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Drone Startup Shield AI Valued at $2.5 Billion in New Funding Round

Drone Startup Shield AI Valued at $2.5 Billion in New Funding Round

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In a groundbreaking development for the autonomous drone technology sector, Shield AI, a startup specializing in military applications, is set to raise an impressive $150 million in funding. 

Drone Startup Shield AI Valued at $2.5 Billion in New Funding Round
Image Source: ts2.space

Sources familiar with the discussions have revealed that this latest round of financing will value the company at an impressive $2.5 billion. While Shield AI has not officially commented on this news, it marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey.

Shield AI is renowned for its innovative software, Hivemind, which essentially acts as a self-driving pilot for aircraft without the reliance on communications or GPS. This unique technology enables drones to operate seamlessly in situations where interference from enemy forces could otherwise disrupt navigation. Such capabilities have garnered Shield AI multiple contracts with the US military, solidifying its position as a key player in the defense technology landscape.

Notably, earlier this year, Shield AI made headlines by announcing a strategic partnership with aerospace giant Boeing Co. The collaboration aims to expedite the integration of Shield AI’s autonomous aircraft software into military applications, underscoring the growing importance of autonomous systems in modern warfare.

Shield AI’s journey began in 2015, when it was founded by Ryan Tseng and his brother, Brandon Tseng, a former Navy SEAL who now serves as the company’s president. Alongside them, Andrew Reiter, a technical fellow at the company, contributed to the development of their groundbreaking technology. Shield AI quickly emerged as a star in the defense technology sector, attracting significant attention and venture capital investments.

The startup’s impressive growth trajectory has been supported by several high-profile investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Point72 Ventures, and Snowpoint Ventures. These investments have not only fueled Shield AI’s research and development efforts but have also positioned the company as a leader in autonomous drone technology.

Also Read: T-Mobile to Buy Up to $3.3 Billion of Airwaves From Comcast

The $2.5 billion valuation is a testament to Shield AI’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of autonomous technology. It reflects the growing recognition of the strategic importance of such innovations in modern defense and security operations. As conflicts evolve, autonomous drones like those developed by Shield AI are becoming essential tools for gathering critical intelligence and executing missions while minimizing risks to human personnel.

In conclusion, Shield AI’s latest funding round signifies a major milestone in the development of autonomous drone technology for military applications. With a valuation of $2.5 billion, the company is poised to continue driving innovation in the defense technology sector, ensuring that cutting-edge autonomous systems become an integral part of the modern military arsenal. The partnership with Boeing and continued support from investors further solidify Shield AI’s position as a frontrunner in this rapidly evolving field.

TechCrunch Select Omnisient As One Of World’s Top 200 Game-Changing Startups

TechCrunch Select Omnisient as One of World’s Top 200 Game-Changing Startups

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In order to select the top 200 businesses to compete in their Startup Battlefield 200 contest at the yearly TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco, USA, TechCrunch analysed over 3,000 early-stage startup nominations from across the world. The Startup Battlefield 200 is the premier startup competition in the world, where 200 businesses are given the opportunity to train and present to financiers along with TechCrunch editors. Participants in this season’s Startup Battlefield come from a variety of industries, including exploration of space, security, banking, and software as a service (SaaS).

TechCrunch Select Omnisient As One Of World’s Top 200 Game-Changing Startups
Image Source: techcrunch.com

“One of the cool advantages of being a first-party witness to the thousands of companies that come through our application pipeline every year is that we see emergent trends bubbling up far sooner than most do. It’s a huge privilege to be able to see the future this way and one of the most exciting parts of our job,” says Matthew Panzarino, Editor-in-Chief of TechCrunch.

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With the help of cutting-edge cryptography, sophisticated analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), Omnisient is the Data Collaboration service that enables Financial Services Institutions (FSIs) to use fresh consumer data sources safely and legally. Local banks are currently able to make use of retail consumer data from Omnisient’s platform to determine 3.2 million people as trustworthy who would have otherwise been turned down for credit owing to a lack of background information.

