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Make like a leaf: researchers developing new method to convert CO2 – News – The University of Sydney

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and 'breathe' out oxygen. Photo credit: Luisa Low/University of Sydney

While the research has been conducted on a nanoscale, Professor Huang hopes the technology will be used by power stations to capture emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Our CO2absorbent plates may be small, but our goal is to now create large panels, similar to solar panels, that would be used by industry to absorb and convert large volumes of CO2, said Professor Huang.

CO2emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and transport are the main cause of global warming, contributing up to 65 percent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.

While plants breathe in CO2, a process called photosynthesis, deforestation and development has decreased their overall capacity to restore oxygen levels.

As nations attempt to curb emissions and divest from fossil fuels, Dr Huang feels there should also be an increased focus on carbon capture and re-use to minimise the harmful impact of increased atmospheric CO2.

The current global commitment to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030 is an enormous challenge, and one that will be difficult to achieve given that energy needs are accelerating, said Professor Huang.

Carbon capture technologies have been around for over 10 years. However, they require carbon to being held in deep underground chambers.

Carbon conversion could be a financially viable alternative as it would allow for the generation of industrial quantities of materials, such as methanol, which is a useful material for production of fuels and other chemicals, he concluded.

DISCLOSURE

Professor Jun Huangs research is supported by the Australian Research Council (DP180104010, theSydney Research Accelerator Prizes (SOAR) and theUniversity of Sydney Nano Institute Grand Challenge program.

The paper was authored by Dr Haitao Li, Dr Yadan Deng, Dr Youdi Liu, Dr Xin Zeng, Professor Dianne Wiley and Professor Jun Huang.

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Make like a leaf: researchers developing new method to convert CO2 - News - The University of Sydney

Budding opportunity? Hemp conference to offer insights to an emerging industry – WFMYNews2.com

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

GREENSBORO, N.C. Gateway Research Park will hold a conference next month to help budding entrepreneurs gain insights into the rapidly emerging North Carolina hemp industry.

The Industrial Hemp Conference will take place at Gateway South in the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering auditorium Oct. 11 beginning at 9 a.m.

"The Piedmont Triad Industrial Hemp Conference is about cutting-edge growth that offers a strong future, which is in line with the innovation and collaboration we have at Gateway, said John Merrill, executive director of Gateway Research Park.

Since the passage of the national Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, interest and activity in the state have increased surrounding the research and business implications of industrial hemp as a crop in addition to North Carolinas $76 billion-dollar agriculture and agri-business industry.

To read more on the conference, click hereto head to the Triad Business Journal's website.

RELATED: Consortium will support, celebrate Triad entrepreneurship

RELATED: Greensboro hires first chief creative economy officer

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Budding opportunity? Hemp conference to offer insights to an emerging industry - WFMYNews2.com

Sigma Lithium Announces a Positive Feasibility Study with Forecast LOM Net Revenue of US$1.4 Billion and EBITDA of US$ 690 Million for the High-Grade,…

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Positive results confirm an after tax NPV of US$ 249 million with cash operating costs for the Xuxa deposit of US$238 per tonne of battery grade 6% lithium oxide concentrate, amongst the lowest costs globally

The positive economics of the bankable Feasibility Study for Xuxa provide a strong platform for Sigma to continue to develop its extensive mineral properties, which include 9 past-producing lithium mines

___________________________________

Sigma will host an investor call on October 7th, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. (EDT).

Webcast Link:https://sigmalithium.clickmeeting.com/sigma-lithium-resourcesDial in:Participant Code:232164#New York: +1 (917) 338-1451, Toronto: +1 (647) 497-7729, So Paulo: +55 (11) 3230-2305Dial-in from other locations:https://account-panel.clickmeeting.com/dialplan

Sigma will present at the TSX Latam Mining Day on October 2nd, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. (EDT). Location: TMX Gallery 130 King Street W - Toronto, ON

___________________________________

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sigma Lithium Corporations (the Company or Sigma) (TSX-V: SGMA) (OTCQB: SGMLF) is pleased to announce the positive results of the independent Feasibility Study (FS) prepared for the Xuxa deposit (Xuxa) with the initial development of a 1.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) open-pit mine and lithium concentrator (Xuxa Plant) at Sigmas 100% owned Grota do Cirilo Project (Sigma Project) located in the Vale do Jequitinhonha, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Feasibility Study Highlights

Summary of Key Xuxa Feasibility Study Outcomes

The FS for the Xuxa Mine and Xuxa Plant envisages a 1.5 Mtpa spodumene ore mining and lithium concentrate processing operation. Building the Xuxa Mine and Xuxa Plant constitutes a low-risk execution strategy for the Company. The economics are highlighted by high operating margins generated over an estimated 9.2 years of mine life: life-of-mine (LOM) net revenue of US$ 1.4 billion and LOM EBITDA of US$ 690 million.

The FS is only based only on the current open-pit mining plan without contemplating an underground mine plan.

The FS is based on a 2021 arms-length nominal price forecast of US$ 650 CIF China, and a LOM average price of US$ 733 CIF China or US$629 free on board (FOB) Brazil for 6% lithium concentrate. Sigma contracted Roskill to provide an outlook and overview of the lithium market. Roskill provided a comprehensive updated market study in August 2019 analyzing current and future trends in the market, prices of lithium chemicals such as lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, as well as prices of 6% lithium concentrate for vertically integrated and non-integrated chemical producers.

Table 1 summarizes the financial results from the FS.

Table 1. Financial Results Summary of Feasibility Study for the Xuxa Mine and Plant

Notes:

Background of Sigmas Project Development Strategy

Table 2. Xuxa Mining and Concentrate Plant Forecasts at 1.5 Mtpa

Sigma Lithium Resources CEO Calvyn Gardner says: This successful Feasibility Study demonstrates that Sigmas strategy to select Xuxa as the first deposit to be developed in the Grota do Cirilo Project has proven to be the right approach. Xuxas low-capital intensity creates the financial robustness to support the economics of a standalone Project. The FS shows that Xuxa has one of the lowest production costs of battery grade lithium concentrate globally, which is also a significant commercial competitive advantage, as it ensures the project is profitable even in the current challenging lithium market environment. The high-quality, coarseness and low impurities of Xuxas unique battery grade lithium concentrate has the potential to transform Sigma into a leading supplier to the largest global customers in the electric vehicles and battery supply chain. I am very enthusiastic about the results of this feasibility study, as it shows that Xuxa can unlock the door to develop the entire Grota do Cirilo Project and will pave the way for project bank financing.

The Grota do Cirilo Project development strategy is to also bring Barreiro into production potentially using the same Xuxa Plant. Barreiro is a large-sized, high-grade, with a low strip ratio, adds Mr. Gardner.

Sigma Lithium Resources Chief Strategy Officer Ana Cabral says: Sigma recognizes and appreciates the collaboration of the new federal and state governments of Brazil and Minas Gerais, who are lending widespread institutional support for the significant advancement of the Project. The specialty coarse high-grade, low impurities and low-cost lithium concentrate of the Xuxa deposit has the potential to position Brazil as a leading green lithium supplier to the electric vehicles industry globally. Sigma will use green, environmentally clean energy, powering the Xuxa Mine and Xuxa Plant from a hydroelectric plant and Brazils green electricity grid. Financially, Sigmas proposed plant construction pre-payment agreement with Mitsui, could significantly lower the initial equity capital required and thus, has continued to generate wide-spread interest including memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for low-cost project financing from the commercial banks. Results of the Feasibility Study clearly indicate that the Project offers lowered execution risk by bringing together high-grade low-cost Mineral Reserves at Xuxa with existing infrastructure which includes power, roads, and office building, to create a low-risk brownfield project that is expected to deliver significant value to shareholders and local communities. adds Ms. Cabral.

Independent Consultants Preparing the Feasibility Study

Sigmas Feasibility Study has been completed to the highest standard. The following international consultants were commissioned to prepare the study:

Mining & Mineral Reserves

Sigma commissioned MCB (Deswick Brazil) to complete the mine plan portion of the FS. The proposed mining operations include a conventional open-pit using hydraulic excavators and a fleet of haul trucks. The FS considers contract mining. Two separate pits will be developed, and four waste piles, which will co-store waste rock from the open pits and Xuxa Plant residue will be constructed.

Key parameters used as part of the pit optimization process include (but are not limited to):

Excavated material will be loaded to trucks and hauled to either the ROM pad or the waste piles. Ore excavation and haulage will be monitored by quality-control personnel and details of material movement will be recorded by a radio dispatch system. Weathered material is considered to be free dig with transitional material to be lightly blasted to loosen it for digging. Fresh rock will be typically blasted on 6m benches for ore domain and 12m benches for waste domain. In order to reduce dilution and maximize mine recovery, controlled blasting (pre-splitting) will be used.

The engineered pit designs include the practical geometry that is required for an operational mine such as the haul road to access all the benches, recommended pit slopes with geotechnical berms, proper benching configuration and smoothed pit walls.

Table 3 summarizes the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves for the Xuxa deposit.

Table 3. Xuxa Mine Open-Pit Mineral Reserve table:

Notes:

Figure 1 shows the anticipated general site layout plan resulting from the FS.

Figure 1 is available athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d23d23f-8b9c-41f5-a638-097c7e7068fe

Xuxa Plant and Facilities

A three-stage metallurgical test work program was completed by SGS Lakefield.

The Xuxa Plant will be located approximately 1.7 km and 2.3km from the north and south Xuxa mine open-pits, respectively. The DMS plant will use proven and well-established technology, and is designed to produce 220,000 tonnes per annum of minimum 6.0% LiO concentrate with an iron content of below 1% FeO. The lithium concentrate particle size is anticipated to be between +0.5mm to 9.5mm. Figure 2 shows the planned layout for the in-house crushing system and DMS plant.

Figure 2is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c1cc4aca-97b5-4bb8-a4f3-648489af15e8

The plant throughput capacity is based on 1.5 Mtpa (dry) of ore fed to the crushing circuit. The current Xuxa Plant design also contemplates a modular and integrated expansion option, with the installation of an in-house crushing circuit to potentially increase processing capacity to 3.0 Mtpa.

The Xuxa Plant will include the following:

The simplified process flow diagram for the proposed Xuxa Plant design is provided in Figure 3.

Figure 3 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3abd80b6-e0a7-4833-829b-17a755e8fe29

Financial Evaluation

The positive FS economics demonstrate that Xuxa is a financially positive standalone project. The key factors influencing the study outcome include the mine average high grade of 1.46% LiO and the low levels of impurities leading to high levels of process recoveries with a DMS plant. These in turn lead to low capital expenditures and low ongoing operating costs.

