AI NEWS & TRENDS

• Microsoft Office Suite with AI Tech to Debut
• Google Opens ChatGPT Rival Bard for Testing, as AI War Heats Up
• "Inaudible" Watermark Could Identify AI-Generated Voices

TRENDS IN THE TECH OFFICE

• 13 Tech Leaders Talk About Their Favorite Lifestyle & Productivity Apps
• Laid-Off Tech Workers Seek Leverage on the Way Out

MORE TECH INDUSTRY NEWS & TRENDS

• FTC Launches New Office to Keep Pace with Big Tech
• Startup's EV Battery Can Charge to 80% in 10 Minutes
• CSUF Center for Entrepreneurship Receives $550K Grant

Auxora Inc.'s 400GHz Channel Spacing nWDM Filter Block will be honored as a Lightwave Innovation Reviews High Score Recipient, an award to be given at the Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) show in March in San Diego.
AND, Coherent Corp. announced that three of its products were recognized among the best by the 2023 Lightwave Innovation Reviews: 100ZR QSFP28-DCO in the category of Optical Transceivers and Transponders; 200 Gbps EMLs for high-speed datacenter transceivers in the category of Optical Components; and WaveMaker 4000A in the category of Lab/Production Test Equipment. Lightwave Innovation Reviews recognizes the top products and services within the optical networking industry as determined by a panel of experts from a wide variety of service providers, technology developers, industry analysis firms, and media. PLUS, Coherent recently introduced its AP 530 S, a fully automated laser system for texturing and marking implantable medical devices. (Auxora: Jinghui Li & Coherent: Randy Heyler, both SGV)

California LightWorks has announced its strategic partnership with Virex Technologies to expand European distribution. Virex specializes in producing, managing, and distributing top horticultural products for the sector spanning tissue culture in labs, genomics, cloning to cultivation, and cultivation in greenhouses or indoor rooms. George Mekhtarian, CEO of California LightWorks, said, "Their focus on customer success and their mission to reduce carbon footprint are the key reasons we chose to partner with them. As the market for grow lights rapidly expands in Europe, we look forward to working with Virex to rollout out our unique, patented MegaDrive technology." (George Mekhtarian, SGV)

The Lausanne University Hospital has reported the initial dosing of a patient in a phase II clinical study investigating the sensitivity of PENTIXAFOR (Boclatixafotide) in a cardiovascular and inflammatory setting. It is the first time that Eckert & Ziegler's proprietary CXCR4-compound has been used in an advanced clinical test in a non-cancer indication, opening the way for a broader use of PENTIXAFOR outside of oncology. The Gallium-68 based radio-diagnostic PENTIXAFOR promises to significantly improve the sensitivity in the detection of acute myocardial inflammation, which may allow for future early clinical management of patients with myocarditis, avoiding the progression to more severe stages. (Frank Yeager, SGV)

A recent article in The FinTech Times - Blockchain Pips Crypto in Importance to Firms, Finds Envision Financial Systems - delves into the results of Envision's recent "2022 Envision Big-Think Mini Survey," in which respondents indicated that seamless inter-app connectivity and artificial intelligence were the top issues they were focusing on for the future. (Satnam Gambhir, OC)

Clovers has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TalVista. Clovers is an HR technology company that provides intelligent interview software to its users. Their solution supports structured, fair interviews and integrates natively with Microsoft Teams and Zoom. TalVista offers technology that drives data-driven candidate attraction and screening and promotes bias-free hiring. To do so, they allow users to optimize inclusive language in job descriptions and redact identifying information from resumes for blind resume reviews. Together, Clovers and TalVista aim to further reduce the harm of bias in the hiring and interview process. (Adam Miller, JD, WLA)

