Big Idea:

South Korea’s leading battery materials producer, EcoPro BM, has signed a $44 trillion won ($34 billion) contract with Samsung SDI to supply lithium nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide (NCA) cathodes for electric vehicle (EV) batteries over a five-year period from 2024 to 2028. EcoPro BM's stock rose by 2.2% following the announcement.

Why It Matters:

With EV battery demand expected to surge by 30% by 2030,  the long-term nature of this cathode supply contract reflects both companies' confidence in the sustained growth of the EV market.

Zoom In:

Samsung SDI, although controlling the smallest market share among South Korea's top three battery providers (including LG Energy Solution Ltd. and SK On Co.), supplies EV batteries to major carmakers such as BMW, General Motors, and Hyundai Motor Co. 

Zoom Out:

EcoPro BM and Samsung SDI have a history of collaboration, with EcoPro BM supplying cathodes to Samsung SDI since 2011. In 2020, they established a joint venture, EcoPro EM Co., to supply NCA cathodes to Samsung SDI's offshore battery plants. This long-standing partnership is viewed as a foundation for EcoPro group's future growth.

Key Details:

• The first batch will be produced at EcoPro BM’s plant in Pohang, South Korea, with production expanding to a new facility in Hungary from 2025.
• The facility's expected annual output is 108,000 tons, enough for about 1.35 million EVs.
• NCA cathodes are known for their high energy density and efficiency but require careful cycling to minimize efficiency loss due to microcracking.

“EcoPro and Samsung SDI’s trust-based partnership is playing a crucial role in strengthening Korea’s battery industry,” said EcoPro BM CEO Joo Jae-hwan in a statement. “This long-term supply deal provides another opportunity to consolidate our relations.”

Big Idea:

AstraZeneca inks a $247 million deal with AI biotech firm Absci to develop innovative cancer-fighting antibodies, aiming to transform oncology treatment and patient outcomes.

Why It Matters:

The role of AI in drug discovery, particularly in oncology, is reshaping timelines and methodologies, promising more rapid and precise development of cancer treatments. The AstraZeneca and Absci collaboration could greatly improve cancer treatment success, particularly in lung cancer where early detection increases 5-year survival rates from 10% up to 92%.

Key Details:

• Absci's zero-shot generative AI model diverges from traditional antibody library modifications, enabling in silico design of protein drug candidates.
• This is not AstraZeneca's first move into AI-driven oncology, following partnerships with firms like Qure.ai, and Verge Genomics.

“AI is enabling us to not only increase the success and speed of our biologics discovery process, but also enhance the diversity of the biologics we discover,” said AstraZeneca Senior Vice President Puja Sapra.

What's Next:

The partnership's future hinges on the successful integration of Absci's AI in AstraZeneca's oncology pipeline.

By the Numbers:

• Over 30%: Increase in Absci's stock price post-deal announcement.
• 92% vs. 10%: 5-year survival rate in early vs. late-stage lung cancer, highlighting the importance of early detection and effective treatment.
• $5.2 billion: Investment in AI-enabled drug discovery by 2021, signifying the sector's rapid growth.

Big Idea:

Pika, a startup specializing in AI-powered video editing and generation, has secured $55 million in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. This funding comes six months after Pika emerged from stealth mode and coincides with the launch of "Pika 1.0," a suite of videography tools introducing a generative AI model capable of editing videos in various styles.

Why It Matters:

Pika's rapid growth reflects the strong demand for generative AI. IDC projects a significant increase in generative AI investments from $16 billion in 2023 to $143 billion in 2027. The company claims to have onboarded over 500,000 users in half a year, generating millions of videos each week. Their goal is to make video creation accessible and empowering for the masses.

Yes, But: 

Challenges persist for enterprise customers, including concerns about unexpected outcomes, security, safety, fairness, bias, privacy, and the difficulty of finding suitable business use cases. Ongoing hurdles may impede the broader deployment of generative AI in corporate settings.

Key Details:

• Pika 1.0 features  a new generative model capable of creating professional-grade videos in various categories such as 3D animation, anime, and cinematic styles. Users can describe a video concept in text, and Pika's AI handles scene rendering, character posing, prop selection, color correction, and editing transitions.
• There is also a music video generation feature, enabling users to animate themselves dancing to popular song hits. 
• Pika was co-founded by former PhD students from Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Lab, Demi Guo, and Chenlin Meng. Guo previously worked as an engineer at Meta's AI research division, while Meng co-authored AI research papers, including those related to generative AI.

“We know firsthand that making high-quality content is difficult and expensive, and we built Pika to give everyone, from home users to film professionals, the tools to bring high-quality video to life,” said Demi Guo, Pika co-founder and CEO. “Our vision is to enable anyone to be the director of their stories and to bring out the creator in all of us.”

Zoom out:

Pika faces competition from other generative AI video tools like Runway and Stability AI. Pika aims to differentiate itself through innovative features, and despite competition from tech giants like Google and Meta, Lightspeed Venture Partners expresses confidence in Pika's potential impact on democratizing professional-quality video creation.