Latest news with #SiliconValley-founded
Wall Street Journal
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
Chinese Robotaxi Companies Look to the Middle East for Growth
Chinese robotaxi makers want to bring their self-driving cars abroad. Facing regulatory and geopolitical obstacles in some markets, they are finding the welcome mat out in the Middle East. Baidu's BIDU 1.42%increase; green up pointing triangle Apollo Go, WeRide WRD -1.01%decrease; red down pointing triangle and Pony AI PONY -9.40%decrease; red down pointing triangle—the 'Big Three' of China's autonomous driving scene–have announced plans to expand in the Middle East, looking to replicate the success they have had in China. Chinese companies entering the Gulf region are attracted by the area's openness to new technologies. 'The ambitious push by many Gulf authorities towards smart transportation, coupled with the high density of the urban population, makes it a prime location for the deployment of autonomous vehicles,' said Liang Zhang, regional general manager at Baidu's autonomous-driving unit Apollo Go. Saudi Arabia aims to have autonomous vehicles powering 15% of public transport by 2030, while Dubai and Abu Dhabi have similar targets. China-U.S. trade tensions provide Chinese companies with further incentive to seek alternative markets, a trend that began during the first trade war under the Trump administration in 2018. 'The Middle East is a region that is friendly to both the U.S. and Chinese governments, and companies,' said Ming Lee, head of Greater China autos and industrials research at BofA Global. The Middle Eastern governments' tech-forward stance makes for more robotaxi-friendly regulations that resemble China's rather than the stricter approach seen in Europe and the U.S., said James Liu, Deutsche Bank's head of diversified industrials group in Asia. Tapping into the Middle East would also help WeRide, Pony AI and Apollo Go reach the scale that they need to hit profitability. Nasdaq-listed WeRide said in May that it will expand into Saudi Arabia in partnership with Uber Technologies, securing an extra $100 million investment from the U.S. ride-hailing giant. The two already operate a service in Abu Dhabi. Silicon Valley-founded Pony AI has also teamed up with Uber for a Middle East rollout, and is launching driverless taxi services with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority. Apollo Go plans to deploy 100 robotaxis in Dubai by end-2025 with the transport authority, eyeing at least 1,000 over the next three years. It has a tie-up with United Arab Emirates-based Autogo in Abu Dhabi too. If Chinese robotaxi companies' forays in the Middle East succeed, they can replicate the expansion in other major markets, said BofA Global's Lee. Reaching critical mass won't be easy. Fleet coverage has to grow to cater to demand and reduce waiting times, said Allen Cheng, Goldman Sachs's head of Greater China technology research. China's robotaxi fleet, the world's biggest, stands at about 1,700. In the Middle East, that footprint is even smaller. Public figures on just how many robotaxis Pony AI, WeRide and Apollo Go have in the region aren't available. The region's fragmented geography presents another challenge. 'The robotaxi business is a really localized business,' WeRide Chief Executive Tony Han said after a recent trip to the U.A.E., during which he jetted back and forth between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, talking to officials about regulatory permits and constraints. 'You have to understand local traffic rules, local driving behavior.' Getting the public to accept the safety of driverless cars could also be tricky, even with the support of local authorities. Still, Chinese robotaxi companies have a big advantage over rivals when it comes to the Middle East, thanks to comprehensive supply chains that offer scope to keep lowering costs. Pony AI, WeRide and Apollo Go have all developed robotaxis with an upfront cost of $30,000-$50,000 per vehicle, a fraction of the price of robotaxis from U.S. players such as Alphabet's Waymo, Deutsche Bank's Liu said. If Chinese companies maintain their cost advantage and there aren't any major safety incidents, Deutsche Bank analysts expect to see a strong Chinese presence in non-U.S. markets. As auto supply chains increasingly split into the U.S. versus the rest of the world, it is inevitable that Chinese firms will rise to the top, said Liu. Write to Jiahui Huang at
