My take on the recent interest in AI by politicians — Rideshare To understand the robotaxi business, let’s take a quick look at rideshare which is the modern and tech-enabled method to mobilize a large fleet of vehicles to offer rides to anyone. …

The world is undergoing two significant technological shifts: greener energy production and AI-enhanced decision-making. These shifts are converging in the development of robotaxis, which have the potential to revolutionize transportation, reduce emissions, and improve urban mobility. In the context of transportation, electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a symbol of…

Part of smart, connected product series — Almost ten year ago, I read an article in HBR by Michael Porter (the inventor of Porter’s 5 Forces framework) that is still helping me make investment and business decisions today. It has had a huge impact on my thinking. …

At GEX, we’ve been investing in global Iranian entrepreneurs since 2015. Our belief in the future of this strategy and the underlying community led us to rebrand from Iratel Ventures to GEX, short for Global Entrepreneur Experience. We deeply respect the special journey global entrepreneurs go through and strive to…

I am a big fan of consistency as a way of creating long-term habits. I got into creative writing in 2015 and have kept up the consistency of the practice. I fixed the 3rd of each month as the date that I’ll be writing and publishing an article no matter…

A summary of a paper from Cruise’s VP of risk management — A complex and evolving topic but a paper I read this week, by Tetteh Otuteye et al, tries to quantify it. It is titled “Projection of On-Road Liability Losses for Autonomous Driving” written by Cruise’s risk team. I provided my summary below (full paper on the Casualty Actuarial Society website). …

And where we are now — The autonomous vehicle (AV) hype cycle has been a rollercoaster ride over the past few years, with excitement and anticipation surrounding the potential of self-driving cars. As we’ve moved through the various stages of the cycle, from inflated expectations to disillusionment, we now find ourselves progressing towards a more grounded…

Estimating the costs — I advise idea-stage founders and pre-product companies on taking their first steps in establishing a solid footing outside their local market. However, one of the biggest costs (mentally and financially) for them continues to be immigration. Through back of the envelope calculations, we estimated that these financial costs are: Direct…

Defining the Global Entrepreneur Experience (GEX) — These days the word global is out of favor. The global village has been reduced to real estate development opportunities. Building bridges between nations is not a priority anymore. Supply chains are becoming increasingly localized. TikTok and other social media technologies are increasingly politicized. I believe Brexit kickstarted this period…