Artificial Intelligence
Victory Square Technologies Reports a Record First Half 2020
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Victory Square Technologies Inc. (“Victory Square” or the “Company”) (CSE:VST) (OTC:VSQTF) (FWB:6F6), a company that builds and invests in cutting-edge technology that is shaping the 4th Industrial Revolution, announces it has filed its condensed interim consolidated financial statements and Interim Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the three months ended June 30, 2020.
Highlights for the six-month period ending June 30:
- Net income increased to $4,726,867 from $(2,751,933) during the same period last year.
- Earnings per share increased to $0.07 from $(0.03) during the same period last year.
- 20+ portfolio companies that represent pillars of the future economy: digital health and diagnostics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR), internet of things (IOT), cyber security, blockchain and more.
- Portfolio company, Victory Square Health gets FDA Permission to Manufacture and Market Safetest Covid-19 Antibody Test in the United States and is the first to be approved by the São Paulo State Government Covid-19 Innovation Programme.
- Portfolio company, FansUnite Entertainment Inc., raised $8,141,764 and listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”).
- VST ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet with $1,683,991 in cash and cash equivalents. The Company also has access to a $10,000,000 convertible note for operational and growth capital.
The Company’s condensed interim consolidated financial statements and Interim MD&A for the three months ended June 30, 2020 are available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
A Note from the CEO of VST: A Record-Setting First Half 2020 and Look Ahead
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
I am excited to connect with all of you after another exceptional quarter for Victory Square Technologies (VST) and in the wake of important news. Last month, our portfolio company Victory Square Health, makers of a Covid-19 antibody test was granted permission by the FDA to commence marketing, sales and distribution. Test kits will be available to labs across the United States in the next several weeks. The Company was also approved in Brazil by the São Paulo State Government as part of its Covid-19 Innovation Program.
I’m extremely proud that we’ll be able to play a part in the fight against the pandemic and help accelerate testing to get people back to work and school. Importantly, this is not an overnight success. VST first identified Safetest’s potential in 2017 through a partnership in Brazil and worked hard to bring its technology to Canada.
An overnight success, 20-plus years in the making
Indeed, Victory Square Health is just one illustration of a strategy that’s led to broad success for VST and its portfolio companies.
It starts with a philosophy that is built from our teams’ two decades of experience getting in early on successive waves: from Internet 1.0 to mobile to IoT. The fundamental needs of people — to work, play and communicate — don’t change. The most promising startups just address those timeless needs in new and better ways. Today, that means we’re focused on 4th Industrial Revolution technologies: personalized and digital health, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, cybersecurity and more.
Equally important is identifying promising entrepreneurial talent early and in overlooked places. To find our proverbial needle in a haystack, we use a magnet. VST partners with a global network of incubators and accelerators to source top startups from North and South America, the Middle East, India, throughout Africa and beyond. From thousands of candidates, we’ve assembled our current portfolio of 20-plus companies.
These companies are brought to Canada and paired with an accomplished leadership team for rapid scale-up and commercialization. Our venture-build approach matches founders with established investors and entrepreneurs with a track record of success, including Canadian Angel Investors of the Year, EY Technology Entrepreneurs of the Year, Forbes 30 under 30 and more. These advisors provide tactical and logistical expertise, while also securing access to a rich network of partnerships and clients, ranging from Intel, Ebay, Bayer, Allegiant Air and Capital One to Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster and the renowned Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute.
Finally, VST integrates a strong ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) component throughout its operations. Our portfolio highlights minority entrepreneurs, often overlooked by traditional investors, including many from developing countries. We also have an explicit philanthropic mandate to support vulnerable youth in securing access to education, healthcare housing and nutritious food. Over the years, VST has donated more than 10,000 volunteer hours and helped raise more than $88 million in support of these causes.
The VST flywheel in action
Together, all of these components have helped to build the VST flywheel. As Jim Collins keenly points out, flywheels — those massive metal disks used in industrial processes — are slow to get moving. But with each push, you gain more and more momentum: “Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort.”
