Yearly Archives: 2020

PR Newswire

IBM, IMDA, M1 AND Samsung to Collaborate on Singapore’s First 5G Industry 4.0 Trial

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SINGAPORE, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM), the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), M1 Limited (M1) and Samsung today announced Singapore’s first 5G Industry 4.0 trial, to demonstrate the transformative impact of 5G for enterprises and drive the next bound of Singapore’s digital economy. This announcement is part of IBM’s edge computing solutions for the 5G era announced at IBM Think 2020.

IBM, IMDA, M1 AND SAMSUNG TO COLLABORATE ON SINGAPORE’S FIRST 5G INDUSTRY 4.0 TRIAL
IBM, IMDA, M1 AND SAMSUNG TO COLLABORATE ON SINGAPORE’S FIRST 5G INDUSTRY 4.0 TRIAL

The trial aims to develop insights and showcase benefits of 5G in Industry 4.0[1]. It will be an innovation model that allows for development, testing and benchmarking of 5G-enabled solutions that can be applied across various industries.

This partnership consists of the following three main areas:

  • 5G Innovation: The trial aims to design, develop, test and benchmark 5G-enabled industry 4.0 solutions that can be applied across various industries.
  • 5G Solution Showcase: Solutions developed will be featured at IBM’s Industry 4.0 Studio[2] 5G Solutions Showcase. The showcase will feature Industry 4.0 solutions powered by 5G and leveraging capabilities such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence. The aim is to help proliferate 5G solutions to different industry sectors in Singapore.
  • 5G Solutions Roll-out: IBM and Samsung will evaluate successful solutions developed during the project for possible use in their operations in a broad range of markets and sectors.

5G’s capabilities such as faster data transfer and more-rapid response times, when coupled with other transformative technologies like AI, can enable significant improvements to manufacturing processes. The project will test 5G-enabled use cases for manufacturing, focusing on three main areas:

  • Automated visual inspection using AI for image recognition and video analytics;
  • Improved equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance using AI-enabled acoustic insights; and
  • Assembly and debugging using augmented reality to improve productivity and quality

The trial at the Industry 4.0 Studio will commence in Q2, 2020 and will be conducted at IBM Singapore’s Centre of Competency (CoC) for Smart Factory Operating Model for sharing of ideas and best practices. This makes IBM Singapore the ideal location for the trial, and solutions could be ultimately rolled out to other IBM Manufacturing sites, globally.

Successful 5G-enabled Industry 4.0 use-cases developed from this trial could be demonstrated for manufacturing enterprises and applied to production, service, quality control, and testing across a broad range of industries.

Partnership between IBM, IMDA, M1 and Samsung

IBM will implement and test Industry 4.0 use cases that will leverage IBM’s AI, IoT, edge, and augmented reality technologies, and network architecture built on IBM systems using open solutions infrastructure from Red Hat.

“We want to complement Singapore’s Smart Nation and Digital Economy efforts and empower enterprises and industry players with a robust and versatile 5G launch-pad through this trial. This will allow businesses to leverage digital technologies to create next-generation solutions and be responsive to rapidly changing market and 5G adoption in Singapore. IBM has built industry-leading hybrid cloud, AI and security capabilities underpinned by deep industry expertise. With support from IMDA and our strategic partners Samsung and M1, this collaboration will seed Singapore’s 5G capabilities and strengthen its position as a leading industrial innovation hub, and move us closer in fulfilling our Industry 4.0 vision,” said Martin Chee, Managing Director, IBM Singapore.

IMDA will share the learnings and solutions developed through this partnership with Singapore businesses and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the manufacturing sector, and 5G innovation ecosystem participants.

“5G will be the backbone of Singapore’s Digital Economy, strengthening our national competitiveness and reinforcing our position as a global business and connectivity hub. We are excited to work with IBM, Samsung and M1 to develop 5G capabilities and innovative use-cases, and look forward to sharing the learnings with the industry to help them build new capabilities, transform their businesses and tap new opportunities. We are committed to co-investing with the industry, and welcome all companies to join us on our 5G journey,” said Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA

Together with Samsung as network and mobile solution provider and M1 as the telco provider, 5G network framework and skillsets could be established, allowing the solutions and the 5G framework know-how to be rolled out from Singapore and commercialised in other countries.

