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Gates Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of “Grand Challenges” With New Investments and a Call to Make R&D Breakthroughs Available More Quickly and Equitably

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Commitments focus on advancing equitable access to artificial intelligence (AI) and vaccines, and catalyzing innovations that address women’s health
SEATTLE and DAKAR, Senegal, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — A slate of new initiatives to support locally led innovation was announced today in Dakar by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its partners at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting. The investments come with an urgent call for countries to step up funding to make the research and development (R&D) of health and development innovations easier and faster, and to make the next generation of scientific and technological breakthroughs relevant and accessible to all.

Data shows that while overall health R&D funding is increasing, only about 2% is directed toward diseases that affect the world’s poorest people. In 2020, the annual funding gap for product development targeting poverty-related and neglected diseases was estimated at US$2.6 billion.
“Over the past two decades, global investments in a pipeline of innovative solutions helped reduce childhood deaths under 5 by half,” said Moussa Balde, Senegal’s minister for higher education, research and innovation. “But lifesaving innovations still take too long to reach those who need them and are not always designed with equity from the start. Grand Challenges Senegal continues to invest in the country’s brightest scientists and innovators, and we are pleased to be part of this global network of Grand Challenges partners investing in locally led solutions to ensure innovations, including in health, education, and agriculture, benefit everyone equally.”
Launched in 2003, Grand Challenges, the foundation’s flagship innovation program, focuses attention and funding on pressing global health and development problems that affect the world’s poorest people, using open calls for proposals to crowdsource potential solutions.
In an address to the more than 1,400 scientists, policymakers, and donors attending the annual meeting, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, called for the world to spend at least US$3 billion more every year on global health and development R&D in order to close the critical gaps in funding for neglected diseases.
“New health technologies have the potential to save millions of lives, but R&D funding is going in the wrong direction,” said Gates. “Donors need to step up their commitments to ensure health innovations reach those who need them more quickly, so more lives can be saved.”
Today, Gates announced that the foundation is investing US$30 million to support a new artificial intelligence (AI) platform in Africa. The platform will provide African scientists and innovators with the technical and operational support they need to turn promising ideas into scalable health and development solutions. It is a step towards ensuring the benefits of AI are relevant, affordable, and accessible to everyone—particularly those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—and that these critical tools are developed safely, ethically, and equitably. The foundation will continue to work closely with technical partners and governments to further advance the platform and identify opportunities to jointly advance the use of AI for health and development.
Yesterday, the foundation also announced new investments aimed at expanding access to a novel mRNA vaccine manufacturing platform that gives countries, including Senegal and South Africa, the technology to develop and manufacture their own vaccines. mRNA technology is considered a potential game-changer for a range of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, and Lassa fever, which disproportionately affect people in LMICs. This additional local vaccine manufacturing capacity will support LMICs to develop low-cost, high-quality vaccines that address their most urgent health priorities.
“What started as a single program funded by the Gates Foundation and its partners has grown into a family of initiatives and partnerships across national borders, fields of study, and sectors that catalyze research, products, and partnerships to save and improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Kedest Tesfagiorgis, deputy director, global partnerships and Grand Challenges at the foundation. “Our community of brilliant innovators is proof that a great idea can come from anywhere and be supported by the funders, policymakers, and advocates needed to move ideas into the laboratory and, ultimately, to the people who can most benefit from them.”
Grand Challenges is supported by the governments of India, China, Brazil, the United States, and Canada, as well as a growing number of countries in Africa, including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa. Since 2003, partners have invested US$1.6 billion to support more than 3,800 projects in 118 countries—from new strategies to improve gut health in moms and children to reinventing the toilet for improved sanitation to reimagining drug discovery research for malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases. 
To further support scientists developing cutting-edge innovations in LMICs, the foundation and its partners also issued new calls for proposals in the following areas:
Equitable AI for health in LMICs. Building on a recent Grand Challenge (GC) to develop global health and development solutions in LMICs using AI-enabled large language models (LLMs), GC partners issued a request for proposals of up to US$5.5 million to help advance the development of robust, locally relevant, AI-empowered tools to expedite decision-making, policy pathways, and implementation by frontline health workers and policymakers. The call is led by GC Brazil, GC India, GC Ethiopia, GC Senegal, GC South Africa, and GC Africa, with support from GC Canada, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, the Pasteur Network, and the Gates Foundation.Women’s health R&D to unlock the potential of half the world’s population and unleash a powerful engine for progress. The Women’s Health Innovation Opportunity Map 2023 is a new report outlining 50 equitable, high-return opportunities across the R&D continuum to maximize research and innovation, investments, and global action in women’s health. To encourage innovations and ideas laid out in the Opportunity Map, the foundation announced a new request for proposals that will provide up to US$3.6 million in funding.Innovations in global health and development across other critical areas of need. The full list of new requests for proposals can be found here.The 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar is hosted by the Global Grand Challenges network of partners and the government of Senegal, and sponsored by Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International Development, Wellcome, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
About Grand Challenges
The Grand Challenges family of programs stems from a century-old idea that crowdsourcing solutions to a defined set of unsolved problems can spark innovation and accelerate progress. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its Grand Challenges funding partners first used Challenges—open requests for grant proposals—in 2003 to focus attention and effort on pressing global health and development problems for those most in need. Together, Grand Challenges partners have awarded US$1.6 billion across 3,800 grants to a diverse pool of problem solvers in 118 countries, while at the same time fostering a global innovation ecosystem in places where it will have the most impact. The foundation and its Grand Challenges partners will continue to launch RFPs to support innovators from around the world in tackling the hardest, most urgent Grand Challenges. To learn more, visit grandchallenges.org.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, and the board of trustees.
Media contact: [email protected]

