Investing in AI Through our AI for Earth program, we are supporting startups an d nonprofits using cloud, data, and AI to accelerat e the pace of innovation in waste, including the following projects. Using AI to study the sustainability of housing demolitions and relocations The University of Connecticut is applying AI to detect construction changes between the years of 2014, 2017, and 2020 in Sha nghai, China. The purpose is to find out whether dem olition and relocation has led to substantial waste of resources. Seeing trash and targeting local actions using AI Let’s Do It Foundation has developed an AI algorithm for detecting trash in geolocated images. Today, the algorithm is surveying images all over the world, locating waste on a global scale so that a network of cleanup teams and local municipalities can target the most affected locations. Using AI and robotics to accelerate the world’s transition to the circular economy. Revolutionizing the waste management industry Recycleye uses AI and robotics to revolutionize the waste management industry, accelerating the world’s transition to the circular economy. In 2021, Recycleye scaled from research and development to commercialization with strategic and technical support from Microsoft. The company brings greater transparency to the waste management industry by detecting materials on a waste management facility’s conveyor belts to deploy automated sorting. Their operating system is built on Microsoft Azure, ensuring data and model security, as well as scale. To train the Recycleye Vision computer vision solution, millions of images and data points have been collected from waste facilities. As Recycleye’s datasets continue to grow, the company can easily scale up its Azure resources in line with requirements. Enabling systems change (continued) 72