The hottest R&D Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

How Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Chemical Industry

The Polymerist • 116 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Software Data Management R&D
  1. Companies in the chemical industry can benefit from AI tools to improve efficiency and profitability.
  2. AI tools are becoming more accessible for functions like customer relationship management, inventory management, and data organization.
  3. While AI won't replace R&D functions, it can significantly enhance productivity and help companies stay competitive in specialized chemical sectors.

Big firms have different incentives

New Things Under the Sun • 192 implied HN points • 24 Aug 23
💼 Business Innovation R&D Incentives Productivity
  1. Large firms conduct R&D at the same rate as small firms, but they may focus more on process innovations rather than product innovations.
  2. The cost spreading advantage incentivizes larger firms to focus on process innovation, spreading costs over multiple products.
  3. Larger firms may be less inclined to engage in product innovation due to the replacement effect, potentially competing against their own existing products.
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How to Impede Technological Progress

New Things Under the Sun • 144 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Innovation Policy Research Impact R&D
  1. Policy levers to slow technological progress can be classified into reverse push and pull policies
  2. Reverse push policies raise the costs of research, like restrictions on federal funding and safety regulations impacting chemistry labs
  3. Reverse pull policies reduce profitability of certain tech innovations, like carbon taxes and liability exposure, impacting R&D differently based on company size and innovation potential

The Mathematics of Scale [Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 07 Jun 22
🕹 Technology Economics Tech Solutions Software Engineering Data handling R&D
  1. Economies of scale mean costs decrease as production increases, benefitting companies by spreading costs over more goods.
  2. Tech and software engineering benefit greatly from scaling and replication, allowing for efficient large-scale operations.
  3. To leverage the principles of scale for career growth, understand how your solutions fit into the big picture and build a strong foundational knowledge across different areas.