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Ask HN: Companies that are contributing "something good" to the world?

16 points by ducttapelogic ↗ HN
For months (maybe even for a year) I wanted to ask this question, or something similar, but I always felt uneasy to do so. An hour ago I was browsing through HN and found posts like these: - “User Engagement” Is Code for “Addiction” (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26153331), - Does anyone find strange that sport is part of daily news? (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26153670) etc.

Basically, companies are doing whatever it is needed to attract users, keep them as long as possible (I think that's called churn or so), and extract whatever they can from them (money-wise of course).

I'm pretty sure that most companies are responding to the market needs (does this sound too naive?) and that the main goal of companies is to make money (I really dislike this idea, and I even have a bitter feeling in my stomach when I even think of this - but that's how the world works) but - what companies do you know of that are "adding value" to the world?

By that I mean, companies that are doing research and (I guess) selling info/stuff/whatever that are increasing the human knowledge in fields like: - medical/biotech (Crispr companies; Crispr Therapeutics, Editas Medicine etc.), - robotics (Boston robotics?), - physics - chemistry (there was a hairdresser that invented Starlite, a thermal shielding material. Interesting project. What happened there? ) - mathematics - aerospace (BOOM, Lilium) or maybe even - legal - ai + language - ai + medicine etc.

As often happens here on HN there are heated debates. Please be polite, even when you don't agree.

p.s. Also I'd like (no, scratch that; love) to work for some type of the aforementioned organisation/company (especially if it's something connected with natural, or even technical sciences). That would allow me to extend my self-learning project(s) and I would enjoy doing that kind of a job. One of the things very close to my heart is open-source...

14 comments

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gurubavan
Check out Kepler (https://kepler.space) -- they're doing great work in satellite constellations to provide constant access to the internet in underserved parts of the world. I can vouch for the founders and team.
ducttapelogic
Oh wow, that was fast. :) Thanks gurubavan, that sounds very interesting. Do you know them personally or so? Have you worked with them? I'll definitely check them out!
gurubavan
Yes and yes. Feel free to DM me on twitter (same username). Also check out Ginkgo Bioworks (http://ginkgobioworks.com/), one of the top 100 YC companies. They're working on some really hard problems.
ducttapelogic
You know, I might do just that. Thank you! Also, biology and biotech used to be in the 4th or 5th place on my list of interests but it became 1st or 2nd during the previous 2 years. Both companies have fascinating ideas/goals. Just fascinating! The part that's a bit sad (to me) is that I'm new in biology (although I'm constantly reading about many things there) so I'm not sure if I would ever manage to find my place in a company in that field :(

p.s. I just remembered that a year ago I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSZidU6R_mU - Reshma Shetty, Founder of Ginkgo Bioworks at the Female Founders Conference

Edit: added a p.s.

yesenadam
> Ask HN: Companies that are contributing "something good" to the world?

Why the scare quotes? Makes it seem like you don't think it's really something good. The question would be better without them. Good question though :-)

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ducttapelogic
Hey :) Interesting observation and question. When I initially posted the question it was without the quotes :) but then I realized that this "something good" was probably not a very clear term (I might be wrong) so I edited the question and inserted the quotes. As far as I'm concerned it's better without them.
[dead] notoriousarun
Sorry, I don't know which companies are contributing "something good" to the world.

But I do know. A wide array of positive changes are taking place in the world and the world is getting better at most of the metrics.

> Please read... https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Bett...

The biggest theme discussed in the book is that over the past few decades, the planet has made tremendous change, but most people are oblivious to the possibility because they have warped opinions.

joebambino
Sense's core mission has always been to reduce global energy consumption. https://sense.com/ It is attempting to achieve this by allowing homeowners to understand and reduce their own energy usage. Disclaimer: I used to make the hardware at Sense.
O_H_E
I definitely count Fairphone as such. They build long-lasting android phones from responsibly sources materials. They closely monitor their manufacturing chain, make sure people are paid well, and release updates for many years (with as much software in the open so the community can take over). No new phone every 2 years.

The banger? The phones are fairly modular and serviceable (10/10 ifixit score) and they sell spare parts for years even after they stopped selling them. Moreover, they freaking made an upgraded camera module for people to pop into their phones instead of buying new ones.

https://www.fairphone.com/en/impact/ https://www.fairphone.com/en/story/

ducttapelogic
Ahh, if only more companies would be like Fairphone! I'd love to buy a phone from them at one point.

Thanks.

wfhpw
Zipline is having real impact in places with insufficient infrastructure to quickly transport medical supplies.

https://flyzipline.com/

ducttapelogic
Interesting company with a simple idea and a great execution. I saw some report on YouTube 1-2 year(s) ago. Thanks for mentioning them.