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Americas AI industry was left reeling over the weekend after a small Chinese company called DeepSeek released an updated version of its chatbot last week, which appears to outperform even the most recent version of ChatGPT. But its not just DeepSeeks performance that is rattling U.S. artificial intelligence giants. Its the fact that DeepSeek built its model in just a few months, using inferior hardware, and at a cost so low it was previously nearly unthinkable. Heres what you need to know about DeepSeek. What is DeepSeek? DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence lab. It was founded in 2023 and is based in Hangzhou, in China’s Zhejiang province. It has released an open-source AI model, also called DeepSeek. The latest version of DeepSeek, called DeepSeek-V3, appears to rival and, in many cases, outperform OpenAIs ChatGPTincluding its GPT-4o model and its latest o1 reasoning model. However, the idea that the DeepSeek-V3 chatbot could outperform OpenAIs ChatGPT, as well as Metas Llama 3.1, and Anthropics Claude Sonnet 3.5, isnt the only thing that is unnerving Americas AI experts. Its that fact that DeepSeek appears to have developed DeepSeek-V3 in just a few months, using AI hardware that is far from state-of-the-art, and at a minute fraction of what other companies have spent developing their LLM chatbots. How much did DeepSeek cost to develop? Perhaps the most astounding thing about DeepSeek is the cost it took the company to develop. According to the companys technical report on DeepSeek-V3, the total cost of developing the model was just $5.576 million USD. Yes, thats million. For less than $6 million dollars, DeepSeek has managed to create an LLM model while other companies have spent billions on developing their own. (In training just GPT-4, OpenAI reportedly spent $100 million alone, Wired noted in 2023.) This raises several existential questions for Americas tech giants, not the least of which is whether they have spent billions of dollars they didnt need to in building their large language models. The high research and development costs are why most LLMs havent broken even for the companies involved yet, and if America’s AI giants could have developed them for just a few million dollars instead, they wasted billions that they didnt need to. But the fact that DeepSeek may have created a superior LLM model for less than $6 million dollars also raises serious competition concerns. When LLMs were thought to require hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to build and develop, it gave Americas tech giants like Meta, Google, and OpenAI a financial advantagefew companies or startups have the funding once thought needed to create an LLM that could compete in the realm of ChatGPT. But if DeepSeek could build its LLM for only $6 million, then American tech giants might find they will soon face a lot more competition from not just major players but even small startups in Americaand across the globein the months ahead. Wasnt America supposed to prevent Chinese companies from getting a lead in the AI race? Yes. The Biden administration placed a number of export controls on AI technologies in the hopes that they would do just that. Some of the export controls forbade American companies from selling their most advanced AI chips and other hardware to Chinese companies. Some of Nvidias most advanced AI hardware fell under these export controls. Thats why DeepSeeks success is all the more shocking. The model was developed using hardware that was far from being the most advanced. DeepSeek trained its LLM using Nvidia’s H800 chipsa midrange AI chip. Despite being consigned to using less advanced hardware, DeepSeek still created a superior LLM model than ChatGPT. It is also much more energy efficient than LLMS like ChatGPT, which means it is better for the environment. In an interview with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas about DeepSeeks breakthroughs, Srinivas told CNBC, Necessity is the mother of invention. Because they had to figure out work-arounds, they actually ended up building something a lot more efficient. How have Americas AI giants reacted to DeepSeek? With shock and concern. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, To see the DeepSeek new model, its super impressive in terms of both how they have really effectively done an open-source model that does this inference-time compute, and is super-compute efficient. We should take the developments out of China very, very seriously. Microsoft has spent billions investing in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. Metas chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, has a slightly different take. On Threads he stated that DeepSeeks success shows “Open source models are surpassing proprietary ones. DeepSeek has profited from open research and open source (e.g. PyTorch and Llama from Meta), LeCun wrote. They came up with new ideas and built them on top of other people’s work. Because their work is published and open source, everyone can profit from it. That is the power of open research and open source. How have investors reacted to the DeepSeek news? With some alarm. As of the time of this writing, major AI or AI-adjacent stocks are down in premarket trading. NVIDIA Corporation shares (Nasdaq: NVDA) are currently down over 10%. Nvidia’s success in recent years, in which it has become the worlds most valuable company, is largely due to companies buying as many of its most advanced AI chips as they can. However, if companies can now build AI models superior to ChatGPT on inferior chipsets, what does that mean for Nvidias future earnings? Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (Nasdaq: ASML) were also down 9% in premarket. ASML makes the equipment needed to produce advanced AI chips. Shares in Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT), OpenAIs biggest investor, were down over 6% in premarket. Can I use DeepSeek? Yep. DeepSeek can be used for freetheres no cost to use the most advanced DeepSeek-V3, which in most tests beats ChatGPTs o1 model. The latter costs $200 a month to use. DeepSeek can be used for free on the web. As you can see, its interface looks no different than the interfaces of other LLMS. You can also use DeepSeek for free on your smartphone via the dedicated DeepSeek app for iOS and Android. And in a sign of how DeepSeek has gained so much mindshare in the AI market over the past several days, the app is now the No. 1 app in Apples App Store.
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Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages ofInc.andFast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you cansign up to get it yourselfevery Monday morning. For all the talk about the rise of “the user”user-generated content, user-centered designit is rare that users (aka patients) are actively consulted in health innovations, especially in communities that lack access to basic healthcare. Innovation must be designed with and for the people it serves, harnessing the insights of those who best understand their communities needs, Jennifer Gardy, deputy director, global health, at the Gates Foundation, told me recently. Imperfect pipe dreams Gardy says she understands why global health advocates, often optimists who want to improve outcomes, can sometimes engage shiny thing-itis, as she calls it. Well see this cool new technology and well say, This is so cool. If we build it, they will come, she says. Unfortunately, without community input, those innovations often fall short. In 2011, the foundation initiated a program called the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. Some 3.5 billion people worldwide lack access to safe sanitation, which puts them at risk for diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, and cholera. (To draw attention to the challenge, foundation cofounder Bill Gates went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and convinced the host to drink water made from treated sewage water.) During field testing of the earliest designs, research teams heard from women and girls in their communities about their health, safety, and privacy. They highlighted poor lighting and lack of menstrual products. As a result of this and other projects, the foundation launched a genderintegration effort. Now all foundation teams are trained in applying a gender lens to their work. Whether its developing a team-level guiding strategy that includes gender considerations or filling out a gender intentionality assessment for every investment we make, thinking about the impact (and unintended consequences) on communitiesespecially women and girlsis now baked into the fabric of how we operate as a foundation, Gardy tells me in an email exchange. Gardy also shared some of these insights during a Fast Company panel produced in partnership with the Gates Foundation during the CES tech trade show earlier this month. The Gates Foundation, whose mission is to create a world where every person has an opportunity to live a healthy, productive life, participated in CES to showcase some of the health technologies it has supported. Innovation through community The call for more community input in innovation was echoed by panelists Laura Adams, senior advisor at the National Academy of Medicine, and Greg Simon, president of Simonovation, a science and tech policy consulting firm. Digital health is about giving people access to the information that they ought to have anyway, says Simon. The gripe I have with the digital medical community is that they stopped talking to patients, he adds, and instead collect data without understanding the human context. Thats a shame, as research suggests patients can be an asset in health innovation. A 2015 study of patients with rare diseases found that more than half had developed their own solutions for coping with their diseases, with 8% coming up with tactics that were truly novel. Adams also notes that if patients arent consulted on health innovation, theyll likely take matters into their own hands, adding: I think the sleeping giant is AI (artificial intelligence). We have no idea how far AI will take the empowered patient. She cited the example of a frustrated woman whose young son saw multiple physicians, none of whom could diagnose the cause of his chronic pain. She supplied ChatGPT with information from her sons MRI reports and other health data. The chatbot suggested a diagnosis of tethered cord syndrome, which was confirmed by a neurosurgeon. And as generative AI tools become an increasingly important part of the health landscape, Gardy urges innovators to tap into communities to make sure they have representative data as they build their models. You have to