“We are very pleased to partner with IBM, Samsung and IMDA for Singapore’s first 5G Industry 4.0 trial. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to collaborate with leading industry players to develop, test and roll-out innovative 5G-enabled industry 4.0 solutions that will enhance smart manufacturing processes. Through this partnership, we hope to strengthen our in-house engineering capabilities in harnessing state-of-the-art 5G standalone (SA) technology for enabling hyper-connectivity, end-to-end network slicing, ultra-low latency, highly reliable and secured communications. With the recent award of one of Singapore’s two nationwide 5G licence, we will build a cutting-edge 5G network infrastructure and bring new consumer, enterprise and government use cases to the market as soon as the ecosystem matures, which we are certain will help bring Singapore’s Digital Economy forward,” said Denis Seek, Chief Technical Officer, M1.

“These are exciting times for the manufacturing industry. Already at the forefront of digital transformation, disruptive technologies and digitalization are now opening up new and unprecedented possibilities for the sector. New technologies will confer on tomorrow’s factories which will depend on ultra-reliable and low latency communication between machines, sensors, databases and workers’ mobile devices. Singapore has long been a leader in fostering innovation, and this 5G Industry 4.0 program is yet another validation of their technology leadership,” said KC Choi, Executive Vice President & Global Head of B2B Business, Samsung Electronics. “By combining Samsung’s end-to-end 5G Standalone (SA) network platform — including phones and devices at the edge, we are witnessing ground breaking new Industry 4.0 capabilities for enterprise clients. More importantly, work and productivity aside, 5G will be a key tool in entertaining and connecting people. We are excited to be partnering with IBM, IMDA and M1 to help make the promise of 5G a reality today and showcase this in Singapore.” 

[1]   Apart from providing a strong foundation for Industry IoT and automation, 5G would also reduce the cost of processing by shifting the load from the edge device to centralised systems. This reduces the requirement and cost for edge device thus making the application more cost effective.

[2]  The IBM Industry 4.0 Studio will be launched in June and located at Changi Business Park. Interested businesses can contact representatives of IBM, IMDA, M1 and SAMSUNG to visit the studio and view the solutions.

About IBM

For more information please visit https://www.ibm.com/cloud/.  

About Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore’s digital transformation with infocomm media. To do this, IMDA will develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an exceptional infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore’s ICM infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission.

For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on Facebook IMDAsg and Twitter @IMDAsg.

About M1

M1, a subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, is Singapore’s most vibrant and dynamic communications company, providing mobile and fixed services to over two million customers. Since the launch of commercial services in 1997, M1 has achieved many firsts, including the first operator to offer nationwide 4G service, as well as ultra high-speed fixed broadband, fixed voice and other services on the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (NGNBN). With a continual focus on network quality, customer service, value and innovation, M1 links anyone and anything; anytime, anywhere. For more information, visit www.m1.com.sg

Facebook: facebook.com/m1limited
Instagram: instagram.com/m1.sg
Twitter: twitter.com/m1singapore
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/m1-limited

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.

For media clarifications, please contact: 

Aung Thi Ha (Mr)
Manager, Communications and Marketing, IMDA
DID: (65) 9338 2594
Email: aung_thi_ha@imda.gov.sg 

Ken Ng
 Senior Executive, Corporate Communications, M1
DID: (65) 9699 0133
Email: ngcj@m1.com.sg 

Esther Low 
Head, PR & Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics Singapore
DID: (65) 9170 7107
Email: esther.low@samsung.com 

Selvi R
Communications Manager, IBM ASEAN
DID: (65) 9795 4165
Email: selvir@sg.ibm.com

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PR Newswire

Alpian Secures CHF 12.2m Series A Funding to Tap Into CHF 660bn Private Banking Opportunity

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GENEVA, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — New digital financial services company, Alpian SA (“Alpian”), incubated by the Swiss banking group REYL & Cie Ltd (“REYL”), today announces a successful Series A funding round worth CHF 12.2 million. The funds will enable Alpian to accelerate growth plans and pursue ambitions to receive a full banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), launching as a fully licensed digital affluent bank in 2021.

