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BLOG POST #2
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2AL0W8
SUBJECT
The central message of the document is that the company Clearview has created an new face recognition AI software that has been under some controversy and investigation if it complies with the country’s privacy laws.
AUTHOR Moira Warburton is a Tech and Telecoms Reporter at Reuters.  Reuters is a neutral objective source.
CONTEXT This source was last updated February 21, 2020 in Toronto, Canada. This can effect the meaning of this source because Canada might have different privacy laws than the U.S.
AUDIENCE Publisher:Reuters
Reuters is a neutral objective source.
PERSPECTIVE 
Objective source
Facial recognition will help law enforcement to identify potential suspects
Facial recognition is a data privacy concern because is searches data without consent of the person
I agree with it facial recognition is a data privacy concern because there could be a  potential of misuse of this software. The AI searches pictures that we post online to find potential suspects. I find it scary that you can be tracked by just your face.
SIGNIFICANCE 
“The investigation was initiated as a result of media reports that “raised questions and concerns about whether the company is collecting and using personal information without consent,” said a joint statement from the commissioners’ offices. “
This statement comes from the commissioners’ offices
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/02/we-may-have-no-privacy-things-can-always-get-worse/606250/ SUBJECT
The central message of the document is facial recognition is becoming more advanced. As it grows, the growing concerns of data that can be extracted from it also grows.
AUTHOR
Jonathan Zittrain is an American professor of Internet law. He is a writer fort the news source the Atlantic. The Atlantic is  left leaning news source.
CONTEXT
This source was last updated February 7, 2020.
The author is an professor in Harvard University
He writes for a left leaning news the Atlantic.
This could effect the article because he could of used left leaning sources in his article.
AUDIENCE
Publisher:The Atlantic
Reuters is a left leaning source.
The opinions could lean to the left which could mean some bias.
PERSPECTIVE
Subjective Opinion Piece.
The author claims that we should limit data collection and data use to ensure our privacy.
I agree with him because I think data privacy is important in a paperless world and limiting data collection would be a good idea. 
SIGNIFICANCE
The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It 
This is an article used and  cited from the New York Times which is Objective neutral source.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/1/technology-industry-criticizes-states-data-privacy/ SUBJECT
The central message of the document is states are creating new privacy laws that have tech companies angry due to restrictions in order to protect data privacy.
AUTHOR
Dan Boylan was a former general assignment reporter at The Washington Times.  The Washington Times is a right leaning news source. He attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
CONTEXT
This source was last updated July 1, 2019.
Boylan writes for a right leaning new source
This could effect the source because it could mean some bias due to his right side opinions.
AUDIENCE
Publisher:The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a right leaning source.
The opinions could lean to the right and sources could be biased.
PERSPECTIVE
Objective Piece.
A law has created controversy stating that it refrains “companies from using, selling or distributing customer data with out customer’s consent”
On the other side, companies argued that it could violate the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
I agree that companies should ask for customer’s consent before collecting any data on them no matter what. 
SIGNIFICANCE
“Data does not recognize state borders, and a fragmented, state-by-state approach sets uneven and inconsistent protections for consumers that are difficult, and sometimes impossible to implement,” said USTelecom, a coalition of broadband service providers.
This was said by  USTelecom, a coalition of broadband service providers and was used as evidence in the authors article.
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mooreoliver · 5 years
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What are the Software Quality Assurance trends of 2020?
Tumblr media
The IT industry is witnessing rapid changes with new technologies and methodologies playing an important role in developing quality products at faster turnarounds. Software quality assurance has become an integral part of the whole Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It involves evaluating the performance of the system components based on a slew of parameters. Furthermore, with Agile and DevOps software development (and testing) methodologies becoming the norm, software quality assurance needs to keep up with the changing times. It needs to ensure the quality of a software application remains top-notch in terms of performance, usability, security, and functionality, among others. Let us discuss the QA software testing trends that are going to dominate in the year 2020.
 # Big data testing: Many IT processes belonging to verticals like healthcare, banking, telecom, retail, etc., generate a huge quantum of data at high speeds. These need to be tested for integrity, consistency, and redundancy. Testing of such data is important in terms of evaluating the functionality and performance of applications. Also, since these data are leveraged for decision making, they need to be optimized, segmented, and validated. The challenges of big data testing are about the requirement of time and resources. The year 2020 might see the introduction of platforms that can mimic the behavior of various layers of application data.
 # DevOps Testing: With requirements like Continuous Delivery and Integration, the DevOps model of software development and testing has been adopted by many organizations. The model calls for an increased synergy between the development and QA teams. Here, any software testing company needs to implement test automation to execute DevOps testing in the development sprint. It helps in the quick development of a glitch-free software that delivers better user experience and improves ROI for the business.
 # IoT Testing: The growth in smart devices has been phenomenal and is likely to touch a figure of 20.6 billion by 2020 (Source: Gartner). Since these devices have embedded software applications to perform a slew of activities, these need to be tested thoroughly. The quality assurance software testing services undertaking IoT testing validate the quality of embedded applications on parameters like security, functionality, usability, and trustworthiness. In doing so, they face challenges related to the monitoring of operating systems and communications protocols, and the possible combination of elements that are part of the IoT environment. In 2020, IoT testing might involve the following:
· Validating the compatibility of devices, their versions, and protocols
· Monitoring the delay in the connection of elements
· Safety, security, and scalability of components
· Data integrity
 # Security Testing: Digital transformation encompassing increased connectivity of devices has brought the spectre of security threats. According to statistics, cybercrime is likely to cost the world more than $6 trillion by 2021 (Source: Herjavecgroup.com). Thus, security testing will arguably become the key focus area for any QA testing services company. It will incorporate vulnerability assessment and testing, penetration testing, and chance appraisal to ensure the modules and hubs in an application framework do not get ruptured. Furthermore, the security need will involve actualizing the measure of security layers and the incorporation of DevSecOps in the SDLC. According to the latter, security becomes the shared responsibility of everyone in the organization, notably Development and Operations.
 # Testing Centre of Excellence (TCoE): Enterprises have been looking at establishing TCoEs to develop standard protocols, formats, frameworks, and tools for testing. The growing need for quality applications with faster turnarounds has necessitated the setting up of TCoEs.
