Monthly Archives: May 2021

PR Newswire

E-commerce Aggregator, Una Brands, raises USD40 million in Seed Round from heavy hitters to acquire and scale brands in APAC

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SINGAPORE, May 6, 2021 — Singapore-based e-commerce startup, Una Brands, today announced that it has raised a USD40 million Seed Round of equity and debt financing, in one of the biggest seed funding rounds seen regionally. Una Brands will use the capital to buy and scale e-commerce brands based in APAC.

 

Una Brands Singapore-based Co-Founders (from left to right): Tobias Heusch, Kiren Tanna and Kushal Patel
Una Brands Singapore-based Co-Founders (from left to right): Tobias Heusch, Kiren Tanna and Kushal Patel

Kiren Tanna, former CEO of Rocket Internet Asia and Founder of foodpanda and ZEN Rooms, founded Una Brands in 2020. Kiren is backed by four other Co-Founders spread across APAC, namely Adrian Johnston, Kushal Patel, Tobias Heusch and Srinivasan Shridharan.

Kiren Tanna, CEO of Una Brands sees enormous regional growth potential: "We estimate that there are more than 10 million third-party sellers on regional platforms across APAC. The COVID lockdown created a huge surge in e-commerce demand, with a peak demand increase of over 100 per cent in many cases. The lockdown encouraged many people to try shopping online for the first time and has created a behavioural shift in consumer habits."

The funding round, backed by leading global investors, includes 500 Startups, Kingsway Capital, 468 Capital, Presight Capital, Global Founders Capital amongst others. Una Brands has also secured investment from Maximilian Bittner, currently CEO of Vestiaire Collective and former CEO of Lazada.

Khailee Ng, Managing Partner at 500 Startups, believes that Kiren and the team have the technical and personal experience to make Una Brand a global leader in e-commerce. "They are experienced, mature Co-Founders with a track record in creating speed, scale and success," explained Khailee. He added, "Why we invested in Una Brands goes beyond that. Kiren and his team have the right approach, there is a huge and growing e-commerce market in APAC and there is a huge opportunity for consolidation and optimisation."

About Una Brands

Una Brands was founded by e-commerce experts, to provide a fast and fair way for e-commerce business owners to sell their companies. Una Brands buys businesses with a long-term competitive advantage and strong brands and grows them in new markets and on new platforms. Una Brands is platform agnostic, acquiring businesses across leading e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, Shopify and more. For more information on Una Brands, visit https://www.una-brands.com.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Asia PR Werkz
Kimberley Pereira
+65 9226 0061
kimberley@asiaprwerkz.com 

Related Links :

https://www.una-brands.com

PR Newswire

InvestCloud acquires Advicent and the NaviPlan platform

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Strategic acquisition cements InvestCloud as the leader in financial planning technology, offering a unified digital experience across all wealth segments

LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2021 — InvestCloud, the global leader in cloud-based financial digital solutions, has announced a strategic acquisition of Advicent, the premier cash flow, trust and tax financial planning provider.

Advicent, a Vista Equity Partners portfolio company, provides financial planning technology for over 140,000 financial professionals across nearly 3,000 firms worldwide. Through its NaviPlan platform, Advicent creates scalable financial planning software through industry-leading APIs as well as cash flow and goal-based planning engines. It aims to help thousands of financial professionals and their clients understand and impact their financial future. Advicent’s global headquarters are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and its European base is in the Netherlands.

InvestCloud is a global company specializing in digital platforms that enable the development of financial solutions, pre-integrated into the Cloud. It supports over $4 trillion of assets for more than 500 direct clients – including some of the world’s largest banks. The company offers on-demand client experiences and intuitive operations solutions using an ever-expanding library of modular apps, to create powerful products.

The acquisition aims to create the world’s leading financial planning solution. It does this by bridging the advisor-client communication gap by combining Advicent’s cash flow, trust and tax financial planning engines with InvestCloud’s digital client and advisor platform and existing market leading goal-based financial planning engines.

The acquisition comes as market volatility has accelerated a focus on financial planning – a market worth $52.9 billion in the US alone, and predicted to grow 3.5 percent in 2021. Advisors require connected experiences for their clients to enable seamless integration from financial plans to proposals, and on to implementation. The acquisition will give advisors a full-scope unified platform to achieve this, alongside providing client management and ongoing maintenance functions. It will offer a comprehensive digital experience across an advisor’s entire book of business, from mass affluent to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

John Wise, Co-founder and CEO of InvestCloud, said: "InvestCloud’s planning engine will be enhanced with the combination of Advicent (NaviPlan). Advicent is a highly differentiated planning engine covering the simple goal-based assessments that most of the known financial planning engines cover; however, and importantly, Advicent also has advanced retirement income scenarios and estate/trust planning focusing on the very difficult planning aspects of tax and cash flow. This will be greatly leveraged by the market-leading InvestCloud planning solutions and platform used by advisors today. The Advicent team has created a great asset which, when combined with InvestCloud’s expertise in Digital Design, Gaming Theory, Decision Theory and Data Science, will accelerate the Advisor experience and drive better adoption and better outcomes. I’m thrilled to welcome Advicent into the InvestCloud family."

