Meet Bryan Dai, the founder of Daivergent--a startup that hires people with autism to train artificial intelligence and helps them start independent careers. His journey began when his mother passed away, and he knew that he would be responsible for helping support his brother with autism. After people with autism turn 21, they often encounter the “support cliff,” after which they stop receiving many forms of government support. The statistics afterwards are stark - of the 2.5 million people with autism in the United States, 85% are unemployed. Fortunately, Bryan--a data scientist by trade--had an idea. He knew some people on the autism spectrum, like his brother, had particular strengths that made them well suited to training next-generation AI used in things like self-driving cars. What if he started a company that hired people from the autistic community to help businesses with specialized AI training? It could help provide independence, employment, and the start to a career for people on the autism spectrum - all while helping push the envelope of artificial intelligence.
Explore More Stories
Climate change is increasingly reshaping our world, but communities across America aren’t losing hope — they’re taking action. Learn how 18 communities are using science to guide community-based decision-making.
It’s been the ultimate futuristic dream for decades: flying cars! But now, the future finally has a deadline. At least to start, it will land in the form of a small air taxi operated by Uber, not something you’ll park in your garage.
With a growing population, changing consumption behavior and a climate crisis, how will we feed our future world? The answer may not be increasing resources--land, water, and employees--but rather improving production efficiency. The key question: How do we increase the amount of food we produce while using the same or fewer resources? In the first episode of our original series, Future of Food, we take a look at...
We take addresses for granted - but billions of people and places don’t have them, and it’s a big problem. Whether it’s voting, disaster relief, or pinpointing a spot on festival grounds, not having an address makes things that should be simple difficult. Enter Chris Sheldrick, who coordinated events in the music industry where he was frustrated by address-related problems. He created What3Words, a method of dividing the...
Computer-game simulations can train self-driving cars to navigate in the real world.
Flexport's founder discusses the personal and business side of building an ambitious startup.
Dr. Leslie Dewan, CEO of nuclear power startup Transatomic, discusses the importance of entrepreneurs' ability to bounce back and learn from failure.
Transatomic is designing a nuclear reactor that can produce a lot more electricity than a conventional reactor, while creating a lot less nuclear waste. But they’ll need to take on a deeply entrenched industry and convince a cautious public that they can safely harness the most powerful energy in the world.
Across the globe, entrepreneurs are racing to develop new businesses that could dramatically improve people’s lives. But startups are hard work, and success is far from guaranteed. Join us as we profile the next generation of challenger companies on their journey to transform an entire industry—and change the world.