 # Performance Engineering: As opposed to merely testing the performance of a product and its components, the trend now is to focus on parameters such as customer value, throughput, memory usage, latency, quality of configuration, the practicality of usage, and convenience, among others.
 # AI Testing: AI and ML have slowly made their way into the IT infrastructure of today and are going to consolidate their presence even further. In 2020 and beyond, AI and ML will be utilized in testing to attain objectives such as:
· Predicting test configurations based on the previous checks
· Identifying checks to be executed automatically
· Identifying high-risk areas in applications to prioritize regression tests
Conclusion
The changing dynamics of business and shifting customer preferences have necessitated software testing to change as well. With manual testing increasingly giving way to automated testing, the year 2020 will witness a hybrid of these two types of testing. Furthermore, the year 2020 and beyond will have an increased role of the QA department and companies that do not include QA in their scheme of things are going to falter big time.
This article is originally published on Toolbox, Look Out for These Software Quality Assurance Trends in 2020.
Author Bio
Oliver has been associated with Cigniti Technologies Ltd as an Associate Manager - Content Marketing, with over 10 years of industry experience as a Content Writer in Software Testing & Quality Assurance industry.
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workfromhom · 5 years
Text
Daily Crunch: Facebook cancels F8 over coronavirus concerns
Coronavirus fears prompt even more event cancellations, controversial facial recognition software is being used widely and DocuSign acquires Seal Software. Here’s your Daily Crunch for February 28, 2020.
1. Facebook cancels F8 conference, citing coronavirus concerns
Facebook has confirmed that it has canceled its annual F8 developers conference over growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. More specifically, the company says it’s canceling the “in-person component” — there may still be video presentations, along with live-streamed and local events, under the F8 umbrella.
At the same time, companies, including Microsoft, are pulling out of the Game Developers Conference over similar concerns. And the Geneva Motor Show was just canceled.
2. Clearview said its facial recognition app was only for law enforcement as it courted private companies
After claiming that it would only sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies, a new report in BuzzFeed News suggests that Clearview AI is less than discerning about its client base, and has in fact shopped its technology far and wide.
3. DocuSign acquires Seal Software for $188M to enhance its AI chops
Seal Software was founded in 2010, and, while it may not be a mainstream brand, its customers include the likes of PayPal, Dell, Nokia and DocuSign itself. (DocuSign previously invested in the company, too.) These businesses use Seal for its contract management tools, but also for its analytics, discovery and data extraction services.
4. Senate passes ‘rip and replace’ bill to remove old Huawei and ZTE equipment from networks
Written as a response to recent concerns around Chinese hardware manufacturers, the bill would ban purchase of telecom equipment from embattled Chinese manufactures like Huawei and ZTE. It also includes $1 billion in funding to help smaller rural telecoms “rip and replace” existing equipment from specific manufacturers.
5. The world Bob Iger made
The Disney executive has been openly thinking about retirement and searching for a successor — a search that culminated in this week’s announcement that he’d be stepping down from the CEO role immediately. But Iger’s succession planning hasn’t stopped him from solidifying Disney’s dominance of the entertainment business, a position designed to last long after his departure. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
6. ‘Robot’ was coined 100 years ago, in a play predicting human extinction by android hands
Published 100 years ago, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Czech writer Karel Čapek is best remembered for bringing the word “robot” to sci-fi — and English, generally.
7. Catching up with Startup Battlefield
We’re trying out something new: As you (hopefully) know, TechCrunch hosts a number of Startup Battlefield events, and afterwards, those startups often go on to do interesting and newsworthy things. But there are so many Battlefield alumni at this point that we can’t cover every announcement. So occasionally, I’ll be rounding them up here.
This week, we’ve got news from Berlin 2019 competitor Nodle.io, which is crowdsourcing the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading the task to smartphones. And Nodle announced this week that it has acquired Internet-of-Things security company Brickchain.com.
The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.
from Facebook – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2Tsjdwd via IFTTT
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un-enfant-immature · 5 years
Text
Daily Crunch: Facebook cancels F8 over coronavirus concerns
Coronavirus fears prompt even more event cancellations, controversial facial recognition software is being used widely and DocuSign acquires Seal Software. Here’s your Daily Crunch for February 28, 2020.
1. Facebook cancels F8 conference, citing coronavirus concerns
Facebook has confirmed that it has canceled its annual F8 developers conference over growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. More specifically, the company says it’s canceling the “in-person component” — there may still be video presentations, along with live-streamed and local events, under the F8 umbrella.
At the same time, companies, including Microsoft, are pulling out of the Game Developers Conference over similar concerns. And the Geneva Motor Show was just canceled.
2. Clearview said its facial recognition app was only for law enforcement as it courted private companies
After claiming that it would only sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies, a new report in BuzzFeed News suggests that Clearview AI is less than discerning about its client base, and has in fact shopped its technology far and wide.
3. DocuSign acquires Seal Software for $188M to enhance its AI chops
Seal Software was founded in 2010, and, while it may not be a mainstream brand, its customers include the likes of PayPal, Dell, Nokia and DocuSign itself. (DocuSign previously invested in the company, too.) These businesses use Seal for its contract management tools, but also for its analytics, discovery and data extraction services.
4. Senate passes ‘rip and replace’ bill to remove old Huawei and ZTE equipment from networks
Written as a response to recent concerns around Chinese hardware manufacturers, the bill would ban purchase of telecom equipment from embattled Chinese manufactures like Huawei and ZTE. It also includes $1 billion in funding to help smaller rural telecoms “rip and replace” existing equipment from specific manufacturers.
5. The world Bob Iger made
The Disney executive has been openly thinking about retirement and searching for a successor — a search that culminated in this week’s announcement that he’d be stepping down from the CEO role immediately. But Iger’s succession planning hasn’t stopped him from solidifying Disney’s dominance of the entertainment business, a position designed to last long after his departure. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
6. ‘Robot’ was coined 100 years ago, in a play predicting human extinction by android hands
Published 100 years ago, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Czech writer Karel Čapek is best remembered for bringing the word “robot” to sci-fi — and English, generally.
