Powered by the MIT Innovation Initiative (MITii) and launched in October 2019, the MIT Proto Ventures program takes an entirely new approach to venture formation from within MIT. It oversees the accelerated emergence of new ventures along a full life cycle: from discovery of ideas and resources at MIT to exploration of the problem-solution space to a methodical de-risking process to helping build a "proto venture" with internal and external support that demonstrates the viability of the venture. Under the leadership of MITii Venture Builder Luis Ruben Soenksen PhD '19, the program announced last week that two new MIT startups will launch as part of Proto Ventures. "The Proto Ventures program has nurtured everything I know is relevant in order to develop high-impact scientific ventures in today's world," says Soenksen. "This time has been an extraordinary complement to my PhD studies and research activities at MIT and is leading me to pursue my passion around artificial intelligence and health care in the form of multiple startups. What more could I've hoped for?"

Puut Wallet is the world's first

Austin-based big data company Shipwell has secured $35 million in Series B funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the city's recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced Oct. 24 and led by Georgian Partners. According to its Crunchbase profile, "Shipwell is a freight trucking startup that provides business with automated way transport of goods and services. The company believes that all businesses can have best-in-class shipping and transportation networks to ensure the efficient movement of goods and services. It builds intelligent and connected tools and software that allows shippers, brokers, and carriers to communicate in real-time and move freight in a painless and delightful way."

Artificial intelligence has the potential to radically change health care. Imagine a not too distant future when the focus shifts away from disease to how we stay healthy. At birth, everyone would get a thorough, multifaceted baseline profile, including screening for genetic and rare diseases. Then, over their lifetimes, cost-effective, minimally invasive clinical-grade devices could accurately monitor a range of biometrics such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and glucose levels, in addition to environmental factors such as exposure to pathogens and toxins, and behavioral factors like sleep and activity patterns. This biometric, genetic, environmental and behavioral information could be coupled with social data and used to create AI models.

As technology advances, particularly with artificial intelligence, changes are being seen in all industries. Health care is no exception. The prime reason for all sorts of technological advancements made throughout history are in one way or another is the desire of people to better their lives. This is particularly relevant to the natural human longing for longevity and eternal youth. Those two concepts are often heavily associated with having high living standards and better health care. Therefore, it is hardly a surprise that health care is among the areas that are mostly affected by the newest technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.

We have created a world where our need to perform certain tasks has been greatly alleviated. But for a society enamored with technology and the need for the "next best thing" fueling some people's desires for personal advancement, are we creating a world where we are freely giving away that power? As the founding CEO of a digital health company, I have worked with artificial intelligence technologies in the clinical genomics space. Advancement for the sake of advancement is a noble belief, but in my opinion, it can sometimes lack a stable footing in reality. It's a narrative that has been used to justify industrial modernity, and in doing so, it has become accepted as the recipe to the progression of our civilization.

This study centers on how computer-based decision procedures, under the broad umbrella of artificial intelligence (AI), can assist in improving health and health care. Although advanced statistics and machine learning provide the foundation for AI, there are currently revolutionary advances underway in the sub-field of neural networks. This has created tremendous excitement in many fields of science, including in medicine and public health. First demonstrations have already emerged showing that deep neural networks can perform as well as the best human clinicians in well-defined diagnostic tasks. In addition, AI-based tools are already appearing in health-oriented apps that can be employed on handheld, networked devices such as smart phones.

The experts realized the transformative power of A.I., and robotics, while it also seems to be willing to tackle ethical concerns, legal issues around these new technologies and their consequences on the labor market.