Wise continues "I’m delighted that, with the support of our Investment partners Motive Partners and Clearlake Capital, we are able to substantially grow both organically and by enabling great acquisitions such as Advicent."

Angela Pecoraro, CEO of Advicent, said: "We deliberately focused on the most complex components in the functional area of financial planning. InvestCloud is functionally strong and also extremely well known for design of intuitive user experiences. We are delighted to be joining forces with InvestCloud, the world’s best and most comprehensive financial digital platform for wealth, which specializes in intuitive and empathetic digital experiences, visualizations and workflows. The opportunity we see together is massive and our team has thought this for years – how powerful a partnership would be with InvestCloud. As digital plays a more and more critical role in the advisor experience, InvestCloud’s platform will enable our clients to reduce complexities, increase flexibility, and be a game-changing power for client-to-advisor collaboration by applying behavioral science to improve client outcomes."

InvestCloud’s latest acquisition further expands its global client base in North America and Europe, while deepening its dominance within wealth management, trust and estate planning, as well as private banking. The capabilities will be immediately available to InvestCloud’s existing global client base through its Digital App Store. Clients will be able to leverage InvestCloud’s design-first approach to digital and the power of the Advicent engines to create unparalleled empathetic plans for all clients.

About InvestCloud

InvestCloud is a global company specializing in digital platforms that enable the development of financial solutions, pre-integrated into the Cloud. The company offers on-demand client experiences and intuitive operations solutions using an ever-expanding library of modular apps, resulting in powerful products. Headquartered in Los Angeles, InvestCloud has over 20 global offices including New York, London, Geneva, Singapore and Sydney, supporting trillions in assets across hundreds of diverse clients – from the largest banks in the world to wealth managers, asset managers and asset services companies.

For more information, visit InvestCloud.com.

About Advicent

Advicent is the financial planning technology provider of choice for over 140,000 financial professionals across nearly 3,000 firms worldwide, including four of the top five custodians, 15 of the top 25 broker-dealers, seven of the top 10 North American banks, and seven of the top 10 North American insurance firms. Our decades of experience empower Advicent to create scalable financial planning software; compliance workflow management solutions; fully branded client experiences through industry-leading APIs; and superior cash flow and goal-based calculations. Advicent products are designed to satisfy the needs of every investor and are used in firms of all sizes. Through our innovative product capabilities and dedicated services, we are able to help thousands of financial professionals and their clients understand and impact their financial future.

To learn more, visit advicent.com. 

InvestCloud Media Contact:
Rich Went
Metia Group
+44 (0) 7745 496 065
Rich.Went@Metia.com / InvestCloudUK@Metia.com 

Related Links :

http://www.investcloud.com

PR Newswire

Blue Hat Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results, Highlighted by 343% Increase in Revenues to $9.9 Million and 62% Increase in Net Income to $1.2 Million

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XIAMEN, China, May 5, 2021 — Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology ("Blue Hat" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: BHAT), a leading producer, developer and operator of augmented reality ("AR") interactive entertainment games, toys and educational materials in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Total revenues of US$9.9 million, compared to US$2.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, driven by increased sales across all lines of business particularly the mobile games and communication services businesses, which saw strong growth following the strategic acquisitions of Xunpusen Technology Co., Ltd. ("Xunpusen") in late 2020 and Fuzhou Csfctech Co., Ltd. ("Csfctech") and its two subsidiaries in January 2021
  • Gross profit of US$4.1 million, up 143.8% from US$1.7 million in the first quarter of 2020
  • Income from operations of US$1.7 million, up 96.7% from US$0.9 million in the first quarter of 2020
  • Net income of US$1.2 million, up 62.0% from US$0.8 million in the first quarter of 2020
  • US$14.7 million in cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2021

Management Commentary

Mr. Xiaodong Chen, CEO of Blue Hat, stated, "We were pleased with the strong performance across all of our business segments, which resulted in phenomenal top line growth driven by US$5.3 million in contributions from our new IDC business and by a US$2.4 million increase in contributions from mobile games following our acquisition of 51% of Csfctech and its two subsidiaries in January 2021. We achieved 62.0% growth on the bottom line to US$1.2 million during the period and anticipate margins will improve over the course of 2021 as our businesses continue to grow and the expenses normalize from initial highs. We recently announced the official launch of our new AR+ series curriculum, which is an upgrade from our original Augmented Reality Immersive Classes ("ARIC") and has been developed and tested over the past six months. We expect the five urban partnerships that we have signed for the AR+ series curriculum will accelerate the future growth of our AR education business. We are beginning to see tangible results from this development that has strengthened the foundation of our business over the course of the past year, and we anticipate it will provide us with significant long-term growth potential for our product and service offerings."

