<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Google Wing&lsquo;s delivery trial in Christiansburg, VA, has been extended to continue as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation&rsquo;s BEYOND program, which is the next phase of the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) completed in October 2020.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Its initial program in Christiansburg was launched in October 2019, in partnerships with Walgreens (pharmacy store chain), FedEx, and local gift store Sugar Magnolia. The company delivered health and wellness items, packages, meals, snacks, and beverages to residents on demand.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Today, Wing has expanded the product offerings with Walgreens to include more products, such as grocery items like pasta, canned tuna, soups, fruit cups, and baby food. The company has also partnered with new local eateries, including Mockingbird Cafe, a local bakery. In addition, the company also piloted a library book delivery program to students in Montgomery County, VA, in June 2020.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://dronelife.com/2020/11/02/wings-drone-delivery-program-extended-as-part-of-the-beyond-program/">
      Drone Life
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Last-mile Delivery Automation

Google Wing extends delivery trials in Christiansburg, VA

Helping employers provide personalized, high-touch, and holistic financial wellness tools to their entire workforce.

Financial Wellness Tools

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
<p>DailyPay, a platform for accessing employee earned wages, has launched a new savings feature for its<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33471"> DailyPay Visa Prepaid Card</a>. This general-purpose reloadable card allows users to access their earned wages instantly at no cost if they use it for direct deposit. </p>
<p>The Savings feature enables users to set up savings goals and put away money as it's earned. With a single button, users can transfer money from their DailyPay Card into virtual savings containers, helping them develop emergency funds for unforeseen costs. </p>
<p>DailyPay believes this feature will encourage users to form a habit of saving, which is crucial for transitioning from financial crisis to stability.</p>
 
</div>

DailyPay adds savings feature to Visa prepaid card

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>Anduril Industries, established by Palmer Luckey, has allied with Microsoft to enhance the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) mixed-reality headsets used by the US Army.</p>
 <p>The company's Lattice software is set to be merged into the IVAS headsets, giving the soldiers access to actual-time data from various sources including drones, vehicles, and defense systems. The goal is to amplify the visual and auditory faculties of the soldiers, potentially boosting their operational efficiency in the field.</p>
 <p>With this venture, Luckey is making a comeback to the VR headset sphere following the sale of Oculus to Meta back in 2014. The US Army is poised to pour in up to USD 21.9 billion over the course of the 10-year IVAS project contract. Further advancements and evaluations have been outlined for early 2025.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The partnership will provide a much-needed stimulus for Microsoft’s IVAS program, which has been rocky lately. In <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/32777"> August 2024 </a> , the US Army reportedly planned to replace Microsoft with a different headset supplier. Before this, the US Army’s request for USD 400 million to buy IVAS headsets was <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/15732"> rejected </a> by Congress, citing mission-affecting physical impairments such as nausea, headaches, and eyestrain stemming from the headset.</p>

Anduril partners with Microsoft to enhance US Army's IVAS mixed reality headsets

<div>
 <p>In-car Virtual Reality (VR) entertainment startup holoride is planning to realign and expand its business post a successful restructuring. The company intends to start a holding company in Singapore, while its main team will stay in Munich. As part of its growth strategy, holoride aims to license its technology to industrial clients to create their software applications.</p>
 <p>In its reorganization process, holoride plans to carry forward its existing collaborations and plans to unveil an upgraded software suite in early 2025. The proposed software will support compatibility with more devices, thereby enhancing the company's technological prowess.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Chloride filed for insolvency in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29340"> May 2024 </a> , unable to secure further funding. Licensing its technology will broaden the company’s revenue streams, which initially focused on the niche in-car VR entertainment market.</p>

holoride returns from insolvency; plans expansion into Asia and technology licensing

<div>
 <p>Benjamin Capital Partners, a company aiming to disrupt the consumer cash rewards sector, has purchased AR content creator New Thing Co. for an undisclosed amount.</p>
 <p>The firm intends to incorporate New Thing Co.'s AR technology into its app to improve "Benjamin Money Moments," which are cash rewards for common activities like shopping, playing mobile games, and watching advertisements.&nbsp;</p>
 <p>New Thing Co. designs user experiences for brand promoters using its unique AR rewards software and technology. This AR technology allows users to visually find and collect rewards at certain places, a concept similar to Pokémon Go but involving actual money.</p>
 
</div>

Benjamin Capital Partners acquires New Thing Co. to integrate technology for cash rewards

New data privacy regulations have opened up space for a new wave of compliance-focused startups.

