Artificial Intelligence
Natalie Pierce Joins Gunderson Dettmer as Partner and Labor & Employment Practice Chair
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gunderson Dettmer has added Natalie A. Pierce as a Partner and chair of its Labor & Employment practice. Joining from Littler, Pierce has rich experience guiding technology, life sciences and other high growth companies from startup through their lifecycles. She adds keen insights into the workplace issues at play in venture funding and M&A activities, as well as how those issues impact international transactions.
With more than two decades of experience, Pierce joins Gunderson’s next generation of firm leaders, including Partner Gina M. Marek, who was recently tapped to head the firm’s Northern California Licensing, Strategic Partnering & Commercial Transactions practice and Partner Zhen Liu, head of the firm’s China Practice and a recently elected member of the firm’s management committee.
“We are absolutely delighted with Natalie’s decision to join us to lead our labor and employment practice. She is an outstanding practitioner who brings exceptional talent, judgment and industry leadership to the role. Our clients are in fast-changing, highly-competitive environments and Natalie’s decades of experience and track record will be invaluable to our clients navigating workplace issues that could otherwise limit their success,” said Gunderson Dettmer’s Managing Partner David T. Young. “As a fluent Spanish speaker, Natalie will be a valuable contributor to our industry-leading Latin American practice, and her leadership on issues of diversity, inclusion and equity will benefit our Gunderson team, as well as our clients’ efforts in these important areas.”
Pierce is a trusted advisor to her clients – employers ranging from startup companies to global corporations – on all employment-related matters, including: hiring and terminating employees; compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations; and helping clients avoid and, when necessary, respond to harassment, discrimination and pay inequity claims. Pierce has handled the workforce-related aspects of numerous types of transactions, including maximizing value through smooth transition plans and M&A integration activities. In addition, she is focused on counseling companies on incorporating robotics, biometrics, telepresence, artificial intelligence and other enhancement technologies into the workplace, as well as re-skilling workforces to facilitate tech adoption. “I love what I do – particularly when it has a quantifiable impact on my clients’ growth and development,” said Pierce. “Gunderson’s collaborative culture, global reach and appreciation for the benefits of transformative technologies make it an amazing platform for me. My past experiences on what is often the ‘other side’ of the table – buyer-side due diligence and thorny employment litigation – afford me a unique and high-value perspective as well. As someone who is decidedly future-focused, I’m excited to support entrepreneurs and those investing in them.”
Pierce is the recipient of numerous professional accolades, including: Lawyer Monthly Magazine’s “Women in Law Award” (2020), The American Lawyer Industry Award’s “Best Mentor – Law Firm (2019), the Daily Journal’s “Top Artificial Intelligence Lawyers” and “Top Employment Lawyers” (2019), Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards USA’s “Minority Lawyer of the Year” (2019), Latin Leaders Magazine’s “Top Latinx Lawyer” (2019) and the San Francisco Business Times’ “Bay Area’s Most influential Women” (2017).
Pierce earned her J.D. as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar from Columbia University School of Law, where she also received the Emil Schlesinger Labor Law Prize, and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, with honors. She is a past regional President of the Hispanic National Bar Association and former member of the Boards of Directors at Littler and the Bar Association of San Francisco. She currently serves on the Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) Cybersecurity Advisory Board and on the Governing Boards of the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) Center for Innovation and the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA).
About Gunderson Dettmer
Gunderson Dettmer has more than 270 lawyers singularly focused on the global venture capital and emerging companies ecosystem, across nine offices in key venture markets throughout the world, including Silicon Valley, Ann Arbor, Beijing, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Singapore. The firm represents more than 2,500 venture-backed companies and over 450 of the world’s top venture capital and growth equity firms, with thousands of their underlying funds. The firm routinely negotiates close to one-third of every venture capital dollar raised worldwide and is the recognized global leader in the representation of venture capital and growth equity funds in their investment activities, negotiating more than 1,000 venture and growth financings every year. For venture-backed companies, the firm provides guidance at every stage in their lifecycle, from launch through IPO and beyond, becoming extensions of their management teams as they prepare for their next stage of growth. Monica Rodriguez Kuniyoshi
Chief Marketing Officer
Phone: 650-463-5337
Email: [email protected]
Artificial Intelligence
Innovating Security: How FinVolution is Taking Next-Generation Technologies to Fight Deepfake-Driven Financial Crimes
SHANGHAI, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Deepfake technology, an artificial intelligence tool capable of generating convincingly fake audio and video, is increasingly being used to perpetrate financial crimes worldwide, raising serious concerns about sophisticated fraud.
