared ventures invests early-stage deep-tech companies that are developing groundbreaking technology to address some society’s most pressing issues. With a focus on AI and next-gen software as well as energy transition, new computing, sensing, space, robotics, manufacturing, and tech bio.

“Europe’s deeptech industry, powered by a vast talent pool, is ready to tackle global problems through advanced technologies.” Investing in the deeptech sector requires time and skill but offers tremendous opportunities. The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), established in 2011, highlights the importance of these investments, and provides the know-how needed to bring them to new markets and applications. Adam Niewinski is co-founder and managing partner of OTB Ventures.

What do you need to Know about the NATO Innovation Fund?

The NATO Innovation Fund is backed by 24 NATO Allies and finances innovators in a variety of emerging technology fields, including energy, quantum computer, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomy, novel materials for space, biotechnology, hypersonics, and next generation communications.

The Fund will build on this initial portfolio and provide deep tech entrepreneurs the support they require for up to fifteen years, along with the conviction and agility needed to commercialise their solutions and implement them at scale.

Global climate technology firm Aether Fuels raises $34M Series A funding

Global advanced climate technology company Aether Fuels has announced that it has secured $34 million in Series A financing from a syndicate of global investors.

The firm said in a statement on last Friday that AP Ventures led the round, which also includes Chevron Technology Ventures, CDP Venture Capital and Zeon Ventures.

Series Seed lead investor Xora Innovation and other existing investors TechEnergy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Foothill Ventures and JetBlue Ventures also participated.

Aether Fuels was established in 2022 as a spin-out of Xora Innovation, a deep-tech early-stage investment platform of Temasek.

With this financing, Aether plans to accelerate the scale-up of Aether Aurora™, the company’s proprietary technology to create sustainable fuels for the aviation and ocean shipping industries.

Aether Aurora, which leverages technology licensed from Aether’s strategic partner GTI Energy, delivers breakthrough economics via a transformed Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process by combining innovations in chemistry (catalysts), equipment (reactors), and process flows to slash plant investment and operating costs, while simultaneously driving up yield.

It is also highly flexible, enabling the conversion of a wide range of abundant waste carbon feedstocks into jet fuel and other liquid hydrocarbons and therefore overcomes the supply constraints faced by many other sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production processes.

Aether will use the new capital to further expand its research and development (R&D) infrastructure, scale up its novel catalysts and process technology, and expand and accelerate the construction of a fully integrated 100 gallon-per-day (gpd) test production plant that builds on the successful operation of an existing 1.5 gpd pilot line.

In addition, the company will begin developing a pipeline of commercial-scale production facilities that include projects in the United States and Southeast Asia to produce SAF and other high-value sustainable liquid fuels, in collaboration with select strategic partners.

To facilitate this work, Aether and GTI Energy have partnered to establish an Aether R&D center within GTI Energy’s Chicago-area campus, where the existing 1.5 gpd line, and the 100 gpd plant under construction, are located.

This partnership began in 2022 seeking to build on a gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology program initiated by GTI Energy in 2016.

The Aether Aurora solution leverages critical innovations from that GTL program.

Because Aether Aurora was engineered from the ground up for feedstock flexibility it is suitable for e-fuel, biofuel, and recycled carbon fuel projects.

Such projects can efficiently consume captured carbon dioxide, industrial waste gases, biogas, treated agricultural residues, and more.

When combined with its cost efficiency, this adaptability establishes Aether Aurora as a highly differentiated solution.

“This is a group of financial and strategic leaders that see clearly the need to expand the supply of sustainable fuels,

“However, without dramatically scaling the capacity to produce the fuels, supply will remain seriously constrained, and the transition will be slow, if not impossible,” said Aether Chief Executive Officer Conor Madigan.

“This is precisely the problem we address with a disruptive scalable solution that encompasses novel chemistry, equipment, and process flows to simplify the conversion process, while enabling maximum carbon flexibility,

“The result: more product at vastly lower CapEx costs than existing approaches,” he added.

He also said that with their deep knowledge and experience in the industry, the investors’ decision indicates their support of Aether’s unique approach.

“We look forward to leveraging their expertise as we continue to execute,” he said.

Meanwhile, AP Ventures’ Kevin Eggers said that Aether stands out with an elegant and innovative technology approach that delivers superior economics.

It noted that Aether has assembled an exceptional team of energy experts, business leaders, and serial entrepreneurs.

“Their differentiated go-to-market strategy and disciplined execution are informed by a collective record of building energy and fuel projects worth tens of billions of dollars,

“Aether is advancing at pace, and we are excited to support their growth,” he added.

Aether Fuels envisions a net-zero world enabled by its breakthrough sustainable liquid fuel production technology.

