Home Blog Page 150

du to offer hyperscale cloud and sovereign AI services in the UAE

TCN Bureau
-
0
du to offer hyperscale cloud and sovereign AI services in the UAE
  • To provide more than 100 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services together with its own value-added cloud services and applications.

Dubai-based telecom operator du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), to offer hyperscale cloud and sovereign AI services for the government and public sector entities in the UAE by deploying Oracle Alloy.

Oracle Alloy is a complete cloud infrastructure platform that enables Oracle partners to become cloud providers. 

Focusing on Dubai and the Northern Emirates, du will provide more than 100 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services together with its own value-added cloud services and applications. This will enable du to become the first local hyperscale cloud provider to offer a comprehensive set of cloud services branded under its portfolio.

“The public sector entities in the UAE are rapidly embracing the benefits of the cloud, including added agility, efficiency, security, and access to the latest digital technologies such as AI and machine learning. The ability to deploy AI services in a dedicated cloud region within our local data centre in the UAE is particularly valuable in helping our government customers accelerate their transformation initiatives from a facility within the UAE,” Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du, said.

 “Oracle Alloy is a key component of Oracle’s distributed cloud strategy, which aims to give our partners and customers more choice in how they build, deploy, and operate cloud services,” Nick Redshaw, senior vice president, technology, and UAE country leader, Oracle, said.

Intel halts $25b chip factory in Israel

Mohammed Fahad
-
0
Intel halts $25b chip factory in Israel
  • US giant alludes to the necessity of adjusting major projects in response to evolving timelines, showcasing a nuanced approach to strategic decision-making.

In a development that sent ripples across the tech industry, Intel Corp has reportedly halted plans for a $25 billion factory in Israel, according to a report by Israeli financial news website Calcalist.

While Intel did not confirm or deny the specifics of the report, it alluded to the necessity of adjusting major projects in response to evolving timelines, showcasing a nuanced approach to strategic decision-making.

Intel, a prominent US technology company, underscored its enduring commitment to Israel as a crucial hub for its global manufacturing and research and development endeavors.

The intricacies involved in managing large-scale projects, especially within the rapidly evolving semiconductor industry, require a deft touch in navigating fluctuating market dynamics and optimizing capital allocation, as emphasized by Intel in its statement.

Strategic goal

The chip giant in December said it would expand plans for a chip manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat, in the south of the country, currently under construction, upping its investment from $10 billion to $25 billion to secure a $3.2 billion grant from the Israeli government.

Israel’s government in December agreed to give Intel a $3.2-billion grant to build the $25-billion chip plant in southern Israel.

The $25-billion investment in Israel stemmed from Intel’s strategic goal to fortify its chip production capacities. The expansion of the Kiryat Gat facility was instrumental in strengthening the company’s supply chain resilience.

By ramping up its investment from $10 billion to $25 billion and securing a substantial grant from the Israeli government, Intel demonstrated a strategic alignment with Israel’s tech ecosystem and economic development aspirations.

Kiryat Gat facility

The Kiryat Gat facility, slated for completion by 2028 and operational until at least 2035, represented a cornerstone of Intel’s strategic vision for bolstering its presence in the region.

Construction at the site had already commenced, with key infrastructure milestones achieved, underscoring Intel’s tangible progress towards realizing its strategic objectives in Israel.

Israel, a strategic market for Intel and the company’s third-largest operational base by asset size, has emerged as a pivotal locale for driving innovation and technological advancement.

Intel’s extensive footprint in Israel, encompassing multiple development and production sites, epitomises the company’s deep-rooted ties with the country’s burgeoning tech landscape.

The Fab 28 manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat, a vital asset in Intel’s global production network, epitomises the company’s technological prowess in fabricating cutting-edge semiconductor chips.

The envisaged Fab 38 plant constituted a crucial component of Intel’s long-term strategic roadmap for bolstering its manufacturing capabilities and solidifying its market position.

Ola Electric gets Sebi’s nod for $660m IPO

Ana Mary Joseph
-
0
Ola Electric gets Sebi’s nod for $660m IPO
  • Founder Bhavish Aggarwal to divest 47.3m shares as part of the IPO, while initial investors including AlphaWave, Alpine, DIG Investment, and Matrix, among others, intend to sell 47.89m shares through the offer for sale.