Recent Operating Highlights

  • In April 2021, Blue Hat signed a two-year licensing agreement with Tencent QQ ("QQ") to use its intellectual property, specifically, the QQ penguin logo and QQ emoji, on Blue Hat’s toy products and related marketing materials, effective March 1, 2021. QQ launched in 1999 and has become one of the most commonly used instant messenger applications in China. According to QQ’s self-disclosed report, there were approximately 617 million active monthly users on their messenger application in 2020. The QQ penguin logo and QQ emoji are dominantly recognizable in Chinese pop culture.
  • In April 2021, Blue Hat announced that its subsidiary company, Fujian Zhongqing Hand in Hand Education Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhongqing") signed a three-year cooperation agreement of "Augmented Reality Plus", or "AR+" series curriculum with five partners in different cities: Quanzhou in Fujian Province, Huizhou in Guangdong Province, Danzhou in Hainan Province, Fuzhou in Jiangxi Province, and Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We anticipate rolling out this new curriculum to approximately 150 schools in these five regions as part of this partnership.

First Quarter 2021 Results

Total revenues were US$9.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, an increase of US$7.7 million, or 343.1%, compared to US$2.2 million in the first quarter of 2020. The significant revenue growth was primarily attributable to increased contributions from Blue Hat’s two recently acquired subsidiaries, Xunpusen in late 2020 and Csfctech in early 2021.

Revenues from sales of interactive toys (game series) were US$1.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to US$1.7 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Revenues from sales of interactive toys (animation series) were US$0.09 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, a significant increase from zero in the first quarer of 2020.

Revenues from mobile games were US$2.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, an increase of US$1.9 million, or 315.2%, following the closing of the Csfctech acquisition during the period.

Revenues from AR education, previously included under interactive toys (animation series), were US$0.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Growth in the AR education business has been primarily driven by the roll-out and implementation of Blue Hat’s ARIC system to various schools through 2020 and into 2021.

Revenues from communication services were US$5.37 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. The gain was due to the acquisition of Xunpusen in the second half of 2020.

Gross profit was US$4.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, an increase of 143.8% from US$1.7 million in the first quarter of 2020. Gross margin for the five different business lines were as follows:

  • Interactive toys (animation series): 65.6%, or US$0.06 million
  • Interactive toys (game series): 53.6%, or US$1.0 million
  • Mobile games: 84.5%, or US$2.1 million
  • AR education: 97.2%, or US$0.2 million
  • Communication services: 13.9%, or US$0.7 million

Total gross margin was 41.1% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to 74.6% in the same period last year. The decrease was due to higher initial costs associated with establishing new business lines, such as licensing costs and copyright costs, among others.

Total operating expenses were US$2.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, which includes expenses from Csfctech and its two subsidiaries, compared to US$0.8 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Income from operations was US$1.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to US$0.9 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Net income was US$1.2 million, up US$0.57 million, or 62.0%, from US$0.85 million in the first quarter of 2020. The increase was primarily driven by strong revenue growth, which more than offset an increase in operating expenses. 

Diluted earnings per share were US$0.024 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to US$0.022 for the first quarter of 2020. During the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed a registered direct offering with two institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 7.16 million ordinary shares at a price of $1.06 per share, resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $7.59 million before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses. The net proceeds is approximately $6.8 million.

Balance Sheet Highlights

As of March 31 2021, Blue Hat had cash and cash equivalents of US$14.7 million, working capital of US$34.6 million and total shareholders’ equity of US$75.5 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of US$15.8 million, working capital of US$34.0 million, and total shareholders’ equity of US$58.9 million, respectively, at December 31, 2020.

About Blue Hat

Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology is a producer, developer and operator of AR interactive entertainment games and toys in China, including interactive educational materials, mobile games, and toys with mobile game features. Distinguished by its own proprietary technology, Blue Hat aims to create an engaging, interactive and immersive community for its users. For more information, please visit the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.bluehatgroup.com. The Company routinely provides important information on its website.

