How Giant Will Invest Behind the AI Wave
AI is transforming the world. It's also changing how venture capitalists like Giant invest.
In this deep dive piece, Cameron McLain gives a unique insight on Giant's investments and lays out the AI areas we are excited about here at Giant. From AI for Discovery, to AI for Automation & Augmentation, to AI for Personalisation, as well as an insight into some of our investments in this space and our perspective on this new wave of technological progress.
Food as medicine: in a world obsessed with pharma and weight loss
‘Food as medicine’ is now scientifically verified. But if the concept is simple and proven, why don’t more people change what they eat? Can we replace the need for a healthy diet with GLP-1s like Ozempic? How can applying technology to this ancient idea help prevent diseases and decrease the burden on health services?
Giant Ideas 2023
Giant Ideas is a unique gathering of leaders, bringing together founders, CEOs, heads of state and leading investors to rethink technology as a force for good, from climate to healthcare. Watch the wrap video here.
The critical metals gap on the road to net-zero
The transition to net zero will require extensive electrification, with batteries, electric motors, and smart grids all playing a key role, each powered by renewable energy. Each of these vital pieces of hardware need specific metals to work, making these indispensable to the transition to net-zero.
4 years into Giant: the 10 commandments of our investment philosophy
In the past four years, we’ve learned so much. Cameron, co-founder of Giant Ventures, took some time over the summer to reflect on the Investment Philosophy of Giant. So, here they are: the “Ten Commandments of Giant’s Investment Philosophy.”
Beyond carbon: why businesses need to wake up to water resilience
There is an expected 40% gap between water supply and demand by the end of the decade. This will not just impact drinking water, it will also put new pressure on businesses to continue delivering products and services. In this piece, we explore the three types of water risks - physical risks, stakeholder risks, and regulatory risks - and why understanding water use is no longer a nice-to-have, but business critical.
The college dropout fallacy and ageism in entrepreneurship
The co-founder of Giant Tommy Stadlen argues that VCs like to be sold the dream, and they find it easy to project those dreams on blank canvases rather than more mature, sometimes imperfect resumes - but it shouldn’t be this way.
The Century of Biology
The 20th century was the century of chemistry and physics. Harnessing the physical properties of atoms and molecules, scientists and engineers produced ammonia fertilizer, refined petrochemicals, unleashed energy from hydrocarbons, created novel plastics, and built the atomic bomb. The 21st century will be one of biology.
Why the NHS should embrace virtual wards
The world is low on hospital beds, and the most obvious solution is to add more beds. But this is expensive, and will not single-handedly solve issues facing the NHS, like staff burn-out. We need a new approach to increasing healthcare capacity that works for medical practitioners, patients, and society. Are more hospital beds the answer? We discuss the rise of virtual wards to solve the NHS’s capacity issues.
The future of food - the fight for arable land
The world’s population is growing, while arable land is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. How can we ensure that we feed our growing population and reduce GHG emissions at the same time?
Through innovation in the food system.
The bottleneck of biomanufacturing
Synthetic biology (or “synbio”) is the design and engineering of biological systems to create components that do not already exist in the natural world. We believe this is the decade of biology but challenges, particularly around the nascent infrastructure, need to be overcome for it to fulfil its promise.
Companies that care: Lessons from a unicorn founder and his purpose-driven investor
Doing good may also be a good investment—and potentially transformative for the world. Two leaders on the front lines discuss the current landscape and what’s next.
Q&A with angel investor Tommy Stadlen
The most successful start-ups are often those that divide early opinion. It’s difficult — and vital — to reject groupthink and Fomo when picking investments.