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SCHWEICKART PRIZE ANNOUNCED TO RECOGNIZE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD OF ASTEROID DEFENSE

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Launched to honor Apollo 9 astronaut Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, it recognizes students, and early career individuals working towards planetary defense solutions
SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today, on June 30th, International Asteroid Day, B612 Foundation announced the Schweickart Prize, named in honor of renowned Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, which will recognize individuals who have made exceptional contributions to planetary defense and advancing life’s evolutionary journey. The prize acknowledges the significance of embracing our collective responsibility for safeguarding humanity’s transition into the broader cosmos. “Through the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), we worked on the issue of planetary defense from asteroid impacts. Rusty Schweickart took a leadership role with the ASE to enable others to bring this global issue to the United Nations. This topic is now debated on a global stage as a result of Rusty’s commitment. This prize in Rusty’s honor is a fitting tribute to his lifetime of leadership,” said Dr. Franklin Chang-Díaz, NASA astronaut, CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Co, and NASA’s first Hispanic astronaut.
The Schweickart Prize emphasizes the need to address existential risks like asteroid impacts. “As citizens of Earth, we have to do everything in our power to preserve it and save it from all sources of danger. The Schweickart Prize encapsulates this concept and will be a beacon of achievement for all those working to prevent asteroid impacts here on Earth,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE, private space explorer and first Iranian astronaut.
The prize will be awarded annually to exceptional individuals, specifically undergraduate and graduate students and early career professionals actively involved in planetary defense. Their work will demonstrate notable progress in threat discovery, mitigation strategies, civil protection, public education, or responsible geopolitical decisions. “The Schweickart Prize will recognize a new generation of students who will contribute to future advancements in space exploration for the benefit of all life on Earth, particularly in the face of existential challenges like asteroid impacts,” said Nicole Stott, NASA astronaut, artist, co-founder of Space For Art Foundation, and first watercolor painter in space. The open call for Schweickart Prize nominations will be posted this October at Schweickartprize.org.
The future awardees will have achieved accomplishments, including facilitating international cooperation, addressing legal issues, stimulating student engagement, validating NEO deflection techniques, establishing public credibility, developing visual tools, or exploring innovative approaches to minimize NEO impacts. “The California Academy of Sciences stepped up as one of the inaugural supporters of Asteroid Day because we want our audiences to take an interest in understanding the risks and opportunities of asteroids. We are proud to support the Schweickart Prize, which we hope will increase interest in this topic and enable us to develop more visualization tools and techniques to enhance public understanding of planetary defense,” said Ryan Wyatt, Senior Director of Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization, California Academy of Sciences.
Beginning in 2024, Schweickart Prize awardees will receive a cash prize of $10,000 USD and gain global exposure through a press campaign to acknowledge their achievements. The awardees will also receive a prestigious unique  award with a museum-quality meteorite, symbolizing the existential nature of the prize’s purpose.
“The Schweickart Prize Award Committee comprises representatives from renowned universities and organizations worldwide, specializing in astronomy, planetary science, aerospace, and space policy programs,” said Danica Remy, President of B612 Foundation and co-founder of Asteroid Day. Committee members representing the many facets of the planetary defense issue will play a vital role in the process. Committee members include Anousheh Ansari, astronaut, XPRIZE (USA); Dr. Richard Binzel, MIT (USA); Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, astronaut, MIT (USA); Dr. Irmgard Marboe, University of Vienna (Austria); Dr. Patrick Michel, Lagrange Laboratory at the Côte d’Azur Observatory (France); Hong-Kyu Moon, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Korea); Oliver Morton, The Economist (UK); Dr. Soichi Noguchi, astronaut, Mirai Space Co. (Japan); Dorin Prunariu, cosmonaut, Asteroid Foundation (Luxembourg); Dr. Frans G. von der Dunk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA) and other distinguished members to be added in the future. See SchweickartPrize.org for more information.
Founding Sponsors who have generously funded the first five years of the Schweickart Prize program include several anonymous donors, Anousheh Ansari, Barringer Crater Company, B612 Foundation, Future Ventures, Geoffrey Notkin, Jurvetson Family Foundation, Meteor Crater, Randy Schweickart and Michelle Heng, and Rusty B. Schweickart and Joanne Keys.
The Schweickart Prize launch ceremony and reception Friday, June 30, 2023, is generously funded by Lynmar Estate, California Academy of Sciences, George & Loretta Whitesides, David Ramsey, Matthew Ramsey, Will & Anya Wright and Tito’s Vodka.
About B612 Foundation and the Schweickart Prize
Since 2002, B612 Foundation has supported research and technologies to enable the economic development of space and enhance our understanding of the evolution of our solar system through its Asteroid Institute program and supporting educational programs, including Asteroid Day. Founding Circle and Asteroid Circle members and individual donors from 46 countries provide financial support for the work. For more information, visit B612foundation.org or follow on social: Twitter, Facebook.
The Schweickart Prize, a program of B612 Foundation, is an annual award that celebrates individuals who have contributed to planetary defense and the evolutionary future of life. It aims to recognize and stimulate advancements in critical areas of planetary defense, encouraging global cooperation and responsible decision-making. The prize is named after Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, renowned Apollo 9 astronaut, co-founder of the Association of Space Explorers and co-founder of B612 Foundation. For more information, visit Schweickartprize.org.
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Bravent, Microsoft’s Technology Consulting Partner, Expands into Northern Europe