The initial FS capital cost estimate to construct a new 1.5 Mtpa plant and infrastructure, including all direct and indirect costs and 10% contingencies, is estimated at US$98.4 million (with an accuracy of +/- 15%). Costs are summarized in Table 4.

Table 4. Initial Capital Cost Estimate

Description

Note: Additional non financeable deferred capex and plant and mine closure costs are estimated at US$ 15.2 million to be disbursed by year 9, is detailed as follows: (i) Deferred capex of US$ 5.8 million includes Pit 2 Haul Roads, Balance Pile 1 Excavation, Bridge Between Pit 1 and Pit 2, Waste Piles 3 and 4 Excavation (Clear & Grub, Excavation, Ponds Cuts); (ii) Closure costs for plant and mine closure of US$ 8 million; (iii) Capex of US$ 1.5 million to execute various operational recommendations to be implemented in production.

Operating cost estimates are based on an owner-operated model and have an accuracy of +/- 15%. The operating cost for the mining was provided by MCB. The crushing contracting, substation rental, mobile equipment rental and product transport operating costs were incorporated in the overall operating cost.

The cash operating costs were developed based on third party contract mining and outsourced crushing, as well as on the Xuxa Plant processing cost. The Xuxa Plant is forecasted to have very low operating costs at US$238 per tonne of concentrate as a result of its high grade, high DMS recoveries, low levels of impurities, low cost of electricity and general low country costs.

Table 5 shows the anticipated average operating costs over the LOM. Table 6 presents the forecast revenue and costs on both a total and average LOM basis.

Table 5. Operating Cost Estimate

Table 6. Xuxa Estimated Revenue and Operating Costs for 1.5 Mtpa Production

Sensitivity Analysis

The FS includes sensitivity analysis of Project NPV 8% using variable CIF China price, recovery rate, ore grade, exchange rate, initial capex, discount rate, operating expenses.

Table 7 shows the impact of a +/- 20% variation of these key factors. Table 8 presents the after-tax NPV results of each factor variance.

Table 7. After-Tax Net Present Value Sensitivity Assumptions for Each Scenario +20% and -20%

Note: A conservative two-tier exchange rate was used as a base to the feasibility study. BRL 3.85 / USD 1.00 for quotes provided from third party information providers and BRL 4.10 / USD 1.00 for the amounts provided in dollars from Sigma.

Table 8. After-Tax Net Present Value Results for Each Scenario

Note: All NPVs calculated using all-in Initial, Sustaining and Deferred Capex of US$ 113.6 M, which adds to initial capex the non-financeable deferred capex of US$ 15.2 million.

The positive economics of the economic feasibility of the Project is further demonstrated in Table 9 by the IRR yield of the combined sensitivity analysis of the after-tax NPV to both 6% lithium spodumene concentrate CIF China prices and discount rate.

Table 9. Combined Sensitivity of Xuxa NPV to Prices and Discount Rate

NOTE: All NPVs Calculated using all-in Initial, Sustaining and Deferred Capex of US$ 113.6 M, which adds to initial Capex the non-financeable deferred capex of US$15.2 million.

Commercial and Marketing Strategy and Offtake Agreements

As a result of the high quality and low impurities of its planned lithium concentrate Sigma has experienced significant commercial success in negotiating offtake agreements with various customers in the electric vehicle supply chain.

Sigma entered the offtake negotiations undertaking a long-term view for the growth of the market and decided to replicate the longer term (five years) contract structures practiced by the lithium chemicals with their cathode industry and other customers in the supply chain. Sigma negotiated offtake agreements with fixed volumes with a multi-year duration, without a price floor, using CIF China market prices as an annual pricing mechanism. By not requesting a price floor, Sigma managed to preserve potential price upside in its offtake agreements, as these agreements do not include a price cap, fixed prices or prices pegged to cost structures of customers in the lithium chemical industry. The offtakes are indexed to Roskills published arms length market price CIF China for spodumene concentrate.

Sigma secured non-binding MOUs to supply 100% of its projected production of 220,000 tpa from Xuxa Plant for a five-year period, commencing in 2021.

Sigma has entered into a binding heads of agreement (the Agreement) for an offtake, funding and strategic partnership with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. of Japan (Mitsui) for a significant portion of the funding required for the capital expenditures and construction of the Xuxa Mine.

Pursuant to the Agreement, Mitsui and Sigma have agreed terms on:

Sigma is currently in negotiations with the other potential off-take customers to sign binding heads of agreement for the 160,000 tpa balance of its annual production.

Lithium Price Forecast and Lithium Chemical Supply Dynamics

Sigma contracted Roskill to provide an outlook and overview of the lithium market.

Roskill provided price forecasts through to 2032 for spodumene concentrate prices for the three categories of 6% spodumene lithium concentrate pricing structures, as described below. This distinction is critical, as the worlds largest spodumene concentrate producer Talison Lithium in Australia practices inter-company pricing (as that company is 51% owned by Tianqui and 49% owned by Albermarle). The three-tier pricing forecast published by Roskill is based on the tracking of following shipments:

Prices for all contracts peaked in 2018, within a range of US$560-1,050 / tonne reflecting Talison to Tianqi/Albemarle inter-company shipments at the lower end and Galaxy to third party customers at arms length at the high end.

Related-party contracts fell in the middle of these two end-members and remain the benchmark average to 2032. Related-party contracts are expected to fall to US$600/t by 2021 before steadily increasing into the late-2020s.

Arms-length sales are expected to show a premium to related-party sales of around US$100/t, with inter-company contracts at a US$100/t discount. However, if lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices increase at a greater rate going forward, the chemical-grade spodumene price could increase towards the high case scenario, and vice versa.

Spodumene concentrate pricing inputs for the FS as provided by Roskill in August 2019 are illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 4 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2c3a1bf3-aef7-447f-bc62-211cb5db49ea

Demand for lithium rose by 20% in 2018 to reach over 261,100t LCE. The rechargeable battery market, led by the automotive sector increased its consumption of lithium by 30,000t LCE in 2018, representing 93% of the overall increase in lithium consumption.

The short-, medium- and long-term lithium demand outlook appear strong. Consumption of lithium will continue to be driven by the rechargeable battery sector, which is forecast to register 19.9%pa growth through to 2033, reaching around 1.8Mt LCE in Roskills base-case scenario. The automotive and energy storage system applications are expected to underpin both battery and overall lithium consumption growth

As a result of the electric vehicle battery demand becoming the main growth driver for lithium chemical demand, the dominance of brine operations in global lithium production has been gradually falling.

As the electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) demand more energy efficient batteries with increased range, the cathode industry increasingly migrates to using lithium hydroxide as the preferred chemical raw material, instead of lithium carbonate. Lithium carbonate is the main product produced and consumed in the lithium market, although lithium hydroxide use is growing at a faster rate. Battery-grade lithium carbonate accounted for around 70% of carbonate use in 2018.

Feedback from our potential customers indicate that the conversion of 6% battery grade spodumene concentrate to lithium hydroxide is the most efficient method of producing it. Moreover, spodumene concentrate with low impurities is less expensive to process (clean) into hydroxide chemicals, increasing operational efficiencies at the chemical producer, thus becoming a competitive advantage.

Battery grade lithium carbonate produced from brine must be converted into lithium hydroxide for use in the cathode industry. Feedback from our potential customers indicate that such conversion has a similar cost to converting to lithium hydroxide the 6% lithium concentrate produced from hard rock ore. Therefore, brine producers of lithium carbonate have been increasingly stripped of a relative competitive advantage over hard rock producers of lithium.

Sigmas commercial success competing against brines can be examined in the current bear market and current downturn in lithium prices. The lowest arms length selling price for competing lithium carbonate raw material from brines to be used by a lithium hydroxide plant is assumed to be the technical grade carbonate from domestic Chinese market, currently priced at $5500/tonne to $6000/ tonne. In order to be competitive with these prices, a hard rock producer needs to have the ability to profitably supply 6% spodumene lithium concentrate at a maximum range of $680 - $750 / tonne, the equivalent of $6000 / 8 (it takes 8 parts of spodumene concentrate to produce one part of hydroxide chemical). These price levels are compatible with Sigmas cost curve and profitability as demonstrated in the FS.

Figure 5 shows the lithium consumption actuals and forecasts for the period 2014 to 2033.

Figure 5is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0fc66b65-38e9-44b6-8c48-abd7b8478532

Environmental Licenses

In compliance with CONAMA Resolution 09/90, the environmental licensing of mining projects is always subject to the following study progression. The first stage is an Environmental Impact Study (EIS), which is followed by an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which supports the technical and environmental feasibility stage of the project and the granting of a Preliminary License (Licena Previa or LP) and/or a concurrent Preliminary Licence with an Installation License (Licena de Instalao or LI), collectively referred to as the (LP+LI).

The licensing process in Minas Gerais was developed in accordance with COPAM Regulatory Deliberation N 217, dated December 6, 2017, which sets out the criteria that must be addressed based on the size of a planned mine, and its likelihood of generating environmental damage. Sigma has successfully obtained an environmental license for open-pit mining activities in respect of metallic minerals except iron ore, with the following parameters:

A water usage license for the project of 150 m3 per hour has already been granted.

Recommendations and Execution

The next phase is for Sigma to commence the detailed engineering work. The first phase of the detailed engineering will take 4 months after which plant construction can commence. Construction is planned for March 2020 and a 12 to 14-month program is envisaged to build the facility and to commission.

About Sigma Lithium Corp.

Sigma Lithium Corporation is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its principal lithium deposits at its Grota do Cirilo Project in Brazil. Sigma commissioned its pilot plant and has commenced the production of battery-grade spodumene concentrate from its high-quality deposits. Sigmas corporate mission is to execute its strategy while embracing environmental, social, safety and governance principles. The company is on track to become an ultra-high-quality lithium concentrate supplier to the electrical vehicle and energy storage battery industry worldwide.

Sigma shareholders include some of the largest ESG- (environmental, sustainability, governance) focused institutional investors in the world. Sigma plans to start construction of a commercial-scale lithium concentration plant in 2020, becoming a fully operational sustainable lithium producer in 2021. Sigma, through its subsidiaries, has 27 mineral rights in four properties spread over 191 km2 which includes nine historical lithium mines. The Grota do Cirilo property, Sigmas primary focus, includes 10 mining concessions (mining production authorizations).

Sigma has a NI 43-101 technical report on the Grota do Cirilo property prepared by SGS, which includes estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of approximately 46 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.42% Li2O. The technical report also includes estimated Inferred Resources of 6.64 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.46% Li2O and further notes the potential for significant resource expansion.

Qualified Persons

The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Marc Antoine Laporte, P.Geo., M. Sc., of SGS Canada Inc. Mr. Laporte is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is independent of Sigma.

