Artificial Intelligence

Aurora Mobile Limited Announces Second Quarter 2022 Unaudited Financial Results

Published

2 years ago

September 15, 2022

SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aurora Mobile Limited (“Aurora Mobile” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: JG), a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Second Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Revenues were RMB76.1 million (US$11.4 million), a decrease of 14% year-over-year.
Cost of revenues was RMB22.7 million (US$3.4 million), an increase of 5% year-over-year.
Gross profit was RMB53.5 million (US$8.0 million), a decrease of 21% year-over-year.
Total operating expenses were RMB87.7 million (US$13.1 million), a decrease of 17% year-over-year.
Net loss was RMB24.4 million (US$3.6 million), compared with a net loss of RMB29.3 million for the same quarter last year.
Net loss attributable to Aurora Mobile Limited’s shareholders was RMB23.4 million (US$3.5 million), compared with a net loss attributable to Aurora Mobile Limited’s shareholders of RMB29.3 million for the same quarter last year.
Adjusted net loss (non-GAAP) was RMB16.9 million (US$2.5 million), compared with a RMB23.6 million adjusted net loss for the same quarter last year.
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) was a negative RMB8.0 million (US$1.2 million), compared with a negative RMB13.3 million for the same quarter last year.

Mr. Weidong Luo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aurora Mobile, commented, “Our Q2 results were largely conditioned by the turbulence from the impact of the widespread resurgence of COVID-19. And we have taken necessary steps and initiatives to proactively address obstacles and strengthen our management and operational capabilities to navigate through these tough times. Continuing the effort started in Q1’2022, we have shaved off more operating expenses and, we further reduced salary cost as we streamlined our workforce. In addition, we closely and thoroughly looked at every single expense and made conscious efforts to search for better deals or replace new vendors to reduce the expense level.

At this juncture, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone in our Company for their contribution in these important cost-cutting initiatives. All these efforts have been positively reflected in the Q2’2022 financial performance. Here are the highlights of our important achievements:

Lowest operating expenses for the past 14 quarters since Q1’2019, at RMB87.7 million, down 17% year-over-year
Lowest net loss since Q3’2019, at RMB24.4 million, narrowed down 17% year-over-year
Highest level of net cash inflow from operating activities since Q4’2020
Adjusted EBITDA at negative RMB8.0 million, significantly improved by 40% year-over-year
Total customer number up 79% year-over-year to 4,709

In Q2’2022, our Developer Services revenues were down 10% year-over-year to RMB55.2 million, which was mainly due to the decrease from Value-added Services. Subscription Services revenues were RMB38.3 million, up 2% year-over-year. Our Subscription Services, which include JPUSH, Analytics, UMS and others, are products and services that help APP developers and enterprises to improve their operational efficiency. Demand for our Subscription Services is relatively strong and less impacted by the general sentiment of the macro-economy.

One key milestone in Subscription Services that I would like to share with you is our overseas business expansion. In Q2’2022, our overseas email deliveries surpassed those in Mainland China. This is a great testament to the quality of our products and services, along with our ability to expand our businesses beyond our shores. We do see overseas expansion as one of our next key growth drivers.

To enable our customers going global to access more overseas messaging channels, in August we signed a cooperation agreement with WhatsApp, the world’s leading private messaging giant. Under this collaboration, WhatsApp is now embedded as one of the channels within our Overseas Messaging Cloud Solution which was created to empower Chinese enterprises to expand in overseas markets with omni-channel intelligent messaging services.

Although our Value-added Services revenue took a hit in Q2’2022, we are seeing some encouraging signs from the AD Mediation Platform. Since the launch of our AD Mediation Platform in the beginning of June, over 2 million daily active users (DAUs) and more than 20 APPs have joined our platform, with more than 150 APPs in the pipeline. Our AD Mediation Platform enables one-stop SDK-based access to mainstream ad platforms such as csjplatform.com, Tencent Youlianghui, and Kuaishou, and at the same time it can also quickly access more than 70 other high-return demand-side platforms (DSPs).

I am also very excited to share some updates from our core product, JPUSH. With our new customer management feature for VIP push customers, users now can easily select target users and send promotional and customized push messages to their end users without having to go through the software coding process. According to various research reports, click rate will largely improve when sending the dynamic and customized campaign push messages to end users.

As you see, we were very productive this quarter and made the necessary product improvements and innovations despite the tough business conditions. We believe that only when we have superior products that markets demand can we continue to strive and come back even stronger after the current slowdown. I am confident that we are fully equipped and ready for the tides to turn.”

Mr. Shan-Nen Bong, Chief Financial Officer of Aurora Mobile, added, “Vertical Applications revenue decreased by 25% year-over-year mainly due to the impact of COVID-19 which resulted in a dip in demand and logistical obstacles in contract signing.

