<div>
  <p>
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        VOOM, a pay-per-mile motorcycle insurance provider, has introduced VOOM &amp; Drive, a usage-based insurance policy for rideshare and delivery drivers. Currently available in Tennessee and Arizona, the company plans to expand this offering to more states in the near future.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        VOOM &amp; Drive seamlessly connects with gig drivers' accounts from various platforms like Uber and Lyft, gathering detailed data about the vehicle, driver, and driving-related information using AI technology. This personalized approach enables policyholders potential savings of up to 60% compared to usual policies.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Moreover, it fills insurance gaps between commercial and personal activities, covering the difference in deductibles during physical damage claims between Uber/Lyft's USD 2,500 and VOOM's policy deductible.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voom-introduces-rideshare-and-delivery-insurance-drastically-reducing-gig-drivers-insurance-costs-302007636.html">
      Press release
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Neo Insurance

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>VOOM, a pay-per-mile motorcycle insurance firm, has launched VOOM &amp; Drive, a usage-based insurance policy specific to rideshare and delivery drivers; currently available in Tennessee and Arizona with plans for expansion. The policy ties up with drivers' accounts from platforms like Uber and Lyft, utilizing AI to gather comprehensive vehicle and driver data. This allows for potential policyholder savings of up to 60%. Additionally, it covers insurance gaps between commercial and personal activities, making up the difference in deductibles between Uber/Lyft's USD 2,500 and VOOM's policy deductible in physical damage claims.</p>
</div>

VOOM launches usage-based insurance for rideshare and delivery drivers ‘VOOM & Drive’

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>NVIDIA, a tech company, has established a partnership with Chery Automobile, a Chinese car manufacturing giant, to create an intelligent driving platform. This platform will be based on NVIDIA's "DRIVE Thor," a centralized car computing technology, and will be initially employed in Chery's high-end vehicle models.</p>
 <p>The advanced AI capabilities of DRIVE Thor chip will be integrated into the future models of Chery to enhance the driving experience.</p>
 <p>Notably, this collaboration is an advancement from NVIDIA’s existing "DRIVE Orin" platform, utilized in Chery's latest model, "EXEED STERRA ET." This model offers features like automated driving assistance and intelligent parking.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> NVIDIA's Drive Thor chip introduced <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/13215"> in September 2022 </a> is anticipated to power a range of next-generation vehicles, including robotaxis, autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs), and long-haul trucks. ADV developer <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/454812"> Nuro </a> and autonomous truck manufacturer <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/1410679"> Waabi </a> have already integrated Drive Thor into their driving systems. Other Chinese automakers like <a href="https:<br>
//www.teslarati.com/nvida-drive-thor-chip-autonomous-vehicles/"> BYD, Li Motors, and Xpeng </a> also plan to incorporate Drive Thor into their upcoming vehicle models, highlighting the chip's broad adoption and pivotal role in advancing autonomous transportation technologies.</p>

NVIDIA to offer 'Drive Thor' platform to Chery to develop intelligent driving functions

Automation and robotics are finally creating solutions for the complexities of doorstep deliveries.

Last-mile Delivery Automation

<div>
 <p>Alphabet's drone delivery division, Wing, is partnering with the National Health Services (NHS) in the UK to test drone-based blood sample deliveries between London hospitals. They will be working alongside Apian, a medical logistics firm and this project will be financially supported by the NHS.</p>
 <p>The service is set to roll out in summer of this year, and is planned to run for six months, with potential expansion if successful. The drones will be used to transport high-priority samples between Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in South London. The goal is to make 10 daily deliveries during weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the trial period.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Alphabet Wing’s upcoming UK trial would mark the company’s first drone-based delivery operations in the country. This positions the company to potentially launch ahead of <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/203208"> Amazon </a> <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/22843"> this year. </a> Furthermore, Wing has previously collaborated with Apian <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/21053"> in August 2023 </a> for drone deliveries in Ireland. On a separate note, NHS is already experienced in drone-based deliveries, having previously conducted UK trials in partnership with startups including <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/69024"> Zipline </a> <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/25057"> (December 2023), </a> &nbsp; <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/865738"> Skyports </a> <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/20818"> (August 2023), </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/companies/1311070"> Skyfarer </a> <a href="https:<br>
//www.commercialdroneprofessional.com/coventry-universitys-medical-drone-start-up-skyfarer-takes-flight/"> (September 2020). </a></p>

Alphabet's Wing partners with NHS and Apian for drone-based blood sample deliveries between London hospitals

Exploring the limitless possibilities of AI

Generative AI Applications

xAI to raise USD 6 billion in venture funding

Artificial intelligence is identifying and testing new therapies faster than ever.

AI Drug Discovery

<div>
 <p>Yoneda Labs, specializing in AI-driven software to optimize chemical reactions for pharma and materials science industries, has secured USD 4 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures, 500 Emerging Europe, 468 Capital, Fellows Fund, and Y Combinator.</p>
 <p>The investment will enhance the development of Yoneda’s AI model. The company has identified 20,000 chemical reactions to generate proprietary data for the initial model, which has demonstrated a 95% success rate in trials. Yoneda Labs aims to use the newly raised funds to establish a robotics lab. The firm is also planning to further train the AI model by running tests on additional 20,000 chemical reactions, aiming to conduct and examine 200 chemical experiments a day.</p>
 <p>The company has two main products: Yoneda Optimize and Yoneda Predict. These solutions aim to aid the process of defining optimal reaction conditions, such as temperature, concentration, and catalyst, which can speed up the R&amp;D stages of drug discovery.</p>
</div>

