Tel Aviv-based startup assists companies to predict and prevent losses in the manufacturing process using Artificial Intelligence.
Vertex Ventures triples their investment in Seebo in nine months.
Tel Aviv-based predictive quality and yield solution startup –Seebo – pocketed $24 million to expand its global reach and continue enhancing its process-based Artificial Intelligence solution.
The round is led by Vertex Ventures with participation from 10D, The Phoenix and Leumi Partners.
Seebo is backed by Vertex Ventures, 10D, The Phoenix, Leumi Partners, Viola Ventures and TPY Capital.
“The increasingly complex business environment has pushed process manufacturers to explore new ways to eliminate lingering inefficiencies in their production processes,” Lior Akavia, CEO and Co-Founder of Seebo, said.
Large and mid-sized manufacturers suffer tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in quality, yield, energy, emissions and waste losses each year on average.
Urgent need to increase efficiency
Seebos’ customers include leading manufacturers such as Nestle, PepsiCo, General Mills, Barilla, Mondelez, Allnex, ICL and many more.
This latest round comes during a period of exponential growth (400 per cent year on year) for Seebo, as many manufacturers face an increasingly challenging and competitive marketplace in the year of Covid-19.
Among those challenges is the more urgent need to increase efficiency, specifically by lowering production losses; and in some cases to meet unprecedented spikes in demand due to changing consumer behaviour.
Akavia said that inefficiencies are responsible for significant production losses each year but in many cases, manufacturers didn’t have the tools to find the root causes, as these were hidden deep within the complex manufacturing processes and data.
“That’s why we’ve seen such an increase in demand for our solution.”
Yanai Oron, General Partner at Vertex Ventures, said that they have tripled their investment in Seebo nine months after their initial investment.
It is vital in the bid to achieve desired business outcomes and Alteryx predicts transformational investments to a spike this year.
About 58% are still prioritising investments in data reliant technologies of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Analytics.
Organisations are experimenting with new ideas, building new teams, and learning new methods such as DevOps and are reorganising and reskilling existing IT staff so that they do not miss their digital journeys.
Businesses in the Gulf countries are investing in data-driven transformative technologies to make informed business decisions for the future despite current economic challenges.
Alteryx, an analytic process automation company, revealed insights from a newly-commissioned IDC Infobrief, which stated that businesses are prioritising the adoption of new business models infused with data-driven actionable insights as digital transformation projects have been accelerated to start much sooner than planned.
The pandemic has compounded the uncertainties of oil-based economies in the region and its impact on revenues is expected to further accelerate cost optimisation initiatives and reduce IT spending across the Gulf region.
While the pandemic has paused large-scale transformational projects, it is nonetheless triggering investments in artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and analytics.
Organisations are looking to improve operational efficiency, unearth new revenue opportunities, minimise loss, maximise profit, and repurpose their workforce.
The study revealed that despite 30 per cent of organisations in the Gulf reporting revenue decreases of up to 40 per cent due to the impact of Covid-19, over half (58 per cent) are still prioritising investments in data reliant technologies of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Analytics.
“Organisations across the Gulf regions have painfully realised that what has worked in past may not work in future and have understood that digital transformation demands a fundamental shift application development,” Harish Dunakhe, Research Director for Software and Cloud (META) at research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), said.
“Organisations are experimenting with new ideas, building new teams, and learning new methods such as DevOps and are reorganising and reskilling existing IT staff so that they do not miss their digital journeys,” he said.
A shift in the perception
Of those respondents who are realigning their businesses for a new normal, 46 per cent of organisations intend to create new products and services, and 43 per cent will focus on gaining a 360-degree view of the customer to create new revenue channels, more digital services to enhance customer satisfaction and ensure uncertainties don’t destabilise them in future.
“Despite the varying levels of maturity in Process Automation and Analytics across industries in the Gulf region, we are slowly starting to see a shift in the perception. The pandemic has forced organisations to adopt new models to ensure business continuity that will extend even beyond this unprecedented health crises,” Abboud Ghanem, Regional Vice-President, Middle East and Africa at Alteryx, said.
The road to recovery from here requires analytical precision and data automation, he said.
While data is important, he said its use is limited without empowering the workforce to affect business-change with data analysis.
No room for error
The study said that 53 per cent of CIOs have expedited their transformational initiatives to meet the new needs of their customers and bring in operational agility while 23 per cent of CIOs are investing in technologies such as Data Analytics that enable their organisations to better understand their customer data.
