Deep Learning’s limitations laid bare. Work on analysing how deep learning neural networks work clearly shows that these systems have no real understanding of what it is they are doing. This means that they are going to fall far short of the still rampant AI hype, triggering what I believe will be the 3rd AI winter. Deep learning is essentially...
Under the rhetoric, very little changes. While Zuckerberg’s manifesto (see here) implies that a huge overhaul is on the way, the reality is that very little is going to change. This is because a pivot towards becoming a fully private and encrypted communication system looks like suicide as with no data, Facebook would have no advertising to sell. The memo...
Taxonomy separates the men from the boys in AI. With 40% of “AI” companies not even attempting to use AI in their products and the likelihood of serious disappointment in the short-term, the stage is set for the AI bubble to burst leading to the 3rd AI winter. A study by MMC ventures looked at 2,830 European start-ups that have...
Lyft’s IPO is a rod for its own back Lyft’s IPO document reveals a company that I think will give its founders joy and validation when they ring the Nasdaq bell, but agony when they have to start making quarterly reports. This is particularly the case as Lyft is clearly not ready to IPO and there is plenty of money...
A Titan falls. It looks like the final shoe is being dropped on Apple’s automotive aspirations as 190 Project Titan members are being let go or transferred into other roles within Apple (see here). It also further indicates that even when a company hires the best names in AI, this does not suddenly transform one into an AI-powerhouse as Facebook...
No party means no hangover. MWC is almost over and while the stages have seen some confident predictions (eg Cisco: “hype is going to be reflected in the reality”), the message from the floor and in the trenches is much more realistic. To me, this is excellent news because, in reality, no one is getting over excited and consequently the...
The floor: software takes a back seat With the 5G cycle in full swing, MWC has gone fully back to its roots as an equipment show. Boxes with lots of gold-plated plugs and odd-shaped antennae are everywhere and even Hall 8.1 has a much more commercial and mature feel to it than in previous years. Importantly, the box makers are...
ZTE has the best handset demonstration of 5G. Doing a round of the 5G demonstrations revealed a disappointing situation which also did not hold up well to close inspection or questioning. First, Samsung: which I rate as the most disappointing. The 5G devices on the stand (that one can play with) have no reference in the software or settings to...
Everybody folds and 5G gets real-ish Folding bandwagon In what has unsurprisingly become a crowded space, there is a lot of variation but I think the most impressive demonstration is the FlexPai from Royole which has improved massively since CES. Huawei has launched the Huawei Mate X which I think is a better design than the Galaxy Fold. This consists...
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Sharing economy – The agony of history.
The cautionary tale of bike sharing. The cautionary tale of the bike sharing companies should give the scooter companies pause for thought as I suspect that exactly the same issues will soon be affecting them. Hence, unless they do something different, the same ignominious fate awaits. Mobike which is now part of Meituan, is giving up on all of its...