🖥️ Tech Futures #4

Happy Monday 👋

Increasingly, 6G development is on the horizon as the U.S., Sweden, and South Korea lead the charge. Oracle's integration of AT&T’s IoT connectivity intends to improve on cybersecurity, while Nokia and Swisscom Broadcast's drone initiative showcases 5G's potential. In AI, California's partnership with NVIDIA boosts training, NXAI is developing a closed source xLSTM model, and Palantir and Microsoft push AI in U.S. defense. Quantum tech also makes strides with the launch of QuINSA, Ooredoo’s investment in Qatar’s quantum communication testbed, and SandboxAQ’s collaboration with Nvidia for advanced chemical simulations.

🌐 IoT & Networking

📶 Governments, operators, and vendors are collaborating on 6G, targeting 2030 commercialization. The U.S. partnered with Sweden with multiple agreements, focusing on early R&D, AI integration, and workforce development, while KT and LG in South Korea focused on full-duplex communication, AI integration, and global standardization to lead in 6G development.

🔗 Oracle is integrating AT&T's cellular IoT connectivity into its Enterprise Communications Platform (ECP). This will simplify IoT device deployment, and this all-in-one platform supports secure communications for public safety and enables innovation across various industries using AT&T-connected IoT solutions.

📡 Nokia and Swisscom Broadcast have partnered to deploy 300 drones for emergency and industrial services. This marks a significant step for 5G-driven Industry 4.0. The deal exemplifies how telecoms can leverage public 5G infrastructure to offer digitized services, signaling a new era for enterprise value creation.

🤖 AI Tech

🤓 California is partnering with NVIDIA to enhance AI training for community college students, educators, and workers. The initiative, supported by AI labs, curriculum, and certifications, aims to grow the economy, create jobs, and promote innovation across the state.

🖥️ NXAI is developing a 7 billion parameter AI model based on xLSTM technology. This aims to surpass Transformer models in industrial applications. The model won't be open-source, focusing instead on high performance, efficiency, and broad industry use.

🧠 Palantir and Microsoft have partnered to integrate advanced AI services into classified US defense networks using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service. This collaboration could revolutionize AI in national security, reflecting Palantir’s growth in the AI sector and raising ethical concerns about AI's role in surveillance and defense.

⚛️ Quantum Tech

🔗 The Ministry of Science and ICT launched QuINSA, a global standardizing organization for quantum information technology. This  involves participation from 107 Korean companies and 18 international firms. The initiative aims to accelerate the quantum industry’s ecosystem and promote industrial use through industry-focused standardization efforts.

💵 Ooredoo is investing $751K in Qatar’s first quantum communication testbed at HBKU’s Qatar Centre for Quantum Computing. This project aims to secure national communication infrastructure, position Qatar as a regional quantum technology leader, and stimulate local economic growth.

🧪 SandboxAQ, originally an Alphabet project, is now leading in quantum and AI innovations, particularly in computational chemistry. Partnering with Nvidia, they've developed Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and leveraged Nvidia’s Quantum platform to improve accuracy in AI-driven chemical simulations.

💰 Deals of the Week

🏠 DevRev, a technology company based in Palo Alto, California raised $100M Series A funding round. The company is to operations and its development efforts.

🔧 Mechanical Orchard, a US-based company devops and extreme programming practitioner raised $50M in Series B funding. They plan to transition legacy IT systems to modern, cloud-based applications.

📱 Black Forest Labs, a startup challenging OpenAI and Midjourney in the AI space, raised $31M in venture funding intended to compete with the industry's major competitors by using text-to-image and text-to-video methods.

🖥️ Veefin Group acquired Nityo Tech India, an IT services company, for an undisclosed amount to increase the scope of its digital offerings in the BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) industry.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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