Speaking about the fintech category of the competition, Panzarino added, “Fintech is going deep over the next year building infrastructure in huge but un-addressed world economies rather than over-indexing on the western markets. Whatever holdover grip that foreign banking and social norms have on those systems is getting unravelled by startups that are creating new ways for populations in those markets to engage with finances.”

techfinancials.co.za

The Moscone Centre in San Francisco will play host to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 from September 19 Tuesday, through September 21, Thursday,

Featuring more than 10,000 individuals attending, TechCrunch Disrupt is the premier event in the world for launching ground-breaking firms, showcasing groundbreaking innovations, and talking about what the greatest innovators in the tech sector are thinking about right now. This year, Disrupt brings together the smartest and greatest tech enthusiasts, investors, hackers, as well as entrepreneurs for communication, screenings, demos, and Startup Battlefield 200.

Read more: Japan’s Newest Billionaire is a College Dropout Who Built a Global Udon Noodle Empire

The event is renowned for showcasing the hottest businesses, revealing revolutionary technology, and talking about what the brightest minds in the tech sector are thinking about right now. Disrupt has previously seen the launches of businesses including Dropbox, Cloudflare,  Mint, Fitbit, as well as Yammer.

Ajay bhatt

Ajay Bhatt- The inventor of USB who prefers to stay away from limelight

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Technology and inventions are important that ultimately helps the community in several ways. When it comes to technology and invention Indian are in top place. Indians and Indian origin persons are well known for human intelligence all over the world. From Google’s CEO to CTOs of many international companies are either Indian or Indian origin. As well, there is a long list of Indian inventors, but not all of them prefer to come in limelight. Yes, such great persons exist, and Ajay Bhatt is one of such personalities. An Indian inventor who changed the scenario of connectivity with USB invention. It became a standard in which one could be used across devices. As well, he dedicated his time to make it acceptable worldwide. Here is an inspiring journey of Ajay Bhatt who made our lives easier with USB invention.

Early life

Ajay Bhatt came in the world in the world on September 6, 1957. He spent early childhood at his birthplace Baroda. Bhatt attended the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda for graduation. Thereafter, he shifted to New York and completed his Master’s degree there.

Career

Ajay Bhatt has been working with Intel for a long time. In fact, he offered great service and helped Intel in many ways. He joined Intel in 1990. During the early days of his career, he worked as a senior staff architect where he worked in Folsom with a chipset architecture team. At Intel, he was one of the inventive employees and named more than 130 patents including the US and International level parents. Due to his outstanding work, he named an Intel Fellow. As well, he leads the Intel project for next-generation client platform architecture.

The rest of this, he also nominated to take apart as a lecturer in the reputed University of US and Asian region.

The Backstory of Inventing USB

We know that almost all inventions are born out of a need to make the thing easier and feasible. A similar thing happened in this case also. Ajay Bhatt’s wife wanted to print some letters for his daughter’s school project. But that time doing this task was not as easy as it is today. His wife tried several ways but nothing worked and she couldn’t print the letters by herself. Because though computers made an entrance, the peripheral connectivity was still not as advanced as it is today.

That time, the idea pops into his mind to invent such things that can make these tasks easier as well as can be used as a standard for all kind of computer hardware. And USB is a result that now globally accepted and used across the devices.

Importance of Ajay Bhatt’s invention

Of course, computers were the center of attraction in the 90s era. But there was a problem that the user had to use the same company peripheral devices as of the company of computer. That means different components were useless for different company’s devices.  Along with Intel, Bhatt solved this problem with USB invention. It became a standard in which one could be used across devices. As well, he dedicated his time to make it acceptable worldwide. Also, the overall price of the computer is lessened, as the USB connected peripheral could be produced at a low price.

Achievements and awards of Ajay Bhatt

Ajay Bhatt has a great contribution to developing many technologies that are accepted worldwide. Includes, accelerated graphics port, Universal Serial Bus i.e. USB and PCI Express. He holds 132 international and U.S. patents as well, dozens of others are in filing stages. In 2002, he honored with achievement in excellence award for his dedication and contribution to the development of PCI express.

