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Technologies

Evergreen explainers, kept current with recent developments. Each page answers what it is, why it matters, how it works and where it stands today.

Artificial IntelligenceEarly

AI Agents

AI agents are software systems that use a language model to plan a sequence of steps and then take actions — calling tools, writing files, querying databases — instead of only producing text.

Artificial IntelligenceScaling

Foundation Models

Large models trained on broad data that can be adapted to many downstream tasks rather than being built for one purpose.

SemiconductorsScaling

Inference Optimisation

The set of techniques — quantisation, batching, caching, distillation and specialised silicon — that reduce the cost and latency of running a trained model.

Data Centers & ComputeScaling

Liquid Cooling

Moving heat away from servers using liquid — either cold plates attached to chips or full immersion in a dielectric fluid — instead of moving air.

RoboticsEarly

Humanoid Robots

General-purpose robots with a roughly human form factor, intended to work in spaces built for people rather than in purpose-built cells.

mobilityScaling

Autonomous Vehicles

Vehicles that perceive their surroundings and drive without a human operator, ranging from robotaxis to yard trucks and delivery pods.

EnergyEarly

Small Modular Reactors

Nuclear reactors in the roughly 50–300 MW range, built from factory-produced modules rather than assembled entirely on site.

EnergyResearch

Fusion Energy

Generating power by fusing light atomic nuclei, the same process that powers stars, rather than splitting heavy ones.

EnergyEarly

Long-Duration Storage

Storage that discharges for ten hours or more — iron-air, flow batteries, thermal and mechanical systems — as opposed to the four-hour lithium standard.

Climate TechEarly

Direct Air Capture

Machinery that pulls carbon dioxide directly out of ambient air for permanent storage or industrial use.

Quantum ComputingResearch

Quantum Computing

Computers that use quantum states to represent and process information, offering exponential speed-ups for a narrow set of problems.

HealthTech & BiotechScaling

Computational Protein Design

Using machine learning models to predict protein structure and to design new proteins with intended functions.

SpaceScaling

Earth Observation

Satellite constellations that image and sense the planet continuously, across optical, radar and hyperspectral bands.

Artificial IntelligenceEarly

Smart Glasses

Eyewear with cameras, microphones, speakers and sometimes a display, used as a hands-free interface to an AI assistant.