<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Akua, a plant-based meat developer using ocean-farmed kelp to develop its products, has partnered with Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, to launch Kelp Patties, a kelp burger aimed at a younger audience.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        This collaboration aims to leverage Akua&rsquo;s commitment to sustainability and the popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants to increase the appeal and accessibility of sustainable food options among younger generations.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        The slider-sized Kelp Patties are made from 100% sustainable ocean-farmed kelp and are available in original and BBQ flavors. It will launch at select US retailers (including online vegan retailer GTFO It&rsquo;s Vegan) in July 2023 and at PLNT Burger chain locations on the East Coast from September 2023 onwards.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://thefishsite.com/articles/akua-launches-kid-friendly-kelp-burgers">
      The Fish Site
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://vegconomist.com/products-launches/akua-nickelodeon-spongebob-patties/">
      Vegconomist
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Plant-based Meat

Akua partners with Nickelodeon to launch kid-friendly kelp burgers

Managing employee health-related benefits

Health Benefits Platforms

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>Stork Club, a company specializing in reproductive health solutions, recently launched Condition-Based Care Pathways, a digital platform designed to provide personalized care plans for reproductive health. This new platform forms part of the Stork Club's enterprise benefits solution which merges managed care and direct provider contracting. </p>
 <p>The innovative Care Pathways cater to over 40 different health conditions that can affect reproductive results, such as PCOS, endometriosis, diabetes, heart disease, and preeclampsia. It offers tailored care tasks, diagnostic guidelines, symptom management, program coverage, and offers recommendations for medical consultations either in-person or via video call. Users can also avail services like maternity care, fertility care, and hormone replacement therapy through the Stork Club app. </p>
 <p>The main objective of the platform is to enhance clinical results while simultaneously bringing down the expenses related to healthcare for both employers and employees. As an instance, early management of gestational diabetes via the platform may lower the chances of preterm birth by up to 50%, leading to possible savings of USD 50,000 per case based solely on NICU costs. </p>
</div>

Stork Club launches condition-based care pathways for reproductive health

Empowering sustainable food innovation through food engineering tech

Alternative Ingredients

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 <p>MycoTechnology, a startup focused on functional ingredients, has unveiled a novel sugar reduction product made from honey truffles. The product is a protein sweetener that presents an alternative to sugar. </p>
 <p>This honey truffle-derived sweetener claims to deliver a refined, sweet taste sans bitter undertones. It is fully digestible by the GI tract and is protein-sourced. Concept testing revealed more than 80% of respondents were willing to try it, while 66% expressed a special inclination for its pure taste profile.</p>
 <p>The company asserts that this new sweetener offers confirmed safety and digestibility scores, coupled with a low cost of use, making it a feasible option for food and drink manufacturers aiming to cater to consumer preferences for natural sugar substitutes.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> In <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28621"> April 2024 </a> , the company scaled the production of honey truffles from a lab bench to 3,000 l tanks. Protein-based natural sweetener solutions are gaining traction among producers due to higher potency than regular sugar, allowing for the development of clean-label products with lower cost and resource usage.</p>

MycoTechnology launches honey truffle protein sweetener

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

Plant-based Dairy & Egg

<div>
 <p>Imagindairy, an Israeli food tech startup, has been granted approval from Israel's Ministry of Health to sell its precision fermentation-derived whey protein (beta-lactoglobulin) for consumer use. This product is produced at a 100,000 l fermentation facility, at a cost that competes with standard dairy. As part of its strategy, Imagindairy is seeking additional market approvals.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This approval makes Imagindairy the second precision fermentation company after <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/996564"> Remilk </a> to receive authorization to sell its protein in Israel. The company previously received <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21030"> FDA clearance </a> in the US in January.</p>

Imagindairy receives approval for commercial sale of animal-free whey in Israel

The toolkit to build machine learning applications at scale

Machine Learning Infrastructure

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>Uber has announced the launch of Scaled Solutions, a division specialising in AI and data labeling that employs gig workers on a contractual basis. This service is designed to serve both Uber's internal business components and external clients.</p>
 <p>The remit of Scaled Solutions centers around AI annotation and data labeling projects. It serves a variety of clients, including Aurora Innovation, a company specialising in autonomous vehicles, and Niantic, a video game development company.</p>
 <p>Uber is seeking to grow its contractor workforce to support this new initiative, recruiting from multiple nations including the US, Canada, and India.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Uber is expanding its presence in the GenAI space with <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/34566"> plans </a> to launch an AI assistant for drivers using OpenAI's GPT-4o model by early 2025. Central to this effort is its <a href="https:<br>
//aimresearch.co/market-industry/how-ubers-predictive-machine-learning-is-changing-user-experience"> Gen AI Gateway </a> , which provides a unified interface for accessing external large language models (LLMs) and Uber's proprietary models.</p>

Uber launches data labeling service 'Scaled Solutions'

A new generation for mobile connectivity with 5G and beyond

Next-gen Private Mobile Networks

<div>
 <p>Celona, a private 5G network solutions provider, has joined forces with HCLTech, a global technology company, to offer advanced private 5G network solutions that facilitate enterprise digital transformation.</p>
 <p>This collaboration integrates Celona's 5G LAN technology with HCLTech's digital suite to deliver comprehensive private 5G solutions. The goal is to boost connectivity and operational efficiency across diverse industries, primarily on Industry 4.0 projects and AI-powered digital transformation.</p>
 
</div>

Celona and HCLTech partner to deliver enterprise private 5G network solutions globally