7. Catching up with Startup Battlefield
We’re trying out something new: As you (hopefully) know, TechCrunch hosts a number of Startup Battlefield events, and afterwards, those startups often go on to do interesting and newsworthy things. But there are so many Battlefield alumni at this point that we can’t cover every announcement. So occasionally, I’ll be rounding them up here.
This week, we’ve got news from Berlin 2019 competitor Nodle.io, which is crowdsourcing the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading the task to smartphones. And Nodle announced this week that it has acquired Internet-of-Things security company Brickchain.com.
The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.
0 notes
computer-basics · 5 years
Link
Coronavirus fears prompt even more event cancellations, controversial facial recognition software is being used widely and DocuSign acquires Seal Software. Here’s your Daily Crunch for February 28, 2020.
1. Facebook cancels F8 conference, citing coronavirus concerns
Facebook has confirmed that it has canceled its annual F8 developers conference over growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. More specifically, the company says it’s canceling the “in-person component” — there may still be video presentations, along with live-streamed and local events, under the F8 umbrella.
At the same time, companies, including Microsoft, are pulling out of the Game Developers Conference over similar concerns. And the Geneva Motor Show was just canceled.
2. Clearview said its facial recognition app was only for law enforcement as it courted private companies
After claiming that it would only sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies, a new report in BuzzFeed News suggests that Clearview AI is less than discerning about its client base, and has in fact shopped its technology far and wide.
3. DocuSign acquires Seal Software for $188M to enhance its AI chops
Seal Software was founded in 2010, and, while it may not be a mainstream brand, its customers include the likes of PayPal, Dell, Nokia and DocuSign itself. (DocuSign previously invested in the company, too.) These businesses use Seal for its contract management tools, but also for its analytics, discovery and data extraction services.
4. Senate passes ‘rip and replace’ bill to remove old Huawei and ZTE equipment from networks
Written as a response to recent concerns around Chinese hardware manufacturers, the bill would ban purchase of telecom equipment from embattled Chinese manufactures like Huawei and ZTE. It also includes $1 billion in funding to help smaller rural telecoms “rip and replace” existing equipment from specific manufacturers.
5. The world Bob Iger made
The Disney executive has been openly thinking about retirement and searching for a successor — a search that culminated in this week’s announcement that he’d be stepping down from the CEO role immediately. But Iger’s succession planning hasn’t stopped him from solidifying Disney’s dominance of the entertainment business, a position designed to last long after his departure. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
6. ‘Robot’ was coined 100 years ago, in a play predicting human extinction by android hands
Published 100 years ago, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Czech writer Karel Čapek is best remembered for bringing the word “robot” to sci-fi — and English, generally.
7. Catching up with Startup Battlefield
We’re trying out something new: As you (hopefully) know, TechCrunch hosts a number of Startup Battlefield events, and afterwards, those startups often go on to do interesting and newsworthy things. But there are so many Battlefield alumni at this point that we can’t cover every announcement. So occasionally, I’ll be rounding them up here.
This week, we’ve got news from Berlin 2019 competitor Nodle.io, which is crowdsourcing the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading the task to smartphones. And Nodle announced this week that it has acquired Internet-of-Things security company Brickchain.com.
The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.
https://ift.tt/2CoAoqu from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2Tsjdwd via IFTTT
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jamesgeiiger · 6 years
Text
CES 2019: Chinese tech firms lay lower amid trade tensions
LAS VEGAS — The CES 2019 gadget show, which kicks off Sunday, will showcase the expanding influence and sway of China’s rapidly growing technology sector. But some of its firms are stepping back from the spotlight amid rising U.S. national-security concerns over Chinese tech and a trans-Pacific trade war launched by President Donald Trump.
Last year, a top executive of the Chinese telecom firm Huawei delivered a CES keynote address critical of AT&T’s abrupt cancellation of plans to sell a Huawei phone following espionage concerns raised by the U.S. government. This year, Huawei’s chief financial officer was arrested in Canada at the behest of the U.S.; Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei’s founder, now awaits U.S. extradition . No Chinese technology executives will deliver CES keynotes in Las Vegas this week.
There are fewer Chinese entrepreneurs buying up booth space to show off their latest technology — more than 20 per cent fewer exhibitors than last year, according to registration numbers tracked by the South China Morning Post. Chinese firms still account for more than a quarter of the conference’s 4,500 exhibitors, second only to the U.S. in sheer numbers. But some of the biggest names are taking a more subdued approach.
Internet company Baidu last year hosted a flashy event touting its self-driving software, but this year is sticking to a more conventional booth. E-commerce giant Alibaba is eschewing the big outdoor tent it helped erect last year in favour of quieter meetings marketing its voice assistant to business partners. The phone maker Xiaomi is simply skipping this year’s event altogether.
None of them are citing U.S.-China tensions as a reason, but it’s hard to ignore the geopolitical backdrop — even with a 90-day “cease-fire” on tariffs set to expire in March. Trump expressed a more conciliatory tone Sunday as American trade negotiators prepared to meet with their counterparts in Beijing.
The U.S. and China have imposed import taxes on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s goods — and Trump has threatened more to come, including tariffs that could make devices like iPhones more expensive. The U.S. is also exploring new export restrictions that would target industries where China is hoping to get ahead, such as artificial intelligence and robotics. And the Justice Department brought charges last month against two Chinese citizens it accused of stealing American trade secrets and other sensitive information on behalf of Beijing’s main intelligence agency.
Of course, plenty of Chinese entrepreneurs are still eager to show off their innovations. Hosts of the 52-year-old trade event have sought to downplay the tensions, noting that they’ve weathered previous trade tensions, such as those that roiled U.S.-Japan relations in the 1980s.
“The Japanese presence used to be very big and it was similar in that the U.S. was in a panic about it,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes CES. That ended when the Japanese “bubble” economy burst in 1991 and its tech industry began a long, slow decline.
“Japanese innovation from those companies shrunk and those companies consolidated,” Shapiro said. “These things are impermanent. So I don’t lose that much sleep over it.”
Shapiro said the trade dispute with China and the Meng arrest in Canada aren’t impacting attendance. CES organizers on Sunday wouldn’t confirm numbers showing a sharp drop in Chinese exhibitors, but said a decline in small Chinese companies on the show floor was made up by expanded booth presence from bigger firms.