Financial Risk Management Service and Market Intelligence Service (which are the components within Vertical Applications), each services’ revenue decreased by 22% and 9%, year-over-year to RMB12.0 million and RMB7.3 million, respectively, mainly due to 1) the slow-down in the economy which resulted in lower demand for our services; 2) delays in contract signing as several major cities were locked down. We were simply not able to mail or deliver contracts to customers for their execution. Nevertheless, some existing key account customers in both services continued their consumption of our services during the quarter.

We have yielded some of the best results since Q1’2021 as a result of our effective cost control initiatives. Operating expenses decreased by an impressive 17% year-over-year to RMB87.7 million and that is the lowest operating expense since Q1’2019. All 3 components within the operating expense category have recorded year-over-year reductions.

Adjusted EBITDA (calculated as EBITDA excluding Share-based Compensation, reduction in force charges, impairment of long-term investment and change in fair value of foreign currency swap contracts), improved 40% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter respectively, to negative RMB8.0 million.

AR turnover days has remained stable at 46 days this quarter compared to 46 days last quarter. Our disciplined accounting policy and cash collecting efforts ensure a timely collection of our accounts receivables.

Finally, the total Deferred Revenue balance, which represents cash collected in advance from customers, exceeded RMB100 million at quarter-end for the 9th consecutive quarter. As of June 30, 2022, the total deferred revenue balance was at the historical high of RMB137.7 million.”

Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Revenues were RMB76.1 million (US$11.4 million), a decrease of 14% from RMB89.0 million in the same quarter of last year, mainly due to the impact of COVID-19 on overall macroeconomic conditions.

Cost of revenues was RMB22.7 million (US$3.4 million), an increase of 5% from RMB21.6 million in the same quarter of last year. The increase was mainly due to the increase in short message cost of RMB1.4 million.

Gross profit was RMB53.5 million (US$8.0 million), a decrease of 21% from RMB67.4 million in the same quarter of last year.

Total operating expenses were RMB87.7 million (US$13.1 million), a decrease of 17% from RMB105.3 million in the same quarter of last year.

Research and development expenses were RMB40.8 million (US$6.1 million), a decrease of 25% from RMB54.3 million in the same quarter of last year, mainly due to a RMB8.6 million decrease in personnel costs, a RMB1.6 million decrease in technical service fee, a RMB1.3 million decrease in cloud cost, and a RMB0.8 million decrease in depreciation expense.
Sales and marketing expenses were RMB23.3 million (US$3.5 million), a decrease of 14% from RMB27.0 million in the same quarter of last year, mainly due to a RMB1.9 million decrease in personnel costs and a RMB1.5 million decrease in marketing expense.
General and administrative expenses were RMB23.6 million (US$3.5 million), a slight decrease of 1% from RMB23.9 million in the same quarter of last year, mainly due to the net effect of a RMB3.1 million decrease in personnel costs and a RMB2.6 million increase in professional fee.

Loss from operations was RMB34.2 million (US$5.1 million), compared with RMB37.9 million in the same quarter of last year.

Net Loss was RMB24.4 million (US$3.6 million), compared with RMB29.3 million in the same quarter of last year.

Adjusted net loss (non-GAAP) was RMB16.9 million (US$2.5 million), compared with RMB23.6 million in the same quarter of last year.

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) was a negative RMB8.0 million (US$1.2 million) compared with a negative RMB13.3 million for the same quarter of last year.

The cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments were RMB112.0 million (US$16.7 million) as of June 30, 2022 compared with RMB284.6 million as of December 31, 2021. The decrease was primarily due to the short-term bank loan of RMB150.0 million was fully repaid in April 2022.

Business Outlook

Based on the current information, we anticipate that the Developer Services – Subscription Services revenue for Q3’2022 to achieve close to double digit growth both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. For Vertical Applications revenue, we are also expecting solid quarter over quarter growth. For Value-added Services, which we have mentioned earlier, the overall market will take time to stabilize before the revenue can return to the historical level. With the anticipated growth in revenue and conscious cost spending, barring any unforeseen events, we are looking to achieve a break-even Adjusted EBITDA balance for Q4’2022.

Please note that, the above outlook is based on the current market conditions and reflects the Company’s current and preliminary estimates of market and operating conditions and customer demand, which are all subject to change.

Update on Share Repurchase

As of June 30, 2022, the Company had repurchased a total of 920,606 ADS. No ADS were repurchased during the second quarter in 2022.

Conference Call

The Company will host an earnings conference call on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (7:30 p.m. Beijing time on the same day).

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, operator assisted conference calls are not available at the moment. All participants must register in advance to join the conference using the link provided below. Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. Conference access information will be provided upon registration.

