<div>
  <p>
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Airbnb has removed various individual tours and experiences from its platform. This comes shortly after its launch of the exclusive &quot;Icons&quot; experiences, in collaboration with pop culture firms like Disney, Pixar, and Marvel.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        This decision was allegedly based on factors such as the host's expertise, local relevance, uniqueness of the activities, and guest ratings and reviews. These listings will be removed from June 20, along with any future reservations, for which guests will receive refunds.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        However, many operators expressed concern about losing customer reviews and the impact this move will have on their businesses. Some in the industry criticized Airbnb&rsquo;s business practices, advising operators not to over-rely on a single platform for their revenues.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/airbnb-removing-dozens-experiences-canceling-future-reservations">
      PhocusWire
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Travel Tech

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 <p>Following the launch of its "Icons" experiences in partnership with companies like Disney, Pixar, and Marvel, Airbnb has removed numerous individual tours and experiences from its platform. The decision is said to have been influenced by factors like the host's expertise, local relevance, uniqueness, and guest reviews and ratings. Consequently, from June 20, these listings will be removed, including all future reservations. Guests will be refunded for these cancellations.</p>
 <p>The action has raised concerns among operators about the loss of customer reviews and the potential effect on their businesses. Some industry insiders have criticised Airbnb's business strategies, advising operators against relying heavily on a single platform for income.</p>
 
</div>

Airbnb removes tourist experiences from platform after recent 'Icons' launch

Foundation Models

<div>
 <p>Twelve Labs, an AI technology startup, has joined forces with AWS to advance video search functions, equating video searchability to that of text. This collaboration is focused on revolutionising content discovery by providing users with the capability to search for and locate distinct video parts seamlessly. Utilizing cutting-edge AI models for video content analysis, the initiative is on its way to transform the interaction and access of users to multimedia data.</p>
</div>

Twelve Labs partners with AWS to make videos searchable

Empowering Tomorrow's Innovations with Generative AI Infrastructure

Generative AI Infrastructure

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<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

Simplifying the insurance experience for businesses using technology

InsurTech: Commercial Lines

<div>
 
 <p>Allianz and Uber, in association with InsurTech broker Indeez, have launched the Vehicle Interruption Cover (VIC), a digital insurance product for Uber drivers in the UK. This cover falls under the Partners Protection Programme and can be accessed by Uber Pro drivers through a subscription on the Uber driver app.</p>
 <p>This insurance covers drivers' earnings lost when their vehicles are nonoperational. It also offers other benefits like workplace accident cover, medical coverage during injury, sick pay, and support during maternity and paternity leave.</p>
 <p>Allianz Partners and Uber's collaboration spans beyond the UK, covering Uber and Uber Eats partners in 23 European countries. They provide various compensatory payments for income lost due to accidents, injuries, and hospitalizations during trips.</p>
 
</div>

Allianz Partners and Uber partner to launch vehicle interruption cover for UK drivers

<div>
 
 <p>Jove Insurance, a London-based insurance agency, has raised USD 4.4 million in seed funding from Exceptional Ventures, Explorer Investments, and Love Ventures, bringing its total funding to USD 7 million across four rounds. The proceeds will be used to bolster Jove's API-driven insurance solutions and diversify its product offerings, which include business, construction, purchase protection, truck cargo, health, sickness, and personal equipment insurance.</p>
 <p>Employing about 20 people, Jove provides API-driven insurance solutions that can be integrated into third-party apps. In the US, the company trades under the name Jove Technology US and has partnerships with Great American and State National.</p>
 <p>Jove Insurance was established in 2020 as an InsurTech company providing business liability insurance for contractors, self-employed individuals, and SMEs across multiple countries. Jove operates on a subscription-based model, allowing customers to pause their coverage when they are not working. The company primarily offers Professional Indemnity, Public Liability, Employer Liability, and Personal Accident Insurance.</p>
 
</div>

Jove Insurance raises USD 4.4 million in seed funding for product enhancement

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

AI Drug Discovery

<div>
 
 <p>Orakl Oncology, a biotechnology company based in France, has secured EUR 11 million (equivalent to USD 11.6 million) in a seed funding round. The funding was spearheaded by Singular, with contributions from bpifrance and the Grand Prix i-Lab, among other existing investors.</p>
 <p>With the new capital influx, the company plans to speed up its growth and expedite the debut of two new products. These include O-Predict, a tool that anticipates a patient's response to potential drugs, and O-Validate, another tool designed to aid in biomarker validation. The latter also delivers biological evidence to aid in the decision-making process throughout the stages of development.</p>
 <p>The approach of Orakl Oncology involves the integration of cell biology, engineering, and machine learning to hasten the development of cancer drugs. Each patient is provided with a unique tumor avatar that can replicate their real-life reactions to various drugs. These avatars are integrated with large-scale biological and real-world patient data to construct accurate tumor models.</p>
 