CBT News has published two recent video interviews: myKaarma CEO Ujj Nath shares money saving insights for dealers and How dealers can more effectively capture credit card processing fees, also featuring Ujj in an interview and accompanying article.
PLUS, CBT News published an article - myKaarma brings dealers relief from credit card fees and complexity with secure and compliant solutions ahead of NADA - which reports that automotive retailers can now leverage a new payment and surcharge feature developed by myKaarma. This new offering is eliminating 100% of credit card fees and 70-80% of total processing fees across the entire dealership. (Ujj Nath, OC)

John Tanner, Director of The Nutrition Science Foundation (NuSci) and CEO of Tanner Research, was interviewed recently on Rip Esselstyn's Go PlantStrong podcast, in an episode entitled, "John Tanner - In a Heartbeat, from Death to Plants." John tells his harrowing story of his recovery from a heart attack that nearly killed him and discusses the remarkable advocacy work he is doing now with his non-profit NuSci and food delivery company, Little Green Forks. Toward the end of the podcast, listeners will get a coupon code good for $15 off their order of healthy food from Little Green Forks that now ships throughout the 48 states. (John Tanner, Ph.D., SGV)

Profi has been nominated for The 2023 Product Awards in the B2B-Tech category. AND, CEO Alina Trigubenko will co-host a webinar on February 23 at 10 a.m. Pacific - How Tech Will Shape Coaching & Consulting Industry in 2023. Advancements in areas such as digitalization of operations, automation and AI enables companies to streamline client experience, improve efficiency of the engagements, and reduce costs while unblocking growth. ALSO, Profi has published an infographic - How to maintain profitability in the face of economic strain. (Alina Trigubenko & Adam Miller, JD, WLA)

Project Insight (PI) has been nominated for Best Project Management tool as part of the 38th annual CODiE Awards, presented by the Software and Information Industry Association, which honor the best products, companies and teams in the business and education technology industries. PI will be rigorously reviewed in two rounds of review as part of the awards process before winners are announced June 7 & 8, 2023.
MEANWHILE, PI will present a live, "15-Minute Power Tutorial" on March 1 at 10:30 am PT - Turn Spreadsheets Into Live Project Plans with Project Insight - which will cover how to save time and turn your Excel files into living project plans that automatically adjust status, schedules, tasks, financials, and more. See also: Magically Turn Spreadsheets into Live Project Plans with Project Insight. (Thomas Leffler, OC)

In Beazley's $45 Million Cybersecurity Bond: A Solution for First-Party & Third-Party Cyber Losses, Alvaka discusses Beazley, a leading specialist insurer, which has recently launched a $45 million catastrophe bond for cybersecurity and ransomware breaches, designed to provide financial protection for organizations that suffer a significant cyber-attack resulting in a loss of $300 million or more. The benefit to Beazley's cybersecurity bond is that it allows the company to transfer a portion of the risk associated with cyber-attacks to investors who are willing to buy the bond. By issuing the bond, Beazley is able to raise capital that can be used to cover the costs of potential claims from cyber-attacks.
Other recent posts from Alvaka include: The Social & Psychological Impacts of Ransomware and "Pig-Butchering" Crypto Investment Scam. PLUS, Alvaka participated in a recent MSP 1337 podcast on the topic of pig butchering and other recent scams. (Oli Thordarson, SGV)

In You name the price; I'll name the terms, Dave shares examples of how to satisfy a seller's need to claim a higher sales price victory. AND, in Is your strategic partnership just a glorified press release?, Dave points out that finding a supplier, distributor or other partner is the easiest part. Carefully planning the mutual activities to move toward a stated goal is something else. It takes real effort and planning on both sides of a partnership between companies to make it work.
Other recent posts from Dave include: About personal use of corporate assets; Can you get to the right person when you need to? and What can we learn from the non-profit world? (Dave Berkus, SGV & WLA)

Mark Parinas, CEO of CuraeSoft, recently conducted several polls on LinkedIn; see the results at the links:
> How would you rate the importance of "Project Deliverables" to successes in your business? Does your business use project deliverables?
> How do you promote trust and transparency in your business? Give us your best tips in the comments.
> How's your team's work/life balance?
(Mark Parinas, WLA)