Chinese tech firms are increasingly joining their American, South Korean and Japanese counterparts in using CES to build enthusiasm for up-and-coming electronics products, while also connecting with potential new international partners and suppliers. That’s especially true for electronics firms like Hisense and TCL, which have increasingly sought to sell their TVs in North America, and Lenovo, which is already a big player in the U.S. laptop market but is pushing to sell other internet-connected devices.
Hisense is making a splashier presentation this year as it invests in boosting its U.S. brand awareness, said Jim Ninesling, head of marketing for Hisense USA. Previously, the company, which has a large market share in China, mostly kept on the U.S. sidelines, branding some of its products under the name of the better-known Japanese firm Sharp.
Chinese electric carmaker Byton, a startup backed by internet giant Tencent, on Sunday is promising to unveil what it calls the “world’s most intuitive automotive interface,” which, according to a tease on Twitter , involves a touchscreen mounted on the steering wheel. AI firm iFlytek — sometimes described as China’s Siri or Alexa — is planning to showcase its latest advances in voice recognition and real-time translation services.
And a startup expo co-hosted by the Chinese government features a bevy of gee-whiz innovations, from indoor delivery robots and portable karaoke headsets to “smart” suitcases aided by computer vision.
In an ideal world, the tech industries in the two countries would be seen as complementary, said venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee, who led Google’s subsidiary in China before the company withdrew over censorship and other concerns.
“The U.S. strength is deep technologists, universities, academics, people with superior experience,” he said. “China’s superiority is a larger market, more data, and very tenacious and hardworking entrepreneurs.”
Lee said his optimism for a more collaborative approach is now “merely a dream” because of the worsening trade dispute. But he said there could still be partnerships between U.S. firms and Chinese companies that, for now, mostly cater to Chinese consumers.
“Google feels much, much more threat from Amazon than any Chinese company,” he said. “That makes Tencent and Alibaba potential allies, especially when customer needs cross international boundaries.”
—-
AP Business Writer Joseph Pisani contributed to this report.
CES 2019: Chinese tech firms lay lower amid trade tensions published first on https://worldwideinvestforum.tumblr.com/
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mikemortgage · 6 years
Text
CES 2019: Chinese tech firms lay lower amid trade tensions
LAS VEGAS — The CES 2019 gadget show, which kicks off Sunday, will showcase the expanding influence and sway of China’s rapidly growing technology sector. But some of its firms are stepping back from the spotlight amid rising U.S. national-security concerns over Chinese tech and a trans-Pacific trade war launched by President Donald Trump.
Last year, a top executive of the Chinese telecom firm Huawei delivered a CES keynote address critical of AT&T’s abrupt cancellation of plans to sell a Huawei phone following espionage concerns raised by the U.S. government. This year, Huawei’s chief financial officer was arrested in Canada at the behest of the U.S.; Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei’s founder, now awaits U.S. extradition . No Chinese technology executives will deliver CES keynotes in Las Vegas this week.
There are fewer Chinese entrepreneurs buying up booth space to show off their latest technology — more than 20 per cent fewer exhibitors than last year, according to registration numbers tracked by the South China Morning Post. Chinese firms still account for more than a quarter of the conference’s 4,500 exhibitors, second only to the U.S. in sheer numbers. But some of the biggest names are taking a more subdued approach.
Internet company Baidu last year hosted a flashy event touting its self-driving software, but this year is sticking to a more conventional booth. E-commerce giant Alibaba is eschewing the big outdoor tent it helped erect last year in favour of quieter meetings marketing its voice assistant to business partners. The phone maker Xiaomi is simply skipping this year’s event altogether.
None of them are citing U.S.-China tensions as a reason, but it’s hard to ignore the geopolitical backdrop — even with a 90-day “cease-fire” on tariffs set to expire in March. Trump expressed a more conciliatory tone Sunday as American trade negotiators prepared to meet with their counterparts in Beijing.
The U.S. and China have imposed import taxes on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s goods — and Trump has threatened more to come, including tariffs that could make devices like iPhones more expensive. The U.S. is also exploring new export restrictions that would target industries where China is hoping to get ahead, such as artificial intelligence and robotics. And the Justice Department brought charges last month against two Chinese citizens it accused of stealing American trade secrets and other sensitive information on behalf of Beijing’s main intelligence agency.
Of course, plenty of Chinese entrepreneurs are still eager to show off their innovations. Hosts of the 52-year-old trade event have sought to downplay the tensions, noting that they’ve weathered previous trade tensions, such as those that roiled U.S.-Japan relations in the 1980s.
“The Japanese presence used to be very big and it was similar in that the U.S. was in a panic about it,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes CES. That ended when the Japanese “bubble” economy burst in 1991 and its tech industry began a long, slow decline.
“Japanese innovation from those companies shrunk and those companies consolidated,” Shapiro said. “These things are impermanent. So I don’t lose that much sleep over it.”
Shapiro said the trade dispute with China and the Meng arrest in Canada aren’t impacting attendance. CES organizers on Sunday wouldn’t confirm numbers showing a sharp drop in Chinese exhibitors, but said a decline in small Chinese companies on the show floor was made up by expanded booth presence from bigger firms.
Chinese tech firms are increasingly joining their American, South Korean and Japanese counterparts in using CES to build enthusiasm for up-and-coming electronics products, while also connecting with potential new international partners and suppliers. That’s especially true for electronics firms like Hisense and TCL, which have increasingly sought to sell their TVs in North America, and Lenovo, which is already a big player in the U.S. laptop market but is pushing to sell other internet-connected devices.
Hisense is making a splashier presentation this year as it invests in boosting its U.S. brand awareness, said Jim Ninesling, head of marketing for Hisense USA. Previously, the company, which has a large market share in China, mostly kept on the U.S. sidelines, branding some of its products under the name of the better-known Japanese firm Sharp.
Chinese electric carmaker Byton, a startup backed by internet giant Tencent, on Sunday is promising to unveil what it calls the “world’s most intuitive automotive interface,” which, according to a tease on Twitter , involves a touchscreen mounted on the steering wheel. AI firm iFlytek — sometimes described as China’s Siri or Alexa — is planning to showcase its latest advances in voice recognition and real-time translation services.
