Connect with us
MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2024

Artificial Intelligence

RALPH LAUREN CORPORATE FOUNDATION LAUNCHES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS SUPPORTING HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Published

on

New York, N.Y., Dec. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation today announced a $2 million commitment to support scholarships for Black, African and African American students, including those at Morehouse College, Spelman College and 10 additional historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) through the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

These scholarships, funded by the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, align with and build on Ralph Lauren Corporation’s commitments to address systemic racism and racial injustice by creating more pathways for equity within the fashion industry and beyond, beginning with education.

“Students represent the best of the human spirit – passion, curiosity and boundless dreams,” said Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation. “When all students have an equal chance to succeed, their dreams become realities and inspire us all.”

“The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation works to make the dream of a better life a reality by championing equity and investing in historically underserved communities,” said Roseann Lynch, Ralph Lauren Corporation’s Chief People Officer and Head of the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation. “Our hope is that these scholarships will deepen pathways of access to education for our future leaders and help enable them to pursue their own dreams.”

“Morehouse has a common cause with partners like the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation who believe that equity begins with education,” said David A. Thomas, Ph.D., Morehouse College president. “Through educational investments, which help elevate the creativity and professional competence of talented students of color, we today empower the innovators who will develop the fashions, products and services the world will demand tomorrow.”

Advertisement
Stake.com

“This new scholarship will allow high-achieving students in need of financial support to graduate with less debt, ready to step into their careers,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College. “We’re extremely proud to join forces with the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation in its effort to increase equity and access in the fashion industry.”

“We are delighted that the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation is expanding its partnership with UNCF and increasing its investment this year to provide more scholarships for African American students,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF. “African American communities remain disproportionately impacted by the lack of resources needed to go to and through college. Recognizing that need, the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation is fueling our ability to move the needle further for deserving, talented students who want to earn degrees, but just lack the resources to do so.”

In addition to Morehouse College and Spelman College, Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation scholarship grants will benefit eligible students at 10 HBCUs over a five-year period. In collaboration with UNCF, those institutions will be selected using criteria including current unmet funding needs, enrollment rates, proximity to Ralph Lauren Corporation’s U.S. operation centers and institutions that have disciplines and curricula that foster careers in the retail industry. Extending the reach of the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation’s scholarship programs, each scholarship will encourage community service participation.

This effort supports institutions whose values are aligned with those of both Ralph Lauren Corporation and the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation – including dreaming of and pursuing excellence, committing to inspiring and enacting meaningful social change and a devotion to compassion for and service of others.

As a part of Ralph Lauren Corporation’s Global Citizenship & Sustainability goals and its commitment to building a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture, the Company’s work with HBCUs also includes facilitating career pathways for Black talent through internship, recruitment, mentorship and development programs – efforts that are deepening as partnerships with educational institutions and external organizations evolve.

Advertisement
Stake.com

Additionally, in November, the Company launched the Ralph Lauren Pin of Solidarity to consumers in North America. Created by Ralph Lauren’s Black Advisory Council, the pin is intended to be a tangible, timeless symbol of allyship with Black, African and African American communities. One hundred percent of the profits from the sale of each pin will be contributed to the Company’s separate UNCF Ralph Lauren Scholarship Program. The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation is also an annual sponsor of the UNCF Walk for Education.

ABOUT THE RALPH LAUREN CORPORATE FOUNDATION
The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation works to make the dream of a better life reality by championing equity and empowering underserved communities around the world. Established in 2001, the Foundation is committed to making a difference across its core areas of focus: supporting cancer care and prevention, protecting the environment, fostering advocacy & access and strengthening community resilience. It hopes to deliver meaningful change in its communities through its nonprofit partnerships, investments and volunteering programs. For more information, please visit: https://corporate.ralphlauren.com/Foundation.

ABOUT RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, footwear & accessories, home, fragrances and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren has sought to inspire the dream of a better life through authenticity and timeless style. Its reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company’s brand names—which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children and Chaps, among others—constitute one of the world’s most widely recognized families of consumer brands. For more information, go to https://corporate.ralphlauren.com.

