X, the moonshot factory

Congratulations to the team at 280 Earth, who just announced that their first direct air capture plant is now up and running in Oregon! The X graduate has developed a novel process to remove carbon from the atmosphere by harnessing the waste heat from data centers and other large industrial operations, and then generating clean water as a byproduct. With technology developed by scientists at the moonshot factory, 280 Earth aims to mitigate—and reverse—the effects of climate change by permanently sequestering carbon dioxide from the air using a system that can operate at unprecedentedly low temperatures. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gRETMwW6

”When we find out we aren’t as special as we thought, it feels like we lost something. But we gain something, too: We get to learn how the world actually is.” Speaking at the The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City last week, X’s Captain of Moonshots Astro Teller gave a deeply personal talk on his meaning of life, how he discovered it, and the perceived threats AI poses to our “specialness.” Astro discussed the motivating factors humans use to find meaning, and why major scientific advancements—like discovering that the earth is not the center of the universe, or today’s developments in AI—can feel destabilizing and threaten our sense of what it means to be human. But Astro argues that artificial intelligence is an invitation to thoughtfully examine how we find meaning. And as we navigate the big societal shifts that will inevitably accompany the rise of AI, we have an opportunity to allow these changes to impact our lives for the better—not only practically, but also philosophically. “If we can decouple this supposed ‘specialness’ from what it actually is to search for meaning in our lives, then maybe we can look through clearer eyes at what actually is meaningful to us,” Astro says. “And my own search for meaning is only going to benefit from new tools and new discoveries in the world.” https://lnkd.in/guUdEUyE

We are live in The Dalles! This is a momentous day for the team here at 280 Earth: we publicly announced today that our first Direct Air Capture project is operational, capturing CO2 from the air. We also announced today that we closed our Series B funding round, led by Builders VC, along with Gideon Yu and X, the moonshot factory. We are honored to be part of the fight to return the atmospheric CO2 in the air back to sustainable levels of 280 parts per million. Read all about it here! https://lnkd.in/gK-RcvT3

“I’m motivated to leave my children and future generations with a planet that does not depend on energy derived from fossil fuels. That’s what will allow them to improve their quality of life.” Roger Mellado is a grid planner with Chile’s Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional (CEN). Tapestry, X’s moonshot for the electric grid, is partnering with Roger and his team as they develop first-of-its-kind technology that will help Chile reach its ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Before planners can make critical energy infrastructure decisions like decommissioning a coal plant, they must ensure the grid can operate safely and reliably with renewable energy sources instead. “We must examine the performance and behavior of each available resource across the country, incorporate it into a model, and propose transmission infrastructure in advance,” explains CEN grid planner. “We need Tapestry’s help to speed up that process.” In partnership with CEN, Tapestry’s grid planning tool has made it possible for planners like Roger to run simulations 86 percent faster than their current system, and run 30 scenarios simultaneously instead of one at a time. This week, their work was recognized by Fast Company among other groundbreaking sustainability initiatives tackling some of humanity’s biggest challenges. Learn more about Roger and how Tapestry has helped transform his work.

Tapestry was recognized by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards for their partnership with Chile’s Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional (CEN)! Chile has some of the most ambitious clean energy goals in the world, aiming to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050. Tapestry, X’s moonshot for the electric grid, is working with CEN to help make that intention a reality. Read more about our work with CEN:  https://lnkd.in/d4MQUk_b #FCWorldChangingIdeas

Taara’s collaboration in Ghana with Kiva and Teledata ICT was a finalist in this year’s Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards! The Taara team is working with Kiva and Teledata to help small business owners in Ghana transform their storefronts into Wi-Fi hotspots and expand connectivity to homes. Taara, X’s moonshot for connectivity, is a new way to deliver fast, affordable internet to communities using beams of light. We’re honored to be recognized in the Developing World Technology category.  https://lnkd.in/dN9iGav5 #FCWorldChangingIdeas

“The demands of society have shifted, but the grid’s infrastructure remains the same as its inception. To us, this is a beautiful moonshot opportunity.” Last month, Tapestry’s Page Crahan sat down with BloombergNEF to share more about X’s moonshot for the electric grid and how her team is developing AI-powered technology to help accelerate the world’s transition to renewable energy. Their conversation explored how Tapestry is building tools for the grid of the future, and the challenges and opportunities the team faces as they partner with experts around the world. Watch their conversation or read about it in Page’s recent post: https://lnkd.in/g_jvnDQJ

“X this week officially unveiled Project Bellwether, its latest bid to apply technology to some of our biggest problems. Here that means using AI tools to identify natural disasters like wildfire and flooding as quickly as possible. If implemented correctly, this could be a gamechanger for first responders.” TechCrunch on the launch of Project Bellwether, X’s moonshot for understanding and anticipating changes on our planet. Bellwether aims to be a prediction engine for the earth and everything on it. The team is using AI and geospatial data to help communities and organizations understand risk and prepare for natural disasters. In partnership with the Army National Guard, the team is building geospatial image-matching tools to help first responders identify critical infrastructure so they can deliver help to people faster in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Brian Heater reports: https://lnkd.in/djFRm5_7

The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Planet vs. Plastics,” an important reminder of the growing environmental crisis around plastic waste and its potential toll on societies and ecosystems around the world. My team at X, the moonshot factory is focused on developing technology to radically reduce global waste, starting with plastics. As someone who’s spent their entire career working on sustainable materials, I’ve experienced the problem firsthand from all facets—but I’ve also learned about potential solutions for addressing it, no matter how closely tied you are to the climate industry. In honor of Earth Day, I’ve reflected on my journey into the plastics space and how others can get involved. #circulareconomy #planetvsplastics #recycling #googlesustainability #xthemoonshotfactory #earthday2024

Today marks Earth Day 2024. The theme, “planets vs. plastics,” resonates closely: I spent the earliest days of my career as a commercial fisherman and saw firsthand how plastic pollution destroys our oceans and beaches. As someone who’s been living and breathing the plastics challenge for nearly two decades, today is not different from any other for me. In honor of Earth Day, I’ve reflected on my journey and the work I’m currently doing at X, the moonshot factory to help tackle this global problem: