<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Greenwood, a provider of digital banking services via a mobile app for individuals and businesses from African American and Latino backgrounds, has announced the acquisition of Valence for an undisclosed amount.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Founded in 2019, Valence offers a platform that assists African Americans with recruitment and professional development services. The company has over 400 partnered corporations that source and recruit talent. In addition, Valence launched the Valence Funding Network in 2020 to link African American entrepreneurs with partners of firms such as Accel, Sequoia, GGV, First Round Capital, and Upfront Ventures for mentorship and coaching.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Through the acquisition, Greenwood expects to provide access to professional education and job opportunities to its nearly one million-strong clientele.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
    &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
    <b>Analyst QuickTake:</b>
     This follows Greenwood&rsquo;s previous 
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10297">
      acquisition of The Gathering Spot
    </a>
     (a private membership network focused on African Americans) in May 2022, as the company focuses on empowering African Americans to close the racial wealth gap.&lt;/ul&gt;
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220622005019/en/Greenwood-Inc.-Acquires-Valence-to-Provide-Professional-Development-and-Job-Recruiting-for-the-Black-Community">
      Company press release
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Neobanks

Greenwood acquires Valence for undisclosed amount

A booming food and beverage segment with a history as rich and varied as its present-day product offerings.

Plant-based Dairy & Egg

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 <p>The Governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, has enacted SF 2391 which imposes stricter labeling regulations on plant-based and cultivated meat and eggs. The new law also prohibits the acquisition of meat and eggs substitutes through federal aid programs like SNAP and WIC.</p>
 <p>Violations of the new labeling rules could result in daily fines of up to USD 500, with a total not exceeding USD 10,000. Each day a violation continues counts as an independent offense. Critics interpret this as potential bias towards the conventional meat industry, detrimental to the development of more eco-friendly alternatives.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Labeling alternative meat and egg products has been controversial in the US and several EU countries ( <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/24064"> Italy </a> , <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21540"> France </a> ), leading to <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26217"> regulations </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21832"> clashes </a> between alternative food producers and the regulatory authorities. Advocates of labeling regulations claim consumers could confuse alternatives and animal products without proper labeling, while supporters of alternative foods deny these claims.</p>

Iowa signs SF 2391 into law posing stricter labeling requirements for alternative meats and eggs

Making meat sustainable over the long term.

Cell-cultured Meat

<div>
 <p>Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has enacted SF 2391, a law that imposes stringent regulations on the labelling of plant-based and lab-grown meat and eggs. It further disallows these products' acquisition through federal nutritional assistance schemes such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).</p>
 <p>Erroneous labelling of meat and egg substitutes could attract penalties of up to 500 USD per day, capping at 10,000 USD. Each day of violation is counted as a separate offense. Critics view this law as a potential move to favour traditional meat industries, potentially marginalising the newer, environmentally conscious alternatives.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Labeling alternative meat and egg products has been controversial in the US and several EU countries ( <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/24064"> Italy </a> , <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21540"> France </a> ), leading to <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26217"> regulations </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21832"> clashes </a> between alternative food producers and the regulatory authorities. Advocates of labeling regulations claim consumers could confuse alternatives and animal products without proper labeling, while supporters of alternative foods deny these claims.</p>

A new industry proving that digital connectivity and mental health can co-exist.

Digital Wellness

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>

<p>Fitness app Strava has revealed several new features and enhancements at its annual event, Camp Strava, aimed to improve user experience with AI applications.</p>
<p>New features include an AI-driven mechanism for distinguishing and removing suspicious activities and an “athlete intelligence” feature for premium users. The latter uses GenAI to provide summaries and advice from user data for fitness goal setting. Strava also announced the addition of dark mode to its user interface, available for all users later this summer.</p>
<p>Strava believes these enhancements will improve leaderboard result integrity, add value to premium subscriptions, and upgrade the app's user interface. They claim these features will allow more personalized advice for athletes, making the app more engaging for users.</p>

</div>

Strava introduces new features for improved user experience

More important now than ever, telehealth will long outlast the pandemic that drove its growth.

Telehealth

<div>
 
 <p>Story Health, an AI-based virtual care provider, has partnered with Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute to start a supportive program for patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib). The program is designed to bridge the gap in the diagnosis and treatment of AFib, a common type of cardiac arrhythmia.</p>
 <p>Through the use of AI and virtual care, patients can maintain consistent contact with the clinical team, even beyond clinic visits. This helps to augment their care regimen. The program incorporates AFib-specific treatment protocols, support for lifestyle changes, risk factor changes, and drug monitoring. The program is set to be first launched in Saint Luke’s, with an eventual expansion to other health systems expected.</p>
 
</div>

Saint Luke's Heart Institute and Story Health partner to improve patient care

<div>
 <p>Ivy Farm Technologies, a UK-based cultivated meat company, has entered into a partnership with Finnish synthetic biology firm, Synbio Powerlabs. The aim is to increase the cultivation of meat at an industrial scale.</p>
 <p>As a part of the agreement, Synbio will provide Ivy Farm with access to its new production facility, which is expected to be functioning by 2025. The production facility will consist of 10,000 l, 27,000 l, and 250,000 l bioreactors and is anticipated to be the largest one of its kind globally. Ivy Farms is predicted to be the first company to prove the scalability of mammalian cells in food-grade vessels at this scale.&nbsp;</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> In <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/12588"> August 2022 </a> , Ivy Farms unveiled its 18,000 sq ft cultivated meat facility, housing 600 l bioreactors and an annual capacity of 2.8 tons. This new collaboration will significantly increase its production capacity and help with its pledge to produce 12,000 tons of cultivated meat by 2025 while reducing risks associated with scaling production and maintaining its CAPEX-light approach.</p>

Ivy Farm Technologies partners with Synbio Powerlabs to scale up cultivated meat production

A new wave of meat, fish, and poultry alternatives are driving this hyper-growth industry into the mainstream.

