<div>
  <p>
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Oxa 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18935">
          (formerly Oxbotica),
        </a>
         a UK-based autonomous vehicle software developer, has partnered with electric vehicle (EV) provider eVersum to offer an autonomous shuttle service in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 2025.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        The shuttles will be deployed in the Belfast Harbour Estate&rsquo;s Innovation District and tourist locations, transporting up to 40 guests (20 seated). The rides will be accompanied by a safety driver to take control if needed.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        This initiative, which comes as a part of the area&rsquo;s sustainable transportation plan&nbsp; &quot;Harlander&quot; project, was approved earlier this year.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        <b>Analyst QuickTake: </b>
        Oxa first announced the partnership with eVersum 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22536">
          in October 2023
        </a>
         to develop and deploy autonomous city shuttles by public transport operators in Europe and the US. Furthermore, Oxa has a history of collaborating with vehicle makers and operators to integrate its autonomous technology into shuttle services. The list includes partnerships with German auto parts maker 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/231942">
          ZF
        </a>
         
        <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/zf-invests-oxbotica-develop-autonomous-urban-shuttles-2021-10-07/">
          (October 2021)
        </a>
        , Swedish electric car manufacturer 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/480902">
          NEVS
        </a>
         
        <a href="https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/autonomous/europe/article/oxbotica-and-nevs-put-self-driving-fleet-european-roads-2023?t%5B0%5D=Autonom%20Services&curl=1">
          (May 2022)
        </a>
        , and autonomous shuttle operator 
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/1047502">
          Beep
        </a>
         
        <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21274">
          (August 2023)
        </a>
         to develop and deploy autonomous passenger shuttles.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231107586594/en/Oxa-and-eVersum-Join-Self-driving-Shuttle-Rollout-in-Belfast-Harbour">
      Press release
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.uktech.news/tech-hubs/northern-ireland/belfast/oxa-and-eversum-partner-on-belfast-self-driving-shuttles-20231107">
      UK Tech News
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Auto Tech

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

DISRUPTOR_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>Oxa <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18935">(formerly Oxbotica)</a>,
        a UK-based autonomous vehicle software developer, has partnered with electric vehicle (EV) provider eVersum to offer an 
        autonomous shuttle service in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 2025.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>The shuttles will be deployed in the Belfast Harbour Estate's Innovation District and tourist locations, transporting up to 
        40 guests (20 seated). The rides will be accompanied by a safety driver to take control if needed.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>This initiative, which comes as a part of the area's sustainable transportation plan "Harlander" project, was approved earlier this year.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake: </b> Oxa first announced the partnership with eVersum <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22536"> in October 2023 </a> to develop and deploy autonomous city shuttles by public transport operators in Europe and the US. Furthermore, Oxa has a history of collaborating with vehicle makers and operators to integrate its autonomous technology into shuttle services. The list includes partnerships with German auto parts maker <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/231942"> ZF </a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/zf-invests-oxbotica-develop-autonomous-urban-shuttles-2021-10-07/"> (October 2021) </a> , Swedish electric car manufacturer <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/480902"> NEVS </a> <a href="https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/autonomous/europe/article/oxbotica-and-nevs-put-self-driving-fleet-european-roads-2023?t%5B0%5D=Autonom%20Services&amp;curl=1"> (May 2022) </a> , and autonomous shuttle operator <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/1047502"> Beep </a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21274"> (August 2023) </a> to develop and deploy autonomous passenger shuttles.</p>

Oxa partners with eVersum to deploy autonomous shuttle service in Belfast

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

Logistics Tech

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>Amazon inaugurated a new warehouse equipped with 3,600+ transport robots to streamline the packing process in Erfurt, Germany. Reported as one of the company's highest-advanced facilities in Europe, the robots are currently aiding 300 workers.</p>
 <p>Eventually, these robots will help a 2,000-strong workforce in handling 26 million products and delivering over 500,000 parcels daily across an expansive area of 660,000+ square feet.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Amazon has always been actively involved in automating its warehouse operations, with one of the most recent additions being its robotic-equipped 4 million sq ft warehouse in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28328"> North Andover, Massachusetts. </a></p>

Amazon opens new robotic-powered warehouse center in Germany

New insurance models are disrupting a centuries-old industry with a focus on personalization and convenience.