Bottom Line

Despite discovering such useful technologies, Ajay never tried to come in limelight. In fact, he could sell his idea for big money. But when Bhatt discovered it, he was working with Intel and never demand financial windfall for game-changing discovery. Today, his invented USB is used as a standard on the planet. As well, we can use different peripheral devices to our PC as per our preferences. It means we can choose the printer of a different company, the mouse of another company and keyboard of another one, totally depends on our choice.

With the thought of solving the technical problem of his family, Bhatt solved the problem of the whole world. USB invention definitely helped to promote computerization and enable us to use any company’s device irrespective of the company of our computer.

Telenor

Telenor: One of the Largest and Globally known Mobile Telecommunications Company

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Telenor ASA is one of the biggest mobile telecommunications firms in the world, with activities around the world but mostly in Scandinavia and Asia. It has 10-year-old research and business line for Machine-to-Machine technology, as well as vast broadband and TV distribution activities in four Nordic countries. Telenor manages and operates networks in nine countries.

Telenor, The Telephone Company

Telenor began as Telegrafverket, a state-owned monopoly provider of telegraph services, in 1855. Televerket started by linking Christiania (now Oslo) to Sweden, as well as Christiania and Drammen.

In 1878, the first telephone service in Norway was established between Arendal and Tvedestrand, and in 1893, the first international telephone service was established between Christiania and Stockholm. The telephone system was automated beginning in 1920 and completed in 1985.

Telenor
Image Source: typenetwork.com

Always Moving Forward with Telenor

In the Nordic countries, Telenor provides a wide range of telecommunication networks, including mobile and fixed telephony, Internet connectivity, and cable TV access and video. Facing competition from Telia and others, Telenor remains Norway’s largest player. The company has a significant presence in the Scandinavian broadband and television industry, both in terms of subscribers and service area. With operations in five Asian countries, Telenor is a major player in the region.

Telenor’s Asian business currently comprises around 1.2 billion people, of which around 150 million are Telenor subscribers. Less than 20 percent of them are active mobile data users. The company’s ‘Internet for All’ strategy aims to capitalize on this important revenue and growth potential in a region with low penetration of the fixed network and the decline in the prices of devices.

The company’s Asian markets have seen unprecedented growth and demand for mobile data over the past two years. The number of mobile broadband connections in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to double to 2.1 billion in 2017. Telenor Group is strategically managing the voice-to-data transition, focusing on delivering innovative telecommunications and digital services based on the real needs of people in their markets.

Thailand and Malaysia are currently leading Telenor’s growth in the region. 32% and 37% of customers, respectively, are active mobile data users. However, the pace is accelerating in all Asian companies. In Bangladesh, 5.2 million are currently active data users, or 11 percent, while Uninor in India and Telenor Pakistan have 4.7 million and 5.3 million active users, or 15 percent, respectively.

Working for the Crowd

In order to achieve a profitable expansion of the mobile Internet, the Telenor Group has identified four key elements: building efficient, faster, and more intelligent networks, right prices and packages, increasing device quality, and using digital services and partnerships for a quick introduction.

To promote usage and meet customer needs, Telenor works with social media and entertainment players like Facebook, Wikipedia, and WhatsApp, targeting other digital offerings, including financial services, access to knowledge, and affordable and accessible health services.

The CEO: Sigve Brekke

On December 15, 1959, Sigve Brekke was born. He is the President and CEO of Telenor Group, a multinational telecommunications firm with operations in 13 Nordic, European, and Asian countries.

He was formerly the EVP and Head of Region Asia. He has played a key role in expanding Telenor’s presence in the area. He has been a key driver and shaper in transforming Telenor into a leading power in key Asian markets since helping to set the initial trajectory in 1999.

He began his career with Telenor as an analyst, later rising to the role of Manager for Business Development, where he was instrumental in developing the company’s Asian growth strategy. He has been the CEO of Dtac and Uninor since then. He’s already been involved in mergers and acquisitions, and he’s recently entered the Myanmar market.

