Google has introduced ‘Checks by Google’, a new tool designed to assist developers and compliance teams ensure that apps, websites, and AI adhere to various standards and regulations. Initially used internally within Google, this tool is now publicly accessible and focuses on three key areas of compliance – app compliance, code compliance, and AI safety.
The app compliance feature evaluates adherence to regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and Brazil’s Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD). Meanwhile, the code compliance aspect aids developers in identifying regulatory issues during the app development process.
Furthermore, the AI safety component addresses compliance and ethical standards related to AI, particularly targeting potential biases and safety concerns in AI-generated outputs. In addition to these features, ‘Checks by Google’ employs a fine-tuned Large Language Model and a smart AI crawler for thorough assessments, thereby providing insights into compliance without offering legal advice.
Moreover, the tool is customisable to meet the specific needs of various industries, such as finance and healthcare. Currently available for free, with additional paid services for enterprises, ‘Checks by Google’ has the potential to transform how developers navigate compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
Suki, a healthcare startup is developing AI-powered voice assistants, has raised $70 million in a Series D funding round led by London-based Hedosophia, with participation from Venrock and March Capital. The latest funding brings Suki’s total to $165 million and reportedly values the company at around $500 million. The Redwood City-based startup aims to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers with AI tools that streamline tasks like clinical documentation.
Founded in 2017 by former Google and Flipkart executive Punit Soni, Suki has seen growing demand for its products, particularly its Suki Assistant and Suki Platform, as more healthcare systems adopt generative AI technology. The startup now partners with over 300 health systems, including St. Mary’s Healthcare in New York, and integrates with major Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems such as Epic and Oracle’s Cerner.
Suki plans to use the new funding to further develop its AI assistant, adding new features and tools to manage multiple AI models. Competing in the same space as Microsoft’s Nuance and other startups like Abridge, Suki continues to expand its footprint in the AI healthcare market.
The Ghana CSO Consortium on Safeguarding Youth Digital Inclusion has called on the government to significantly invest in digital infrastructure, including broadband and 5G networks, to enhance internet access nationwide. The consortium recommended that the government invest in nationwide broadband expansion projects and subsidise data plans and digital devices to ensure that more citizens, particularly those in underserved areas, have access to essential digital tools.
In a communique issued on 8 October 2024, following a one-day forum focused on youth digital inclusion, the consortium emphasised the urgent need for increased digital literacy programs to equip Ghanaians with the skills necessary to thrive in the expanding digital economy. The forum featured various activities, including presentations, panel discussions, and plenary sessions, which reviewed digital policies, laws, regulations, and political party manifestos related to digital access, infrastructure, and employment. Discussions highlighted how young innovators are reshaping the employment landscape in a tech-driven world.
The consortium stressed the need to equip youth with essential skills and advocate for greater technological literacy while ensuring historically marginalised voices were included. Stakeholders noted that digital inclusion offers significant education, employment, and innovation opportunities but acknowledged the pressing need to address inequality to benefit all young people. The forum also highlighted the government’s key role in implementing policies that promote the development and affordability of internet infrastructure.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is set to begin mass production of its latest AI chip, the MI325X, by the end of 2024. This move aims to boost AMD’s competitive position in a market largely dominated by Nvidia. The MI325X will be available in early 2025, designed to enhance AI processing speeds with new memory technology. AMD also plans to release a next-generation MI350 series in 2025 with an improved architecture and more memory for even greater performance.
Despite these announcements, AMD’s shares fell nearly 5%, as analysts were expecting new major cloud-computing clients to be revealed. AMD continues to face stiff competition from Nvidia, whose shares rose while Intel’s dipped amid the AI race. In addition to the new AI chips, AMD introduced server and PC processors based on its Zen 5 architecture, boasting faster speeds and optimised AI capabilities.
AMD’s CEO Lisa Su noted that the company would continue using Taiwan’s TSMC for manufacturing, and while no new clients were announced, demand for AI chips remains high. With an increased forecast for AI chip revenue, AMD is gearing up to meet surging market demand driven by generative AI.
USAID announced a groundbreaking $5 million funding initiative aimed at fostering a new public-private partnership involving the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Armenia, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). That collaboration seeks to leverage the strengths of the private sector to address global challenges, particularly in the realm of digital transformation.
Moreover, the partnership is specifically designed to enhance the resilience of Armenian institutions, thereby ensuring they are better equipped to serve citizens and maintain continuity during disruptions. Furthermore, this initiative aligns with Armenia’s recently adopted Cloud First Policy (CFP), which focuses on innovating public services through cloud technology and represents a significant step toward modernising the country’s technological infrastructure. Through strategic consultations with AWS leadership, the Armenian government aims to improve data safety, cost-efficiency, and overall resilience in its service delivery.
The implementation of the Continuity of Government IT (CGIT) solution on AWS will be crucial for protecting Armenia’s digital assets during disruptions. Specifically, this cloud-based solution will help the government align its continuity goals with technology paths that support its digital transformation objectives.
Additionally, this collaboration has the potential to create a replicable public-private model that other regions can adopt. By amplifying this approach, governments can not only enhance cyber resilience but also leverage cloud computing to accelerate sustainable development goals, ultimately contributing to a more robust global technological landscape.
Numeric, an AI-driven accounting software company co-founded by Parker Gilbert in 2020, is gaining traction for automating the tedious and error-prone process of month-end and quarter-end financial closings. Frustrated with manual accounting work at a startup, Gilbert developed the software to streamline and accelerate the process by using AI to analyse and reconcile data from various accounting systems. Companies like Brex, OpenAI, and Plaid now rely on Numeric for their accounting needs.
In the past year, Numeric’s revenue has grown fourfold, reaching single-digit millions. This growth has attracted significant investor attention, leading to a $28 million Series A funding round led by Menlo Ventures, just five months after raising $10 million in seed funding. The round also saw participation from new investors like IVP and Socii, alongside previous backers such as Founders Fund and Long Journey.
Numeric’s software uses AI to perform flux analysis, identifying changes in financial line items and explaining discrepancies, which saves accountants time and improves accuracy. Although AI currently supports analysis and commentary rather than final calculations, Gilbert expects future versions of the software to expand these capabilities. Menlo Ventures’ Croom Beatty, who led the Series A round, highlighted Numeric’s ability to address complex accounting workflows, setting it apart in a market dominated by established players like BlackLine and FloQast.
A group of major tech companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon, has proposed new terms for how data centres in Ohio should pay for their energy needs. This comes in response to a previous proposal by AEP Ohio that required pre-payments from data centres and cryptocurrency miners due to their large electricity demands.
Ohio has experienced a surge in power requests from data centres as tech companies expand their infrastructure for technologies like generative AI. AEP Ohio paused new data centre contracts, citing the overwhelming number of requests. The state’s power industry now faces regulatory battles that may shape how future energy demands are managed across the US.
Several companies, including power suppliers like Constellation Energy and One Energy Enterprises, initially opposed AEP’s proposal. They have now offered an alternative, suggesting a broader application of AEP’s rules to include industries requiring over 50 megawatts of power at one site. This proposal aims to modify when new customers would have to cover costs like transmission upgrades.
Any settlement between Big Tech and the power companies would need approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which will play a crucial role in the outcome of this energy dispute.
The US government has launched the National Spectrum Research and Development Plan, aiming to boost America’s leadership in wireless spectrum innovation. Developed by the Wireless Spectrum R&D Interagency Working Group, the plan was initiated under the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, with significant contributions from the US National Science Foundation (NSF). The plan outlines strategies to address the rising demand for wireless spectrum, which is critical for national security, economic growth, and technological advancement.
The plan builds on President Joe Biden’s call for a coordinated national strategy to modernise spectrum policy. Key research areas include agile antennas, spectrum sharing, and interference resilience, with contributions from various federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Communications Commission. The NSF’s involvement highlights the plan’s focus on fostering interdisciplinary research and cross-sector innovation.
By providing a roadmap for future spectrum technologies, the National Spectrum R&D Plan opens new commercialization opportunities and encourages international cooperation, ensuring the US remains competitive in the global spectrum landscape.
Siemens is relying on its digital platform, Xcelerator, to drive future growth, especially in its factory automation business, which has faced slowing demand in China and Europe. Despite lowering its full-year sales forecast, Siemens reported an 82% jump in industrial software sales for the three months ending in June, mainly due to Xcelerator’s offerings, according to Peter Koerte, the company’s chief technology and strategy officer.
Xcelerator, launched in 2022, is a cloud-based platform that delivers hardware and digital services to a global customer base, boasting over a million monthly users. Siemens’ divisions, including mobility, smart infrastructure, and digital industries, leverage its offerings to enhance its operations. The platform collaborates with 400 partner companies, providing more than 900 solutions worldwide. However, Siemens has not disclosed specific financial figures for Xcelerator.
Xcelerator has achieved significant success in key markets, including China, India, Germany, and the US. Its advanced capabilities have enabled Siemens to secure major contracts, such as an order for 90 regional trains from Deutsche Bahn in August. By analysing data from these trains, Xcelerator enhances maintenance practices, boosts energy efficiency, and improves punctuality, showcasing its effectiveness in integrating digital and physical services to address customer needs.
Dutch economy minister Dirk Beljaarts revealed a plan to form a ‘coalition of the willing’ within the EU to strengthen the bloc’s computer chip industry and compete globally with the US and China. At a G7 industry ministers’ meeting in Rome, he stressed the importance of EU nations working together to set up production, assembly, and packaging facilities. While the Netherlands is home to leading chip tool maker ASML, Beljaarts emphasised that other EU countries must also build their semiconductor industries.
Beljaarts expressed the Netherlands’ readiness to lead this initiative, collaborating with Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso to bring the plans to life. Although the Netherlands is not a G7 member, its influence in the tech sector, as the world’s 18th largest economy, secured its invitation to the meeting. The EU’s chip strategy has recently faced challenges, particularly after the departure of Thierry Breton, the former EU Commission industry chief and architect of the EU Chips Act. The act, valued at €43 billion, aims to boost Europe’s share of the global chip market to 20% by 2030.
In a separate meeting, Beljaarts spoke with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, discussing potential areas of cooperation. This discussion took place amid anticipated US export restrictions on advanced semiconductor equipment to China, which could impact ASML. However, Beljaarts clarified that the talks focused on collaboration rather than export limitations.