have lived experience part of your development process, whether its an AI-based tool or a better community toilet, she says. I asked Gardy what CEOs and other leaders can do to support the mission to create a world where every person can live a healthy, productive life. She replied: I hope more business leaders, corporations, and tech developers embrace health innovation for all as a smart investment and seize the opportunity to improve lives and livelihoods around the world. How does your company support health innovation? Does your company support health innovation? If so, how do you engage communities to ensure that your product meets the needs of patients? Send your comments to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Id like to share some of your insights in a future newsletter. Read more: healthcare innovation 8 next big technologies in health Mark Cubans audacious cure for high-priced drugs Fast Companys most innovative healthcare companies for 2024
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We’re at a fascinating yet concerning inflection point with AI. A recent Gallup poll reveals that 79% of Americans are already using AI-powered products in their daily lives, often without realizing it. Meanwhile, as MIT Sloan Review argues, the profound questions AI raises about consciousness, intelligence, and decision-making aren’t primarily technical problemsthey’re philosophical ones. We need philosophy to help us understand what AI actually is, what it means to be intelligent, and how we should approach human-AI interaction. Without this philosophical foundation, we risk developing AI systems that don’t align with human values and ways of thinking. This creates what I call a “philosophical emergency” in my forthcoming book TRANSCEND: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI. Unlike previous technological revolutions that primarily changed what we could do, AI is fundamentally altering how we think, reason, and relate to each other. Without developing strong critical thinking skills specifically calibrated for this AI age, we risk becoming passive consumers of AI-driven decisions rather than active, thoughtful partners with this technology. The stakes are incredibly high. It’s not just about using AI tools effectivelyit’s about maintaining our capacity for independent thought, authentic human connection, and meaningful decision-making in a world where AI is increasingly embedded in every aspect of our lives. Here are seven essential critical thinking skills, grounded in philosophical wisdom, that we must develop to partner effectively with AI: Recognizing limitations. (aka Epistemological Humility): Rooted in Socrates’ famous wisdom: “I know that I know nothing.” Also connects to Immanuel Kant’s limits of human knowledge and reason. When we recognize our own limitations, paradoxically, we become wiser in our interactions with AI.Example: Deliberately choosing films outside AI’s recommendation bubble, asserting human creativity over algorithmic patterns. Pattern Recognition vs Pattern Breaking: This draws from existentialist philosophy, particularly Sartre’s concept of radical freedom. While AI follows patterns, humans have what Sartre called the ability to “transcend the given”to break free from predetermined patterns and create new possibilities.Example: Choosing to have difficult conversations in person rather than using AI to craft perfect messages, prioritizing authentic connection over convenience. Value-Based Reasoning: Connects to Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom (phronesis)the ability to discern what truly matters in any situation. Also relates to Max Scheler’s hierarchy of values, where he argues that some values (like love and spiritual growth) are inherently higher than others (like comfort and utility).Example: Understanding that while an AI chatbot might offer comfort, it can’t replace the deep mutual understanding possible in human friendships. Authentic Connection Awareness: Draws heavily from Martin Buber’s I and Thou philosophy. Buber distinguished between I-It relationships (treating others as objects) and I-Thou relationships (authentic encounters between subjects). This helps us understand the difference between AI interactions and genuine human connection.Example: Regularly auditing which decisions you’ve unconsciously delegated to AI, from content choices to shopping decisions. Freedom-Conscious Decision Making: Based on Hannah Arendt’s concept of “thoughtful willing”making conscious choices rather than being carried along by automation and convenience. Also connects to Kierkegaard’s emphasis on authentic choice-making as central to human existence.Example: Regularly auditing which decisions you’ve unconsciously delegated to AI, from content choices to shopping decisions. Ethical Impact Analysis: Builds on Hans Jonas’s “imperative of responsibility”the idea that modern technology requires a new kind of ethics that considers long-term and far-reaching consequences. Also incorporates utilitarian considerations about maximizing good outcomes while minimizing harm.Example: Evaluating how using AI for hiring decisions might affect workplace diversity and human potential before implementation. Transcendent Purpose Alignment: Draws from Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and the human need for meaning, combined with Maslow’s concept of