<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Biophilica, a UK-based developer of vegan leather material from green waste, has partnered with Sappi North America, a producer of diversified paper, packaging products, and pulp, to introduce Treekind, a 100% plastic-free version of the leather alternative made from leaves.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Treekind uses Sappi&rsquo;s leather grain textured release papers, with plans by Biophilica to explore other Sappi finishes and textures, such as glossy and matte, for potential expansion into a premium line of goods.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        <b>Analyst QuickTake:</b>
         Treekind is claimed to be one of the only plastic-free leather alternatives that is 100% bio-based and home-compostable. Biophilica has been working with Sappi North America since 2022 to apply Sappi's Ultracast Viva release paper to replace the plastic coating commonly used in vegan leather, giving the material a realistic look and feel.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.sappi.com/sappi-north-america-and-biophilica-partner-to-launch-the-first-plastic-free-leather-alternative">
      Press release
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Bio-based Materials

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>UK vegan leather developer Biophilica is collaborating with paper, packaging and pulp producer Sappi North America to launch Treekind, a completely plastic-free leather alternative made from leaf waste. This innovation uses Sappi's leather grain textured release papers.</p>
 <p>Furthermore, Biophilica plans to investigate additional finishes and textures provided by Sappi, including glossy and matte. This could potentially lead to the development of a premium product range.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Treekind is claimed to be one of the only plastic-free leather alternatives that is 100% bio-based and home-compostable. Biophilica has been working with Sappi North America since 2022 to apply Sappi's Ultracast Viva release paper to replace the plastic coating commonly used in vegan leather, giving the material a realistic look and feel.</p>

Biophilica partners with Sappi North America to launch plastic-free leather alternative

Empowering Tomorrow's Innovations with Generative AI Infrastructure

Generative AI Infrastructure

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 <p>At the re:Invent 2024 conference held by Amazon, Apple announced their use of Amazon's custom AI chips called Inferentia and Graviton. These chips are used for Apple's cloud services such as Siri, Apple Maps, and Apple Music. This implementation resulted in a 40% efficiency boost in the company's search services.</p>
 <p>In addition, Apple is set to assess the performance of Amazon's new Trainium2 chip which will be used for pretraining of Apple's AI models, including Apple Intelligence. This new partnership is forecasted to bring about an efficiency improvement of up to 50%.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The disclosure of this partnership is unusual for Apple, which typically keeps such details under wraps compared to its Big Tech peers. Additionally, the move underscores AWS’ strengths in the competitive cloud AI market, positioning it against rivals like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. AWS’ growing credibility is further bolstered by its <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/36441"> investment </a> with Anthropic for GenAI model training using its chips.</p>

Apple discloses use of AWS GenAI chips at re:Invent 2024 conference

<div>
 <p>Amazon Web Services (AWS) has introduced an innovative tool called Automated Reasoning checks as part of its Bedrock model hosting service. This tool has been purposed to mitigate AI hallucinations and uses a validation system that checks model responses against information supplied by customers.</p>
 <p>These Automated Reasoning checks function by comparing AI responses with ground truth data from customers. These checks produce rules which can be honed and applied to various models. While generating responses, they carry out cross-verification and at the same time display correct responses in conjunction with possible falsehoods for contrast.</p>
 <p>AWS declares that it is the first among major cloud providers to offer a safeguard effect against AI hallucinations. Moreover, it empowers clients to establish as well as personalize safety, privacy and truthfulness within an all-in-one solution. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is already incorporating this tool in producing AI assistants for its clientele. However, AWS hasn't shared any data that demonstrate the tool's reliability.</p> 
</div> <p>Analyst <b>QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The update builds on AWS' existing hallucination detection capabilities, initially having Guardrails for Amazon Bedrock in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/24413"> November 2023 </a> . In <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/31381"> July 2024 </a> , the company announced contextual grounding checks (to detect hallucinations in model responses based on a reference source and user query) and ApplyGuardrail API, which allows customers to evaluate input prompts and model responses against configured safeguards for any foundation model.</p>