Alpian aims to create an innovative banking offering, tailored to the mass affluent population (with investible assets between CHF 100k – 1 million) in Switzerland, worth an estimated CHF 660 billion. Independent market research demonstrates how existing retail and private banking providers do not fully address the fundamental needs of this segment. Amongst this demographic, 40% are looking for a new bank and 70% would be open to using a bank with no branches at all.

Alpian’s offering will include tailored investment boutique products, digital face-to-face access to experienced financial advisors, and everyday banking services. Through a modernistic digital interface, Alpian will leverage proprietary and disruptive technology to develop scalable, personalised private banking.

Benefiting from REYL’s 40+ years of banking and wealth management experience, the company aims to compete on an equal footing with other established banks.

Schuyler Weiss, Alpian CEO, said:

“The genesis of Alpian comes from the clear vision of our experienced and well diversified team. This brings with it an ability to execute our vision, unimpeded, with technology and innovation underpinning everything we do. Securing the Series A funding is a testament to our business and our ability to execute. It is a big step towards reaching full technological and operational readiness over the coming months.”

REYL partner, Pasha Bakhtiar said:

“Alpian started as an incubation project at REYL but we soon realised the full potential of this unique, ground-breaking value proposition. The fact that Alpian has secured this impressive Series A round demonstrates the confidence investors also have in the blue ocean space we have identified. My Partners and I are immensely trusting in the quality of the Alpian team and we are excited to accompany them on the next stages of the journey.”

About Alpian

www.alpian.com 

Based in Carouge, Switzerland, Alpian is a new digital financial services brand, incorporated in October 2019.

Press enquiries: media@alpian.com, +447742954886

PR Newswire

Poker’s Most Famous Fans Unite For ‘Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars’

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Hank Azaria and celebrity friends team up with PokerStars for $1 million charity extravaganza

ONCHAN, Isle of Man, , May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — On May 9 at 2pm ET, dozens of A-list celebrities will come together for Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars, an online charity poker event raising vital funds for relief efforts during the current global crisis.

Dozens of A-list celebrities will come together for Stars CALL for Action - Powered by PokerStars
Dozens of A-list celebrities will come together for Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars

The online poker tournament will be hosted at PokerStars and broadcast live on Twitch, Facebook and YouTube. International stars will turn their cameras on as they take their seats at the virtual table, and poker lovers the world over can join hosts James Hartigan and Lex Veldhuis as they follow the action while dropping in on crowd favorites.

Viewers will also be able to contribute to the cause via a ‘Donate’ button on their platform of choice.

Conceived and brought together by actor Hank Azaria and journalist, author and screenwriter Andy Bellin, this unique event is fast building momentum.  Spaces are limited and celebrities already registered include Edward Norton, Brian Koppelman, Amy Schumer, Bryan Cranston, Don Cheadle, Michael Cera, Jon Hamm, Jeff Garlin, David Schwimmer, Eric Bogosian, Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Michael Ian Black, Kevin Pollak, Tony Yazbeck, Max Kruse, and many more.

The top placed celebrities will direct their portions of $1 million, donated by PokerStars, to a charity of their choosing and take home exceptional bragging rights. Fifty percent of the total donation will go directly to Care International on behalf of those playing, as well as all proceeds donated via live stream. Grants to charities will be administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a Charity Navigator Four-Star Charity that meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards.

“This event is a great way to combine genuine giving where it’s needed with a way to stay home and yet still connect with people from around the world. A friendly game of poker reminds us how life used to be, which hopefully we get back to soon,” said Hank Azaria. “It’s a way for people to interact for a good cause and enjoy themselves at the same time. The response has been really great, and I’ll tell you, when PokerStars stepped up like that, I was actually kind of moved by it. We were hoping they’d put in some money, but to basically finance the whole thing to the tune of a million dollars, is pretty incredible.”

