JD Vance is, by his own admission, “plugged into a lot of weird right-wing subcultures.” His much-mocked comments about childless cat ladies and unassimilated Italian immigrants were made on a “masculinist” podcast. He doesn’t eat seed oils, a dietary restriction du jour on the extremely online right. When he was nominated to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate, his X following list included Bronze Age Pervert and Raw Egg Nationalist, two pseudonymous right-wing bodybuilders who often promote eugenics and the “great replacement” conspiracy theory. But perhaps no one online has shaped Vance’s thinking more than the neoreactionary blogger Curtis Yarvin, a former programmer with ties to Vance’s friend and benefactor Peter Thiel.
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JD Vance thinks monarchists like Curtis Yarvin have some good ideas
Yarvin — who blogged under the name Mencius Moldbug in the aughts and is now on Substack — has been a far-right public intellectual of sorts for a long time. His oeuvre includes musings about the correlation between race and IQ, calls for a “benevolent dictator” to run the US, and posts like “Why I Am Not A White Nationalist” (because white nationalism is “a very ineffective political device for solving the very real problems about which it complains”). He once wrote that the neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed dozens of people in a series of attacks in Oslo, Norway, was ineffective because he “didn’t even make triple digits.”
There’s a tendency to not take people like Yarvin seriously. He and other far-right bloggers like Bronze Age Pervert position themselves as provocateurs and couch their work in absurd metaphors — it sounds inherently ridiculous to issue warnings about a guy who writes long essays about dark elves. And if you do take them seriously, they’ll say they were just trolling. But if you look past his edgelord posture and baroque prose, Yarvin has spent the better part of a decade clearly describing what he wants: a dictatorship.
Yarvin is most commonly associated with the neoreactionary movement, whose adherents believe — as Thiel wrote in 2009 — that freedom and democracy are incompatible and that democratic governments and bloated federal bureaucracies should be replaced by enlightened autocratic regimes.
Until relatively recently, Yarvin’s name was not brought up in mainstream political discourse. But his ideas about undercutting democratic checks on authoritarian power have struck a chord with the current Republican ticket. While Vance hasn’t espoused Yarvin’s more extreme ideas — and likely won’t — he clearly holds parts of the neoreactionary creed in high regard.
If you look past his edgelord posture and baroque prose, Yarvin has spent the better part of a decade clearly describing what he wants: a dictatorship
In a July Substack post, Yarvin denied that he’s had a “significant influence” on Vance. Yarvin referred to Vance as a “random normie politician whom I’ve barely even met.” (He has a penchant for italics.) “While I admire the senator and I think he has some potential,” Yarvin wrote, “he is hardly a ‘friend’ of mine and I can’t imagine I have influenced him.”
Years before he was the Republican vice presidential nominee, however, Vance openly touted that influence. “So there’s this guy Curtis Yarvin who has written about these things,” Vance said on a right-wing podcast in 2021. Vance didn’t stop at a simple name-drop. He went on to explain how former President Donald Trump should remake the federal bureaucracy if reelected. “I think what Trump should do, if I was giving him one piece of advice: Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, and replace them with our people. And when the courts stop you, stand before the country and say, ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.’”
This “piece of advice” is more or less identical to a proposal Yarvin floated around 2012: “Retire All Government Employees,” or RAGE.
As described by Yarvin, RAGE’s purpose is to “reboot” the government under an all-powerful executive, a sort of debugging. Yarvin sees elections as ineffective methods for political change because, while the head of state and their political appointees may change, the career bureaucrats (who, in Yarvin’s view, are really calling the shots) stay put. “If Americans want to change their government, they’re going to have to get over their dictatorphobia,” Yarvin said in the 2012 speech in which he described RAGE. Yarvin has since toned down the dictator rhetoric (he more recently called for a “monarchy of everyone”), but the underlying principle remains unchanged. For Yarvin, democracy is an illusion: elections make people think they have a say in what happens, but the Cathedral, his catchall term for journalistic institutions and elite universities, runs everything. Monarchy, in this theory, is the only honest government.
RAGE bears obvious parallels to Trump’s war against the “deep state” of federal bureaucrats. In October 2020, Trump signed an executive order that stripped employment protections from certain federal positions “of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating chapter.” Federal agencies would also be encouraged to hire staffers who pledged loyalty to the president. The new policy was called Schedule F, after the new employment category it would have created had Biden not canceled the order shortly after taking office.