Neo Insurance

<div>
 
 <p>Insurance holding company Sammons Financial Group is set to acquire the digital life insurance business of Bestow, a provider of digital life insurance and turnkey solutions. A regulatory hearing in Iowa, set for May 28, 2024, is required for the acquisition to go ahead. Sammons has previously invested in Bestow during the Series B and C funding rounds in 2020.</p>
 <p>Following the acquisition, Bestow plans to concentrate on its B2B operations. This will involve providing its technology platform to life insurance and annuities companies such as Equitable, USAA, Nationwide, and Transamerica.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This news arrives shortly after <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29273"> Sproutt declared insolvency </a> this week and adds to a series of closures among digital life insurers over the past months, including <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/23774"> Haven Life </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//www.covermagazine.co.uk/news/4186492/deadhappy-closes-doors-life-insurance-customers"> Dead Happy </a> .</p>

Sammons financial group to acquire Bestow life insurance pending regulatory approval

<div>
 
 <p>CoverTree, a firm providing digital insurance for manufactured homes, has successfully secured USD 13 million in a Series A funding round. This round was spearheaded by Portage and also saw participation from AV8, Distributed Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Ludlow Ventures, and Annox Capital, among others. In total, the company's capital raised to date amounts to USD 23 million.</p>
 <p>The firm intends to utilize the raised capital to further its mission to innovate in the home insurance industry. This will involve expanding its enterprise suite which includes a variety of software and platforms. Among these are Maple, a resident insurance management software ideal for property managers; Bonsai, a binding and underwriting platform designed for independent agents and lenders; and Sequoia, an automated underwriting and quoting system specifically for insurance book conversions.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 CoverTree previously raised USD 10 million in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/13155"> seed funding </a> in September 2022. The funds were utilized for recruitment, geographic expansion, and product development in areas such as distribution portals and automated underwriting and for investment in major partners.</p>

CoverTree raises USD 13 million in Series A funding for product expansion

Information to create a more efficient, cleaner and safer way to travel in the city of the future

Smart Mobility Information

<div>
 
 <p>Parkopedia, a UK-based company offering web and mobile parking discovery, has formed a partnership with Regeny, an EV charging solutions provider. This partnership aims to provide data for finding EV charging stations for drivers in the Middle East through their car systems.</p>
 <p>Initially, the data will cover charge points in the UAE, and there are plans for future expansion into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan. Regeny, through this partnership, will provide a database consisting of roughly half of the existing EV chargers in the UAE.</p>
   
</div>

Parkopedia partners with Regeny to simplify EV charger location for Middle East drivers

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

<div>
 
 <p>AgriDex, an agricultural products tokenization platform, has raised USD 5 million in pre-seed funding headed by Endeavour Ventures. African Crops Limited and Oldenburg Vineyards also participated. The funding round valued the company at USD 19 million.</p>
 <p>The company intends to launch its native token, AGRI, in the third quarter of 2023. Over the forthcoming months, AgriDex will distribute 5% of the total token supply to its community through an airdrop program. The AGRI token will serve as a reward for users' trading volume, platform activity, and community engagement.</p>
 <p>AgriDex is currently building a Solana-based exchange. This exchange will allow users to turn agricultural commodities into NFTs and trade them on secondary markets. The platform initially plans to focus on commodities like sugar, grains, and cocoa.</p>
 
</div>

AgriDex raises USD 5 million in pre-seed funding

<div>

 <p>Arch Labs have raised USD 7 million in seed funding for their Bitcoin-based application building platform, Arch Network. Key investors include Multicoin Capital, Portal Ventures, OKX Ventures, and others. The funds raised will be used to expand the developmental team and support the launch slated for the second half of 2024.</p>
 <p>The Arch Network, a product of Arch Labs, is a parallelized, proof-of-stake network that provides a platform to users for building decentralized applications directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. It comprises a Rust-based virtual machine, utilizing zero-knowledge proofs and a decentralized verifier network. These features ensure that users can interact with applications on the Bitcoin blockchain without having to bridge from other layer-2 networks.</p>

</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> The Bitcoin layer-2 space has seen a large influx in investor interest, with companies such as <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/3573611"> ZKM </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/2977566"> Botanix Labs </a> raising <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29217"> USD 5 million </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29218"> USD 8.5 million </a> , respectively, within the past week. However, Arch Labs has notably differentiated itself from its layer-2 competitors by enabling developers to build applications native to the Bitcoin blockchain without bridging their assets onto a separate layer-2 network. This enables users to access DeFi services such as lending, trading, and staking blockchain while benefiting from the added security and decentralization of the Bitcoin blockchain.</p>

