Changelog for Spark

Spark is an AI-based solution for technology discovery. It combines real-time data from R&D, market, and company sources with various task-specific, AI-based agentic workflows and LLMs. Deep tech builders and investors use Spark to discover and explore the technologies, ideas, and ventures that enable their next products and missions.

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Improved Engineering Problem Solver

Week of November 4 - 10, 2024

  • Added search for analogous problems in other industries
  • Improved the reasoning workflow for subtopic solution evaluation

New "Engineering Problem Solver" Agentic Workflow

Week of October 28 - November 3, 2024

  • Introduced "Engineering Problem Solver", featuring a new approach to breaking down problems
  • Added agentic workflow to Problem Solver that determines qualitative and quantitative criteria of a problem
  • Added research and result evaluation capabilities for subtopics

UI Updates, Better Analytics, Agentic Workflow Enhancements

Week of October 21 - 27, 2024

  • Added a new "My Contents Only" filter option, making it easier to analyze personal content
  • Improved mobile experience
  • Enhanced the Business Opportunity Canvas agentic workflow by adding competitor analysis

Added "My Contents" Section and Analytics

Week of October 14 - 20, 2024

  • Implemented secure and private document upload and analytics
  • Improved file handling to support larger uploads (beyond 4.5MB)
  • Reorganized the codebase for better structure

Major Interface and Navigation Updates

Week of October 7 - 13, 2024

  • Complete redesign of the chat interface with modern styling
  • Navigation improvements: Chat moved to a dedicated "/chat" page, wider sidebar with full text menu items
  • Renamed and enhanced the "Tools" section with improved styling and dialog interface
  • Performance optimization for "open challenges" generation by switching to a faster AI model and adding parallel processing

"Business Opportunity Canvas" Agentic Workflow, Major Search Improvements

Week of September 30 - October 6, 2024

  • Introduced new "Business Opportunity Canvas" agentic workflow
  • Improved scientific paper search, with smart relevance checking to ensure higher quality results
  • Added competitor analysis features, including bulk upload and a collapsible display
  • Enhanced system's ability to handle time-specific queries (e.g., "last quarter") and streamlined research paper filtering for news

Search and User Experience Updates

Week of September 23 - 29, 2024

  • Enhanced search functionality with improved result filtering and smarter tool selection, plus updated visual design
  • Added more convenient copy-to-clipboard feature for all tables and improved market intelligence data display
  • Streamlined user authentication across pages and made views directly accessible through URLs
  • Upgraded business model generation feature to provide more detailed suggestions and implementation steps

Launch and Improvements of Startup Comparison Tool

Week of September 16 - 22, 2024

  • Launched a new feature for comparing startup companies, with a user-friendly interface and a limit of 25 companies per comparison
  • Enhanced data accuracy by implementing better startup detection to avoid mistaking large companies (like Apple and Samsung) for startups
  • Improved table design and added a prominent "Copy to Clipboard" button for better user experience
  • Switched startup details search provider for faster employee count data retrieval and improved overall system performance

News Tracker, Research Paper Explainer, 'New Chat' Button, Better Startup Landscape

Week of September 9 - 15, 2024

  • Rebuilt news tracker: new UI, structure, sources. Enhanced event analysis. Unlimited topic storage for users.
  • New workflow summarizes research papers, explaining goals, methods, results, questions, related papers, and relevant startups.
  • Added 'New Chat' button for easier resetting of the chat
  • Startup Landscape: Improved technology analysis of the startup of interest

Startup Landscape, System Architecture Improvements

Week of September 2 - 8, 2024

  • Startup landscape for analyzing a startup's products, other startups related to these products, and its founders
  • Better routing for pages that do not require login
  • Better tool calling in Tehchnology Strategy Dashboard

Technology Strategy Dashboard, UI and Analytics Improvements

Week of August 26 - September 1, 2024

  • Technology strategy dashboard for high-level analyses of technologies
  • Follow-up questions can now be selected by clicking, no more copy/paste
  • Improved the analytics of the TRL estimator

Images, TRL Estimator, General Improvements

Week of August 19-25, 2024

  • Added image upload and analysis functionality
  • Added TRL (Technology Readiness Level) estimator
  • Improved the logic of several command workflows
  • Improved UI (e.g. bigger commands window)

Launched First Version of News Board

Week of August 12-18, 2024

  • Completed initial News Board functionality, including general news, science, patents, and clinical trials
  • Improved business model ideation UI and styling
  • Updated AI SDK packages and added source category filters

VC Finder and Better Data Export

Week of July 29 - August 4, 2024

  • Enhanced markdown formatting and system prompts
  • Added commands for finding VCs and incubators
  • Updated general question handling and tool invocations

Major Language Model Upgrade

Week of July 22-28, 2024

  • Switched to a more capable language model
  • Improved tool calling and command handling
  • Added functionality to find leading researchers
  • Streamlined prompt modifications and tool imports

Streamlined Commands and Database Migration Improve System Efficiency

Week of July 15-21, 2024

  • Consolidated Spark commands into a single file
  • Modified signin and signup pages
  • Removed dependencies on various cloud storage services

Business Model Interface Receives Major Updates

Week of July 8-14, 2024

  • Updated default prompts and system instructions
  • Modified business model generator interface
  • Improved data fetching for various information types

Started Implementation of News Board

Week of July 1-7, 2024

  • Started building News Board functionality
  • Refactored API calls
  • Added "venture investors" and "product developers" commands
  • Implemented new command menu system
  • Updated business model generation process