And a startup expo co-hosted by the Chinese government features a bevy of gee-whiz innovations, from indoor delivery robots and portable karaoke headsets to “smart” suitcases aided by computer vision.
In an ideal world, the tech industries in the two countries would be seen as complementary, said venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee, who led Google’s subsidiary in China before the company withdrew over censorship and other concerns.
“The U.S. strength is deep technologists, universities, academics, people with superior experience,” he said. “China’s superiority is a larger market, more data, and very tenacious and hardworking entrepreneurs.”
Lee said his optimism for a more collaborative approach is now “merely a dream” because of the worsening trade dispute. But he said there could still be partnerships between U.S. firms and Chinese companies that, for now, mostly cater to Chinese consumers.
“Google feels much, much more threat from Amazon than any Chinese company,” he said. “That makes Tencent and Alibaba potential allies, especially when customer needs cross international boundaries.”
—-
AP Business Writer Joseph Pisani contributed to this report.
from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2Az85Fb via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage
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williamsjoan · 6 years
Text
Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service
2018 saw Africa’s tech sector become more dynamic and international. VC firms on the continent multiplied. There were numerous investment rounds. And startups pursued acquisitions and global expansion. Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped African tech over the last year.  
Surge in VC funds
A notable 2018 trend was Africa’s VC landscape becoming more African, with an increasing number of investment funds headquartered on the continent and run by locals, according to Crunchbase data released in this TechCrunch exclusive.
Drawing on its database and primary source research, Crunchbase identified 51 viable Africa-focused VC funds globally with at least 7-10 investments in African startups from seed to series stage.
Of the 51 funds, 22 (or 43 percent) were headquartered in Africa and managed by Africans. Of those 22, nine (or 41 percent) were formed since 2016 and nine were Nigerian.
Four of the nine Nigeria-based funds were formed within the last year: Microtraction, Neon Ventures, Beta.Ventures and CcHub’s Growth Capital fund.
The Crunchbase study also tracked more Africans in top positions at outside funds and the rise of homegrown corporate venture arms.
One of those entities with a corporate venture arm, Naspers, announced a $100 million fund named Naspers Foundry to invest in South African tech startups. This was part of a $300 million (4.6 billion Rand) commitment by the South African media and investment company to support South Africa’s tech sector overall, as reported here at TechCrunch.
Another DFI came on the scene when France announced a $76 million African startup fund administered by the French Development Agency, AFD. TechCrunch got the skinny on how it will work here.
Investment and expansion
If African VC investment headlines were scarce a decade ago, in 2018 we became overwhelmed with them. This was largely a result of several recently closed Africa funds — TLcom’s $40 million, Partech’s $70 million, TPG’s 2 billion — beginning to deploy that capital.
In March, Nigerian consumer data analytics firm Terragon raised $5 million from TLcom. Kenyan business enterprise software company Africa’s Talking raised $8.6 million in a round led by IFC.
Investment startup Piggybank.ng closed $1.1 million in seed funding and announced a new product — Smart Target, for traditional savings groups. Trucking Logistics company Kobo360 raised two rounds, for a total of $7.2 million. Kenya-based agtech supply chain startup Twiga Foods raised $10 million. B2B retail supply chain Sokowatch closed a $2 million seed round led by 4DX ventures.
White-label lending startup Mines.io secured a $13 million Series A round. South African SME payment venture Yoco raised $16 million. Paga Payments added $10 million in fresh funding.
And then there were the three huge raises of the year. Kenyan digital payment company Cellulant hauled in $37.5 million in a Series C round led by TPG Growth. South African lending startup Jumo raised $52 million led by Goldman Sachs. And just this month, The Carlyle Group invested $40 million in Africa-focused online travel site Wakanow.com.  
Acquisitions and expansion
In 2018, African tech demonstrated it can travel, as several digital companies expanded on the continent and abroad. In May, MallforAfrica and DHL launched MarketPlaceAfrica.com, a global e-commerce site for select African artisans to sell wares to buyers in any of DHL’s 220 delivery countries.
Paga announced plans to expand in Africa and internationally, with an eye on Ethiopia, Mexico and the Philippines, CEO Tayo Oviosu told TechCrunch. Kobo360 is moving into in new markets — Ghana, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.
On the back of its $52 million round, Jumo said it would expand in Asia and started by opening an office in Singapore.
On the acquisition front, Terragon bought Asian mobile marketing company Bizense in a cash and stock deal. The company is exploring greater growth opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia, CEO Elo Umeh told TechCrunch.
TPG Growth acquired a majority stake (of an undisclosed value) in Africa entertainment content company TRACE. After previous investments, Naspers acquired  96 percent of Southern African e-commerce venture Takealot.
And in December, California-based Emergent Technology Holdings acquired Ghanaian fintech payment company InterpayAfrica.
Partnerships
Collaboration between local tech firms and big global names continued in 2018. Liquid Telecom and Microsoft continued their partnership to offer connectivity cloud services such as Microsoft’s Azure, Dynamics 365 and Office 365 to select startups and hubs. This is part of Liquid Telecom’s strategy to go long on Africa’s startups as its future clients and the continent’s next big companies.
Facebook teamed up with Nigerian tech hub CcHub to launch its NG_Hub high-tech incubator.
Blockchain
As crypto fever gripped many leading economies in 2018, Africa was shaping its own blockchain narrative — one more grounded in utility than speculation. 500 Startups-backed SureRemit launched a crypto token product aimed at disrupting Africa’s multi-billion-dollar remittance market and raised $7 million in an ICO. South African payments venture Wala and solar energy startup Sun Exchange also had ICOs.
For blockchain as a platform, agtech startups Twiga Foods and Hello Tractor partnered with IBM Research to use the digital ledger tech to advance small-scale farmers and agriculture on the continent.
Ride-hail boda bodas
Ride-hail tech expanded into the continent’s frequently used motorcycle taxi market. Uber entered the three-wheeled tuk tuk moto taxi market in Tanzania in March and Uber and Taxify launched motorcycle passenger services in East Africa, including Kenya and Uganda.