To add a little extra competition, PokerStars is surprising players and fans by giving them the opportunity to play against the stars. PokerStars Ambassadors, Streamers and Celebrities will hold community giveaways and those chosen will battle it out on May 9 to direct further donations to Care International. Two fields – celebrities and players – will then play down to their respective final tables and combine for the ultimate showdown. Celebrities who get knocked out early will be added into a side event where the winner will direct 10% of the total to charity.

“This event began as a simple conversation between our team, Hank, Andy and the Entertainment Industry Foundation as a way to create positive entertainment and raise support for critical causes during these challenging times,” said Rebecca McAdam Willetts, Associate Director of Public Relations at PokerStars. “We were thrilled that they came to us and have been blown away by the momentum it’s gained. With people increasingly using our products to connect, compete and stay social while safe at home, we are delighted to show how the game we love can be used to bring people together and do good… with the added bonus of surprising some poker fans along the way.”

“We are honored to serve as a partner to artists in our community to help raise funds – and spirits – during this time,” said Regina Miller, Chief Strategy Advisor to the Entertainment Industry Foundation. “With PokerStars setting the stage and Hank and Andy leading the charge, we are looking forward to a fun-filled night of fundraising to benefit people across the world.”

To hear more from Hank Azaria and for further information check out the PokerStars Blog.

Notes to Editors

This event is a play money event, with no real money prizes awarded to any players. Donations will be made on the behalf of top performers.

Hashtag: #StarsRaising

Stars CALL for Action – Powered by PokerStars will be streamed at:         

Facebook.com/PokerStars

YouTube.com/PokerStars

Twitch.tv/PokerStars

Play responsibly. Check here for more information on PokerStars Responsible Gaming Tools.

About Care International

Care International UK is one of the world’s leading humanitarian charities and has been the official emergency relief partner of PokerStars since 2014. Care International works in over 100 countries around the world to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.

About PokerStars

PokerStars operates the world’s most popular online poker sites, serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the world, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best online security. More than 200 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.

Play Responsibly!  For more information on responsible gaming please visit our website at http://www.pokerstars.com/about/responsible-gaming/ 

Contact – press@pokerstars.com 

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation

The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), founded in 1942, is a multifaceted organization that occupies a unique place in the world of philanthropy. By mobilizing and leveraging the powerful voice and creative talents of the entertainment industry, as well as cultivating the support of organizations (public and private) and philanthropists committed to social responsibility, EIF builds awareness and raises funds, developing and enhancing campaigns on the local, national and global level that facilitate positive social change. Visit eifoundation.org or follow @eifoundation for more information.

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PR Newswire

Arria NLG and BNY Mellon Collaborate to Transform Data into Analytics through Natural Language Technology

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NEW YORK, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Arria NLG, a leading provider of Natural Language Generation (NLG) technology, today announced a collaboration with The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (“BNY Mellon”) to help asset managers and asset owners transform data into actionable analytics. BNY Mellon Data and Analytics Solutions’ clients will now be able to unlock better insights from their data through the power of natural language generation.

BNY Mellon Data and Analytics Solutions’ clients will now be able to unlock better insights from their data through the power of natural language generation
BNY Mellon Data and Analytics Solutions’ clients will now be able to unlock better insights from their data through the power of natural language generation

“Our natural language artificial intelligence technology helps generate automated, real-time insights and narratives in plain, easy-to-understand language directly from data,” said Sharon Daniels, CEO Arria NLG. “We are pleased to accelerate speed to new potential sources of untapped alpha for BNY Mellon Data and Analytics Solutions’ clients to help them make better informed investment decisions and more effectively grow assets.”

BNY Mellon Data and Analytics Solutions’ clients can now take advantage of Arria’s sophisticated natural language generation capabilities integrated with the Eagle Performance and Data Management solutions suite. Arria NLG combined with BNY Mellon’s financial technology experience will help clients to accelerate their data analysis and translate data into language and insights across investment data categories, including portfolio management, performance measurement and attribution analysis.