<div>
 <p>IT and network technologies integrator, NEC, has formed a partnership with Cisco with a vision to offer comprehensive private 5G network solutions. This collaboration aims to unite NEC's expertise in radio networks with Cisco's 5G SA Core technology.</p>
 <p>This strategic alliance brings together Cisco's proficiency in core network with NEC's experience in wireless network. The focus will predominantly be on serving enterprise customers in Europe and the Middle East. NEC's demonstration unit is designed for customers to validate potential use cases in several areas like logistics, warehousing, event venues, and airport operations.</p>
 <p>Both companies affirm that their solution will enable organizations to install tailor-made 5G infrastructure which boasts improved security, reduced latency, and high-speed data transfer. This will support Industrial-Internet-of-Things and applications related to automation.</p>
</div>

NEC partners with Cisco to deliver private 5G network solutions

Additive manufacturing makes objects by systematically adding material via a CAD program

Additive Manufacturing

<div>
 <p>Wayland Additive, a manufacturer of electron beam 3D printers, has partnered with TECCLUSTER, a Danish engineering company, to distribute its products in the Nordic and Baltic regions.</p>
 <p>The partnership will focus on expanding sales of Wayland's Calibur3 system, which offers advanced metal 3D printing capabilities for materials like Tungsten and Molybdenum. TECCLUSTER will leverage its market presence and expansion from Danish to Nordic-Baltic markets to distribute Wayland's metal AM solutions in these territories.</p>
 
</div>

Wayland Additive partners with TECCLUSTER for metal 3D printer sales in Nordic-Baltic regions

Next-gen packaging solutions for enhanced product tracking, inspection solutions and freshness monitoring

Smart Packaging Tech

<div>
 <p>Mettler-Toledo has launched the X6 Series, containing two new X-ray inspection systems, X16 and X36.2, for medium- to large-sized packaged products and multi-lane applications.</p>
 <p>The entry-level X16 system comes with a HiGain detector for contamination detection and can manage products up to 300 mm in height. It operates at 60 m per minute and includes checks for product placement, mass count, and fill level. On the other hand, the advanced X36.2 system uses a HiGain+ detector and ContamPlus software, operates at 100 meters per minute, and processes over 1000 products per minute.</p>
 <p>These systems prioritize maximizing production uptime by offering user-friendly interfaces and easy cleaning. They boost product safety by detecting contaminants like metal, glass, stone, bone, and low-density materials and offer flexibility for manufacturers dealing with larger products or various packages per line.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Mettler Toledo's new inspection systems could strengthen its position in the food safety sector by offering enhanced quality control solutions. This launch positions the company to compete effectively against similar systems by addressing stringent industry demands. In <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29698"> May 2024 </a> , the company introduced an advanced X-ray inspection system designed to inspect packaged goods accurately.</p>

Mettler-Toledo launches X6 Series x-ray inspection systems for improved packaging inspection

Travel Tech

<div>
 <p>Airbnb is initiating its long-term rental marketplace in the UK through a partnership with real estate developer Greystar. This development will initially facilitate tenants in almost 1,500 apartments across three Greystar-supervised properties in London to sublease their homes part-time.</p>
 <p>In this agreement, tenants are required to sign contracts with landlords specifying hosting rules, such as restrictions on annual rental nights, and they are required to share 10-25% of their rental income with landlords. Airbnb is purportedly in discussions with further landlords to broaden its services to additional areas of the UK.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This initiative addresses <a href="https:<br>
//www.forbes.com/sites/garybarker/2020/02/21/the-airbnb-effect-on-housing-and-rent/"> growing </a> criticism of Airbnb's influence on local communities and housing markets. It aims to support younger renters facing the cost-of-living crisis by enabling them to earn additional income, reflecting an effort to enhance Airbnb’s brand reputation.</p>

Airbnb expands long-term rental marketplace to UK through Greystar partnership

<div>
 <p>HomeToGo, a vacation rental marketplace that uses Software as a Service (SaaS) has introduced a Travel Agency Hub. This hub provides a gateway for travel agencies to use HomeToGo's white-label solutions. It's presently being piloted with FDM Travel and Fora with plans to onboard more partners in the future.</p>
 <p>This newly launched hub equips travel agents with various features, including global vacation rental search, booking capabilities, insights into booking activities, competitive commission structures, and custom payment and invoicing processes. It also offers dedicated customer support services. For more global reach, the platform supports 27 different languages and currencies.</p>
 <p>The platform, according to HomeToGo, facilitates travel agency partners in integrating vacation rentals into their packages, and concurrently provides HomeToGo with new sources of demand.&nbsp;</p>
</div>

All Updates

Akua partners with Nickelodeon to launch kid-friendly kelp burgers

Stork Club launches condition-based care pathways for reproductive health

MycoTechnology launches honey truffle protein sweetener

Imagindairy receives approval for commercial sale of animal-free whey in Israel

Uber launches data labeling service 'Scaled Solutions'

Celona and HCLTech partner to deliver enterprise private 5G network solutions globally

NEC partners with Cisco to deliver private 5G network solutions

Wayland Additive partners with TECCLUSTER for metal 3D printer sales in Nordic-Baltic regions

Mettler-Toledo launches X6 Series x-ray inspection systems for improved packaging inspection

Airbnb expands long-term rental marketplace to UK through Greystar partnership

HomeToGo launches Travel Agency Hub for vacation rental bookings

Plant-based Meat

Akua partners with Nickelodeon to launch kid-friendly kelp burgers

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