Media Coverage
11 July 2019
Why the Stodgy Old World of Bread Is Ripe for Innovation
Myhrvold’s latest tome, Modernist Bread, digs not into the modernist world of fog and foams, but the uber-traditional world of bread. Though it may not seem like the logical next step, Myhrvold is passionate about the idea of taking something so rooted in the old and finding a way to innovate. We sat down with him to talk about embarking on his love of cooking, how words like artisanal get stripped of all meaning and what it costs to take on such a massive project.
28 June 2019
Wine-Spilling Robots Provide a New Way to Look at Food
Nathan Myhrvold takes pictures of food, just like the rest of us. But with robots, microscopes, and a machine shop.
16 April 2019
Nathan Myhrvold on the Transformative Powers of Metamaterials
Metamaterials have patterns that can be programmed to interact with light in ways that normal materials can't. Nathan Myhrvold explains the uses for metamaterials in areas such as 5G and autonomous vehicles, and discusses the different tech startups that Intellectual Ventures is investing in.
16 January 2019
Washington state’s tech billionaires pour cash into global health
Gifts from pioneering philanthropists have equipped the US state for a frontline battle against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Myhrvold says that the state has a range of specialist enterprises that make it particularly attractive to those involved in this sort of work. “The Seattle area is the Silicon Valley of saving the world,” he says.
19 December 2018
“Modernist Breadcrumbs” podcast dives into the history, science, and art of bread making
All 16 episodes, which aired from Oct. 4 2017 to Dec. 19, 2018, are now available free online.
22 August 2018
Two (Totally Opposite) Ways to Save the Planet
The environmentalists say we’re doomed if we don’t drastically reduce consumption. The technologists say that human ingenuity can solve just about any problem. A debate that’s been around for decades has become a shouting match. Is anyone right?
14 May 2017
Inside the Invention Factory of Polymath Nathan Myhrvold
This confidant of Bill Gates wants to reinvent how inventions are born. He created a huge patent library and a “start-up factory” that has produced prototypes of nuclear reactors, antennas and radars, but also 900 new bread recipes...
14 June 2016
Bloomberg Advantage: Myhrvold sees AI interesting for investing
Nathan P Myhrvold CEO/Co-Founder Intellectual Ventures Management LLC Discussing the current invention environment and what he looks for before investing in technologies like artificial intelligence.
14 June 2016
The Biggest Problem With Flying Cars Is The Pilots
The key to making effective flying cars is eliminating the need for a human pilot, according to Nathan Myhrvold, the co-founder and chief executive of Intellectual Ventures. "The problem with flying cars is that we're not all good enough to fly them," he said at a session at Bloomberg's 2016 Technology Conference in San Francisco. "The leading cause of plane crashes is pilot error."
12 November 2015
Unnatural Acts of Discovery and Invention
Nathan Myhrvold challenges British aristocrat Matt Ridley's view that government just gets in the way of the natural evolution of science and invention - that too much taxpayer money is spent on science, and that patents hinder progress.