Fortive

Fortive: A Five-year-old start-up is named as one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune.

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Fortive is a huge success in the technology industry currently controlling many businesses in Instrumentation, transportation, automation, franchise distribution, etc. The company was founded in 2016 by the current CEO of the company, Jim Lico. Fortive was a part of Danaher Corporation, an American diversified conglomerate that spun off the former in 2016. The headquarters of Fortive Corporation is based in Washington. For two consecutive years, Fortive was named as a Future 50 Company by Fortune. This young industrial conglomerate is also on the Fortune 500 list.

About Fortive Corporation

Fortive was created by Danaher Corporation by spinning off a few subsidiaries which include Matco and AMMCO-COATS. The main aim of Fortive is to deliver innovative technologies to its customers and solve pressing challenges.  Fortive works in various fields satisfying a wide range of customers. There are three main segments in which Fortive’s operating companies are divided. The first is Intelligent Operating Solutions which is responsible for ensuring better security and compliance and energy efficiency. Secondly, Precision Technologies solves very tough technical challenges thus a significant part of research and product development, and lastly, Advanced Healthcare Solutions ensures timely delivery of safe healthcare for the patients.

Fortive
Image Source: fortive.com

Growth and Strategic Acquisitions

Fortive is a very young company and since its foundation, the company has focused on acquiring other businesses from various fields. After it was spun off in June 2016, Fluke Corporation (a subsidiary of Fortive) acquired eMaint, a CMMS IIoT system. After a month, Global Transportation Technologies (GTT) was acquired which is a company in the traffic management sector. In July 2017, Fortive acquired Industrial Scientific, a Pittsburgh-based gas detection and safety-as-a-service company. The company also acquired Landauer for $770 million. It is a company that provides services to determine radiation exposure both at the occupational and environmental levels. Gilbarco Veeder Root, a subsidiary of Fortive acquired Orpak Systems which is known for delivering technical solutions to oil companies and commercial fleets.

In 2018, Fortive bought a software firm called Accruent for $2billion. This year Tektronix, another subsidiary of Fortive acquired Initial State which is a data streaming and visualization platform. Fortive Corporation has many subsidiaries acquiring companies in different fields which made it a big success within five years of its establishment. The company entered the healthcare sector after its acquisition of Johnson & Johnson’s Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) business. This deal was closed in April 2019 and in the same year, Fortive acquired Censis Technologies, which is a SaaS company providing inventory guides in the surgical field.

In September 2019, Fortive announced that it will be splitting into two different publicly traded companies. Last year, Vontier, the new company was announced. Fortive has a very strong working culture and it significantly invests its time and energy in doing social work as well. As a socially responsible company, it tries to minimize waste production and avoid pollution along with adopting sustainable practices. In 2020, Fortive was named as one of the 500 most responsible companies by Newsweek.

About Danaher Corporation

Danaher Corporation is an American diversified conglomerate with its headquarters based in Washington, D.C. The company is divided into four platforms, namely, Life Sciences, Diagnostic, Water Quality, and Environmental & Applied Solutions. Danaher is known as one of the best companies for diverse employees. The founders of the company are Steven M. Rales and Mitchell Rales. It was founded back in 1969 as a real estate investment trust. The company was on a spree to acquire new companies and currently has an arsenal of subsidiaries. Danaher became one of the first companies in North America to adopt ‘Kaizen’ which is a Japanese philosophy of lean manufacturing. Both Danaher and Fortive believe in a sustainable way of manufacturing products. 

Jim Lico – Founder and CEO of Fortive Corporation

Fortive Founder and CEO
Image Source: fortive.com

The full name of Jim Lico is James A. Lico who is the founding president and CEO of the Fortive Corporation. He was a part of Danaher since 1996 and joined the company as Vice President Operations of Veeder-Root in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He participated in a broad chain of responsibilities in Danaher which includes running Danaher Business System (DSS) for a year, executive leader for the Emerging Market Regional Boards of China, Japan, India and Middle East, etc. Jim graduated with a BS degree from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Management from Northwestern University.

