AI & ML to Power Rajasthan’s Mineral Exploration: State Partners with IIT Hyderabad

• Rajasthan Govt. engages IIT Hyderabad to build AI-driven mineral exploration system. 
• Rajasthan state ties up with IIT-Hyderabad to deploy AI & ML for critical mineral mapping across its 39 districts. 
• IIT-Hyderabad to develop advanced AI mineral prediction platform for Rajasthan in ₹ 8.5+ Cr partnership.

In a major step toward modernising India’s mineral exploration ecosystem, the Government of Rajasthan signed an ₹ 8.5+ Cr MoU with IIT Hyderabad (IITH) during the Pravasi Rajasthani Divas 2025 held at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre. The agreement, finalised in the presence of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Prof. B. S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, aims to develop an AI- and ML-driven predictive system for identifying critical and strategic minerals across the state. The partnership positions Rajasthan among the first states in India to deploy advanced computational geoscience tools for mineral intelligence and exploration planning.

Under this collaboration, IITH will build a comprehensive prediction model that integrates geological, geochemical, geophysical and multispectral satellite datasets from 39 districts to generate AI-based mineral prospectivity maps. The system will help identify potential zones for minerals such as lithium, copper, graphite, zinc, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements and other critical resources, supporting the state’s long-term mineral development strategy. The project will be executed in four phases over 18 months, with district-wise analytics, data dashboards and decision-support tools delivered to Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust (RSMET).

Speaking about the initiative, T. Ravikant, Principal Secretary, Department of Mines, Geology & Petroleum, Government of Rajasthan, said: “The state will apply AI and ML for the exploration of critical and strategic minerals under the national programmes of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India. This initiative marks a major advancement in how Rajasthan will identify and utilise its mineral wealth."

On the collaboration with IITH, he added: “A letter of intent has been signed between RSMET and IITH for data exchange and modelling. The project with IITH will be completed in four phases over about 18 months, and its outcome is expected to support a mineral development model and a long-term road map for the state."

Welcoming the partnership, Prof. B. S. Murty, Director, IITH, who was present during the exchange of the MoU, said: “This collaboration brings IITH into the mainstream of India’s critical mineral and resource intelligence mission. By combining advanced AI/ML techniques with geoscience, we are creating tools that will help India become a global leader in exploration technologies. This MoU aligns with our commitment to build solutions for Atmanirbhar Bharat and strengthen the nation’s technological leadership in mineral exploration for the future along with the ongoing relevant projects of the Institute like Australia-India Critical Minerals Research Hub (AICMRH) Bilateral Project, CoE on Critical Minerals as complete indigenization of manufacturing sector in our country is mainly dependent on availability of all kinds of minerals locally within our country.

This project will be led by Dr. C. Krishna Mohan, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Hyderabad, in collaboration with Critical Mineral Trackers, a startup based at the Technology Research Park at IIT Hyderabad. The initiative is expected to reshape mineral exploration practices in Rajasthan, accelerate the discovery of critical minerals vital for India’s clean energy and manufacturing goals, and create a scalable AI-driven model that can be adopted by other states. With global demand for lithium, rare earth elements, and battery metals rising sharply, officials believe this effort positions both Rajasthan and India strategically within the future mineral supply chain.

About IIT Hyderabad:

IITH, established in 2008, has reached a respectable position in academics, research, technology development and startups in a short span of 17 years. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025), IITH is ranked 7th among Engineering institutes (crossing a first generation IIT), and is ranked 6th in Innovation, while it has maintained its rank within the top 10 Engineering Institutes ever since NIRF was launched. IITH is ranked 664 and 270 in the QS World and Asian University Ranking 2026, respectively (among the top 10% of global institutions in citations per faculty). IITH secured 46 positions by 31 faculties in the Global Top 2% Scientists World list 2025 released by Stanford University (SU) in collaboration with Elsevier across two categories. IITH has been striving for excellence with a motto of "Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH)"

With 340 full-time faculty, 360+ non-teaching staff and 5,700+ students (PG+PhD students accounting for about 60%), IITH has a strong research focus with 5210+ R&D projects worth of Rs. 1640+ Cr (Rs. 335+ Cr funding in 2024-25, i.e. Rs. 1+ Cr per faculty, one of the largest per capita funding among IITs), 12,750+ publications, 2,44,300+ citations, 154 h-index, 630+ patents (210+ Patents in 2024, the largest per capita patents filed among IITs), and about 335+ Startups (that have generated 1100+ jobs with a revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr).

About Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust (RSMET)

The Rajasthan State Mineral Exploration Trust (RSMET) is a dedicated entity under the Department of Mines & Geology, Government of Rajasthan, established to promote systematic, scientific, and technology-driven mineral exploration across the state. The Trust is mandated to undertake high-priority exploration of critical, strategic, and deep-seated minerals, support advanced geoscientific studies, and facilitate resource assessment for future mining projects. RSMET plays a key role in strengthening Rajasthan’s mineral sector by funding and coordinating exploration activities, adopting modern techniques such as remote sensing, geophysical surveys, and predictive modelling, and enabling the state to build a long-term roadmap for mineral security and sustainable development.

AI-Powered Tennis Training Platform Wins ₹1 Crore Grant for Social Change Through Sport

Tennis training in India may soon get more accessible, thanks to a pair of young players who are using artificial intelligence to fill the coaching gap that persists beyond big cities.

Aadish Shelke from Aurangabad and Bhagyashri Meena from Mumbai — both 21-year-old tennis players and Computer Science students at IIIT Pune — have developed NextPlayAI, a platform that analyses tennis videos using machine learning to offer personalised feedback on strokes, footwork and match movements. The aim: to help budding tennis players from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities access guidance that usually requires expensive academies and elite coaches.

The duo’s innovation earned them a Samsung Solve for Tomorrow grant under the category Social Change through Sport and Technology. The platform is part of Samsung’s flagship education programme that supports youth-led tech solutions for real-world challenges. This year, four winning teams received ₹1 crore incubation support at IIT Delhi to scale their ideas.

Shelke said the idea emerged from the reality that tennis remains concentrated in a few urban pockets. “Tennis coaching often feels like a luxury,” he said. “In a city like Aurangabad, high-quality infrastructure and expert coaching are extremely limited. Many promising players drop out because they can’t get the right support at the right time.”

NextPlayAI helps players record their practice sessions and compare them with professional benchmarks — from serve mechanics to racket angles and on-court movement. Meena said the goal is to make tennis learning affordable and accessible. “There is so much valuable footage and data on elite players. We wanted to bring that intelligence to young athletes everywhere, especially those outside big metros,” she said.

Through the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow mentorship, the team refined their approach using design thinking to ensure the tool adapts to different learning styles. “Every tennis player has a unique rhythm and technique,” Shelke said. “The AI has to recognise individuality, not force uniformity.”

The duo now plans to collaborate with district sports associations and tennis academies to pilot the platform across smaller towns. They also want to build a team of developers and players from similar backgrounds — those who know firsthand the challenges of pursuing tennis from outside the mainstream circuit.

“We want to see more tennis champions emerge from places people don’t expect,” Meena said. “Talent exists everywhere — opportunity must too.”

As India looks beyond cricket to build a broader sporting culture, innovations like these aim to ensure that future tennis stars aren’t limited by their pin code.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, digital signage, smartphones, wearables, tablets, home appliances and network systems, as well as memory, system LSI and foundry. Samsung is also advancing medical imaging technologies, HVAC solutions and robotics, while creating innovative automotive and audio products through Harman. With its SmartThings ecosystem, open collaboration with partners, and integration of AI across its portfolio, Samsung delivers a seamless and intelligent connected experience. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.

SiMa.ai Advances Physical AI with Modalix™: Compact MLSoC for Robotics, AVs, and Automation

• SiMa.ai Launches Modalix™ to Tackle Power, Performance, and Integration Challenges in Physical AI

SiMa.ai, a leader in Physical AI solutions, today announced the production and immediate availability of its second-generation Machine Learning System-on-Chip (MLSoC™) – Modalix™ – designed to accelerate the scaling of Physical AI across industries.