Digital Privacy Tools

<div>
 
 <p>23andMe, the genetics and ancestry company, has accepted a settlement amounting to USD 30 million following a data breach in 2023. This breach exposed the data of approximately 6.9 million customers, affecting half of the user base.</p>
 <p>The proposed settlement, which awaits court approval, obligates 23andMe to offer up to USD 10,000 to customers who experienced hardships due to the breach. According to state genetic privacy laws, those living in Alaska, California, Illinois, and Oregon may qualify for extra payments.</p>
 <p>In addition to monetary compensation, the settlement includes three years of a security monitoring service, Privacy Shield, for impacted users. For a particular group of users whose personal health information was compromised by the breach, the company will offer USD 100 payments.</p>
 <p>A lawsuit was filed against 23andMe in January 2024, alleging failure to secure user data. The company also faced accusations of not alerting customers belonging to Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that their data was intentionally targeted and disseminated on the dark web.</p>
 
</div>

23andMe agrees to USD 30 million data breach settlement

Exploring the limitless possibilities of AI

Generative AI Applications

<div>
 <p>T-Mobile, a wireless provider, is working with OpenAI to develop IntentCX, an AI-based customer service platform. They aim to combine T-Mobile's customer relationship experience with OpenAI's AI technology to deliver personalized service, genuine engagement, and proactive actions. With the customer's permission, the platform will strive to understand client requirements, present solutions, and take actions on their behalf.</p>
 <p>T-Mobile aims to integrate IntentCX into its operations by 2025 and plans further collaborations with OpenAI to create additional AI-enabled tools and services. The platform is already being tested by T-Mobile. It has access to T-Mobile's data and is receiving training from the company's customer service team.</p>
</div>

T-Mobile partners with OpenAI to develop AI-powered customer service platform

Ensuring the right people access the right resources at the right time

Identity & Access Management

<div>

 <p>PlainID, a firm with expertise in authorization management, recently announced the launch of the PlainID Authorizer for Zscaler. This innovative product is accessible through PlainID SaaS Authorization Management and serves the purpose of centralizing policy management for Zscaler along with several other SaaS applications and tools.</p>
 <p>This new platform by PlainID provides policy orchestration for Zscaler by enabling the users to explore native Zscaler access control policies. It also allows the visibility, manageability, and editability of these policies. The platform seamlessly integrates with Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), a cloud-based solution that offers secure remote access to internal applications, adhering to a zero-trust network access model.</p>

</div>

PlainID introduces identity security for Zscaler

<div>
 <p>AI video generation startup, Runway, has forged a partnership with major Hollywood studio, Lionsgate, to train a personalised video model based on Lionsgate's extensive film catalog.</p>
 <p>This alliance will provide Lionsgate's filmmakers, directors, and creative professionals access to the video model in order to improve their work. Simultaneously, Runway has plans to look into licensing models as templates, enabling individual creators to construct and train their own custom models.</p>
 <p>This collaboration represents the first known publicly announced partnership between a Generation AI company and a distinguished Hollywood studio.</p>
</div>

Runway partners with Lionsgate to develop AI video tools using studio's movie catalog

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

Quantum Computing

<div>
 
 <p>QMill, a Finland-based company, has successfully raised EUR 4 million (equivalent to USD 4.6 million) in a seed funding. Maki.vc and Antler led this funding round, alongside Kvanted and Business Finland also making contributions.</p>
 <p>The funds raised in this round will be used to fast-track QMill's initiative to apply practical quantum computing solutions to industrial uses. The plan includes enhancing research and development efforts as well as expanding the team. The company aims to employ 20 additional staff members as part of this plan.</p>
 <p>QMill specializes in the development of efficient quantum algorithms for solving complicated optimization problems prevalent in multiple industries. Using near-term quantum technology, QMill can deliver favorable outcomes for real-world industrial applications. Additionally, the company is looking into optimizing LLMs and contributing to AI developments.</p>
  
</div>

QMill raises EUR 4 million in seed funding to provide quantum computing industrial applications

<div>
 
 <p>QuiX Quantum has launched the Bia Quantum Cloud Computing Service, marking its entry into the quantum-as-a-service (QaaS) market. The new service is designed to give businesses and research organizations convenient access to quantum computing resources, blending quantum and traditional computing spaces.</p>
 <p>The Bia system comes with a single photon generator and light detector modules along with quantum control software. It is designed to handle specific challenges in basic research and quantum simulations, encompassing Boson Sampling and Quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The system utilizes a variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithm to address optimization problems when merging traditional computing resources with its quantum hardware.</p>
 
</div>

All Updates

Google Wing extends delivery trials in Christiansburg, VA

DailyPay adds savings feature to Visa prepaid card

Anduril partners with Microsoft to enhance US Army's IVAS mixed reality headsets

holoride returns from insolvency; plans expansion into Asia and technology licensing

Benjamin Capital Partners acquires New Thing Co. to integrate technology for cash rewards

23andMe agrees to USD 30 million data breach settlement

T-Mobile partners with OpenAI to develop AI-powered customer service platform

PlainID introduces identity security for Zscaler

Runway partners with Lionsgate to develop AI video tools using studio's movie catalog

QMill raises EUR 4 million in seed funding to provide quantum computing industrial applications

QuiX Quantum launches 'Bia' quantum cloud computing service for quantum solutions

Last-mile Delivery Automation

Google Wing extends delivery trials in Christiansburg, VA

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