Get Visible CEO Jason Ciment is sharing some of his top reactions and predictions about ChatGPT on his blog, declaring that "It is quite simply to me a world changing event." In his post, he suggests some chat prompts and phrases to try. AND, in a recent LinkedIn post, Jason provides his ultimate hackers guide to valuable content tools. (Jason Ciment, WLA)

In 5 Signs That Your PPC Agency Is Dropping The Ball, Half Past Nine declares that your PPC (or paid search) strategy is a new customer pipeline that's essential for sustaining your business growth. It's the #1 late-journey channel to reach and convert high intent leads - so you can't afford not to get it right. If you've been considering a PPC audit to get to the bottom of your agency's performance, read this article for: 5 Signs That Your PPC Agency Is Failing You and PPC Audit Metrics That Will Tell You the Truth. (Kenneth Shen, WLA)

LookinLA is offering several ebooks focused on solid digital marketing approaches:
> The Beginners Guide To Generating Inbound Leads.
> Maximizing Marketing Efforts Through CRM Integration.
> 32 Examples Of Outstanding Inbound Marketing.
(Ali Payani, SGV)

In Employee Training Assessment Guide: Train Smarter to Boost ROI, ProProfs shares that training expenditure in the US has crossed the $100 billion mark. Therefore, assessments are a powerful tool to ensure that you always get the best possible ROI from your training initiatives. AND, in Informal Assessment: Definition, Examples & Benefits, ProProfs points out how informal observations of corporate learners have their own merits, and if you've been using only formal assessment techniques so far, you're apparently missing out on an effective alternative assessment method. (Sameer Bhatia, WLA)

Eitan Medical is a global leader in advanced infusion therapy and drug delivery solutions across the care continuum. The company's product lines include the Sapphire™ infusion platform, providing connected infusion therapy systems in hospital and ambulatory settings; as well as the Sorrel™ wearable drug delivery platform, the patient-centric on-body injector for delivery of biologic treatments, and the Avoset™ and Avoset™ infusion pump, connected infusion systems for the home care market (both of which are FDA investigational devices). Roger, throughout his career, has managed a global P&L over $200M, led large sales and marketing teams and completed over 10 acquisitions and divestitures. Roger launched the ON-Q Pain Management System which, to date, has generated over $1.5B in revenues as a market-leading non-opioid pain control system. He has been granted 100+ U.S. and foreign patents. Prior to joining Eitan in 2019, Roger was VP GM of Acute Pain at Avanos Medical; GM, Acute Pain at Halyard Health; worked for Kimberly-Clark Healthcare, ultimately as GM of Acute Pain; and spent 13+ years at I-Flow; and more. Roger has joined ABL-Health's Orange County Round Table.

Angle Health announced $58 million Series A funding led by Portage, with participation from PruVen Capital, Wing Venture Capital, SixThirty Ventures, Mighty Capital, Wormhole Capital, Mindset Ventures, Crew Capital, Aloft VC, and Pilot founder Waseem Daher; and support from existing investors Blumberg Capital, Correlation Ventures, TSVC, and Y Combinator. Following its recent expansion into Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and South Carolina, Angle Health is already covering tens of thousands of members on its fully-insured and self-funded products since launching in 2021. Powered by its integrated, AI-enabled technology platform, Angle Health provides a digital-first care navigation experience with its fully tailored comprehensive healthcare benefit plans for employers. (Andy Leeka, ABL-Health LA)

Naresh Menon, CEO of ChromoLogic, has co-authored an article in Science Direct - Cell monitoring with optical coherence tomography - in which a team of researchers evaluated a commercially available instrument from ChromoLogic, OCTiCell, for monitoring cell growth in suspended agitated bioreactors based on optical coherence tomography. They concluded that this novel cell monitoring method can adapt to different bioreactor form factors and could reduce the labor cost and contamination risks associated with cell growth monitoring.
PLUS, the Company was hailed in a recent post from Ensun about ChromoLogic's development of software to accelerate the development and implementation of neuromorphic computing.
AND, Naresh has joined the Advisory Board at the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. (Naresh Menon, Ph.D., ABL-Health LA)

