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Tag: technology

Microsoft’s $1bn OpenAI partnership underpinned with closer Azure ties

July 30, 2019 Published by

Microsoft’s
$1bn OpenAI partnership underpinned with closer Azure ties (ITPro)

  • Not-for-profit organisation OpenAI (co-founded by Elon Musk) and Microsoft have formed a $1bn strategic partnership focused on integrating Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform with its on-going work.
  • The two firms will jointly develop Azure AI supercomputing technologies, but also focus on creating artificial general intelligence (AGI).
  • OpenAI will port its existing services to Microsoft’s cloud and use Microsoft as preferred partner for marketing commercialised AI technologies.

Analysis and Comments

  • The main difference between AI and AGI is that AGI is not developed for a specific application and therefore more multi-functional in nature. So, while an AI can be incredibly good at one task (e.g. screening scans for cancer), the aim for AGIs is to have the ability to perform any task that a human can.
  • Some experts have predicted the development of an AGI to be achieved as early as 2030, however, most lean towards later dates, such as the year 2060 or even 2099.
  • Regardless, OpenAI has already achieved several impressive milestones in the AI world, for example, by setting new benchmarks for robot dexterity, with one of its video gaming bots recently beating human champions at Dota 2, while one of its text-generation systems can write anything from fake news articles to convincing song lyrics and short stories.

Microsoft’s Stock Price

BP sees electric cars charging 100% in 5 mins by 2021

July 28, 2019 Published by

BP sees electric cars charging 100% in 5 mins
by 2021 (BNEF)

  • As the oil major BP is expanding its footprint in EV charging, the company has stated it is focusing on reducing charging times, “…to have a battery in a car by 2021 that can be charged completely in five minutes – for a lot more than 100 kilometers”.
  • After its acquisition of BP Chargemaster for US$170m, BP is now in the process of installing ultra-fast EV chargers at service station in China, Germany, and the UK.
  • BP is also investing in biofuel development, as it considers the technology to be “the best way of decarbonizing long-distance jet transport”.

Analysis and Comments

  • This level of super fast charging is the holy grail of EVs. As cost comes down, and as the charging network grows, the last big barrier to overcome is the inconvenience of the time it takes to charge.
  • This shift, if achieved, could open up the EV market to those city dwellers who don’t have off street parking (so no easy home charging option).
  • To be clear, the BP target is just that; a target. The article claims, that the technology from a BP investment in an Israeli company called StoreDot already allows ultra high speed charging of mobile phones but the EV version seems to be work in progress.
  • The technology (FlashBatteries) seems to be a combination of the use of organic compounds in the cathode (plus Silicon?) and some form of capacitor technology (those of you with good memories will recall that Tesla recently purchased Maxwell Technologies – a global leader in ultra and super capacitors).  
  • Normally, I would be sceptical about such claims – the “we have found a way of producing super batteries” story appears on a regular basis in the tradepress. But with BP money behind them, perhaps this approach has a future.

Future EV Leaders are in “Emerging” Markets

July 22, 2019 Published by

China’s electric vehicle charging posts
exceed 1 mln (XinhuaNet)

  • The
    number of charging points in China has risen to 1m (up 69% YoY).
  • At
    the end of 2018 there were 760k charging points in China, up from 440k at end
    of 2017.

Analysis and Comments

  • Charging infrastructure is a lot more important than battery cost and subsidies in sustaining EV growth. The Chinese authorities are shifting their priorities from subsidizing EVs to financing the roll out of charging infrastructure.
  • The availability of high power/speed charging infrastructure will make short range EVs (~150miles) viable as your first car rather than your second one.
  • This is necessary, as battery costs are likely to bottom out at above $100/kWh which would make mass market EVs with long range commercially unaviable in the absence of subsidies.

Indian Cities Now Plan To Buy Thousands Of
Electric Buses (CleanTechnica)

  • Indian cities are planning to buy thousands of electric buses over the next few years.
  • In India, the government is spending $1.3bn on its electric bus programme and the funds will be used to subsidise 60% of the cost of the bus.

