Today’s Highlights

• AI: Nvidia Leads the Charge into the ‘Age of AI Agentics’

• Design: 2025: The Year AI Hides in the Background of 3D Art

• Science & Tech: Burying Nuclear Reactors a Mile Underground: A Very Subterranean Approach to Powering Data Centres

• Founding: The Half-Hour of Power: A Quick Exercise for Startups

• Product: When and Which Numbers to Ditch: How Companies like Basecamp and Notion Function Beyond Metrics 

• Today’s AI image: Nuclear Reactors Beneath Your Feet…

• Quote for the day: Funny Yet True Advice on Living Life

AI

Nvidia Leads the Charge into the ‘Age of AI Agentics’

At CES 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang set the stage for a bold new era in AI, describing AI agents as a "multi-trillion-dollar" opportunity.

The company showcased groundbreaking advancements across hardware, software, and robotics, underscoring its leadership in the AI revolution.

Hardware Marvels: RTX Blackwell and Beyond

The spotlight shone brightly on Nvidia's newly unveiled RTX Blackwell GPU family, with the $2,000 RTX 5090 chip earning the title of "world’s fastest GPU."

Doubling the performance of its predecessor, it’s a powerhouse aimed at redefining computational limits.

Alongside this, Nvidia revealed ‘Project Digits,’ a personal supercomputer priced at $3,000.

Powered by the GB10 Superchip, this device boasts 1,000 times the performance of an average laptop, marking a leap forward in consumer AI technology.

Platforms for Physical AI and Agentic Applications

Nvidia also launched Cosmos, an open platform designed to advance robotics and autonomous vehicle development using world foundation models for physical AI.

Complementing this is the introduction of the Llama Nemotron and Cosmos Nemotron model families, tailored for agentic AI applications.

These innovations provide a robust foundation for creating AI systems capable of reasoning, decision-making, and more.

Why is this a big deal?

Nvidia is no longer just the king of GPUs—it’s a central force driving the AI and robotics revolution.

From redefining personal computing to shaping the future of autonomous systems, the company is positioning itself at the heart of the agentic AI era.

With Huang’s ambitious vision and Nvidia’s relentless innovation, the future of AI looks astonishingly bright—and just a little bit faster.

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Also in AI

• Panasonic partners with Anthropic to prioritise AI wellness: Launching a wellness coach app to keep us all a bit saner

• AI takes cancer detection to new heights: A groundbreaking study shows AI-assisted screenings boost breast cancer detection rates by 17%

• Anthropic’s Valuation Soars: Anthropic is reportedly close to locking in a massive $2B funding round, propelling its valuation to a staggering $60B

• OpenAI’s ‘Operator’ Gears Up for Launch: After delays tied to prompt injection security issues, OpenAI’s autonomous AI agent, ‘Operator,’ is set to debut this month

• Trump’s AI Power Play: Announced a whopping $20B AI investment courtesy of UAE real estate magnate Hussain Sajwani

• NASA Highlights AI Innovations: From guiding Mars rovers to monitoring Earth’s environment, their AI tech is reaching for the stars—and beyond

• AI Drives Holiday Shopping Boom: Adobe’s research reveals a jaw-dropping 1,300% spike in retail web traffic during the holidays, thanks to AI assistants like ChatGPT

Design

2025: The Year AI Hides in the Background of 3D Art

This year, 3D art is set to embrace a transformative phase as artificial intelligence shifts from a headline-grabber to a seamlessly integrated tool.

Industry leaders predict AI will enhance workflows, foster creativity, and enable global collaboration, redefining how artists and studios operate.

AI as an Invisible Powerhouse

Generative AI tools are maturing into robust solutions for tasks like modelling, rigging, and texturing.

Dade Orgeron of Shutterstock envisions AI becoming so integrated it "disappears into the background," while cloud platforms will revolutionise teamwork and accelerate creative output.

Realism Takes Centre Stage

Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs) and LiDAR are pushing the boundaries of realism in 3D environments.

Andy Fontana from Leica Geosystems highlights rapid advancements in these technologies, making photorealistic digital twins and virtual productions more accessible and efficient.

Preserving Artistic Integrity

In visual effects, AI has boosted efficiency, but Whiskytree’s Brian Meanley stresses the need for balance.

Ethical AI use, respect for artistry, and cautious automation will be key to maintaining the craft's creative essence.

A Promising Future

With AI evolving into a reliable ally and groundbreaking technologies like NeRFs advancing rapidly, 2025 promises to be a year where technology and artistry unite to unlock new creative possibilities in 3D art.

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Also in Design

• Apple’s iPhone SE Revamp: Goodbye Home Button, Hello Notch?

• Avataar’s AI Tool Makes Product Videos a Breeze: Meet Velocity, Avataar’s shiny new AI tool that transforms product links into snazzy videos

• Getty and Shutterstock Tie the Knot in a $3.7B Merger: Two stock photo giants are merging to fend off AI image competitors

• Trauma-Informed Design: Designing with empathy creates safer, more inclusive digital experiences

• CSS Text-Wrapping: Balancing Words Like a Pro

Science & Tech

Burying Nuclear Reactors a Mile Underground: A Very Subterranean Approach to Powering Data Centres

Deep Fission, a nuclear startup, is taking a bold approach to power data centres by burying micro-reactors underground.