ABOUT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

Morehouse College is the largest men’s college in the United States and the only college with a mission to educate Black men. A private, liberal arts institution founded in 1867, Morehouse is the nation’s top producer of Black men who go on to receive doctorates, the top producer of Rhodes Scholars among HBCUs, and was named to the list of U.S. institutions that produced the most Fulbright Scholars in 2019-2020. Morehouse has the top-rated core curriculum of any HBCU nationwide, according to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, and Academic Influence named Morehouse one of the two most influential HBCUs of the 21st century. Morehouse is one of the top five HBCUs nationally, according to U.S. News and World Report, which also ranked the College among the top 20 liberal arts colleges nationally in terms of social mobility and the top 50 nationally in terms of innovation. Morehouse is the #1 producer of Black male graduates in Georgia in biology, business, engineering, English, foreign languages, history, mathematics, performing arts, philosophy, physical sciences, religion, and visual arts, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education. As the epicenter for thought leadership on civil rights, Morehouse is committed to helping the nation address the inequities caused by institutional racism, which has created social and economic disparities for people of African descent. Prominent Morehouse alumni include: Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General; Shelton “Spike” Lee, Academy Award-winning American filmmaker; Maynard H. Jackson, the first African American mayor of Atlanta; Jeh Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security; Louis W. Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; Bakari Sellers, attorney and CNN political analyst; Randall Woodfin, elected as the youngest mayor of Birmingham in 120 years; and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Georgia’s first Black U.S. senator from Georgia. For more information, visit: https://morehouse.edu.

Advertisement
Stake.com

ABOUT SPELMAN COLLEGE

Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Spelman is the country’s leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The College’s status is confirmed by U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 54 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 24 for undergraduate teaching, No. 4 for social mobility among liberal arts colleges and No. 1 for the 15th year among historically Black colleges and universities. The Wall Street Journal ranked the College No. 3, nationally, in terms of student satisfaction. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, and collaborations have been established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.

ABOUT UNCF

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding nearly 20% of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.

Advertisement
Stake.com

GlobeNewswire is one of the world's largest newswire distribution networks, specializing in the delivery of corporate press releases financial disclosures and multimedia content to the media, investment community, individual investors and the general public.

Artificial Intelligence

Data Center Security and Spending Skyrocket Amid AI Boom

Published

on

data-center-security-and-spending-skyrocket-amid-ai-boom

USA News Group Commentary Issued on behalf of Avant Technologies Inc.
VANCOUVER, May 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — USA News Group – With the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution fully underway, the importance and security of the data centers that power the new technology is surging. The role and preservation of these data centers is generating multiple calls for them and their power sources to be recognized as a matter of national security. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt went so far as to predict that AI data centers will one day be “on military bases surrounded by machine guns,”  as stated in an interview with Noema Magazine. According to analysts at Dell’Oro Group, data center spending is forecast to grow at an astounding 18% CAGR over the next 5 years. Behind the scenes, tech companies are working tirelessly to provide new developments that will make this transition go smoother, including from Avant Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI), Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX), Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE: VRT), Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), and Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW).