As sectors such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and aerospace increasingly push AI to the edge, they face a common challenge: achieving high performance within the strict power, size, and integration constraints of edge devices. Cloud-based AI often falls short due to latency and high energy consumption. Modalix™ addresses this gap by delivering high performance and accuracy under 10 watts, capable of running LLMs, transformers, CNNs, and GenAI workloads efficiently.

Performance, Flexibility, and Low Power

Built on a flexible Arm-based architecture with a native GenAI software stack, Modalix™ supports real-time perception, decision-making, and natural language interaction. Its compatibility with key interfaces such as camera, Ethernet, and PCIe makes it adaptable for use in robotics, automotive, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, smart vision, retail, and healthcare applications.

Complete Platform for Physical AI

Alongside Modalix™, SiMa.ai introduced:

• Pin-Compatible System-on-Module (SoM) – Developed with Enclustra, the compact, power-efficient SoM offers a drop-in replacement for leading GPU SoMs, integrating MIPI, memory, and essential I/O for rapid deployment.
• LLiMa™ Framework – A unified on-device platform for running LLMs, LMMs, and VLMs entirely offline, with features such as curated model zoo access, automated quantization/compilation, and support for agent-to-agent systems, MCP, and RAG.

The integrated Palette™ SDK software, enables developers to move from prototype to production quickly and cost-effectively.

Industry Partnerships Driving Innovation

“SiMa.ai’s Modalix showcases the scale of innovation possible on Arm’s flexible, high-performance, power-efficient compute platform,” said Ami Badani, Chief Marketing Officer, Arm. “By bringing AI and LLM capabilities to Physical AI applications at the edge, SiMa.ai is enabling smarter, faster, and more sustainable systems across industries.”

“The development of Physical AI applications requires validated, purpose-built silicon and software, only possible using advanced design solutions,” said Ravi Subramanian, Chief Product Management Officer, Synopsys. “Achieving a successful first tapeout of MLSoC Modalix illustrates the mission-critical role of Synopsys AI-powered design and IP.”

“This Enclustra–SiMa.ai SoM is more than just a module – it’s a ready-to-deploy Physical AI platform,” added Philipp Baechtold, CEO of Enclustra.

Leadership Perspective

“The era of Physical AI is here,” said Krishna Rangasayee, Founder and CEO of SiMa.ai. “With Modalix™ now in production, we’re accelerating its global adoption and simplifying on-device LLM deployment. Demand for our Modalix SoM is strong, and we’re enabling developers worldwide to bring GenAI to Physical AI systems faster than ever.”

TSMC’s advanced N6 process technology powers Modalix™, ensuring it meets stringent embedded power, thermal, and reliability demands. “TSMC is proud to collaborate with SiMa.ai to deliver advanced SoCs that meet the growing demand for Physical AI,” said Sajiv Dalal, President of TSMC North America.

About SiMa.ai

SiMa.ai is a leader in Physical AI, delivering a purpose-built, software-centric platform that brings best-in-class performance, power efficiency, and ease of use to Physical AI applications. Focused on scaling Physical AI across robotics, automotive, industrial automation, aerospace & defense, smart vision, and healthcare, SiMa.ai is led by seasoned technologists and backed by top-tier investors. Headquartered in San Jose, California. Learn more at www.sima.ai.

Transforming Factories: SiMa.ai and Cisco Partner to Power Edge AI in Industry 4.0

SiMa.ai, a leading provider of Machine Learning System on a Chip™ (MLSoC) silicon and the Palette ™ software platform, today announced a go-to-market collaboration with Cisco to bring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to Industry 4.0 environments. By integrating SiMa.ai's energy-efficient Modalix AI platform with Cisco's new, robust and ruggedized IE3500 portfolio of switches, customers can now deploy powerful, production-grade edge AI solutions across manufacturing, logistics, and industrial automation use cases.

Transforming Industrial Operations with Edge AI

The integration addresses the growing demand for low-latency, high-performance AI at the edge, delivering the privacy, reliability, security, and performance required for mission-critical Applications.

"This collaboration with Cisco marks a significant milestone in making edge AI accessible and practical for industrial environments," said Krishna Rangasayee, CEO and Founder, SiMa.ai. "Our Modalix platform's ability to deliver high-performance AI inference with exceptional energy efficiency, combined with Cisco's proven industrial networking infrastructure, creates a necessary solution for Industry 4.0 transformation."

Empowering Industry 4.0 Use Cases

Together, the two products enable a wide range of Industry 4.0 applications across multiple sectors:

• Smart Manufacturing: Real-time quality control, predictive maintenance, and production optimization
• Industrial Automation: Intelligent robotics, automated inspection, and process control
• Supply Chain and Logistics: Inventory management, package sorting, and warehouse automation
• Energy and Utilities: Grid monitoring, equipment diagnostics, and safety compliance
• Transportation: Fleet management, route optimization, and autonomous vehicle systems

Technical Excellence and Innovation

SiMa.ai's Modalix platform is engineered specifically for edge AI applications, featuring a unique architecture that delivers exceptional performance per watt while supporting diverse AI workloads. The platform's software-defined approach enables rapid deployment of new AI models and applications without hardware changes.

Cisco's IE3500 switches provide the industrial-grade networking infrastructure essential for edge AI deployments. With features including advanced security, precise timing, and environmental hardening, the IE3500 series can provide reliable connectivity and data transmission in challenging industrial environments.

"Cisco is committed to enabling digital transformation for manufacturing, energy and transportation industries," said Vikas Butaney, SVP & GM, Secure Routing and Industrial IoT, Cisco. "Our work with SiMa.ai will enable customers to unlock the full potential of Industry 4.0 by combining AI and secure industrial networking technologies."

Market Impact and Future Outlook

The global edge AI market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by increasing demand for real-time processing, data privacy concerns, and the need to reduce bandwidth costs. According to industry analysts, the edge AI market is expected to reach a significant scale over the next five years, with industrial applications representing a major growth segment.

This collaboration well positions both companies for this transformation, which will provide customers with a solution that addresses the unique challenges of deploying AI in industrial environments.

Availability and Next Steps

The combined offer of SiMa.ai Modalix and Cisco IE3500 switches is available for evaluation today. Go-to-market initiatives will include technical webinars, proof-of-concept programs, and comprehensive support services to help customers evaluate and deploy edge AI solutions.

About SiMa.ai

SiMa.ai is the software-centric, embedded edge machine learning system-on-chip (MLSoC) company. SiMa.ai delivers ONE Platform for Edge AI that flexibly adjusts to any framework, network, model, sensor, or modality. Edge ML applications that run completely on the SiMa.ai MLSoC and Modalix product family see a tenfold increase in performance and energy efficiency, bringing higher fidelity intelligence to ML use cases spanning computer vision to generative AI, in minutes.

With SiMa.ai, customers unlock new paths to revenue and significant cost savings to innovate at the edge across industrial manufacturing, retail, aerospace, defense, agriculture, and healthcare. SiMa.ai was founded in 2018, has raised $270M and is backed by Fidelity Management & Research Company, Maverick Capital, Point72, MSD Partners, VentureTech Alliance and more.

Alphabet Spinout SandboxAQ, Backed by Nvidia, Unveils Synthetic Molecule Megaset to Revolutionize Drug Discovery

SandboxAQ, an AI startup spun out of Google parent Alphabet and backed by Nvidia, has announced that it has released a massive dataset of 5.2 million synthetic 3D molecules to accelerate drug discovery. These molecules don’t exist in nature—they were generated using Nvidia’s chips and grounded in real-world experimental data to simulate how drugs bind to proteins, a critical step in developing effective treatments.

This synthetic dataset, called the Structurally Augmented IC50 Repository (SAIR), is publicly available and designed to train AI models that can predict drug-protein interactions far faster than traditional lab methods. The goal? To virtually replicate lab results with high accuracy, potentially compressing months of research into a single AI-driven prediction.