“Anyone can upskill themselves to deliver business outcomes. With continued high stakes, there is no room for error, making it imperative for businesses to be equipped with human-centred data-driven insights to make the right decisions. If workers have the right technologies that are easy to use, combined with access to the data, magic can happen,” Ghanem said.
When it comes to learning new skills, the study revealed that the overall response highlights upskilling employees as the key to delivering a better understanding of the insights derived from their data to impact business decisions.
The study showed that 84 per cent of organisations are unable to realise the relationship between their enterprise data and business decisions and 44 per cent of organisations believe that upskilling their employees and enhancing their employee engagement will empower them to contribute to digital innovation.
On an innovation level, many businesses are turning to data as the lifeblood of their AI-enabled Process Automation to become more competitive and agile. When it comes to technology spending, 33 per cent want to increase spending on AI and RPA with an aim to achieve customer happiness, operational efficiency, and business resiliency.
Abu Dhabi-headquartered company agrees to merge with Vistas Media Acquisition Company.
Listing expected to allow Anghami to scale its user base and invest in technology to build on its data play.
Abu Dhabi-headquartered Anghami, which operates a music streaming app popular in the Middle East and North Africa, said on Wednesday it will become the first Arab tech company to list on the Nasdaq after agreeing to merge with Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc.
“We have taken a significant step forward in our growth plans in seeking to become the region’s first Arab technology company to list on Nasdaq. Being a US-listed public company gives us access to growth capital and a global platform that is the best in the world,” Eddy Maroun, Co-founder and CEO of Anghami, said in a statement.
Shuaa Capital psc, the UAE’s publicly listed asset management and investment banking firm and Vistas Media Capital Singapore, the parent of the sponsor for Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc., have gathered commitments of a combined $40 million ($30 million from Shuaa and $10 million from Vistas Media Capital) in PIPE financing.
Shuaa also led a funding round for Anghami earlier in the year. The transaction implies an initial pro-forma enterprise valuation of approximately $220 million, or 2.5x 2022 estimated revenues.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
Challenging Spotify
Founded in 2012, by Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib, Anghami offers more than 57 million songs to more than 70 million registered users with around one billion streams per month. Its biggest competitor is Its main competition is Spotify, which became available in the region in late 2018.
With an Arabic speaking population of over 450 million globally, the listing is expected to allow Anghami to scale its user base and invest in technology to build on its data play.
Anghami’s management team will continue to operate and manage Anghami following the transaction. Co-founder and Chairman Elie Habib will continue as the CTO; F. Jacob Cherian, CEO of Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. is expected to join the company as Co-CEO for a period of one year.
Anghami has grown revenues 80 per cent over the last three years and is expected to increase five-fold over the next three years and it is expected to have approximately $142 million of cash on its balance sheet at closing to be used primarily to fuel additional growth.
It is also receiving support from the state-run Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to develop its global headquarters and a tech and research and development centre in Abu Dhabi.
Anghami is backed by leading MENA venture capital firms and strategic shareholders, including media groups and telecommunications companies that collectively own approximately 68 per cent of Anghami, with the balance owned by the founders.
Big Farm Brothers introduces ComBin, an organic recycling and natural composting solution to households in the UAE.
Aims to empower household gardening, landscaping and vegetable produce with improved quality of locally produced foods.
Dubai-based startup – Big Farm Brothers – is offering a comprehensive recycling and natural composting alternative to make the UAE a soil sufficient and green city.
It has introduced ComBin, an organic recycling and natural composting solution to the households in the UAE, to empower household gardening, landscaping and vegetable produce with improved quality of locally produced foods.
Composting is a powerful process which has the potential to convert all the greenhouse emissions into nutrient rich soil which nourishes life in itself.
“Organic and natural composting is one of the effective ways to grow vegetables that are rich in taste and nutrients. With a lot of focus on immunity building and clean eating, ComBin enables a more natural way of consuming nutrient- rich produce,” Vishal Mahajan, Co-Founder of Big Farm Brothers, said.
With managing considerable amount of natural kitchen waste, he said that households in the UAE can take progressive steps to ensure a more organic and natural harvest in their balconies, lawns and backyards.
All products available are sourced from trusted farmers who have practiced organic farming for over a decade now.
Combin is made from used oil drum and can be placed anywhere in the backyard, garden, parking space or even in front lawn.
“Through this initiative, Big Farm Brothers aims to build community awareness on keeping food waste out of the landfill, supporting green jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and restore compost soil,” Mahajan said.
UAE is ranked third to exclusively use electronic forms of money.
Many respondents in the worldwide survey stated they would only be swayed away from physical currency when making a “very expensive purchase”.
