DataRobot Raised $250 Million On $6 Billion Valuation

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July 1, 2021

DataRobot Raised $250 Million On $6 Billion Valuation

DataRobot recently announced that it had raised $250 million in a fresh funding round on a valuation of nearly $6 Billion. According to reports, the series G funding round was led by Tiger Global and Altimeter Capital Management, including other participants like T. Rowe Price, BlackRock, New Enterprise Associates, and Silver Lake.

DataRobot is a Boston-based machine learning startup founded in the year 2012 by Jeremy Achin and Tom de Godoy. The startup offers an artificial intelligence-powered platform called ‘intelligence revolution’ that allows users to develop custom artificial intelligence models without the need of writing codes.

This is possible due to the company’s unique algorithm, which analyzes the data a user is looking to process. Then it searches for a compatible neural network and automatically fine-tunes it to generate the output efficiently.

The startup’s artificial intelligence platform provides a very easy to operate user interface allowing drag and drop feature, enabling users from non-technical backgrounds to build machine learning models.

Earlier this year, DataRobot signed a contract with Palantir Technologies for designing agile, unique, and real-time solutions to help solve the most pressing demand forecasting challenges.

The fresh funding comes after the startup raised $270 million in new venture funding in November. DataRobot first hit unicorn status with a valuation of over $1 billion during its Series D round of $100 million in 2018 and then raised $206 million in a Series E round in September 2019.

According to rumors, DataRobot has consistently been named among the companies that are planning to go public in 2021. However, no official statement has been released yet regarding this.

The company, in 2019, hired the former Tableau chief financial officer, Damon Fletcher, as its CFO. The move was made to give the company a fresh perspective as it approaches a public offering.

European Union Seeks For A Ban On Facial Recognition In Public Spaces

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Dipayan Mitra

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July 1, 2021

European Union Seeks For A Ban On Facial Recognition In Public Spaces

European Union’s two major data protection watchdogs, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), have jointly raised a demand for banning artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition and other biometric identification in public spaces.

The demand calls for a complete ban on facial recognition, gait, fingerprints, voice, DNA, keystrokes, and other biometric or behavioral signals. Recently, the European Commission proposed a harmonized European Union policy for artificial intelligence.

The proposal aims to tackle the abuse of artificial intelligence technologies for privacy protection. The watchdogs’ demand was welcoming of the many artificial intelligence applications in the European Union, but pointed out the necessity of it being removed from the public spaces and for it to not be used to automatically group people based on perceived intrinsic characteristics.

The proposal allows high-risk artificial intelligence applications to be used in fields like migration and law enforcement, but with adequate precaution, such as a fine of 6% of a company’s annual turnover in case of a breach.

Andrea Jelinek, Chairperson of EDPB, and Wojciech Wiewiórowski, Chairperson of EDPS, said, “A general ban on the use of facial recognition in publicly accessible areas is necessary if we want to preserve our freedom and create a human-centric legal framework for artificial intelligence.”

They further added that the proposed policy must also restrict the application of artificial intelligence for social scoring like the one being developed in China, as it is discriminatory and completely against the fundamental values of the European Union.

The European Union has always been very privacy-conscious, and the proposed ban on facial recognition proves that even further. Though EDPS and EDPB have no direct influence on the lawmaking process, they serve as the highest level of advisors for the lawmakers.

Nvidia’s Vid2Vid Cameo Creates Talking Heads Using Artificial Intelligence

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Manisha Kalagara

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July 1, 2021

Nvidia announced Vid2Vid Cameo, an artificial intelligence model that uses generative adversarial networks (GANs) to generate realistic talking-heads in video conferencing from a single 2D image. The AI extracts the key points from the first frame in the video as a 2D photo and later uses its unsupervised learning method to collect 3D key points.

Vid2Vid Cameo was demonstrated for the first time in October 2020. It was fabricated for video conferences, and all it requires is only a single picture and a video stream that dictates the person’s animation. The AI model automatically identifies 20 key points to encode the face structure. The GAN on the receiver’s end taps the information from the keypoints and generates a video to impersonate the appearance of the 2D picture into a 3D one.

A GAN is a two-part model that consists of a generator that creates the samples and a discriminator that differentiates between real-world samples and the generated samples to demonstrate impressive feats of media synthesis. According to Nvidia, the high-performance GANs can create realistic portraits of people and objects that don’t exist.