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DUBLIN, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The technology consulting firm Bravent, a leader in Microsoft solutions and artificial intelligence, announces its expansion into Northern Europe. This strategic move is part of the Spanish firm’s ongoing effort to extend its expertise in innovation internationally, supporting companies towards digital transformation.

As a Microsoft partner, Bravent consistently provides cutting-edge technology solutions that enable companies to maximize efficiency, improve productivity and achieve digitalization. The expansion into Northern Europe represents a milestone in Bravent’s history, marking a new chapter in its bid to consolidate its innovation leadership.
“Expanding our presence to Northern Europe aligns with our vision to bring state-of-the-art AI solutions and Microsoft expertise to businesses in this region,” said José Luis Carrascosa, CEO of Bravent, who expressed his enthusiasm to “contribute to the technology growth and innovation landscape in Northern Europe with our robust solutions and experienced team.”
Bravent’s expansion in Northern Europe will be led by Mark McCrory, who joins the firm as a partner and regional leader. Mark joins Bravent from Microsoft, where for the past 20 years he has held regional leadership positions within the Consulting Services division, most recently as COO for Microsoft Denmark. Mark has an extensive track record of working with enterprise customers to help them realize value from their Microsoft Cloud investments, experience that he will now bring to Bravent’s customers in this region.
Bravent’s decision to begin operations in Northern Europe is the result of a detailed analysis of regional technology needs and the market dynamics themselves. The company is committed to contributing to local economies and fostering relationships with regional businesses to tailor solutions that respond to their challenges and opportunities.
With this expansion, Bravent will introduce Northern Europe to its range of services, including artificial intelligence integration, cloud computing solutions and enterprise software development, all designed to leverage the technological power of Microsoft. Bravent plans to establish local offices and hire regional talent, ensuring that its solutions are both globally informed and locally tailored.
About Bravent
Bravent is a Microsoft technology consulting firm specializing in advanced artificial intelligence solutions and digital transformation strategies. With a proven track record of success and innovation, Bravent supports businesses around the globe in harnessing the power of technology to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
For more information, please visit https://www.bravent.net/en/).
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CIN7 ACQUIRES AI FORECASTING COMPANY INVENTORO, PAVING THE WAY FOR NEXT-LEVEL INTELLIGENT COMMERCE

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Leading inventory and order management software invests in growth, new AI capabilities on the heels of new CEO appointment
DENVER, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cin7, the industry-leading inventory and order management software provider, today announced the acquisition of Inventoro, a leading provider of AI-driven sales forecasting and replenishment optimization solutions. The acquisition and integration of Inventoro’s capabilities with Cin7’s platform will extend product seller’s access to state-of-the-art AI technology, enabling customers to enhance existing inventory and order management capabilities with intelligent prediction and optimization.