This unconventional plan could replace the hefty concrete shielding typically required for above-ground reactors, using depth as a natural safeguard.

The company has partnered with data centre developer Endeavour to build 2 gigawatts of subterranean nuclear power, marking a significant step in the nuclear energy renaissance.

Nuclear Startups Gaining Momentum

With the increasing energy demands of AI-driven data centres, nuclear startups are making waves.

Google, Amazon, and Meta are all exploring partnerships with different players in the small modular reactor (SMR) space, aiming to meet their massive power needs.

Deep Fission’s reactors would be lowered into a 30-inch borehole, where they’d generate steam to power the surface.

Despite being in early stages, these developments signal a major shift in how nuclear energy could be deployed for tech infrastructure.

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead

Deep Fission's underground reactors are expected to be more cost-effective, targeting a price of 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt-hour—less than half the current U.S. nuclear cost.

However, the company is still awaiting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with the process expected to take up to 18 months under new laws.

If successful, Deep Fission could join other nuclear startups in revolutionising the energy sector by 2029.

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Also in Science & Tech

• CES 2025 Highlights: From AI-powered TVs to a phone charger that works in seconds, CES is bringing the future to your doorstep

• Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Set for Launch: SpaceX will launch Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 on Jan 15, carrying NASA payloads to the Moon’s Mare Crisium

• Male spiders sniff out love through their legs (Nope, not creepy at all)

• Arizona's 600-megawatt solar project gets the green light

Founding

The Half-Hour of Power: A Quick Exercise for Startups 

You know your offer is unputdownable when you get a “hell yeah” from your customers. 

But the number of such enthusiastic responses you’ve got till now hasn’t yet touched the ceiling (perhaps there is no ceiling). Means there’s a lot of potential for you to gather a loyal buyer base. 

Here’s a quick 3-step exercise to harness this potential:

Step-1: Who are your best customers? 

List individual customers who a) bought quickly; b) Love your product post-sale. 

You would want to avoid grouping and generalising because then you would assume their characteristics and conclude to faulty insights. 

Step-2: Understand the What, Why and When of their purchase decision

Why did they need to change? What pushed them to act now?

What project were they tackling? What was the task or challenge that made them seek a solution?

What options did they consider, and why did they choose you?

Step-3: Pull the lever and trigger the flow

You’ve most likely got to a few solid conclusions. You now know where to look for people who would go “hell yes” on finding your product. 

Now fix your messaging to communicate out loud to these ideal prospects that 

“We know your problem. We understand it’s uncomfortable. So we built a solution fit for you that erases all the annoyance and brings ease to your life.”

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Also in Founding

• TikTok’s Ticking Clock: TikTok faces a January 19 ban unless ByteDance divests

• Vultr Scores Big in AI Cloud: Vultr secures $333M in funding, hitting a $3.5B valuation

• Mastering LinkedIn Ad Library: With LinkedIn ads reaching 1.1B users annually, the Ad Library is your secret weapon for campaign analysis and competitor insights

• 30 Gems of Company-Building Advice: From customer complaints as gold mines to avoiding symmetrical org charts

Product

When and Which Numbers to Ditch: How Companies like Basecamp and Notion Function Beyond Metrics 

Around 2021, Facebook felt like it was doing just fine. The numbers looked perfect. The metrics spat out by the world’s best measurement systems were of course, perfectly accurate. 

Well, no. 

What was actually happening was that TikTok was growing strong, breakthrough by breakthrough, engulfing FB’s user base. The numbers didn’t necessarily fail. They forged a blind spot. 

The Performance Paradox

The more you measure, the more people optimise for those measurements, often at the expense of the actual goal. 

This is evident in industries where success is defined by metrics that fail to capture deeper truths, like user trust or long-term value.

A Wiser Anti-Metric Approach

Some companies, like Basecamp and Notion, have intentionally discarded or minimised their reliance on metrics. 

Long tale brief, this movement has resulted in improved customer satisfaction, accelerated product development, and stronger financial performance.

A metric detox, as is best to call it, is best to take up when you’re drowned in deceptive numbers: Audit existing metrics, focusing on a minimal set of survival and growth indicators. Kindle direct engagement with customers to gain deeper insights.

Your Gut Screams Guidance

Do listen to numbers. But not just numbers. We all know there’s a quiet voice within all of us that often wants us to take certain actions in certain situations. We call it intuition. 

You can trust your gut to judge the unmeasurable elements like trust, innovation, and customer experience.  

Founders like Brian Chesky (Airbnb) and Reed Hastings (Netflix) are firm believers of intuition and experience-guided action. 

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Today’s AI Image

Nuclear Reactors Beneath Your Feet…

Quote of the Day

Funny Yet True Advice on Living Life

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."

Benjamin Franklin

What we’re working on

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