When the first electric-powered airplane took flight earlier this week for seven minutes, magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski said the excitement of the moment felt like the birth of another child.
"It is, indeed, exciting," Ganzarski told Cheddar on Thursday. "Now the real work begins. We have to teach them what they can do, and we have to release them into the wild later on to be the leader of the industry."
MagniX and Harbour Air hope that the launch of the first all-electric commercial flight will set off the future of sustainable air, which could provide the potential for cheaper, easier, and cleaner air travel.
To enable this week's historic flight, Harbour Air retrofitted a 62-year-old, six-passenger seaplane to run off of batteries. Next, it plans to convert its fleet in order to offer all-electric passenger flights starting in 2021.
MagniX developed the magni500 electric propulsion systems used in the aircraft. Ganzarski said the company had to create a system light enough and powerful enough to get a plane into the air and did so by using a combination of magnets and copper coils that create torque by turning around each other.
Ultimately, the aircraft is expected to complete flights of 30 minutes with reserve "fuel" remaining.
Ganzarski said the clean engine will allow Harbor Air to fly on an engine that "costs 50 percent to 80 percent less per hour" and "fly more places at lower ticket prices and all completely clean."
"It's not less emission, it's zero emissions," he added.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