In a notable incident reported by CNN earlier this year, a finance worker was tricked into transferring $25 million during a video call with an individual posing as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO), who was actually a deepfake. Such an incident has intensified fears about the vulnerability of financial systems to advanced fraud techniques.
Furthermore, global fintech platforms are confronting a rising wave of AI-driven criminal activities. FinVolution, a leading fintech company, has reported an increase in AI-generated attacks on its platforms, and has significantly invested in deepfake detection technologies to combat this threat.
Growing concerns
The increasing prevalence of deepfake technology in financial crimes has been underscored by a report from Sumsub, an identity verification provider. Its latest annual report revealed that identity fraud cases involving deepfakes have increased tenfold from 2022 to 2023. The situation in the Philippines is particularly concerning, with a staggering 4500% increase in attempted fraud schemes utilizing deepfake technology.
In China, identity fraud involving voice manipulation has outpaced facial deepfakes, with FinVolution intercepting over 1,000 such incidents in just a few months last year. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia is experiencing a surge in AI visual deception techniques, such as facial swaps, which pose new challenges to the security of digital financial services.
Lei Chen, vice president of FinVolution and head of its big data and AI division, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “Globally, the technology to detect fake voices is not keeping pace with the technology used to create them. We are pushing for advancements in AI that can detect these fakes, aiming to align these defenses with the capabilities of large-scale model applications,” Chen said. “Such efforts are vital for effectively safeguarding the security of public information and individual rights.”
Addressing the challenges
In an effort to combat these threats, FinVolution Group has heavily invested in developing voiceprint recognition anti-fraud solutions tailored for financial scenarios.
The company has taken a proactive approach by introducing their proprietary voiceprint recognition algorithmic model, which has been commercially utilized two years before external open-source models. The model has gained recognition within a mere four seconds across millions of transactions. Moreover, it supports multiple languages, including Indonesian, Chinese, Spanish, and more, and holds a particularly strong position in Indonesian and Spanish markets.
FinVolution is also at the forefront of combating fraud in global financial markets with its tailor-made AI anti-fraud technologies. These cutting-edge services include advanced facial and document forgery detection and voice synthesis algorithms, which are integrated into apps of leading international brands.
By leveraging facial recognition and voice verification, these AI-driven tools play a crucial role in preventing illegal impersonation and bolstering the effectiveness of risk management strategies. Notably, in Southeast Asian markets, FinVolution’s technologies stand out by accurately identifying and intercepting financial fraud activities with generative AI, achieving a detection accuracy rate of over 98%.
Advocating for industry collaboration
In another proactive move to advance AI deepfake detection development, FinVolution is leading the charge in fostering industry collaboration. This includes hosting competitions and supporting academic research. For example, the company’s latest initiative — the 9th FinVolution Global Data Science Competition — zeroes in on deepfake speech detection and challenges global participants to leverage deep learning and AI adversarial techniques.
This competition targets the accurate identification of falsified speech generated by the latest large-scale models, with increasing difficulty levels reflecting evolving threats. Notably, this year’s competition has been featured as part of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) 2024 challenges.
Looking ahead, FinVolution remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing deepfake recognition technologies, prioritizing user safety, and fostering a secure financial environment on a global scale.
About FinVolution Group
FinVolution Group (NYSE: FINV) is a leading fintech company that connects millions of consumers as well as small-sized enterprises with financial institutions.