Participant Online Registration: https://register.vevent.com/register/BIef3833e54b5e41f58d571f9285679b5d

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of Aurora Mobile’s website at https://ir.jiguang.cn/.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating the business, the Company considers and uses two non-GAAP measures, adjusted net loss and adjusted EBITDA, as a supplemental measure to review and assess its operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company defines adjusted net loss as net loss excluding share-based compensation, reduction in force charges, impairment of long-term investment and change in fair value of foreign currency swap contract. The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as net loss excluding interest expense, depreciation of property and equipment, amortization of intangible assets, income tax expenses/(benefits), share-based compensation, reduction in force charges, impairment of long-term investment and change in fair value of foreign currency swap contract.

The Company believes that adjusted net loss and adjusted EBITDA help identify underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain expenses that it includes in loss from operations and net loss.

The Company believes that adjusted net loss and adjusted EBITDA provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by the management in their financial and operational decision-making.

The non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. One of the key limitations of using adjusted net loss and adjusted EBITDA is that they do not reflect all items of income and expense that affect the Company’s operations. Further, the non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore their comparability may be limited.

The Company compensates for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company’s performance. The Company encourages you to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable U.S. GAAP measure are included at the end of this press release.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SAAS business model; its ability maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

About Aurora Mobile Limited

Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile is a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China. Since its inception, Aurora Mobile has focused on providing stable and efficient messaging services to enterprises and has grown to be a leading mobile messaging service provider with its first-mover advantage. With the increasing demand for customer reach and marketing growth, Aurora Mobile has developed forward-looking solutions such as Cloud Messaging and Cloud Marketing to help enterprises achieve omnichannel customer reach and interaction, as well as artificial intelligence and big data-driven marketing technology solutions to help enterprises’ digital transformation.

For more information, please visit https://ir.jiguang.cn/.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Aurora Mobile Limited

[email protected]

Christensen

In China

Mr. Eric Yuan

Phone: +86-10-5900-1548

E-mail: [email protected]

In U.S.

Ms. Linda Bergkamp

Phone: +1-480-614-3004

Email: [email protected]

–

Footnote:

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB6.6981 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as of June 30, 2022.

AURORA MOBILE LIMITED
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”), except for number of shares and per share data)

	Three months ended								Six months ended
	June 30, 2021		March 31, 2022		June 30, 2022				June 30, 2021		June 30, 2022
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$

Revenues	88,961		85,330		76,147		11,368		165,609		161,477		24,108
Cost of revenues	(21,586	)	(26,828	)	(22,673	)	(3,385	)	(40,088	)	(49,501	)	(7,390	)
Gross profit	67,375		58,502		53,474		7,983		125,521		111,976		16,718
Operating expenses
Research and development	(54,312	)	(39,978	)	(40,794	)	(6,090	)	(106,219	)	(80,772	)	(12,059	)
Sales and marketing	(27,020	)	(26,283	)	(23,326	)	(3,482	)	(53,904	)	(49,609	)	(7,406	)
General and administrative	(23,942	)	(28,196	)	(23,601	)	(3,524	)	(46,692	)	(51,797	)	(7,734	)
Total operating expenses	(105,274	)	(94,457	)	(87,721	)	(13,096	)	(206,815	)	(182,178	)	(27,199	)
Loss from operations	(37,899	)	(35,955	)	(34,247	)	(5,113	)	(81,294	)	(70,202	)	(10,481	)
Foreign exchange loss, net	(1,500	)	(597	)	(2,667	)	(398	)	(1,504	)	(3,264	)	(488	)
Interest income	1,742		1,251		388		58		3,330		1,639		245
Interest expenses	(2,204	)	(1,846	)	(775	)	(116	)	(4,978	)	(2,621	)	(391	)
Other income	8,699		4,805		13,726		2,049		13,098		18,531		2,767
Change in fair value of structured deposits	–		–		3		–		20		3		–
Change in fair value of foreign currency swap contract	1,905		1,441		(677	)	(101	)	1,905		764		114
Loss before income taxes	(29,257	)	(30,901	)	(24,249	)	(3,621	)	(69,423	)	(55,150	)	(8,234	)
Income tax (expenses)/ benefits	(11	)	4		(139	)	(21	)	(11	)	(135	)	(20	)
Net loss	(29,268	)	(30,897	)	(24,388	)	(3,642	)	(69,434	)	(55,285	)	(8,254	)
Less: net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests	–		(1,089	)	(972	)	(145	)	–		(2,061	)	(308	)
Net loss attributable to Aurora Mobile Limited’s shareholders	(29,268	)	(29,808	)	(23,416	)	(3,497	)	(69,434	)	(53,224	)	(7,946	)
Net loss attributable to common shareholders	(29,268	)	(29,808	)	(23,416	)	(3,497	)	(69,434	)	(53,224	)	(7,946	)
Net loss per share, for Class A and Class B common shares:
Class A and B Common Shares – basic and diluted	(0.37	)	(0.38	)	(0.30	)	(0.04	)	(0.88	)	(0.67	)	(0.10	)
Shares used in net loss per share computation:
Class A Common Shares – basic and diluted	61,799,298		62,058,860		62,138,645		62,138,645		61,668,577		62,098,973		62,098,973
Class B Common Shares – basic and diluted	17,000,189		17,000,189		17,000,189		17,000,189		17,000,189		17,000,189		17,000,189
Other comprehensive income
Foreign currency translation adjustments	1,188		309		3,519		525		654		3,828		572
Total other comprehensive income, net of tax	1,188		309		3,519		525		654		3,828		572
Total comprehensive loss	(28,080	)	(30,588	)	(20,869	)	(3,117	)	(68,780	)	(51,457	)	(7,682	)
Less: comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	–		(1,089	)	(972	)	(145	)	–		(2,061	)	(308	)
Comprehensive loss attributable to Aurora Mobile Limited’s shareholders	(28,080	)	(29,499	)	(19,897	)	(2,972	)	(68,780	)	(49,396	)	(7,374	)

