Noel Webb

Toronto VC @LucidVentures | Investing in AI-native enterprise tech. Founder (Karen AI acq. AMS, CTrade). Seeking aligned LPs & founders. Drummer @Skydiggers.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Raising Lucid Ventures: operator-led seed fund focused on AI-native enterprise tech. Founder of Karen AI (acq. by AMS) & CTrade. Partnered with D2L co-founder Jeremy Auger.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

@zoink @jenzhuscott Execution is getting ridiculously cheap and fast now. The real edge is shifting hard to taste, creativity, and knowing what actually deserves to get built.
This lines up with what I wrote back on April 25 about the execution barrier dropping off a cliff: https://t.co/I9KJ1FUdAY
Curious what shifts you are seeing on the ground with how teams decide what to ship and what to kill.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

This minimal approach opens doors to ultra-precise quantum sensing (like measuring field gradients with high sensitivity) and stabilizing states like AKLT for deeper physics exploration. Theoretical for now, but the elegance could speed real-world progress. Game-changer for quantum tech? What do you think? @canada_quantum @UChicago @AashishClerk

https://t.co/HE4XmNbdDk

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Quantum entanglement just got a practical shortcut. Researchers at UChicago found a simple way to generate complex, noise-resistant entangled states using standard cavity QED setups - basically tweaking energy levels in groups of atoms with common lasers or magnetic fields. No exotic hardware needed. @zerohedge @PhysRevX @QuantumIQC

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

@Melissamor006 Thanks Melissa. You are right. My post directly raises this point. We lack any objective test for consciousness even in humans. The Turing Test checks imitation not inner experience.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

There is no "Turing Test" for consciousness.

The Turing Test measures one thing. Whether a machine can hold a conversation well enough to pass for human. That is a test of behavior. Consciousness is not behavior. It is thought to be grounded in subjective experience. What that actually is remains an open question.

Behavior cannot settle it. Any output including the sentence I am conscious is consistent with experience being there and with it being absent. You cannot read experience from words. This is a limit on what behavioral evidence can ever provide.

Science has no settled behavioral test for it either. Leading candidates are physical. Integrated information. Global broadcast. The perturbational complexity index used on patients. None of them asks the system to talk. And they are far from settled. In 2025 a major adversarial collaboration in Nature tested the top theories and challenged claims of both.
@geoffreyhinton recently claimed AI is already conscious.
He is not correct.

We know our own consciousness directly. Yet we still have no objective test for it even in humans.

When a model produces fluent feeling language that is evidence of capability. Not evidence of experience. Treating one as the other is a category error.
Intelligence capability reasoning and agency are measurable. Consciousness so far is not in humans or machines. As these systems get more powerful that line gets more useful not less.

What would actually count as evidence that a machine is conscious?
#AI #Consciousness'

https://t.co/hsjTKYOlFV

@suzannegildert @StuartHameroff @professor_ajay @fedefaggin Thoughts?

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

@pmarca Many people are wrong.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

With the new AI strategy delivering over $200M to @Mila_Quebec, @AmiiThinks, @VectorInst and CAISI, this is a powerful catalyst for Canadian AI. I could see a high-value venture studio playing a key role in creating startups and commercialising the incredible Canadian IP that comes out of these world-class institutions. Pairing frontier research with dedicated company-building capacity would turn this investment into scalable, globally competitive AI companies and real economic impact.

You heard itchier first, folks

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Thanks Stuart. The universal anesthesia effect across species is compelling evidence for a specific physical basis in biology. For silicon-based AI without microtubules, though, what test or signature would you accept or devise, If any, as evidence of consciousness? Would engineered quantum systems change the picture?
@fedefaggin @suzannegildert @professor_ajay

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

@QuantinuumQC From the days of @cambridgecqc computing to this ... BRAVO!

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

@JimDBanting @Jason 🤣

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Proud of the work my friends and colleagues are doing on Canada’s new AI Strategy Task Force. 🇨🇦

Canada has built one of the world’s strongest foundations in AI. World class research, exceptional talent, and respected institutions. But discovery alone is not enough. We need to commercialize, build, and scale the companies that will drive the next economy.

Huge thanks to @soniasennik @mserbinis @professor_ajay @ddebow for stepping up with real leadership at this critical moment.

AI has and will reshape industries, economies, and work itself. We have the researchers, founders, operators, investors, and policymakers to lead. Now it is about urgency and ambition. Turning our research edge into lasting economic and societal impact for our great nation.

Optimistic about what is possible when we bring it all together. The opportunity and responsibility are enormous. Looking forward to the results.
#CanadaAI #AIStrategy

[Mitchell Carkner @mitchcarkner]

One year in. Building capability for our warfighters. We are locked in.

Defend the Dominion.

[Maneva @ManevaAI]

It's an honor to be featured on UNALIGNED with @Scobleizer, one of the most influential voices in tech. 🙏

Our CEO @raechanjeong sat down with him to talk about what it really takes to bring AI into manufacturing. The technology matters, but so does the trust.

At https://t.co/Qs7bFUAJnu, we build deep learning computer vision tailored to your operational needs. It's how factories see, understand, and act on what's happening on the floor in real time.

That's the foundation behind our Video-to-Action AI and our mission to drive safety, efficiency, and growth in the factories that power the world.

🎥 Full conversation below 👇

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

@mitchcarkner 🇨🇦👏 🇨🇦👏

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Toronto-based. Open to conversations with aligned investors and high-signal founders.
https://t.co/1rupJ38nZd

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Raising Lucid Ventures: operator-led seed fund focused on AI-native enterprise tech. Founder of Karen AI (acq. by AMS) & CTrade. Partnered with D2L co-founder Jeremy Auger.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

We are currently raising our first fund and already seeing strong early momentum.

If you are interested in learning more reach out!

This is going to be fun.
https://t.co/mvsyAY3bjt
#AI #VentureCapital #Startups

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

Thrilled to announce that @JeremyAuger has joined me as co-founder of @Lucid_VC

After co-founding, building, and scaling D2L from the early days through IPO, Jeremy is one of the best operators and founders I know. Now we are back in full builder and investor mode together.

[Noel Webb @noelwebb]

The intelligence revolution is accelerating fast. The winners will be those who fundamentally reimagine how enterprises work.