The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Ara Erzingatzian, P.Eng, of Primero Group Americas Inc. Mr. Erzingatzian is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is independent of Sigma.

The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodriguez, Mining Engineer of GE21 Consultoria Mineral Brazil. Mr. Rodriguez is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is independent of Sigma.

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Sigma Lithium Announces a Positive Feasibility Study with Forecast LOM Net Revenue of US$1.4 Billion and EBITDA of US$ 690 Million for the High-Grade,...

Revolut to hire around 3,500 staff to support its global expansion – News by aeresearch

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

The banking industry plays a vital role in offeringend-to-end financial. The development of this industry is crucial as it could help with the development of a countys economy. In order to fuel this development, companies are coming up with new products as well as expanding their businesses by mean of numerous growth strategies.

Revolut Ltd., a U.K.-based digital banking app, has recently made some developments in this field by announcing plans to recruit a total of 3,500 employees to expand in 24 new markets. A move that was possible due to its latest global deal with payment behemoth Visa.

As per reports, the deal with Visa builds on the existing agreement between the two company, and enables Revolut to expand into new markets, starting with eight new nations which consist of Japan, Brazil, the United States and Russia by end of 2019. Moreover, the company has revealed that it is planning to expand into other Asian and Latin American markets by the year 2020.

Nikolay Storonsky, Chief Executive and Founder, Revolut, said that the global expansion would enable its firm to double or even triple its users by 2020. He claims that the company's average customers has approximately 1000 euros in their account, which takes its total deposit to a balance of 8 billion euros ($8.74 billion).

Incidentally, the company has also widened its customer base by offering its latest product Revolut youth cards to children between the age group of 7 to 18 which will be linked to their bank account till the end of this year.

With the latest offering, Revoluts mission to become the one-stop-shop solution for financial services is not only targeted to its product portfolio but also to its communitys age groups. This trend was first noticed when the company introduced its stock-trading feature, which was aiming to entice millennials.

Reportedly, Revolut is one of the fast-paced firms that has made an astounding growth since its launch and currently has over 8 million users. However, the recent plan to expand into new markets is still dependent on regulatory for approvals.

Source Credit: https://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-fintech-firm-revolut-to-hire-3500-staff-in-global-push-with-visa-2019-9?IR=T

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Revolut to hire around 3,500 staff to support its global expansion - News by aeresearch

Nano Crystalline Soft Magnetic Market Projections Deliver Positive Revenue Growth during the Period between 2018 and 2028 – The Herald Media

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

The report studies the nano crystalline soft magnetic materials market worldwide, especially in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, India and Other Regions with production, size, growth, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions. In order to study the various trends and patterns prevailing in the concerned market, Fact.MR has included a new report on nano crystalline soft magnetic materials market to its wide online database including upcoming trends and market growth factors through 2028. This research assessment offers a clear insight about the influential factors that are expected to transform the global market in the near future. The insights structured for presenting the target market are procured from both primary research and secondary research, and are utilized for validation that is valuable to investors, manufacturers and new entrants.

Get A Sample Copy of Market Report Here https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=771

The radical role of nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials in several electrical and electronic systems, which has characterized the modern society. Continuous improvements in the properties of these materials have extended their application scope into power generation & transmission, receptors of microwaves & radio signals, electromagnets and magnetic shielding. The nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials are relatively new concept, with the paradigm of increased emphasis on energy conservation accelerating research efforts.

Leading players in the market are expanding their production capacity to cater growing demand for soft magnetic materials with high-performance characteristics. Hitachi, the pioneer of nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials, in 2017, announced its plan of tripling its production capacity of Finemet nano-crystalline soft magnetic material. The company aims at completion of boosting its production capacity by 2018-end. A new Fact.MR study has envisaged thenano-crystalline soft magnetic materials marketto reflect a splendid 10.1% value CAGR in the period of forecast, 2018 to 2028.

Nano-Crystalline Soft Magnetic Materials Complement Development of Next-Gen Noise Suppression Solutions

Innovative soft magnetic materials have become the new normal in electrical engineering, thereby leading to advanced component developments. Toroidal tape-wound cores produced by using nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials such as Vitroperm have been deemed highly effective for interference suppression in common-mode chokes (CMC). Vitroperm has established itself as universal solution for various EMC problems via its incorporation of affordable alloy constituents and large-scale production lines.

Leading industry stakeholders, such as SCHURTER, have expanded their range of existing compensated chokes with the high-current types for use in PCB mounting. The new DKIH series of SCHURTER incorporates a nano-crystalline core, which imparts higher inductance (8x) than the ferrite core versions when placed in similar compact dimension. Open designs are a key focus area among producers of chokes having nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials as their core, which in turn suppress electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise produced by power applications on PCB.

Nano-Crystalline Soft Magnetic Materials: Opportunities Abundant in Automotive and Power Transmission Applications

Electrical systems have perceived increased penetration in automobiles for catering demands of enhanced vehicle reliability and energy efficiency. Compact electrical components are being used as a replacement for large components such as inductors. Inclining interest of automotive manufacturers toward compact dimensions to optimize the operational efficiency of vehicles will create huge opportunities for nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials in the upcoming years. One such fast-emerging application is electro-mobility, wherein these materials are used to counter EMI noise as well as in next-generation semiconductors that include GaN and SiC.

Relatively lower energy loss at low frequency is a distinguishing property of nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials, which has extended their application scope into transformers. These materials tackle energy loss issues faced in transformers, while enabling downsizing of the system. High magnetic permeability, along with robust flux density, of nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials has propelled their employment in power transmission industry, witnessing increased used as transformer cores. Upward trend toward energy conservation has further attracted transformer manufacturers interest in using nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials for large transformers.

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Albeit nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials market is at its nascent phase, increased exploration efforts by researchers worldwide is likely to expand the application potential of these materials. Applications of these materials, currently based on singular property, are expected to perceive combination of various desirable properties in the foreseeable future.

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Nano Crystalline Soft Magnetic Market Projections Deliver Positive Revenue Growth during the Period between 2018 and 2028 - The Herald Media

Stellar Developers aim to Remove Inflation From the Ecosystem – The Merkle Hash

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Inflation is a curse in the financial sector. Even in the cryptocurrency world, it is an issuance model best avoided altogether. The Stellar Foundation acknowledges it may be best to get rid of these excess assets altogether. Although first proposed a year ago, the team is now ready to remove the inflation mechanism from its ecosystem altogether.

Contrary to what most people may think, Stellar is a digital asset which effectively has an inflation mechanism. As it is not a traditional cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ethereum, having such a mechanism does make a fair bit of sense. It is a project dedicated to streamlining and disrupting traditional finance, an industry where inflation is almost a must to survive in the long term. However, there have been people who genuinely oppose this mechanism in Stellar, and they have been quite vocal about it.

In fact, one could argue the inflation rate of Stellar should have been removed last year. Several meetups were organized since October 2018 to openly discuss this matter and find a potential solution. Even the developer google group saw quite a few discussions regarding this particular mechanism and how it would affect Stellar now and in the future. It is crucial for teams to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. That verdict now comes in the form of removing the current inflation mechanism.

The reason to remove this mechanism from Stellar comes at an interesting time. According to the developers, the current system doesnt benefit the ecosystem or any projects being built on top of Stellar right now. Even the projects which already exist do not see any use from this concept whatsoever. Initially, the developers wanted to use this as a mechanism system, but it has become rather apparent inflation is not the right way to go about things.

The current plan of approach is to simply modify the inflation operation so that it cant do anything. This requires very little changes when the new Core upgrade is submitted to the public. Causing minimal fraction for all users and developers is always a favorable course of action. However, this approach needs to be voted in by the network. All network participants will be determined if they want to accept this release. It will be up to validator node operators to give users the option to cast their vote in this regard.

To this date, there are some Stellar projects which rely on this inflation curve. They do not need to worry, as the Stellar Foundation will continue to offer research and quarterly grants to projects building vital infrastructure. There is also the Stellar Community Fund which will play an increasing role of importance moving forward. As far as the inflation funds being kept by the Stellar Development Foundation is concerned, the holdings will be made public in the coming months. How the funds will be distributed, remains undecided at this time.

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Stellar Developers aim to Remove Inflation From the Ecosystem - The Merkle Hash

FinFit Joins the Virgin Pulse Partner Ecosystem to Change Lives and Businesses for Good – Business Wire

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FinFit, a FinTech company that provides over 125,000 employers with a unique financial wellness benefit platform, today announced a partnership with Virgin Pulse, the leading global health and well-being technology and services company. FinFit is now available to Virgin Pulse clients in the U.S., offering complete access to a suite of essential financial tools and resources to improve employees financial well-being.

Virgin Pulse is focused on changing lives and businesses for good by helping organizations create healthy habits and lifestyles. Through this partnership, Virgin Pulse clients can offer seamless access to FinFits financial wellness tools and resources directly from the Virgin Pulse platform to help eliminate employee stress caused by personal financial challenges, providing a path to financial stability.

We are excited to introduce FinFit to the Virgin Pulse partner ecosystem. Financial wellbeing remains a top concern as employers aim to help employees reduce stress and increase financial security by better understanding and managing their finances, said Wendy Werve, CMO of Virgin Pulse. The team and solutions at FinFit are focused on helping organizations address this crucial issue. Integrating FinFits financial wellness tools with the Virgin Pulse platform will allow our clients to easily deliver FinFits resources to their employees and unlock even more value from their Virgin Pulse solutions.

FinFit is the only national financial wellness provider that offers a holistic solution within a single platform: financial education, personalized assessments, live financial coaching, a financial dashboard to aggregate accounts and establish budgets, as well as credit and banking resources. Through seamless partner integration with FinFit, Virgin Pulse clients can provide this valuable benefit to their employees with no need to go through additional contracting, review, or technical set up.

We are excited to support Virgin Pulse on their endeavor to energize employees, encourage positive habits and improve overall health and well-being, said David Kilby, President of FinFit. Financial health is a real, day-to-day struggle for many Americans. We are confident that we can change that, tailoring our solutions to each individual and creating the opportunity for success today and in the future.

For more information on FinFit, please visit http://www.finfit.com.

About FinFit

Founded in 2008, FinFit has grown to be the nations largest holistic financial wellness benefit platform that has transformed thousands of lives, servicing over 125,000 clients. FinFit provides a self-directed online experience that helps employees improve their financial well-being and become financially stable. Through personalized financial assessments, premier educational resources and one-on-one financial coaching, employees are motivated to increase their financial knowledge and change their behavior to better manage their finances. FinFit helps to eliminate stress in the workplace by providing sensible financial solutions like early wage access, student loan services and consumer loans made by Celtic Bank, Member FDIC, that empower employees to tackle financial challenges. FinFit is a powerful way for employers to attract and retain talent by helping employees get focused, get healthy and become more productive.

