<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Cartken, an autonomous delivery droid manufacturer, expanded its partnership with Uber Eats to launch an automated robot food delivery service in Fairfax, Virginia.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Commencing today, Uber and Cartken will initiate operations with specific vendors located at Mosaic District, an EDENS-owned shopping and dining area. The program will involve participation from vendors such as Our Mom Eugenia, Pupatella, and RASA at the launch.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        The expansion follows a successful pilot of autonomous deliveries in 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15373">
          Miami
        </a>
        , which commenced in December last year.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230420005164/en/Uber-Eats-and-Cartken-Expand-Sidewalk-Robot-Deliveries-to-Virginia">
      Press release
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/20/uber-and-cartken-are-bringing-sidewalk-delivery-robots-to-virginia/">
      TechCrunch
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Last-mile Delivery Automation

Cartken expands partnership with Uber Eats to bring sidewalk delivery robots to Virginia

AI, robotics, and IoT to streamline the flow of goods and information

Logistics Tech

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>Data capture and digital solutions provider, Zebra Technologies, is set to acquire Photoneo, a company specialized in robotic vision sensors and intelligence software. The financial details of the acquisition have yet to be disclosed.</p>
 <p>Photoneo strengths lie in their 3D vision and AI robotics systems, which are certified to integrate seamlessly with major robotic manufacturers globally, particularly in robot-arm applications.</p>
 <p>Post-acquisition, Photoneo Brightpick Group will continue operations under a new name, Brightpick, with primary focus on warehouse robots. The acquisition deal is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2025.</p>
 
</div>

Zebra Technologies to acquire Photoneo from Photoneo Brightpick Group for undisclosed sum

The toolkit to build machine learning applications at scale

Machine Learning Infrastructure

<div>
 <p>Scope Technologies, a company specialising in quantum security and machine learning, has announced a private placement increase to CAD 1.8 million (~USD 1.3 million), offering 1,285,714 units at CAD 1.40 (~USD 1) per unit. </p>
 <p>The funds will be utilised to expand the company’s team and support its general operations. </p>
 <p>Scope Technologies provides two products, GEM and QSE. GEM is an AI-powered visual recognition platform designed specifically for businesses. It boasts custom neural networks that are tailored for tasks like image detection and behavioural analysis. On the other hand, QSE is a product that focuses on data security. It uses quantum-proof encryption with an entropy-based key generation to effectively protect against both current and future security threats. In addition, it features decentralized cloud storage for immutable and secure data protection, safeguarding against ransomware attacks.</p>
 
</div>

Scope Technologies increases private placement offering to CAD 1.8 million

Foundation Models

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>InstaDeep, an AI company, has made Nucleotide Transformers (NT) publicly accessible. NT is a group of base models for genomics data analysis created in conjunction with NVIDIA. It uses an encoder-only transformer architecture and is trained similarly to BERT by using a masked language model objective. The NT model can generate embeddings for smaller models or be customised for specific tasks. It was trained using genetic data from 850 species including bacteria, fungi, invertebrates, and mammals.</p>
 <p>InstaDeep claims that the NT model surpasses other leading genomics base models like Enformer, HyenaDNA, and DNABERT-2 in 18 downstream tasks.</p>
</div>

InstaDeep releases open-source genomics AI model Nucleotide Transformers

Automation to improve business efficiency

Workflow Automation Platforms

<div>

<p>Axonator, a provider of workflow solutions, has launched a no-code platform for businesses to develop custom applications. This platform features an easy-to-use design and deployment interface, along with AI-powered facilities for workflow automation and checklist creation. The platform's uses span across different areas, such as inventory and field service management. The inclusion of a form builder allows users to create customizable, user-friendly forms and checklists, facilitating the capture of photographic, textual, and video data.</p>

</div>

Axonator launches no-code platform for building custom workflow automation applications

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 <p>The Financial Times reports that Meta plans to equip its popular Ray-Ban smart glasses with display screens. This feature is slated for introduction in the second half of 2025, although pricing details remain undisclosed.</p>
 <p>Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses are known for standout features like a real-time AI video capability, live language translation, and integration with Shazam.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The Meta <a href="https:<br>
//www.theverge.com/24253481/meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-ar-glasses-orion-ray-bans-ai-decoder-interview"> CEO </a> envisions that lightweight headsets like these smart glasses will be the primary computing device for consumers. Despite manufacturing hurdles and competition in the wearable devices market, Meta believes its AR glasses, which can translate nerve signals into digital commands, will offer a unique user experience and present a subversive shift in consumer technology.</p>

Meta rumored to add display screens to Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2025

Quantum information processing is slowly becoming a reality, ushering in a new technological era.

