00:01All right, we have Simon joining us now. What can you tell us?
00:06Hi, Optim. Well, I'm actually at the Google HQ here at the VivaTech event,
00:11and I'm joined by a very important guest, Neil Davir, the founder and CEO of Tidal.
00:17Neil, thank you so much for being with us today.
00:21Google's Tidal project is at the heart of something very, very good.
00:24Our global population is expected to balloon in the next coming year.
00:28So can we perhaps start from you telling us a little bit more about what this Tidal project is?
00:33Absolutely, yeah. So Tidal is an AI and robotics company,
00:36and we built a platform that can help ocean-based industries
00:39move towards decarbonized sustainable operations while increasing profitability.
00:43So our products and services kind of sit at the intersection of, you know,
00:48sort of like environmental and economic incentives to align them
00:52and to show that really, you know, doing good in the world is good for business.
00:56And in many ways, this project is also your baby.
00:58How was it born? How did it come about?
01:01Yeah, I mean, you know, we started with sort of an understanding
01:04that the ocean is critical to humanity,
01:06from food and economic security for 3 billion people
01:09to regulating climate to providing every other breath we take.
01:12It's really hard to overstate the importance of the ocean.
01:14And so the reality is, as the population grows, as you mentioned,
01:18we're going to have to get more out of the ocean,
01:20and we have to find a way to do that without using it up.
01:22And so that was really the genesis of Tidal five years ago when I created it,
01:26was to find a way to enable innovation in the ocean
01:29so that we can utilize it more without destroying the very thing that's supporting humanity.
01:34And does that start with increasing our understanding of the ocean,
01:39and how do we do that, really?
01:41Absolutely. Look, the reality is the ocean's big, which is great.
01:45I mean, this planet is basically ocean.
01:47There's a lot of data that exists out there today.
01:49So the approach that we're taking is we're trying to find that data
01:53and liberate it and get it organized and useful
01:55and then find the places where the data gaps are
01:58and then fill those gaps with technology.
02:01So when you think about AI, ML, human perception being put underwater,
02:04it's really to try to bridge the gap in terms of the data that needs to be collected
02:09so that we can understand the natural world in a more robust way.
02:12We know that climate tech is taking an even bigger part in the tech ecosystem, generally speaking.
02:18Would you say that this is the perfect example of how tech can help us hate the planet
02:22and make greener choices and help our understanding of the planet?
02:26Absolutely. I think it all starts with data, which is no surprise, right?
02:29We can't really help things that we can't measure and understand.
02:33And so, you know, when you think about the natural world, it's a huge systems problem.
02:38So all of these different ecosystems, whether it's on land or in the ocean, are all connected.
02:42So understanding those connections and being able to predict
02:45how those connections are going to change over time based on human activities
02:48as well as climate change is really important.
02:51It's important for businesses that operate in the ocean.
02:53It's important for people, you know, in the world.
02:55And so it all starts with data, understanding, and then being able to predict what's going to happen.
03:00And I think you were saying this just before the interview off air.
03:03You know, everyone's so keen about space and exploring space,
03:05but you're actually making the case that, well, actually, we need to explore what's right next to us
03:09because there's still a lot of unknowns.
03:11Absolutely. I mean, this planet is ocean, as I mentioned, but it's largely unknown.
03:15And so how do we bring intelligence and sort of vision and understanding into the ocean at scale?
03:21And what happens when we do that?
03:23What can we find?
03:24What new, you know, sources of, you know, kind of things that can help the world can we actually find
03:30when we do that?
03:31That's really exciting.
03:32And Neil, final question from me, I guess.
03:34What are your perspectives and your expectations for the Tidal project going forward?
03:38Yeah, I think we want to build this platform and launch it to a set of developers that can really
03:44take our technology
03:45and scale it to places that really need it and to address problems that really need it.
03:49So parts of the world, parts of the ocean, we really want to be able to democratize innovation in the
03:55ocean at scale
03:56and make it usable and make all the activities that happen in the ocean be sustainable.
04:02Neil David, the CEO and founder of Tidal, thank you so much for being with us for this.
04:07Thank you for having me.
04:08Well, there you go, Upton.
04:09Climatech really is at the heart of VivaTech 2023, and Google's Tidal project is simply the last example of that.
04:16Absolutely. We're excited to go check them out later today on the main floor.
04:20Let's head out now for another interview where we have Catherine on the ground.
Commentaires