Japan Times
07-04-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
The scientist rewriting DNA, and the future of medicine
A revolution is underway in gene editing, and at its forefront is David Liu, an American molecular biologist whose pioneering work is rewriting the building blocks of life with unprecedented precision. A professor at the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Liu was awarded a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences on Saturday for developing two transformative technologies: one already improving the lives of patients with severe genetic diseases, the other poised to reshape medicine in the years ahead. He will receive $3 million for his work on "base editing" and "prime editing," and plans to donate most of it to support his charitable foundation. "The ability to change a DNA sequence of our choosing into a new sequence of our choosing is a fundamentally very powerful capability," the 51-year-old said ahead of the Los Angeles ceremony for the prestigious Silicon Valley-founded award. He foresees uses not just in human medicine but areas such as developing more nutritious or disease-resistant crops. Correcting the code DNA is made up of four chemical "letters" — the nucleotide bases A, G, T and C. Mutations in this sequence cause thousands of human diseases, yet until recently, gene editing could only fix a limited number of them. Even CRISPR-Cas9, the groundbreaking technology that earned a Nobel Prize in 2020, has major limitations. It cuts both strands of the DNA helix, making it most useful to disrupt rather than correct genes, while the process can introduce new errors. "Being able to use genome editing to treat genetic diseases requires, in most cases, ways to correct a DNA misspelling, not simply to disrupt a gene," Liu said. That insight led his lab to develop base editing, which uses the Cas9 protein — disabled so it can no longer cut both DNA strands — to find a target DNA sequence and another enzyme to convert one letter to another — for example, C to T or G to A. Reversing the change — from T to C or A to G — was tougher. Liu's team overcame the challenge by engineering entirely new enzymes. These base editors can now correct about 30% of the mutations that cause genetic diseases. The technology is already in at least 14 clinical trials. In one of them, Beam Therapeutics — which Liu cofounded — announced it had treated patients of AATD, a rare genetic disorder affecting the lungs and liver, with a single drug infusion. While traditional gene therapies often disrupt faulty genes or work around them, base editing repairs the mutation itself. "This was the first time that humans have corrected a mutation that causes a genetic disease in a patient," Liu said. Cystic fibrosis hope Base editing, quickly dubbed "CRISPR 2.0," can't fix every mutation. About 70% of the roughly 100,000 known disease-causing mutations remain out of its reach, including those caused by missing or extra letters. To expand the toolkit, Liu's lab introduced prime editing in 2019 — a method capable of replacing entire sections of faulty DNA with corrected sequences. If CRISPR is like scissors that cut DNA, and base editors are like using a pencil to correct individual letters, then prime editing is the equivalent of a word processor's "find and replace" function. Creating this tool required a series of breakthroughs Liu's team describes as "small miracles." The result is, he said, "the most versatile way we know of to edit the human genome." Among the targets Liu and his team have already pursued with prime editing: cystic fibrosis, a common genetic disease usually caused by three missing DNA letters that causes thick mucus buildup in the lungs and digestive system. Liu's lab has made much of its work freely accessible, sharing DNA blueprints through a nonprofit library used by tens of thousands of labs worldwide. "The science we create — which is ultimately funded by society, through governments and donors — ultimately goes back to benefit society." This year's Breakthrough Prize awards come at a fraught moment for U.S. science, as U.S. President Donald Trump's government strips funding for institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "The NIH is a treasure, not just for this country but for the world," said Liu. "Trying to dismantle the heart of what supports science in this country is like burning your seed corn."