The number of people making cashless payments has soared over the last decade but Covid-19 has given it a further boost.
The rapid decline of high street bank branches and ATMs has made the possibility of a cashless society in the next few years more likely than ever before.
MoneyTransfers.com, after analysing the latest data from YouGov, found that India is in number one spot, as an overwhelming 79 per cent of respondents would like to have a cashless society in their country.
Out of these individuals, 21 per cent stated they would use cashless payment even on small purchases, like buying a pack of chewing gum.
Although India was the most welcoming of going cashless, only 47 per cent of survey-takers have used cashless often since the coronavirus outbreak. However, this may be because the focus on cashless means was already solidified before the outbreak.
Coming in second place is Malaysia as 65 per cent of residents had confidence that cashless was the way to go. Not far behind are the UAE and Indonesia, where 63 per cent of individuals surveyed were welcoming of the idea of exclusively using electronic forms of money.
Furthermore, 52 per cent of citizens from UAE admit to paying in cash less often since the Covid-19 outbreak.
French natives struggle to find enthusiasm
Of the remaining countries in the top 10, over half of participants in Vietnam, Singapore, Italy, the Philippines, and Thailand would opt for a credit card, mobile wallet, or another cashless method when making a very expensive purchase, such as buying a new electronic device, thus voting in favour of a cashless society.
Interestingly the United States is joint 15th (alongside Sweden), as just 24 per cent of Americans feel a cashless society would be a good thing for their country.
At the other end in 17th position is France, where only 18 per cent of French citizens would welcome their country being entirely dependent on electronic forms of payment.
Not every country is largely in favour of an entirely cashless society. Many respondents in the worldwide survey stated they would only be swayed away from physical currency when making a “very expensive purchase”.
Respondents from China and Hong Kong were on the fence about going fully cashless; in both countries just under half (46 per cent) of respondents said they felt positive about the thought of going cashless.
Interestingly, three-quarters of those surveyed from China find it easy to access cash from a free ATM, which may explain their preference.
Positivity plummets in Australia, with only 35 per cent of respondents welcoming a cashless society. Canada is not far behind either, with only a third (32 per cent) of respondents preferring to ditch their coins.
Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom follow behind, with 31 per cent, 27 per cent and 26 per cent of respondents “happy” about turning cashless, respectively.
In fact, the analysis found that most individuals surveyed from these European countries expressed they would not use an electronic form of payment on a cheap purchase.
However, it was France at the very bottom of our list, with French natives struggling to find enthusiasm about the idea of becoming a cashless society. Germany (20 per cent) followed closely behind with 20 per cent of nationals welcoming of a cashless society, and the US and Sweden after that (24 per cent).
Logically launches threat intelligence platform to identify and counter mis- and disinformation at scale.
Customers at launch include government bodies in the US, UK and India.
The UK-based Logically allows users now to not only identify and analyse online fake media landscape but also provide countermeasures to stop their spread – before they go viral.
Fake news is impacting communities, governments and economies worldwide due to rapid online spread – from unfounded conspiracy theories and regulatory fraud to Covid-19 mistruths.
For a battleground US state in the 2020 election, Logically Intelligence ingested millions of individual pieces of content, further identifying and analysing 40,000 threats to election integrity and public safety for review and countermeasures.
Between January 2020 and February 2021, Logically Intelligence detected over 3.43 million pieces of high threat content, with 1.75 million pieces occurring in the September – November election period in the US.
Logically Intelligence identifies problematic content, actors and activity, and provides countermeasures to address harmful content.
“Over the last few years, the phenomenon of mis- and disinformation has firmly taken root, evolved and proliferated, and is increasingly causing real world harm,” Lyric Jain, founder and CEO of Logically, said.
“Our intensive focus on combating these untruths has culminated in the development of Logically Intelligence, based on several years of frontline operations fighting against the most egregious attacks on facts and reality,” he said.
How Logically Intelligence works
Logically Intelligence partners work from within a customisable Situation Room which share active threats while analyzing current risks of any mis/disinformation campaigns.
In addition, an Explore function leverages data visualisation to allow teams to explore new threats from origins, to threat levels, and more. Threats can be further escalated to the Logically team for personalised investigative services.
Content monitored includes multilingual content from social platforms, blogs, news sources and areas of the dark web.
“The combination of our multi-model advanced AI and highly trained human analysts allows Logically Intelligence to identify harmful issues early, providing the speed, scale and nuance needed to flag issues before they become widespread,” Jain said.
Logically Intelligence was tested in beta format last year with government agencies and bodies in the US and other regions.
Customers at launch include government bodies in the US, UK and India.