Ola Electric, the prominent Indian e-scooter manufacturer, has gained approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to move forward with its substantial $660 million Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The development marks a significant milestone as it paves the way for the first-ever electric vehicle (EV) stock listing in India. Sources with direct insights have indicated that the company submitted its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to the regulatory authorities on December 22, 2023.

Backed by notable investors such as SoftBank and Temasek, Ola Electric had initiated the IPO process by filing the necessary documents with Sebi in December, with the aim of leveraging this opportunity to bolster its operational capacity and facilitate further expansion.

Mid-July listing

Ola Electric’s IPO comprisesd a fresh issue of Rs5,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs1,750 crore totalling Rs7,250 crore. Existing shareholders were said to sell 95.19 million shares in the OFS, as per the firm’s DRHP.

With plans to make its shares available for listing by mid-July, the company is set to engage with potential investors in the upcoming days to gauge interest for its offering.

Although Ola Electric had previously engaged with global investors through roadshows earlier in the year, it intends to revisit discussions to clarify terms and elaborate on its business strategy, as per sources familiar with the matter.

As a leading player in India’s burgeoning e-scooter market, Ola Electric faces competition from established brands like TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Ather Energy. Noteworthy for its market presence and innovative offerings, the company attained a valuation of $5.4 billion in September 2023.

Proceeds from the IPO

The founder of Ola Electric, Bhavish Aggarwal, is anticipated to divest 47.3 million shares as part of the IPO, while initial investors including AlphaWave, Alpine, DIG Investment, and Matrix, among others, intend to sell 47.89 million shares through the offer for sale.

Outlined in the DRHP, the proceeds from the IPO will be allocated towards various strategic objectives, including capital expenditure, debt repayment, and research and development (R&D) initiatives.

Specifically, the company intends to allocate approximately Rs1,226 crore towards capex, Rs800 crore for debt repayment, Rs1,600 crore for R&D, and Rs350 crore for inorganic growth.

In its financial performance for the fiscal year ending in March 2023, Ola Electric disclosed consolidated revenues amounting to Rs2,782 crore, reflecting a substantial growth of nearly 510 percent.

However, the company experienced a widened net loss of Rs1,472 crore during this period, primarily attributed to escalated expenses. For the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24, Ola Electric posted a total income of Rs1,272 crore, alongside reported losses of Rs267 crore.

The company’s net worth as of June 30, 2023, stood at Rs2,111 crore, underscoring its financial standing in the market.

The forthcoming IPO of Ola Electric represents a significant milestone not only for the company itself but also for the Indian EV industry as a whole.

With ambitious growth plans, strategic utilisation of funds from the offering, and a strong market position, Ola Electric is poised for a transformative phase as it gears up towards its public listing and ventures into a new chapter of expansion and innovation in the EV sector.

Mistral raises €600m Series-B funding to advance AI

Mohammed Fahad
-
0
Mistral raises €600m Series-B funding to advance AI

Mistral, a one-year-old AI startup based in Paris, announced a successful Series-B funding round of €600 million, led by General Catalyst.

The funding round, which saw participation from existing investors as well as new ones such as Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, Cisco Systems, and Nvidia, valued the company at an impressive €5.8 billion.

This valuation marks a significant increase from the company’s prior valuation of €2 billion in December.

Co-founder and CEO Arthur Mensch expressed enthusiasm about the new round of funding, highlighting the company’s commitment to advancing the field of AI and making cutting-edge technology accessible to a wider audience.

Mistral’s success in securing over €1 billion in total funding underscores the growing interest in AI technologies and their potential impact on various industries.

Focuses on US market

Driven by the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the increasing significance of large language models (LLMs) in generative artificial intelligence products, Mistral aims to leverage the funding to enhance its computing capabilities, expand its workforce, and strengthen its global presence, with a particular focus on the US market.

The recent partnership with Microsoft, which involved a $16 million investment and the integration of Mistral’s AI models into Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, has attracted regulatory attention from the European Union due to concerns over potential monopolistic practices.

As Mistral embarks on its journey to advance AI technology and expand its market reach, the company’s latest funding round and strategic partnerships position it as a key player in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence innovation.