Vid2Vid Cameo develops the 3D talk head in 1/10th of the fraction of bandwidth initially used for video conferencing. Rather than streaming the entire screen of pixels, the model analyzes the facial points of every person on a call and then algorithmically reanimates the face in the video on the receiver’s end.

Nvidia announced that Vid2Vid Cameo would be available on Nvidia Video Codec SDK and Nvidia Maxine SDK as AI Face Codec to achieve exceptional performance that was done using 180,000 high-quality videos as the training dataset.

Dell Launched Artificial Intelligence Powered 4K Webcam In India

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Dipayan Mitra

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July 1, 2021

Dell Launched Artificial Intelligence Powered 4K Webcam In India

Dell has recently launched its ultrasharp premium webcam capable of capturing 4k videos. The webcam is preloaded with an artificial intelligence powered feature named ‘Auto-Framing’ to keep the user in focus and in the center of the screen while video conferencing.

The uniquely shaped webcam uses a Sony sensor that has the capability to record astounding videos in dark or low-light conditions. In addition, the webcam also has a noise reduction feature which is very useful in certain scenarios.

The webcam comes with an 8.3-megapixel Sony STARVIS CMOS sensor with the maximum capacity to capture 4k videos at 30 frames per second. In Full-HD (1080p) or HD (720p), the frame rate can be increased to 60fps. It does not have an in-built mic; hence an external microphone will be required while video conferencing.

The company has added a multi-element lens on top to capture additional light. The Dell UltraSharp Webcam also features Digital Overlap HDR functionality that can be used to capture vibrant colors.

Unlike other webcams, the Dell UltraSharp Webcam allows a customizable field of view that can be picked among 65-, 78-, and 90-degree, along with 5x digital zoom. The webcam also comes with a Dell Express Sign-In feature that uses a proximity sensor to detect the presence of a user and automatically logs them out when they step away.

There is also an infrared sensor to enable seamless log-in using Windows Hello. The webcam comes with a USB Type-C that can be used to connect to a PC. The device can be used on both Windows 10 and macOS, said Dell. It has also received certification from Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
Dell UltraSharp Webcam has been priced at ₹18,999. The webcam will be available for purchase worldwide from 29th June 2021.

Wekaio Announced Support Of NVIDIA’S Turbocharged HGX™ Supercomputing Platform

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Dipayan Mitra

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July 1, 2021

WekaIO recently announced that it would support NVIDIA’s turbocharged HGX supercomputing platform. The company plans to integrate its Weka FS limitless data platform with NVIDIA’s all new turbocharged supercomputing platform to deliver best in class performance that enterprises demand.

NVIDIA’s HGX platform currently supports three main technologies, which include the NVIDIA NDR 400G InfiniBand networking, NVIDIA A100 80GB GPU, NVIDIA Magnum IO GPUDirect storage software, and NVIDIA NDR 400G InfiniBand networking.

The close collaborative relationship between the two companies has led to this announcement of the major integration to improve performance. NVIDIA official, Don Harris, said, “Advanced artificial intelligence development requires powerful computing, which is why NVIDIA works with innovative solution providers like WekaIO.”

He further added that Weka’s support for their turbocharged platform would enable customers to set up an industry leading artificial intelligence infrastructure quickly.

The new integrated platform will help consumers get a massive performance boost with relatively less overhead, process data faster while minimizing power consumption, and also increase artificial intelligence and machine learning workload more accurately.

Using this new platform, clients will be able to deploy high-performance solutions to an increasing number of industries that require quick access to data both on-premise and cloud.

Co-founder and CEO of WekaIO, Liran Zvibel, said, “NVIDIA is not just a close technology partner to Weka but also one of the strategic investors.” He also mentioned that the two companies are keen to work closely to ensure that WekaIO’s platform supports and incorporates the latest improvements to the NVIDIA HPC platform as they become available. The company has overcome several challenges in this sector by collaborating with many industry leaders, including NVIDIA. They are looking forward to maintaining such relationships to enhance their technology further.

