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Hello there,
The movie Wall-E had a big impact on me when I was growing up.
If you’re not familiar with it, the film is about a lovable trash-compacting robot “living” on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the 22nd century. Thanks to rampant overconsumption, the world has gradually devolved into a huge dumpster, forcing humans to vacate the planet, leaving our titular character behind to pick up the pieces alone.
Though it was meant as a heartfelt ode to living minimally, Wall-E was absolutely terrifying to my eight-year-old mind. I’d have nightmares about trash piles as tall as Everest, belts of plastic and tin orbiting the globe, and visions of crumbling, abandoned cities. I guess its sustainability-signaling worked – because it instilled a sense of eco-consciousness in me.
I’m older and wiser now, but I still have this irrational (?) fear of climate-driven extinction. But luckily, tech seems to be picking up speed, and we’ve found an early Wall-E of our own to help clean up our trash problems..
In this week’s Big Story, my colleague, Nikita, profiles Clearbot, a Hong Kong-based firm offering robots as a service.
Its flagship product is a remote, AI-powered marine electric vehicle, which can collect up to 15 liters of spilled oil and 200 kilograms of garbage – all the while acting as a surveillance system. It can also double as a goods mover. The firm says it is profitable and can provide marine cleaning services at a lower rate than its traditional counterparts. With a fleet of 10 boats operating in India and Hong Kong, the company has around 10 clients in its books. After recently securing funding from an Alibaba fund, Clearbot aims to expand its army of boat-bots to 100.
Speaking of expansion, B Capital recently raised its largest fund yet – a whopping US$2.1 billion. I speak with co-founder and partner Raj Ganguly about his views on the broader macroeconomic downturn. More on this in this week’s Making Waves.
— Shadine
THE BIG STORY
Trash, cargo, security: a profitable robot firm’s many interests
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Now backed by an Alibaba fund, Clearbot’s founders weren’t taken seriously when they began using robots to take on marine pollution.
MAKING WAVES
Recession Run: B Capital’s $2.1b plan for the downturn
AI ODYSSEY
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
FYI
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