🐕 Man Designs AI Cancer Vaccine for Dying Dog

A man's dog was dying of cancer. He opened ChatGPT. What happened next involved $3,000 worth of DNA sequencing, Google's AlphaFold, and the world's first personalized cancer vaccine ever made for a dog. Most of Rosie's tumors have already shrunk. Let’s dive in!

In today’s insights:

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Evolving AI: An Australian tech entrepreneur used AI to help develop a bespoke mRNA cancer vaccine for his dog.

When Paul Conyngham learned Rosie had advanced mast cell cancer in 2024 he tried chemo and surgery but the tumors persisted. He spent $3,000 to have Rosie's healthy and tumor DNA sequenced at UNSW then used ChatGPT and DeepMind's AlphaFold to pinpoint mutations and identify drug targets. When a pharma company refused to supply a promising immunotherapy drug he pivoted. UNSW RNA Institute director Pall Thordarson built a custom mRNA vaccine from the AI-generated formula in under two months. Rosie got her first injection in December 2025 and by mid-March the tennis ball-sized tumor on her leg had shrunk by roughly 75%.

Right now, pharma companies like Moderna and Merck are spending billions to develop personalized mRNA cancer vaccines that could cost upwards of $100,000 per patient, with the first approvals not expected until 2028 at the earliest. Conyngham pulled off something remarkably similar for $3,000 and a lot of late nights with ChatGPT. That gap between what big pharma is building and what one guy with a laptop achieved for his dog is the real headline here. Over 120 clinical trials for mRNA cancer vaccines are underway right now, and AI is already helping researchers pick better targets faster. If these tools keep getting cheaper and more accessible, the idea of designing a treatment tailored to your specific tumor could shift from a luxury to something far more routine.

Evolving AI: Learn from experts how they build one of Europe's most successful technology companies.

In this conversation, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski shares lessons from two decades building one of Europe’s most successful tech companies. You’ll hear:

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Evolving AI: Pokémon Go data is now being used to help robots navigate city sidewalks.

Niantic Spatial has partnered with Coco Robotics to equip food delivery robots with its Visual Positioning System. Unlike GPS which often drifts in dense urban areas, VPS determines location by analyzing nearby buildings and landmarks through cameras. The system was trained on billions of images from Pokémon Go players who scanned statues and landmarks for in-game rewards. At its peak the game had 230 million monthly users and still has roughly 50 million today. The robots will use four mounted cameras to match their surroundings against these 3D models and pinpoint their position within centimeters.

This is one of the clearest cases of crowdsourced data being repurposed far beyond its original intent. Players thought they were catching virtual creatures but were quietly mapping the physical world. Once these robots hit streets they will collect even more data and feed it back into the model. The pattern mirrors how Waymo and Tesla improve through continuous real-world collection. And as Niantic builds what it calls a "living map" of the world the question becomes unavoidable — who else might want access to a tool that can pinpoint a location from a photograph?

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Evolving AI: xAI is undergoing a major personnel overhaul as it struggles to keep pace with Anthropic and OpenAI.

xAI lost two more co-founders this week after Musk said its coding tools trail Claude Code and Codex. Since coding assistants are now the primary revenue driver for AI labs the gap is a direct business problem. Last month 11 senior engineers also departed and SpaceX and Tesla executives were sent in to audit remaining staff. On the hiring side Musk is personally reviewing rejected job applications and xAI recently poached two product engineering leads from Cursor. Meanwhile the ambitious Macrohard project aimed at building a general-purpose white-collar AI agent has reportedly been paused after its lead left weeks into the role. Musk now says it will be a joint effort with Tesla under the name Digital Optimus.

With xAI now folded into SpaceX ahead of a likely public offering the pressure on Grok is financial not just reputational. At around 5,000 employees versus 7,500 at OpenAI the ongoing talent drain only widens the competitive gap. Can a company that keeps rebuilding its foundation ever finish the building?

QUICK HITS

🪧 Organisations worldwide are racing to develop a universally recognised label for “human-made” products and services as part of the growing backlash against AI use.

🧠 Scientists create the first artificial neuron capable of communicating with the human brain.

🎨 Hong Kong artist Victor Wong fuses tradition with technology, using an AI-powered robotic arm to paint intricate landscapes inspired by Chinese ink art.

📉 ByteDance suspends launch of Seedance 2.0 after copyright disputes, The Information reports.

🤖 Beijing humanoid robot half marathon holds first test run ahead of upgraded 2026 race.

🎬 Steven Spielberg reveals aliens exist, denies AI use in films at SXSW.

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