{"author":{"name":"James O'Donnell","slug":"james-o-donnell","article_count":2,"latest_published_at":"2026-07-14T10:56:25.688+00:00","profile_url":"https://vff.ai/authors/james-o-donnell","api_url":"https://vff.ai/api/authors/james-o-donnell"},"articles":[{"slug":"psiquantum-has-a-plan-to-make-a-massive-quantum-computer-out-of-light","title":"PsiQuantum's Quantum Bet: From Lab to Commercial Reality","url":"https://vff.ai/article/2026/07/14/psiquantum-has-a-plan-to-make-a-massive-quantum-computer-out-of-light","content_type":"aggregated_news","summary":"PsiQuantum, a UK-founded quantum computing startup, is building a photonic quantum computer designed to solve problems current machines would take millions of years to address. The company has raised $1 billion, is constructing facilities in Chicago and Australia, and is one of only two firms (alongside Microsoft) to reach the third stage of a government quantum evaluation program. Its claims are bold, from reducing drug development timelines to four minutes, but the company now faces a critical prove-it moment as it approaches commercialization.","published_at":"2026-07-14T10:56:25.688+00:00","updated_at":"2026-07-14T10:56:25.882419+00:00","source":{"url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/14/1140356/psiquantum-plan-massive-quantum-computer-out-of-light/","name":"MIT Technology Review"},"featured_image":{"url":"https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/PsiQuantum-0459-Headquarters-top.jpg?fit=1920,1280","alt":null},"categories":[{"name":"Research","slug":"research"},{"name":"AI Hardware","slug":"ai-hardware"},{"name":"Funding & Startups","slug":"funding-startups"}]},{"slug":"how-robots-learn-a-brief-contemporary-history","title":"Robotics Funding Surges as AI Learning Replaces Hand-Coded Rules","url":"https://vff.ai/article/2026/04/17/how-robots-learn-a-brief-contemporary-history","content_type":"aggregated_news","summary":"Robotics funding surged to $6.1 billion for humanoid robots in 2025, quadrupling from 2024, driven by a fundamental shift in how machines learn. Rather than hand-coding rules for every scenario, researchers now train robots using large language models and other AI systems that learn from vast amounts of data, sensor readings, and trial-and-error in simulated environments. This approach, catalyzed by ChatGPT's success in 2022, has made the long-standing dream of adaptable, helpful robots seem achievable again after decades of incremental progress on narrow tasks.","published_at":"2026-04-17T10:47:46.449+00:00","updated_at":"2026-04-22T00:59:04.768177+00:00","source":{"url":"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/17/1135416/how-robots-learn-brief-contemporary-history/","name":"MIT Technology Review"},"featured_image":{"url":"https://mrrqbmstywujcvowvptv.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/thumbnails/imports/3824ea8678f5ff37657e38332f28131e.jpg","alt":null},"categories":[]}]}