AURORA MOBILE LIMITED
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”))

	As of
	December 31, 2021		June 30, 2022
	RMB		RMB		US$
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	90,552		91,844		13,712
Restricted cash	164,030		137		20
Derivative assets	5,989		3		–
Short-term investments	30,000		20,000		2,986
Accounts receivable	43,860		35,138		5,246
Prepayments and other current assets	46,670		34,238		5,112
Amounts due from a related party	35		–		–
Total current assets	381,136		181,360		27,076
Non-current assets:
Long-term investments	141,926		140,015		20,904
Property and equipment, net	62,179		49,267		7,355
Intangible assets, net	5,398		26,809		4,002
Goodwill	–		37,785		5,641
Other non-current assets	4,898		13,476		2,012
Total non-current assets	214,401		267,352		39,914
Total assets	595,537		448,712		66,990
LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short-term loan	150,000		–		–
Accounts payable	18,292		19,190		2,865
Deferred revenue and customer deposits	119,991		129,720		19,367
Accrued liabilities and other current liabilities	85,305		78,240		11,681
Amounts due to a related party	54		66		10
Total current liabilities	373,642		227,216		33,923
Non-current liabilities:
Deferred revenue	3,845		8,027		1,198
Deferred tax liabilities	–		5,097		761
Other non-current liabilities	2,607		2,734		408
Total non-current liabilities	6,452		15,858		2,367
Total liabilities	380,094		243,074		36,290
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	–		31,582		4,715
Shareholders’equity:
Common shares	49		49		7
Additional paid-in capital	1,021,961		1,029,970		153,770
Accumulated deficit	(819,018	)	(872,242	)	(130,222	)
Accumulated other comprehensive income	12,451		16,279		2,430
Total shareholders’ equity	215,443		174,056		25,985
Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interests and shareholders’ equity	595,537		448,712		66,990

AURORA MOBILE LIMITED
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS
(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”))

	Three months ended								Six months ended
	June 30, 2021		March 31, 2022		June 30, 2022				June 30, 2021		June 30, 2022
	RMB		RMB		RMB		US$		RMB		RMB		US$
Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted Net Loss:
Net loss	(29,268	)	(30,897	)	(24,388	)	(3,642	)	(69,434	)	(55,285	)	(8,254	)
Add:
Share-based compensation	7,528		3,392		6,792		1,014		19,036		10,184		1,520
Reduction in force charges	–		4,191		–		–		–		4,191		626
Impairment of long-term investment	–		7,016		–		–		–		7,016		1,047
Change in fair value of foreign currency swap contract	(1,905	)	(1,441	)	677		101		(1,905	)	(764	)	(114	)
Adjusted net loss	(23,645	)	(17,739	)	(16,919	)	(2,527	)	(52,303	)	(34,658	)	(5,175	)
Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA:
Net loss	(29,268	)	(30,897	)	(24,388	)	(3,642	)	(69,434	)	(55,285	)	(8,254	)
Add:
Income tax expenses/ (benefits)	11		(4	)	139		21		11		135		20
Interest expenses	2,204		1,846		775		116		4,978		2,621		391
Depreciation of property and equipment	7,028		6,636		6,350		948		13,406		12,986		1,939
Amortization of intangible assets	1,099		1,076		1,671		249		2,190		2,747		410
EBITDA	(18,926	)	(21,343	)	(15,453	)	(2,308	)	(48,849	)	(36,796	)	(5,494	)
Add:
Share-based compensation	7,528		3,392		6,792		1,014		19,036		10,184		1,520
Reduction in force charges	–		4,191		–		–		–		4,191		626
Impairment of long-term investment	–		7,016		–		–		–		7,016		1,047
Change in fair value of foreign currency swap contract	(1,905	)	(1,441	)	677		101		(1,905	)	(764	)	(114	)
Adjusted EBITDA	(13,303	)	(8,185	)	(7,984	)	(1,193	)	(31,718	)	(16,169	)	(2,415	)

