Microsoft launches Microsoft AI Innovate and CodeTitans Hackathon for Indian Startups

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April 21, 2022

Microsoft AI Innovate CodeTitans Hackathon Indian startups

Global technology giant Microsoft announces the launch of its two new initiatives named Microsoft AI Innovate and Code Titan Hackathons for Indian startups.

SaaS firms whose main apps or services are built utilizing artificial intelligence technologies are encouraged to apply for Microsoft AI Innovate’s second season.

In contrast, the CodeTitans hackathon for startups invites teams to turn their ideas into prototypes that are built on Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft AI Innovate, which is supported by SaaSInsider, aims to assist startups in growing their businesses, driving innovation, and gaining industry knowledge.

Director of Startup Ecosystem at Microsoft India, Sangeeta Bavi, said, “The disruptive vision of startups is catalyzing our country’s innovation engine, and we are excited to partner with every startup on this journey. With a deepened focus on core AI startups in the second season of Microsoft AI Innovate, we are bringing the best of Microsoft’s AI capabilities in creating the magic with the power of data and AI.”

She further added that the hackathon gives some of the most innovative ideas a chance to come to life on Microsoft Azure’s trusted platform, and they believe that these projects will help entrepreneurs create safely and scale quicker within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Interested candidates can apply for the program from the official website of Microsoft. The last date for submitting applications is on 6th May 2022.

Moreover, Microsoft is also partnering with OpenAI, a global leader in AI research and deployment, to provide startups with exclusive perks and discounts.

Recently, Microsoft also announced that its Startup Founders Hub is now available to all, which earlier had eligibility criteria for founders. Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is a one-of-a-kind platform that brings together the technology, mentoring, and support that startups require to get up and run.

Gupshup acquires Conversational AI provider AskSid

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 21, 2022

Conversational messaging platform providing company Gupshup acquires AskSid, a conversational AI provider to top eCommerce and retail companies worldwide.

This new acquisition will allow Gupshup to further strengthen its capabilities to provide a better customer experience using AskSid’s full-stack AI solution, including the Retail AI brain.

The highly capable artificial intelligence-powered solution of AskSid helps make the entire shopping journey – across pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase phases – fully conversational.

“Conversational commerce is about to transform shopping, both online and offline. Gupshup is building the most comprehensive conversational commerce solution, and AskSid’s deep-domain AI offering will help us bring even more advanced capabilities to eCommerce and retail businesses worldwide,” said the Co-founder and CEO of Gupshup Beerud Sheth.

He further added that the AskSid team is welcomed aboard, and they look forward to working with big companies throughout the world to enable next-generation shopping experiences.

Earlier his month, Gupshup also acquired Active.ai, a leading conversational AI provider for banks and Fintech companies. Gupshup said that the acquisition of Active.ai was a step towards the company’s aim of offering unmatched customer experience to its clients, especially those working in the BFSI industry.

Bengaluru-based conversational AI provider AskSid was founded by Sanjoy Roy and Dinesh Sharma. The startup specializes in providing impactful shopping experiences to customers through artificial intelligence-powered conversations.

AskSid has an enormous customer base in more than 25 countries globally, and its platform supports over 100 languages. Many industry-leading companies like AkzoNobel, Danone, Wolford, Akris, and Himalaya Wellness use AskSid’s conversational AI to meet their needs.

“We are very happy to join forces with Gupshup and look forward to helping more brands personalize their shopping experiences at scale,” said Co-founder and CTO of AskSid, Dinesh Sharma.

Motorola Solutions Acquires Video AI Startup Calipsa

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 20, 2022

Communication solutions and services providing company Motorola Solutions announces that it has acquired artificial intelligence-powered video monitoring platform Calipsa.

This acquisition will allow Motorola Solutions to leverage Calipsa’s expertise to further improve its products, such as end-to-end security solutions, camera technology, and features like alcohol age verification.

Additionally, Motorola Solutions will now also be able to analyze massive volumes of data using AI in the cloud, thanks to Calipsa’s technology.

Both the companies did not provide any information regarding the valuation of this acquisition deal.