self-actualization. It’s about using AI while staying focused on higher human purposes and potential.Example: Using AI to handle routine tasks while intentionally focusing freed-up time on meaningful work and relationships. These seven critical thinking skills aren’t just nice-to-have philosophical concepts; they’re essential survival skills for maintaining our humanity and agency in an AI-augmented world. They help us engage with AI in a way that enhances rather than diminishes our humanity, allowing us to stay grounded in what makes us uniquely human while making the most of AI’s capabilities. The philosophical foundations remind us that we’re not just dealing with technical challenges but with fundamental questions about human nature, purpose, and potential. The great philosophers have wrestled with these questions long before AI came along, and their insights provide rich frameworks for thinking about how we can partner with AI while maintaining and enhancing our humanity. As AI continues to evolve and integrate more deeply into our lives, developing these critical thinking skills becomes not just important but essential for our individual and collective flourishing. They provide the mental tools we need to navigate this new territory thoughtfully and intentionally, ensuring that we remain active participants in shaping our AI-augmented future rather than passive recipients of whatever that future might bring. Adapted/published with permission from ‘TRANSCEND’ by Faisal Hoque (Post Hill Press, March 25, 2025). Copyright 20205, Faisal Hoque, All rights reserved.
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Everyone needs their vice. For me, its tacos. Tacos and a cheap can of beer. But each January, the tacos hit differently because the beer is gone. Ive been Dry Januarying for longer than I can remember, and will be the first to praise the hashtag. Over time, mine has extended to February, March, and now through most of the year until the Midwest grows cold and the parties feel cozy. The annual reset offers me a health tune up, and a cessation of habitand thats true for up to half of us who report that Dry January curtails drinking longer term. A glass of champagne or the occasional paloma gets swapped for seltzer and a splash of juiceor god forbid, tap water (*shivers*)and I cease reflexively grabbing something alcoholic to celebrate a hard days work. Whereas I used to quietly mainline homemade gingerade for the month while sidestepping the judgement of friends, the big brandification of sobriety means that my local liquor store eagerly emailed me on January 1 this year, inviting me back to try their Willy Wonka assortment of non alcoholic beers and spiritswhats been estimated as a $13 billion global market in 2023 and growing. NA drinks were once a mark of shame, but now theyre the popular kids, with enticing flavors, sharp labels, and a tempting, ever-so-sanctimonious halo effect of self-care in an era when we should know better. Any level of alcohol is bad for you, notes Daniel Roche, echoing warnings from the former Surgeon General. Roche is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who studies alcohol and nicotine addiction. Going back 10 to 20 years, there was still some argument that there might be some benefits of alcohol, but now, any level of consumption is associated with almost every cancer. [Photo: Anheuser-Busch] At face value, the NA movement is a boon for health. But Ive also had the creeping suspicion that its too convenient. This is the first Dry January where Ive found myself chipping away at a 12-pack of (NA) Budweiser, its white and silver cans glinting in the light like vermeil clydesdales. Ive been enjoying the bite of hops chasing a rich al pastor, my palate convinced that Im drinking the real stuff, to the point Ive been asking myself if I should run back to the store to grab another pack. I havent had a drop of alcohol in weeks, but I still wonder: Am I really giving up drinking this month, if Im still drinking beer? Am I breaking any habit if Im reaching into a cardboard box labeled by Anheuser-Busch InBev? The answer is maybe. And maybe not. Through conversations with half a dozen addiction clinicians and researchers, experts firmly agreed that the proliferation of non-alcoholic beverages pose a net gain for public health. But they generally concurred that I may be onto something. There is little known about how non-alcoholic beverage affect our long-term relationships with drinking, and they could come with risks of their ownnamely, keeping us dependent on the rituals of alcohol at the opportunity of breaking up with it entirely. We’re still sorting that out, says Kenneth Leonard, director of the Research Institute on Addictions at University at Buffalo, noting that anything that cues the sensations of alcohol might lead some to seek the real thing. It could certainly elicit some interest in returning and having an alcoholic beverage, and maybe saying, I can just have one, or maybe I can have a couple. Our changing treatment of addiction To reiterate, the experts I talked to ranged from ever so positive to quite bullish on the proliferation of non-alcoholic products. While many shared light, curious concerns, they agreed that anyone from a light drinker (consuming 1 to 2 drinks a day) to a heavy drinker (who consumes 4 to 5) might benefit from trying them. The key reason for