AURORA MOBILE LIMITED

UNAUDITED SAAS BUSINESSES REVENUE

(Amounts in thousands of Renminbi (“RMB”) and US dollars (“US$”))

Three months ended

Six months ended

June 30, 2021

March 31, 2022

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2021

June 30, 2022

RMB

US$

RMB

US$

Reconciliation of SAAS Businesses Revenue to Total Revenue

Developer Services

61,168

59,757

55,249

8,248

113,608

115,006

17,170

Subscription

37,538

34,356

38,343

5,724

71,214

72,699

10,854

Value-Added Services

23,630

25,401

16,906

2,524

42,394

42,307

6,316

Vertical Applications

27,793

25,573

20,898

3,120

52,001

46,471

6,938

Total Revenue

88,961

85,330

76,147

11,368

165,609

161,477

24,108

Gross Profits

67,375

58,502

53,474

7,983

125,521

111,976

16,718

Gross Margin

75.7%

68.6%

70.2%

75.8%

69.3%

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Unified Mobile Defense Platform Recognized for Innovation and Leadership Across Nine Cybersecurity Categories
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Appdome, the mobile app economy’s one-stop shop for mobile defense, today announced it has received a total of nine (9) Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. The Appdome Unified Mobile App Defense Platform was awarded best in class across nine categories in recognition of the comprehensive breadth, depth and value of the Appdome platform to brands and enterprises alike.

“We congratulate Appdome on being recognized as an award winner in 9 categories of the 2024 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards,” said Holger Schulze, CEO of Cybersecurity Insiders and founder of the 600,000-member Information Security Community on LinkedIn, which organizes the 9th annual Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. “With over 600 entries across more than 300 categories, the awards are highly competitive. Appdome’s achievement reflects outstanding commitment to the core principles of excellence, innovation, and leadership in cybersecurity.”
Within a single pane of glass, Appdome delivers the most complete set of no-code, no-SDK, fully automated mobile defenses to mobile brands and enterprises, empowering mobile developers, cybersecurity, fraud and IT teams to deliver on any mobile cyber objective quickly and easily.
The nine (9) categories in which Appdome received a Cybersecurity Excellence Award are:
Mobile Security Platform: Appdome is the only enterprise-grade mobile security platform built for full mobile defense lifecycle management, visibility and control to brands and enterprises alike, including key features for build, test, release, monitor, response, and compliance automation. Mobile Security Automation: Appdome is the only mobile defense solution that uses machine learning to code and build over 300+ mobile app security, anti-fraud, anti-cheat, anti-malware, anti-bot, geo-compliance and other defenses in Android & iOS apps in the DevOps pipeline.Mobile Social Engineering Defense: The Appdome Social Engineering Prevention solution is the first of its kind to protect mobile users from voice phishing (Vishing) scams and other imposter scams, T.O.A.D. attacks, Remote Access Trojans (RATs), Gold Pickaxe, FaceID bypass and more without an SDK or external servers.Mobile Bot Defense: The Appdome MOBILEBot™ Defense solution is the first mobile anti-bot solution to come out of the box compatible with any industry standard web application firewall (WAF) on the market and provide multi-layered bot, credential stuffing and Account Take Over (ATO) defense without an SDK, external server, performance limits, or restrictions.Mobile Geo Compliance: Only the Appdome Mobile Geo-Compliance solution guarantees accurate and authentic geo location of mobile devices, applications and users without code or coding in the mobile app, without implementing an SDK and without deploying additional servers.Mobile XDR: The Appdome ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR solution is the only mobile attack and threat monitoring service that comes pre-packaged into the mobile defense lifecycle, requires no device agent, device profile, separate code, coding, SDK or server, and provides real-time detection and automated response across internal (employee facing) and external (consumer facing) Android & iOS apps.DevOps Mobile Security Tool: The Appdome platform’s fully integrated Security Release Management™ capabilities and Appdome Certified Secure™ mobile DevSecOps certification offer the only true enterprise-grade compliance assurance, audit and control for mobile defense at brands and enterprises, allowing quick verification that all security, anti-fraud and compliance objectives have been met. Mobile Application Security: With 300+ separate defenses for mobile apps, Appdome has the most comprehensive set of mobile application security features available in one product, fully compatible with all mobile Android & iOS apps.”Nine Cybersecurity Excellence Awards for Mobile Defense tells a very compelling story for the incredibly complex Dev, Sec, and Ops challenges organizations face detecting and defeating mobile-based risks and attacks,” said Chris Roeckl, Chief Product Officer at Appdome. “Point products make these challenges worse by adding complexity and overloading already taxed cyber and engineering teams. Appdome is the only platform simplifying work, bringing all these unique challenges under a single pane of glass, delivering 300+ protections and simultaneously resolving the security, fraud, resilience and compliance challenges brands and enterprises face.”
Learn more about the award-winning Appdome Platform at www.appdome.com or request a personalized demo at https://www.appdome.com/request-a-demo/appdome-home/
The full list of awards are available from the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards website https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/
About AppdomeThe Appdome mission is to protect every mobile app and mobile user in the world. Appdome provides the mobile industry’s only Unified Mobile App Defense platform, powered by a patented mobile coding engine, Threat-Events™ Threat-Aware UX/UI Control, and ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR. Using Appdome, mobile brands eliminate complexity, ship faster and save money by delivering 300+ Certified Secure™ mobile app security, anti-malware, anti-fraud, mobile anti-bot, anti-cheat, geo compliance, MiTM attack prevention, code obfuscation, social engineering and other protections in Android and iOS apps with ease, inside the mobile DevOps and CI/CD pipeline. Leading ﬁnancial, healthcare, government and m-commerce brands use Appdome to protect Android and iOS apps, mobile customers and mobile businesses globally. Appdome holds several patents including U.S. Patents 9,934,017 B2, 10,310,870 B2, 10,606,582 B2, 11,243,748 B2 and 11,294,663 B2. Additional patents pending.
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Artificial Intelligence