Motorola Solutions focuses on providing public safety and enterprise security products and services, and it has expanded its video operations in recent years through a series of acquisitions.

Chairman and CEO of Motorola Solutions, Greg Brown, said, “We believe AI, spanning from the edge to the cloud, is driving the future of video security.”

He further added that they could quickly extend their intelligent analytics across any video security solution with Calipsa, helping to support the growing trend of businesses utilizing cloud technology to improve safety and security.

London-based leading cloud-native advanced video analytics company Calipsa was founded by Boris Ploix and Mohammad Rashid in 2016. The firm specializes in providing a scalable platform that allows businesses to improve security by using AI-powered analytics to verify alarms, enable content-based searches, detect tampering, and analyze the health of cameras in real-time.

Software and Mobile Video CTO of Motorola Solutions, Mahesh Saptharishi, said that Calipsa uses machine-learning algorithms to scan video and only notify a user when an incident happens. To date, the company has raised $1.5 million from investors like LocalGlobe, Future Energy Ventures, and others over three funding rounds.

“Joining the Motorola Solutions team enables us to accelerate the development and broaden the reach of our innovative technologies that transform video from a retroactive investigative tool into a proactive response tool,” said the Co-founder and CEO of Calipsa, Mohammad Rashid.

South Korea telecom firm KT to launch AI Kiosks for Customer Service

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 20, 2022

South Korea’s one of the largest telecommunication companies, KT, announces its plans to launch new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered kiosks for providing better customer service to users.

KT has partnered with Deep Brain AI, a firm that specializes in visual artificial intelligence technology, to develop and launch the AI kiosks. According to the company, Deep Brain AI and KT signed a memorandum of understanding last week to materialize this partnership.

The company plans to name the service “Giga Gini AI Human.” KT’s new AI kiosk will be different from the others available in the market as it would be able to talk to customers in real-time instead of just providing preset offerings, making it a highly capable solution.

“In addition, the AI [entity] will be able to provide 24-hour non-face-to-face services through other platforms like robots, home appliances, mobile apps, and cars. We are cooperating with universities and research institutes to keep developing a mega-scale AI that has conversational skills as natural as that of a human being,” said a KT spokesperson to UPI News.

However, sources say that the new AI tool has not yet passed the Turing test, which is crucial for its launch.

The Turing Test is a method of artificial intelligence research that determines if a computer can think and communicate like a human being. During the test, one of the persons serves as the questioner, and the other two humans and the computer serve as the replies. Then the responses are analyzed to determine whether the AI model can mimic human behavior.

“Some question the viability of the Turing test and the value of pursuing it. But the test is a kind of holy grail for many AI researchers. Many companies want to pass the Turing test for the first time in the world without any doubts,” said the CEO of South Korean business tracker Leaders Index, Park Ju-gun.

GM files Patents for Autonomous Vehicles designed to Train new Drivers

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 20, 2022

Global automobile manufacturing giant General Motors (GM) files patents with the United States Patents and Trade Mark Filing for a new design of autonomous vehicle driving system that can be used to train new drivers.

The one-of-a-king technology does not require a human instructor to train new drivers. It uses multiple sensors for the car’s autonomous functions with monitoring how the driver-in-training operates controls like the accelerator, brake, and steering to evaluate and train drivers.

According to the patent, the system is integrated with an onboard CPU with a driving algorithm that determines a score by comparing the trainee’s manual inputs with approved driving directions.

The score calculated by GM’s self-driving driver-training feature is comparable to a score given by a human instructor. Once the score is determined, the system automatically allows the driver to access specific controls based on their marks.

It is yet unclear whether this solution will be available on personal automobiles, the patent suggests it may be utilized as a part of a fleet for driver instruction. Moreover, the patent also emphasizes the potential benefits of using autonomy rather than human instructors to teach novice drivers.

The technology might be able to minimize the chances of any human bias while making decisions related to the capabilities of a driver.

However, GM has provided no information regarding its plans to make this technology available to the public.