Fails
Last year saw Y Combinator-backed VOD startup Afrostream shutter. In February 2018, Nigerian e-commerce startup Konga — backed by VC — was sold in a distressed acquisition. There were high expectations for Konga and its much-liked founder Sim Shagaya. I made the case that Konga’s acquisition was one of Africa’s first big startup fails that flew under the radar.
Drones
TechCrunch did a deep dive into Africa’s drone scene, talking to several experts and looking at emerging use cases across delivery services, agtech and surveying. On the regulatory side, several countries — Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi — are doing some interesting things around regulation and creating drone-testing corridors for global players.
TechCrunch and Africa
In 2018 TechCrunch did more with Africa than any previous year. In addition to more content, there was a market engagement trip to Ghana and Nigeria, with meet-and-greets at Impact Hub, MEST Accra and Lagos, and CcHub.
TechCrunch also had its first Africa panel on Disrupt SF’s main stage, an Africa session at Disrupt Berlin and held the second Startup Battlefield Africa in December in Nigeria.
Fifteen startups competed in Lagos in front of a Pan-African and global crowd. South African virtual banking startup Bettr was runner-up. Ultra-affordable ultrasound startup M-Scan from Uganda was the winner.
More Africa-related stories @TechCrunch
Netflix rival Iflix offloads its Africa business to focus on Asia
SimbaPay launches Kenya to China payment service over WeChat
African tech around the ‘net  
Africa Tech Ventures closes $7.5M from AfDB for seed-stage investments
Six African startups selected for GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund
Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018 published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/
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theinvinciblenoob · 6 years
Link
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service
2018 saw Africa’s tech sector become more dynamic and international. VC firms on the continent multiplied. There were numerous investment rounds. And startups pursued acquisitions and global expansion. Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped African tech over the last year.  
Surge in VC funds
A notable 2018 trend was Africa’s VC landscape becoming more African, with an increasing number of investment funds headquartered on the continent and run by locals, according to Crunchbase data released in this TechCrunch exclusive.
Drawing on its database and primary source research, Crunchbase identified 51 viable Africa-focused VC funds globally with at least 7-10 investments in African startups from seed to series stage.
Of the 51 funds, 22 (or 43 percent) were headquartered in Africa and managed by Africans. Of those 22, nine (or 41 percent) were formed since 2016 and nine were Nigerian.
Four of the nine Nigeria-based funds were formed within the last year: Microtraction, Neon Ventures, Beta.Ventures and CcHub’s Growth Capital fund.
The Crunchbase study also tracked more Africans in top positions at outside funds and the rise of homegrown corporate venture arms.
One of those entities with a corporate venture arm, Naspers, announced a $100 million fund named Naspers Foundry to invest in South African tech startups. This was part of a $300 million (4.6 billion Rand) commitment by the South African media and investment company to support South Africa’s tech sector overall, as reported here at TechCrunch.
Another DFI came on the scene when France announced a $76 million African startup fund administered by the French Development Agency, AFD. TechCrunch got the skinny on how it will work here.
Investment and expansion
If African VC investment headlines were scarce a decade ago, in 2018 we became overwhelmed with them. This was largely a result of several recently closed Africa funds — TLcom’s $40 million, Partech’s $70 million, TPG’s 2 billion — beginning to deploy that capital.
In March, Nigerian consumer data analytics firm Terragon raised $5 million from TLcom. Kenyan business enterprise software company Africa’s Talking raised $8.6 million in a round led by IFC.
Investment startup Piggybank.ng closed $1.1 million in seed funding and announced a new product — Smart Target, for traditional savings groups. Trucking Logistics company Kobo360 raised two rounds, for a total of $7.2 million. Kenya-based agtech supply chain startup Twiga Foods raised $10 million. B2B retail supply chain Sokowatch closed a $2 million seed round led by 4DX ventures.
White-label lending startup Mines.io secured a $13 million Series A round. South African SME payment venture Yoco raised $16 million. Paga Payments added $10 million in fresh funding.
And then there were the three huge raises of the year. Kenyan digital payment company Cellulant hauled in $37.5 million in a Series C round led by TPG Growth. South African lending startup Jumo raised $52 million led by Goldman Sachs. And just this month, The Carlyle Group invested $40 million in Africa-focused online travel site Wakanow.com.  
Acquisitions and expansion
In 2018, African tech demonstrated it can travel, as several digital companies expanded on the continent and abroad. In May, MallforAfrica and DHL launched MarketPlaceAfrica.com, a global e-commerce site for select African artisans to sell wares to buyers in any of DHL’s 220 delivery countries.
Paga announced plans to expand in Africa and internationally, with an eye on Ethiopia, Mexico and the Philippines, CEO Tayo Oviosu told TechCrunch. Kobo360 is moving into in new markets — Ghana, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.
On the back of its $52 million round, Jumo said it would expand in Asia and started by opening an office in Singapore.
On the acquisition front, Terragon bought Asian mobile marketing company Bizense in a cash and stock deal. The company is exploring greater growth opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia, CEO Elo Umeh told TechCrunch.
TPG Growth acquired a majority stake (of an undisclosed value) in Africa entertainment content company TRACE. After previous investments, Naspers acquired  96 percent of Southern African e-commerce venture Takealot.
And in December, California-based Emergent Technology Holdings acquired Ghanaian fintech payment company InterpayAfrica.
Partnerships
Collaboration between local tech firms and big global names continued in 2018. Liquid Telecom and Microsoft continued their partnership to offer connectivity cloud services such as Microsoft’s Azure, Dynamics 365 and Office 365 to select startups and hubs. This is part of Liquid Telecom’s strategy to go long on Africa’s startups as its future clients and the continent’s next big companies.
Facebook teamed up with Nigerian tech hub CcHub to launch its NG_Hub high-tech incubator.
Blockchain
As crypto fever gripped many leading economies in 2018, Africa was shaping its own blockchain narrative — one more grounded in utility than speculation. 500 Startups-backed SureRemit launched a crypto token product aimed at disrupting Africa’s multi-billion-dollar remittance market and raised $7 million in an ICO. South African payments venture Wala and solar energy startup Sun Exchange also had ICOs.
For blockchain as a platform, agtech startups Twiga Foods and Hello Tractor partnered with IBM Research to use the digital ledger tech to advance small-scale farmers and agriculture on the continent.