Forward-Looking Statements 

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the Company’s SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology
Phone: +86 (592) 228-0010
Email: ir@bluehatgroup.net

Investor Relations:

The Equity Group Inc.                                 
Carolyne Y. Sohn, Vice President              
(415) 568-2255                                             
csohn@equityny.com                                   

In China
Lucy Ma, Associate
+86 10 5661 7012
lma@equityny.com

 

BLUE HAT INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the Three Months Ended March 31,

2021

2020

Revenues

$

9,941,407

2,243,658

Cost of revenue

5,859,847

569,489

Gross profit

4,081,560

1,674,169

Operating expenses:

Selling

580,046

173,150

General and administrative

1,315,777

539,710

Research and development

444,211

76,051

Total operating expenses

2,340,034

788,911

Income from operations

1,741,526

885,258

Other income (expense)

Interest income

194

377

Interest expense

(137,615)

(72,607)

Other finance expenses

(40,970)

(57,749)

Other income, net

30,509

18,534

Total other (expense) income, net

(147,882)

(111,445)

Income before income taxes

1,593,644

773,813

Provision for income taxes

363,146

14,440

Net income

1,230,498

759,373

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Foreign currency translation adjustment

(366,176)

(605,360)

Comprehensive income

$

864,322

154,013

Less: Comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling
interests

527,194

–

Comprehensive income attributable to Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment shareholders

337,128

154,013

Weighted average number of ordinary shares

Basic

47,127,200

35,141,114

Diluted

52,012,580

35,141,114

Earnings per share

Basic

$0.026

$0.022

Diluted

$0.024

$0.022

 

BLUE HAT INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

March 31,

December 31,

ASSETS

2021

2020

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

14,674,783

$

15,800,563

Restricted cash

–

–

Short-term investments

–

–

Accounts receivable, net

28,535,745

16,594,533

Accounts receivable – related party

–

1,906,101

Other receivables, net

21,181,096

14,350,223

Other receivables – related party

–

–

Inventories

168,346

117,075

Prepayments, net

5,238,393

1,917,780

Total current assets

69,798,363

50,686,275

Property and equipment, net

4,342,565

4,258,121

Other assets:

Prepayments

7,205,230

4,164,274

Operating lease, right-of-use asset

355,805

290,410

Intangible assets, net

26,784,385

14,252,575

Long-term investments

1,826,123

1,914,668

Deferred tax assets

252,564

119,127

Goodwill accounting

213,688

–

Total other assets

36,637,795

20,741,054

Total assets

$

110,778,723

$

75,685,450

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Short-term loans – banks

$

4,338,151

$

5,129,295

Current maturities of long-term loans – third party

–

14,117

Accounts payable

3,110,529

935,588

Convertible bonds payable

54,150

739,189

Other payables and accrued liabilities

16,470,149

1,846,917

Other payables – related party

25,677

25,837

Operating lease liabilities – current

283,352

300,468

Customer deposits

756,945

941,877

Accrual interest payable

751,641

–

Taxes payable

9,394,094

6,802,454

Total current liabilities

35,184,688

16,735,742

Other liabilities:

Operating lease liability

85,493

–

Long-term loans – third party

–

–

Total other liabilities

85,493

–

Total liabilities

35,270,181

16,735,742

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Shareholders’ equity

Ordinary shares, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares
authorized, 47,127,200 shares issued and outstanding as of March
31, 2021, and 38,553,694 shares issued and outstanding as of
December 31, 2020

 

 

 

47,127

 

 

 

38,554

Stock subscription receivable

Additional paid-in capital

31,453,071

23,466,482

Statutory reserves

2,204,174

2,204,174

Retained earnings

32,090,702

31,387,398

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

1,375,520

1,741,696

Total Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology shareholders’ equity

67,170,594

58,838,304

Non-controlling interests

8,337,948

111,404

Total equity

75,508,542

58,949,708

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

$

110,778,723

$

75,685,450

 

Related Links :

http://www.bluehatgroup.net

Accessories, News

Apple’s AirTag Raises Child Safety Concerns while Users Lament Inability to Share

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Apple’s new AirTag was announced not too long ago with the latest iPad Pro. The new tracker from Apple allows users to track a myriad of items including their keys and even their pet using wireless and ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. The AirTag even debuted with accessories made by Hermes. However, it’s come under fire for two reasons in the past few days.

The first, rather minor issue relates to Apple’s Family Sharing feature which allows families to share access to Apple’s services with up to five family members. Be that as it may, Apple users are apparently unable to share access to the AirTag’s location with family members. This becomes an issue when users are using AirTag to track shared items or even pets. The inability to do this has evoked the ire of users who have taken to Reddit and the MacRumors forums to express their dissatisfaction.

Apple has clarified that the only privilege afforded to the AirTag under iCloud Family Sharing is the ability to silence the “AirTag Detected”. It seems like the accessory is intended to be “owned” by a single user with limited shareability with others. However, this doesn’t stop Apple from introducing the feature in a future update.

That aside, the AirTag have been removed from Officeworks, an Australian retailer’s shelves after child safety concerns arose from the design of the item. The AirTags are powered by a removable CR2032 battery. The battery can be removed by pushing down and twisting. The simplicity of this mechanism has brought concerns that a child could accidentally access the battery and ingest it which can lead to death. The retailer has expressed that the item will remain off their shelves until guidance is received from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Apple has responded to the issue in a statement to Gizmodo Australia stating, “We are following the regulations closely and are working to ensure that our products will meet or exceed new standards, including those for package labelling, well ahead of the timeline required.”