AWS launches Automated Reasoning checks to combat AI hallucinations

Buy Now, Pay Later

<div>
<p>Buy now, pay later (BNPL) infrastructure solutions developer, Roonyx, has introduced new features including a virtual card management system, superior know-your-customer (KYC) integration, and an improved interface to facilitate secure online and offline transactions.</p>
<p>With the new virtual card feature, users can instantly create cards with time-based restrictions, manage payment methods, and have the option to block or restart cards. Partnering with providers revolutionizes Roonyx's KYC capabilities with identity verification, document validation, and address confirmation. The platform's new interface exhibits transaction details with enhanced lucidity, simplifying purchase management.</p>
<p>Roonyx asserts that these advancements give businesses boosted fraud protection, virtual card options for customer engagement, and resources for sales data analysis. The company's future plans point to the introduction of customizable limits, broadening of KYC for global markets, and development of superior analytical tools.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Today’s updates follow the launch of Roonyx's <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/34395"> BNPL platform </a> two months ago. The enhanced platform offers businesses a comprehensive, ready-made solution for implementing BNPL capabilities. The initial launch introduced a ready-made and comprehensive infrastructure solution to meet the diverse needs of businesses, streamlining the adoption of BNPL services.</p>

Roonyx releases enhanced BNPL platform to facilitate secure transactions

<div>
 <p>The 2024 re:Invent conference saw AWS launch the next version of Amazon SageMaker, which is an ML platform that combines data analytics, AI capabilities, and model development. Currently, SageMaker Unified Studio is in the preview phase.</p>
 <p>Comprising three main components: SageMaker Unified Studio, SageMaker Catalog, and SageMaker Lakehouse, the platform includes functions from Amazon Bedrock, EMR, Redshift, AWS Glue and existing SageMaker Studio. It also includes an Amazon Q Developer assistant for professional code and SQL generation tasks.</p>
 <p>According to AWS, the unified platform will enhance enterprise efficiency substantially. Predicted outcomes include a 50% reduction in time to access analytics and AI capabilities for NatWest Group and a 40% reduction in data processing time for Roche. Further integrations with SaaS applications like Zendesk and SAP negate the need for intricate data pipelines.</p>
 
</div>

AWS announces next generation of SageMaker platform at re:Invent 2024

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

Quantum Computing

<div>
 <p>The Irish quantum computing company Equal1 has introduced a multi-tile quantum controller chip that belongs to its UnityQ Quantum-System-on-Chip platform. The chip functions at 300 millikelvin temperatures and uses Arm's Cortex core microprocessors, a British semiconductor company.</p>
 <p>The quantum controller chip is equipped with AI-supported qubit adaptive error correction, adjusted for each tile under the control of Arm's Cortex processor. This chip showcased high performance metrics on a six-qubit array, reaching 99.4% single-qubit fidelity with a gate speed of 84 nanoseconds, and a two-qubit fidelity of 98.4% with a gate speed of 72 nanoseconds.</p>
 <p>Equal1 asserts that their new controller chip will help to scale up to millions of orchestrated qubits on a single chip. Additionally, it will enable real-time error correction and provide the flexibility to use both present and future error correction algorithms. The technology can be manufactured utilizing existing silicon infrastructure and conventional foundries, according to Equal1.</p>
 
</div>

Equal1 launches quantum controller chip for cryogenic computing

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

Logistics Tech

<div>
 <p>Extoec has formed a partnership with BlueStar, a provider of digital identification and mobility solutions, to introduce warehouse automation solutions in BlueStar's distribution centers throughout Europe and the US.</p>
 <p>The focus of the partnership is the implementation of Exotec's Skypod system, featuring 20 Skypod robots, racking with 23,000 bins, three picking stations, and one bin interface. This system has decreased warehouse traffic by 60% and improved order-picking efficiency at BlueStar's EMEA Distribution Centre in Eindhoven.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> Today’s partnership adds BlueStar to Exotec’s growing list of customers, which also includes <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/35243"> Auchan Retail Luxembourg </a> , <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26080"> Lane Automotive </a> , <a href="https:<br>
//www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-supply-partners-with-exotec-to-boost-its-operational-capabilities-and-support-business-growth-302150787.html"> First Supply </a> , and <a href="https:<br>
//media.renaultgroup.com/renault-group-positions-itself-at-the-forefront-of-innovation-in-automotive-logistics-with-exotec/"> Renault Group </a> .</p>