“We are excited to offer Arria’s NLG capabilities inside our leading platform to help clients meet compliance needs while responding to constant market and regulatory changes,” said Charles Teschner, Global Head of Data and Analytics Solutions, BNY Mellon. “This collaboration helps our clients to generate consistent bias-free professional commentary, scale their data reporting operations and significantly reduce the time and effort in analyzing large volumes of data.”

Learn more

About Arria NLG 
Arria NLG is the global leader in the field of Natural Language Generation (NLG), a form of artificial intelligence, specializing in extracting insights from complex data sources and communicating that information in natural language (i.e. as if written or spoken by a human). Arria’s API architecture enables seamless integration with any BI, RPA or VOICE platform.

Arria has the greatest concentration of NLG expertise in the world and has a growing patent portfolio of 27 core NLG patents. Arria’s rapidly growing group of major international enterprise clients-including banking, financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, consumer product goods, news and media-are now deploying NLG-driven automated reporting within their global organizations using Arria’s NLG Studio Platform. Additional information is available at www.arria.com.

Media Contact: Lyndsee Manna
Senior Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships
lynsee.manna@arria.com

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PR Newswire

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna Keynotes IBM Think Digital 2020; Announces New AI, Edge and Cloud Capabilities to Help Clients Accelerate Recovery and Transformation

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More than 90,000 attendees join IBM’s Think Digital event experience

IBM offers technology training and solutions that can help serve as building blocks of transformation and recovery, resilience and discovery

NEW YORK, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — In his keynote presentation at IBM’s Think Digital event, IBM (NYSE: IBM) CEO Arvind Krishna urged companies to build resiliency into their businesses and their networks in response to the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19.

“History will look back on this as the moment when the digital transformation of business and society suddenly accelerated,” Krishna said. “This is an opportunity to develop new solutions, new ways of working and new partnerships that will benefit your company and your customers, not just today, but for years to come.”

IBM’s annual event is taking place May 5 and 6 online exclusively, connecting clients, partners and thought leaders around the world.

During the opening keynote, Krishna called hybrid cloud and AI “the two dominant forces driving digital transformation.” And he announced new offerings to help clients on that path:

  • A broad range of AI-powered capabilities and services that are designed to help CIOs automate their IT infrastructures to be more resilient to future disruptions and to help reduce costs. A new offering, Watson AIOps, uses AI to self-detect, diagnose and respond to IT anomalies in real time. Watson AIOps is built on Red Hat OpenShift to run across hybrid cloud environments and works with collaboration technologies at the center of today’s distributed work environment, such as Slack and Box.
  • New IBM solutions, services and partnerships help businesses make the most of the opportunities presented by 5G and edge computing. With new offerings built on Red Hat OpenShift, enterprises can autonomously manage workloads across a massive volume of edge devices. Telecommunications providers can quickly orchestrate virtual and container network functions to help them provide new services today and as 5G adoption expands.
  • The first Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers who intend to onboard their offerings to IBM’s financial services-ready public cloud. Assima, C3.ai, Finacle, Intellect Design and Thought Machine have committed to delivering their offerings through that platform, giving participating banks an efficient way to ensure they are working with trusted vendors.

“Technology platforms are the basis for competitive advantage in the 21st century,” Krishna added. “They will determine how quickly you can pivot to new market opportunities, how well you serve your clients, how much you can scale, and how fast you can respond to a crisis like the one we’re facing today.”

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna’s Think Digital keynote will be available for replay after 11 pm ET on May 5 at ibm.com/events/think/watch/replays.

About IBM Think Digital
At Think Digital, IBM will discuss the state of business and the role of critical technologies, such as AI and Cloud, as clients accelerate recovery and digital transformation in the wake of COVID-19.

Visit www.ibm.com/events/think/watch for the full schedule and livestream agenda, and to watch all of the programming—including IBM CEO Arvind Krishna’s keynote, “The New Essential Technologies for Business,” on May 5 at 11:15 am ET and 7:15 pm ET.

Follow the conference on Twitter at #think2020 and @ibmlive. For more information, visit the IBM Think 2020 Newsroom, newsroom.ibm.com/think.