their support is that the medical communitys approach to addiction has shifted over time. Traditional programs like Alcholics Anonymous (which did not respond to comment) coach the complete cessation of drinkingwhich has often even included non alcoholic beers, in case they might trigger a relapse. But over the past few decades, clinicians have softened their approach in treating addiction from abstinence to whats known as harm reduction. I think in the clinical world that there’s recognition that people are not going to change in ways they don’t want to change, says Leonard. You have somebody come in for treatment for an alcohol use problem, and they say, I want to cut down on my drinking, you know, a clinician is not going to say, well, I’m only going to treat you if you’re committed to abstinence. Even though abstinence is the ideal long-term outcome to most clinicians, they acknowledge human nature, and will take what they can get. If an NA drink swaps out just one alcoholic drink, they are less concerned about the potential for unknown, long-term consequences than this singular net gainand having a patient take a first potential step in a greater path to recovery. The science has progressed at this point, says Joel Sprunger, a clinical psychologist in the addiction sciences division at the UC College of Medicine. If I can get somebody to go from drinking a 12-pack a night to six-pack a night, it’s still a lot, but it’s half. Being able to make that change can build momentumlet’s cut it in half again. Now I’m going to go from six to three, and then from three to one, and then maybe I don’t need it after a while. The science of habits Breaking an ddiction to ethanol is particularly difficult, but all new habits take time to form: an average of 66 days (though as many as 258), according to a landmark study published in 2009 that followed nearly 100 people as they charted new behaviors in drinking, eating, and activities like running. Phillippa Lally, who is now the Co-director of Habit Application & Theory Research Group at the University of Surrey, was the lead author on this study. And she is quick to caution, per her own research, that the single month of January wont be long enough for many people to break any habit. However, as for the effect of swapping a beer for an NA beer, she believes it could actually be beneficial to cut back consumption long term. You cant easily break a habit . . . particularly not just by consciously stopping yourself from doing it. It takes effort every time. So, you could exert this effort for the whole of January and then stop and you havent broken the habit, Lally writes via email. Substitution is a potentially useful approach to break a habit: Form a new habit that is stronger than the old one. Choosing a substitute that meets the same goals as the original habit is also a good idea, so a NA drink is a potentially good approach to that too, because it meets the goal of having a drink, potentially of being social, of the enjoyment of the flavor (presuming you do enjoy the flavor). In psychological theory, Lally is correct. In the actual practice of consuming alcohol, she might not be. A study from 2022 tracked beer purchases across 64,280 British households over three years. It asked the question that we are now: Do low and no ABV beers reduce our drinking? In this study, alcohol alternatives were consumed in small overall amounts at a population level: regular beer outsold NA beer at a rate of 32:1. But what it found was striking, and you can see it for yourself on the timeline below. Once households started buying nablab (no and low alcohol beer), they did consume less alcohol overall. Nablab purchases offset 22.5% of regular beer drinkingand that shift in habit continued even a year later. But they also kept on buying normal beer, albeit not as much. (Its also worth noting that another study looking at no and low-alcohol beverages in Great Britain and Spain found little benefit in their consumption: These lighter options were linked to lower mortality rates, but at such low levels it was a moot intervention.) Graphic from Are Lower-Strength Beers Gateways to Higher-Strength Beers? Time Series Analyses of Household Purchases from 64,280 British Households, 20152018 by Eva Jané Llopis, Amy ODonnell, Eileen Kaner, Peter Anderson [Image: Oxford Academic] In other words, NA drinks appear to reduce consumption by someone who drinks, potentially long term, but they arent a proven gateway to full sobriety, either. People who started drinking NA beers were still drinking the same, diminished amount of alcohol from the first day they bought an NA beer to a year later. While the studys author did not respond to request for comment, Roche is bullish on the findings, and says he could imagine those nablab drinkers really could kick the habit longer term, but that we dont yet know. His take on NA drinks is optimistic but measured. I don’t know that I would come out and say I fully support it, but also I’m not strongly against it either, says Roche. I think, you know, having more options available to people as they make more informed decisions about the role that they want these beverages to play in their lives is a good thing. Indeed, one study found that simply by expanding the number of different NA options available next to alcohol increased their rate of purchase. So the proliferation of NA drinks