It’s a bold move that blends physics-based modeling with machine learning—an approach that could reshape how we think about early-stage pharmaceutical R&D. And with SandboxAQ planning to monetize its own trained models, it’s also a glimpse into the future of AI-powered biotech platforms.

While the dataset is public, SandboxAQ plans to monetize its proprietary AI models trained on it—essentially offering virtual labs as a service.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, right in the heart of Silicon Valley, SandboxAQ is a fascinating fusion of quantum tech and AI muscle. It emerged from Alphabet’s moonshot factory and is backed by Nvidia, with nearly $1 billion in venture capital fueling its ambitions.

SandboxAQ's signature tech is Large Quantitative Models, the AI systems grounded in the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology. These aren’t just data-driven models; they simulate the real world with scientific rigor. Think of it as a tireless digital researcher. This tool autonomously explores millions of chemical pathways, helping discover novel molecules far beyond human capacity.

Beyond drug discovery, SandboxAQ is tackling – 1) Cybersecurity: Detecting cryptographic vulnerabilities; 2) Navigation: Enhancing precision in GPS-denied environments. 3) Medical Diagnostics: Using AI to analyze cardiac signals. 4)Materials Science: Predicting atomic-level properties for breakthrough materials.

SandboxAQ was founded by Jack Hidary, a tech entrepreneur with a deep background in quantum computing and neuroscience. He previously led a quantum initiative at Alphabet before spinning it out as SandboxAQ in 2022. Hidary studied philosophy and neuroscience at Columbia University and has authored a well-regarded book on quantum computing.

While Hidary is the primary founder and CEO, the company’s early development was also shaped by influential figures like Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, who serves as Chairman of the Board.

IIT Hyderabad and Marvell Launches World's First Data Acceleration and Offload Research Facility at IIT Hyderabad

• The facility aims to provide access to Marvell’s DPUs, switches, CXL processors, and NICs, accelerating advancements in AI, Networking, and Security.
• Research shows up to one-third of AI/ML processing time is spent waiting for network access—this initiative aims to tackle that inefficiency.

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) has inaugurated the Marvell® Data Acceleration and Offload Research Facility at IITH in collaboration with Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL), a leader in data infrastructure Semiconductor solutions. This pioneering center is dedicated to advancing Network, Storage, and Security technologies, aiming to enhance the performance of accelerated data infrastructure.

The Marvell Data Acceleration and Offload Research Facility, the first of its kind globally, offers students, researchers, and industry professionals access to state-of-the-art Marvell technologies. These include Data Processor Units (DPUs), Switches, Compute Express Link (CXL) Processors, and Network Interface controllers (NICs). These resources are essential for accelerating Data security, Movement, Management, and processing across AI clusters, Cloud environments, and Networks. Industry research indicates that up to one-third of AI/ML processing time is spent waiting for network access and this initiative aims to tackle that inefficiency. A key feature of the facility is the availability of Marvell’s comprehensive software solution frameworks, optimized for developing solutions that leverage Integrated packet processing, Cryptography, and AI/ML accelerators within Marvell silicon.

The establishment of the Marvell Data Acceleration and Offload Research Facility follows the successful MLNetSec Workshop co-hosted by IITH and Marvell at the 26th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking (ICDCN) earlier this year. The workshop addressed key challenges in AI, Networking, and Cryptography, underscoring the importance of accelerated compute solutions in both academic and industrial research.

IITH and Marvell are committed to ongoing collaboration through joint courses, hands- on training, and research initiatives leveraging the facility's advanced infrastructure. Plans include hosting specialized workshops, conferences, and training sessions to foster innovation and empower future tech leaders in developing solutions for the evolving landscape of data infrastructure.

Prof. BS Murty, Director, IITH congratulated the team and emphasized that this partnership aligns with IITH's commitment to advancing technological research and education, positioning the institute at the forefront of accelerated infrastructure development.

Cary Ussery, Senior Vice President at Marvell, emphasized the significance of this collaboration: "The partnership between Marvell and IIT Hyderabad exemplifies the impact of academia-industry collaboration. By providing access to cutting-edge technologies, this initiative accelerates advancements in AI, Networking, and Storage, empowering the next generation of tech leaders to drive breakthroughs in data infrastructure."

Prasun Kapoor, Associate Vice President of Custom Compute and Storage at Marvell, added: "As cloud and AI infrastructure grow in complexity and scale, the need for innovation in technologies managing data flow between Servers, Processors, and Devices becomes paramount. Technologies such as DPUs, NICs, and interconnects will play a significant role in the evolution of AI. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and witnessing the outcomes of this initiative."

Prof. Antony Franklin, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IITH, highlighted the facility's potential: "This research facility enables our students and researchers to engage with advanced technologies. It also establishes a platform for interdisciplinary research in emerging fields like AI/ML, Accelerated computing, Advanced encryption algorithms, and Network acceleration, paving the way for the next generation of technological innovation."

Dr. Praveen Tammana, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IITH, noted: "The research facility will enable Marvell and IITH to conduct cutting-edge research and bridge the skill gap at the intersection of AI, Systems, Security, and Networks."

About Marvell:

To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, they’re building solutions on the most powerful foundation: their partnerships with their customers. Trusted by the world’s leading technology companies for over 25 years, they move, store, process and secure the world’s data with Semiconductor solutions designed for their customers’ current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, they’re ultimately changing the way tomorrow’s enterprise, cloud, automotive, and carrier architectures transform—for the better.

About IIT Hyderabad:

IITH, established in 2008, as one of the second Generation IITs, has reached a respectable position in both academics, research, technology development and startups in the short span of 16 years. In the Indian National Ranking (NIRF), IITH is placed 3rd in Innovation (for both 2023 & 2024) and 8th among Engineering institutes in India (since 2019, except 2022).

It has 325+ full-time faculty, 5,350+ students (PG+PhD students accounting for about 60%). The institute has a strong research focus with Rs. 1400+ Cr of R&D funding (Rs. 250 Cr funding in 2023- 24), 11,500+ publications, 460+ Patents (210 patents in 2024), and about 260+ startups (that have generated 1100+ jobs and a revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr). Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for the latest updates.

Vodafone Idea Launches AI & ML-based Spam Detection Filter

Vodafone Idea (Vi) recently launched an AI-powered spam detection filter to help protect its users from unsolicited messages.

The filter uses advanced AI and machine learning algorithms to analyze incoming SMS messages in real-time. It proactively detects and flags potential spam messages, tagging them as "Suspected Spam" to warn users instantly.

The system continuously learns from new spam trends and adapts to address emerging types of spam.

Vi has simplified the process for reporting spam through their mobile app, which automatically captures key information such as the content of the message, sender details, and date.

URLs from verified brands are whitelisted to prevent important messages from being mistakenly flagged as spam.

Since its initial testing phase, the system has already flagged over 24 million spam messages. This initiative is part of Vi's broader commitment to enhancing customer safety and improving the mobile experience.

Other major telecom companies in India, such as Bharti Airtel and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), have also launched AI and ML-based spam detection solutions.

In September, Airtel launched India's first AI-powered network solution for spam detection. The system processes one trillion records in real-time and has shown efficacy in predicting over 99% of spam messages and 97% of spam calls, claims Airtel.

BSNL has implemented AI and ML algorithms to detect and manage spam messages.

These initiatives reflect the telecom industry's commitment to enhancing user security and improving the overall mobile experience.

IIT Guwahati Develops ML Framework LEAP that Speed Up the Design Process of Integrated Circuits

IIT Guwahati has developed an innovative Machine Learning (ML) framework called LEAP. This framework is designed to enhance the design process of Integrated Circuits (ICs), which are crucial components in the semiconductor industry.

Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools are inherently complex, and integrating a machine learning framework like LEAP required a deep understanding of both EDA processes and machine learning algorithms. For the IIT Guwahati researchers, balancing the trade-offs between runtime efficiency and performance improvements was a significant challenge. The researchers had to ensure that reducing the runtime of EDA tools did not compromise the performance of the integrated circuits.