Arch Labs raises USD 7 million in seed funding

Building future-ready applications in the cloud

Cloud-native Tech

<div>
 
 <p>Open-source hybrid and cloud solutions provider, Red Hat, has entered into a partnership with Cloudera, a data infrastructure and analytics company. The aim of the partnership is to meet the growing need for AI workloads while also strengthening cloud infrastructure security and robustness.</p>
 
<p>With this partnership, Cloudera now has developed operators for its Data in Motion services that will enable simplified deployment of Apache NiFi data flows on OpenShift, making it easy for businesses to implement. </p>
 
<p>Cloudera is also moving its public cloud infrastructure over to Red Hat Linux Enterprise AI (RHEL AI), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29181">unveiled</a> recently, from its previous operating system. This move allows Cloudera to start testing beta versions of Red Hat products, ensuring their reliability when they are released. </p>

</div>

Cloudera and Red Hat partner to strengthen cloud infrastructure for AI workloads

Empowering Tomorrow's Innovations with Generative AI Infrastructure

Generative AI Infrastructure

<div>
<p>Open-source solutions provider Red Hat has teamed up with Intel to boost enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications via a new product, Red Hat OpenShift AI. This collaboration aims to advance GenAI solutions across multiple cloud platforms, thus improving interoperability. The collaborations will also see cloud-based versions of Intel’s Ultra and Core CPUs, Xeon, the Arc GPU, and Gaudi AI accelerators.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> As we emphasized in our <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/insights/28869"> Cloud Tech (Q1 2024) </a> report, cloud-native technology is pivotal in driving the GenAI revolution by providing and optimizing the critical infrastructure needed to scale AI workloads. This partnership is another milestone in this journey, accelerating GenAI innovation and adoption by making Intel's advanced AI processors, such as Gaudi, available through Red Hat's cloud offerings.</p>

Red Hat and Intel partner to power enterprise AI solutions on OpenShift platform

<div>
 
 <p>Red Hat, an open-source hybrid and cloud solutions provider, has teamed up with Intel to improve enterprise AI applications with the Red Hat OpenShift AI product, utilizing a range of Intel processor technologies.</p>
 <p>This collaboration targets to provide GenAI solutions across various cloud infrastructures to improve interoperability. It will present cloud-based versions of Intel's Gaudi AI accelerators, Ultra and Core central processing units, Xeon, and the Arc GPU.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> As we emphasized in our <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/insights/28869"> Cloud Tech (Q1 2024) </a> report, cloud-native technology is pivotal in driving the GenAI revolution by providing and optimizing the critical infrastructure needed to scale AI workloads. This partnership is another milestone in this journey, accelerating GenAI innovation and adoption by making Intel's advanced AI processors, such as Gaudi, available through Red Hat's cloud offerings.</p>

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

Digital Privacy Tools

<div>
 <p>On May 9, 2024, the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024 (MODPA) was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore. This comprehensive privacy law will be effective from October 1, 2025, but will not apply to any data processing activities that took place prior to April 1, 2026.</p>
 <p>Compared to other state privacy laws, COMPO has lower application thresholds, targeting businesses operating in Maryland or those offering products and services to Maryland residents. It applies if the organization controls private information of at least 35,000 or, if deriving over 20% of gross revenue from personal data sales, at least 10,000 Maryland residents.</p>
 <p>Like existing state privacy laws, this law imposes similar obligations on data controllers, including the provision of clear and accessible privacy notices, and restriction of data collection and use to reasonably necessary limits. It also provides similar consumer rights, including the ability to access data, review it, and opt-out or revoke consent via clear methods.</p>
 <p>The law excludes data covered by laws such as HIPAA and the GLBA and entity-level exceptions like regulatory bodies among others.</p>
</div>

All Updates

Amazon opens new robotic-powered warehouse center in Germany

Sammons financial group to acquire Bestow life insurance pending regulatory approval

CoverTree raises USD 13 million in Series A funding for product expansion

Parkopedia partners with Regeny to simplify EV charger location for Middle East drivers

AgriDex raises USD 5 million in pre-seed funding

Arch Labs raises USD 7 million in seed funding

Cloudera and Red Hat partner to strengthen cloud infrastructure for AI workloads

Red Hat and Intel partner to power enterprise AI solutions on OpenShift platform

Red Hat and Intel partner to power enterprise AI solutions on OpenShift platform

Maryland Governor Enacts new online data privacy law 'MODPA'