Recently, GM and Honda also announced that they plan to develop new affordable electric vehicles (EVs) to enter a new market. The partnership entails producing an EV for the North American, South America, and Chinese markets at a lower cost than Chevrolet’s planned Equinox EV.

Jio Institute begins Admissions for PG courses in AI, Data Science, and Digital Marketing

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 20, 2022

Jio Institute Admissions PG AI data science

Jio Institute announces that it has started accepting admission applications for its one-year full-time classroom post-graduate degree programs in artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and digital marketing.

According to the institute, its artificial intelligence and data science course is aimed at early-career individuals who want to become full-stack data scientists, capable of working as AI Researchers, Data Scientists, Industrial and Societal Entrepreneurs, etc.

In comparison, the digital marketing and marketing communication program focuses more on early-career individuals interested in marketing communications, brand consulting, digital marketing, marketing analytics, and consumer research.

The institute will also provide scholarships of up to 100% on tuition fees to eligible students, helping them fulfill their higher education aspirations and kick start their careers.

The Jio Institute mentioned, “Scholarships will be awarded based on the review of individual needs and the Jio Institute’s commitment to access, inclusion, gender parity, and diversity. A significant number of scholarships will be available for meritorious candidates, international candidates, specially-abled candidates.”

Jio Institute is a multi-disciplinary higher education institute founded by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and Reliance Foundation as a philanthropic endeavor.

To apply for the programs, candidates need to pay a Rs 2500 application fee for appearing for the Jio Institute Entrance Test (JET). The institute will then shortlist the qualifying candidates and call them for an in-person interview, after which their past academic records will be evaluated to make the final call.

“We have embarked on a mission to transform youth with the help of world-class faculty, international collaborations, rigorous pedagogy, and generous scholarships,” said Vice-Chancellor of Jio Institute, Dipak Jain.

Interested candidates can visit the official website of Jio Institute to apply for the one-year PG programs. The last date to apply is on 20th May 2022.

Expertia AI raises $1.2 million in Seed Funding Round

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 20, 2022

Virtual recruitment platform providing company Expertia AI raises $1.2 million in its recently held seed funding round led by Chiratae Ventures and Endiya Partners.

Other investors like Entrepreneur First and angel investor Archana Priyadarshini also participated in the funding round.

According to the company, it plans to use the freshly raised funds to put together a team of AI researchers and software engineers and raise brand and product recognition in India.

The official statement mentioned, “Entrepreneur First, the UK-based Talent Investor, has doubled down on their previous pre-seed funding into the startup last March.”

Expertia AI provides SMEs (small and medium businesses) with a one-click hiring solution that allows them to automatically source and identify the top 10 prospects from a pool of applicants sourced from more than 25 job boards.

Expertia AI encourages companies to link their corporate website to their Expertia Career Page to collect all candidates into a smart centralized talent pool, allowing them to quickly identify appropriate profiles across all open positions.

Bengaluru-based SaaS recruiting platform providing startup Expertia AI was founded by Akshay Gugnani and Kanishk Shukla in 2020. The company specializes in providing deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), and an explainable AI solution to predict the right candidate for recruitment. Expertia AI is currently being used by more than 500 firms, 1,000 recruiters, and over 1,00,000 professionals to automate sourcing quality people and appropriate opportunities.

EdCast launches Zoom App to Bring AI-based Contextual Content inside Zoom Meetings

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 19, 2022

Unified SaaS platform provider EdCast announces that it has integrated its Learning Experience Platform with Zoom’s video conferencing app, allowing learners to conduct Zoom video meetings and sessions (LXP).

Users can conduct video-based learning sessions and share information across remote teams by combining EdCast’s leading AI-powered talent experience and knowledge cloud platform with Zoom’s video communication technology.

EdCast fulfills its commitment to democratizing skill development through best-of-breed partnerships, such as with Zoom, by providing a single digital destination where employees can create and consume personalized learning experiences based on their unique personal and professional upskilling needs.

Users need to buy a license of the EdCast SaaS platform to use the EdCast app for Zoom.