Analysis and Comments

  • Chinese bus OEMs such as BYD are the best placed to benefit from this opportunity, because they have a clear cost advantage versus bus OEMs in Europe and the US.
  • For the cobalt market (and hence Umicore), the bus market will also be important due to the shift in battery technology in buses from LFP to NMC which will boost cobalt demand.  

BYD Share Price

UK generates more electricity from zero carbon than fossil fuels

June 28, 2019 Published by

UK generates more electricity from zero carbon than fossil fuels (BBC)

For the first time since the Industrial revolution, the UK has generated more of its electricity from zero carbon sources than from coal & gas.48% of generation ytd (to end May) came from zero carbon, while 47% was from fossil fuels ( the rest was bio mass)Among the fossil fuels, coal fell to 3% of generation, while nuclear made up 18% of the zero carbon.

Analysis and Comments

I want to highlight that the shift to variable renewables creates a number of investment opportunities in terms of grid balancingIn the UK, this

New Renault Zoe – bigger battery, longer range and faster charging

June 27, 2019 Published by

New Renault Zoe – bigger battery, longer range and faster
charging (electrive.com)

Renault has
formally launched the new version
of the Zoe, the model is to be known as the Z.E 50. Details on pricing
etc are still to be announced, but its expected to be broadly in line with
the current model.Key details
from a battery perspective are a
larger battery (up from 41kWh to 52kWh) & the addition of a faster
charging capacity, using the CSS plug – but only up to 50kw.In addition the
electric motor (developed in house) has its power increased to 100kW
output.

Analysis and Comments

With

Another Tidbit of Wisdom… $AAPL

June 17, 2019 Published by

Markets are hard. No one has ever denied that. The second you think you are performing well and do not stick to a strict set of rules is likely around the same time (or seconds) that the market smacks you right in the face.

In order to succeed in the market across ALL time frames you have to get the trend right. Well your in luck. We are at a very pivotal point in the US Equity Market that the trend will be decided soon enough (more than likely). $AAPL is going to be our prime example here in analyzing

$NIO Failed Breakout turned into a Disaster

June 4, 2019 Published by

This is why you follow rules and pay attention to price. When things don’t act the way they should you just get out of the way and move on. NIO is a luxury electric car company (and service) that I had my eyes on. It was a new IPO as you can see above and broke up out of the initial IPO range. I liked it here.

Then…kaboom. News and earning cause it to rapidly give these levels back and create an ISLAND of bagholders above the range. I got out of the way here but I believe many have

$TSLA has been a Monster Turd

May 25, 2019 Published by

I was a $TSLA fan, still am. I was an Elon musk fan, still am. But the stock STINKS! It shows nothing but paiinnnnn. I was calling for buying the dip on the way down to 250 and then once 250 failed you have to get the heck out of the way.

I am still a believer. And LONGTERM this may be a good spot to dabble. In long term investments you dabble on down weeks and don’t worry about it for a couple years. But short term there is nothing good going on with TSLA. It appears there may

Binary Options on EOSIO $EOS www.dragonoption.io

May 14, 2019 Published by

This is huge! More and more dapps are being created and taking over more and more chains. This is one in particular that I have been utilizing lately and it is built on the EOS blockchain. It is called DragonOption and can be found at www.dragonoption.io

If you are familiar with Binary Options it is the easiest way to invest in options. You are buying a contract with a 70% return and a 50% chance of winning. If you learn how to trade then you actually increase your chances. DragonOption is a Dapp that allows you to trade crypto binary

Bitcoin Squeeze!

May 13, 2019 Published by

I am watching Bitcoin make another move back to highs after pulling back on the 1 hour time frame. Crypto is now fully back into play and will be daily. Money is flowing back into bitcoin which means that once the money is in bitcoin it will likely be flowing into other Alts as bitcoin slows or pulls back. We have taken back MAJOR resistance levels here and want to see some grind sideways and buyers hold some levels.

This is great news and the accumulation for the past 6-8 months is pay off BIGLY! Let’s Ride!

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