The VST flywheel has been gaining momentum for more than 20 years, the result of getting in early on emerging trends, patiently building and finding synergies between existing businesses. We’ve seen this flywheel approach yield exceptional results this quarter, as disruptions wrought by the pandemic fast-forward existing tech trends:
- Launched in 2016 to accelerate personalized health diagnostics, Victory Square Health (VSH) is now applying cutting-edge tech to the Covid-19 crisis. With FDA permission for its flagship product, Safetest, the company is poised for continued growth.
- Esports and online gaming have surged as the pandemic has limited social interaction and live sports. To serve that audience, our portfolio company FansUnite has just completed a series of key acquisitions to become a leading technology platform for the B2B and B2C market.
- Online learning has emerged as a critical resource, and Next Decentrum is building the infrastructure that makes this possible.
- As digital networking replaces in-person prospecting, CoPilot Advisor’s tools for automating social connections are experiencing surging demand.
- Augmented and virtual reality are more important than ever during social distancing. Our portfolio companies, Immersive Tech and Shape Immersive are at the forefront of bringing real-life experiences to homes and offices.
- From growing demand for decentralized finance technology (Covalent) to increased use of cloud services (Taloflow) to extra needs for secure data (Bluzelle), we’ve seen the crisis accelerate so many of the core sectors of VST.
Looking forward
What lies ahead for VST is at once familiar and radically new. To borrow from Jeff Bezos, we’re still in a Day One mentality — thinking and acting with speed and dexterity of a startup, because the alternative is stasis and irrelevance. In this respect, the Covid-19 crisis has both validated our existing investment philosophy and opened up new pathways for growth.
While first-order effects of the pandemic have created huge demand for necessities like accurate virus testing, second- and third-order effects promise to be equally consequential. Voice technologies, already surging, have become even more dominant as the pandemic raises safety concerns around touchscreens and keypads, and VST will be investing accordingly. Deeper still, the economic fallout from the crisis has accelerated a larger movement around digital entrepreneurship. For mompreneurs, student entrepreneurs, minority entrepreneurs and others, “side hustles” — from YouTube channels and self-help blogs to Shopify stores and Masterclasses — have become critical income sources. As digital entrepreneurship surges, VST is planning to launch a major investment fund to support emerging entrepreneurs on a national scale and identify the brightest stars.
Ultimately, however, the North Star of VST remains unchanged. We were founded to give investors ground-floor access to the next generation of unicorn technology companies, before they’re unicorns. This is as much a priority today as it was 20 years ago. As big tech has surged during the pandemic, so many investors have been left on the sidelines, lamenting the inability to get in earlier on Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet and other tech giants. Our mission remains to democratize this kind of access to tech’s next big thing.
As our own history and long-term plays have shown, success here is not an overnight process — far from it. To quote Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger: “The big money is not in the buying and selling but in the waiting.”
This kind of patience built the VST flywheel. Our legacy investors have seen that bear fruit this quarter. This very same philosophy will continue to guide us in the months and years ahead, as we work to democratize access to tomorrow’s tech darlings, today.
Check out VictorySquare.com and sign up to official newsletter of Victory Square at www.VictorySquare.com/newsletter.
On behalf of the board,
Shafin Diamond Tejani
Chief Executive Officer
For further information about the Company, please contact:
Investor Relations Contact – Alex Tzilios
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 778-867-0482
Media Relations Contact – Howard Blank, Director
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 604-928-6066
ABOUT VICTORY SQUARE TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Victory Square (VST) builds, acquires and invests in promising startups, then provides the senior leadership and resources needed to fast-track growth. The result: rapid scale-up and monetization, with a solid track record of public and private exits.
VST’s sweet spot is the cutting-edge tech that’s shaping the 4th Industrial Revolution. Our portfolio consists of 20 global companies using AI, VR/AR and blockchain to disrupt sectors as diverse as fintech, insurance, health and gaming.
What we do differently for startups
VST isn’t just another investor. With real skin in the game, we’re committed to ensuring each company in our portfolio succeeds. Our secret sauce starts with selecting startups that have real solutions, not just ideas. We pair you with senior talent in product, engineering, customer acquisition and more. Then we let you do what you do best — build, innovate and disrupt. In 24-36 months, you’ll scale and be ready to monetize.
What we do differently for investors
VST is a publicly-traded company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (VST), Frankfurt Exchange (6F6) and the OTCQX (VSQTF).