Founded in 2007 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017, we have been at the forefront of the pan-Asian credit technology industry, pioneering innovative technologies in credit risk assessment, fraud detection, big data, and artificial intelligence. With a proven track record of robust growth in pan-Asian countries, we have established leading fintech platforms in China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/innovating-security-how-finvolution-is-taking-next-generation-technologies-to-fight-deepfake-driven-financial-crimes-302187840.html
Artificial Intelligence
Kanazawa University research: Atomic force microscopy in 3D
KANAZAWA, Japan, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Small Methods the 3D imaging of a suspended nanostructure. The technique used is an extension of atomic force microscopy and is a promising approach for visualizing various 3D biological systems.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was originally invented for visualizing surfaces with nanoscale resolution. Its basic working principle is to move an ultrathin tip over a sample’s surface. During this xy-scanning motion, the tip’s position in the direction perpendicular to the xy-plane follows the sample’s height profile, resulting in a height map of the surface. In recent years, ways to extend the method to three-dimensional (3D) imaging have been explored, with researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University reporting pioneering experiments on living cells. However, for 3D-AFM to evolve into a widely applicable technique for visualizing flexible molecular structures, a thorough understanding of the imaging mechanisms at play is necessary. Now, Takeshi Fukuma from Kanazawa University and colleagues have performed a detailed study of a specially designed flexible sample, providing essential insights into the theoretical basis and the interpretation of 3D-AFM experiments.
Using microfabrication tools, the scientists created a sample consisting of a carbon nanotube fiber resting on platinum pillars that in turn were positioned on a silicon substrate. A carbon nanotube is a structure that one can think of as a rolled-up, one-atom-thick carbon sheet. The freestanding portion of the nanotube was about 2 micrometers long. The whole structure was immersed in water, as many 3D biomolecular systems of interest occur in liquid environments.
Fukuma and colleagues then performed 3D-AFM experiments in two different modes. In static mode, the nanotip is lowered vertically towards the sample. When the tip makes contact with the suspended nanotube fiber, the latter gets pushed aside, and bends while the probe descends further. In dynamic mode, the tip, which is attached to a cantilever, is made to oscillate at a resonance frequency while being lowered. By analyzing how the force experienced by the tip changes as a function of the tip’s depth, the researchers concluded that the friction between the tip and the fiber is much larger in static mode compared to dynamic mode. The latter is therefore the mode of choice, as less friction means that potential damage to the sample is less likely.
The scientists performed computer simulations to model what happens when the tip reaches the carbon nanotube fiber. The simulations confirmed that the suspended nanotube displaces laterally, and that a continuously vibrating tip (as in dynamical mode) results in weaker forces experienced by the sample, hindering strong adhesion of the tip to the fiber.
Fukuma and colleagues then performed experiments with a carbon nanotube fiber suspended above a regular pattern of nano-sized platinum dots deposited on a silicon substrate. The measurements were done in dynamical mode. The reconstructed 3D map of the scanned volume clearly showed the fiber and the dots below it, underlining the capability of 3D-AFM to image vertically overlapping nanostructures.
These findings show that AFM can generally be applied to visualize flexible 3D structures. Quoting the scientists: “… the advancements made in this study may potentially lead to more detailed and accurate AFM analysis of various 3D biological systems such as cells, organelles, chromosomes, and vesicles.”
Background
Atomic force microscopy
The principle behind atomic force microscopy (AFM) is to scan the surface of a sample with a very small tip. During this horizontal (xy) scan, the tip, attached to a small cantilever, follows the sample’s vertical (z) profile, which induces a force on the cantilever that can be measured. The magnitude of the force at the xy position can be related to the z value. The xyz data generated during a scan then result in a height map providing structural information about the investigated sample. The cantilever can be made to oscillate near its resonance frequency, which is referred to as dynamic mode AFM. Not letting the cantilever oscillate is known as static mode AFM. In dynamic mode, when the tip is moved around a surface, the variations in the amplitude (or the frequency) of the cantilever’s oscillation — resulting from the tip’s interaction with the sample’s surface — are recorded, as these provide a measure for the local z value.