Dvara Partners With IFFCO Tokio To Launch Artificial Intelligence Powered Cattle Digital Identity

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Dipayan Mitra

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July 1, 2021

Dvara Partners With IFFCO Tokio To Launch Artificial Intelligence Powered Cattle Digital Identity

Dvara E-Dairy Solutions recently announced its partnership with IFFCO Tokio to launch its new artificial intelligence-powered platform, Surabhi E-tag. The new platform will be capable of digitally tagging cattle to identify them based on muzzle identity.

Pictures of the cattle are collected via the artificial intelligence-based Surabhi mobile application and stored in hi-resolution images as a unique digital identity. The partnership with IFFCO general insurance company was made to assist the digitization process of cattle identity further to speed up the process of their insurance.

Founder and CEO of Dvara E-dairy solutions, Ravi K. A, said, “Lack of scalable, tamper-proof, unique digital identity of cattle is one of the main reasons for moral hazard, resulting in a higher loss ratio for cattle insurers.”

He also mentioned that using advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, the prime issue of improving the quality of images while capturing the image could be resolved.

One of the biggest challenges faced by cattle insurance companies is the accurate identification of cattle and the extended processing time. The artificial intelligence-powered smartphone application of Dvara E-Dairy captures images with the mobile phone while simultaneously comparing the cattle’s unique digital identity stored in a protected cloud server and retrieves the results in less than a minute.

EVP of IFFCO Tokio General Insurance, Subrata Mondal, said, “We were exploring a dependable cattle identity process that can be stored digitally and can be accessed anytime.” She further added that they are delighted to partner with Dvara E-Diary to develop Surabhi e-Tag to capture muzzle images accurately.

Conventional tagging methods such as polyurethane ear tags can be easily tampered with and are prone to duplication and fraud. Injectable Radio Frequency Identification tags are expensive and require specialized skills. But Surbhi e-tag enables anyone to easily click pictures to tag cattle, which analyzes the discriminative features and stores the information in a tamper-proof, secure cloud-based platform.

WuDao 2.0 Generates The First Virtual Student

By

Manisha Kalagara

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July 1, 2021

The Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) along with the Chinese government has developed the first virtual student named Hua Zhibing with WuDao 2.0. She (virtual student) began her education at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

WuDao 2.0 is one of the most prominent language AI models that comes with 1.75 trillion parameters, beating GPT-3 and Google’s size Switch Transformer. “WuDao 2.0 aims to enable ‘machines’ to think like ‘humans’ and achieve cognitive abilities beyond the Turing test,” said Tang Jie, the lead researcher behind Wu Dao 2.0.

The virtual student model will learn faster than the average rate from the virtual student’s processing capabilities. As a result, the model’s learning levels should improve from that of a 6-year-old to a 12-year-old in a year.

WuDao 2.0 is a pre-trained AI model that assists with simulations of conversational speech, understands pictures, writes poems, and even can generate recipes. The language model was trained with a training system similar to Google’s Mixture of Experts called FastMoE, a Fast Mixture-of-Expert (MoE). FastMoE is an open-source system based on Facebook’s open-source framework, PyTorch, along with available accelerators. FastMoE provides the hierarchical interface to generate the flexible model design quickly and adapt to various applications; it also supports large-scale parallel training.

WuDao 2.0 has an added advantage over GPT-3: it can operate in both Chinese and English. This level of robustness was acquired from training with 4.9 terabytes of texts and images that include 1.2 terabytes of Chinese and 1.2 terabytes of English texts, and 2.5 terabytes of Chinese graphic data.

The researchers also say that the next generation Wu Dao model will predict complex models like 3D structures of proteins, similar to that of DeepMind’s AlphaFold.

IBM Broadens 5G Deals With Telefonica And Verizon With Cloud And Artificial Intelligence

By

Dipayan Mitra

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June 30, 2021

IBM Broadens 5G Deals With Telefonica And Verizon With Cloud And Artificial Intelligence

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) announced on Monday that it intends to provide telecom operators Telefonica and Verizon a new 5G service over a cloud platform for the utilization of synthetic intelligence.

Industry leading players like Microsoft and Amazon are contending for a share of 5G revenue by offering telecom operators advanced technological solutions. IBM, in the recent past, acquired a software enterprise RedHat, whose platform the company will use to provide cloud based services to the telecom operators, which would assist them to offer personalized customer support.