Schedule F was a radical idea cloaked in the sanitized language of the federal bureaucracy. Its goal was to concentrate power in the presidency and undercut what Trump (and others on the far right) refer to as the deep state and what Vance has repeatedly referred to as “the regime.” The regime goes beyond liberals or Democrats — it includes mainstream politicians from both parties whose primary goal is to uphold our current political order.
Yarvin’s Cathedral takes this argument a step further, extending the cabal beyond Congress, the White House, and the courts; the media and elite universities are part of it, too. Where other right-wingers back efforts to take over universities and elite institutions and dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Yarvin has written that these tactics will likely only “reinforce progressive cultural power.” He’s kind of an all-or-nothing doomer; his ultimate vision is an American monarchy run by a “national CEO,” or in Yarvin’s own words, “a dictator.” (Trump, famously, has said he would not be a dictator in office “except for day one.”)
And if Trump wins, Yarvin’s RAGE proposal could be back on the table. Schedule F is among the dozens of policy proposals buried in the 2025 version of the Heritage Foundation’s nearly 1,000-page Mandate for Leadership. If carried out, it could affect tens of thousands of federal employees. Schedule F is legally dubious, but as Politico has explained, the current makeup of the Supreme Court could allow for it to go forward anyway.
If the courts don’t side with Trump, Vance has suggested as recently as this year, he should proceed anyway. “If the elected president says, ‘I get to control the staff of my own government’ and the Supreme Court steps in and says ‘You’re not allowed to do that’ — like, that is the constitutional crisis. It’s not whatever Trump or whoever else decides to do in response,” Vance told Politico months before becoming Trump’s vice presidential nominee.
Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts sees the think tank’s role as “institutionalizing Trumpism” and is a friend of Vance, whom he’s referred to as “one of the leaders — if not the leader — of our movement.” Under Roberts, Heritage has shed its former identity as a home for free trade fanatics and Reagan Republicans and has fully leaned into an ultranationalist MAGA ethos. Vance wrote the foreword to Roberts’ book Dawn’s Early Light, whose publication date was pushed back from September until November — after the election.
Heritage isn’t alone in this transformation. The right-wing think tank ecosystem has been completely remade in Trump’s image since 2016. The far-right fringes have now taken over the mainstream, putting forth an exclusionary vision of America and who belongs in it — one in which nuclear families are led by an all-powerful executive who is accountable to nothing and no one. The Claremont Institute, once fairly traditional, is now the self-styled intellectual MAGA brain trust. Michael Anton, a former Trump administration official and Claremont fellow, wrote about Bronze Age Pervert’s book for the Claremont Review of Books; his review noted he had been gifted a copy by Yarvin.
Yarvin is by no means Vance’s only influence. As Politico’s Ian Ward has written, Vance’s worldview has been shaped by a variety of right-wing thinkers, including Catholic intellectual Patrick Deneen and French philosopher René Girard, but it’s also been affected by people like Thiel and Yarvin. If you strip away the veneer of respectability provided by Heritage and Claremont, the layers of irony behind which Yarvin hides his views, and the academic credentials of Vance’s other influences, the extreme nature of their proposals becomes impossible to ignore.
Vance is smart enough not to cite Yarvin in public now that he’s the vice presidential nominee, and he hasn’t publicly supported some of the blogger’s more repugnant views. But that doesn’t mean he’s not plugged in.
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SpaceX achieved a spectacular first on Sunday when it used a pair of giant mechanical arms to catch the 70-meter-tall Super Heavy booster just minutes after it deployed the Starship spacecraft to orbit in the vehicle’s fifth test flight.
But SpaceX isn’t stopping there. As part of its efforts to create a fully reusable spaceflight system for the Starship — comprising the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft — SpaceX will attempt to catch not only the booster, but also the spacecraft.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed the plan for the world’s most powerful rocket in a post on X ( formally Twitter) on Wednesday, saying, “Hopefully early next year, we will catch the ship too.”
Before then, SpaceX will want to carry out more test flights of the Starship in which it will continue to catch the Super Heavy, while the Starship will continue to come down in the ocean, as it did in Sunday’s test flight.