</div>

Orakl Oncology raises EUR 11 million in seed funding to commercialize products

<div>
 
 <p>Lantern Pharma, an AI biopharmaceutical company based in Texas, has been granted Fast Track Designation by the FDA for its drug LP-184, meant to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). </p>
 <p>The company had earlier received a similar designation for LP-184 for glioblastoma in <a href="https://ir.lanternpharma.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/163/lantern-pharmas-investigational-drug-candidate-lp-184?"> October 2024 </a>, making this its second designation this year. Currently, the drug is undergoing Phase IA clinical testing. </p>
 <p>LP-184, a synthetically lethal drug, is undergoing trials on different types of solid tumors with assistance from Lantern's AI platform, RADR. Recent data shows that LP-184 may respond effectively to TNBC tumors that are resistant to current treatments. </p>
 
</div>

Lantern Pharma receives second FDA Fast Track Designation for LP-184 oncology candidate

<div>
 
 <p>A collaboration has been announced between Boston-based biotechnology firm, AI Proteins, and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). They aim to develop mini-protein therapeutics with the help of AI Proteins' discovery platform. Beginning with two undisclosed targets, BMS could have the option to license them as well as two additional targets. The agreement could potentially generate up to $400 million in addition to sales royalties.</p>
 <p>As per the agreement, AI Proteins is to use its AI-empowered platform to design mini-proteins for targets specified by BMS. These mini-proteins might provide substantial benefits compared to conventional antibody-based treatments, such as improved tissue infiltration and rapid clearance. The collaboration is set to blend AI Proteins' proficiency in protein engineering with BMS's pharmaceutical development expertise to boost treatment results.</p>
 <p>The focal point of AI Proteins is to develop therapeutic mini-proteins using computational de novo protein design. The company's exclusive AI-driven platform merges synthetic biology with laboratory automation for designing and optimizing new proteins. Its application is intended for the development of cost-effective, durable, and highly specific proteins with unique curative properties, and potential for varying routes of administration.</p>
 
</div>

AI Proteins partners with BMS to develop novel mini-protein-based therapeutics

<div>

 <p>Digital services firm SoftServe, in collaboration with NVIDIA, has launched a new GenAI solution, "Drug Discovery," available via the Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketplace. The solution is designed to expedite and cheapen the process of drug development.</p>
 <p>The Drug Discovery tool, built on NVIDIA BioNeMo Blueprints, aids researchers and pharmaceutical companies in creating new drug candidates through molecular screening. It combines NVIDIA NIM microservices and virtual screening technologies with SoftServe's custom molecular generator.</p>
 <p>SoftServe is a software development company skilled in digital transformation solutions. It provides various technologies including digital engineering, data and analytics, cloud computing, and AI/ML.</p>
 
</div>

SoftServe introduces GenAI drug discovery solution with NVIDIA

Leveraging personal data for custom-fit diagnosis and treatment

Precision Medicine

<div>
 
 <p>Biopharmaceutical firm, Maze Therapeutics, has secured USD 115 million in a Series D funding round. The funding round was co-led by Frazier Life Sciences and Deep Track Capital. Other participants included Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, and existing investors Third Rock Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, GV, and Andreessen Horowitz.</p>
  
 <p>The newly raised funds will be utilized towards developing the company's lead programmes, MZE829 and MZE782. The company plans to launch a Phase II trial by Q1 2025 and expects data from the Phase I trial in the second half of the following year.</p>
 
 <p>Maze Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that leverages human genetics and functional genomics to develop precision medicines. It operates the proprietary Compass platform which merges human genetics data from various sources with functional genomics tools and data science technology. This fusion aids in identifying pharmacologically relevant gene-disease associations and determining mechanistic bases. The company's pipeline includes MZE782, a first-in-class oral small molecule targeting SLC6A19 for chronic kidney disease, and MZE001, an oral glycogen synthase one (GYS1) inhibitor for Pompe disease.</p>

</div>

All Updates

Airbnb removes tourist experiences from platform after recent 'Icons' launch

Twelve Labs partners with AWS to make videos searchable

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

AWS launches Automated Reasoning checks to combat AI hallucinations

Allianz Partners and Uber partner to launch vehicle interruption cover for UK drivers

Jove Insurance raises USD 4.4 million in seed funding for product enhancement

Orakl Oncology raises EUR 11 million in seed funding to commercialize products

Lantern Pharma receives second FDA Fast Track Designation for LP-184 oncology candidate

AI Proteins partners with BMS to develop novel mini-protein-based therapeutics

SoftServe introduces GenAI drug discovery solution with NVIDIA

Maze Therapeutics raises USD 115 million in Series D funding to develop pipeline programs

Travel Tech

Airbnb removes tourist experiences from platform after recent 'Icons' launch

Contact us