It’s worth noting that the Samsung SmartTag and SmartTag+ are both powered by the same CR2032 battery. However, unlike the AirTags, users need a coin or flat object to retrieve the battery. That said, this may highlight design issues inherent in trackers currently being released in the market.

Android, Mobile, News

Time to Upgrade: Samsung Stops Updating the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

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Samsung’s brilliant Galaxy S8 series is now a four-year-old flagship smartphone. Four years, in today’s standards, is a long time to own a smartphone and keep it running as your daily driver. The Samsung Galaxy S8 was different though.

The Galaxy S8 series was the first smartphone from Samsung that came out from the drama that was the Samsung Galaxy Note7 series. It was also Samsung’s first foray into the ultra-thin bezel design language with edge-to-edge displays fronting the devices. While the overall design of the device has not changed that much though, it was one good-looking high-end device and feels it too.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus was also Samsung’s first device to come with Android 7.0. But it was not the Samsung that we were used too as well with a complete overhaul of the iconic Samsung interface. The Samsung Galaxy S8 series was the first Samsung One UI device ever, and Samsung never looked back. To be fair, we never looked back into TouchWiz UI too, with good reasons.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ has now officially been removed from Samsung’s security updates page altogether. Last year, they have been removed from monthly update list to quarterly update list. That means also that your Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will remain as it is from this point onward.

It is not the entire Samsung Galaxy S8 line-up that gets the axe though. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and S8 Lite will still be getting quarterly and biannual updates for now. The Galaxy S8 active and Galaxy S8 Lite was launched a little later than the main flagship models launched in the 1st quarter of 2017.

In that case, while you might be tempted to swap the Samsung Galaxy S8 devices for a newer device, you might want to keep in mind that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are still great devices in today’s standards. We are not saying you should not upgrade, because we think you should take a look at today’s flagships and get what tickles your fancy through the highly competitive smartphone plans from your favourite telco. The Samsung Galaxy S8 still can be used as your secondary device for example. You could even turn it into your IoT controller or sensor if you want to with Samsung’s Galaxy Upcycling at Home programme.

With the removal of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ from the supported updates list, comes a slew of changes too to other devices being moved from regular monthly updates to quarterly and biannual updates from this point onward. True to Samsung’s words, firmware updates for their devices are kept to about 4 years. As we mentioned earlier, four years is a long time for a modern smartphone. Four years update cycle is also longer than most manufacturers in the industry currently. To check if your Samsung Galaxy device is still supported and updated, check out their updates website.

PR Newswire

World’s First! The Downsized Desktop SBC with Auto Heat-Up against Extreme Weathers

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TAIPEI, May 5, 2021 — As AI technology becomes ubiquitous, the impact of unusual weather also gains more attention. The most impressive case was the sudden weather change in Denver, the US, last September that the temperature dropped from 37°C to minus overnight. Faced with such fluctuation, the devices which maintained the daily life of the city in order, like the facilities for traffic flow analysis, surveillance, and AI visual analytics, could no longer operate normally, or even damaged, due to the lack of endurance to the extreme weathers.

Inspired by the situation, DFI brought an innovative design into the newly-released CS551, the "World’s First 3.5" desktop SBC with auto heat-up". This breakthrough gives devices high performance with smaller footprint for image analysis or heavy workloads, no matter at subzero temperatures or under heat waves.

The CS551 is DFI’s first SBC downsized from Mini-ITX form factor (195mm x 170mm) to 3.5" (146mm x 102mm). Powered by Intel Core™ 8/9 Gen processors with the Intel Xeon server-grade ECC support for memory protection offered by the Intel C246 chipset, this small board enjoys desktop computing performance and deployment flexibility at the same time.

In terms of fighting against extreme weather, the operating temperature of the CS551 SBC can go down to -30°C, which is not commonly supported by the motherboards with desktop performance. The endurance to subzero temperatures leverages the auto-on heater attached to the board to warm up or cold boot the processor for operation. Equipment can thus operate normally without being shut down in snow.

Apart from low temperatures, the endurance under 80°C heat waves with the fanless design is also noteworthy, since efficient heat dissipation at high temperatures normally requires a fan. Here the smart adjustment of computing resources between CPU and GPU is adapted to avoid throttling under heavy workload at up to 80°C. This prevents computers from crash down as well as greatly improves the application stability throughout a year.

For the devices that are deployed outdoor or may exposed to extreme temperatures, like unmanned transportation vehicles, robotic arms in cold warehouses, or cold-chain related applications, the coming out of CS551 is expected to offer a more reliable performance and extended longevity.

More information can be found at DFI CS551 product page.

Contact us via inquiry@dfi.com or click here for free demo and consultation.