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The scientist rewriting DNA, and the future of medicine
A revolution is underway in gene editing -- and at its forefront is David Liu, an American molecular biologist whose pioneering work is rewriting the building blocks of life with unprecedented precision. A professor at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Liu was awarded a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences on Saturday for developing two transformative technologies: one already improving the lives of patients with severe genetic diseases, the other poised to reshape medicine in the years ahead. He spoke with AFP ahead of the Los Angeles ceremony for the prestigious Silicon Valley-founded award. He will receive $3 million for his work on "base editing" and "prime editing," and plans to donate most of it to support his charitable foundation. "The ability to change a DNA sequence of our choosing into a new sequence of our choosing is a fundamentally very powerful capability," the 51-year-old said, foreseeing uses not just in human medicine but areas like developing more nutritious or disease-resistant crops. - Correcting the code - DNA is made up of four chemical "letters" -- the nucleotide bases A, G, T and C. Mutations in this sequence cause thousands of human diseases, yet until recently, gene editing could only fix a limited number of them. Even CRISPR-Cas9, the groundbreaking technology that earned a Nobel Prize in 2020, has major limitations. It cuts both strands of the DNA helix, making it most useful to disrupt rather than correct genes, while the process can introduce new errors. "Being able to use genome editing to treat genetic diseases requires, in most cases, ways to correct a DNA misspelling, not simply to disrupt a gene," Liu said. That insight led his lab to develop base editing, which uses the Cas9 protein -- disabled so it can no longer cut both DNA strands -- to find a target DNA sequence and another enzyme to convert one letter to another -- for example, C to T or G to A. Reversing the change -- from T to C or A to G -- was tougher. Liu's team overcame the challenge by engineering entirely new enzymes. These base editors can now correct about 30 percent of the mutations that cause genetic diseases. The technology is already in at least 14 clinical trials. In one of them, Beam Therapeutics -- which Liu co-founded -- announced it had treated patients of AATD, a rare genetic disorder affecting the lungs and liver, with a single drug infusion. While traditional gene therapies often disrupt faulty genes or work around them, base editing repairs the mutation itself. "This was the first time that humans have corrected a mutation that causes a genetic disease in a patient," Liu said. - Cystic fibrosis hope - Base editing, quickly dubbed "CRISPR 2.0," can't fix every mutation. About 70 percent of the roughly 100,000 known disease-causing mutations remain out of its reach, including those caused by missing or extra letters. To expand the toolkit, Liu's lab introduced prime editing in 2019 -- a method capable of replacing entire sections of faulty DNA with corrected sequences. If CRISPR is like scissors that cut DNA, and base editors are like using a pencil to correct individual letters, then prime editing is the equivalent of a word processor's "find and replace" function. Creating this tool required a series of breakthroughs Liu's team describes as "small miracles." The result is, he said, "the most versatile way we know of to edit the human genome." Among the targets Liu and his team have already pursued with prime editing: cystic fibrosis, a common genetic disease usually caused by three missing DNA letters that causes thick mucus buildup in the lungs and digestive system. Liu's lab has made much of its work freely accessible, sharing DNA blueprints through a nonprofit library used by tens of thousands of labs worldwide. "The science we create -- which is ultimately funded by society, through governments and donors -- ultimately goes back to benefit society." This year's Breakthrough Prize awards come at a fraught moment for US science, as President Donald Trump's government strips funding for institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "The NIH is a treasure, not just for this country but for the world," said Liu. "Trying to dismantle the heart of what supports science in this country is like burning your seed corn." ia/sla/bgs
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Law firms hire former Tesla lawyer and top conservative litigator for Trump fight
By Mike Scarcella, Sara Merken and David Thomas (Reuters) - As the Trump administration strikes at U.S. law firms with a wave of executive orders, three firms challenging those orders have retained a former Tesla general counsel, a longtime conservative litigator and other top lawyers to represent them. Veteran conservative and U.S. Supreme Court attorney Paul Clement is representing law firm WilmerHale, and Silicon Valley-founded firm Cooley is representing Jenner & Block in their lawsuits against the administration of President Donald Trump, court papers show. Fourteen partners at law firm Williams & Connolly signed a lawsuit filed by Perkins Coie on March 11, the first such case against the Trump White House in its crackdown targeting large firms and their client work. The Williams & Connolly team includes Dane Butswinkas, who was briefly the top lawyer at Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker Tesla. There is a growing rift in the legal profession over whether and how to fight back against the administration in its pursuit of firms for their work for Trump's Democratic adversaries and their internal diversity policies. Many large law firms with significant corporate client bases have not made public statements, but thousands of individual lawyers, the American Bar Association and other legal groups have been openly critical. Two prominent Wall Street law firms — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — cut deals with the White House to avoid similar directives against them. The White House rescinded its order against Paul Weiss, and Skadden reached a deal before one was issued. Clement in a statement on Friday said WilmerHale's lawsuit was "absolutely critical to vindicating the First Amendment, our adversarial system of justice, and the rule of law." Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block have told U.S. judges that the executive orders are retaliatory and unlawful, violating provisions in the U.S. Constitution that protect speech and due process. Law firms and attorneys defending Jenner, WilmerHale and Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla, Paul Weiss and Skadden also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. RESTRICTING ACCESS Trump's orders have sought to cancel federal contracts held by the firms' clients and to restrict access by their lawyers to federal buildings and officials. Perkins Coie in its lawsuit said it had lost a major government contractor as a client, and others were considering leaving the firm. The firms each predicted harm to their reputations, hurting revenue and the ability to recruit and retain employees. The White House on Monday in a statement said Trump's executive orders against law firms "are lawful directives to ensure that the President's agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law." Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the administration of George W. Bush, a Republican, has argued more than 100 cases before the high court. Clement started a small firm — Clement & Murphy — in 2022 after splitting with law firm Kirkland & Ellis over its decision to no longer represent clients in gun-rights litigation. Cooley's legal team for Chicago-founded Jenner & Block includes longtime trial lawyer Michael Attanasio, who was a lead trial lawyer for pro baseball star Roger Clemens in 2012 when he defeated federal charges that he lied about performance-enhancing drug use. Musk in 2022 in a post on the platform then known as Twitter singled out Cooley and Perkins Coie, saying they were made up of "white-shoe lawyers" who "thrive on corruption." Butswinkas of Williams & Connolly served as Tesla general counsel for several months, returning to the firm in 2019. WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Three U.S. judges in the lawsuits have blocked key parts of the executive orders while the litigation is pending.