Quantum Computing

<div>
 <p>MicroAlgo Inc., specializing in central processing algorithms, launched a new quantum algorithm technology for CPU registers in quantum gate computing. This technology is designed for quantum computers to perform complex arithmetic tasks.</p>
 <p>This technology is based on the classical Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm and uses quantum registers for storage and data processing. The quantum registers implement full adder functionality, allowing quantum computers to deal with complex arithmetic tasks.</p>
 <p>The company states that this innovation supports quantum computer development and paves the way for its widespread use, especially in large-scale data processing, encryption and decryption, and optimization problems.</p>
</div>

MicroAlgo launches quantum algorithm for CPU registers in quantum computing

Clean, congestion-free air travel gets liftoff

Passenger eVTOL Aircraft

<div>
 <p>Volocopter, a German aviation company that specialises in developing passenger and cargo eVTOL aircraft, filed for insolvency on December 26. The company's CEO, Dirk Hoke, will leave his post at the end of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33315"> February 2025 </a> .</p>
 <p>Despite exerting a lot of effort into fundraising, the company wasn't able to maintain its operations outside of insolvency proceedings. The company would need additional financing within the next eight weeks to continue their operations.</p>
 <p>Before Volocopter filed for insolvency, it appointed Oliver Vogelgesang as the chief financial officer in mid-November. Vogelgesang formerly served as the CFO of Lilium, another German eVTOL company, which sought bankruptcy protection in October 2024.</p>
 
</div>

Volocopter announces insolvency as CEO steps down

Electrifying passenger and commercial travel

EV Economy

<div>
 <p>Shell Recharge, Shell's EV charging solution provider, has declared it will discontinue its Shell Sky cloud-based EV charger management software for third-party commercial chargers in USA and Canada. The service will stay active until April 30, after which, the software will be deactivated.</p>
 <p>Shell Sky is a hardware-independent charging station managing system utilizing Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), an open protocol for connecting and managing EV chargers. The software empowers remote or onsite transition of chargers to other OCPP-compliant software providers, enabling users to shift to alternative management systems.</p>
 <p>Shell Recharge states that this decision will enable the company to concentrate investments on its own public charging network, which encompasses over 70,000 chargers worldwide.</p>
 
</div>

Shell Recharge discontinues Sky EV charger software in North America

Metaverse Platforms

<div>
 <p>Rec Room, the popular virtual reality platform, has introduced a new free mini-game titled Run the Block. The multiplayer game is reminiscent of classic Dreamcast title, Jet Set Radio. Run the Block was released on December 11th and has already amassed over one million player interactions. </p>
 <p>In Run the Block, up to 10 players can take part in a street race set against an urban backdrop adorned with graffiti. The game boasts running, hopping, and grinding mechanics, working within expansive intertwined paths. Players also have the ability to leave their mark by adding their own graffiti tags across the cityscape. </p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This launch comes on the heels of a year focused on enhancing Rec Room’s creator suite, further enabling users to create complex in-game worlds and tradable assets. Additionally, players have been provided more personalization options with the introduction of <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/25395"> full-body avatars </a> earlier this year.</p>

Rec Room launches retro-inspired multiplayer mini-game "Run the Block"

<div>
 <p>Vivo plans to launch an MR headset in direct competition with Apple's Vision Pro headset next year. Although the price has not been revealed, it is expected to be significantly more affordable than its competitor.</p>
 <p>The MR headset from Vivo will provide high-fidelity prototype experiences, aiming to outperform the features provided by Apple’s Vision Pro. The key features of this new device have not been made public yet, but they are expected to be showcased when the prototype is displayed.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Vivo's MR headset seeks to challenge Apple's Vision Pro, targeting the MR space with a competitive approach. While the Vision Pro's premium price tag has limited its <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/35218"> sales traction, </a> Vivo appears poised to capitalize on this gap by offering a compelling alternative. With a strategic focus on affordability and market entry timing, Vivo aims to position itself as a strong competitor, potentially reshaping the dynamics of the MR market and directly challenging Apple's dominance.</p>

All updates

Cartken expands partnership with Uber Eats to bring sidewalk delivery robots to Virginia

Zebra Technologies to acquire Photoneo from Photoneo Brightpick Group for undisclosed sum

Scope Technologies increases private placement offering to CAD 1.8 million

InstaDeep releases open-source genomics AI model Nucleotide Transformers

Axonator launches no-code platform for building custom workflow automation applications

Meta rumored to add display screens to Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2025

MicroAlgo launches quantum algorithm for CPU registers in quantum computing

Volocopter announces insolvency as CEO steps down

Shell Recharge discontinues Sky EV charger software in North America

Rec Room launches retro-inspired multiplayer mini-game "Run the Block"

Vivo announces plans to launch MR headset

Last-mile Delivery Automation

Cartken expands partnership with Uber Eats to bring sidewalk delivery robots to Virginia

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