Singtel

Singtel: The Telecom Conglomerate and The Largest Mobile Network Operator in Singapore.

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Telecommunication is the most successful industry in the world, and there are few names that are the biggest contributor to what the telecommunication industry is today. Singtel is one such company, with almost a century-old history in the field. The company is based in Singapore and has a customer base of over 640 million. Singtel is one of the four leading telecom companies of Singapore, and apart from Singapore, it is serving in countries like Australia and India.

A Brief Introduction

Temasek Holdings is the owner company of Singtel, and it trades with the name Singapore Telecommunications Limited. Previously it was branded as SingTel. It is one of the four largest telecom companies in Singapore and is headquartered at 31 Exeter Rd, Singapore 239732. Singtel specializes in fixed-line and mobile telephony, broadband and fixed-line internet services, digital television as well as in IT and network services. As of  2020, the total recorded annual revenue of the company was SGD16.54 billion. Amobee, Dataspark Pte. Ltd., Hooq Digital, Singtel Innov8, NCS Pte Ltd, and Trustwave Holdings are some of its subsidiary companies.

Singtel
Image Source: tranglo.com

The Establishment of Singtel

The history of Singtel dates back to the era of the private telephone exchange in 1883. Singapore got its first telephone network handled by Oriental Telephone and Electric Company (OTEC). OTEC operated the local telephone line for about 25 years, and in 1907 it came under the control of the Central Telephone Exchange in Hill Street. The telephone companies then were under the control of British interests, which changed in the mid of 1950s.

In 1955, the Singapore government incorporated a separate entity to control the telephone networks in the country. The entity was a statutory body and was called the Singapore Telephone Board (STB). After working independently for about 20 years, STB was merged with the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore (TAS), which made the local telecom operations of STB go international. In 1982, the postal services of Singapore were also merged with the telecom services of Singapore.

In 1992, the Singapore telecom merger was again split back into three entities; the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS), Singapore Telecommunications Private Limited, and Singapore Post Private Limited. This spin-off also formed a subsidiary company named Telecommunications Equipment, which later became Singtel. This subsidiary was formed to make the telecom operations of the company expand to other countries as well. In 1992, the company was renamed Singtel, and a new logo was also introduced for it.

The Growth Years

In 1993, Singtel had the largest IPO of Singapore and was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange on 1 November 1993. The same year, the company also entered the Philippines. In 1997, Singtel acquired National Computer Systems (NCS), and in 1999, it acquired a stake in Thailand’s Advanced Info Service (AIS). By the beginning of the 2000s, the company had entered countries like India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Africa, by acquiring shares in companies like Airtel, Optus, and Telkomsel.

Singtel also started its business in the field of enterprise solutions and investment business. In 2010, the company founded Innov8, an investment company to invest in innovative technologies. In 2012, Singtel acquired a digital marketing company named Amobee, and in 2015, the company took over the operations of a leading US cybersecurity firm, Trustwave. The same year,  Singtel came with an instant message app Wavee to compete with the already existing apps like Skype and WhatsApp. The users could make video and audio calls through the app.

Singtel
Image Source: hrmasia.com

The Company joined its hands with companies like Etisalat, SoftBank, and Telefónica for a  Global Telco Security Alliance to offer cybersecurity services to companies in 2018. The same year, Singtel established the FutureNow Innovation Centre to enter into the consulting business. Singtel, along with Ericsson and Singapore Polytechnic, started the first live 5G facility to support the 5G ecosystem in Singapore in 2019.

In 2020, Singtel won a 5G license for the nationwide 5G connectivity by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) Singapore.

The CEO

Singtel announced Yuen Kuan Moon to become Group CEO of Singtel on 1 October 2020. He succeeded Chua Sock Koong as the CEO, who retired in January 2021 from her post. Kuan Moon has been with the company since 1993, and over these years, he has handled some major jobs at the marketing, business development, and sales department of the company. Other than being the CEO of Singtel, he also holds the position of chief digital officer in the company.