Related Links :

https://www.dfi.com/

PR Newswire

FDA Grants Donisi De Novo Clearance for Innovative Contact-Free Multiparameter Health Sensing Solution

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TEL AVIV, Israel, May 5, 2021 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Donisi‘s revolutionary contact-free multiparameter measurement system de novo clearance, making Donisi the first to bring this innovative technology to the medical market.

Contact-Free Health Measurement and Decision Support. Donisi: Changing Lives Without Changing Lifestyles
Contact-Free Health Measurement and Decision Support. Donisi: Changing Lives Without Changing Lifestyles

In addition to the de novo clearance, the ingenuity of Donisi’s groundbreaking system was recently recognized via the publication of their clinical validation study in the Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology and winning first place in the MEDinISRAEL OpenMED Innovation Competition.

"I’m really proud of our team; we developed a medical device that can change the lives of millions of people. Our novel technology is now recognized and cleared by FDA which is a great accomplishment," said Donisi CEO, Yair Brosh.

Backed by 26 granted patents, the system applies a combination of proprietary optics, algorithms, and artificial intelligence to remotely detect and analyze surface-level micro-vibrations caused by the workings of internal organs such as heart and lungs.

Clinical results demonstrate Donisi’s technology maintains medical grade accuracy for people with different medical and physical conditions (physique, skin tone, etc.), without needing to remove clothing or connect the patient to wires or patches.

The company continues to develop its system, building ground-breaking solutions to measure and detect additional cardiopulmonary parameters, such as pulmonary congestion, in collaboration with the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Donisi has already undergone the FDA Presubmission process for the identification of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and plans for additional submissions.

"Having been with the company since its first year, I am awed and inspired to be part of the team that is bringing this amazing futuristic technology to life," said Donisi Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sagi Polani. "This is an exciting step in our path to fulfilling our mission of changing lives without changing lifestyles. As we move forward, I can envision how our medical device will bridge the continuum of care from hospital to home, impacting lives and health," he continued.

"Chartered Group’s investment in Donisi Health indicates our belief in its development of the innovative optical sensing system that would contribute to resolve various challenges in the healthcare market including the silver tsunami and shift from hospital care to home care," said Eyal Agmoni, Chairman of Chartered Group Technology Division, Donisi’s lead investor, and Managing General Partner of Japan Israel High Tech Ventures 2. "The medical market’s response to this development has been extremely enthusiastic and we are excited with the progress made by such a dedicated team of experts."

For more information or to request an interview, please reach out to Donisi Health. 

 

 

PR Newswire

LTI FY21 USD Revenues grow 9.5%; Net Profit up 27.5%, Q4 FY21 USD Revenues up 9.1% YoY

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MUMBAI, India, May 4, 2021 — Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE: 540005) (NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company, announced its Q4 FY21 and full year FY21 results today.

Q4 FY21

In US Dollars:

  • Revenue at USD 447.4 million; growth of 4.6% QoQ and 9.1% YoY
  • Constant Currency Revenue growth of 4.4% QoQ and 7.1% YoY

In Indian Rupees:

  • Revenue at INR 32,694 million; growth at 3.7% QoQ and 8.5% YoY
  • Net Income at INR 5,457 million; Net Income growth at 5.1% QoQ and 27.6% YoY

Full year FY21

In US Dollars:

  • Revenue at USD 1,670.1 million; growth of 9.5% YoY
  • Constant Currency Revenue growth of 8.8% YoY

In Indian Rupees:

  • Revenue at INR 123,698 million; growth at 13.7% YoY
  • Net Income at INR 19,382 million; Net Income growth at 27.5% YoY

Capital Return

  • Final Dividend of INR 25 per share; Dividend pay-out ratio of 36.1% for the year
  • ROE of 30.5% for the year

"Supported by a strong Q4, FY21 was another year of market leading growth. We are happy to report revenue growth of 9.5% and net profit growth of 27.5% for the year. In Q4, we also won two large deals with net new TCV of USD 66 mn, culminating into a record large deal TCV for FY21.

Our superior performance is a result of the untiring efforts of 35,000+ LTItes who stood together during one of the most trying times ensuring client deliveries. We will continue to invest in the strength of our business as we remain committed to growth in FY22 as well."

– Sanjay Jalona, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director

Recent Deal Wins

–  LTI has been chosen as a long-term strategic partner in a vendor consolidation deal for management of core insurance platforms for a large Fortune 500 Insurance company. This is a unique deal which includes vendor consolidation and several modernization programs across multiple core areas in the property and casualty insurance space in North America.

–  A leading regional bank, a new logo, selected LTI for a core banking transformation program involving implementation of Temenos. As part of the program, LTI will be the lead system integrator and will replace the Bank’s existing lending platform using the Temenos T24 platform as well as handle data migration from legacy systems. The implementation of this program will enable the bank to introduce new lending products, reduce complexities, service its increasing customer base in a faster and efficient manner while lowering the total cost of ownership. Empowered with pre-configured local functions, this transformation will enable the bank to cater to regulatory requirements within a relatively short time span and reduced efforts.