Ride-hail boda bodas
Ride-hail tech expanded into the continent’s frequently used motorcycle taxi market. Uber entered the three-wheeled tuk tuk moto taxi market in Tanzania in March and Uber and Taxify launched motorcycle passenger services in East Africa, including Kenya and Uganda.
Fails
Last year saw Y Combinator-backed VOD startup Afrostream shutter. In February 2018, Nigerian e-commerce startup Konga — backed by VC — was sold in a distressed acquisition. There were high expectations for Konga and its much-liked founder Sim Shagaya. I made the case that Konga’s acquisition was one of Africa’s first big startup fails that flew under the radar.
Drones
TechCrunch did a deep dive into Africa’s drone scene, talking to several experts and looking at emerging use cases across delivery services, agtech and surveying. On the regulatory side, several countries — Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi — are doing some interesting things around regulation and creating drone-testing corridors for global players.
TechCrunch and Africa
In 2018 TechCrunch did more with Africa than any previous year. In addition to more content, there was a market engagement trip to Ghana and Nigeria, with meet-and-greets at Impact Hub, MEST Accra and Lagos, and CcHub.
TechCrunch also had its first Africa panel on Disrupt SF’s main stage, an Africa session at Disrupt Berlin and held the second Startup Battlefield Africa in December in Nigeria.
Fifteen startups competed in Lagos in front of a Pan-African and global crowd. South African virtual banking startup Bettr was runner-up. Ultra-affordable ultrasound startup M-Scan from Uganda was the winner.
More Africa-related stories @TechCrunch
Netflix rival Iflix offloads its Africa business to focus on Asia
SimbaPay launches Kenya to China payment service over WeChat
African tech around the ‘net  
Africa Tech Ventures closes $7.5M from AfDB for seed-stage investments
Six African startups selected for GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund
via TechCrunch
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cryptswahili · 6 years
Text
Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service
2018 saw Africa’s tech sector become more dynamic and international. VC firms on the continent multiplied. There were numerous investment rounds. And startups pursued acquisitions and global expansion. Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped African tech over the last year.  
Surge in VC funds
A notable 2018 trend was Africa’s VC landscape becoming more African, with an increasing number of investment funds headquartered on the continent and run by locals, according to Crunchbase data released in this TechCrunch exclusive.
Drawing on its database and primary source research, Crunchbase identified 51 viable Africa-focused VC funds globally with at least 7-10 investments in African startups from seed to series stage.
Of the 51 funds, 22 (or 43 percent) were headquartered in Africa and managed by Africans. Of those 22, nine (or 41 percent) were formed since 2016 and nine were Nigerian.
Four of the nine Nigeria-based funds were formed within the last year: Microtraction, Neon Ventures, Beta.Ventures and CcHub’s Growth Capital fund.
The Crunchbase study also tracked more Africans in top positions at outside funds and the rise of homegrown corporate venture arms.
One of those entities with a corporate venture arm, Naspers, announced a $100 million fund named Naspers Foundry to invest in South African tech startups. This was part of a $300 million (4.6 billion Rand) commitment by the South African media and investment company to support South Africa’s tech sector overall, as reported here at TechCrunch.
Another DFI came on the scene when France announced a $76 million African startup fund administered by the French Development Agency, AFD. TechCrunch got the skinny on how it will work here.
Investment and expansion
If African VC investment headlines were scarce a decade ago, in 2018 we became overwhelmed with them. This was largely a result of several recently closed Africa funds — TLcom’s $40 million, Partech’s $70 million, TPG’s 2 billion — beginning to deploy that capital.
In March, Nigerian consumer data analytics firm Terragon raised $5 million from TLcom. Kenyan business enterprise software company Africa’s Talking raised $8.6 million in a round led by IFC.
Investment startup Piggybank.ng closed $1.1 million in seed funding and announced a new product — Smart Target, for traditional savings groups. Trucking Logistics company Kobo360 raised two rounds, for a total of $7.2 million. Kenya-based agtech supply chain startup Twiga Foods raised $10 million. B2B retail supply chain Sokowatch closed a $2 million seed round led by 4DX ventures.
White-label lending startup Mines.io secured a $13 million Series A round. South African SME payment venture Yoco raised $16 million. Paga Payments added $10 million in fresh funding.
And then there were the three huge raises of the year. Kenyan digital payment company Cellulant hauled in $37.5 million in a Series C round led by TPG Growth. South African lending startup Jumo raised $52 million led by Goldman Sachs. And just this month, The Carlyle Group invested $40 million in Africa-focused online travel site Wakanow.com.  
Acquisitions and expansion
In 2018, African tech demonstrated it can travel, as several digital companies expanded on the continent and abroad. In May, MallforAfrica and DHL launched MarketPlaceAfrica.com, a global e-commerce site for select African artisans to sell wares to buyers in any of DHL’s 220 delivery countries.
Paga announced plans to expand in Africa and internationally, with an eye on Ethiopia, Mexico and the Philippines, CEO Tayo Oviosu told TechCrunch. Kobo360 is moving into in new markets — Ghana, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.
On the back of its $52 million round, Jumo said it would expand in Asia and started by opening an office in Singapore.
On the acquisition front, Terragon bought Asian mobile marketing company Bizense in a cash and stock deal. The company is exploring greater growth opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia, CEO Elo Umeh told TechCrunch.
TPG Growth acquired a majority stake (of an undisclosed value) in Africa entertainment content company TRACE. After previous investments, Naspers acquired  96 percent of Southern African e-commerce venture Takealot.
And in December, California-based Emergent Technology Holdings acquired Ghanaian fintech payment company InterpayAfrica.
Partnerships
Collaboration between local tech firms and big global names continued in 2018. Liquid Telecom and Microsoft continued their partnership to offer connectivity cloud services such as Microsoft’s Azure, Dynamics 365 and Office 365 to select startups and hubs. This is part of Liquid Telecom’s strategy to go long on Africa’s startups as its future clients and the continent’s next big companies.
Facebook teamed up with Nigerian tech hub CcHub to launch its NG_Hub high-tech incubator.