Yoneda Labs raises USD 4 million in seed funding to create AI model for drug discovery

Platforms, apps, and cards to keep the corporate wallet in check

Business Expense Management

<div>
 
 <p>AP automation platform provider, AvidXchange, has expanded its collaboration with M3 Accounting Solutions. This is aimed at offering an automated financial management solution to hotels that use M3 products.</p>
 <p>Under the extended partnership, M3 customers have the ability to access AvidXchange's payment automation technology through the M3 Accounting CoreTM solution.</p>
 <p>The integration of M3's hospitality-focused ERP with AvidXchange's extensive payment network is predicted to enhance supplier relationships for hotels, boost efficiency, and deliver a more user-friendly experience to customers.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst quicktake:<br>
 </b> Avidxchange’s partnership with M3 began in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/24711"> November 2023 </a> , and the latest extension sees a further deepening of product integrations to enhance customer experiences. This aligns with its objective of deepening adoption of its solutions across a range of industries.&nbsp;</p>

AvidXchange extends partnership with M3 to automate financial management for hoteliers

<div>
 <p>Pfizer, in partnership with the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM), has developed an AI and machine learning method for identifying potentially therapeutic small molecules. These findings were published in an article in Science, which detailed how the AI and machine learning platform measures the interactions between small molecules and human proteins. This research has resulted in the creation of a catalog that can serve as a foundation for future drug development. The models and data derived from this work are readily available for other researchers via a web-based application.</p>
</div>

Pfizer’s collaboration with Austrian Academy's CeMM leads to development of new AI-driven drug discovery model

The toolkit to build machine learning applications at scale

Machine Learning Infrastructure

<div>
 
 <p>AI development platform Snorkel AI has launched an upgrade for Snorkel Flow. This new update aims to simplify the process of coupling enterprise data with machine learning models for businesses.</p>
 <p>The latest improvement optimizes the integration of enterprise data. It provides connectivity to Vertex AI, Databricks Unity Catalog, and Microsoft Azure Machine Learning. These platforms allow for simplified data labeling, even facilitating coding-based labeling of multimodal data.</p>
 <p>Furthermore, the platform can be seamlessly linked with Language Learning Models (LLMs) such as Google’s Gemini 3 and Meta’s Llama 3. Such an integration offers businesses the flexibility to choose appropriate LLMs.</p>
 <p>Snorkel AI has also introduced a feature for role-based access controls (RBAC) specifically for Snorkel Flow account administrators. These controls allow administrators to manage the accessibility of enterprise data.</p>
 
</div>

Snorkel AI  unveils new data management capabilities

Generating, collecting, and analyzing enterprise data will never be the same.

Edge Computing

<div>
 <p>The multinational communications company, Nokia, has launched MX Grid to boost operational technology (OT) decision-making procedures in organizations. As part of the Nokia One platform, MX Grid allows for the closer analysis of operational data to the source, allowing for faster decision-making.</p>
 <p>MX Grid provides support for Industry 4.0 protocols, offers on-premise AI/ML capabilities and interoperates with Nokia's MX Industrial Edge platform. Through localised data analysis and lower latency, this solution can enhance decision-making in areas such as safety, predictive maintenance, and quality assurance, the company states.</p> 
</div>

Nokia adds MX Grid to Nokia One platform

Empowering sustainable food innovation through food engineering tech

Novel Foods

<div>
 <p>Solar Foods, an alternative protein ingredient startup, has secured an additional EUR 8 million (~USD 8.6 million), adding to its Series B funding round held in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24061"> November 2023 </a> . Springvest Oyj led this round, bringing the total Series B funding to EUR 16 million (~USD 17 million).</p>
 <p>The additional funds will be used to further Solar Foods’ operational capabilities.&nbsp;</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 Solar Foods recently <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28496"> inaugurated </a> Factory 01, its latest manufacturing plant in Vantaa, Finland. The factory will produce Solein, its flagship protein, and has an annual capacity of 160 tons.</p>

Solar Foods raises additional EUR 8 million in Series B funding to enhance operational capabilities

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

Plant-based Meat

<div>
 <p>Solar Foods, a startup specializing in alternative protein ingredients, has raised an extra EUR 8 million (~USD 8.6 million), augmenting its Series B funding round held in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24061"> November 2023 </a> . The leading financier in this round was Springvest Oyj, pushing the total for the Series B funding round to EUR 16 million (~USD 17 million).</p>
 <p>This injection of finance will be directed towards enhancing the operational capabilities of Solar Foods.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 Solar Foods recently <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28496"> inaugurated </a> Factory 01, its latest manufacturing plant in Vantaa, Finland. The factory will produce Solein, its flagship protein, and has an annual capacity of 160 tons.</p>

All Updates

NVIDIA to offer 'Drive Thor' platform to Chery to develop intelligent driving functions

Alphabet's Wing partners with NHS and Apian for drone-based blood sample deliveries between London hospitals

xAI to raise USD 6 billion in venture funding

Yoneda Labs raises USD 4 million in seed funding to create AI model for drug discovery

AvidXchange extends partnership with M3 to automate financial management for hoteliers

Pfizer’s collaboration with Austrian Academy's CeMM leads to development of new AI-driven drug discovery model

Snorkel AI unveils new data management capabilities

Nokia adds MX Grid to Nokia One platform

Solar Foods raises additional EUR 8 million in Series B funding to enhance operational capabilities

Solar Foods raises additional EUR 8 million in Series B funding to enhance operational capabilities