Exotec partners with BlueStar to deploy Skypod warehouse automation system

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

Additive Manufacturing

<div>
 <p>Metals additive manufacturing provider Amaero International has formed a three-year supply agreement with Perryman Company, a titanium parts provider. The agreement stipulates that Perryman will function as the primary source of titanium alloy bar feedstock for Amaero's production of premium spherical powder. The agreement includes specific pricing for the year 2025, which will experience annual increases and fluctuating surcharges based on the market rates of Ti64. The set pricing relates to yearly minimum order requirements of 45 metric tons in 2025, and 100 metric tons for both 2026 and 2027.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Amaero has been actively ramping up its production capacity in the US over the past few months <b>. </b> This news comes only two months after the company <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/33656"> raised USD 16.9 million </a> in an institutional placement, which it earmarked for purchasing capital equipment, including a second atomizer, and improving its Tennessee headquarters.</p>

Amaero enters long-term supply agreement with Perryman

<div>
 <p>3D printing company, Raise3D, has introduced six new resins for its DF2 Resin digital light processing (DLP) printer, bringing its total product range to 15 resins. These new products have been designed for high-performance engineering prototyping and low-volume production.</p>
 <p>The new offerings are Raise3D Draft Grey V1 for high-speed prototyping, Forward AM Ultracur3D EL 4000 with Shore 90A hardness for hard products, Forward AM Ultracur3D EL 60 for elastic projects, and three Henkel LOCTITE products: 3D 3843 for impact strength, 3D PRO410 for high resolution, and 3D PRO417 for high strength applications.</p>
</div>

Raise3D launches six new resins for DF2 DLP solution

<div>
 <p>Anzu Partners LLC, a technology investment firm, has agreed to acquire voxeljet AG, a provider of large-format 3D printers and on-demand 3D printed parts, for EUR 20 million (~USD 21 million).</p>
 <p>Following the acquisition, Anzu's managing partner Whitney Haring-Smith will become chair of the board of directors, while current CEO Rudolf Franz will continue to lead the business.</p>
 <p>The transaction, expected to close in March or April 2025, includes a "go-shop" period until January 12, 2025, allowing voxeljet to consider alternative acquisition proposals.</p>
</div>

Anzu Partners acquires voxeljet for EUR 20 million

Managing employee health-related benefits

Health Benefits Platforms

<div>
 
 <p>Soda Health, a benefits management provider, has raised USD 50 million in a Series B funding round. This was led by General Catalyst, along with contributions from Bruce Broussard, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Define Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners US, and SVB Capital, increasing the company's total raised funds to USD 81 million.</p>
 <p>The funding will be utilized to scale operations, introduce new data products, and develop capacities to new compliance management systems. This includes CMS-compliant benefit categories and gap closure strategies. The ambition is to establish risk-based structures with Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans and widen CMS-compliant benefit offerings.</p>
 <p>As of December 2024, Soda Health's Smart Benefits platform operates in over 50,000 retail locations in the US, including prominent chains such as Kroger, Albertsons, CVS, and Hy-Vee. In the same year, over 33 million seniors relied on Medicare Advantage, accounting for USD 131 billion in supplemental benefits and reward dollars.</p>
 
</div>

All Updates

Biophilica partners with Sappi North America to launch plastic-free leather alternative

Apple discloses use of AWS GenAI chips at re:Invent 2024 conference

AWS launches Automated Reasoning checks to combat AI hallucinations

Roonyx releases enhanced BNPL platform to facilitate secure transactions

AWS announces next generation of SageMaker platform at re:Invent 2024

Equal1 launches quantum controller chip for cryogenic computing

Exotec partners with BlueStar to deploy Skypod warehouse automation system

Amaero enters long-term supply agreement with Perryman

Raise3D launches six new resins for DF2 DLP solution

Anzu Partners acquires voxeljet for EUR 20 million

Soda Health raises USD 50 million in oversubscribed Series B funding to scale operations

Bio-based Materials

Biophilica partners with Sappi North America to launch plastic-free leather alternative

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