Charles Miller: Satellite Technology and the Future of Mobile Connectivity — Manifold #49

 

Charles Miller is co-founder and CEO of Lynk. He is a serial space entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the space industry. 

Lynk - https://lynk.world/ 

0:00 Introduction and guest background 

1:27 Miller's early passion for space 

3:54 Evolution of commercial space 

6:42 Impact of Elon Musk and SpaceX 

8:01 The challenges of early stage startups 

11:26 The birth of Lynk, its technical challenges, and breakthroughs 

33:11 Use cases for satellite connectivity 

35:20 The plan for Lynk satellites 

36:41 Competition with Starlink 

39:25 Investment opportunities in Lynk 

47:04 Satellite technology and global competition 

50:21 Impact of Huawei’s satellite phone features 

59:01 Advice for entrepreneurs 

Audio-only and Transcript: 

https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/charles-miller-satellite-technology-and-the-future-of-mobile-connectivity-49

China's EV Market Dominance and the Challenges Facing Tesla — Manifold #48

 

TP Huang is a computer scientist and analyst of global technology development. 

He posts often on X: https://x.com/tphuang. 

The EV tipping point has arrived in China. Even most techology experts do not appreciate the coming huge impacts on global economics, manufacturing, energy transition, etc.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction 

2:21 How TP Huang became interested in electric vehicles 

6:30 The perception and reality of Chinese products, future of Chinese auto market 

9:24 The impact of Tesla on the Chinese electric vehicle market 

14:41 Buying a car in China 27:05 China dominates with electric vehicle batteries 

30:44 The challenges facing Tesla in China 

40:11 The evolution of smart cars, autonomous vehicles, and self driving 

50:48 LIDAR technology and autonomous driving 

59:08 BYD, China’s energy independence, and power grid 

1:14:04 The downstream impact of China leading in tech and electric vehicles

Audio-only version and transcript: 

https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/chinas-ev-market-dominance-and-the-challenges-facing-tesla-48

See earlier episodes:

TP on the US-China chip war

https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/huawei-and-the-us-china-chip-war-44

Taylor Ogan of Snow Bull Capital (Shenzhen) on EVs, LIDAR, manufacturing in China

https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/taylor-ogan-snow-bull-capital-chinas-tech-frontier-the-view-from-shenzhen-47

Hypersonic Weapons and Missile Defense

Detailed analysis of boost-glide (BGV) and Maneuverable Re-entry Vehicles (MaRV): physics of interception by US SM-2,3 etc.

Hypersonic Weapons: Vulnerability to Missile Defenses and Comparison to MaRVs 

David Wright and Cameron L. Tracy 

Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

As I concluded long ago, current ship-based tech is not effective to defend even against older DF21 MaRV. See, e.g.,

LEO SAR, hypersonics, and the death of the naval surface ship

The study concludes that air launched BGV/MaRVs could attack ships from well over 1000km. Land or ship based launch would allow even greater range. There is currently no defense against such weapons. 

Russia and PRC both have systems of this type.

Defense requires interceptor missile speeds significantly greater than that of MaRV/BGV in terminal phase. 

This is under ideal conditions where sensors function perfectly - it is just kinematics.

Taylor Ogan, Snow Bull Capital: China's tech frontier, the view from Shenzhen — Manifold #47

 

I really enjoyed this conversation. Taylor is a very unique investor who relocated his fund to Shenzhen in order to have direct access to information on Chinese tech companies.

Taylor Ogan is Chief Executive Officer of Snow Bull Capital, based in Shenzhen, China. 

Follow him on X @TaylorOgan. 

Steve and Taylor discuss: 

 

0:00 Introduction 

1:02 Taylor's background and why he moved his firm to China 

20:43 China post-pandemic and economic dynamism 

33:43 China dominance in electric vehicles; LIDAR 

56:55 Investment research: factory and site visits 

1:06:52 US-China competition - the future of innovation is in China

Audio-only version and transcript: 

https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/taylor-ogan-snow-bull-capital-chinas-tech-frontier-the-view-from-shenzhen-47