–  LTI has been selected by a US based heavy equipment manufacturing conglomerate for an application managed services deal for its parts business to enable reduction in total cost of ownership and operational excellence.

–  A North American property and casualty mutual insurance company has partnered with LTI to replace its existing on-premise legacy core systems with a SaaS based Duck Creek solution. This engagement will accelerate client’s digital transformation to enable better customer experience and support. It will also optimize operational costs and enable rapid expansion of services to other regions.

–  A Global Fortune 500 multinational pharma corporation has chosen LTI as its advisory partner to transform its finance function. LTI will play a key role in meeting business objectives such as data consistency by implementing effective data monitoring and reconciliation processes for their global business operations.

–  A Germany based multinational engineering conglomerate has selected LTI for an SAP HANA Data Lake migration project to Snowflake for its energy business company, to ensure significant cost savings with scaling and managing data analytics and increased efficiencies in the form of faster decision making.

–  A Global Fortune 500 energy distribution company has selected LTI to support its SAP Customer Information System implementation for one of its acquired entities. The aim of this program is to digitize its meter-to-cash process and bring about automation in customer services to deliver operational efficiencies and cost reduction.

–  A leading property and casualty insurance software and data analytics provider based in North America has selected LTI to migrate from their legacy enterprise data warehouse platform to Snowflake’s data cloud in phased manner to ensure reduced costs, streamline processes, enhance efficiencies and competitive advantage.

–  LTI has been selected to provide infrastructure support and network operations services to reduce costs and increase efficiencies for a leading distributor of specialty concrete and construction products in North America.

–  A Global Fortune 500 entertainment and media enterprise has selected LTI to build a global reporting platform for its digital media supply chain applications using Snowflake to provide enhanced visibility of complex supply, production and delivery workflows across the enterprise.

–  The international branch of a leading financial services providers in the UK has appointed LTI as the lead systems integrator for their core banking modernization and transformation program. This will enable leveraging capacity and stability of the Cloud with Temenos SaaS to improve customer experience, reduce costs and bring new products to market faster and scale efficiently.

Awards and Recognitions

–  LTI topped the list of ‘IT Services Challenger 2021’ in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix Service Provider of the YearTM Awards. LTI also improved its ranking from 16 last year to 11 in the overall PEAK Matrix® rankings for IT services – the highest leap registered by any player. LTI is also a Star Performer of the Year in Banking and Financial Services PEAK Matrix® Assessments

–  LTI Leni and LTI Mosaic recognized in The Forrester Tech Tide™: Enterprise Business Insights & Analytics, Q1 2021

–  LTI Recognized as a Leader in the ISG Provider Lens™ Intelligent Automation – Solutions and Services in AIOps for Midmarket – US 2020

–  LTI positioned as an Innovator in Avasant’s IoT Services RadarView™ Report 2021

Other Business Highlights

–  The Board of Directors at its meeting held on May 4th, 2021 have recommended a final dividend of INR 25 per equity share (Face value of INR 1) for the financial year 2020-21. Total dividend for FY21 is INR 40 per equity share, including the interim dividend of INR 15 per equity share declared in October 2020

–  LTI appointed Anil Rander as its Chief Financial Officer. He is a seasoned finance leader with over 27 years of multifaceted experience in driving business performance and growth. He joins LTI from Tech Mahindra Ltd., where he was Global Head of Finance for BPS. Also, as Senior Vice President – Finance and Legal, he led the Finance, Legal, Facilities & Risk Management functions of Tech Mahindra Business Services Ltd.

–  LTI and AWS have entered into a Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Enterprise Cloud Adoption to expand joint offerings for Migration, Modernization, SAP, IoT, and Data-on-Cloud.

–  LTI is recognized as a Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Services Provider, the prestigious program is a global initiative by Microsoft that enables its leading partners to differentiate by proving real-world proficiency and skills in data and cloud competencies

–  LTI in the UK has been recognized with Top Employer 2021 certification, by the Top Employers Institute, the global authority recognizing excellence in people practices

About LTI

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 400 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 31 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI’s Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivalled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 34,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Find more at http://www.Lntinfotech.com or follow us at @LTI_Global.

Earnings Conference Call and Audio Webcast

May 05th, 2021 (05:30 PM IST)

Please dial the below number at least 5-10 minutes prior to the conference schedule to ensure that you are connected to your call in time.

Universal Access Number

+91 22 6280 1104
+91 22 7115 8005

 

International Toll Number

USA                         : 13233868721

UK                           : 442034785524

Singapore               : 6531575746

China Hong Kong  : 85230186877

Replay of Conference Call

Available after 1 hour from the call end time until May 9th, 2021

Playback Code: 70765

Dial-in Number: India                                          +91 22 7194 5757
                                                                              +91 22 6663 5757

                              USA Toll Free                         18332898317

                              UK Toll Free                           8007563427

                              Singapore Toll Free                8001012510

                              China Hong Kong Toll Free   800965553

Audio Webcast

The audio from the conference call will be available online through a webcast and can be accessed at the following link: https://links.ccwebcast.com/?EventId=LT210505

Click here for your DiamondPass™ 

DiamondPass™ is a Premium Service that enables you to connect to your conference call without having to wait for an operator.