About Virgin Pulse

Virgin Pulse is the worlds largest, most comprehensive digital health, wellbeing and engagement company. Founded as part of Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group, the company is focused on engaging users every day in building and sustaining healthy behaviors and driving measurable outcomes for employees, employers and health plans. Virgin Pulse is fusing high-tech with high-touch to deliver the industrys only integrated digital platform with benefits navigation and live coaching to support clients and members across the entire health, wellbeing and benefits lifecyclefrom screening and assessment to activation, behavior change and the adoption of sustainable, healthy habits to condition management support. Today, members in more than 190 countries, spanning over 4,000 organizations many of the Fortune 500 and Best Places to Work rely on Virgin Pulses digital and live solutions to change their lives and businesses for good.

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FinFit Joins the Virgin Pulse Partner Ecosystem to Change Lives and Businesses for Good - Business Wire

Eels overfished, affect natural Texas ecosystem – UT The Daily Texan

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

There are eels in every major river basin in Texas, but most people do not know about them, said Dean Hendrickson, curator of ichthyology at theBiodiversity Center.

Researchers in the centers ichthyology collection are studying the abundance and migration patterns of American eels throughout the state to learn how the species canbe conserved.

Theyre part of the natural system, the natural heritage of Texas, and theyre indicators of changes in those systems, Hendrickson said.

Eels have been overfished in Japan, Europe and parts of North America, Hendrickson said. He said the unagi business, which is Japanese for eel, is based on harvesting eel larvae from the Sargasso Seaand raising them in culture in China to use in sushi.

I think the way the global fishery has been going, they clearly will be listed as endangered sooner or later,Hendrickson said.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department funds and works with the collection, Hendrickson said. He said nearly three years ago, the collection received funding from theprogram to study eels in Texas.

Basically, this proposal was, Lets go out and try to catch some eels however we can catch them, Hendrickson said.

Eels are difficult to research because they are both nocturnal and covered in a layer of slime that makes them hard to catch, said Melissa Casarez, assistant ichthyology collection manager.

I remember learning about eels as one of the holy grails of mysteries of fish biology, ichthyology collection manager Adam Cohen said.

Although eels have been found in Lady Bird Lake and Barton Springs, evidence suggests eels were more abundant in Texas rivers in the past but have been impacted bydamsandagriculture,Hendrickson said.

He said eels are unique because they can live for a long time and have a long migration route to Texas from the Sargasso Sea, located within the Atlantic ocean, where thereare spawned.

Researchers have tracked eel larvae within the current that moves along the eastern seaboard and across the ocean to Europe, Hendrickson said. Researchers presume they travel along currents, but because few eel larvae have been found in the Gulf of Mexico, no one knows exactly how eels get to Texas, Cohen said.

Theres potentially something very different going on with the gulf occurrences than anywhere along the Atlantic seaboard, Casarez said.

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Eels overfished, affect natural Texas ecosystem - UT The Daily Texan

Club highlights vital role of bees in ecosystem – UNM Daily Lobo

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Honeycomb glistened with golden morning hues as local beekeeper Bobby Bee Blanquez showed off one of his three honeybee hives to the University of New Mexico Beekeeping Club on Saturday.

Blanquez and his wife, Camille Cunningham, have been keeping bees since 2012.

"My name is Bee. Thats one reason (I began to keep bees)," Blanquez said. "We heard about bees dying, and once the bees go on Earth, you know thats it. Our food supplies go out. We have bees because we want to support them."

The couple doesnt keep bees for the honey harvest, but rather primarily for their pollination abilities. They havent harvested honey from a hive since the spring of 2018 when one of their colonies abandoned the hive, leaving honey behind.

"It's not for the honey, its for them. We do it for the bees," Blanquez said.

The bees roam the backyard among an array of colorful plants which are pollinator favorites. In their garden, there are patches of lavender, rosemary, four oclocks, a variety of sage and prickly pear cacti among many other plants.

"The cactus flowers are kind of like crack (for the bees)," Cunningham said. "You see them inside the flower and they are rolling around in the pollen. Its really amazing."

The plants are maintained by Cunningham because according to Blanquez, he has a self-declared "brown thumb."

"I kind of like the wild look," Cunningham said about her pollinator garden.

Board after board of Blanquez and Cunninghams top bar hive was shown to the group, each one containing more honeycomb and honeybees than the last.

The longer the hive was open, the more ornery the bees became their buzzing intensified with every second almost as a warning to the others about the intruders in their home. However, not one sting occurred during the visit, and the bees overall were very docile.

As the hive was being closed, a dead bee was seen on one of the boards on top of the hive, stuck to a droplet of honey.

"Im sorry, bee. May you go to bee heaven," Blanquez said to the bee as he removed it from the hive and placed the insect on the ground. "I always feel guilty when I have to do that to them."

It is his ritual to honor them when he has to remove dead bees from the hive.

Of the several UNM students and faculty at the event, UNM Beekeeping Club former president and current member Elizabeth Lake was also in attendance.

She has been part of the club since its inception in the fall of 2015. She is the point person that regularly connects the club and the UNM community with local beekeepers to learn more about the practice.

"The semester is just starting up and bee season is just ending. And so that's the problem the school year is the opposite of the bee year," Lake said. "So, it never works out quite perfectly."

Lake said that the most active time for honey bees begins about when spring semester finals roll around and last through the summer.

Because of this misalignment, Blanquez and Cunninghams hives and pollinator garden are the clubs second group outing of the year.

UNM student Claire Burford learned about the UNM Beekeeping Clubs local hive and pollinator garden visit from her resident advisor in the Environmental Living Learning community on campus.

"I didnt know what honey looked like in a hive or anything," Burford said. "Ive never been around bees in a setting like this where they are being kept."

The UNM Beekeeping Club was originally founded as part of a class project through the Sustainability Studies Program at the University.

During the club's first year, their goal was to put a honeybee hive on campus. When this proved to be difficult due to the prime honeybee season being during summer, the direction of the organization shifted to native bee education not just honey bees.

As more of the clubs members had hives themselves, the focus shifted again back to honeybee education and the group began to visit more local hives.

Makayla Grijalva is the managing editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at mangingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MakaylaEliboria

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Club highlights vital role of bees in ecosystem - UNM Daily Lobo

United States Forest Service is First Federal Law Enforcement Agency to Fully Adopt the Axon Ecosystem with TASER Weapons, Body Cameras and Axon…

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Axon (Nasdaq: AAXN), the global leader in connected law enforcement technologies, today announced that the United States Forest Service (USFS) will outfit officers and agents across its law enforcement and investigative agency with Axon Body 2 cameras backed by the digital evidence management system, Axon Evidence (Evidence.com). The USFS has been a TASER Conducted Energy Weapon customer since 2008 and began an agency-wide deployment of TASER X26Ps in 2018. USFS Law Enforcement and Investigations is the first federal law enforcement agency to adopt Axon's full less-lethal ecosystem. This order was received in the third quarter of 2019 and will deploy in multiple phases.

In addition to the Axon Body 2 cameras, the USFS also orderedAxon Signal Performance Power Magazine (SPPM), a CEW battery that alerts cameras on the Axon network to begin recording when the safety is in the "armed" position. The SPPM will be incorporated into all TASER X26P CEWs deployed across the agency.

"We are thrilled to partner with the Forest Service, the first federal agency to deploy Axon's ecosystem of life saving technologies across their law enforcement enterprise," says Richard Coleman, Axon's VP and GM, Federal. "The Forest Service's mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the 193 million acres of our nation's forests and grasslands is uniquely critical and important and it's a mission we at Axon are proud to support."

USFS adoption of the Axon network represents an important milestone in Axon's entry into the federal civilian law enforcement market, which has more than 120,000 officers who are authorized to make arrests and carry firearms, according to the US Justice Dept.

About Axon

Axon is a global network of devices, apps, training and people that helps law enforcement and public safety personnel become smarter and safer. With a mission of protecting life, our technologies give customers the confidence, focus and time they need to protect their communities. Our products impact every aspect of a public safety officer's day-to-day experience.

We work hard for those who put themselves in harm's way for all of us. To date, there are more than 397,800 software seats booked on the Axon network around the world and more than 220,000 lives have been saved with the Axon network of devices, apps, training and people. Learn more at http://www.axon.com or by calling (800) 978-2737.

Facebook is a trademark of Facebook, Inc. and Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc.

Axon, Axon Body 2, Axon Evidence, Axon Signal, X26P and the Delta Logo are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are registered in the US and other countries. For more information, visit http://www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.

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Note to Investors

Please visit http://investor.axon.com, https://www.axon.com/press, http://www.twitter.com/axon_usand https://www.facebook.com/Axon.ProtectLife/ where Axon discloses information about the company, its financial information and its business.

CONTACT:Carley PartridgePR and Communications ManagerPress@axon.com

SOURCE Axon

http://www.axon.com

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United States Forest Service is First Federal Law Enforcement Agency to Fully Adopt the Axon Ecosystem with TASER Weapons, Body Cameras and Axon...

This Edtech Business Competition Is a Win for the Education Ecosystem – EdSurge

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

On October 7, seven talented edtech entrepreneurs will take center stage at the final event of the 2019 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC). Each finalist hopes to impress the expert judges with a winning pitch as they vie for a share of more than $120,000 in cash and prizes. Its been a long journey for these seven entrepreneurs, who entered the competitionalong with hundreds of otherslast February.

Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (PennGSE) and sponsored by the Milken Family Foundation, this esteemed business plan competition is now in its tenth year. To learn a bit about the competitions history and how it has benefitted entrepreneurs over the past decade, we sat down with Michael Golden, executive director of Catalyst, a center for global education innovation and entrepreneurship at PennGSE, and host of the EBPC.

EdSurge: How did Penn GSE first get involved in this competition?

Michael Golden: At PennGSE, we have a long history of inspiring and cultivating innovation at all levels of education, from K-12 through adult learning. A decade ago, as we saw innovators and entrepreneurs applying new technology across business sectors, we wanted to inspire them to focus on solving the many challenges we face at all levels of education. So, the EPBC was launchedthe first such competition to focus solely on the education sector.

Over ten years, the competition has awarded more than $1.2 million in cash prizes. Winners and finalists have gone on to secure more than $140 million in funding. And while were proud of the lucrative prizes we offer our finalists, the EBPCs reach extends beyond monetary concerns.

As the 2014 competition finalist Shiv Gaglani, cofounder of Osmosis, recently shared, The impact Milken-Penn had on our business was significant. The contacts we made were formative. The win also put us on the map. We received a lot of inbound interest from investors, and our customers, both direct users and institutions, felt validated in choosing us when we were recognized by Penn GSE for our work.