At the forefront of generative AI innovation, Avant Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI) has been perfecting its flagship product, Avant AITM. The cutting-edge AI system is praised for its machine and deep learning capabilities, making it suitable for a wide range of industries and applications. To explore future possibilities for its AI data center cloud infrastructure, Avant recently engaged Wired4Tech, a highly regarded AI infrastructure consulting firm.
“We are excited to engage Wired4Tech to benchmark the performance of an innovative, next-generation AI server,” said William Hisey, CEO of Avant Technologies. “By conducting rigorous benchmark testing of this promising server technology, we expect to validate its expected performance and cost-saving benefits.”
As part of the new agreement, Wired4Tech will carry out detailed performance benchmarking for Avant. This will include evaluating key metrics such as response time, throughput, CPU and memory usage, disk I/O, network latency, and error rates. A special focus will be placed on response time, analyzing how quickly the server responds to different actions to provide insights into its overall responsiveness.
Avant considers these metrics to be critical for evaluating the server’s ability to handle complex AI tasks both effectively and dependably. Furthermore, Wired4Tech will examine the server’s power usage and identify possible cost-saving opportunities.
Prior to this update, Avant Technologies revealed a bold initiative to create groundbreaking, proprietary AI software aimed at improving its next-generation data centers. Additionally, the company intends to implement AI-driven Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) throughout its data center operations. The AvantAI™ platform has also been upgraded to feature intelligent, proactive monitoring and management capabilities for data centers.
Digital infrastructure company Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) recently announced the availability of Dell PowerStore on its Equinix Metal, a new, enterprise-grade Storage as a Service (STaaS) solution. The new availability enables enterprises to unlock multicloud strategies with enhanced performance, security and control, by marrying Equinix’s cloud adjacency and Dell’s leading storage solutions.
“Businesses need storage solutions that allow them to be more agile and get the most out of their hybrid multicloud architectures,” said Merrie Williamson, Chief Customer and Revenue Officer at Equinix. “By combining the powerful capabilities of Dell PowerStore with Equinix’s global platform, we are giving them the low-latency, high-performance connectivity they require without sacrificing on security or breaking their budget.”
The Dell PowerStore on Equinix Metal service offers businesses an easy way to manage and deploy their storage, computing, and networking needs worldwide. This service helps reduce the complexity and costs of running IT operations. It’s a dedicated storage solution designed for environments close to the cloud, giving customers quick, secure, and scalable access to public cloud providers through Equinix’s numerous data centers. This means businesses can efficiently connect to the cloud and manage their infrastructure with less hassle.
Ahead of this year’s Datacloud Global Congress 2024 where its CEO Giordano Albertazzi is set to join a keynote panel, Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE: VRT) launched its new AI hub, featuring the industry’s first AI reference design portfolio for critical digital infrastructure.
The new Vertiv AI Hub offers a variety of helpful resources like white papers, industry research, and tools. It also includes information on power and cooling solutions for both new and existing facilities. Their new design library showcases flexible cooling and power systems that can handle both current and future computer chip needs, supporting anywhere from 10 to 140 kilowatts per rack.
“We are committed to providing deep knowledge, the broadest portfolio, and expert guidance to enable our customers to be among the first to deploy energy-efficient AI power and cooling infrastructure for current and future deployments,” said Albertazzi. “Our close partnerships with leading chipmakers and innovative data center operators make us uniquely qualified to help our customers and partners on their AI journey.”
Known for being a top company in storing paper documents and backup tapes, Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is expanding its data center network by opening a new data center in Toronto, Canada. The new facility is designed to support growth in its online backup services, Connected Backup and LiveVault, which provide automated backups for desktop PCs and specializes in server backups, respectively.
“In addition to opening the data center in Canada, Iron Mountain Digital is actively broadening its global data center presence and in the process of opening a series of data centers outside of the U.S. and Canada, to better support our customers wherever they do business,” said John Clancy, president of Iron Mountain Digital, the technology arm of Iron Mountain. “We’ve had a growing demand from our customers worldwide for data protection solutions and services.”
AI Data Cloud company Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) recently released its financial results for Q1 2025, which included a 33% year-over-year growth in revenue, and a net revenue retention rate of 128%. The growth numbers came shortly ahead of Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy’s scheduled fireside chat at the company’s 6th annual Snowflake Data Cloud Summit 2024 alongside NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang.
“We finished our first quarter with strong performance across many of our key metrics,” said Ramaswamy in the Q1 2025 financials report. “Product revenue was up 34% year-over-year at nearly $790 million, while remaining performance obligations were $5.0 billion, up 46% year-over-year. Our core business is very strong. Our AI products, now generally available, are generating strong customer interest.”
As of the financial results release, Snowflake has 485 customers with trailing 12-month product revenue greater than $1 million, and 709 Forbes Global 2000 customers. Snowflake also announced its intent to acquire certain technology assets and hire key employees from TruEra, an AI observability platform. TruEra provides capabilities to evaluate and monitor large language model (LLM) applications and machine learning models in production.
Source: https://usanewsgroup.com/2023/10/26/unlocking-the-trillion-dollar-ai-market-what-investors-need-to-know/ 
CONTACT:
USA NEWS [email protected](604) 265-2873
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. (“MIQ”). MIQ has been paid a fee for Avant Technologies Inc. advertising and digital media from the company directly. There may be 3rd parties who may have shares Avant Technologies Inc., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ own shares of Avant Technologies Inc. which were purchased as a part of a private placement. MIQ reserves the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Avant Technologies Inc. at any time thereafter without any further notice. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material disseminated by MIQ has been approved by the above mentioned company; this is a paid advertisement, and we own shares of the mentioned company that we will sell, and we also reserve the right to buy shares of the company in the open market, or through further private placements and/or investment vehicles. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/data-center-security-and-spending-skyrocket-amid-ai-boom-302160707.html

Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence

GIGABYTE AI New Era: Humanity X Art X Technology Exhibition

Published

on

gigabyte-ai-new-era:-humanity-x-art-x-technology-exhibition

Embrace the Future with Computing Power! GIGABYTE AI PCs Lead You to Explore New Frontiers
TAIPEI, May 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — GIGABYTE is excited to present the “AI New Era” exhibition, showcasing how AI is transforming our world. This event explores AI-generated art, AI applications, and other immersive experiences that demonstrate the practical uses of AI PCs in everyday life.