Takeshi Fukuma and colleagues have now provided a detailed AFM analysis of a 3D reference sample with nanosized features that could be reconstructed with high precision. The experiments and accompanying simulations confirm that AFM has the potential to become a robust method for the characterization of 3D nanosized objects, including biological systems.
Reference
Mohammad Shahidul Alam, Marcos Penedo, Takashi Sumikama, Keisuke Miyazawa, Kaori Hirahara, and Takeshi Fukuma. Revealing the Mechanism Underlying 3D-AFM Imaging of Suspended Structures by Experiments and Simulations, Small methods, 2400287 (2024). First published : 21 June 2024
DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202400287
URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smtd.202400287
Figure 1. https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Figure-1-1.jpg Imaged nanostructure consisting of a suspended carbon nanotube with platinum nanodots beneath.
© 2024 Mohammad Shahidul Alam, et al., Small Methods published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
Contact
Hiroe Yoneda Senior Specialist in Project Planning and OutreachNanoLSI Administration Office, Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)Kanazawa UniversityKakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, JapanEmail: [email protected] Tel: +81 (76) 234-4555
About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring “uncharted nano-realms”
Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale.
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/
About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)
The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI
Main WPI program site:
www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel
About Kanazawa University
As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.
The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa – a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.
http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-atomic-force-microscopy-in-3d-302187814.html
Artificial Intelligence
YES Panel-Level Through Glass Via (TGV) Etch Tool Placed in Production
FREMONT, Calif., July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — YES, a leading manufacturer of process equipment for semiconductor advanced packaging, life sciences and AR/VR applications, today announced that Its TersOnus TGV tool was released for panel-level manufacturing. This system will be used to support the growth of advanced heterogeneous packaging for artificial intelligence chips that enable large language models. The TersOnus TGV system provides superior quality and total cost of ownership for manufacturing of panel-level products. YES has developed the equipment and process technologies required for high aspect ratio through glass vias for a variety of glass types, as well as for manufacturing a diversity of glass via configurations—such as hourglass, straight, and tapered vias—by leveraging different chemistries. Furthermore, these sub-50 µm vias can be created with various aspect ratios while meeting customers specifications. The TersOnus TGV system is being used for production of advanced 2.5D and 3D packages by the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers.
“To accommodate performance requirements of new emerging applications, semiconductor solutions are moving to a chiplet based architecture that has higher interface bandwidth, larger memory and more heat dissipation. It also requires larger substrate sizes at the same time,” said Michael Daly, SVP of Wet BU at YES. “These large substrate sizes are not economically possible with traditional organics materials. The semiconductor industry is moving to Glass based substrates for these leading-edge applications. Our Wet process tools for creating TGVs for glass panels are fully automated and can handle multiple panels simultaneously. In addition, our tools offer integrated in-line metrology for process control and maintaining consistent etch performance,” Daly added.
“YES has maintained its leadership position in the advanced packaging market segment by enabling customer roadmaps through the delivery of superior products with low cost-of-ownership and high reliability. The TersOnus TGV delivers on this commitment by providing excellent etch rates and aspect ratios for the most challenging through glass vias all the while reducing manufacturing cycle times. The TersOnus TGV is just one of many products that YES has introduced and will be introducing to the burgeoning glass panel market to support AI advancement,” Rezwan Lateef, President of YES concluded.
About YES
YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) is a leading manufacturer of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for transforming surfaces, materials and interfaces. The company’s product lines include vacuum cure ovens, chemical vapor deposition systems, and plasma etching tools used for precise surface modification and thin-film coating of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor and MEMS devices, and biodevices. With YES, customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies can create and volume-produce products in a wide range of markets, including Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Life Sciences. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing global presence. For more information, please visit www.yieldengineering.com.
Media Contact
Alex ChowSVP Business Development & Mktg / Asia PresidentYES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.)+886-926136155 [email protected]
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2357724/YES_TM_logo_RGBv2_Logo.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/yes-panel-level-through-glass-via-tgv-etch-tool-placed-in-production-302187572.html
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