Plant-based Meat

<div>
 <p>Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has signed into legislation SF 2391, imposing stricter labeling laws on plant-based and cultured meats, and egg replacements. The legislation also prohibits the acquisition of such meat and egg substitutes via federal food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).</p>
 <p>The law states that mislabeling of meat and egg substitutes could incur penalties up to $500 a day, up to a maximum of $10,000. Each day a violation occurs will be deemed a separate offense. This bill has received criticism, with some suggesting it could be a means to favor established meat industries over more eco-friendly alternatives.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Labeling alternative meat and egg products has been controversial in the US and several EU countries ( <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/24064"> Italy </a> , <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21540"> France </a> ), leading to <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26217"> regulations </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21832"> clashes </a> between alternative food producers and the regulatory authorities. Advocates of labeling regulations claim consumers could confuse alternatives and animal products without proper labeling, while supporters of alternative foods deny these claims.</p>

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

<div>
 <p>Autonomous shuttle operator, Beep, has collaborated with Mississippi State University (MSU) to launch an autonomous and electric shuttle pilot program. This is the first of its kind in Mississippi. The pilot will launch later this year and will include two 11-passenger autonomous shuttles running on multiple routes across the university. The goal is to enhance the university's current transport options.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Though this partnership marks Beep’s first deployment in Mississippi, the company has previously piloted its shuttles at various locations, including universities such as <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26901"> Florida State College at Jacksonville </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21639"> the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. </a></p>

Beep partners with Mississippi State University to launch autonomous shuttle pilot program

Using online platforms, autonomy, electric and fuel-cell tech solutions to shape the future of trucking.

Truck Industry Tech

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>Uber Freight, Uber's online freight matching solution, has introduced "Uber Freight Exchange: Spot." This new feature offers carriers the ability to manage spot freight fulfillment with smart search, bidding, upfront pricing, and automated tendering without revealing specifics.</p>
 <p>The service gathers spot freight for carriers from multiple shippers in Uber Freight’s managed transportation and brokerage, providing consolidated load pricing, automated bidding, and tendering.</p>
 <p>The platform's main features include Uber Freight’s Carrier Web Portal, Freight Allocation Module (FAM), and exclusive algorithms designed to support scalable workflows. Additionally, the platform offers personalized search and recommendations based on pre-determined load requirements.</p>
</div>

Uber Freight launches ‘Uber Freight Exchange: Spot’ for intelligent spot freight fulfillment

<div>
 <p>Freight network orchestration and procurement platform, GoodShip, landed USD 8 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Ironspring Ventures, Chicago Ventures, FUSE VC, Cercano Management, 53 Stations, and various angel investors. This increase brings GoodShip's total funds to USD 15.4 million.</p>
 <p>GoodShip plans to use the newly acquired capital to expand its team, advance product development, and enhance customer support.</p>
 
</div>

GoodShip raises USD 8 million in Series A funding to expand product development and team expansion

Foundation Models

<div>

 <p>Tencent has made improvements to and open-sourced its text-to-image large model (LM), known as Hunyuan. This model is reportedly the first Chinese diffusion model to use the Transformer (DiT) architecture and has a parameter size of 1.5 billion, making it an open-source text-to-image model. </p>
 <p>According to Tencent, the upgraded model shows enhanced capability in generating visual models, displaying a progress of over 20% compared to its predecessors. </p>
 <p>Hunyuan is available for use on platforms like Hugging Face and Github, and it is permission-free for commercial exploitation.</p>

</div>

All Updates

Greenwood acquires Valence for undisclosed amount

Iowa signs SF 2391 into law posing stricter labeling requirements for alternative meats and eggs

Iowa signs SF 2391 into law posing stricter labeling requirements for alternative meats and eggs

Strava introduces new features for improved user experience

Saint Luke's Heart Institute and Story Health partner to improve patient care

Ivy Farm Technologies partners with Synbio Powerlabs to scale up cultivated meat production

Iowa signs SF 2391 into law posing stricter labeling requirements for alternative meats and eggs

Beep partners with Mississippi State University to launch autonomous shuttle pilot program

Uber Freight launches ‘Uber Freight Exchange: Spot’ for intelligent spot freight fulfillment

GoodShip raises USD 8 million in Series A funding to expand product development and team expansion

Tencent upgrades and open sources text-to-image LM 'Hunyuan'

Neobanks

Greenwood acquires Valence for undisclosed amount

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