AI Biweekly: 10 Bits from July W4 — August W1
July 23rd — Google Plans to Bring Blockchain to Cloud Services
Google teams up with New York distributed ledger solutions startup Digital Asset. In a Google blog post the company says it is exploring new ways to use distributed ledger technology. Digital Asset CEO Blythe Masters said “We’re partnering with Google Cloud to provide developers with a full stack solution so they can unleash the potential for web-paced innovation in blockchain.”
July 24th — Microsoft Teams up with Walmart against Amazon
Walmart is pushing its digital transformation of retail. The company announced a partnership with Microsoft, which will provide a full range of cloud solutions including Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. The five-year agreement is seen as a challenge to Amazon’s lead in online shopping.
July 26th — Microsoft Plays Big in Healthcare
Microsoft officially launches its healthcare unit, which will use its cloud capabilities and data analytics to build products. The company has expanded its healthcare operations into a multi-billion-dollar business that now employs 1,100 people.
July 26th — VC Investment in Canada Hits US$900 Million
The AI sector is still a hot destination for Canadian venture capital according to the PwC Money Tree report for Q2 2018. Funding rose 104 percent compared to Q1, while the total number of deals and investments also reached an all-time high.
July 30th — Uber Suspends Autonomous Trucks Development
Uber says it will suspend its autonomous truck project and focus solely on autonomous cars. In 2016 Uber acquired Otto, an autonomous truck startup founded by former Google engineers. Last year Google expanded the truck project from Texas and created the Uber Freight app to connect drivers and shippers.
July 31st — Skyline AI Raises US$18 Million in Series A
Skyline AI is a real estate investment firm that utilizes artificial intelligence and data science to reinvent commercial real estate investment. Their proprietary AI and machine learning platform incorporate both supervised and unsupervised learning models into the entire commercial real estate acquisition and ownership process.
August 1st — Tesla Building Its Own AI Chips
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tesla plans to begin building specialized AI chips itself. It’s hoped the Hardware 3 project will help the Tesla team better understand the algorithms behind autonomous driving and boost system and vehicle performance.
August 1st — LG Establishes AI Research Lab
LG launches a new LG Electronics AI Research Lab in Canada, an extension of the LG Silicon Valley AI Lab in Santa Clara, California. The Toronto AI Lab is a part of LG’s North American strategy to actively shape the future of AI through collaborations with academia and startups.
August 3rd — Enel Green Power Works with Raptor Maps on O&M Drones
The US subsidiary of Enel Green Power is working with startup Raptor Maps to use drones to inspect PV solar power plants. The partnership will use AI and machine learning algorithms to improve the O&M process and aims to reduce problem detection time from days to hours.
Aug 3rd — HighRadius Simplifies Accounts Receivable Process
HighRadius introduces Integrated Receivables, a credit-to-cash platform that simplifies the time-consuming accounts receivable process with solutions for credit, collections, deductions, cash applications, electronic billing, and payment processing. HighRadius customers report more than 90 percent of invoices are auto-cleared and auto-reconciled without human intervention.
Author: Synced Industry Analyst Team | Editor: Michael Sarazen
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