Prof. Chandan Karfa, Associate Professor, and Dr. Sukanta Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Guwahati, along with their BTech students Chandrabhushan Reddy Chigarapally and Harshwardhan Nitin Bhakkad, have utilised machine learning to enhance efficiency in IC design.

Collaborating with Dr. Animesh Basak Chowdhury from New York University, USA, they developed the LEAP framework. LEAP significantly reduces the runtime of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools by 50%. This means that the design process becomes much faster and more efficient.

The framework also decreases the clock period by 2%, which improves the performance of the circuits without increasing the area required.

LEAP streamlines the technology mapping process within EDA by intelligently identifying and prioritizing the most promising configurations. This reduces the number of configurations the mapping tool must consider by over 50%.

This development is a significant advancement in the field of Electronic Design Automation, benefiting the $600 billion semiconductor industry by enhancing electronic device performance while reducing energy consumption.

Flipkart and IIT-Delhi Partner for Research on Personas to Improve Personalized Recommendations for Customers

Provide persona-based shopping experience to customers

Underscore machine learning models’ capability to handle large scale real world data effectively

Flipkart, India’s homegrown marketplace, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), the industry interface organisation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) as part of its ongoing industry-academic alliance initiatives.

As part of the MoU, Flipkart will offer research grants and market insights to FITT to generate granular, data-backed segments of users linked to different e-commerce categories based on shopping behaviour, demographics, surrounding users’ behaviour, etc. On the technical front, the collaborative effort will help to develop a general purpose user activity graph that could be harnessed for different use cases leveraging state-of-the-art GNN (graph neural network) based techniques. The research aims to address the limitation of existing persona creation tools and to learn from a user activity graph that encompasses information about the various personas associated with each user.

Flipkart has been nurturing academic alliances to build an ecosystem of learning and development through industry-focused research to address critical industry problems. Flipkart and FITT will also jointly undertake a number of other initiatives that include organising seminars, offering conference travel grants and engaging in company-sponsored research to support a project on a topic of mutual interest between Flipkart and the researchers from IIT Delhi.

Mayur Datar, Chief Data Scientist at Flipkart, said, “As a home-grown brand, Flipkart has been committed to solving for India. We have developed numerous industry-first capabilities over the years and continue to focus on innovations that will enhance the experience of customers by making their online shopping journey simple through personalised recommendations. Through our collaboration with IIT Delhi, we hope to find a data-driven solution that will enable us to understand our customers requirements and preferences better thereby, allowing us to elevate the shopping experience by offering persona-based recommendations. This will also provide an opportunity for academicians to work on challenges that the industry is grappling with and build innovative solutions that will help in transforming the ecommerce industry.”

Prof. Preeti Ranjan Panda, Dean Corporate Relations, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, said, “By combining Flipkart's industry expertise with the academic prowess of IIT Delhi, this collaboration is poised to contribute significantly to the advancement of e-commerce technologies, ultimately enhancing the way businesses engage with and cater to their diverse customer base."

Prof. Sayan Ranu, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, said “Beyond conducting cutting-edge research in machine learning, which IIT Delhi is already engaged in, it is crucial to translate these technologies into tangible products that can make a real-world impact. Through our collaboration with Flipkart, we aim to achieve precisely that. This research partnership aims to enhance personalized recommendations by incorporating user personas. In addition to persona-fortified product recommendations, this collaboration is poised to have a far-reaching impact by advancing machine learning models capable of handling large-scale real-world data effectively.”

Flipkart has been working with students and faculty members from reputed academic institutions to develop indigenous solutions that address unique real-world challenges confronted in a diverse market like India. Over the last two years, Flipkart signed up five projects across IIT Delhi, Bombay, and IISc.

Norway's Munch Museum and TCS to Create Interactive AI-Powered Museum Experiences

Tata Consultancy Services and Munch Museum (MUNCH) Collaborate to Create Interactive AI-Powered Museum Experiences Showcasing Edvard Munch’s Art and Celebrating His Innovative and Inclusive Spirit

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) has partnered with the Munch Museum (MUNCH) in Oslo to create immersive and interactive drawing experiences for local visitors and global audiences. Scientists from TCS Research will leverage their expertise in AI and Machine Learning (ML) to bring Edvard Munch’s artworks and creative process to life through the power of digital innovation.

MUNCH contains the world's most extensive collection of art dedicated to the renowned Norwegian artist, with 26,724 artworks, non-art objects and writings, parts of which are spread across 11 galleries on 13 floors. The museum approached TCS to collaborate on creating the first-ever real-time drawing experience based on Munch’s extensive collection as a way of honoring his inventive and inclusive spirit, and engaging new audiences with this fascinating part of Munch's artistry.

TCS and MUNCH will work together on designing, developing, and testing pioneering AI and ML technologies connected to the museum’s database of approximately 7,000 original drawings. In addition to collaboration through pathbreaking research, TCS will also provide IT consultancy, collaborative workshops, and talent exchanges to help create immersive museum experiences that showcase the future of art. These experiences will allow museum visitors to get closer to Munch’s unique worldview by immersing in the aesthetic quality of his paintings and drawings.

TCS will provide MUNCH access to its Research teams, partners from its Co-Innovation Network (COIN™), tools, and methodologies. The collaboration will offer the museum an opportunity to work with TCS’ Pace Ports™, a global network of co-innovation and research hubs to rapidly design and prototype next-generation digital solutions. 

This partnership will also enable MUNCH and TCS to assess joint business opportunities for partners and clients by exploring strategic priorities and art technology use cases.

Tone Hansen, Director at MUNCH, commented: “Edvard Munch was a restless innovator who explored the human condition through his experimental art, and we wanted to honor his dream of sharing his art with everyone. TCS has a reputation for digital innovations, and it has been thought provoking to see how powerful AI and ML technologies can be used to bring an artist’s work to life in ways they could never have imagined. We believe this partnership will help us further extend our work in engagin a global audience interested in experiencing our museum and the fascinating oeuvre of Edvard Munch.”

Dr Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer, TCS, said: “We are excited to be a part of MUNCH’s futuristic vision, and the possibility of using generative AI in an area that is as personal and intimate as art appreciation. Applications such as this truly bring to life the scenarios that the current generation of AI systems have made possible. We are delighted to partner with the museum as it provides an intimate insight into Munch’s worldview and by using AI, we make learning about art a more inclusive and enjoyable experience for everyone.”

About MUNCH

MUNCH is home to the world's largest collection of works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch and houses more than 26,000 works that Edvard Munch bequeathed to the City of Oslo. MUNCH preserve and manage the collection, and displays iconic artworks from the permanent collection, alongside digital content, temporary exhibitions and an extensive program of art and cultural experiences across thirteen floors - available for the public worldwide. For more information, visit: www.munchmuseet.no/en/ 

Infosys Inks 5-Yrs Deal with Smart Europe Gmbh, Owned by Smart e-Car JV of Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely

Indian IT & digital services major Infosys, on Thursday, announced that it has signed a 5-year collaboration with automotive marquee smart Europe GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of smart Automobile Co. Ltd. (Smart), which is a global smart joint venture between Geely Holding (Geely) and Mercedes-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz).

With this deal Infosys will refine Smart Europe's Direct-to-Customer (D2C) business model in Europe and provide enhanced customer experience, data-driven personalization and engagement for the existing model smart #1, the newly announced smart #3, and other upcoming all-electric models, from the smart e-Cars maker.

With a goal to position itself as a leading provider of intelligent electric vehicles in the premium segment, smart Europe was founded in June 2020, as a wholly owned subsidiary of smart Automobile Co., Ltd., to supply, sell and service future smart vehicles in the European market.

Based in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, near Stuttgart, smart Europe’s international team is responsible for all sales, marketing and after-sales activities for the next generation of smart vehicles, products and services of the brand in the European market.

Through this strategic collaboration, Infosys will help smart Europe GmbH redefine the online EV buying experience and apply state-of-the-art Machine Learning (ML) models to accurately forecast sales and aftersales demand.

