The Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), whose 2020 event concluded Wednesday, showcases the innovators harnessing the power of technology to address the greatest challenges facing humanity and our planet.
Young Sohn, corporate president and chief strategy officer for Samsung Electronics, and the co-founder of XTC, said the 80 judges who evaluate the contestants were looking for something different this year due to COVID-19 conditions.
"We used to look at the message, but now, we really want a viable business... we are looking for a startup management team that has the ability to drive and achieve their mission," Sohn said. "I think providing a very viable business plan that can be developed and discussed by the community is really what we are looking for."
This year's global winner was Genecis, a cleantech startup that converts food waste into biodegradable plastics and other high-value materials. Microgen Biotech's Xuemei Germaine won the Female Founder Award, and the COVID-19 Innovation Award went to TytoCare.
Sohn said it was important that companies were working towards implementing the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals.
"Whether it's the food issues, medicine, inclusion issues, equality, education. And we want to make sure these kinds of areas are well-captured, along with the technology to enable these applications to develop," he noted.
But achieving these goals takes inspiration and teamwork, and Sohn is hoping that the collaboration of ideas between bigger companies can bring greater results. He also gave credit to one world leader for providing the inspiration for creating this competition.
"I give a lot of credit to [French] President [Emmanuel] Macron for inspiring us to really rework our goals... working with big corporations like Samsung and Intel and Microsoft to accelerate the innovation path. In the process, together, I think we could have a bigger impact."
Amid a backdrop of ongoing tariff uncertainty, more and more gamers are facing price hikes. Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week. Its Xbox Series S, for example, now starts at $379.99 in the U.S. — up $80 from the $299.99 price tag that debuted in 2020. And its more powerful Xbox Series X will be $599.99 going forward, a $100 jump from its previous $499.99 listing. The tech giant didn’t mention tariffs specifically, but cited wider “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” Beyond the U.S., Microsoft also laid out Xbox price adjustments for Europe, the U.K. and Australia. The company said all other countries would also receive updates locally.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
Visa is hoping to hand your credit card to an artificial intelligence “agent” that can find and buy clothes, groceries, airplane tickets and other items on your behalf.
Shares of Deliveroo, the food delivery service based in London, are hitting three-year highs on Monday after it received a $3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash.
X, the social media platform owned by Trump adviser Elon Musk, is challenging the constitutionality of a Minnesota ban on using deepfakes to influence elections and harm candidates.
The State Bar of California has disclosed that some multiple-choice questions in a problem-plagued bar exam were developed with the aid of artificial intelligence.