Courageous Whistleblowers Reclaim Derogatory Terms As Data Shows 80% of Financial Professionals Stay Silent on Suspected Internal Fraud, Fearing Retaliation

Published

3 hours ago

May 21, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

Enron whistleblower, Sherron Watkins, alongside stars of Apple TV’s The Big Conn, Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith, reclaim derogatory labels for whistleblowers Concerning new data shows more than half of financial professionals in the UK and US have spotted or suspected internal fraud in their workplaces, yet four out of five stay silent fearing retaliation 32% of professionals in finance have seen whistleblowers victimized behind their back or to their faceJACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — New data from fraud detection software company Medius shows more than half of financial professionals in the UK and US (56%) have spotted or suspected internal fraud in their workplaces yet four in five (81%) stayed silent. When asked why, 45% of professionals cited the fear of recrimination.

Whistleblowers Sherron Watkins, Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith have joined forces to reclaim the derogatory names they were called after reporting serious internal financial fraud.
To help empower others to come forward, the whistleblowers are reclaiming the terms “snitch”, “rat” and “traitor”.
Sherron Watkins is the former Vice President of Enron Corporation who alerted the CEO to accounting irregularities, warning the organization “‘might implode in a wave of accounting scandals.” Watkins received national acclaim for her courageous actions and TIME magazine named her along with two others as their Persons of the Year in 2002, calling them simply ‘The Whistleblowers.’
Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith are the stars of Apple TV’s The Big Conn after they exposed a fraud scheme of more than $550 million while employed at the Social Security Administration. In efforts to silence their disclosures, they experienced multiple acts of severe retaliation and were denied protection. Ultimately, both Carver and Griffith were forced from employment.
Concerns of repercussions are vindicated – the survey reveals the extent to which financial professionals in the UK and US have witnessed negative consequences for whistleblowers firsthand:
59% have seen whistleblowers subsequently left out of important decisions 33% have seen whistleblowers moved to a different team 32% have heard whistleblowers called derogatory names behind their backs or directly to their faceWhen asked what would encourage them to flag suspicious activity, 93% of workers surveyed would feel more comfortable doing so if they had more evidence, yet nearly half (48%) said the legal system simply does not adequately protect whistleblowers.
Jim Lucier, CEO at Medius, a leading global provider of cloud-based accounts payable automation and spend management solutions, said:
“White collar crime is on the rise and no organization is safe. Employees are the last line of defense against fraud but confidence to report suspicious activity is declining. AI anomaly-detection technology can provide employees with the evidence and assurances they need to be more forthcoming. Building a culture where employees feel comfortable to report their suspicions could save organizations millions in the long-run.”
Medius works with over 4,000 customers across 102 countries and processes $200 billion in annual spend. It uses the power of AI and automation to detect fraud the moment invoices are submitted safeguarding against bad actors and potential threats, internal and external.
Sherron Watkins, whistleblower who was called a “snitch”, said: “When someone is troubled by corporate wrongdoing and they attempt to sound the alarm, the pathway is uncharted, things happen organically. Normal rational people speak about their concerns with their closest friends and work colleagues, who often suggest staying safe saying “keep your head down, if you must report, go soft, nothing black and white.” Yet black and white evidence is what is needed to get the attention of those in power, either internally or with media or outside watchdog groups to prevent or stop fraudulent activity.”