Infosys was chosen to assist the premium EV maker in this transformation for its deep expertise in enabling consolidation across automotive sales and e-commerce processes and systems.

To enable smart Europe GmbH derive exceptional value from software, data, and cloud investments, Infosys will leverage its trusted process, functional and technical expertise, complemented by a design thinking-led consulting approach. Infosys will also help smart Europe GmbH to efficiently sell electric vehicles across 15 European countries with a D2C sales approach and secure engagement across lead generation, prospect conversion, sales and aftersales channels, supplemented by end-to-end ownership and accountability.

Dirk Adelmann, Chief Executive Officer, smart Europe GmbH, said, “We are pleased to have Infosys as our partner on this journey. Infosys’ strong leadership commitment backed by its ability to drive end-to-end application development and maintenance with efficiency and effectiveness, will help us boost our operational performance and user experience.”

Jasmeet Singh, EVP and Global Head of Manufacturing, Infosys, said, "We are delighted to deliver our cutting-edge technologies to innovative companies like smart Europe GmbH to help ramp up their competitiveness in the European market. Infosys has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to powering innovation-driven customer experiences across touchpoints through our automotive and mobility offerings. Leveraging a blend of our expertise in the domain and strong regional presence, we will help smart Europe GmbH fast-track the adoption of cutting-edge digital solutions. The success of this engagement will be a real game changer for both smart Europe GmbH and Infosys in the electric mobility era.”

How Machine Learning Will Impact The Future Of Work And Life?

In recent years, machine learning has emerged as a transformative force, revolutionizing various aspects of our lives. From simplifying everyday tasks to enabling groundbreaking innovations, this technology has the potential to reshape the future of work and life as we know it. In this blog post, we will explore the profound impact of machine learning on different industries, its potential benefits, and the challenges it presents.

You can enroll in this comprehensive Machine Learning Course to equip yourself with the skills to navigate the future of work and life. Discover how this transformative technology will shape industries, drive innovation, and revolutionize the way we live and work, ensuring you stay at the forefront of this AI-driven revolution.

Let's delve into this exciting world and discover how it will shape the way we work and live.

Automation and Efficiency in the Workplace

One of the most apparent ways machine learning is already influencing the future of work is through automation. Repetitive and mundane tasks that were once time-consuming can now be efficiently handled by AI algorithms. This allows employees to focus on more creative and strategic endeavors, fostering innovation and personal growth. Machine learning-powered automation also leads to increased productivity and cost savings for businesses, making them more competitive in the global market.

Personalization and Customer Experience
Machine learning algorithms excel in understanding and predicting human behavior. This capability has transformed the way businesses interact with their customers. By analyzing vast amounts of data, machine learning can offer personalized recommendations, tailor advertisements, and enhance customer service. From e-commerce platforms to social media, the personalized experience provided by AI fosters customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Healthcare Revolution

In the healthcare industry, machine learning has the potential to save countless lives and improve patient outcomes. AI-powered diagnostics can accurately detect diseases at early stages, enabling timely interventions. Moreover, machine learning can streamline administrative tasks, leading to better resource allocation and reducing healthcare costs. The combination of data-driven insights and medical expertise promises to revolutionize medical research and drug development, offering hope for new treatments and cures.

Education and Learning

Machine learning has already started transforming the education landscape. Intelligent tutoring systems can adapt to individual students' needs, offering personalized learning paths. Automated grading systems provide quicker feedback to students and reduce the burden on educators. Additionally, AI-driven content recommendation systems can expose learners to diverse perspectives, enhancing their overall understanding of different subjects.

Transportation and Urban Planning

Autonomous vehicles powered by machine learning are set to reshape transportation. With enhanced safety and reduced human error, self-driving cars could drastically reduce road accidents. Moreover, machine learning can optimize traffic flow and public transportation systems, reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. As cities become smarter, machine learning will play a vital role in ensuring sustainable and efficient urban planning.

Environmental Sustainability

Machine learning can contribute significantly to environmental conservation and sustainability efforts. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI can help identify trends, predict natural disasters, and optimize resource management. From climate modeling to wildlife conservation, machine learning presents an opportunity to make well-informed decisions that positively impact the environment.

Challenges and Considerations

While machine learning holds immense promise for the future, it also presents several challenges and considerations that must be addressed to ensure its responsible and ethical deployment.

Privacy and Security: Machine learning relies heavily on data, often involving the collection and storage of large volumes of personal information. This raises concerns about data privacy and security. Ensuring that data is properly anonymized, encrypted, and protected from unauthorized access is crucial. Moreover, AI systems must be designed with privacy in mind to prevent potential misuse of sensitive data.

Algorithmic Bias: Machine learning algorithms learn from historical data, which can be biased due to societal prejudices and historical inequalities. This can result in algorithmic bias, leading to unfair outcomes and perpetuating existing disparities. Addressing bias in AI models requires diverse and representative training data, as well as careful algorithm design and testing to mitigate any inherent biases.

Transparency and Explainability: Many machine learning algorithms, such as deep neural networks, are often considered black boxes, making it challenging to understand how they arrive at specific decisions. Ensuring transparency and explainability is vital, especially in critical applications like healthcare and finance, where stakeholders need to understand the reasoning behind AI-driven decisions.

Employment Disruption: As machine learning and automation continue to advance, certain jobs may become obsolete, leading to potential unemployment and economic disruption. It is essential for governments and organizations to develop strategies for workforce reskilling and upskilling to equip individuals with new skills and prepare them for the jobs of the future.

Regulation and Standards: The rapid evolution of machine learning technology has outpaced regulatory frameworks. Establishing appropriate regulations and standards for AI systems is crucial to prevent misuse, ensure safety, and protect consumer rights. Striking the right balance between innovation and regulation is essential to foster responsible AI development.

Data Quality and Bias Amplification: Machine learning models heavily rely on the quality and representativeness of training data. If the data is incomplete, outdated, or biased, it can lead to inaccurate and unfair predictions. Ensuring data quality and addressing potential bias in training data are essential steps in building reliable and unbiased AI systems.

Here is a Machine Learning Training video that will help you gain a better understanding.

Conclusion

Machine learning is at the forefront of technological advancement, promising to transform the way we work and live. Embracing this revolutionary technology opens doors to unparalleled opportunities in various industries. By leveraging machine learning to automate mundane tasks, personalize experiences, and solve complex problems, we can unlock human potential and creativity.

However, as we journey into this AI-driven future, we must tread cautiously, addressing ethical and societal concerns to ensure a positive impact on both work and life. By striking a balance between innovation and responsibility, we can truly harness the power of machine learning to shape a better future for all.

Machine Learning and Crowdsourced Intelligence: Hand-in-Hand Solutions

In today's digital age, the power of machine learning and the collective intelligence of crowds have emerged as two prominent forces shaping the future of problem-solving and decision-making. While machine learning algorithms have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in analyzing vast amounts of data and extracting valuable insights, crowdsourced intelligence harnesses the wisdom of diverse individuals to tackle complex challenges. Combining the strengths of both approaches, machine learning and crowdsourced intelligence can provide hand-in-hand solutions that propel innovation and drive progress across various domains.

Machine Learning and Limitations

Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, enables computers to learn from data and make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed. Through the use of sophisticated algorithms, machine learning systems can identify patterns, detect anomalies, and generate valuable insights from complex datasets. This technology has found applications in diverse fields such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and marketing, revolutionizing the way organizations operate and make informed decisions.

However, despite its impressive capabilities, machine learning is not immune to limitations. One significant challenge lies in the availability of high-quality training data. Machine learning models heavily rely on data to generalize patterns and make accurate predictions. Insufficient or biased data can lead to flawed outcomes and reinforce existing biases. This is where crowdsourced intelligence can play a crucial role.

