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What does it actually take to put GLP-1 in a pill?
The headlines make it sound simple – scientists figured out how to turn an injection into a tablet. But the reality behind this breakthrough tells a very different story.
To develop our oral GLP-1 pill for obesity treatment, we tested 217 different molecules. Only one worked.
To solve the challenge of protecting GLP-1 from stomach acid – so it could remain active for a full week in pill form – we tested 70 different research technologies. We finally found success with one called SNAC.
We could have decided to go an easier way, but that would never have led to an “injection in a pill”. We could have compromised, but that would not be us.
This is the reality of pharmaceutical innovation. It requires being relentless in the pursuit of solutions, resilient through countless setbacks, and persistent when others might give up.
That's what 30 years of pioneering research has taught us: breakthrough science requires breakthrough persistence.
What if the real disruption in manufacturing isn’t coming from AI, cloud, or automation... but from the uncomfortable realization that we’ve been investing in all the wrong things?
According to Deloitte’s 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey, manufacturers are pouring billions into tech. 𝟕𝟖% are allocating over 𝟐𝟎% of their improvement budgets to smart manufacturing. 𝟒𝟔% are prioritizing process automation.
The intent is clear.
The excitement is real.
But…. I would argue 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲..
Not in our culture.
Not in our org structures.
Not in how we prepare our people.
The data exposes the gap. Human capital is the least mature capability in the smart manufacturing stack. Only 𝟒𝟖% of companies have a training and adoption standard. Yet it’s the number one area they say they want to improve. And while 𝟖𝟓% believe smart manufacturing will attract new talent, more than a third say their biggest human capital concern is simply adapting workers to the factory of the future.
We like the sound of digital transformation as long as it doesn't slow us down. We like the optics of AI as long as we don't have to redesign how we work. We like talking about the workforce of the future as long as we don’t have to train the one we already have.
So yes, investment is rising. But if we don’t confront the outdated systems and assumptions holding us back, all we’re doing is layering expensive tech on fragile foundations.
The biggest barrier to smart manufacturing isn’t budget, technology, or even talent.
It’s us.
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: https://lnkd.in/e6_QsJcw
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• Visit www.jeffwinterinsights.com for access to all my content and to stay current on Industry 4.0 and other cool tech trends
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When Style Disrupts Safety: A Lesson in Product Design
Today, while driving behind the sleek Mahindra BE.6E, a futuristic and stylish EV, I experienced something unexpected.
The car in front of me braked suddenly. I had maintained a safe distance, so I stopped comfortably. But something felt off. Why did the braking catch me off guard?
Then I realized:
The brake lights were too subtle. The taillights are designed as a thin rectangular LED strip, stunning to look at, no doubt. But the brake lights occupy only a tiny section on the top edge of that strip.
Visually stylish, but functionally weak.
In real traffic conditions, where immediacy and clarity are critical, this design doesn’t help other drivers react intuitively.
This reminded me of a fundamental product design principle:
Aesthetics must never come at the cost of usability.
A good product delights not just by how it looks but by how well it works.
Whether we’re designing:
• A mobile app
• A banking interface
• Or a car’s tail lights
…it’s our job as product managers and designers to make sure the experience is not just elegant, but intuitive, accessible, and safe.
Lesson for us in Product Management:
Design for the user’s reality, not just the brand’s imagination.
Functionality and clarity should never be hidden behind a glossy UI, whether it’s a screen… or an LED strip on a car.
#ProductManagement#UXDesign#Usability#AutomotiveDesign#DesignThinking#BuildWithEmpathy
Due to rising costs for servers, RAM, SSDs, and energy, Akamai has notified customers and partners of upcoming interim surcharges (Effective April 1, 2026, a 3% surcharge) and pricing adjustments (Renewal Adjustments: Akamai will incorporate a price adjustment of up to 10% on contract renewals) for contract renewals. [Full blog post with details: https://lnkd.in/eFauWH4M] Akamai shared candid data with me on the massive economic pressures they are seeing across their supply chain and the specific market drivers behind the updated pricing.