itself likely means more of us will be drinking them. [Image: Ghia] Breaking the links between drinking and our identity Yet I cant help but wonder if drinking these convincing mocktails or NA beers is only perpetuating our identity as drinkers. And thats a point that could make you stick with a habit you might otherwise try to kick completely. There is . . . a question of identity here, writes Lally. If people identify as doing dry January, then they are likely to drink again in February. Whereas if they identify as someone who no longer drinks, or drinks rarely, its more likely to stick, but that is likely harder to encourage people to. Could the same be true to someone who still cracks a beer with their tacos? An alternative approach, Lally notes, is to remove cues that lead us to drink, whatever they may be. If these are removed permanently then the change should stick, she continues. However, a lot of the cues are things we cant remove from our lives. Indeed, alcohol is closely associated with every major social activity for adultswhich is both cultural and the result of omnipresent marketing (see: the NFL). Whether we’re talking about dating, whether we’re talking about picnics or end of year parties or retirement parties or all those things, there’s always celebrations, says Leonard. There’s wine, beer, champagne, all those opportunities. And so you have to sort of imagine, what would those events be with[out alcohol]. You know, maybe they would be fine. The researchers I spoke to agreed that throwing back a few NA drinks at a party was a healthy behaviorand it might even help you deal with social anxiety. If you strongly associate beer with being a social lubricant, well, studies show the placebo effects may come along with it. You may actually get chattier and jollier drinking NA beer. But I think eventually, that’s going to peter out well without the drug on board, says Roche. And your association between celebration and consumption may naturally fizzle out, too. In traditional conditioning models of learning, you have a conditioned stimulus, which is beer, and you have an unconditioned stimulus, which is alcohol. The way you extinguish that is, you present the beer cue without the alcohol. And then that should weaken that learning of this really positive, associative factor [of a buzz], says Leonard. But we don’t have the data on that. [Image: Athletic Brewing Co.] What else can we do after dry January? If youve read this far, then you might be wondering, what other actions either you or the industry at large can do to reduce the consumption of alcohol. In fact, we do have some data on just that. For the industry, one study has calculated that, if the producers were to reduce the ABV in drinks across the board by 10%an amount that would be largely unnoticeable in many contextswe could reduce overall mortality rates by up to 1.26%. For mass public health, reducing alcohol in alcoholic beverages could make the biggest immediate impact simply because people would drink less ethanol for the same volume of beverage. Similar research on tobacco has even demonstrated that, by swapping cigarettes for lower nicotine cigarettes for six weeks (in randomized double blind trials), people reduced their dependence on and craving for nicotine. Simply offering less of a drug seems to be a good way to get people to consume less of it: even making cups smaller can lead people to drink less at parties. As for individuals, drinking can be a tough habit to break without breaking up with your rituals and social circles associated with it. But if you want to make abstinence feel easier, one of the most effective things you can do is to make more plans for the morning. People who had activities like exercising or volunteering planned for the next day are about half as likely to drink the night before. My biggest takeaway from a couple decades of enjoying alcohol is that, deep down, Ive always known it wasnt good for meeven when studies conveniently teased that a glass or two of wine a day might lengthen your life. Reaching into the fridge for an NA beer feels sneakily similar. You can never have your cake and eat it too. Something always costs something. But I also recognize my concerns are probably vastly overblown, and in just a few years, culture is attempting to reframe and reconcile thousands of years of practices weve had around alcohol. Perhaps not every decision we make is perfect (and thank god or what fun would life be?)but when it comes to our physical health, theres almost always a better thing we can be drinking, and chances are, that glass of NA will do you more good than harm. Liana Reid, who kicked her own heroin addiction decades ago to become a professional interventionist, puts it all pretty bluntly. If were gonna save some lives, people can save some lives by switching to NA, she says. It won’t have the same effect. They won’t end up in another country or behind the wheel of a car killing somebody.