Catching the Starship back at the launch base will allow for a faster turnaround time between launches, with the spacecraft only needing to be checked, refurbished, and refueled before being lifted atop a Super Heavy for another flight.
SpaceX also has to perfect a landing system for the Starship that involves it touching down on the ground in a vertical position, as this is how it will arrive on other celestial bodies such as the moon and possibly Mars (at least until any launch and landing infrastructure can be built).
It’s actually already achieved such a landing in Earth-based tests several years ago, but those touchdowns involved shorter “hops” into the atmosphere rather than more complex orbital flights.
It’s certainly an exciting time for SpaceX engineers as they put much of their attention into the continued development of the Starship.
NASA is planning to use SpaceX’s spacecraft to put two astronauts on the lunar surface in the Artemis III mission, which is currently scheduled for 2026, so there is much work to be done.
Both Xiaomi and Apple launched very compelling flagship smartphones this year. In this article, we’ll compare the two. It’s the comparison between the Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. These two phones are actually quite different in every way. Their internals are far different, and so are their designs. They are both large-format smartphones, though, and do have some things in common.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra arrived back in February this year, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max followed in December. Both phones are available globally, and both of them are actually quite pricey. Comparing them makes all the sense in the world. We’ll first list their specifications, and will then move to a number of other categories, including design, display, performance, battery, cameras, and audio.
Specs
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, respectively
– Screen size:
6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED display (curved, adaptive 120Hz, 3,000 nits max brightness)
6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED ( flat, 120Hz, HDR, 2,000 nits)
– Display resolution:
3200 x 1440
2868 x 1320
– SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Apple A18 Pro (3nm)
– RAM:
16GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB/16GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
512GB (UFS 4.0)
256GB/512GB/1TB (NVMe)
– Rear cameras:
50MP (wide, f/1.6-f/4.0 variable aperture, OIS, multi-directional PDAF, 1.6um pixel size), 50MP (ultrawide, f/1.8 aperture, 122-degree FoV, 0.7um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF), 50MP (telephoto, f/1.8 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3.2x optical zoom), 50MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.5 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom)
48MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.28-inch sensor, 1.22um pixel size, sensor-shift OIS), 48MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, PDAF), 12MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.8 aperture, 1/3.06-inch sensor, 1.12um pixel size, 3D sensor-shift OIS, 5x optical zoom).
– Front cameras:
32MP (wide, f/2.0 aperture, 0.7um pixel size)
12MP (f/1.9 aperture, PDAF, 1/3.6-inch sensor size, OIS)
– Battery:
5,000mAh
4,685mAh
– Charging:
90W wired, 80W wireless,, 10W reverse wireless (charger included)
38W wired, 25W MagSafe, 15W Qi2 wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, 4.5W reverse wired (charger not included)
– Dimensions:
161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm
163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm
– Weight:
219.8 grams
227 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.4/5.3
– Security:
In-display fingerprint scanner & facial scanning
Face ID (3D facial scanning)
– OS:
Android 14 with HyperOS
iOS 18
– Price:
€1,499
$1,199+
– Buy:
Xiaomi 14 Ultra (Amazon)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (Apple)
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is made out of aluminum and glass. The thing is, there is a vegan leather model out there too, but only in China. There is also a variant with a titanium frame, but only in China. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, is made out of titanium and glass. There is only one variant in terms of build materials. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is slightly taller, wider, and thinner than the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. It’s heavier than the global variant of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, but lighter than one of the models of Xiaomi’s flagship, it all depends. Both phones are set between 220 and 230 grams, though, so they’re not particularly light.
You’ll find flat sides on both of these phones, though the implementation is a bit different. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s back side is not completely flat, unlike what the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers. A flat display is included on both phones, though, along with thin bezels. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a display camera hole at the top of its display, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max includes a pill-shaped cutout known as Dynamic Island.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has its power/lock and volume rocker buttons on the right-hand side. Those are the only buttons included on the phone. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has two more. It includes its power/lock button on the right side, along with the Camera Control key. On the left, you’ll find the volume up and down buttons, and the Action Button. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra also has an IR blaster at the top.