Overstocking and similar inefficiencies are estimated to drive $163B in losses each year for global product sellers. The combined power of Inventoro and Cin7 can change that. Inventoro’s innovative AI-powered forecasting technology accurately predicts future product demand, providing daily updates on key optimization performance and insights on which products drive profits. Together with Cin7’s end-to-end inventory management software, sellers will gain invaluable visibility into their product availability and inventory capital.
Powered by a proprietary AI engine, sellers can forecast demand with unmatched accuracy months in advance, maintaining optimal stock levels and eliminating overages. This allows sellers to make fast, impactful decisions – enabling both short and long term forecasting that translates insight into action. Not only does this help achieve over 99% product availability, it also frees up to 20% of inventory capital and saves valuable time through automated, streamlined operations.
“Inventoro’s AI forecasting and optimization capabilities are a perfect complement to Cin7’s robust inventory management solutions,” said Ajoy Krishnamoorthy, Cin7’s CEO. “The actionable insights and increased visibility into performance provided by the combined capabilities help customers optimize performance across channels and minimize impacts from overstocking and stock outs. By combining Cin7’s inventory management platform and the power of Inventoro’s AI-powered forecasting, the future of inventory intelligence is here.” 
“From the moment we first partnered with Cin7, it was clear our companies were aligned in a mission to empower small and medium product sellers and manufacturers. By combining Cin7’s powerful inventory management platform with Inventoro’s advanced AI forecasting and optimization capabilities, we’re first to market with a solution that provides end-to-end visibility and control, reduces waste, and ultimately helps SMB’s thrive,” said Tomas Formanek, Inventoro’s founder and CEO.
This announcement comes at the dawn of a new phase of growth for Cin7, marked by the recent appointments of Ajoy Krishnamoorthy to Chief Executive Officer and Nolan Smith to President and Chief Operating Officer.
About Cin7Cin7 provides Connected Inventory Performance – cloud-based inventory management software that gives growing product businesses an automated and real-time view of the entire inventory lifecycle. Cin7’s products, Core and Omni, natively integrate with over 700+ applications, so business owners can consolidate, streamline, automate, and scale their inventory operation from one place. Founded in 2012, Cin7 has grown into a global force, supporting product sellers in 100+ countries, serving 8,000+ customers and processing over 125 million orders annually.
About InventoroInventoro is revolutionizing the way small and medium-sized businesses manage their inventory. With its cutting-edge algorithmic sales forecasting, businesses can finally achieve optimal stock levels and say goodbye to stock outs and overstock. Inventoro’s system is powered by advanced mathematics and artificial intelligence, which means it can learn and adapt to unique business needs, to achieve unprecedented forecast accuracy. Founded in 2020 as a SaaS service and built upon two decades of technological innovation.
Media ContactLindsay Mahaney [email protected]

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Potential secures additional $2M to drive AI-powered terrain perception technologies to market

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The seed fund extension will underpin innovation programs with global automotive manufacturers as momentum builds toward production-scale deployment.
$2M CAD seed round extensionRound includes returning partners Brightspark Ventures, Build Ventures and NBIF, joined by Farpointe. Existing backers include Marc Benioff’s TIME VenturesFunds will support new and ongoing innovation projects with automotive OEMsTerrain Intelligence, the company’s core technology, solves safety and performance problems both off and on roadFREDERICTON, NB, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Potential (Potential Motors Inc), a Canadian automotive technology company developing advanced driver assistance systems for off-road environments, has today announced that it has raised $2M CAD in a successful seed round extension. This builds on two previous seed round commitments, for a total of $8.5M raised since May 2020.

Investors in the extension include returning partners Brightspark Ventures, Build Ventures and NBIF (the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation), with Farpointe joining for the first time. They join existing investors, including Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures. 
The latest funding will be used to drive commercialization of Potential’s AI-powered perception solutions in automotive, powersports, mining and defense sectors, following years of intensive R&D. 
Potential has already partnered with a major manufacturer of recreational off-road vehicles (CFMOTO Powersports Inc) and delivered its first innovation project for a global automotive brand. The company has another pilot project in the automotive sector underway in Q2, with further projects at scoping stage. 
Potential’s core technology is branded Terrain Intelligence. This software platform uses forward-facing sensors (such as cameras) to interpret terrain shape, incline gradient, surface type, obstacles and more. The platform can deliver multiple outputs, from presenting data to drivers all the way through to self-selecting vehicle control adjustments such as drive mode, suspension and differential settings, torque levels and more. 
Unlike today’s driver assistance systems, which rely on reactive technologies, Potential enables proactive control in advance of reaching hazards. 
Sam Poirier, CEO at Potential: “Potential’s expertise in off-road terrain, computer vision and AI will make vehicles safer, faster, more agile and more comfortable in extreme environments. Our solutions can improve outcomes on the road too, so our technology could be used in all sorts of vehicles. I’m pleased to welcome back existing partners as well as new investors at this critical milestone in our journey.”
Mark Skapinker, Managing Partner at Brightspark Ventures: “When we first invested in Potential, we were excited by Sam’s vision of a future where AI and terrain perception technologies play key roles in performance, safety and efficiency. By renewing our investment, we’re also renewing our vote of confidence in Sam’s leadership and Potential’s technology.” 
Jeff White, CEO at NBIF: “Sam has already built an impressive team and successful pilots; our new funding commitment demonstrates the continued confidence we have in Sam’s vision and Potential’s opportunities.”
About PotentialPotential (Potential Motors Inc.) is an automotive technology company designing the future of advanced driver-assistance systems for off-road and extreme environments, combining computer vision and AI to read the path ahead.
www.potentialmotors.com
Press contact: Jay Nickerson, [email protected]
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