Crowdsourcing Approach

Crowdsourced intelligence involves leveraging the collective knowledge, opinions, and efforts of a large group of people to solve problems or make decisions. It taps into the diverse perspectives and expertise of individuals from different backgrounds, enabling a comprehensive understanding of complex issues. With the rise of online platforms and social networks, crowdsourcing has become increasingly accessible, allowing organizations to engage a vast pool of contributors from around the world.

By integrating crowdsourced intelligence into machine learning workflows, organizations can address the limitations of training data and enhance the accuracy and robustness of their models. Crowdsourcing can help in various stages of the machine learning process, such as data labeling, feature engineering, and model evaluation. For instance, when training a machine learning model to recognize images, crowdsourcing can be employed to annotate and label vast datasets, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives and reducing biases. Similarly, crowdsourced feedback and evaluations can provide valuable insights into model performance and help identify areas for improvement.

Moreover, the combination of machine learning and crowdsourced intelligence fosters a cycle of continuous improvement. As machine learning algorithms make predictions and decisions, feedback from users and contributors can be collected and integrated back into the system. This feedback loop enables the models to adapt and evolve, becoming more accurate and effective over time. With crowdsourced intelligence, organizations can tap into the collective intelligence of the crowd to continuously refine their machine-learning solutions, driving innovation and staying ahead in a rapidly changing landscape.

Besides, merely allowing users to share a resource of their device gives a helping hand in further machine learning. For example, sharing internet traffic via Honeygain provides a helping hand towards data gathering that can be used for machine learning activities. In turn for this, users are able to get passive earnings, creating a double-ended approach that benefits everyone. Users get 3 credits for 10 MB of traffic shared passively, and 1000 credits are worth $1. Once the user accumulates at least $20 worth of credits, they can request a payout. Crowdsourced internet resources (and fair payment for it) help in data collection with incentives for the user to participate.

Successful Combination

The synergy between machine learning and crowdsourced intelligence has led to numerous successful applications across various domains. In the field of healthcare, researchers have employed machine learning algorithms to analyze medical images and detect diseases, while crowdsourced intelligence has been utilized to validate and enhance the accuracy of these models. In the business realm, companies have leveraged machine learning to improve customer segmentation, and crowdsourcing has provided valuable feedback and domain expertise to optimize marketing strategies.

However, it is crucial to acknowledge the challenges associated with this integration. Ensuring the quality and reliability of crowdsourced contributions, addressing issues of privacy and security, and managing the scalability of the crowdsourcing process are among the key considerations. Organizations must implement robust mechanisms to verify the accuracy and consistency of crowd-contributed data and establish clear guidelines and incentives to encourage meaningful participation.

In conclusion, machine learning and crowdsourced intelligence are two powerful approaches that, when combined, offer hand-in-hand solutions to complex problems. By leveraging the strengths of both methodologies, organizations can overcome the limitations of machine learning, enhance the accuracy and robustness of models, and tap into the collective intelligence of diverse individuals. As we move forward into a future driven by data and innovation, the synergy between machine learning and crowdsourced intelligence will continue to shape industries, drive progress, and unlock new possibilities.

India Can Become World Leader in AI & ML: TRAI Chairman Dr. P D Vaghela

India has a demographic advantage in IT talent and a fast-growing start-up culture that can be used to its utmost potential for the country to become a world leader in AI and ML. Dr. P D Vaghela, Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said this at the 17th India Digital Summit (IDS 2023), being organized here by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in association with Google and MessageBird, on February 20-21, 2023. Quoting a PwC research, he said, Artificial Intelligence (AI) could boost the world economy by up to USD 15.7 trillion by 2030.

In his address, Dr. Vaghela extensively spoke about 5G and 6G use-cases and how the government was increasingly supporting R&D for different use cases. “The road ahead is full of exciting challenges and opportunities and one thing is certain that the future of India rests on our ability to embrace new technologies, respond to technology disruptions and seize the right opportunities,” he said.

“The Government is already promoting start-up ecosystem and with over 5 billion IT professionals, India already boasts the largest IT talent in the world. And with startups capitalizing on digital governance, I am sure that India@2047 will be a force to reckon with,” Dr. Vaghela added.

Dr. Vaghela in his address said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) intended to regulate the sector with transparency while also promoting competition and safeguarding the rights of citizens.

Referring to the theme of IDS 2023, Amrit Kaal: Digital India@100, Dr. Vaghela pointed out the need to re-emphasize the eight crucial governance issues for India’s journey over the next 25 years. These include:

1. how to revamp our digital governance infrastructure,
2. challenges arising out of convergence and reduced investment cycles due to technology disruptions,
3. identifying appropriate technologies, keeping in mind our demographic advantage, the strength of our IT skills and strength of the SME sector,
4. boosting local manufacturing of digital equipment,
5. keeping technology at the core of policy formulation,
6. practical implementation of whole of the government approach through a collaborative approach,
7. pursuing sustainable and equitable whole of society approach and ensuring socio-economic, digital inclusion and
8. strengthening cybersecurity, bringing in vibrant privacy law and protecting citizens from spam and frauds.

The 17th India Digital Summit will bring together over 150 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, industry captains and subject stalwarts in more than 60 sessions, with a representation from over 500 digital brands, and participation of over 3000 delegates.

About IAMAI

Established in 2004, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body and the country's only organization representing the digital services industry with over 450 Indian and multinational corporations as its members, which include established companies in diverse sectors of the digital ecosystem as well as start-ups. Its mandate is to expand and enhance the online and mobile value-added services sectors. It is dedicated to presenting a unified voice of the businesses it represents to the government, investors, consumers and other stakeholders. IAMAI represents varied sectors such as digital advertising, digital entertainment, TravelTech, online gaming, digital payments, fintech, digital commerce, Edtech, Healthtech, Agritech, Big data, ML, AI & IoT, AR/ VR, LogisticsTech and so on.

For any query please contact: Nilanjan Hajra, Associate Vice President, IAMAI | h.nilanjan@iamai.in

iHub-Data at IIIT Hyderabad Launches Minor UG Engineering Program in Modern Machine Learning

iHub-Data, the technology innovation hub established by IIIT Hyderabad, is embarking on a novel mission to assist technical institutions and universities (possessing academic autonomous status) for offering a BTech (minor) degree program in Modern Machine Learning from the academic year 2023 onwards.

Machine learning is pervading into a multitude of disciplines in engineering and technology. There is a growing need for the foundations of this discipline to be imbibed early on, at undergraduate level in engineering itself, and to make it more affordable to students willing to be proficient in the domain. With such an objective in mind this program is launched.

Over the past decade, faculty at IIIT Hyderabad had started engaging themselves in shaping the syllabus, lecture contents and practical hands-on tutorials, and exploring ways for offering a skilled program covering fundamentals of modern machine learning. These discussions culminated in a 50-week program on Foundations of Modern Machine Learning, currently offered via iHub-Data to Indian UG students pursuing a career in engineering. With learnings incorporated from its engagement with these students, there has been a growing realisation that this program be also offered as a regular academic program of any university/technical institution.

Access to all requisite learning resources including hands on tuturials would be extended to institutions agreeing to offer this minor program - facilitating these institutions to offer it as a regular on-campus classroom program. An MoU with iHub-Data, IIIT Hyderabad would need to be signed by institutions willing to be part of this network, who would then be able to offer the course for a block period of four years, starting from 2023 onwards.

More details of the minor program and link to register, are available at https://ihub-data.iiit.ac.in/programs/courses/minor-degree-in-machine-leak90rning/

About IIIT Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Cognitive Science, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.Website: www.iiit.ac.in

74% of Indian Respondents Believe That AI/ML is Becoming a Major Factor in Dev and DevOps Efforts

Progress Survey Reveals the Factors Driving the Adoption and Evolution of DevSecOps Over the Next Two Years

• New research reveals that 73% of respondents admit more could be done to improve DevSecOps practices and highlights commonalities to those businesses finding success. 
• As per the survey, 74% of Indian respondents believe that AI / ML is becoming a major factor in dev and DevOps efforts, whereas 26% do not agree.

