2019

Enterprise

Starlink-bound SpaceX’s financial statements reveal moonshot gambles with large investments

That was also the year SpaceX launched its first 60 Starlink satellites. The company was spending plenty of cash on research and development, too — $559 million in 2018 and $661 million the following year. The Starlink program completed a milestone in 2019, when SpaceX launched the first batch of operational Starlink satellites in May of that year. The company ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $868 million for 2018 and $990 million for 2019. The company launches its Starlink satellites with its own rocket, its Falcon 9 workhorse, which means it can launch the space-based internet satellites at unprecedented rates.

Max Chen
April 11, 2024

Enterprise, Robotics & AI

The Academic Exodus of Artificial Intelligence Mindsets

According to Stanford’s 2021 Artificial Intelligence Index Report, the number of new AI Ph.D. graduates in North America entering the AI industry post-graduation grew from 44.4% in 2010 to around 48% in 2019. By contrast, the share of new AI Ph.D.s entering academia dropped by 44% from 42.1% in 2010 to 23.7% in 2019. Private industry’s willingness to pay top dollar for AI talent is likely a contributing factor. While AI graduates are no doubt welcoming the trend — who wouldn’t kill for a starting salary that high? Between 2004 and 2019, Carnegie Mellon alone saw 16 AI faculty members depart, and the Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Washington lost roughly a dozen each, the study found.