You’ll notice a big camera oreo on the back of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Four cameras sit in there, and that camera island does protrude quite a bit on the back. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a much smaller camera island in the top-left corner of its back. Three cameras sit on the inside. Both smartphones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. They’re both quite slippery too, though the vegan leather model of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra does add more grip.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Display
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra features a 6.73-inch 3200 x 1440 LTPO AMOLED display. That panel is flat, and it supports an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ content. The peak brightness here is 3,000 nits, in theory, and the screen-to-body ratio is at around 89%. The display aspect ratio is 20:9, while the Xiaomi Shield Glass protects this display.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has a 6.9-inch 2868 x 1320 LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display. This display is also flat, and it offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. HDR10 content is supported, as is HDR10 content, while the peak brightness is at 2,000 nits. The screen-to-body ratio sits at around 91%, while the display aspect ratio is 19.5:9. The Ceramic Shield glass protects this display.
Both of these displays are great. They’re both sharp, vivid, and have great viewing angles. They also get more than bright enough and have those inky blacks that people love. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s panel does get a bit brighter when needed. It also supports high-frequency PWM dimming, unlike the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s panel. Both displays do offer really good touch response, though. You’ll likely be more than happy with either one of these two panels.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, a 4nm chip. That is still Qualcomm’s best chip, even though its successor is coming later this month. That chip is backed with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is fueled by the Apple A18 Pro processor, which is a 3nm chip. That processor is backed by 8GB of RAM and NVMe flash storage. Neither phone supports storage expansion, by the way.
Both of these processors are immensely powerful, as are both phones in general. In day-to-day use, no matter what you use them for, both smartphones deliver outstanding performance. They’re very snappy in every way, handling browsing, image editing, multimedia consumption, and everything else is not a problem. Getting both phones to stutter is not an easy task, actually.
The same can be said for gaming. They can play simpler games without a problem, and the same goes for semi-demanding and truly graphically-demanding games. Both of these phones can handle even the most demanding games on their respective app stores without a problem. They both get warm, but not too warm nor does that affect their gaming performance. Genshin Impact, for example, is not a problem for either phone.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battery
A 5,000mAh battery sits inside the global Xiaomi 14 Ultra model. The Chinese variant does include a 5,300mAh unit, but that’s not the one we used. The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 4,685mAh battery. Apple’s iPhones always have smaller battery packs than their Android counterparts, mainly due to the differences in how iOS and Android function. That doesn’t have to mean that the iPhone 16 Pro Max has worse battery life. And in this case, it does not.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has great battery life in its own right, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max shades it in that regard. Both smartphones can go up to 7 hours of screen-on-time, and then some. The iPhone 16 Pro Max always has more battery juice left at that point, quite a bit more. We were able to push it way past that point. In all honesty, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra can also go higher than that, but it cannot keep up with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Do note that we gaming does affect battery life quite a bit, as do other demanding tasks. Even when we did play games during the day, both of these phones were able to go the distance. Their battery life is so good that even demanding users will be pleased, though your mileage may vary, of course.
When it comes to charging, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra shames the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It supports 90W wired, 80W wireless, and 10W reverse wireless charging. The iPhone 16 Pro Max supports 38W wired, 25W MagSafe wireless, 15W Qi2 wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, and 4.5W reverse wired charging. The thing is, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra also comes with a charger, unlike the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Cameras
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has four 50-megapixel cameras on the back. Its main 50-megapixel camera includes a 1-inch type sensor and variable aperture. A 50-megapixel ultrawide camera (122-degree FoV) is also included, as is a 50-megapixel telephoto camera (3.2x optical zoom). The last camera on the back is a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto unit (5x optical zoom). All those cameras use Leica lenses.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the flip side, has a 48-megapixel main camera (1/1.28-inch sensor), a 48-megapixel ultrawide unit, and a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (5x optical zoom). The thing is, all three cameras on the back of the iPhone 16 Pro Max have smaller sensors than their counterparts on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. On top of that, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does not offer variable aperture.