Hyderabad, India—November 15, 2022—Progress (Nasdaq: PRGS), the trusted provider of application development and infrastructure software, today announced the results of its 2022 survey, “DevSecOps: Simplifying Complexity in a Changing World.” More than 600 IT, security, application development and DevOps decision makers globally shared insights into the level of DevSecOps maturity and challenges faced across their organizations. The full report and findings can be found here.

The DevSecOps survey aimed to uncover the true state of DevOps and DevSecOps adoption – from business priorities to technology adoption, lack of cultural alignment and investment and the common pitfalls and successes businesses worldwide have achieved.

Significant findings from the survey include:

Global trends: -

• Many companies are behind in achieving their DevOps and DevSecOps goals. 73% of organizations said they could be doing more, 76% acknowledge they need to be more strategic about how they manage DevSecOps and 17% still consider themselves at an exploratory and proof-of-concept stage.
• Security is the number one driver behind most DevOps and DevSecOps implementations. Yet only 30% feel confident in the level of collaboration between security and development, 86% experience challenges in their current approaches to security and 51% admit that they don’t fully understand how security fits into DevSecOps.
• Culture is the biggest barrier to DevOps and DevSecOps success. In fact, 71% of respondents agreed that culture is the biggest barrier to DevSecOps progress, yet only 16% are prioritizing culture as an area to optimize in the next 12-18 months.

India specific trends: -

• 72% of Indian respondents said that providing best in class technical environment to attract and retain top talent can be an important business factor that can drive the DevOps adoption and evolution in their organization over the next two years. Whereas 70% said, the focus on business agility via fast and frequent delivery of application capabilities is another reason for the adoption of DevOps.
• 62% of respondents agreed that security is the key driver behind DevOps adoption and evolution in terms of technological reasoning.
• 74% of Indian respondents believe that AI / ML is becoming a major factor in dev and DevOps efforts, whereas 26% do not agree.

The organizations succeeding in the implementation of DevOps and DevSecOps policies and practices recognize the importance of security training and upskilling. This helps them reach a higher level of continued long-term collaboration between security and development teams. According to the respondents, the top business factors driving the adoption and evolution of DevOps inside their organizations include a focus on agility, reducing the business risk of quality, security, and downtime or performance issues, and the need to implement DevOps to support a cloud-mandate or their move to the cloud. Other survey areas highlighted include infrastructure modernization efforts, policy as code, cloud-native adoption, time to ROI, investment and education opportunities and more.

“In today’s business landscape, many organizations are currently focusing on rapid deployment of software to market, where the security factor of the software gets compromised”, said Prashanth Nanjundappa, VP, Product Development, Progress. “Prioritizing security efforts from the earlier stage of the development cycle and security training among the engineers is an important measure organization at any level should follow.”

“The benefits of integrating security into DevOps are plentiful – from reduced risk and lower costs to faster delivery and more effective compliance. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as snapping your fingers,” said Sundar Subramanian, EVP & GM DevOps, Progress. “Our research confirms what we see and hear from customers every day – that each has their own unique culture and trajectory, with their own inflection points and challenges, which present more than one roadblock to DevSecOps adoption. That’s why businesses around the globe are turning to Progress. We make DevSecOps an automated reality."

The race to digital has only accelerated across every aspect of business over the last few years, and organizations that have embraced this acceleration are thriving today. They rely on Progress to serve the entire DevSecOps lifecycle, from design to development to operational assurance – including secure hybrid-cloud infrastructure management, full-stack observability and high availability. Progress is a leader in DevOps and DevSecOps, offering the best products to automate and secure deployments to edge devices, hybrid cloud and on-premise environments.

The survey, “DevSecOps: Simplifying Complexity in a Changing World,” was conducted by Insight Avenue, a UK-based research firm, specializing in business-to-business technology research. The team conducted 606 interviews with IT/Security/App Dev and DevOps decision makers in organizations with 500+ employees from 11 countries from Europe, Asia, Latin America and the United States.

About Progress

Dedicated to propelling business forward in a technology-driven world, Progress (Nasdaq: PRGS) helps businesses drive faster cycles of innovation, fuel momentum and accelerate their path to success. As the trusted provider of the best products to develop, deploy and manage high-impact applications, Progress enables customers to develop the applications and experiences they need, deploy where and how they want and manage it all safely and securely. Hundreds of thousands of enterprises, including 1,700 software companies and 3.5 million developers, depend on Progress to achieve their goals—with confidence. Learn more at www.progress.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Progress is a trademark or registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

SiMa.ai Welcomes New Investor MSD Partners, Bringing Total Investment to $187 Million

Business Wire India

SiMa.ai, the machine learning company enabling effortless deployment and scaling at the embedded edge, today announced it has extended its Series B1 round to $67 million with new participation from MSD Partners, L.P. The round also includes participation from existing partners: Fidelity Management & Research Company, Amplify Partners, Dell Technologies Capital, Wing Venture Capital, Alter Venture Partners, +ND Capital and Lip-Bu Tan.

“I would like to welcome MSD Partners as our newest investor,” said Krishna Rangasayee, CEO and founder, SiMa.ai. “This latest funding allows us to build upon our product strength and customer momentum, while scaling the company more aggressively than we originally planned and validating our ability to disrupt the embedded edge industry by bringing effortless machine learning to this multi-trillion-dollar market. We are grateful to all our investors for believing in our company’s vision and team as we enter into our next growth phase.”

The Series B1 financing enables SiMa.ai to accelerate hiring and scale critical functions worldwide. In addition, the investment will provide the capital to drive customer success and operations globally.

“We are excited to invest in SiMa.ai and the team led by Krishna Rangasayee at this pivotal time in the wider adoption of machine learning,” said Victor Hwang, Managing Director and Co-Head, MSD Growth. “To unlock the power of machine learning’s advanced capabilities, the embedded edge industry needs an iconic, forward-thinking, industry disruptive company like SiMa.ai that enables customers to bring their innovative products to market. SiMa.ai is just at its beginning but has already accomplished a tremendous amount in a short period of time.”

SiMa.ai has made significant strides in positioning itself as a breakthrough machine learning (ML) innovator. More recently, the company announced it has started shipping the industry’s first purpose-built software-centric MLSoC Platform for the embedded edge market with first-time-tape-out commercial success. The innovation behind SiMa.ai’s platform is in a class of its own, delighting customers with a working product that simplifies the integration of ML which in turn allows them to bring their products to market faster with best-in-class performance.

“We have participated in every round of funding since SiMa.ai’s initial round,” said Mike Dauber, General Partner, Amplify Partners. “SiMa.ai has continued to gain our vote of confidence with their incredible team-building, execution and progress. We strongly believe they will bring a new product category to the embedded edge market with their purpose-built MLSoC Platform."

For more information on SiMa.ai, please visit here.

About SiMa.ai
SiMa.ai is a Machine Learning company delivering the industry’s first software-centric, purpose-built MLSoC platform. With push-button performance, we enable Effortless ML deployment and scaling at the embedded edge by allowing customers to address any computer vision problem while achieving 10x better performance at the lowest power. Initially focused on computer vision applications, SiMa.ai is led by technologists and business veterans backed by a set of top investors committed to helping customers bring ML on their platforms.

 

About MSD Partners
MSD Partners, L.P. is a leading investment firm focused on maximizing long-term capital appreciation across its core areas of investing expertise – Credit, Growth, Private Capital and Real Estate. The Firm deploys capital on behalf of Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell and his family, as well as other like-minded, long-term-oriented investors. It currently manages in excess of $20 billion. MSD Growth seeks to back private high-growth companies with proven business models and large market opportunities, and to date has invested in such companies as 6Sense, Fanatics, Flexport, Guesty, iCapital, Stripe and Verkada. For further information about MSD Partners, please see www.msdpartners.com.

 

About Amplify Partners
Amplify Partners is an early-stage investor for technical founders building technical products in AI and ML, developer tools, data, and cybersecurity. Our team of investors and operators specialize in helping founders turn their earliest ideas and projects into beloved products and companies. To learn more about Amplify's portfolio and people, please visit amplifypartners.com.