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ZTE highlights building solid foundations with full-stack intelligent computing solution at MWC Shanghai 2024

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June 26, 2024

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SHANGHAI, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a global leading provider of integrated information and communication technology solutions, will present innovative solutions and success cases in connectivity, computing power, industrial digitalization, and terminal devices at MWC Shanghai 2024, committed to building solid foundations with its full-stack and full-scenario intelligent computing solution.

In addition to exhibitions, ZTE will participate in various forums, sharing insights on trending topics, including AI, 5G, digitalization, etc. Meanwhile, the company will be hosting a series of launch events, showcasing its AI-powered eyewear-free 3D products and the Nebula Telecom Large Model.
Adhering to its “connectivity + computing” strategy, ZTE aims to create a dynamic ecosystem with industry partners, emphasizing openness and decoupling. Through continuous innovation, ZTE seeks to unfold an intelligent future.
Computing Power: Full-Stack Intelligent Computing as Efficient Foundation
ZTE provides a full-stack and full-scenario intelligent computing solution involving computing power, networks, capabilities, intelligence, and applications. With a full series of servers, high-performance storage products, lossless networks, and green data centers, ZTE has created a robust engine for diverse intelligent computing centers.
Connectivity: A New Era of 10Gbps Experience
Together with industry partners, ZTE continues to explore innovations in 5G-A technologies across different scenarios and industries, and empowers diversified new B2B and B2C services based on 10Gbps+ experience. Meanwhile, ZTE is also leading in global OTN technologies, and actively driving the evolution of all-optical connectivity, building 10Gbps networks for cities, and empowering smart life based on intelligent computing.
Industry: Phygital Convergence for Innovative Development
ZTE proposes the solution of “intelligent computing infrastructure + Digital Nebula,” facilitating phygital innovation and boost productivity in the intelligent era. ZTE has developed hundreds of exemplary projects in key sectors and ZTE Digital Nebula 3.0 has become the “super brain” of industrial digitalization, enabling customers and industry partners to foster a sustainable and intelligent ecosystem.
ZTE Mobile Devices: AI Full-Scenario Intelligent Ecosystem 3.0
With “AI for All” product strategy, ZTE has launched a full range of AI devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, and mobile internet products, dedicated to building AI Full-Scenario Intelligent Ecosystem 3.0. Emerging as a pioneer in cloud PCs, ZTE possesses a global user base of over 3 million.
For more information about ZTE’s highlights at MWC Shanghai 2024, please visit: https://www.zte.com.cn/global/about/news/zte-highlights-building-solid-foundations-with-full-stack-intelligent-computing-solution-at-mwc-shanghai-2024.html
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Email: [email protected]

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Comviva named a Visionary in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for AI in CSP Customer and Business Operations Report

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June 26, 2024

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NEW DELHI, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Comviva, the global leader in customer experience and data monetization solutions, today announced that it has been named a Visionary in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for AI in CSPs Customer and Business Operations report.