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Last year, as other insurance companies fled from California, one startup launched with the goal to help homeowners in the highest-risk areas get coverage. The startup, called Stand, believes that by making targeted design changes, homes can become resilient enough that theyre feasible to insure. While the company focuses on retrofits for existing homes, the same strategies apply to houses built from scratch. We talked to Stands CEO about what homeowners should consider as they begin to rebuild in L.A.and how the right decisions could not just protect residents but begin to deal with the state’s insurance crisis. Protect yourself from the house next door In Pacific Palisades, part of the fire danger came from the fact that homes were densely packed together. If the home next door is burning, thats a problem for your own house not just because the flames may spread, but because the blast of heat can cause damage. One small step that can help: using tempered glass in windows. In any window thats facing anything burning, one of the biggest risk points is that the glass will break from the heat, and then embers will fall inside, says Stand CEO Dan Preston. Its a way a lot of these homes ultimately burn down. So you want to have tempered glass, which dramatically improves the odds that it wont break. Other materials on the house should also be fire-resistant, from the siding to the roof, to protect them from embers blowing through the air. A tall stucco wall between yards can also help stop the spread of fire. In the L.A. fires, some of the homes that survived had this feature. Built-in sprinkler systems, which spray exterior walls with water and flame retardant, are another solution. (One example is from a company called Frontline, which makes a system that attaches to a house with reserves of water and foam, and which automatically turns on when a fire is within range of a house.) Preston says his team had previously been cautious about how well sprinkler systems work. But the recent fires proved their effectiveness. Weve found a couple of examples where they basically saved the home, he says. When rebuilding from scratch, homeowners should also consider a new layout. If a house has a smaller footprint, for example, that means there can be more space between it and the neighbors. If theres at least 15 feet between your home and the next one, as long as your house is built with the right materials, your chances of surviving are much higher, says Preston. [Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images] Keep embers out Terrifying videos from the L.A. fires show embers flying through the air, propelled by hurricane-force winds. Most houses in wildfires ignite because embers make their way through gaps at the bottom or top of the building. Once an ember gets inside, its hard to avoid the house burning down. Making sure that theres flashing (thin strips of metal) around the edges of your house, and that vents are covered with an ember-proof mesh, can keep embers out. These are not huge changeshundreds of dollars, not thousands of dollars of changes, says Preston. They can be pretty minor things. And that can be the difference between losing your multi-million-dollar home or not. Jim and Nancy Evans’ Malibu home survived the Palisades fire even though many of his neighbors’ homes didn’t. After the Evans’ previous house on the same lot burned down in a wildfire in 1993, he rebuilt a fire-resilient structure with a metal roof, steel-reinforced walls with cinderblock at the bottom, double-paned windows and 6 feet of stone encircling the house, clear of vegetation. The rest of his yard is landscaped with fire-resilient succulents and oak trees. Evans believes his home survived due to its hardened design and defensible space. Photographed on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Malibu, CA. [Photo: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images] Maintain defensible space The first five feet around a housewhat fire agencies call “Zone 0″is the most critical place to avoid having flammable objects, whether that’s wooden deck chairs, trash cans, or a pile of dead leaves. If embers fly into your yard and ignite something close to your home, it’s almost inevitable that the fire will spread to the house itself. Inside that five-foot buffer zone, the ideal landscaping might be stones and small, high-moisture plants like cactus. A little farther away from the house, it’s fine to have trees, though the type of tree matters. (One of the lessons of the L.A. fires was that palm trees are especially flammable, since they tend to have dead branches near the top; native oak trees are safer.) Trees also need to be trimmed correctly. Stand uses models to advise homeowners about where limbs should be cut to make it less likely that the crown can catch on fire. If a house is built with the safest materials, there’s more flexibility with landscaping. “If you have tempered glass and you have fire-resistant siding, you can actually have more vegetation near the home because it’s less likely that the home will be lost in those cases,” Preston says. The more that houses are built and retrofitted with these strategies in mind, he says, the more that insurance rates can go down. That’s true not just for the individual homeowners making changes, but for the market as a whole. “The thing that really drives insurance costs is not just the likelihood that your home will burn down in a year, it’s the likelihood that your whole neighborhood gets lost,” he says. “If you could demonstrate that these fires no longer burn down 10,000 homes, but burn down 10, it’s not going to just reduce your insurance costs by 10% or 20%. It could cut it in half.”
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