While CDN pricing has declined steadily for years, the current hardware and energy markets are forcing a shift. Akamai provided a detailed explanation of why they are implementing adjustments to account for what they describe as significant market-driven forces. They noted that over the years, Akamai has worked hard to maintain economic stability for its customers and partners amid rising global infrastructure costs. However, they are now introducing what they call a modest adjustment in response to the economic pressures reshaping the industry.
According to the data Akamai provided, the cost of server components has spiked significantly since October 2025. Specifically, their market costs for RAM have more than doubled, and SSD pricing has seen significant increases. Due to ongoing supply shortages, Akamai noted that server costs increased between 75% and 200% compared to the first half of 2025. These hardware costs are not stabilizing. In fact, they are continuing to climb on an almost monthly basis. This aligns with recent industry analysis, with some analyst firms noting that end-user prices for memory and storage could rise by 150% to 300% or more in 2026 and 2027, compared to 2025 levels.
Hardware is not the only factor, with Akamai noting that energy costs increased by more than 200% in many regions. Personnel costs are also rising significantly, as the market for highly talented engineering and services talent remains highly competitive. Given the growth in server costs over the past few months and a forecast for double-digit increases to continue into 2026, the company explained that it can no longer absorb these costs while maintaining the same performance and security standards.
UPDATED: Blog post from CDN77 saying that for now, they are not increasing pricing: https://lnkd.in/gzqq4_qv
Full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/eFauWH4M - #akamai#infrastructure#memory#RAM#cloudsecurityAkamai Technologies
What if the biggest players in lab automation have been thinking about it backwards? Traditional lab automation follows a simple logic:
You have a big enclosure, robotic arms inside, and samples that get moved from station to station.
One application runs, everything else waits.
The next process starts when the previous one finishes.
It works, but it creates a fundamental bottleneck - sequential processing limits throughput no matter how fast the robotics get.
On a recent trip to the US, I visited a startup called LabSync that inverts this entire architecture.
Instead of moving the instruments, they fix the workstations in place and move the samples. Magnetic tiles on the floor shuttle plates and components between fixed stations, rerouting in real time based on what needs to happen next.
The concept is deceptively simple. But the implications are significant.
When you move the samples instead of the instruments, you unlock parallelization at a scale that traditional systems cannot offer:
• Multiple processes run simultaneously
• There is no queue, no waiting for one application to finish before the next one begins
• The throughput potential changes dramatically
I have spent years in this space, and I believe they are onto something. Although the concept is not new, this is a rethinking of the fundamental architecture that has defined lab automation for decades.
Whether LabSync becomes the company that scales this or not, the question they are asking is the right one:
Why are we still moving the tools instead of the work?
It was nice meeting you, great work Steve & Landon.
𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 - 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱.
Mining has long sat in the background of capital markets. Often lumped in with the broader commodity markets and seen as slow, capital-intensive, and lacking technological progression.
Important, but not investable. Strategic, but stagnant.
Well, that narrative is breaking.
Critical minerals, while always seen as national security assets, have ascended to a top national priority. Electrification, AI infrastructure, and defense supply chains are all colliding with a system that historically took 10+ years to deliver a new mine - if delivered at all. Meanwhile, discovery rates are collapsing while permitting timelines are stretching, further compounding capital risk.
Due to this growing demand gap and market tailwinds, we spent the last few months mapping where the real bottlenecks and areas of venture-scale opportunity across the mining value chain sit, touching on:
⛏️ Exploration and feasibility - the binding constraints
🤖 Use of AI - sensing are collapsing the drill → data → decision loop
⏱️ Time-to-value matters - often more than technical novelty
💰 Moving multiples - how tech can move assets from “mining multiples” to “growth industrial” outcomes
📊 Business model innovation - why royalty-like, equity-linked models may matter as much as the tech itself
The result is a framework for evaluating mining-tech opportunities via capital intensity vs. time-to-value, with a focus on cycle-time compression, risk reduction, and scalable value capture.