Wipro unveils Lab45 AI platform on a SaaS model   

TCN Bureau
-
0
Wipro unveils Lab45 AI platform on a SaaS model   
  • Supports various LLM’s from leading providers as well as custom deep-learning and other models. 

India’s Wipro announced the launch of the Lab45 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platform, which leverages Generative AI (GenAI) machine learning (ML), and deep learning technologies to enable companies to realise enhanced efficiencies, transform business functions, and enable industry-specific solutions.

Lab45 is Wipro’s Innovation Lab and the Lab45 AI platform is available to all Wipro employees and clients.  

The Lab45 AI Platform runs on a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model and supports various state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLM’s) from leading providers as well as custom deep-learning and other models. 

The platform allows for seamless integration of language and visual processing for generating images from text prompts, as well as the ability to index, parse, and summarize content. 

Transformative impact

With over 1,000 GenAI agents and more than 10 GenAI applications, the platform offers no code and low code pre-built applications for HR, sales, marketing, and operations functions, while also allowing for the easy creation of industry specific GenAI agents and applications.  

 “Our Lab45 AI Platform is a testament to Wipro’s commitment to innovation and productivity,” said Subha Tatavarti, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro Limited.

“We are excited about the transformative impact this platform will have across the business, particularly in HR, sales, marketing, and other business functions. Our platform will help our customers innovate faster while balancing privacy and responsible AI.”  

With API-based access for custom applications, the platform makes it easier for clients to deploy GenAI to their environments. In fact, Topcoder, a Wipro platform connecting customers to its 2-million-member global talent network, has been using Lab45 AI Platform’s APIs (application programming interfaces) since October 2023, resulting in a seven-fold increase in GenAI usage.  

Further, over the past six months, select Wipro teams and external users have been using the platform and realising significant time savings and productivity gains.   

Commenting on the benefits of the platform Shikhar Ghosh, Professor at Harvard Business School (HBS), which was an early user of the platform for their MBA (Master of Business Administration) curriculum, said, “We have used Lab45’s AI Platform to teach HBS MBA students about advanced applications of GenAI for Business and Society. We are exploring several other advanced use cases as well.”   

Polynome eyes $100m fund to drive UAE’s AI startup ecosystem

Ana Mary Joseph
-
0
Polynome eyes $100m fund to drive UAE’s AI startup ecosystem
  • To invest in the fields of technology, AI software applications, and robotics.
  •  The fund will invest in seed, Series A, and growth stage startups with an initial investment ranging from $500,000 to $5m per company.

UAE-based Polynome Group has announced a $100 million fund for AI startup companies starting from the first quarter of 2025.

The aim is to invest in startups in the fields of technology, AI software applications, and robotics, in line with mutual goals to expand the adoption of AI and digital technologies beginning in the first quarter of 2025.

The announcement was made during the AI Retreat 2024, organised by the Dubai Centre for AI Applications in collaboration with the National Program for Artificial Intelligence.

Polynome has secured in-principle approval from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to launch its AI fund in 2025, following the regulators’ review and conditional endorsement of the proposed fund structure and investment strategy.

To invest in 40 startups

The fund has a unique “Founders for Founders” concept, as the Polynome team themselves are entrepreneurs with successful experience creating and exiting AI startups.

“Our mission is to increase the technology contribution to the UAE’s GDP, build a national tech hub and community, attract top international talent, and make the UAE a leader in AI research and innovation,” said Alexander Khanin, CEO and founder of the Polynome Group.

The fund will invest in seed, Series A, and growth stage startups with an initial investment ranging from $500,000 to $5 million per company.

The fund expects to invest in up to 40 companies over a 5-year period. As a smart money fund supported by the UAE government, Polynome VC will provide smart funding and deep tech expertise.

The team has over 100 AI/ML experts, data scientists, natural language processing specialists, computer vision engineers, and mentors from leading tech companies globally. They can conduct thorough technical due diligence on products and teams for investment decisions and M&A opportunities.

“We aim to create and strengthen links with the scientific community, prominent entrepreneurs, and invest in AI products that will become integral to people’s everyday lives,” Khanin said.

1...149150151...271Page 150 of 271