Gartner defines the market of AI in communications service provider (CSP) customer and business operations as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. They are either capabilities embedded in CSP-specific operational technology (OT) applications (such as channels, CRM and other business support system [BSS] applications) or industry-agnostic horizontal applications delivering AI/machine learning (ML)-based customer and business operations to CSPs. CSP customer and business operations refer to marketing, sales, customer acquisition, customer journey, billing and revenue management, revenue assurance, and related risk management. The scope of AI products covers data readiness, life cycle management of algorithms and their application to CSP customer and business operations.
Comviva’s vision is to revolutionize the telecommunications industry by harnessing the transformative power of AI and Generative AI. With AI use cases across its MobiLytix™ and BlueMarble solutions, Comviva is enabling businesses to create, manage, and deliver real-time personalization, contextualized customer experiences, and intelligence-driven commerce at scale. Comviva has been noted for its strength in content creation, natural language generation, decision intelligence and machine learning.
“To thrive in today’s digital economy, businesses must accelerate the adoption of AI and related digital technologies. Comviva’s greatest strength has been our intelligent platforms that deliver personalized experiences and engagement across the customer journey,” said Rajesh Chandiramani, CEO at Comviva. “We are excited by this recognition as we believe that this affirms our strategic direction and leadership in revolutionizing telecommunications with AI. Comviva’s strong position in the quadrant validates our commitment and progress toward leveraging next-gen technologies in our solutions to deliver exceptional customer experiences.”
Comviva integrates state-of-the-art AI technologies across its comprehensive product portfolio, driving innovation, enhancing customer experiences, and optimizing business operations for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) around the world.
Source: Gartner Magic Quadrant for AI in CSP Customer and Business Operations, by Pulkit Pandey, Amresh Nandan, Peter Liu, 4 June 2024.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
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Sundeep Mehta, +91()9910030732, [email protected] 
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Jacobi releases Model Portfolio Tech to help investment firms capitalise on booming opportunity

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June 26, 2024

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The search for technology to support model portfolio management and portfolio construction services is increasing as companies look to centralise and scale their model portfolio management and compete in a rapidly growing market.
LONDON, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The utilisation of model portfolios among financial advisers has emerged as a transformative force, with staggering growth in model portfolios projected to continue over the next decade. And with good reason, they offer an efficient method for diversification, risk management, and portfolio construction, with personalisation features to match the unique financial goals and risk tolerances of clients.

Financial advisers are also increasingly turning to asset managers for assistance in managing the model portfolios they build and maintain for clients. Jacobi’s model management technology enables asset managers to scale the portfolio construction services they offer financial professionals. The technology enables a platform that can centralise performance and risk analytics, integrate investment workflows, and produce professional reports to share with clients.
An early adopter of Jacobi’s model technology, leading asset manager T. Rowe Price has seen improved process efficiencies and enhanced engagement with clients.
Chris Augelli, Head of Advisor Engagement & Portfolio Construction Solutions at T. Rowe Price, says:
“Jacobi’s technology has enabled us to work faster and handle the increasing demand for our portfolio construction services. Having the team on one common platform through Jacobi has facilitated collaboration in real-time, which has supported our effectiveness in meeting clients’ needs.”
Tanya Bartolini, Chief Revenue Officer at Jacobi, says:
“Our technology helps us partner with asset managers such as T.Rowe Price to scale and connect workflows, driving enormous efficiencies – and ultimately increasing their market distribution.”
About Jacobi
Jacobi Inc. is a global investment technology provider that streamlines multi-asset investment processes and enables portfolio design, analysis, and client engagement. Its unique “open architecture” platform allows users to tailor the platform by integrating their own code, models, data, analytics, and applications.
Founded in 2014, Jacobi provides its technology to top-tier investors across the globe, including some of the world’s leading asset and wealth managers, pension funds, asset owners, and investment consultants. 
About T.Rowe Price 
Founded in 1937, T. Rowe Price helps people around the world achieve their long-term investment goals. As a large global asset management company known for investment excellence, retirement leadership, and independent proprietary research, the firm is built on a culture of integrity that puts client interests first. Investors rely on the award-winning firm for its retirement expertise and active management of equity, fixed income, alternatives, and multi-asset investments. T. Rowe Price manages $1.54 trillion in client assets as of May 31, 2024, and it serves millions of clients globally.
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