And the best part? This isn’t just theory, we’re already seeing signals in OEM offtake behavior, upstream verticalization, and a new generation of founders treating mining as a potentially data-rich industry ripe for transformation.
If you’re building, investing in, or navigating mining, minerals, or industrial AI — give it a read and let’s compare notes! As they say these days, the [VCs] yearn for the mines ⛏️
[Link to full piece in comments, also drop a comment if you want the spreadsheet backup to the market map]
CC: Cathay Innovation, Simon Wu, Elijah Yi, Rose Yuan, Jaclyn H., Daniela Caserotto Leibert#Mining#CriticalMinerals#IndustrialTech#AI#EnergyTransition#VentureCapital#Reindustrialization
Manufacturing front or rear bumpers through powered by plastic injection molding‼️
Key engineering challenges:
➡️ Large part size – requires high-tonnage machines and precise mold alignment
➡️ Material selection – balancing impact resistance, weight reduction, and cost (PP, TPO, blends)
➡️ Flow & warpage control – ensuring uniform filling, minimizing sink marks and deformation
➡️ Surface quality – meeting Class-A aesthetic requirements while maintaining structural integrity
➡️ Cycle time optimization – achieving high-volume production without compromising quality
Success lies in the integration of CAE simulations, smart gate design, effective cooling channels, and close collaboration between design, tooling, and manufacturing teams.
By Stefano Meli#automationEduardo BANZATOPeter Wirth
Lord have mercy on Africa. I just spent $23,000 on certifications for one product. Let me break down the hidden cost of exporting from Africa.
Recently, a German organic tea company wanted our Congolese honey. Premium price. Long-term contract. Dream client.
They needed: EU organic certification, glyphosate residue testing, heavy metal analysis, and full traceability from hive to port.
The product? Perfect. Forest honey from one of the most pesticide-free ecosystems on Earth.
The paperwork? $23,000 and four months.
Let me show you what "compliance" actually costs for African exporters:
💣 Organic Certification: $8,000-$15,000 Requires third-party inspections, documentation of every input, annual renewals.
💣 Choose between USDA, EU, or JAS depending on target market.
💣 Lab Testing: $2,000-$5,000 per batch Microbiology panels (E. coli, salmonella, mold), heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic), pesticide residue screening. Western buyers won't touch your product without this.
💣 Traceability Systems: $3,000-$8,000 Digital or paper tracking from source to shipment. Training farmers to document harvests, creating batch codes, maintaining audit-ready logs.
💣 Insurance & Liability: $3,000-$6,000 annually Product liability coverage that Western buyers require before placing orders.
Total: $16,000-$34,000 before you ship a single kilogram.
Most individual African farmers can't afford this. Most small cooperatives can't either. So they stay locked into local markets where premium honey sells for $3/kg instead of $25/kg internationally.
This is why aggregators matter.
Lubembo Co., we absorb compliance costs across multiple producers. We invest in certifications once, then multiple farmer groups benefit. We maintain relationships with ISO-accredited labs in Nairobi. We've built traceability systems that work even in areas with limited internet.
But here's what frustrates me: Western buyers demand all this documentation (rightfully—food safety matters), yet there's almost no support for African suppliers to actually obtain it?
NGOs fund "capacity-building workshops." What we really need is capital for certifications and lab testing.
I recently spoke to a women's beekeeping cooperative in Kitui, Kenya, producing exceptional honey. They had a buyer in Germany ready to order 2 tons monthly. The deal died because they couldn't afford $12,000 for organic certification and testing.
That's not a market failure. That's a financing failure.
We need impact investors and development finance institutions to recognize that compliance infrastructure IS development. Fund the certifications. Subsidize the lab tests. Help cooperatives access documentation systems that unlock premium markets.
Because right now, the compliance tax is keeping Africa's best products exactly where they've always been: invisible to the buyers who'd pay the most for them.
#Lubembo#TradeAfrica#Invest