Exhibition Themes
The “GIGABYTE AI New Era” exhibition features three thematic areas, each illustrating the diverse nature of AI:
AI Art: This area showcases dynamic images and interactive art created by international artists. Notable contributors include the Dimension + new media art team led by Escher Tsai (Taiwan) and Keith Lam (Hong Kong), Ygor Marotta from the VJ Suave studio in São Paulo, Brazil, and emerging Taiwanese artist Tim Wei. Attendees will embark on a sensory journey as these artists share their inner worlds and the collaborative process of integrating GIGABYTE AI PCs into  their work. VS AI Street Battle: In collaboration with Hello World, this section challenges traditional art forms using the latest text-to-image AI applications. Utilizing GIGABYTE AI PCs’ powerful and stable computing capabilities, this area combines large-scale arcade fighting games with generative AI, creating a unique and creative battle system. AI Applications Featuring RTX -AI PCs: This area explores how AI enhances everyday life across various fields, including gaming, digital art, content creation, image processing, and productivity. Guided by GIGABYTE AI PCs, consumers can experience limitless AI applications, seamlessly integrating AI into their daily routines. Emmy-nominated filmmaker Hugh Hou (US) will curate the AI Use Case zone, showcasing the latest AI technology and providing a professional workflow for creating immersive videos. Additionally, GIGABYTE will collaborate with NVIDIA to showcase a series of advanced AI applications featuring GeForce RTX graphics cards.Invitation to All
GIGABYTE warmly welcomes technology enthusiasts and art connoisseurs to join this grand event and experience the revolution in technology and art brought by artificial intelligence. For more information about the event, please visit the official website: GIGABYTE AI 2024.
Join us in exploring the future of AI and its impact on our daily lives, and witness how GIGABYTE is leading the charge in integrating AI into the world of art and technology.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2426946/GIGABYTE.jpg
 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gigabyte-ai-new-era-humanity-x-art-x-technology-exhibition-302160686.html

Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence

Portkey Announces Integration of Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Enhanced Identity Management and Security

Published

on

portkey-announces-integration-of-zero-knowledge-proofs-for-enhanced-identity-management-and-security

SINGAPORE, May 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Portkey, the innovative account abstraction wallet on the aelf blockchain, proudly announces its latest initiative to enhance user security and privacy through the integration of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs). This cryptographic technique allows one party (the prover) to prove to another party (the verifier) that a particular statement is true without revealing any additional information, ensuring unparalleled privacy and security for Portkey’s users.

The integration of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) in Portkey’s Web3 wallet and decentralised identity management system promises to offer blockchain users unprecedented levels of provable and tamper-proof identity verification. Portkey will enable users to securely prove their eligibility and compliance with service providers’ requirements without disclosing sensitive personal information. By ensuring digital personas are both distinct and verifiable, Portkey’s adoption of ZKPs aims to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 applications, fostering a more secure, privacy-centric, and user-focused internet.
As the prevalence of digital transactions and online interactions increases, it has become even more imperative to protect user data. Portkey’s upcoming integration of ZKPs significantly strengthens its security framework, ensuring that sensitive user information remains confidential and secure. This allows users to engage with digital services confidently, knowing their data is safeguarded by the highest standards of cryptographic security. Portkey’s commitment to privacy and security is a cornerstone of its mission, aimed at establishing a safe and trustworthy digital environment for users navigating the complexities of this increasingly interconnected world.
Introducing SocialLogin
Portkey intends to operate ZKPs through SocialLogin, which encompasses a two-step process: proof generation and verification, for secure transaction validation. In the proof generation phase, the prover creates a proof that confirms the validity of a statement using advanced cryptographic methods. During verification, this proof is evaluated by a verifier who, if the proof is valid, accepts the statement as true without accessing any underlying data. This integration will grant developers the capability to allow users to authenticate themselves on their preferred dApps through their pre-existing social accounts on platforms like Google, Facebook, Twitch, and various other third-party providers.
At the application level, users register with Portkey by logging in with Google credentials and receive an identity token (JWT). This token is sent to the Proving Service, which generates a zk-SNARK proof. The proof is then used to sign transactions on aelf blockchain, where it is verified on-chain. If the proof is valid, the transaction is executed, ensuring enhanced security and privacy for users. At the protocol level, this involves creating a new interface to generate proofs, developing verification functions, and converting proof-based transactions to normal ones while ensuring robust error handling and testing.
This technological advancement for Portkey is critical for enhancing users’ security and privacy as it eliminates the dependence on external verifier services, and solidifies its position as a pioneering force in the realm of digital wallets and decentralised identity management. SocialLogin is currently being developed and intergrated swiftly on Portkey. Soon, users will be able to experience the smooth login and registration process.
Stay updated on Portkey’s news and engage with the Portkey community on:Website: https://portkey.finance  X: https://x.com/Portkey_DID  Telegram: https://t.me/Portkey_Official_Group  Discord: https://discord.gg/zSBDUV9q
About Portkey
Portkey aims to be the most useful Web2-to-3 Wallet: it targets Web2 projects and provides them with simple, seamless, and scalable access to a complete Web3 ecosystem. While Portkey serves as an Account Abstraction Wallet with intuitive social recovery features, it also promotes Decentralised Identity Technology, enabling Web2 businesses and developers to migrate seamlessly into Web3. It also features aelf’s unique Virtual Address (VA) technical approach, which is cheaper, faster and easier to implement compared to other industry standards.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/portkey-announces-integration-of-zero-knowledge-proofs-for-enhanced-identity-management-and-security-302160594.html

Continue Reading

Trending