Both smartphones are very capable in the camera department, though. They do offer considerably different results. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra shoots more contrasty shots that are closer to real life. The iPhone 16 Pro Max does love to use warmer color tones in images, and the images do look more processed in comparison. It’s all a matter of preference. We personally preferred shots from the Xiaomi 14 Ultra most of the time, and that is especially true for low light.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra does do a better job with telephoto shots, especially those up to 5x. Their ultrawide cameras are about on par when it comes to performance. Both smartphones are very capable when it comes to macro photography, though we did prefer such photos from the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple’s flagship still has the upper hand in the video department.
Audio
Both of these smartphones include stereo speakers. Those speakers on both are more than loud enough, though the ones on the iPhone 16 Pro Max seem to be a bit louder. That’s not something everyone will notice, though. The sound quality is good from both phones.
Neither smartphone includes an audio jack, however. You can still use their Type-C ports for wired audio connections, though. Alternatively, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers Bluetooth 5.4, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max supports Bluetooth 5.3.
Apple some new tools to its Apple Business Connect program that could be useful for the everyday consumer. The most notable update is the introduction of Business Caller ID. When this feature rolls out next year, companies of any size can register to have their name, logo and department appear when they contact customers. In practice, that can help people distinguish between a phone call from a legitimate business and spam.
Apple Business Connect allows companies to have more control over how they appear within different apps across the Apple ecosystem. In 2023, Apple businesses customization for their listings in Maps, Messages, Siri and Wallet. Today’s updates make Business Connect branding tools available to any company, including those without a brick-and-mortar location. In addition to the eventual rollout of Business Caller ID, the program is also adding brand info within the Mail and Phone apps. Participating companies can also add their logo to the feature for contactless payments.
Gaming VC fund Konvoy Ventures released its latest report on the state of funding in the industry. According to its findings, venture capital funding is overall up about 1% quarter-over-quarter, but growth-stage funding has increased. The overall number of deals has also gone down QoQ.
Konvoy’s findings show that the games industry is expected to be $188 billion market in 2024, and a $223 billion market by 2029. Private funding for games in Q3 2024 totals $811 million, a 15% increase from the previous quarter. The total amount of private funding for three-quarters of the year so far is higher than 2023’s overall total for four quarters — however, this is mostly due to Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games.
The total number of VC deals in gaming was 92 for this quarter, a 14% QoQ decrease. Growth-stage funding — funding for Series B-D — was $262 million, higher than 2023’s average of $159 million. Early-stage funding, on the other hand — pre-seed through Series A — is the lowest its been since Q1 2020.
Jason Chapman, Konvoy’s managing partner, told GamesBeat in an interview, “We’re seeing encouraging signs of normalization in gaming VC funding over the past six quarters, despite macroeconomic challenges. The gaming industry continues to command and demand people’s time, proving its resilience. However, while the volume of AI-related gaming deals have grown, traditional content studios are facing compression in VC funding. Content alone doesn’t seem to be a strong fit for venture capital at this stage.”
Konvoy’s report: AI-based funding
One of the insights from Konvoy’s report is the increase of investment in gaming companies related to or referencing AI. 22% of funding for Q3 went to such companies, or $113 million. That’s up from 10% and $52 million in the previous quarter. According to the report, two of the largest investments in AI companies happened in Q3: Volley’s $55 million fundraise and Series Entertainment’s $28 million Series A funding round.
Chapman told GamesBeat, “We’re seeing strong VC interest in AI-powered gaming startups, particularly those focused on virtual characters that enhance the player experiences. There’s significant funding traction in startups that help game studios produce and edit content faster, especially in areas like art and video creation, which represent a large portion of production costs. These AI-driven tools are streamlining game development and attracting more attention from investors.”
Konvoy’s complete Gaming Industry Report includes regional insights and is now available on the company’s website.
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ODD taps $27M for diamond chips to clear radioactive debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Back in 2011, the world held its breath after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan suffered a failure of its cooling systems, in the wake of the country getting hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. The worry was not unfounded: the resulting meltdown — which spread highly radioactive material in multiple directions — became one of the worst nuclear-related disasters of all time.
More than a decade on, the clean-up is still in progress. Last month, the Japanese government began a testing procedure to remove radioactive debris in and around the plant — a significant step in the plant’s decommissioning process, expected to be completed by 2051.