CONTACT:
Vineeta Durani
IBM Communications
347-982-4803
vineeta.durani@us.ibm.com

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PR Newswire

Power and Compound Fab Spending to Rebound in Second Half of 2020, Set New Record in 2021, SEMI Reports

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MILPITAS, California, May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Global fab equipment spending for power and compound devices is expected to rebound in the second half of 2020 to meet resurgent end-product demand and jump 59 percent to a segment record US$6.9 billion in 2021, SEMI reported today in its Power & Compound Fab Report to 2024. The 2020 rally will help blunt a drop in annual spending, now projected at 8 percent, as fabs ride the COVID-19 recovery wave.

Power and compound devices are used to control electrical energy for devices across an array of industries such as computing, communications, energy and automotive. Since the widespread enactment of stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of COVID-19, demand for servers, laptops and other electronics at the heart of online communications has surged.

The SEMI Power & Compound Fab Report to 2024 lists more than 800 power- and compound-related facilities and lines and covers investments and capacities for the 12 years from 2013 through 2024. In 2019, the report tracked 804 facilities and lines with installed capacity of 8 million wafers per month (in 200mm equivalent wafers). By 2024, 38 new facilities and lines will begin operation, fueling installed capacity growth of a cumulative 20 percent to 9.7 million wafers per month. 

In breakdowns by region, mainland China will expand power and compound fab capacity by 50 percent and 87 percent, respectively, from 2019-2024, more than any other region. Over the same period, Europe/Mideast and Taiwan will lead the way in adding power fab capacity, while the Americas and Europe/Mideast will be among those regions adding compound fab capacity.

For more information about The SEMI Power & Compound Fab Report to 2024 or to download sample data from the report, please click here.

About SEMI

SEMI® connects more than 2,100 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association Contact
Michael Hall/SEMI
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
Email: mhall@semi.org

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PR Newswire

More Than 40 Billion Minutes of Live Interactive Video and Voice Content Streamed Monthly on Agora.io’s Network in Q1

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Agora’s software defined dedicated network sees 60% increase in usage, from 25 billion to more than 40 billion minutes streamed monthly

SAN JOSE, California, May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Agora.io, the leading voice, video and live interactive streaming platform, saw tremendous growth during the first quarter of 2020, including a 300 percent increase in developer sign-ups from the last quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020, as well as a 60 percent increase in overall network usage. Agora’s interactive voice, video, and messaging SDKs are embedded into mobile, web and desktop applications across more than 1.7 billion devices globally.

Amid social distancing and work-from-home orders in response to COVID-19, many consumers and organizations are turning to online video streaming to engage, interact and stay connected with one another during these times. With no signs of demand slowing down, the growing user adoption of interactive video and voice streaming solutions is expected to bring the market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to more than 19 percent with more than 240 million streaming users expected in the U.S. by the end of 2020.

“The demand for real-time engagement was growing even before the epidemic but in the last few months it became very compelling. We’ve seen a trend in organizations and institutions that have either accelerated their digital transformation plans or have been forced to put a strategy and plan into action as a result of COVID-19,” said Reggie Yativ, Chief Operations Officer at Agora.io. “As a global company with easy-to-implement live, interactive video and voice SDKs, we are well-positioned to work with companies around the world to add real-time engagement features to their applications  quickly to ensure their employees and customers can continue to connect with one another while adhering to the social distance orders that are enacted around the globe. We believe that the new world we are living in will require all businesses across the globe to adjust and form more comprehensive and engaging digital strategies to ensure business continuity.”