Reuters
01-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Law firms hire former Tesla lawyer and top conservative litigator for Trump fight
April 1 (Reuters) - As the Trump administration strikes at U.S. law firms with a wave of executive orders, three firms challenging those orders have retained a former Tesla general counsel, a longtime conservative litigator and other top lawyers to represent them. Veteran conservative and U.S. Supreme Court attorney Paul Clement is representing law firm WilmerHale, and Silicon Valley-founded firm Cooley is representing Jenner & Block in their lawsuits against the administration of President Donald Trump, court papers show. Fourteen partners at law firm Williams & Connolly signed a lawsuit filed by Perkins Coie on March 11, the first such case against the Trump White House in its crackdown targeting large firms and their client work. The Williams & Connolly team includes Dane Butswinkas, who was briefly the top lawyer at Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker Tesla. There is a growing rift in the legal profession over whether and how to fight back against the administration in its pursuit of firms for their work for Trump's Democratic adversaries and their internal diversity policies. Many large law firms with significant corporate client bases have not made public statements, but thousands of individual lawyers, the American Bar Association and other legal groups have been openly critical. Two prominent Wall Street law firms — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — cut deals with the White House to avoid similar directives against them. The White House rescinded its order against Paul Weiss, and Skadden reached a deal before one was issued. Clement in a statement on Friday said WilmerHale's lawsuit was "absolutely critical to vindicating the First Amendment, our adversarial system of justice, and the rule of law." Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block have told U.S. judges that the executive orders are retaliatory and unlawful, violating provisions in the U.S. Constitution that protect speech and due process. Law firms and attorneys defending Jenner, WilmerHale and Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla, Paul Weiss and Skadden also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. RESTRICTING ACCESS Trump's orders have sought to cancel federal contracts held by the firms' clients and to restrict access by their lawyers to federal buildings and officials. Perkins Coie in its lawsuit said it had lost a major government contractor as a client, and others were considering leaving the firm. The firms each predicted harm to their reputations, hurting revenue and the ability to recruit and retain employees. The White House on Monday in a statement said Trump's executive orders against law firms "are lawful directives to ensure that the President's agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law." Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the administration of George W. Bush, a Republican, has argued more than 100 cases before the high court. Clement started a small firm — Clement & Murphy — in 2022 after splitting with law firm Kirkland & Ellis over its decision to no longer represent clients in gun-rights litigation. Cooley's legal team for Chicago-founded Jenner & Block includes longtime trial lawyer Michael Attanasio, who was a lead trial lawyer for pro baseball star Roger Clemens in 2012 when he defeated federal charges that he lied about performance-enhancing drug use. Musk in 2022 in a post on the platform then known as Twitter singled out Cooley and Perkins Coie, saying they were made up of "white-shoe lawyers" who "thrive on corruption." Butswinkas of Williams & Connolly served as Tesla general counsel for several months, returning to the firm in 2019. WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Three U.S. judges in the lawsuits have blocked key parts of the executive orders while the litigation is pending.