A groundbreaking startup from Japan, Ookuma Diamond Device (ODD), is playing a fascinating part in the process, by way of diamond chips that are being used in efforts to remove radioactive debris, by way of diamond-chip-powered amplifiers. And now, it has raised 4 billion yen, equivalent to approximately $27 million, to build the world’s first diamond semiconductor manufacturing facility in nearby Ookuma, also in Fukushima.
ODD’s plans are to build the factory in January 2025 and have it up and running by Summer 2026.
Why use diamond chips rather than traditional silicon-based semiconductors?
Diamond is known as a wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor material — others include SiC (silicon carbide) and GaN (gallium nitride). WBG materials are considered to have better power conversion efficiency and exceptional thermal management.
Unlike silicon-based CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs, but the diamond-based chip do not have a circuit structure. Diamond semiconductors act more like powerful control devices than small electricity sources, Cocal Capital partner Ken Nishimura told TechCrunch. He said that the diamond semiconductor will be used in larger facilities such as nuclear power plants that require super high temperatures and radiation levels, which silicon-based chips cannot withstand.
Diamond semiconductor amplifiers operating under 300°C have been successfully prototyped using the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Hokkaido University facilities.
“Diamond semiconductors, which we develop, are fundamentally different from traditional silicon-based chips due to their superior material properties,” Yuhei Nagai, CFO of Ookuma Diamond Device, said in an exclusive interview with TechCrunch. Compared to other advanced semiconductors like SiC and GaN, diamond semiconductors provide superior power conversion efficiency and improved thermal management for next-generation technologies such as 6G, space, defense, and nuclear, he continued.
It’s also notable that diamond chips can be made from methane gas, potentially enabling full production in Japan. This is in contrast to GaN, which relies sourcing materials heavily controlled by China.
ODD’s focus is on developing “pure diamond semiconductors,” rather than GaN semiconductors on a diamond substrate, Nagai said. The market size for diamond materials used in chips is expected to grow to $10 billion by 2032, up from $113.7 million in 2023., according to a recent report.
The startup, a spinout from Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Hokkaido University, was specifically founded in 2021 to help with decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Two co-founders, Dr. Junichi Kaneko and Dr. Hitoshi Umezawa, have researched diamond chips for over 20 years. They found their work thrown into the spotlight after the disaster, which spelled more resources for R&D and spurred the founding of the startup. ODD built the world’s first practical diamond chip in 2021.
The leaps between theory, chip, and final product are still significant. The two co-founders are also leading the Japanese government’s wider national project to make an actual product that could remove radioactive debris from natural disasters.
“The [ODD’s] prototypes represent a world-first achievement—no one else has been able to develop functioning diamond semiconductor amplifiers to this point,” said Nagai.
A handful of global companies are also developing diamond semiconductors, including Diamfab in France, Element Six in the U.K., and A.L.M.T. in Japan, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric Industries.
ODD sets itself apart by claiming to be the only one with end-to-end expertise, from substrate to packaging, enabling the world’s prototype of a diamond semiconductor amplifier.
ODD is also talking with more than 10 potential customers worldwide in the nuclear power plant, aerospace, and telco industries, Nagai said — an area that this week got increased focus after it emerged that Google signed a deal to work on powering data centers with nuclear power.
Globis Capital partners led the recent funding, which brings its total raised to approximately $45 million (6.7 billion yen) since its inception, with participation from Coral Capital, aSTART, Green Co-Invest Investment, Japan Post Bank Spiral Regional Innovation Fund, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance venture capital, SMBC Venture Capital, among others.
The startup, which currently has 27 employees, has also received around $15 million in government grants from the Cabinet Office, METI, MIC, ATLA, and the Reconstruction Agency.
Meta has begun laying off employees across various departments, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs, according to people familiar with the matter. Rather than a mass, companywide layoff, these smaller cuts seem to coincide with reorganizations of specific teams.
Some Meta employees have started posting that they’ve been laid off. Among them is Jane Manchun Wong, who gained notoriety for reporting on unannounced features coming to apps before joining the Threads team in 2023.
The Verge asked Meta to confirm the layoffs and will update this story if we receive a statement.
This new round of layoffs follows a small series of job cuts in the company’s Reality Labs division earlier this year. Meta first laid off 11,000 employees in 2022 following overoptimism about the company’s growth coming out of the covid pandemic. It then announced cuts of 10,000 more people as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” in 2023.
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