Soybeans, San Francisco, and a new AI Startup
An update from the desk of Amanda Cosco, Founder of Electric Runway
It seems like just yesterday I was transitioning my website to this Substack. A year later, this newsletter has grown to more than 1,000 subscribers (thank you!)
When you put yourself out there interesting and unexpected opportunities find you. Here are a few that I’ve been working on lately that I wanted to share with you, my community…
Ernst & Young’s Innovation Realized 🌉
At the end of 2023, I started working with Ernst & Young on an exciting event called Innovation Realized. Innovation Realized is the firm’s flagship global event for clients and stakeholders. It’s a private, invite-only affair that travels to a new city each year. For the 2024 edition, EY took over the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
My role was to help curate the talent for the main stage, which required drawing on my background in the “future of” space and my knowledge of the tech landscape. Some of the big names we brought to the event included Max Tegmark (MIT), Pattie Maes (MIT), James Landay (Stanford), and Holly Herndon. Holly demoed Holly+, the large language audio model she created. With Holly+, anyone can sing using her voice. Check out her TED Talk to see Holly+ in action.
Partnership with U.S. Soy 🌱
In March, I attended SXSW in Austin in partnership with U.S. Soy. When I say U.S. Soy, I mean the association for soy farmers in America (if you’d told me at the start of the year I’d be working with soy farmers, I wouldn’t believe you, but it’s true!).
U.S. Soy is vested in sharing how their product (soybeans) show up in industries far beyond soy. To that end, they hosted two panels and a networking event at SXSW at the Thompson Hotel. The panels included voices from fashion, beauty, and film discussing where soy is making an impact (hint: it’s not just tofu! Soy is an important ingredient in skincare, and has even been manufactured into material for clothing as well as a sustainable leather alternative). Learn more about the partnership in this YouTube video or by watching below.
Writing a Book 📖
I’m excited to share that I’m in the process of writing my first book! The book is called “Electric Runway” and it’s about all my adventures covering how emerging technologies are transforming the fashion industry globally. I’ll have more information to share soon, including a link to pre-orders if you’re interested.
New AI Startup 🤖
I’m delighted to share that I’m once again working with Dr. Parham Aarabi of the University of Toronto on an AI startup. The startup is called Pre, which stands for Predictive Commerce. Pre’s mission is to help brands model, simulate, analyze, and optimize their eCommerce sites in minutes using millions of AI-generated virtual shoppers. I’ll be helping out with marketing and client relations. You can learn more about Pre here.
Interviewed for the Globe & Mail
Recently I was interviewed for The Globe and Mail for an article on the impact of AI on the fashion industry. Written by the fabulous Odessa Paloma Parker, the piece looks at how AI showed up this fashion season. I made the point that although designers are now experimenting with generative AI due to the accessibility of tools like Midjourney, the truth is that AI has been quietly working in the background of eCommerce sites for years. You can read the full article here.
As always, thank you so much for your ongoing support of Electric Runway. It means the world to me ⚡️