For investors, we offer early-stage access to the next unicorns before they’re unicorns. Our portfolio represents a uniquely liquid and secure way for investors to get access to the latest cutting-edge technologies. Because we focus on market-ready solutions that scale quickly, we’re able to provide strong and stable returns while also tapping into emerging global trends with big upsides. For more information, please visit www.victorysquare.com.
ABOUT THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE)
The Canadian Securities Exchange, or CSE, is operated by CNSX Markets Inc. Recognized as a stock exchange in 2004, the CSE began operations in 2003 to provide a modern and efficient alternative for companies looking to access the Canadian public capital markets.
The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy hereof.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the outlook of the business of Victory Square, including, without limitation, statements relating to future performance, execution of business strategy, future growth, business prospects and opportunities of Victory Square and its related subsidiaries and other factors beyond our control. Such forward-looking statements may, without limitation, be preceded by, followed by, or include words such as “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans”, “continues”, “project”, “potential”, “possible”, “contemplate”, “seek”, “goal”, or similar expressions, or may employ such future or conditional verbs as “may”, “might”, “will”, “could”, “should” or “would”, or may otherwise be indicated as forward-looking statements by grammatical construction, phrasing or context. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this news release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Victory Square. Although Victory Square believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Victory Square can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Victory Square disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy hereof.
Artificial Intelligence
DeepL announces $300 million investment at $2 billion valuation fueled by global demand for AI language solutions
Index Ventures led heavily oversubscribed round with participation from late-stage investment firms ICONIQ Growth, Teachers’ Venture Growth, and more Rapid enterprise adoption of DeepL has fueled the company’s growth in 60+ global markets for 100,000+ businesses, governments, and other organizationsDeepL’s Language AI Platform for business provides category-leading AI-powered translation and writing solutions COLOGNE, Germany, May 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — DeepL, a leading Language AI company, today announced $300 million of investment at a $2 billion valuation. Led by Index Ventures, the heavily oversubscribed round attracted strong support from new investors, who will bring their extensive expertise, connections, and resources to support DeepL’s growth and long-term vision to transform the way companies communicate around the world. Additional late-stage investors, including ICONIQ Growth, Teachers’ Venture Growth, and others, also participated, along with existing investors IVP, Atomico, and WiL.
“We’re approaching an inflection point in the AI boom where businesses who are racing to adopt the technology begin to discern between hype versus solutions that are secure and actually solve real problems in their business,” said Jarek Kutylowski, founder and CEO of DeepL. “This new investment comes during what is on track to be DeepL’s most transformative year yet and is a testament to the crucial role that our Language AI platform has in solving the complex linguistic challenges global companies face today. We’re highly focused on continued growth and innovation to expand our solutions and ensure they remain industry-leading in terms of quality, precision, and security. This will bring us closer to a future where every company, regardless of location, can operate seamlessly on a global scale with our AI.”
The new investment comes during a period of significant growth and momentum for DeepL, which has amassed a customer network of 100,000+ businesses, governments, and other organizations worldwide. This network includes Zendesk, Nikkei, Coursera, and Deutsche Bahn, who rely on its highly accurate and secure enterprise Language AI platform to deliver seamless communication, driving international growth and cost savings. In response to surging demand from global enterprises, DeepL has accelerated its expansion efforts and strategic investments into key markets over the past year. In January 2024, DeepL deepened its commitment to the U.S.—now its third largest market—by opening its first office in the region. The company continues to expand its team in the U.S. to support growing demand.
Within the last 12 months, DeepL has also substantially broadened its product offerings tailored for businesses. In April 2024, the company launched DeepL Write Pro, a writing assistant specifically tailored for business writing, powered by its own proprietary LLM technology. The company also continues to expand the range of languages supported by its platform with the recent additions of Arabic, as well as Korean and Norwegian, bringing its total number of languages to 32.
“DeepL’s runaway success is a bit of an ‘open secret’ in the business community,” said Danny Rimer, who led the investment from Index Ventures. “The company is exceptionally thoughtful about creating cutting-edge AI products that deliver real and immediate value to their customers. Jarek and the rest of the DeepL team are equally research and commercially minded – both of which are key to the company’s success.” Index Ventures is recognized for its investments in highly successful SaaS businesses like Figma, Slack, Wiz, and Scale AI.
