⚡️ China's plans to 'reshape world' with robots

PLUS: Scientists create brain-reading speech device

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

China just revealed plans to achieve advanced humanoid robot mass production by 2025, a technology it believes will radically reshape society.

Does this roadmap signal the start of a new automation arms race? Let’s find out…

In today’s tech rundown:

  • China's plan to 'reshape world' with humanoid robots

  • Duke's brain implant decodes speech from thoughts

  • 10 new products

  • YouTube's new ad blocker violates EU law

  • Reddit is testing new features for moderators

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

ROBOTICS

Image source: Fourier Intelligence

The Rundown: China just announced plans to achieve mass production of "advanced level" humanoid robots by 2025 in the country’s quest to reshape the world around what it believes is the next major disruptive product.

The details:

  • China's Ministry of Industry and IT published a strategic roadmap, laying out the goal to mass-produce humanoid robots by 2025.

  • The doc claimed the robots could have a disruptive global impact comparable to smartphones and electric vehicles.

  • Chinese startup Fourier Intelligence aims to manufacture thousands of bipedal robots by 2024 that can walk 3 mph and carry over 100 lbs.

The relevance: The accelerated timeline seems ambitious given the state of robotics… But if achieved, it would undoubtedly propel China to the forefront of automation — with major geopolitical and economic implications.

TOGETHER WITH HOUCK’S NEWSLETTER

⚡️ Get tactical startup advice every week from an a16z-backed founder

The Rundown: Access strategic startup insights every week from an a16z-backed founder and avoid being just a 'wantrepreneur'.

  • Join 75,000+ founders for free to receive a database of 800+ lead investors and curated resources aimed at building, growing, and raising capital for your startup.

Join now for free to access the database of lead investors and receive weekly deep dives and resources to propel your startup forward. Become part of our community!

MEDICAL RESEARCH

Image source: Duke University

The Rundown: Duke researchers just developed a stamp-sized brain implant that can translate signals from the speech center of the brain into the words a person intends to say.

The details:

  • The prosthetic has 256 sensors and was tested on patients by recording brain activity as they said words out loud during surgery.

  • A decoding algorithm then predicted the sounds with 40% accuracy from just 90 seconds of speech data.

  • The team is working on a wireless version and improving decoding speed closer to natural speech.

Why it matters: This remarkable early research highlights the accelerating potential of brain-computer interfaces — which seem to be having a 0 to 1 moment with multiple significant breakthroughs this year.

This implant could someday help those unable to talk due to neurological disorders communicate!

NEW PRODUCTS

📝 Qureos Resume Builder- Find the perfect job with a winning resume (link)

🧑‍💼 Clerk- Drop-in auth & user management for React (link)

🚗 Morgen Assist- Automate your workflows quickly & easily (link)

🗺️ StoryMap.site- User story mapping at your fingertips (link)

💼 Taplio- All-in-one AI-powered tool for creating, managing, and growing your personal brand on LinkedIn (link)

🧪 Quizgecko- AI online test and quiz maker (link)

🧠 AI-suggests- Generate tons of ready-to-use content and new ideas for your business instantly (link)

⭕️ Circleback- Never take notes again with AI-driven meeting notes (link)

📝 PDF AI- Chat with any document (link)

🛠️ 60sec.site- Generates beautiful landing pages for you in under 60 seconds (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

SNIPPETS

YouTube's new ad blocker detection violates EU privacy law according to campaigner Alexander Hanff, who is taking the issue to the European Commission.

Reddit is testing new add-ons for moderators and live scoreboards through its Developer Platform.

Hollywood studios want to reuse dead actors' AI likenesses without permission, but actors' union SAG-AFTRA rejected the proposal.

The Euclid space telescope has released the first full-color images to map the cosmos and study dark matter and dark energy comprising 95% of the universe.

Waze now alerts drivers if a road has a history of crashes based on community reports and AI analysis.

Apple paused software development to address bugs in upcoming iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS updates.

Google Photos' Magic Editor won't edit IDs, faces or large areas to prevent misuse.

SPONSOR US

⚡️ Get your product in front of over 50k+ tech enthusiasts

Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners around the world. Get in touch today.

THAT’S A WRAP

If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundowntech

How was today's newsletter?

Feedback helps us improve!

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

❤️ Rundown review of the day

Reply

or to participate.