Whats the biggest lesson you have learned from hosting the competition?

Building a business is hard. Building a business that can actually improve learning is much, much harder. As we enter our second decade, the business plan competition is transforming into a runway for entrepreneurs with a focus on providing early support.

Of course, businesses dont make transformative changes alone; research matters. Because we are housed at Penn GSE, Catalyst regularly works with some of the leading experts in education research. We want entrepreneurs to be able to leverage that expertise.This year, we started offering semifinalists and finalists access to a series of Catalyst bootcamps and webinars that gave entrepreneurs a foundation in fundamentals, such as sales, marketing, fundraising and legal issues. Weve already seen how semifinalists put these skills into practice for the finals and improved their ventures in the process. Our next bootcamp series will begin in October, soon after this years finals.

Buyers and investors are savvy. They need to see proof of an ideas potential impact. We can help entrepreneurs understand how to evaluate their products and demonstrate their effectiveness.

Because we have been around for a decade, we have a vibrant ecosystem of entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and subject matter experts ready to partner with new companies. We can meet the leaders of new ventures at any stage and help move them forward. Ultimately, we hope to reduce the time it takes for a new breakthrough idea to get wide distribution, which will make a meaningful difference in the lives of more educators and learners.

Todays marketplace for education and edtech companies is quite different than it was in 2010. Do we still need this type of competition?

Absolutely. The opportunity for innovation across education at all levelsfrom pre-K through adult learninghas never been greater. Todays technology allows us to do things we could only dream of in 2010. Mobile internet access in homes has mushroomed from 9 percent in 2010 to 92 percent in 2017. Software and data now live in the cloud. And AI is making personalized learning a reality at scale.

If you look through the hundreds of entry submissions we get each year, youd see the wide range of business ideas sprouting in teachers classrooms and researchers labs. But the gap between an idea and an operational product in use across the country is huge. Weve intentionally geared the competition, and our ecosystem, to help smart, dedicated people across that gap.

You can see the potential in this years finalists. One is an enterprise that applies AI to support college students through their academic journey. Another allows the creation of personalized, adaptive tests to improve and track learning. Others enable teachers to turn mobile devices into science equipment and students into practicing scientists.

So, who will prevail on October 7?

Ultimately, the education ecosystem wins on October 7. As to who walks away with cash prizes, thats up to the judgesyoull need to join us at the finals to find out.

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This Edtech Business Competition Is a Win for the Education Ecosystem - EdSurge

Iochpe-Maxion Joins New Mobility Ecosystem with Innovation Office in Berlin – Business Wire

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Iochpe-Maxion, a multi-billion dollar global leader in the production of automotive wheels, and a leading producer of automotive structural components in the Americas, announced today the opening of a new mobility innovation office in Berlin, Germany.

As the automotive industry undergoes a major transformation, Iochpe-Maxion is keen to actively participate so we can capitalize on new growth opportunities while also remaining relevant to our customers, said Marcos Oliveira, President and CEO, Iochpe-Maxion. Maxion Advanced Technologies is a strategic innovation initiative designed to help us think beyond today by connecting our current business with the future of mobility.

Maxion Advanced Technologies is a stand-alone organization solely focused on the long-term horizon without limitations from the companys day-to-day wheels and structural components operations. The team is located in The Drivery, Europes largest mobility innovation community and marketplace located in Berlin, and will be responsible for participating in the global new-mobility innovation ecosystem in search of adjacent and disruptive automotive-related new business opportunities.

ABOUT IOCHPE-MAXION

Iochpe-Maxion is a world leader in the production of automotive wheels and a leading producer of automotive structural components in the Americas.

The Company has 31 manufacturing plants located in 14 countries and approximately 15,000 employees, operating its business through two divisions: Maxion Wheels and Maxion Structural Components.

Maxion Wheels produces a wide range of wheels for light and commercial vehicles. Maxion Structural Components produces side rails, cross members and full frames for commercial vehicles, and structural components for light vehicles. In addition, through its AmstedMaxion joint venture in Brazil, Iochpe-Maxion produces railway wheels and castings, industrial castings and freight cars.

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Iochpe-Maxion Joins New Mobility Ecosystem with Innovation Office in Berlin - Business Wire

Here Are 5 Celebrities Who Are Investing In The Startup Ecosystem – Entrepreneur

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

With the growing startup ecosystem, several popular personalities are looking to grab a slice of the pie

September25, 20193 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Since the past few years, Indian celebrities spanning across Bollywood, sports, musicians, authors, etc are bullish on start-ups. The growing start-up ecosystem and new innovation have been attracting several types of investment and individuals to bet on start-ups.

Here are some of the startup investments made by Indian celebrities over the years:

According to recent media reports, Delhi-based e-mobility service provider Bu Smart raised $3 mn in angel funding round from Padukones family office Ka Entreprises. Other investors such as JITO Angel Network, Kalpavriksh Trust, Survam Partners, co-founder of Micromax Rajesh Agarwal, and the MD of Bajaj Capital Sanjiv Bajaj also participated in the round.The popular Bollywood actor had begun her investing journey with her strategic partnership with Mumbai-headquartered FMCG health-food brand Epigamia in January. Apart from this, in 2015, Padukone had also launched her own fashion brand All About You, which marked her entry into the startup ecosystem.

The Big B of Bollywood had reportedly earned fortunes from his investment in Mumbai-based local search engine app JustDial. In 2010, the company had signed up the prominent actor as its brand ambassador. The company offered him 62,794 shares at a price of INR 10 each in 2011 which was valued at INR 6.27 lakh in total. According to a ToI report, in 2013, the value of his shares increased to INR 6.45 crore from his original investment of INR 6 lakh . Apart from this, Big B along with his son Abhishek Bachhan had reportedly invested $250,000 in Singapore-based Meridian Tech Pte.

The captain of the Indian cricket team had invested an undisclosed amount in London-based social media startup Sport Convo in 2014, according to media reports. The startup is aimed a reducing the gap between sports stars and fans.

Bollywoods renowned face Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been making to the headline after her successful entry into Hollywood. Apart from the gripping shows such as Quantico and Baywatch, Chopra also made it into the news because of her investment in the startup industry. Last year in October, the Quantico lead invested in two US-based startups alternate college education startup Holberton School and dating app Bumble. The leading actor had also reportedly stated her plans to invest in social impact companies and those with women founders.

The popular cricketer dived into startup investment after fighting and winning over cancer. In 2015, it was reported that Singh along with former PricewaterhouseCoopers financial consultant Nishanth Singhal launched YouWeCan Ventures to support the Indian startup ecosystem. According to data by Crunchbase, the cricket star has already invested in number of startups such as Chqbook, Black White Orange, JetSetGo, MOOVO, Naturals @Home among many others.

Here Are 5 Celebrities Who Are Investing In The Startup Ecosystem - Entrepreneur

How Companies Like Google and Alibaba Respond to Fast-Moving Markets – Harvard Business Review

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Dave Ulrich, professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, argues todays companies need to replace old hierarchical models with he calls a market-oriented ecosystem. From research at Alibaba, Google, Huawei, Supercell, and others, he shows the impressive results of orienting teams and processes toward market opportunities. Ulrich is the coauthor, along with Tencent senior advisor Arthur Yeung, of Reinventing the Organization: How Companies Can Deliver Radically Greater Value in Fast-Changing Markets.

Download this podcast

TRANSCRIPT

CURT NICKISCH: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. Im Curt Nickisch.

The traditional hierarchical organization we all know has served its purpose. Scale? It did that well. Speed was another thing.

Nowadays, the agile organization, the networked organization, or even holacracy, offer a competing models for running a company. What type of organization is going to prove superior at scale and speed?

To answer that question, our guest today studied and visited some of the biggest and fastest companies out there, firms like Google and Amazon in the United States, DiDi and Alibaba in China, and Supercell in Europe.

And the research reveals a blueprint for what makes these companies so successful. Our guest calls them market-oriented ecosystems. Hes here today to tell us what makes them tick.

Our guest is Dave Ulrich, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Hes the coauthor, along with Arthur Yeung, a senior advisor at Tencent, of a new book. Its called Reinventing the Organization; How Companies Can Deliver Radically Greater Value in Fast-Changing Markets.

Dave, thanks for coming on the show.

DAVE ULRICH: Curt, what a privilege to be with you. Thank you for inviting me.

CURT NICKISCH: What is wrong with the existing image of a winning company?

DAVE ULRICH: You know, if we ask people to draw an organization and say, take out a sheet of paper, draw an organization, almost always what we get is some form of hierarchy. And thats the mental model. Thats the bias that we have. The problem with those organizations is they were built for clarity of role, and for clarity of accountability. Who do I report to? Who do I, who does that person report to? Those organizations are great in a world of stability.

Unfortunately, thats not our world today. Who knows what tomorrows going to hold? There are enormous changes and dramatic changes in almost part of our lives. And so, those hierarchical organizations simply dont respond. And as a result, you see a litany of organizations that have existed for many years failing

CURT NICKISCH: So, you two went out and looked at companies like Alibaba, Amazon, DiDi in China, Facebook, Google, Supercell, and Tencent, why did you pick those out? And Im also curious what you saw, and what you learned by going there.

DAVE ULRICH: Curt, as you well know, its always tricky to pick companies who are iconic today because they may not be iconic tomorrow. And so, were worried about that. But we wanted to pick companies that seemed to have created kind of the neoclassic, the newly organized companies.

And so, we said whats going on in China? You have three kinds of organizations. You have state owned enterprises that are the large hierarchies, you have multi-national companies that take ideas from the West in general, and move them into China. And then between those extremes you have private owned enterprises. These are the companies you just talked about, Tencent, Ali Baba, Supercells actually from Finland, but these companies have just exploded in the last 20 years.

They have some of the highest market caps in the world, theyve scaled innovation, theyve moved rapidly, and theyre not hierarchically driven. And then in the U.S., we found companies in the technology sector like Google, and Amazon, and Facebook, whove also exploded.

These companies have an average age of 20 years, and they have an average market valuation of $400 billion. I mean, holy smokes thats incredible.

And when we got into those companies in some detail with extensive kind of case studies, we began to recognize theres some common things that they seem to do that allow them to move as fast as the market requires.

CURT NICKISCH: I have to ask this. When you, after your career, go into these companies, like what was so striking about it to you?

DAVE ULRICH: Between a hierarchy on the left hand, and a holding company on the right hand, is what we discovered in these firms. Theyre market-oriented, so they go after market opportunities. And then they have cells, like a holding company. So, Amazon has Whole Foods, it has Fire, it has cells. But the cells are connected to each other. In a holding company, the cells operate independently. In an ecosystem, the real strength is the relationships between those separate cells.