No monetary terms had been disclosed concerning the collaboration, which broadened IBM’s present partnerships with the two telecom companies. A cloud platform uses software instead of physical equipment to carry out network functions, aiding telecom operators to build 5G networks faster and sell customized services in a cost effective manner.

Darell Jordan, Vice President of RedHat, told Reuters, “It’s a disruptive time in this particular market segment, telecom companies are trying to position themselves as the destination for services like augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.”

IBM and Telefonica have developed a digital assistant using artificial intelligence that would eliminate friction points, such as long wait times, by automating the handling of frequently asked questions and operations like billing.

Steve Canepa, General Manager for communications and business at IBM, said that they firmly believe that this is an existential moment for the telecom industry as the companies are planning to gain more control over their platforms and redesign their infrastructure in a digital world rather than structured physical models.

Artificial Intelligence Startup LLENA(AI) Partnered With Southern University For Food Research Initiative

By

Dipayan Mitra

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June 30, 2021

Artificial Intelligence Startup LLENA(AI) Partnered With Southern University For Food Research Initiative

LLENA(AI) recently announced its partnership with Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to support its “Center of Excellence for Nutrition, Wellness, Health, and Quality of Life” initiative.

This research will be conducted to analyze diet related health hazards in African Americans by increasing the capacities of 1890 institutions through nutrition research, teaching, and extension. The research will be led by Professor of Food Science, Project Director and Director of the Southern Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Wellness, Dr. Fatemeh Malekian.

The startup plans to provide artificial intelligence powered insights and targeted research in the areas of food insecurity, food deserts, and COVID-19 in local and underprivileged sections of the society. LLENA(AI) will use its unique artificial intelligence platform to generate individualized glycemic index value meals.

The algorithm addresses many physical conditions like blood sugar and blood pressure to generate personalized healthy meal options. The initiative intends to reduce many chronic diseases in African American communities by providing healthy diet options as they are the least healthy ethnic group in the United States.

Southern University alumna and CEO of LLENA (AI) Charlotta Carter is excited to empower her community. While addressing, she said, “As an HBCU graduate, we are excited to work with SUAREC to bring needed artificial intelligence technology fighting chronic illness in underserved communities.”

She further added that she is glad to work with Dr. Fatemeh Malekian on this program which would deliver real COVID proof solutions. According to her, this initiative can play a vital role in eradicating type two diabetes.

A multi-state university collaboration featuring training, education, business skills, and podcasts while leveraging LLENA (AI) technology is a breakthrough in fighting food insecurity & food deserts. The startup’s platform will be the key interface to allow the community easy access to the resources needed to manage a healthy lifestyle.

LIDAR Company Quanergy Systems Is Going Public Via SPAC

By

Dipayan Mitra

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June 30, 2021

Lidar Company Quanergy Systems Is Going Public Via SPAC

On Monday, Quanergy Systems Inc, a LIDAR manufacturing company, announced its deal to go public through a merger with Chinese blank-check acquisition firm CITIC Capital Acquisition Corp. The deal would give Quanergy Systems an implied valuation of $1.4B.

According to the deal, the LIDAR manufacturing company Quanergy Systems will own 72% of the merged company and CCAC shareholders 20%. According to sources, the enterprise has been preparing to file for clearance of the deal with the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS).

The company earlier got unicorn status after announcing that it had developed a LIDAR that costs less than $250. It claimed to be the only LIDAR manufacturer to use Optical Phased Array technology, which can be used to reduce the number of moveable parts in a self-driving vehicle.

Quanergy is a California- based company founded in 2012 by Louaye Eldada and Angus Pacala. The firm has been working to develop and enhance LIDAR technology based on 3D mapping, which can be used in the driverless automobile industry to improve object detection capabilities.

Recently, Volo also showed interest in lidar-based electric cars and has announced its launch in 2022.

Quanergy also has a customer base of more than 350, including Chery Automobile, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and has forty partnerships globally. The company has also been funded by big players like Samsung, Motus Ventures, Sensata Technologies, and GP Capital.

Chairman of Quanergy, Dr. Kevin J. Kennedy, said, “The market for data-rich 3D perception enabled by LIDAR, has reached an inflection point of growth and scale. In the last year, a vibrant public LIDAR sector has been established.”

The company plans to leverage this merger to modify its growth strategy, speed up the research process to develop better products, and clear all its previous debts to prepare itself for future acquisitions.