Companies Find New Ways to Reach the next Level in Tech
Emerging Tech Roundup — December 31
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Tufts University ranks top AI talent, Instacart explores a new partnership to deliver via robots, Baidu prepares for the metaverse, Instagram wants to join the NFT market, the Senate approves enhanced AI training, the top 6 cybersecurity learnings of 2021 are recapped, and Koko Networks launches a new business line in consumer goods.
50 Global Hubs for Top AI Talent are Ranked by Tufts University
(Harvard Business Review, December 21)
A team at Tufts University Fletcher School considered talent diversity, investments, foundations and more in their ranking of 50 US cities’ AI talent. They found San Francisco, New York and Boston to be the top three AI Hotspots. Researchers hope that this study will help other companies configure their own AI talent and expand upon it.
Instacart Explores Partnership with Tortoise and WorkWhile to Deliver Using Robots
(Insider, December 23)
Instacart, Tortoise and WorkWhile are working together to offer grocery deliveries using robots. The robots can make deliveries at double the speed of standard delivery and hold up to 250 pounds of goods. Like many companies, Instacart is hoping that turning to robotics in their business operations will save costs and time.
Baidu Says it Could Take 6 Years to Deliver its Metaverse
(CNBC, December 23)
Tech giant Baidu plans to host China’s first metaverse-based developers conference this coming Monday. Up to 100,000 users can participate in the conference on the company’s VR app XiRang, which is expected to be finalized for use in roughly six years. Baidu aims for XiRang to function as an open-source platform to allow for wide adoption among creators.
Instagram May Bring NFTs to a Wider Audience
(Insider, December 20)
CEO Adam Mosseri hinted at the idea of Instagram joining in the highly lucrative NFT market. With such a large platform to work with, the company is hoping that it can help creators and other users access NFTs more easily. Although Mosseri did not elaborate much on the idea, possible plans include bidding and purchasing within the Instagram app and support of multiple crypto wallets.
Senate Approves Boost in Training for Federal Employees on AI
(FEDweek, December 22)
The Senate has approved a bill that will enhance AI training for federal employees who use the technology in their position. The training will include AI and ML theory, the risks, pros and cons of AI, ethical practices, privacy and more. Government officials hope that the bill will help widen their knowledge of AI and assess which systems are beneficial to our country.
6 Things in Cybersecurity We Didn’t Know Last Year
(TechCrunch, December 29)
As technology grows and becomes more unavoidable in our lives, it’s important that we stay in-the-know about its risks. TechCrunch took some time to reflect on 6 major cybersecurity lessons we’ve learned in 2021. They found that venture capitalists have doubled their funding in cybersecurity over the last year, and that the FBI effectively cleaned up after a cyberattack by hacking into private networks, among other valuable insights.
Tech-led Biofuel Startup Koko Networks Launches New Business in Kenya
(TechCrunch, December 30)
Bio-fuel technology company Koko Networks is expanding its business into shops that currently use their products. The new line, Koko Club, will bring low-income households better product offerings at lower prices, and with more convenience. The company will only offer its product to members and has shortened the supply chain to offer the lowest-possible prices and offer families reliable goods, free from any stockouts.