Blockchain
As crypto fever gripped many leading economies in 2018, Africa was shaping its own blockchain narrative — one more grounded in utility than speculation. 500 Startups-backed SureRemit launched a crypto token product aimed at disrupting Africa’s multi-billion-dollar remittance market and raised $7 million in an ICO. South African payments venture Wala and solar energy startup Sun Exchange also had ICOs.
For blockchain as a platform, agtech startups Twiga Foods and Hello Tractor partnered with IBM Research to use the digital ledger tech to advance small-scale farmers and agriculture on the continent.
Ride-hail boda bodas
Ride-hail tech expanded into the continent’s frequently used motorcycle taxi market. Uber entered the three-wheeled tuk tuk moto taxi market in Tanzania in March and Uber and Taxify launched motorcycle passenger services in East Africa, including Kenya and Uganda.
Fails
Last year saw Y Combinator-backed VOD startup Afrostream shutter. In February 2018, Nigerian e-commerce startup Konga — backed by VC — was sold in a distressed acquisition. There were high expectations for Konga and its much-liked founder Sim Shagaya. I made the case that Konga’s acquisition was one of Africa’s first big startup fails that flew under the radar.
Drones
TechCrunch did a deep dive into Africa’s drone scene, talking to several experts and looking at emerging use cases across delivery services, agtech and surveying. On the regulatory side, several countries — Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi — are doing some interesting things around regulation and creating drone-testing corridors for global players.
TechCrunch and Africa
In 2018 TechCrunch did more with Africa than any previous year. In addition to more content, there was a market engagement trip to Ghana and Nigeria, with meet-and-greets at Impact Hub, MEST Accra and Lagos, and CcHub.
TechCrunch also had its first Africa panel on Disrupt SF’s main stage, an Africa session at Disrupt Berlin and held the second Startup Battlefield Africa in December in Nigeria.
Fifteen startups competed in Lagos in front of a Pan-African and global crowd. South African virtual banking startup Bettr was runner-up. Ultra-affordable ultrasound startup M-Scan from Uganda was the winner.
More Africa-related stories @TechCrunch
Netflix rival Iflix offloads its Africa business to focus on Asia
SimbaPay launches Kenya to China payment service over WeChat
African tech around the ‘net  
Africa Tech Ventures closes $7.5M from AfDB for seed-stage investments
Six African startups selected for GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund
[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]
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bbnnfeed-blog · 6 years
Text
RightMesh Poised to Deliver Connectivity to Global Communities, Block by Block
New Post has been published on https://bbnn.io/2018/06/rightmesh-poised-deliver-connectivity-globally-block-block/
RightMesh Poised to Deliver Connectivity to Global Communities, Block by Block
AiDecentralized is one of the premier conferences of the AI industry. This month’s event, held in Toronto, brought together over a million people working in both the AI and blockchain industries. Panelists and moderators facilitated discussions on a range of topics including; machine learning, ethics, data, privacy, economics, blockchain technology, and decentralization.
One of the most noteworthy projects discussed at the conference was RighMesh. RightMesh’s mission is to bring connectivity to communities that lack the traditional infrastructure for internet access. By substituting traditional internet connectivity with decentralizing data and communication, RighMesh eradicates the struggle developing areas face in attracting major telecom and internet companies.
The gap they’re seeking to breach is ambitious: according to the International Communications Union and The United Nations, only 48% of the world has access to the internet.
Unlike other tokenized blockchain offerings, which are often solely concerned with making wealthy investors even wealthier, RightMesh is supported by Left, a web and mobile business that’s a certified B corporation. This designation denotes that RightMesh has prioritized making a positive difference to be of equal importance to achieving a for-profit outcome.
However, as with any project, spreading the word and perfecting the technology is key.
Leader Of The Tech Pack
Chief Technology Officer Jason Ernst knows the importance of this. Ernst says that half the world isn’t connected to the internet because the dual issue of high cost and inadequate supply: Building new infrastructure is expensive and established infrastructures are already overwhelmed by demand.
Ernst explains how RightMesh replaces traditional and costly infrastructure with “wireless technology that already exists on phones” to which they add “layers of software that allow the phones to create a multi-hop, multi-path autonomously forming network.”
The whole idea of using the features already found in existing smartphones is very promising considering the economic, technological and logistical challenges that exist in the developing world.
Though highly motivated by their positive ambitions, Ernst and his team must address two primary challenges.
First, that blockchains rely on internet access to keep the network and its nodes on the same page. Organizing connectivity between users directly (a process coined a “mesh”) means networks may split apart creating inconsistencies in connectivity.
The second challenge is in building the mesh connectivity itself. Ernst acknowledges the depth of this challenge: “We manage Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi direct connectivity, and form connections without a user needing to pair, or approve each connection, he says. On top of this we have a peer discovery protocol, a routing protocol, and end to end delivery protocols. There are many parts to the system and as such, the project is quite complicated. Managing the complexity and ensuring constant improvement in terms of performance is one of our biggest remaining challenges”.
Ernst believes RightMesh can radically change lives. When asked if he thinks the interests of solely profit-driven blockchain projects are obscuring the reason this technology was born in the first place, he points out how all blockchain projects, whether altruistic or otherwise, rely on the same principle: that all players in the ecosystem be rewarded evenly.
In the case of RightMesh, this means rewarding:
Users who share their data.
Users who forward data to buyers and sellers.
Those who provide storage and mobility that enable the mesh.
Crowdsourcing Contributions
RightMesh opened its doors on May 30th, accepting contributions from anyone that registers on their website and believes in the cause. Regardless of the amount raised, the goal is not only to connect people but to give them the freedom of choice where connectivity-related resources are scarce.
Connecting Mesh With AI?
Although RightMesh doesn’t explicitly include plans for incorporating artificial intelligence into its roadmap, Ernst muses how AI may be helpful in advancing RightMesh’s mission down the line. He imagines a day where AI can evenly distribute connectivity across the entire mesh while monitoring resource allocation in ways that ensure maximum efficiency from bandwidth storage and memory.
As society awaits a time when things like this can be automated, Ernst and his colleagues are eagerly anticipating the launch of their crowdfunding campaign that they hope will enable them to connect the world through blockchain.
Jack Choros is a freelance writer with Blockchain Business News Network
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