CURT NICKISCH: It seems like understanding the relationships between all of those elements in an ecosystem are whats so difficult because a company that is market oriented can look out and see lots of different things that it could go after. And so, just understanding more than just supply and demand of a product, but understanding the ecosystem is really the tricky part.

DAVE ULRICH: It is very tricky. The interesting part is how do you connect those cells to each other. One of the things we found is that there were four what we call capabilities. A capability is what the organization is known for and good at doing.

Marriot is defined for exceptional service, Disney is defined for exceptional guest interface, or customer relations. Well, what were finding now is in this market-oriented ecosystem, the capabilities are embedded in the network.

So, you have a company with eight or ten cells in Amazon, working in different parts, different businesses, different markets. The question then is how do they connect with each other? They connect with each around four capabilities. External sensing, or sharing information, customer anticipation, innovation, and being innovative all the time, and agility.

So, what happens in these ecosystems if you have a vision with a platform in the middle, thats the hub, then you have cells, and so draw the hub and spokes, but then connect those cells to each other around four things: External sensing, whats happening in your marketplace, customers, innovation everywhere, not just in the product, but in the business model and service, and then agility, how do we move quickly to make that happen.

CURT NICKISCH: What do products look like in that kind of environment? What are those CEOs coming up with, and creating, that other companies arent?

DAVE ULRICH: All kinds of creative products. So, Ill use Amazon, which is a popular example in North America, but I think those outside North America would see it. So, Amazon, sometimes you buy a new cell, or you can build it. Amazon buys Whole Foods. And for those not from the United States, its a grocery store, food store, brick and mortar

So, Amazon says, we seem to know what people are buying from the online distribution system that weve got, because we have information by postal code about what people are buying. We then can go in with that information, thats the capability.

And in a Whole Foods store in that postal code, begin to put specific products or items that customers in that postal code are more likely to buy. So, were sharing information from one part of Amazon, which is the online sales, the e-business, with the brick and mortar business. By the way, this sounds so obvious. I see this and I go, duh.

But its not been done because we have models that well, the brick and mortar business is in one business unit, and the online business is in another. And to make the decisions across you have to climb the hierarchy, and then you have to climb down the hierarchy. No, you build these cells, and you connect them with information, and customers, and innovation, and agility, that allows them to create services customers value.

CURT NICKISCH: I think a lot of people have the sense that these massive organizations like Amazon, or Alibaba, or Google, have a special sauce, and they have economies of scale. And youre describing something different here. They may have that IP, and they may have economies of scale, but theyre also applying it in new ways that other companies arent, it sounds like?

DAVE ULRICH: Absolutely. I mean, its interesting to watch the big companies who are struggling, or have struggled. The companies like Sears, the companies like Toys R Us. Companies that have had economies of scale on the supply chain, but they didnt have the capacity to reinvent themselves through this market-oriented ecosystem.

Some of these neoclassic companies are moving so quickly into new markets, and then sharing information to try to build this incredible agile, or flexible company. And we see it as a great opportunity not only for the company to win in the marketplace, but for employees.

I am an employee in a company, Ive got a great idea, what do I do with that idea. Well, often because Im in a hierarchy and I have to go through six or seven levels of approval, Ive got a great idea at Facebook, or at Amazon, or at Tencent, or at Alibaba.

If theres an opportunity for that idea, the answer is go form a cell, go become an internal venture capital firm, go create something, and if it begins to work, begin part of an ecosystem so that I get support for that idea, and can expand it.

CURT NICKISCH: Whats an example from a Chinese company that you think is just a really great model of market orientation, and how a company has leverage the ecosystem that theyre in?

DAVE ULRICH: At Tencent, one of the things theyve done is recognize Tencents platform is information, and knowledge, and building relationships. They get into WeChat, they begin to know what consumers want, they get into JD.com, which is a food distribution, and an online food distribution store, and so the knowledge from We Chat can transfer to what JD.com can do.

They can begin to recognize those four capabilities, information, external sensing, whats happening in the world, customers, what are customers buying, much like the Amazon example, innovation, how do we innovate our products, and services, and business model, and agility, how are you able to move quickly and focus on the future, what can we learn from that? And Tencent has done that brilliantly with WeChat, and with JD.com.

CURT NICKISCH: So, what gets in the way of doing this?

DAVE ULRICH: I think one of the things that gets in the way is our mental model. I think we carry unconscious biases about what does an organization look like, and how does it work, and so, I think sometimes what gets in the way is the leaders of the organization saying its not about power. The leaders job in this organization is not about what do I control, but how do I empower others?

And that mental model of what an organization is, its about power, its about control, its about clarifying decision rights, in this organization its more about agility, customer, innovation, and moving to penetrate market opportunities. I think that mental model of an organization as a control system has basically got to shift.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah. Do you think the bias against changing those things, or the bias against seeing culture in a new way is stronger at the top, or at the bottom?

DAVE ULRICH: I mean, yeah, change is hard. One of the fun exercises we love to do is say to people, fold your arms, and fold them the other way. Something as simple as a three-second exercise. I fold my arms, I fold them the other way. Habits, many have studied habits in ways. And its 70 to 80 percent of what we do.

We love habits, we love routines. When we wake up in the morning we have habits, when we drive to work we have habits. Those habits sometimes get ingrained and almost become barriers to change.

And so, and I think culture is one of those things. We get a definition of culture, and when weve tried to articulate culture is not the roots of the tree, its the branches of the tree, some of the people go crazy. Youre mis-defining culture. And my comment back is, were pivoting the definition of culture. Like the definition of leadership has changed, the definition of strategy has changed.

I think weve got to continually evolve and learn, and our definition now of organization is changing. And I think its nice. Were not getting away and saying, the hierarchy was bad. The hierarchy was terrific in its time. And today what worked in the past will not work in the future. And were trying to reinvent that logic.

CURT NICKISCH: How does managing workers differ in one of these organizations?

DAVE ULRICH: So, if I were to ask somebody, when you think traditionally of the manager and subordinate, how would you draw that on a chart. And often people would put the manager, or the boss, at the top, and then the subordinate below.

In these organizations, theres still a form of control, the manager is the manager. But youd almost put them side to side. The managers job is not to exert power. The managers job is to empower. And so, by the manager giving the employee knowledge, and information, and competence, and authority that then goes with that, the employee then feels empowered about what he or she can do.

Leadership is about making others better, not just doing the work by yourself. And we find good leaders in those organizations need to learn some of those skills.

CURT NICKISCH: Part of what you focus on in the book is not just the internal culture and structure, but also how the organization connects to the outside world. How do managers and leaders change that?

DAVE ULRICH: You know, one of the things that we believe is that content is king. Youve got to have, or youve got to have content, youve got to have the right product, the right service. And if you dont have good content, youre going to go out of business.

I think thats, you know, Eastman Kodak, they were the best filmmaker in the history of the world, and Fuji, and Eastman Kodak. Content is king, but context is the kingdom. The context is changing. In fact, one of the things we found is theres a liability of success. And I dont want to beat on Kodak because I think they were filled with great employees, but because were so good at making a three-foot piece of acetate one inch wide, we get locked into that as the solution. Context is the kingdom. Where does my content as king need to play?

Well, the context is changing. We see dramatic change in we have six areas we look at. We look at social trends are changing, technological trends, heaven forbid, but a big circle around that. The artificial intelligence, robots, changing the world we live in so dramatically. Economic trends are changing, industries are growing, and shrinking, and how we deal with competitors.

Political trends are changing in dramatic ways around the world with nationalism right now being one of the issues. But other political trends, and legislative roles, environmental trends, social responsibility, and obviously demographic trends in people. When we understand that context of the social, technical, economic, political, environmental, and demographic trends, we can begin to anticipate what might come next.

CURT NICKISCH: Youve talked about how these organizations go after new opportunities. Find them, communicate them, across the organization, and across cells, and then build on each other.

Part of that is also letting go of things that arent working, and part of agility is dropping things rather than just moving to where the markets going. How do you recommend managers and leaders, or how have you seen managers and leaders in these organizations handle that side of the equation?

DAVE ULRICH: Weve worked with companies that we looked at here, and elsewhere, and have had a four-phase mantra. Think big, anticipate that opportunity, see the environmental opportunity. Number two, test small. Thats the cell, go test. And number three, fail fast. And number four, learn always.

Where we see companies often making a mistake, think big, test small, fail fast, learn always, is the third. We stick with something too long, and so, it becomes critical that a company, the MOE, the market-oriented ecosystem we advocate, have great ideas. Whats the opportunity in the future? Test small, go form a sale, fail fast, set some criteria.

Is this really working? Is it not working? And the criteria is not brand new. Are customers buying the product? Are they accepting the agenda weve got, is there revenue? And put deadlines on that. Put benchmarks on that.

So, after six months, or after a year, if our product isnt working or selling as much as we like, were going to pull back, but were not going to quit because the whole purpose of an ecosystem is to learn always. So, were going to share knowledge and information with others in that ecosystem not only about what worked, but what didnt work.

CURT NICKISCH: You also have this counterintuitive idea in there that even in these market-oriented ecosystem companies, they have consistent priorities. And so, Im just curious how these companies keep some things constant, and kind of front and center when it seems like everything else is moving so quickly?

DAVE ULRICH: Think of the hub and spoke, and then the spokes are connected to each other. So, what does the platform or the hub do? It makes sure that everyone in the ecosystem has a shared set of values or principles. And so, no matter how you go to market in whichever cell, we teach the business leaders the correct principles, and they live against that. We standardize around values, and principles, but your practices may be different depending on the marketplace youre trying to go into.

Its easier to apply these principles in a green field, where youre starting fresh, and the companies we looked at mostly did that. And boy, if companies like Kodak, that I mentioned, or Toys R Us, or Nokia, had understood these principles, they still may have failed. Im not nave about that. But maybe they would have had a better shot at reinventing themselves to win in the context in the future market opportunity.

CURT NICKISCH: Dave, thanks so much for coming on the show to talk about this, and share your research, and what you saw.

DAVE ULRICH: I appreciate it.

CURT NICKISCH: Thats Dave Ulrich. He is a professor at the University of Michigans Ross School of Business, and the co-author of the new book Reinventing the Organization: How Companies Can Deliver Radically Greater Value in Fast Changing Markets.

This episode was produced by Mary Dooe, we get technical help from Rob Eckhardt, Adam Buchholz is our audio product manager. Thanks for listening to the HBR IdeaCast, Im Curt Nickisch.