Consumer Reviews and Enhanced Business Model Generation

Week of June 24-30, 2024

  • Added consumer review command
  • Enhanced business model text generation
  • Improved system prompts and follow-up questions
  • Implemented new chat screens for companies, science & technology, and market intelligence

Global Patents and EU Research Project Search

Week of June 17-23, 2024

  • Extended patent search functionality to global coverage
  • Implemented EU research project search
  • Improved chat UI and styling
  • Updated menu and button designs

New Dashboard and 'Ask Anything' Feature

Week of June 10-16, 2024

  • Developed new dashboard-based home page
  • Implemented responsive design for mobile viewports
  • Added "ask anything" functionality

Business Model Generator Launched

Week of June 3-9, 2024

  • Added new commands for venture investors and product developers
  • Implemented business model generator with multiple model types
  • Enhanced chat commands and system prompts
  • Improved overall UI/UX, including new fonts and layout adjustments

Major Refactoring Improves Chat and Business Model Generator Components

Week of May 27 - June 2, 2024

  • Refactored chat and business model generator into components
  • Improved sidebar and navigation design
  • Enhanced function calls and API integrations
  • Added new commands and improved existing ones

Trial Account Limitations and Enhanced Command System Implemented

Week of May 20-26, 2024

  • Implemented trial account limitations
  • Enhanced dropdown menu for commands
  • Improved data source handling and API integrations
  • Added new functions for company and market analysis

Improvements to Mobile Responsiveness and Business Model Generator

Week of May 13-19, 2024

  • Improved responsive design for mobile devices
  • Enhanced sidebar functionality
  • Implemented business model generator as a component
  • Updated layout and styling of various pages

New Branding and Enhanced Market Research Features

Week of May 6-12, 2024

  • Implemented new logo and branding elements
  • Enhanced market research and company analysis features
  • Improved API integrations for various data sources

Business Model Types Expanded, UI Components Upgraded

Week of April 29 - May 5, 2024

  • Added new business model types (Operational and Production)
  • Implemented UI improvements using component library
  • Enhanced dropdown and alert components
  • Added business models cheat sheet feature

Business Model Generator Development Begins, API Integrations Improved

Week of April 22-28, 2024

  • Began development of business model generator
  • Improved API integrations and error handling
  • Enhanced privacy policy and terms of service pages
  • Refactored and optimized various functions

Dynamic Navigation and Advanced Research Functions Added

Week of April 15-21, 2024

  • Implemented dynamic header navigation
  • Enhanced multiple API functions for improved data retrieval
  • Added market opportunities and trends function
  • Implemented function for author-specific research paper search

Product Finder, UI/UX Improvements

Week of April 8-14, 2024

  • Added product finder functionality
  • Improved command menu organization
  • Enhanced API integrations for research papers and market data

Custom Authentication Pages and Company Comparison Tools

Week of April 1-7, 2024

  • Added custom sign-in and sign-up pages
  • Implemented function for company comparison
  • Enhanced competitor analysis features
  • Added earnings call analysis function

Follow-up Prompts and GitHub Search

Week of March 25-31, 2024

  • Implemented dropdown menu for follow-up prompts
  • Enhanced market information retrieval
  • Improved news brief generation
  • Added GitHub repository search functionality

Government Funding Search Feature

Week of March 18-24, 2024

  • Added government funding search feature
  • Enhanced startup search functionality
  • Improved overall error handling and API integrations

Earnings Call Analysis and Company Comparison Features

Week of March 11-17, 2024

  • Added commands for company founder information and company comparison
  • Implemented earnings call analysis feature
  • Enhanced news retrieval and analysis
  • Improved prompt handling and command structure

Improved News Integration

Week of March 4-10, 2024

  • Improved news API integration
  • Enhanced GitHub repository search
  • Added group results function to dropdown menu

API Efficiency Boost and Error Handling Improvements

Week of February 26 - March 3, 2024

  • Refactored API calls for improved efficiency
  • Updated packages and fixed outdated parameters
  • Improved error handling in API integrations
  • Enhanced prompt extensions and modifications

Competitor Search Template

Week of February 19-25, 2024

  • Added competitor search command
  • Implemented header navigation as a component
  • Enhanced GitHub repository search functionality

Web Search Integration and Startup Search Enhancement

Week of February 12-18, 2024

  • Implemented web search API integration
  • Enhanced startup search functionality
  • Improved HTML parsing for text extraction
  • Modified prompts and templates

Web Search Function and News Brief Creation

Week of February 5-11, 2024

  • Added basic web search function with content retrieval
  • Improved news brief creation process
  • Enhanced API integrations for various data sources
  • Improved HTML to text conversion

New Color Palette and Copy to Clipboard Feature

Week of January 29 - February 4, 2024

  • Implemented new color palette
  • Enhanced news search functionality
  • Added "copy to clipboard" feature for assistant messages

Recursive Function Calling and Better Patent Search

Week of January 22-28, 2024

  • Implemented recursive function calling for comprehensive topic analysis
  • Enhanced prompts and system instructions
  • Improved rate limiting and error handling
  • Improved basic patent search functionality

Authentication System and Various Search Functions

Week of January 15-21, 2024

  • Implemented authentication and user management
  • Added various basic search functions (patents, VC funding, etc.)
  • Enhanced prompt templates and modifications
  • Improved overall application structure and error handling

Initial Application Setup and Basic Chat Functionality Launched

Week of January 8-14, 2024

  • Initial setup of the application
  • Implemented basic chat functionality
  • Added initial API integrations for data retrieval
  • Set up project structure and environment