Elemeno Health and University of Rochester Medical Center - Golisano Children's Hospital have partnered to implement a user-friendly application to support perioperative staff with just-in-time resources, digital communication, and actionable insights. The customizable clinical and resource app condenses otherwise-overwhelming information into bite-sized content accessible and easy to consume, and specific to each department's needs. The Elemeno app is helping GCH maintain consistency in surgical care and workflows, improve the onboarding experience, and promote an optimal experience for patients and their families. (Arup Roy-Burman, MD, ABL-Health Bay Area)

LigoLab and G2 Intelligence recently teamed up for a timely webinar - "Changing Times and Eroding Margins: RCM Solutions" - now available to watch on-demand - focused on laboratory revenue cycle management. Current issues were discussed along with practical, technology-based solutions.
AND, in this short video, learn how much an all-in-one data management solution like LigoLab Operating Platform, can improve your lab's operational and financial performance. MEANWHILE, Clinical Lab Products magazine recently posted its top 5 articles for 2022, based on Google Analytics data as of Dec. 30, 2022. Two of the 5 articles had direct ties to LigoLab, including 10 Clinical Laboratory Predictions for 2023, which features input from LigoLab CEO Suren Avunjian.
PLUS, recent articles from LigoLab include: Questions Labs Should Ask When Evaluating LIS Software and Support and Primary Medical Care in Transition; Effects on the Lab Test Ordering Market. (Suren Avunjian, ABL-Health LA)

At the recent CES in Las Vegas, MedWand received an innovation award and conducted hundreds of demonstrations to an incredible number of visitors to its booth. MedWand was visited by representatives from multiple foreign governments and companies, including H.E Abdulla Bin Mohamed, Chairman of the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi. Subsequently, for the first time since 2021, MedWand exhibited at Arab Health, in Dubai, UAE. MEANWHILE, MedWand said it will launch a pilot program with the VA to test its impact on outcomes, access, and efficiency of healthcare delivery in their home nursing programs, remote clinic operations, and disaster recovery. (Bob Rose, ABL-Health OC)

Recent articles from Providence Digital Innovation Group include:
>> Digital Investments In Healthcare Must Be Measurable, Not Just Marketable: Building A Case For RODI, published by Forbes.
>> Providence Exec: The Definition of an Integrated Delivery System Will Change, published by MedCityNews. (Marcee Chmait, ABL-Health LA)

Select Data has partnered with The Corridor Group Holdings, a provider of outsourced coding, revenue cycle and education solutions for healthcare. Together, the companies will collaborate on continued enhancement of augmented document review technology using Select Data's SmartCare artificial intelligence solution. In a transaction related to the partnership, Select Data has sold its outsourced services business unit to Corridor, allowing Select Data to focus on SmartCare, and work to revolutionize post-acute document review. (Ed Buckley, ABL-Health OC)

Wipfli has been honored with ten "2023 Best Places to Work" Awards by Built In, an online community for tech companies and startups. MEANWHILE, resources from Wipfli include:
>> Article by Jeffrey Johnson: Financial planning: The key to a successful strategic plan.
>> Article: How the HITRUST CSF version 11 release helps make your assessments easier. (Jeff Johnson, Steve Rousso & John Dao, ABL-Health Bay Area)

Microsoft is getting ready to demonstrate how its new ChatGPT-like AI will transform its Office productivity apps. After recently announcing and demonstrating its Prometheus Model in its new Bing search engine, Microsoft is gearing up to show how it will expand to its core productivity apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company is preparing to detail its productivity plans for integrating OpenAI's language AI technology and its Prometheus Model in the coming weeks. The software giant is tentatively planning an announcement in March, highlighting how quickly Microsoft wants to reinvent search and its productivity apps through its OpenAI investments. (https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/10/23593980/microsoft-bing-chatgpt-ai-teams-outlook-integration)