Jennifer Griffith, whistleblower who was called a “traitor”, said: “Choosing to blow the whistle involves more than just the desire to right a wrong. It’s about protecting their employers from fraud. However, it’s more often than not seen as causing trouble for the employer, or as a self-serving action to get a financial reward. No one who chooses to blow the whistle expects to have their reputation attacked, their credibility impugned or to lose their job. The cost of ignoring a whistleblowers complaints are far greater than acknowledging that a problem exists and taking steps to fix it. It’s been 19 years since I blew the whistle and the problems that existed then with the Social Security Administration still exist today. We must do more to protect whistleblowers.”
Sarah Carver, whistleblower who was called a “rat”, said: “The government’s attempt to conceal the fraud resulted in exacerbated damage, whereas a more prudent approach would have entailed immediate acknowledgement and rectification upon initial disclosure. The retaliatory measures aimed at silencing me made me stronger and fight harder to find someone to listen and stop the fraud.”
Georgina Hallford-Hall, CEO of Whistleblowers UK, said: “Too many organisations talk the talk but fail to engage with whistleblowers often at great cost to both. Technology used properly can remove the fear that both organisations and whistleblowers have about dealing with whistleblowing because it removes the person and focuses on the concerns or malfeasance. WhistleblowersUK are calling on the UK government to introduce an Independent Office of the Whistleblower to protect everyone from discrimination setting standards that end stigmatisation and discrimination making it safe to speak up.”
The billboard advertising campaign runs on Wall Street from Saturday, 18th May to Friday, 24th May 2024.
For more information about how Medius can prevent fraud, visit: https://www.medius.com/whistleblowing/
Notes to Editor
Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide with 1500 financial professionals in the UK and US (aged 18+) between 04/22/24 – 05/07/24. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.
For more information, please contact:
Fight or Flight for [email protected] / +44 330 133 0985
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/medius/r/snitch—traitor—rat–courageous-whistleblowers-reclaim-derogatory-terms-as-data-shows-80–of-fina,c3985054

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Artificial Intelligence

ThroughPut.AI and Inteligistics Announce Strategic Partnership to Transform Agriculture and Fresh Produce Supply Chains

Published

3 hours ago

May 21, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

The Partnership focuses on driving maximum optimization of both the supply chain and interwoven cold chain to improve sales, profit margins, output, safety, and traceability.
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ThroughPut Inc., the industrial AI supply chain Decision Intelligence pioneer, and Inteligistics, the leading digital visibility solutions provider for perishable supply chains, today announced a strategic technology alliance to accelerate profitability for the sales of perishable goods. This area is typically plagued by volatile prices and volumes, poor predictions, limited supply chain visibility, and excessive product spoilage. This leads to high rejection and discount rates, and avoidable lost margins. ThroughPut.AI, in collaboration with Inteligistics, will enable growers, suppliers, carriers, distributors, and retailers to significantly improve the efficiency of their supply and cold chain operations, thus ensuring that all fresh products – ranging from berries and vegetables to fish and meat – is sold profitably on-time and in-full for faster, fresher and safer delivery with full supply chain visibility.