“It truly is a collaboration that further catalyzes our common goals of bringing together teams distributed across geographies. Zoom users and admins can bring learning/training + knowledge management + capability development w/in Zoom to drive employee engagement and overall learning experience,” said Founder and CEO of Zoom, Eric S. Yuan.

He also mentioned that with the EdCast app for Zoom, they’re excited to bring learning and training to Zoom’s enterprise-grade, affordable, all-in-one platform.

United States-based Software as a Service providing company Edcast was founded by Karl Mehta in 2014. The firm specializes in offering a unified platform powering end-to-end employee experience journeys, spanning learning, skilling, and career mobility.

It has a massive customer base of over 2000 clients spread across the globe, including small businesses and government organizations. To date, EdCast has raised more than $100 million from multiple investors like Avathon Capital, The London Fund, REV, Stanford University, and others over eight funding rounds.

CEO of Edcast, Karl Mehta, said, “Integrating our LXP into ubiquitous work tools illustrates EdCast’s ongoing commitment to Learning in the Flow of Work.”

He further added that their Zoom integration offers a variety of use-cases, such as onboarding and virtual team learning, giving their clients a more holistic learner experience on the platform.

Andrew Ng to launch new course in Machine Learning

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 19, 2022

Co-founder of Coursera and Google Brain Andrew Ng announces that he is all set to launch his new course in machine learning.

The course has been jointly developed by Stanford and DeepLearning.ai to impart critical knowledge and skills to learners, helping them build a career in this rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry. According to the information given, the course will launch in June 2022.

The revised Specialization ML course covers core AI principles through an intuitive visual method. As the course is updated, the curriculum involves all the essential and relevant topics related to machine learning.

The previous editions of this course were initially launched back in 2012. It received immense popularity with over 5 million learners and a reputable 4.9-star rating. The assignments of the ML course have also been updated to teach in Python instead of Octave.

Creators of the online course have included multiple subjects like deep learning, neural networks, deep neural networks, and many others in this syllabus. The course introduces practical approaches to assist learners in getting started on AI projects and building a portfolio for the industry.

Each lesson begins with a visual depiction of machine learning concepts, then the code, and finally optional films explaining the math.

An additional advantage of choosing this course is that learners need not have any prior knowledge of mathematics and coding to register for this program. However, someone with a background in coding can also become a part of this course to refresh foundational machine learning concepts.

Interested learners can register for the program and join the waitlist from the official website of DeepLearning.AI.

Fujitsu launches new HPC center in Bengaluru

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 19, 2022

IT and communication technology developing company Fujitsu launches its new high-performance computing (HPC) center in Bengaluru, India, to boost artificial intelligence innovations.

The newly established center named Fujitsu Research of India Private Limited (FRIPL) was launched as a part of the company’s global innovation strategy.

FRIPL is the newest addition to Fujitsu’s global R&D network, and it will focus on AI and machine learning technologies and quantum software research and development.

According to the plan, FRIPL will initially collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and the Indian Institute of Science to bring innovations in edge artificial intelligence technologies. Moreover, Fujitsu India plans to hire about 50 researchers to expand their research fields into security and other areas by 2024.

General Manager of Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Naoya Tamura, said, “We are witnessing strong demand for HPC in India. We will open the Fujitsu HPC Competency Center in Bangalore, the first such by a technology vendor in India and our fifth such center globally.”

He further added that applications such as improved drug discovery, seismic engineering for oil exploration, automobile design, and industrial manufacturing are driving demand.

AI technology will be developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad to discover causal relationships with greater accuracy, while a different artificial intelligence technology will be developed with the Indian Institute of Science to automatically generate AI through autonomous training in response to various environmental changes.

Recently, Fujitsu also announced the launch of its new offering named Fujitsu Computing as a Service (CaaS) in Japan.

“Innovation has a growing role in solving societal and environmental challenges. Strengthening our presence in India will allow us to tap into the enormous potential offered by world-class researchers with local institutions and universities that drive global software technology development,” said Chief Technology Officer of Fujitsu, Vivek Mahajan.

He also mentioned that they are looking forward to performing more dynamic and challenging cooperative research to provide humanity with a more sustainable future.