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How Companies Like Google and Alibaba Respond to Fast-Moving Markets - Harvard Business Review

Amazon hardware event: Meet the new devices and services in Alexa ecosystem – ZDNet

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

At its Seattle headquarters on Sept. 25, Amazon unveiled its latest devices and services. Without question, Amazon's continued product development is all about expanding the Alexa ecosystem.

Also:What is Amazon Business and how does it work?

Here's a rundown of the news:

Dave Limp, Amazon Devices & Services SVP, opened the event by broaching the privacy concerns that have plagued Alexa and other voice-enabled assistants over the past year.

Every piece of hardware and software is built with consideration for "privacy from the very beginning," he said.

One major privacy concern with Alexa is her tendency to hear her name, even when no one says it. To address that, Amazon has improved the wake word engine, making it 50 percent more accurate to prevent those "false wakes."

Also:Amazon Prime vs Amazon Business Prime: Everything you need to know

Earlier this year, Amazon came under fire for having employees listen in on users' Alexa queriesto improve the voice assistant's accuracy. Amazon nowlets its users opt-outof the practice. Amazon also faced questions aboutthe length of timefor which it keeps voice recordings.

Amazon has taken the Echo and "made it now better in every way," Limp said. Effectively, Amazon took the sound architecture launched last year to the Echo Plus and brought it down to the Echo. It's available for pre-orders today. The price remains $99.

Amazon's Echo devices, giving it an early foothold in the smart speaker market, helped establish the company's dominance in voice-based interactions. According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), Amazon is still the dominant player in the US smart speaker market. CIRP found that the installed base of US smart speaker ownership rose to 76 million in the second quarter of 2019, with the Amazon Echo taking 70% market share. Globally, the research firm Canalys recently reported that Amazon topped Q2 smart speaker market sales with 25.4 percent market share and 6.6 million devices sold.

The latest addition to the Echo Show family with an 8-inch HD display, powerful sound, and a built-in camera. It's $129, available for pre-order today and shipping in time for the holidays.

There's a new Echo Dot with a simple LED clock display. It "works with a lot of Alexa functions," Limp said. One "delightful feature" Limp highlighted -- after your alarm goes off, you just tap the top for nine more minutes.

It's available for pre-order for $59.

The Echo Studio brings 3D audio into your living room, Limp said. It's $199, available for pre-order today.

The device lines up with Amazon's recent launch of Amazon Music HD, a premium service offering more than 50 million songs in high definition and millions of songs in ultra-high definition.

This program identifies devices that are "struggle-free, stress-free," Limp said.

"To validate those claims, we convened a non-expert panel," he said. "No geeks allowed."

It's launching with a set of smart lights, plugs, and appliances, which all meet more than a dozen criteria. Some key criteria Limp highlighted: It comes with frustration-free setup, they can provision themselves with no interaction from the customer and all have silent, over-the-air software updates.

This has everything the smart microwave has, as well as features including convection cooking and an air fryer. It has voice control, as well as a feature called "scan to cook." It's available for pre-order for $249. Every smart oven comes with an Echo Dot included.

Plug the Stick-up Cam anywhere throughout your home. It works indoors and outdoors and can run off its battery, plugged into a wall or from a solar-powered accessory. It has 1080p HD video, motion detection, and night vision.

The Indoor Camera is Ring's lowest-cost camera. In "Home" mode, it will stop recording. It's available for $59.99.

These wireless earbuds are designed for a completely hands-free, on-the-go Alexa experience.

Each earbud has two outer microphones and one inner microphone that work together to reduce ambient noise. They're equipped with Bose Active Noise Reduction technology

These eyeglasses are equipped with discreet, directional speakers that allow you to hear Alexa, without disrupting those around you. You can turn the microphone off at any time. They're only 31 grams. There's no camera or display, and they work with your phone and are controlled by your voice.

This titanium ring is "literally information at your fingertips," Limp said. It has microphones activated when you hit a discreet button, as well as haptic feedback to give you notifications. It offers "a way to snack on information throughout your day," Limp said. He gave the example of using it to calculate a tip after dinner.

This is a developing story. More products and services to come...

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Amazon hardware event: Meet the new devices and services in Alexa ecosystem - ZDNet

True Digital Park’s Complete Startup Ecosystem is Ready to Propel Southeast Asia Digital Economy as Thailand’s First and the Region’s Largest Digital…

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Mr. Suphachai Chearavanont, Chief Executive Officer, Charoen Pokphand Group/ Chairman of the Board, True Corporation Plc said, "Innovation and digital technology is the driving force of digital transformation especially for enterprises and industries that need to change their business model and apply digital technology to create added value for products and services. Meanwhile digital technology also plays an important role in digitizing in making communities, societies, healthcare and the environment better. It also reduces the income divide and helps to sustainably create prosperity for Thailand. True Group, as a Thai private company, is committed to contributing to Thailand's economic growth and supporting the country to become the regional trade and investment hub. 'True Digital Park' has been developed to increase Thailand's competency through innovation, creativity and technology. All these factors combine to create sustainable economic growth in the long run."

"True Digital Park is focused on building a complete startup ecosystem that encourages connectivity and knowledge sharing which creates a collaborative network for business expansion. The partners that comprise this startup ecosystem include the Government, multinational tech companies, academia, investors and numerous startups. They help strengthen True Digital Park to become Thailand's largest digital innovation hub in Southeast Asia. True Digital Park is one of True Group's proud achievements that will help position Thailand as the regional innovation and digital hub," said Mr. Suphachai.

Mr. Thanasorn Jaidee President of True Digital Parksaid that the mission of True Digital Park is to enhance the competency of startups and tech entrepreneurs, helping them reach their full potential, grow and compete in the global marketplace. At True Digital Park, startups and tech entrepreneurs will gain new knowledge while taking advantage of telecommunication infrastructure and digital platforms. They will also receive support from large corporations and government organizations and have access to funding and networking opportunities.

To demonstrate how the ecosystem works, True Digital Park has organized T.O.P. 2019- Togetherness of Possibilities.This large scale tech conference is also a good opportunity to meet with experts and top-notch speakers from leading companies and startups from both Thailand and other countries including Dr. Chinawut Chinaprayoon, Executive Vice President of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency; Mr. Pariwat Wongsamran, Director of Startup Thailand, the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization) (NIA); Mr. James Tan, Deputy Chairman of Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE Singapore); Ms. Phi Van Nguyen, Chairman of Saigon Innovation Hub; Mr. S. Ryan Meyer, Managing Director APAC, General Assembly; Mr.Nicholas Nash, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Asia Partners; andMr. Khailee Ng, Managing Partner of 500 Startups. Other speakers include successful startups, Ookbee and Camera360.

"True Digital Park is confident that the complete ecosystem and cooperation with all our partners will be an important mechanism for driving the growth of startups and Thai tech entrepreneurs to become the startup unicorn that can grow strong continuously. Moreover, it also helps to drive the steady and sustainable growth for the Thai economy," said Mr. Thanasorn.

#Truedigitalpark #startupecosystem #Oneroofallpossibilties

About True Digital Park

True Digital Park, Thailand's first and Southeast Asia's largest digital innovation hub and a global startup destination, is located on Sukhumvit 101 Road, adjacent to Punnawithi BTS station. True Digital Park covers a space of 43 rai separated into three main areas: Work Space, Lifestyle Space, and Living Space that meet all digital lifestyle needs. Under the concept of "One Roof - All Possibilities", True Digital Park combines space for work and daily life within one integrated community. Our Work Space offers a complete startup ecosystem with an "Open Innovation" concept that brings together multinational tech companies, startups and entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerators, VCs and investors, and government agencies. This established digital community provides crucial knowledge creation that is supportive to digital innovations. True Digital Park is fully equipped with an integrated telecommunications systems and smart solutions for smart life. Unlimited digital connection through a hi-speed internet, 4G+, and WiFi is provided throughout the project. For more information please visit our website at http://www.truedigitalpark.com.

SOURCE True Digital Park

http://www.truedigitalpark.com

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THE DIGITAL HEALTH ECOSYSTEM: An in-depth examination of the players and tech trends reshaping the future of h – Business Insider India

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Until now, healthcare was the only remaining industry that had yet to feel the rapid impact of digitization endured by retail, banking, and media. But consumer adoption of digital tech, regulatory overhauls, and a shifting reimbursement model are forcing healthcare players' hands.

Digital health innovation offers market incumbents new opportunities to combat constricting margins, labor shortages, and rising costs.

The first Digital Health Ecosystem Report from Business Insider Intelligence explores the current healthcare ecosystem, industry trends that are driving digital transformation, and where the industry is headed.

We outline the role of each of the industry's major players - including payers, providers, and manufacturers - and how they're affected by healthcare's digital disruption.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

In full, the report:

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of the Digital Health.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Aetna, Alphabet, Amazon, American Well, AmerisourceBergen, Anthem, Apple, Arizona Care Network, Arterys, Babylon Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Bay Labs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Blue Mesa Health, Bright Health, Cardinal Health, Cedars-Sinai, Cleveland Clinic, Clover Health, CVS, DePuy Synthes, Devoted Health, Dexcom, Doctor on Demand, Express Scripts, Fitbit, Fresenius Medical Care, GE Healthcare, Geisinger, Glooko, GSK, healthfinch, IBM, IDx, Johnson & Johnson, Mass General, McKesson, Medtronic, Merck & Co., Merck KGaA, Microsoft, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health, Novartis, Olive, Omada Health, Optum Rx, Oscar Health, Pear Therapeutics, Pfizer, Philips, PillPack, ResMed, Rite Aid, Roche, Samsung, Sanofi, Senseonics, Suki, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, T-Mobile, UnitedHealth Group, Verily, Viant, Walgreens, Walmart, Wellpepper, Zocdoc

Featured Digital Health Articles:- Telehealth Industry: Benefits, Services & Examples- Value-Based Care Model: Pay-for-Performance Healthcare- Senior Care & Assisted Living Market Trends- Smart Medical Devices: Wearable Tech in Healthcare- AI in Healthcare

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THE DIGITAL HEALTH ECOSYSTEM: An in-depth examination of the players and tech trends reshaping the future of h - Business Insider India

THE EVE OF A NEW ECOSYSTEM – Newstalk ZB

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Our homes are getting smarter and smarter.

If you use an iPad or iPhone, you may not even realise you have already have ability to set up an entire smart home using Apple HomeKit.

The Eve range of devices is designed specifically for this service, pre-installed on all late-model iOS devices. Unlike other smart accessories, the Eve product line isn't interconnected via WiFi, but over low-energy bluetooth. While you can use the HomeKit app to set up each device, the native Eve app is more user-friendly and offers more features and customisations.

Each device has its own unique code, which you can scan in using the camera on your iPhone or iPad. This pairs the devices from which point you can name them and designate a room. We're talking a wide range of products here; lights, motion sensors, smoke detectors, there's even a weather station.