Mutual customers introduced ThroughPut.AI and Inteligistics as complementary partners due to ThroughPut.AI’s patented, Gartner-ranked comprehensive Supply Chain Analytics & Decision Intelligence software, with Inteligistics’ industry-leading expertise in supply chain performance, productivity, and sustainability, where both have yielded high-value outcomes for customers, their consumers, and owner-investors across the globe. The two companies also share a common goal of minimizing waste, shrink, unfilled orders, and lost sales.
“We’re delighted to partner with Inteligistics as we look to expand our capabilities for our clients in the critical Food and Agricultural industry. Food and AG supply chains suffer from siloed legacy point solutions that don’t address today’s supply chain networks’ complexity and volatility. To overcome these modern Food and AG supply chain challenges, already existing but disparate data must be tapped into, stitched together, analyzed, visualized, and optimized with Industrial-grade AI for actionable recommendations and better results,” explained Seth Page, COO and Head of Strategic Partnerships of ThroughPut Inc. “By partnering with Inteligistics, we can provide customers with our unprecedented supply chain visibility, actionability, predictions and recommendations into customers’ cold chain operations as part of their larger end-to-end supply chain networks. This allows customers to leverage data at every step of the way to make the right produce available at the right place, at the right time, to the right customer, at the best price, in the correct quantities, and in the safest traceable manner possible.”
“Our partnership with ThroughPut.AI will empower agricultural producers, and buyers to leverage data for timely, intelligent decision-making, while accelerating margins,” said Rao Mandava, CEO and Chairman at Inteligistics. “Our customers will now have a unified common operating picture for a single source of truth for all their perishable inventory, enabling them to reduce risk, increase safety, and unlock new growth opportunities. The data is also available for our recently unveiled 1-Click FSMA 204 Traceability reporting solutions. All our supply and cold chain solutions work with data from a company’s legacy data platforms, including ERP, WMS and procurement systems, eliminating the major operational disruption associated with platform replacement.”
Joint Capabilities
Bringing together ThroughPut’s patented and award-winning AI-powered Supply Chain Advanced Analytics and Decision Intelligence solution with Inteligistics’ innovative supply and cold chain performance improvement capabilities will empower their customers to drive additional value in many key areas including the following:
Fill Rate: The joint solution will provide customers with an innovative fill rate model that will enable them to:Dynamically allocate products when farm and producer outputs vary, thus ensuring timely demand fulfillment.Proactively forecast customer demand, pricing, and volumes, as well as leveraging advanced analytics to balance supply with demand on a real-time basis.Tailor fill-rates based on customer segmentation, helping customers to prioritize higher contribution margin product mixes with the best on-time and in-full (OTIF) rates to maximize returns.Scheduling: The combined solution will empower suppliers and buyers to optimize loading facility and cross-docking queuing, slotting, scheduling, loading and usage via:Data-driven recommendations for ideal order fulfillment time-slots based on customer segmentation, available inventory, and priority-based delivery of in-demand products across the supply chain.Ensure necessary labor, docks and slots are available for loading on time to further enhance operational efficiency, greater throughput, higher output, and additional revenue and profit generation.Streamline the scheduling process and maximize order fulfillment while minimizing delays, idle time, and site traffic.Rejection and Discount Rates: Leveraging data inputs from Inteligistics and ThroughPut.AI will deliver fresh Food & Agriculture specific capabilities, including:Actionable insights and recommendations to optimize end-to-end supply chain operations while maintaining traceable product quality and food safety, for a greater bottom-line with enhanced regulatory compliance.Minimize rejection factors by analyzing data on product temperatures, sales history, and movements across supply chain networks to predict the likelihood of rejection or discounts, while reducing rejection rates and discounts in shipments that are fully traceable and quantifiable.Minimize waste and discounts to consumers by managing the inventory from DCs to stores using predictive shelf life and First Expire/First Out distribution.PR Contact
Tina Jacobs
[email protected]
About ThroughPut:
ThroughPut.AI is a Silicon Valley-based Supply Chain AI leader that puts Industrial material flows on Autopilot by leveraging existing Enterprise Data to achieve superior Business, Operations, Financial and Sustainability Results. ThroughPut.AI’s patented, Gartner-recognized AI-powered Supply Chain Analytics and Decision Intelligence software platform predicts Demand, reorients Production Capacity, reassigns Warehouse Space, and reorders Materials optimally, so businesses minimize overpromising and under-delivering, and maximize for their desired outcomes. As a rapid diagnostic platform, ThroughPut.AI both improves material flow and free-cash-flow across the entire end-to-end value chain far faster than leading contemporary and legacy solutions could ever imagine. The founding team is led by seasoned serial entrepreneurs with real-world AI, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Transportation and Operations experience, from the shopfloor to the top-floor, at leading Fortune 500 Industrial Companies & pioneering Enterprise Technology companies that have impacted the world.
To learn more about ThroughPut Inc, visit our website today.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about ThroughPut Food and Beverage Solution OfferingsFor more information about ThroughPut, visit ThroughPut Resource LibraryRead the ThroughPut Blog and access latest ThroughPut Press CoverageAbout Inteligistics:
Inteligistics is uniquely placed in perishables industries using Silicon Valley technology and process improvements to bring digital transformation, turn Big Data into clear actions through AI/ML, and deliver high value improvements to supply chain and cold chain performance for perishable commodities. The resulting increase in productivity and reduction in critical cut-to-cool times, resources help meet sustainability goals. Using IoT, off-the-shelf wireless hardware, and proprietary cloud-based applications, Inteligistics develops custom solutions and provides an end-to-end integrated supply chain platform and standalone applications that improve quality, throughput, increase profits and deliver high ROI on the critical process of moving product from field to consumer. Visit inteligistics.com and linkedin.com/company/inteligistics.

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