The firm is developing highly scalable solutions that improve the unit economics of producing sustainable fuels for aviation and ocean shipping.

It maintains principal operations in the United States and Singapore.

Temasek backs Australian enviro-tech firm Samsara Eco in $65M funding

YL Ventures appoints Elias Terman as Operating Partner

Global cybersecurity venture capital firm YL Ventures has appointed Elias Terman to Operating Partner at the firm. Terman will use his cybersecurity marketing and business experience to help the firm’s portfolio companies accelerate customer and revenue growth.

“YL Ventures is well known for the extraordinary value it gives to its portfolio companies, well beyond capital, and for leveraging its partnerships to drive innovation in the global cybersecurity industry,” says Elias. “With these foundations, I hope to expand our portfolio companies’ business opportunities and client base, and generate value for security professionals who thrive on early-stage security innovation.”

Terman joins YL Ventures from Orca Security, where he served as SVP of Marketing. He also built a track record of building marketing and outreach programs at cybersecurity startups including Uptycs, Integris Software (acquired by OneTrust), Distil Networks (acquired by Imperva), and OneLogin. As Operating Partner at YL Ventures, Terman will leverage these abilities to help the firm’s portfolio companies maximize their customer outreach programs to support their growth, alongside YL Ventures’ marketing team led by Partner Sharon Seemann.

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“Elias is passionate about bolstering exceptional early-stage startups to market leadership through close guidance and hands-on assistance,” added Justin Somaini, Partner at YL Ventures. “His proven ability to drive early business development and rapidly increase sales pipeline velocity will be a true asset to the firm’s founders at their most critical stages.”

YL Ventures funds and supports cybersecurity entrepreneurs from Seed to scale, helping them evolve ideas into companies. It is based in Silicon Valley, New York, and Tel Aviv and manages five funds with $800 million in total AUM.

Silicon Valley wants to have unfettered control over the tech market. It’s because of this that it’s cozying up to Trump

HHardly a week goes by without another billionaire endorsing Donald Trump. Joe Biden’s proposal to impose a 25 percent tax on those with assets above $100m (PS80m) is not surprising. The real twist? The pro-Trump club of multimillionaires now includes an increasing number of venture capitalists. Venture capitalists are more progressive than hedge funders and private equity barons. They’ve positioned themselves as heroes of innovation and the Democrats have done the most to polish their progressive image. Why are they now cozying up to Trump?

Venture capitalists, Democrats and others have shared a belief in techno-solutionism for many years. They believed that digital technology could help markets achieve social goods, where government policies had failed. In the last two decades, this utopia has crumbled. We were promised that social media could topple dictators, that crypto could tackle poverty, and that AI can cure cancer. The progressive credentials of venture investors were only skin deep. Now that Biden is taking a more aggressive stance against Silicon Valley, the VCs are happy to support Trump and his Republicans.

Early 1980s was when the Democrats began to fall in love with techno-solutionism. Democrats saw Silicon Valley’s role in boosting environmentalism, worker autonomy, and global justice as crucial. Venture capitalists were the financial backers for this new, seemingly benign form of capitalism. They were essential to this vision. Democrats eventually acquiesced to Republican demands for measures that benefited the VC industry, such as changes to capital gains tax or liberalisation of pension fund laws. Democrats have actively promoted the agenda on issues such as intellectual properties.

This alliance has changed the way that the US finances innovation. Venture capitalists fund startups that commercialise basic science funded by public institutions like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. These startups then build on the intellectual property that has been licensed from grant recipients to design apps, gadgets, and drugs. Naturally, a large portion of these profits goes to venture capitalists, who own stakes in these startups. This model has led to Americans paying some of the most expensive drug prices in the entire world. Yet, when politicians have attempted to curb this egregious outcome, they have been greeted with accusations from VC industry.

Venture capitalists are keen to highlight the role they play in driving progress. Through podcasts and publications, they have successfully recasting their interests as those that benefit humanity. The Techno-Optimist Manifesto is a 5,200-word document written by Marc Andreessen. He is the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, a VC firm. Its jarring universalism suggests that we are all in this together – San Francisco’s venture-capitalists and the homeless. Andreessen encourages readers to join venture investors as “allies” in the pursuit for technology, abundance, life. His text quickly reveals the truth. He writes that “free markets” are the most effective way of organising a technological economy. (Andreessen has criticised Biden, without endorsing Trump.

Andreessen doesn’t celebrate technology in the abstract. He promotes what he calls the “techno-capital machines”. This system allows him to reap the benefits of innovation while steering it in a direction that prevents alternative models from Silicon Valley hegemony from achieving the kind of adoption that would allow for-profit solutions to be displaced. Andresseen is no different from other VCs in that they never stop to consider the possibility that a more efficient technological economy may not be based on free markets. How can VCs claim that treating data as a common good will not lead to a more effective generative AI or less destructive social media platforms?