 

© Copyright 2022 SiMa Technologies, Inc. SiMa.ai logo and other designated brands included herein are trademarks in the United States and other countries.

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221026005128/en/

Locus Granted Patent for Machine Learning Models To Accurately Predict Traffic Time for Better Last-mile Deliveries

This is the second patent that the company has secured in the year 2022

Locus, a leading-edge technology company solving for excellence in Last-Mile logistics, today announced that it has been awarded a patent for “Machine Learning Models for Predicting Time in Traffic,” the second patent awarded to the company in 2022.

Predictability of last-mile deliveries is a logistical challenge that continues to affect businesses across various sectors such as e-commerce, 3PLs, etc. Locus’ new patent will enable enterprises to achieve better precision in their last-mile deliveries by factoring in traffic patterns, which have historically been considered too dynamic to map. The patent covers unique technology that analyzes the historical data of traffic and predicts the travel time between origin and destination locations. It also factors in sub-variables such as day of the week and time of day to provide hyper-accurate estimated travel times for logistics providers to get ahead.

“To constantly add value to our growing customer base across 30+ geographies, we at Locus, are pushing our engineering boundaries each day,” said Geet Garg, Founder & CTO, Locus. “The latest patent highlights our relentless effort to bring out new levels of innovation in our product suite, enabling enterprises across industries to drive high-precision logistics operations in any geography, reduce costs and achieve business success.”

To foster a culture rooted in innovation, Locus rolled out a company-wide program in 2018 that empowers all employees to apply for patents and includes regular training sessions, end-to-end support for IPR filings, and much more. Through this initiative, Locus has secured four patents in the last four years, with additional filings already in the pipeline that – collectively – will continue to bring advancements in the company’s unique product suite to serve its customers better.

“Innovation lives within our DNA and we believe that every employee should have an equal opportunity to contribute to the next best idea,” said Nishith Rastogi, Founder & CEO of Locus. “Thus, with the goal to cultivate an environment of entrepreneurship and creativity, we introduced this policy to empower and support our team in their commitment to solving challenges of the last-mile logistics”.

About Locus

Locus is a leading-edge technology company solving one of the most challenging global supply chain problems: Last-Mile logistics. Locus' order-to-delivery dispatch management platform helps enterprises transform their Last-Mile logistics operations from cost centers to revenue generators through advanced optimization algorithms and intuitive workflow automation that equip businesses with the tools needed to maximize efficiency while delighting customers.

Founded in 2015 and backed by GIC Singapore, Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures, and Falcon Edge, Locus has helped a wide range of customers globally across industries – including Unilever, Nestle, Bukalapak, The Tata Group, BlueDart, and more – execute 650 million deliveries across 30+ countries across North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, ANZ, and the Indian subcontinent. Its technology has also helped save $200 million in transit costs, offsetting 70 million kilograms in CO2 emissions while maintaining a 99.5% SLA adherence ratio.

SiMa.ai Partners with GUC to Accelerate Time to Market for Industry’s First Purpose-Built Machine Learning Platform for the Embedded Edge

https://ift.tt/ZUYnhxK

Business Wire India

SiMa.ai, the machine learning company enabling effortless deployment and scaling at the embedded edge, today announced it has partnered with GUC (Global Unichip Corporation) to help leverage the company’s turnkey semiconductor services for continued first-time right design of its MLSoC Platform.

 

The SiMa.ai MLSoC, which is shipping to customers now, addresses any computer vision application and delivers a 10x better performance/power solution – all with a push-button software experience. It operates at the lowest power, effortlessly scaling in minutes for computer vision applications. A critical design partner during the platform development, GUC’s physical, package, test design services and manufacturing logistics allowed SiMa.ai to focus on machine learning IP development.

 

“SiMa.ai is bringing a revolutionary solution to the embedded edge market,” said Dr. Louis Lin, Senior Vice President, Design Service, GUC. “We are proud of GUC’s contribution in helping SiMa.ai’s MLSoC Platform become a reality and now shipping to customers. We look forward to further supporting SiMa.ai as they continue to design innovative products for the embedded edge market.”

 

“At SiMa.ai, we believe in the power of partnerships to make our vision of 10x improvement in ML performance per watt for embedded edge customers become a reality,” said Chee Hu, Sr. Director, Physical Design at SiMa.ai. “We were able to get to market quickly, benefitting from GUC’s turnkey design services and working in tandem with them to bring Effortless ML to our customers.”

 

The SiMa.ai MLSoC Platform is available today. For more information, visit https://sima.ai/get-10x-now/.

 

About SiMa.ai
SiMa.ai is a Machine Learning company delivering the industry’s first software-centric, purpose-built MLSoC platform. With push-button performance, we enable Effortless ML deployment and scaling at the embedded edge by allowing customers to address any computer vision problem while achieving 10x better performance at the lowest power. Initially focused on computer vision applications, SiMa.ai is led by technologists and business veterans backed by a set of top investors committed to helping customers bring ML on their platforms.

 

About GUC
GLOBAL UNICHIP CORP. (GUC) is the Advanced ASIC Leader who provides the semiconductor industry with leading IC implementation and SoC manufacturing services, using advanced process and packaging technology. Based in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, GUC has developed a global reputation with a presence in China, Europe, Japan, Korea, and North America. GUC is publicly traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under the symbol 3443.

 

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AI/ML-based Fintech Start-up Impactsure Raises $1 Mn as Seed Capital to Fund its Growth

Impactsure Founders (L-R)- Ashish Jha, Co-Founder & COO; Dharmarajan, Founder Director & CEO; Subramaniyan N, Founder Director

Impactsure Technologies raises USD 1 mn as seed capital to fund its growth

The AI-powered document analytics firm attracts investors from the US, UK, and India in its first-ever fund-raising activity

Impactsure Technologies (Impactsure), an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) powered digitisation and analytics company that simplifies complex operations in corporate banking and trade finance has raised USD one million as seed capital during its maiden fund-raising endeavour to fund its growth activities. The participants in this round are individuals who have invested in their personal capacity. The company did not disclose the valuation and stake dilution from this round.

Impactsure offers trade finance solutions that enable banks, financial institutions, and corporations with advanced intelligent data analytics and document processing, using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), for critical processing and compliance-related requirements that improve business outcomes and customer experience, increase operational efficiency and reduce compliance risks. The addressable trade finance solutions market is estimated at $3 billion, and the value of global trade is expected to be $24 trillion by 2026.

Impactsure Founders

Commenting on the funding, Mr. Dharmarajan Sankara Subrahmanian, Founder Director & CEO, Impactsure, said, “The amount raised in this round will be utilised for key talent acquisition and resources retention, customer acquisition, geographical expansion, branding, marketing & business development; and towards IP, digital product assets & technology tools, infrastructure. We foresee double-digit growth opportunities in the BFSI space for our flagship automation product, SureMatch. This incremental capital will enable us to fully leverage the emerging opportunities.”

To support its growth, Impactsure recently expanded its senior management team by onboarding BFSI technology leader, Ramasubramanian S (Sriram) as President, Banking Operations and human resources specialist, Vinu Pillai as head HR.

Impactsure has entered into several strategic alliances and partnerships with established players in the tech market, including Google, Deloitte, Microsoft and Amazon, to expand its reach and impact. The company was recently recognised as the Star Performance (new entrant) of the Transaction Banking (Trade Finance) category in the coveted Annual IBSi Annual Sales League Table 2022. Impactsure also bagged the Best Trade Finance Implementation Award for the Best Adoption of Tools & Governance, at IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Awards 2021.

About Impactsure Technologies:

Impactsure creates AI products for banks, financial institutions, and corporates to enable digital transformation. The Company uses the latest AI/ML and NLP technologies to build user-centric tools and scalable and secure solutions. These offerings are developed by experts who have vast experience in analytics, multiple domains, and technology; they empower clients to deliver valuable business and operational outcomes. For more info, visit www.impactsure.com