I started with something simple; the smart plug.

I've used other smart plugs before, so we won't go into all the uses there may be for such a device - needless to say, the basic idea is it'll turn on or off when you schedule it to. The main difference with the Eve version is it also monitors how much power is being used by whatever is plugged into it. This is potentially very useful information, especially if you're using high electricity use devices like heaters and fans. You can even ration how much power you go through by instructing the switch to turn off when a certain amount of electricity has been used. As smart plugs go, it's very smart indeed. Because it can be triggered by events detected by other Eve devices, you could potentially set a fan going when the room temperature rises over a certain point, or even turn a radio on if a window is opened unexpectedly.

There's just one issue; this thing is pretty huge, much bigger than a normal sized plug. That means you won't be able to use the other half of any double wall socket you plug it into. And it'll take up more than its fair share of space on a multiboard too. There's a solution to that last problem - Eve does its own triple-outlet energy strip.

As I've said, the Eve ecosystem is an extensive one, even extending outside the home. This is the perfect time of year to put the Eve Aqua to use. It's a smart water controller; basically a remote control for your garden hose.

Again, setting up and pairing the Eve Aqua is a cinch - although I found it a real challenge getting the battery compartment open so I could insert the batteries included in the box. A certain amount of brute strength was required but I got there in the end. I actually found this somewhat reassuring as we're talking a device that gets wet and lives outside, so we probably want those batteries to be tucked up nice and tight.

The build quality is impressive. You simply unscrew your existing hose fitting from the tap and attach the Eve Aqua instead. The high-quality washers and O-rings meant I've yet to see a single drop leak out. Not only can you then turn the water off and on from your iPhone or iPad, you can schedule watering times or leave a sprinkler on, with instructions for the Eve Aqua to turn it off after a period you've specified. Given I've just spent all weekend planting trees in my backyard, I have a feeling this is going to be pretty useful.

The one downside of the Eve system of connected devices is it's an Apple-only affair. If you're an Android or PC-based household, you'll have to look elsewhere. That also means no integration with other automation services like Amazon Alexa, although Siri is more than happy to turn your plugs, lights and hoses on and off for you. Just say the word.

On the plus side, because Eve is bluetooth-based and isn't connected via WiFi, there's virtually no risk of hacking from outside the system - a concern that could become even more serious once New Zealand's 4G networks come online and devices like these will potentially connect directly to the world-wide-web. Your Eve network is limited to and controlled solely by the device you use to set it up, which means absolute security.

Although these aren't strictly Apple products, theyareavailable through the Apple store andlikeApple products, I've found they're extremely straightforward to use and work very reliably.

Click here for more information on the Eve ecosystem of Apple HomeKit devices.

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THE EVE OF A NEW ECOSYSTEM - Newstalk ZB

Ecosystems took millions of years to recover from the last mass extinction – Cosmos

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

Marine fossils reveal that it took millions of years for ecosystems to recover from the asteroid impact widely believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

In addition to killing the dinosaurs, the impact caused many other species to go extinct, including 90 percent of calcifying plankton a type of phytoplankton that produce calcium carbonate shells, a team led by Sarah Alvarez of the University of Gibraltar reports in the journal Nature.

Such phytoplankton are important to the ocean food web but are also useful to palaeontologists because their shells leave easy-to-study fossils.

Using 54 metres of core sample from the Shatsky Rise, 1,500 kilometres east of Japan, Alvarezs team painstakingly teased out 700,000 plankton fossils from a 13-million-year time span, beginning shortly before the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction, as the dino-killing event is known to geologists.

This allowed them to obtain a remarkable glimpse into how a marine ecosystem reboots following a mass extinction. We wanted to find out how long the ocean ecosystems took to recover and how this happened, Alvarez says.

They also wanted to see how the recovery related to the restoration of the carbon cycle, in which phytoplankton grow in surface waters, then die and sink to the depths, carrying their stored carbon with them a major part of the Earths carbon cycle in which they help remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

One thing the scientists found was that while most species of phytoplankton went extinct, others rebounded rapidly. But for the first 1.8 million years, their numbers and types varied wildly. Those that were present were also unusually tiny.

At the same time, the amounts of carbon reaching the seafloor (measured by prior researchers) were low, meaning that the carbon cycle wasnt functioning all that well, says Alvarezs co-author, Andy Ridgwell, a climate scientist at the University of California, Riverside.

When the carbon cycle did recover, it corresponded to stabilisation of the ecosystem, as well as a shift to larger (and presumably healthier) cells. But interestingly, this occurred millions of years before plankton had recovered to anything close to their pre-extinction levels of biodiversity.

The result is a mix of good news and bad news for those worried about extinctions caused by such human activities as habitat destruction and anthropogenic climate change.

The good news is that an ecosystem can lose a lot of diversity and still be functional, as was the case 1.8 million years after the K/Pg mass extinction.

From that point of view, Ridgwell says, the climate trolls would be right in saying that high biodiversity doesnt matter.

But, he says, to function, an ecosystem has to have the species needed to do the job, and its not obvious which ones are lynchpins until its too late.

You could look at biodiversity as a backup, he says. The key to preserving biodiversity is that the system could collapse if you remove the right [or wrong] piece, and if you dont know the right piece you cant risk losing things.

And if a collapse does occur, recovery could take a long time 1.8 million years in the case of the K/Pg extinction.

Not to mention that utilitarian values arent the only ones. Theres also all those things about beauty, Ridgwell says. Everything you cant quantify in terms of dollars or petagrams of carbon.

Other scientists are impressed.

Beyond the importance for understanding the K/Pg event, studies like this one I find to be sobering cautionary tales that warn how very long earth systems can take to recover from perturbations, says Ken MacLeod of the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.

This paper represents an enormous amount of work, adds Sean Gulick, a geophysicist at the University of Texas, Austin.

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Ecosystems took millions of years to recover from the last mass extinction - Cosmos

An Insider’s Take on How to Focus on Government’s IT Strengths – Nextgov

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Danzig

For Ed Mullen, a designer who has been around government tech for more than eight years, two things could fundamental change the way governments deliver social services: APIs and a focus on user experience.

As his term with 18F comes to an end, Mullen shared six strengths he sees in the current state and federal tech ecosystem and how he believes these should be leveraged to improve service delivery at every level.

Much of the technology that people use to access safety net programs and that states use to administer these programs is aging and crumbling, despite significant spending and effort to modernize, said Mullen, who began working on federal tech issues during the initial rollout of Healthcare.gov in 2011.

Mullen did a two-year stint with Health and Human Services Department before the creation of the U.S. Digital Service and other similar programs. He later joined one of those programsthe General Services Administrations 18Fin 2016.

The main problem with governments modernization efforts is the process, Mullen says.

We ask over-stretched, insufficiently technical state staff to modernize massively complex computer systems by adhering to federally-provided checklists and oversight regimes, working with massive vendors through multi-year contracts worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, he wrote on GitHub. Federal agencies are not well positioned to quickly drive change in the market or provide technical oversight that accelerates modernization rather than impedes it.

Following these processes forces agencies to rely on their weaknesses, rather than their strengths, he argues.

Through his posta sort of self-administered exit interviewMullen attempts to highlight governments strengths and areas where those can be leveraged to support modernization and, more importantly, the delivery of quality services to citizens.

Mullen lists six strengths, though some are targeted more toward state governments. However, as the first strength notes, creating a dividing line between state and federal is often a problem.

Today's rigid separation between federal program/policy design and state technical implementation has bred an ecosystem characterized by stagnation, duplicative effort, system failures, waste and poor outcomes for our neighbors involved at each level, he writes.

Mullen points out that while federal agencies generally set the standards for the kinds of social services states are required to provideincluding for whom and the manner and the kinds of data to be collectedit lands on state governments to build and maintain those systems. The current state of software development makes it easier to create barebones solutions at the federal level that can then be distributed among the states, as needed.

Mullen describes this as a loosely-coupled ecosystem and offers an idea of what that would look like:

This loosely-coupled ecosystem would have new pieces that are operated by the federal government that states can integrate with and use. It would utilize inexpensive commodity tools offered broadly in the private sector. Microservices from companies would be employed where appropriate to provide functionality the companies are uniquely positioned to offer. Custom development would be reserved for situations where other options are not available. Application programming interfaces (APIs) would assemble all the pieces into user-centric products which would be deployed on cloud infrastructure.

Similarly, he argues that federal agencies with the responsibility to set requirements around who is eligible for services should digitize those criteria. Rather than force states to develop individual algorithms to determine eligibility, Mullen suggests feds should build those as APIs that can then be integrated with state-level applications.

In his post, Mullen lays out a five-step process for how this would work.

This suggestion dovetails in the third: collect citizen data once, where appropriate, and share relevant information with other systems.

We know people are frequently eligible for multiple programs designed to address different need. They need the ability to determine eligibility and apply for multiple programs all in one place, in as few steps as possible, he writes. Data should be entered in aggregate for all relevant programs in the most intuitive way for the applicant and then used to determine individual programs behind the scenes.

Mullen also suggests taking the customer experience focus further, citing work done by his colleagues at 18F, as well as the U.S. Digital Service, Code for America and others. The lessons those teams have learned about improving user interfaces and the overall process can be used at the state level, as well.

Mullens fifth point turns the previous suggestion on its head, focusing on the usability of the apps from a state employee perspective.

States dont have the resources or expertise to make these systems modern, usable and empowering, he writes. Its unreasonable to ask states to continuously improve their systems based on continuous user feedback loops with their current mix of staffing and skill. And weve learned incumbent vendors are not incentivized to build great experiences for workers.

The post includes a link to an unfinished prototype of what that employee user experience could look like. Mullen notes this is incomplete and said he is actively looking for feedback on how to improve the prototype.

Finally, Mullen looks at the unwieldy task of modernizing legacy systems. Here, he focuses on the state-level, suggesting governments should unwind their legacy systems through a series of incremental improvements, rather than just ripping and replacing.

While Mullen offers some concrete steps and prototypes for consideration, he admits this is only a starting point that will create as many questions as answers.

At the end of the introduction, he includes a caveat: Grandiose concept pieces like this are always wrong. Or rather, they get a lot of things wrong. The point is to move the conversation along and attract participation in rethinking broad assumptions and conventions.

In an email with Nextgov, Mullen also asserted that his thoughts are not necessarily representative of his employerGSAnor does he claim to represent the entire government technology field.

But as a person who has worked on the issues, I've formed perspectives that I've wanted to share as the ideas of an individual for consideration by the people I have come in contact with, he said.

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An Insider's Take on How to Focus on Government's IT Strengths - Nextgov

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