Demand for AI solutions among global enterprises is on the rise. A recent IBM study found that 42% are already actively deploying AI and 40% are exploring its potential. Within this rapidly evolving landscape, DeepL is leading the way in applying AI to transform the $67.9 billion language industry, which is projected to grow to $95.3 billion by 2028.
Since its inception in 2017, DeepL has become the Language AI provider of choice for businesses across multiple industries including manufacturing, legal, retail, healthcare, technology, and professional services. The company’s specialized Language AI platform has become a critical investment for global businesses today, addressing a variety of communication challenges ranging from internal communications to customer support and international market expansion. Unlike general-purpose AI systems, DeepL’s cutting-edge translation and writing solutions rely on specialized AI models specifically tuned for language, resulting in more precise translations for a variety of use cases and a reduced risk of hallucinations and misinformation. In business translation and writing, accuracy is paramount, making specialized AI models the most reliable and preferred solution for language challenges.
DeepL’s Language AI platform is also proven to drive significant cost savings and efficiencies. A 2024 Forrester study revealed that the use of DeepL delivered 345% ROI for global companies, reducing translation time by 90% and driving a 50% in workload reduction, underscoring, in our opinion, the power of its platform for businesses looking to grow their revenue and enter new markets faster and at scale.
“At Zendesk we see first hand the power of infusing AI tools into customer experience, and DeepL’s industry-leading translation is a prime example,” said Adrian McDermott, CTO, Zendesk. “The ability to have accurate AI translation allows companies from startups to large enterprises the ability to scale globally, reaching prospects and existing customers in new ways. Zendesk’s open and flexible platform allows for seamless partnerships, and the tangible results we’ve seen so far from joint customers have us looking forward to continued work with DeepL.”
Looking ahead, DeepL will continue to invest in research and product innovation to strengthen its suite of leading AI communication tools for businesses. The company is also doubling down on global market expansion and talent recruitment across multiple areas including AI research, product, engineering, and GTM.
About DeepLDeepL is on a mission to break down language barriers for businesses everywhere. Over 100,000 businesses, governments and other organizations and millions of individuals in 63 global markets trust DeepL’s Language AI platform for human-like translation and better writing. Designed with enterprise security in mind, companies around the world leverage DeepL’s AI solutions that are specifically tuned for language to transform business communications, expand markets and improve productivity. Founded in 2017 by CEO Jaroslaw (Jarek) Kutylowski, DeepL today has over 900 passionate employees and is supported by world-renowned investors including Benchmark, IVP and Index Ventures.
Contact:Sebastian RiesOpeners [email protected]+49 1578 058 8488
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Artificial Intelligence
Hyundai Motor and Plus Announce Collaboration to Demonstrate First Level 4 Autonomous Fuel Cell Electric Truck in the U.S.
Hyundai Motor and Plus collaboration aims to enhance road safety and freight efficiencies by demonstrating benefits of XCIENT Fuel Cell truck equipped with Plus’s Level 4 autonomous driving softwareHyundai Motor’s Class 8 XCIENT Fuel Cell truck featuring Plus’s Level 4 SuperDrive™ system is on display at the Plus ACT Expo booth (#2044)LAS VEGAS and SEOUL, South Korea, May 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor) and autonomous driving software leader Plus today unveiled the first Level 4 autonomous Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric truck in the U.S. at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, the largest advanced clean transportation technology and fleet event in North America.
A result of the collaboration between Hyundai Motor and Plus, Hyundai Motor’s XCIENT Fuel Cell truck, equipped with Plus SuperDrive™ Level 4 autonomous driving technology, is on display at the Plus ACT Expo booth (#2044).
The Level 4 autonomous XCIENT Fuel Cell truck is undergoing initial autonomous driving assessments in the U.S., making it the first-ever Level 4 self-driving test on a Class 8 fuel cell electric truck to take place in the country. The collaboration seeks to show that autonomous hydrogen fuel cell trucks can help make trucking safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.