The tragedy is we won’t try anything like this anytime soon. We’re trapped by a worldview which has led us to believe that there is no other option to a system which relies on poorly-paid workers in the global South to assemble devices and moderate content, and consumes unsustainable amounts of energy to train AI and mine bitcoin. Even the idea that social networks might promote democracy is now abandoned. Instead, tech leaders appear more concerned about avoiding responsibility for their platforms’ role in subverting democratic processes and fanning flames of genocide.

Where can we find this much-needed alternative to the current system? While researching for my latest podcast A Sense of Rebellion I came across a series of 1970s debates that pointed me in the right directions. Back then, a small group of hippy radicals were advocating for “ecological technology” and “counter-technology”. They didn’t want to merely make existing tools more transparent and accessible. They wanted to fundamentally change the system. I found a compelling example of such thinking in a quirky manifesto from 1971, published in Radical Software ,a small yet influential magazine. The author of the manifesto was anonymous and signed as “Aquarius Project”, with only a Berkeley postal box listed. I tracked them down partly because their points in the manifesto are often forgotten in today’s debates on Silicon Valley. They wrote: “‘Technology does nothing’, it creates no problems and has no ‘imperatives.'” “Our problem isn’t ‘Technology,’ but capitalist technology.”

The group, being hippies, struggled to translate their insights into policy requests. Someone else had done it three decades earlier. In the late 1940s the Democratic Senator Harley Kilgore recognized the dangers that postwar science would become “the handmaiden of corporate or industrial research”. He envisioned an NSF governed by representatives of unions, consumers and agriculture, and industry, to ensure that technology served social needs while remaining under democratic control. If they based their research on public research, corporations would have to share their IP and be prevented from being the only providers of “solutions” for social problems. His model was ultimately defeated because of its emphasis on democratic oversight and the sharing of IP riches.

Our current approach to innovation allows scientists to set their own priorities and does not require that companies that benefit from research funded by the public share their intellectual property. We must now ask if this approach is still valid, as Biden’s chips act directs 81bn dollars to the NSF. Shouldn’t democratic decisions guide how this money will be spent? What about the IP generated? How much will venture capitalists end up gaining? Data and AI raise similar questions. Should big tech companies be allowed to use public data to create lucrative AI models that are owned by private firms? Why not make data available to universities and nonprofits? Why should companies like OpenAI, which is backed by venture capital dominate this space?

The AI gold rush of today is inefficient and irrational. A single, authoritative, public curator of the data behind generative AI would do a better and more efficient job, saving both money and resources. It could charge corporations to access the data, while offering cheaper access to libraries and public media organisations. Silicon Valley’s merchants are leading us in the opposite directions. They are obsessed with accelerating Andreessen’s “techno capital machine”, which relies upon detaching markets from democratic control. With Trump in the White House they will not waste time repurposing tools to serve authoritarianism, just as they did for the neoliberal agendas set by his Democratic predecessors.

Biden and his supporters should recognize venture capitalists are a problem, and not a solution. The sooner progressive forces can get over their fascination for Silicon Valley, better. It won’t suffice: To build a truly progressive tech-public machine, it is necessary to rethink the relation between science and technology and democracy and equality. It’s okay if that means reopening debates that were once settled.

  • Evgeny Morozov has written several books on technology and political issues. His latest podcast A Sense of Rebellion is now available.

  • Do you have a view on the issues raised by this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Rabdan Academy launches Circles of Resilience Initiative to empower youth with AI, security technology, and national defence

Rabdan Academy inaugurated the Circles of Resilience Initiative, marking the beginning of a groundbreaking youth dialogue platform dedicated in the realms of defence and security.

The initiative aims to provide young people with knowledge and insight into artificial Intelligence, national defence technology, security technology, strengthening national security, and contributing to innovation, development and technical research.

The initiative includes a series of targeted, specialised sessions that cater to different segments of the society. These sessions include experts, distinguished national figures and decision-makers in the fields of safety, security and defence. They also include specialists in emergency preparedness, crisis management and emergency preparedness.

In its inaugural session, Circles of Resilience welcomed Dr Obaid Al Hairi Salem Al Ketbi, His Excellency, who spoke on Visionary security: Empowering youth at the intersection of AI, Technology and National Defence. His Excellency Al Ketbi explained how Emirati youth could actively engage in the scientific advancements. He also discussed ways to foster development, innovation, and technical research.