If you have a DiamondPass™, click the above link to associate your pin and receive the access details for this conference. If you do not have a DiamondPass™, please register through the link and you will receive your DiamondPass™ for this conference.

 

PR Newswire

EZGO Expands Portfolio of Products with The Launch of Its First Range-Extended E-Scooter in China: The “Cenbird”

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Designed to Target the Growing Food Delivery Market in China

CHANGZHOU, China, May 4, 2021 —  EZGO Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: EZGO) ("EZGO" or the "Company"), a leading short-distance transportation solutions provider in China, today announced the launch of its newest range-extended electric scooter ("e-scooter"), under the brand name "Cenbird." The Company intends to target the growing food delivery market in China, and has initially begun selling the new product in Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province.

Management Commentary

Mr. Jianhui Ye, Chief Executive Officer of EZGO, stated, "We have seen incredible growth in the food and grocery delivery market in China in recent years. China’s rapid expansion in food delivery has been driven by a new generation of youthful consumers, with approximately 419 million users taking advantage of online food delivery services in 2020, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. We believe online food delivery services have demand for long range e-scooters which can drive extended distances. Our Company is focused on providing individuals with a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution to service this market."

EZGO Launches the range-extended “Cenbird”, e-bicycle focused on the food delivery market
EZGO Launches the range-extended “Cenbird”, e-bicycle focused on the food delivery market

 

EZGO’s proprietary power control model ECU
EZGO’s proprietary power control model ECU

Mr. Ye continued, "EZGO is committed to creating environmentally friendly solutions that provide new and convenient options that fit the changing needs of China’s urban consumer. Our Company designed a range-extended model e-scooter that is attractive, light, and provides battery life that is among the best across our entire product portfolio, addressing the most glaring need across the e-scooter market. Our extended-range e-scooter can be charged while in motion, eliminating a current barrier in the marketplace for customers that need to frequently change batteries or charging batteries. The Cenbird has a range of up to 350 kilometers at a full charge. Our Company continues to focus on developing new products to meet customers’ needs."

Details on the "Cenbird"  

Internally designed electric motor
Internally designed electric motor

 Utilizing its proprietary technology for battery systems management, EZGO’s Cenbird e-scooter integrates a high-performance gasoline generator with battery charging technology to achieve an expected driving distance up to 350 kilometers before recharging and refueling. The Cenbird is equipped with a 60V20AH battery and a 2000W electric motor designed in-house by the Company’s team of engineers. The Cenbird electronic control unit, or ECU, utilizes gasoline only as needed to recharge the battery depending on the driving situation, which provides stable and reliable power while remaining environmentally efficient.

About EZGO Technologies Ltd.

Leveraging an Internet of Things (IoT) product and service platform and two E-bicycle brands, "Cenbird" and "Dilang," EZGO has established a business model centered on the manufacturing and sale of E-bicycles and E-bicycle rentals, complemented by the E-bicycle charging pile business. For additional information, please visit EZGO’s website at www.ezgotech.com.cn. Investors can visit the "Investor Relations" section of EZGO’s website at http://www.ezgotech.com.cn/Investor/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as "may, "will, "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development; product and service demand and acceptance; changes in technology; economic conditions; the growth of the short-distance transportation solutions market in China and the other international markets the Company plans to serve; reputation and brand; the impact of competition and pricing; government regulations; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China and the international markets the Company plans to serve and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the SEC. For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward–looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

Related Links :

http://www.ezgotech.com.cn

Gaming, News

Discord is Coming to Playstation

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Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) President and CEO, Jim Ryan, announced in a post on the SIE Blog that Discord and Playstation will be coming together in new ways. The news comes on the heels of a failed acquisition by Microsoft of the popular chat platform. The announcement seems to be a commitment by Sony to crossplay which will be coming to their Playstation platform.

Together, our teams are already hard at work connecting Discord with your social and gaming experience on PlayStation Network. Our goal is to bring the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together on console and mobile starting early next year, allowing friends, groups, and communities to hang out, have fun, and communicate more easily while playing games together.

Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment

The partnership sees Sony Interactive Entertainment make a minority investment in Discord as part of the platform’s Series H funding. It will also see Discord make its way to Sony’s Playstation platform starting early next year. That said, no details on what Discord coming to Playstation have been revealed. There is some speculation that the partnership may simply be the ability to sign in to Discord with your PSN account while some are more optimistic that the chat platform will see an official app for the Playstation 5 and possibly last generation’s Playstation 4.