From the more than 88 percent of enterprises implementing remote work to the 1.5 billion students globally out of school, live, interactive video and voice streaming offers an answer to the growing need for a sense of normalcy during the pandemic. Recent use cases Agora has supported include:

  • Virtual Classrooms:
    • New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., one of the largest providers of private educational services in the world and Noon Academy, a leading global social learning platform for virtual study groups, both partnered with Agora to bring authentic and engaging interactions among students and teachers to the virtual classroom through the use of real-time, interactive video and voice solutions.
  • Telehealth:
    • DrFirst, a pioneer in technology, support and services that connect people at touchpoints of patient care, partnered with Agora to enable telehealth within Backline, DrFirst’s award-winning care collaboration platform. Over 1,300 organizations, and growing, are using Backline for telehealth.
    • Talkspace, an online and mobile therapy company, has embedded Agora’s live, interactive video and voice solutions to keep patients connected with their doctors.
  • Remote Work Collaboration:
    • Pragli, a virtual office solution for remote teams, is answering the needs of the corporate world by leveraging Agora’s real-time video and voice SDKs, to help employees connect with their colleagues in real-time. Users can host quick audio calls, schedule real-time video meetings all while using personalized avatars as an easy and fun way to let their co-workers know when they’re at their desks, in a meeting, or simply taking a break. In the last two months since the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have been put in place, Pragli’s user base has grown 20x.
  • Virtual Events and Conferences
    • Run the World is one of the fastest growing online event platforms and has seen tremendous success in recent months. Organizers can simply plug and play event information to create a fully digital experience for their community, complete with interactive, live video streaming powered by Agora’s technology. From multi-day industry conferences to intimate cocktail hours, the opportunities are endless.
  • Staying Social Through Online Games
    • Bunch, a group video chat app for multiplayer games, and Total Mayhem Games, an indie mobile game developer, both leverage Agora’s technology to offer their users a seamless experience to communicate with friends in real-time during play. . In the last three months, Bunch has seen more than 200x growth in usage and Total Mayhem Games’ most recent title, “We Were Here Together,” a 50 percent increase in new players since the beginning of the year.

If you’re interested in learning more about Agora’s partners or its live interactive video and voice SDKs for your mobile, web or desktop apps visit www.agora.io for more information.

About Agora.io
Agora.io helps apps increase user engagement and retention with a developer platform for live, interactive audio, video, and messaging features at planetary scale. With a dedicated network and device-optimized SDKs, Agora is the only real-time engagement platform designed to cross borders and reach users on low-bandwidth networks and on lower-powered devices.

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News, Podcast

[Podcast] Tech & Tonic Episode 12: So Many New Smartphones Under MYR 1,500! MCO is Extended, Maybe a DJI Mavic Air 2 Makes Sense Now.

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In this episode of Tech & Tonic Podcast, we spoke about the OPPO A92. That was mostly because they launched the mid-ranger right before we recorded our podcast. In that subject though, we continued the conversation that happened last episode too, albeit in a more local context.

We discussed the value proposition that is the mid-range devices, since a lot of them are now costing less than MYR 1,500. We thought that the modern mid-rangers are the new flagships. Not in terms of specs and technology of course. The great value-proposition makes the devices more compelling than flagships these days.

Still, that does not change the fact that we are still working from home since the Movement Control Order in Malaysia has been extended to the 12th of May 2020. In that light though, DJI has launched a new consumer class compact drone. The DJI Mavic Air 2 is their new consumer class drone that is capable of videos in 4K resolution at 60 fps while flying 10km away from you.

More of those and other things on our Tech & Tonic Podcast!

News, techENT Download, Video

[Video] techENT Download || Xiaomi Redmi Note 9, realme launches, DJI Mavic Air and More!

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In this week’s techENT Download weekly round-up we had a crazy time disseminating pieces of mid-range smartphone launches. One of the most anticipated one is Xiaomi finally revealing their Redmi Note 9 series packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G System on a Chip (SoC).

The Xiaomi Redmi device is not yet reaching the local shores though. Meanwhile realme updates their realme 6 line-up with a variant packing 8GB RAM and 128GB in storage. Just a little while later, they revealed that the realme 6 Pro is also coming to market.

On a different segment though, DJI launched a successor to the very successful and very loved DJI Mavic Air. They launched the new DJI Mavic Air 2 which looks like a squished down version of a DJI Mavic Pro drone. Still, it comes with a bigger sensor that also records at 4K resolution at 60 fps. All this while being cleverer and with a range of 10km and longer flight time on a single charge.

More news and weekly highlights on the techENT Download!