His Excellency Al Ketbi highlighted the pivotal role youth plays in society. He also stressed the importance of training and education programmes that aim to raise awareness among young people about the importance academic research, technological innovations, and the use of artificial intelligence for security solutions, intelligence analysis and intelligence analysis.

In the next session, His Excellence Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed (Chairman of the National Media Office) delved into Navigating the Nexus : Youth, Media and National Security in the Digital Age.

His Excellency Al Hamed stressed the importance of aligning media efforts with responsibility. He also emphasized that instilling values such as loyalty and belonging is the cornerstone of a robust national security shield. His Excellency Al Hamed emphasized the UAE’s commitment to empowering the youth. He directed all efforts towards equipping new generations with knowledge and experiences that stimulate and prepare them to shape future of UAE.

Additional sessions will be held in Abu Dhabi. Further details will be announced via the official platforms of the academy.

VCs on the AI startups they hope to see next

In Disney’s Aladdin, the genie (voiced by Robin Williams) very memorably describes the paradox that defines his life: “Phenomenal cosmic power! Itty bitty living space.”

It’s a paradox that could be said to apply to VCs and AI too. Artificial intelligence is often described as a generationally-transformational technology with seemingly endless applications. And yet the pitch decks that startups present to VC investors day after day have a certain repetitiveness to them.

Of course, the best ideas are often founder-driven––but the Fortune team and I have been wondering: What AI startups would VCs love to see founders launch? What are they hoping someone walks through the door with? What’s on their AI wishlist? 

VCs aren’t necessarily in the business of predicting the future—but they certainly are in the business of backing it. I ultimately got in touch with nine VCs for this story, and pretty much started every conversation by running this thought by them: That this project isn’t prescriptive. (I thought a lot about the ethos of Y Combinator’s Request For Startups as I was doing this.) 

The hope is that these ideas just might be a springboard for someone at a transitional time within the AI boom. 

“I think if we had that conversation six months ago, we would have had a less of an understanding of what these systems can do, and so been much more keen to apply it across many more horizontal backgrounds,” said Theory Ventures general partner Tomasz Tunguz. 

The earliest days of AI are behind us––but that doesn’t mean we’ve made it all that far just yet. 

“I would say we’re in the late part of the first quarter, or maybe the early third inning,” said NFX founding partner James Currier. “We’re still waiting for that phase, right? Uber came out, what? Two and a half, three years after the mobile phone arrived. It just took about that long for people to really start thinking, ‘Wait a minute, everything can change.’”

I’m not a genie, so I can’t grant wishes. But I can certainly collect wishes. And who knows, maybe some enterprising founder out there can make them come true. 

Read the whole story here. 

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle
Twitter:
@agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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Joe Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

K Health, a New York City-based AI-powered primary care platform, raised $50 million in funding. Claure Group led the round and was joined by existing investors Mangrove Capital Partners, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, and others.

Prodia, an Atlanta, Ga.-based developer of AI-powered image generation software for app integration, raised $15 million in seed funding. Dragonfly Capital led the round and was joined by HashKey, Web3.com, Index Ventures, Symbolic Capital, and others.

Kanvas Biosciences, a Monmouth Junction, N.J.-based drug screening, discovery, and manufacturing platform, raised $12.5 million in funding. Existing investors DCVC and Lions Capital led the round and were joined by FemHealth Ventures, Germin8, Ki Tua Fund, Pangaea Ventures, and existing investors. 

Vaire Computing, a London, U.K. and Seattle, Wash.-based producer of near zero-energy silicon chips, raised $4 million in seed funding. 7percent Ventures and Jude Gomila led the round and were joined by others. 

PRIVATE EQUITY

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) agreed to acquire Preqin, a London, U.K.-based private markets data platform, for approximately $3.2 billion in cash. 

American Industrial Partners acquired a majority stake in Austin Powder, a Cleveland, Ohio-based provider of industrial explosives and other blasting solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Clearlake Capital Group acquired a minority stake in Aptean, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based provider of resource planning and supply chain software. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Park Square Capital acquired a minority stake in Togetherwork, a Atlanta, Ga.-based provider of payments, management, and other software. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

OTHER

Taxfix Group agreed to acquire TaxScouts, a London, U.K.-based tax filing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

Ardian, a Paris, France-based private equity firm, raised $3.2 billion for its sixth co-investment fund focused on minority investments. 

Lee Equity Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised approximately $1.3 billion for its fourth fund focused on health care and financial services companies. 

PEOPLE

DeepWork Capital, an Orlando, Fla.-based venture capital firm, promoted Ken Hall to partner. 

SeventySix Capital, a King of Prussia, Pa.-based venture capital firm, hired Carlos Silva as a partner. Formerly, he served as chief executive officer of C360.