Google is rolling out a new conversational artificial-intelligence service to a select set of testers, and plans a broader public launch in coming weeks, part of the company's effort to play catch-up with challengers such as OpenAI, creator of the popular chatbot ChatGPT. The new experimental service, called Bard, generates textual responses to questions posed by users, based on information drawn from the web, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet Inc. said. He also shared a glimpse of new search engine features that will use AI to answer user queries, and said it would open up some of its AI programs to outside developers. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-opens-testing-of-chatgpt-rival-as-artificial-intelligence-war-heats-up-11675711198)

AI-generated speech is being used for all kinds of legitimate purposes, from screen readers to replacing voice actors (with their permission, of course). But as with nearly any technology, speech generation can be turned to malicious ends as well, producing fake quotes by politicians or celebrities. It's highly desirable to find a way to tell real from fake that doesn't rely on a publicist or close listening. Watermarking is a technique by which an image or sound is imprinted with an identifiable pattern that shows its origin. We've all seen obvious watermarks like a logo on an image, but not all of them are so noticeable. Resemble AI is introducing the PerTh Watermarker, a deep neural network watermarker. The data is embedded in an imperceptible and difficult-to-detect way, acting as an "invisible watermark" that is both difficult to remove, and provides a way to verify if a given clip was generated by Resemble. (https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/01/inaudible-watermark-could-identify-ai-generated-voices/)

There's a staggering variety of apps on the market today designed to help us manage our schedules, monitor our health, boost our productivity, calm our nerves, keep our to-do lists in order - and anything and everything in between. Tech leaders not only spend their days building and using apps but also staying up to date on the latest offerings, so they're a great source for discovering the best business - and personal - use apps available. In a recent Forbes article, 13 members of Forbes Technology Council share their favorite lifestyle and productivity apps and explain how these technologies help them succeed: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/02/08/13-tech-leaders-talk-about-their-favorite-lifestyle-and-productivity-apps/?sh=458108ac47f7

As tech companies shed tens of thousands of jobs, staffers at different levels are pushing back on the terms of their departures. Some employees are hiring lawyers or other advisers to press for more money or an extension of their health benefits before agreeing to deals - adopting the type of tactics traditionally used by senior executives haggling over their severance terms. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/laid-off-tech-workers-seek-leverage-on-the-way-out-3fd55d21)

The US Federal Trade Commission on Friday launched a new Office of Technology to strengthen its ability to "fully grasp" rapidly changing technologies in the digital marketplace and support its policy and law enforcement efforts. "The Office of Technology will boost the FTC's expertise to help the agency achieve its mission of protecting consumers and promoting competition," the agency said in a release. The office plans to support FTC investigations into business practices and their associated technologies; provide technological expertise on policy and research initiatives; and highlight market trends that have an impact on its work. (https://www.cnet.com/news/ftc-launches-new-office-to-keep-pace-with-big-tech/)

Ionblox develops batteries with lithium-ion cells that have pre-lithiated silicon dominant anodes; its batteries can be used in both eVTOLs and EVs. The Fremont, California-based company says its batteries achieve up to 50% higher energy density, five times more power, and an extremely fast charge in 10 minutes to 80%. It's currently producing its large format pouch cells of up to 50Ah on its pilot production lines. Ionblox recently announced a second close of its Series B round at an increased $32 million. (https://electrek.co/2023/02/09/this-startups-ev-battery-can-charge-to-80-in-10-minutes/)

California State University, Fullerton's Center for Entrepreneurship recently received a $550,000 grant from the state of California. The money will support the center in expanding its startup incubator, so it can assist more "social enterprise" startups, which are companies that seek profit while maximizing social and environmental benefits. (https://www.ocbj.com/education/csuf-center-for-entrepreneurship-receives-550k-grant/)

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