“We are excited to showcase our collaboration with Plus to test Level 4 autonomous driving technology with our Class 8 XCIENT Fuel Cell truck,” said Martin Zeilinger, Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Vehicle Development at Hyundai. “Hyundai Motor has been driving the energy transition paradigm with our advanced fuel cell technologies. By adding autonomous capabilities to our world’s first mass-produced hydrogen-powered XCIENT Fuel Cell truck, Hyundai is looking forward to providing fleets and vehicle operators additional solutions that enhance road safety and freight efficiencies thanks to Plus’s industry-leading autonomous driving technology.”
First introduced in 2020, Hyundai Motor’s XCIENT Fuel Cell truck has conducted commercial operations in eight countries worldwide, establishing a successful track record of real-world applications and technological reliability.
At last year’s ACT Expo, Hyundai introduced XCIENT Fuel Cell tractor, the commercialized Class 8 6×4 fuel cell electric model, powered by two 90kW hydrogen fuel cell systems and a 350kW e-motor, providing a driving range of over 450 miles per charge even when fully loaded.
Plus’s SuperDrive™ solution is being deployed across the U.S., Europe, and Australia. The system uses a combination of cutting-edge sensors, including LiDAR, radar and cameras, to provide surround perception, planning, prediction and self-driving capabilities.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Hyundai Motor Company on this important initiative to create more sustainable and safe transportation options. A decarbonized future with autonomous hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks that also improve safety and efficiency is one that Plus is proud to support with our cutting-edge autonomous driving technology,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-Founder at Plus.
Hyundai Motor and Plus have released a video highlighting their collaboration, which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d19h_v7abo.
About Hyundai Motor Company
More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at: https://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/ or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai
About Plus
For more information, visit http://www.plus.ai/.
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Artificial Intelligence
GIGABYTE Showcases AI and User-Friendly Innovative Technology at COMPUTEX 2024
TAIPEI, May 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — GIGABYTE, the world’s leading computer brand, is poised to captivate audiences at this year’s COMPUTEX with its latest offerings. From user-friendly designs to groundbreaking advancements in AI, visitors can expect a truly immersive experience across GIGABYTE and AORUS product lines such as motherboards, graphics cards, gaming monitors, and gaming laptops. As the world enters a new era of AI, GIGABYTE’s presence at COMPUTEX hints at exciting developments in the realm of AI, promising visitors a glimpse into the future of computing.
GIGABYTE will showcase cutting-edge features across its product lineup at COMPUTEX 2024. The AI Laptops including AORUS 17X and AORUS 16X steal the spotlight with the exclusive GIGABYTE AI Nexus, featuring three functions including AI Boost, enhancing performance as per specific scenarios, AI Generator for quick startups with generative AI utilities, and AI Power Gear that intelligently conserves battery life by optimizing power consumption. Additionally, the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 40 SUPER series graphics cards are engineered to provide intense gaming and reliable AI computing power across a diverse range of applications. Complementing these advancements, the OLED Monitor series such as AORUS CO49DQ, integrates AI algorithms to introduce OLED CARE, including six key features designed to minimize burn-in risks on OLED screens and extend the screen’s lifespan.
In terms of user-friendly designs, GIGABYTE presents innovations like the EZ-Latch and Stealth Design on motherboards, streamlining PC assembly with quick and convenient installations while ensuring a clean appearance through efficient cable management. The LCD Edge View across various components like AORUS GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER MASTER enables real-time monitoring of PC performance and customizable display options. Furthermore, the GIGABYTE Arm Edition gaming monitors are equipped with ergonomic monitor mounts designed to cater to various usage environments from PC gaming, console gaming, to even streaming media, realizing the true 4K entertainment. Within the GIGABYTE OLED Gaming Monitor series, the Tactical Switch feature optimizes gaming by instant switching to a 24-inch size, 1080p resolution with a single click, specifically designed for first-person shooter games.
Additionally, GIGABYTE is proud to showcase multiple Red Dot 2024 award-winning products, including the Z790 AORUS XTREME X, Z790 AORUS MASTER X, Z790 AORUS PRO X, X670E AORUS PRO X motherboards, AORUS FO32U2P, GIGABYTE MO34WQC2 gaming monitors, and AORUS C400 GLASS gaming chassis. For more information, please visit the official GIGABYTE website at: https://bit.ly/GIGABYTE_COMPUTEX_2024
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