XSOLLA FOUNDER SHARES METAVERSE VISION IN ONCE UPON TOMORROW BOOK

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- Xsolla founder, Shurick Agapitov, has unveiled his groundbreaking new book titled 'Once Upon Tomorrow', offering a transformative and aspirational vision of the Metaverse, contrasting markedly with mainstream narratives.

A visionary author, Agapitov's book is a thought-provoking journey into the possibilities and potential of the Metaverse, providing a unique perspective diverging from the views often presented at industry conferences and by technology chief executive officers (CEOs).

Agapitov said this book is his invitation to creators, thinkers, and dreamers worldwide to join in shaping a future where technology amplifies human potential and fosters a world of limitless possibilities.

“In 'Once Upon Tomorrow', I present a vision of the Metaverse as a vast, inclusive, and transformative space. It is not just a digital frontier but a realm where creativity, innovation, and empowerment converge.

“The Metaverse, as I see it, is not about control or confinement but about unleashing the collective creativity and entrepreneurial spirit inherent in all of us,” he said in a statement.

The book delves into the untapped potential of the Metaverse, highlighting its capacity to unite emerging and legacy brands, create unforgettable consumer experiences, and enrich cultures globally.

An acclaimed author, Agapitov emphasises the Metaverse's role in democratising opportunities and equal access to cutting-edge technologies, in which his vision extends beyond mere technological innovation, underscoring the Metaverse's potential to empower and reward content creators globally.

The book also highlights the significant impact of the Metaverse on education, offering hope and opportunities for both children and adults worldwide.

'Once Upon Tomorrow' is more than just a book about the Metaverse; it is a roadmap to a future where technology serves humanity in all its diversity, fostering financial, social, and creative inclusivity.

It also explores the potential impact of the Metaverse on business-to-business sectors, education, city planning, inter-government relations, and non-profit efforts as well as a visionary piece that invites readers to rethink the Metaverse and its limitless potential.

-- BERNAMA

ANAQUA PARTNERS ANYGEN AI TO PROVIDE AI SOLUTIONS TO IP MARKET

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Bernama) - Anaqua, the global innovation and intellectual property (IP) management technology provider, announced a strategic partnership with pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) application infrastructure company AnyGen AI to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions to the IP market, including industry standard large language models.

According to Anaqua in a statement, under the agreement, AnyGen AI will leverage its proprietary AI technology to build IP solutions tailored to specific use cases for Anaqua clients.

The initial focus of the collaboration between Anaqua and AnyGen AI is an auto-classifier specifically designed for patents, in which this new capability, securely maintained for each client, empowers patent holders to efficiently and consistently classify their patent portfolio.

"We are excited to partner with AnyGen AI, combining their unique AI capabilities with our domain expertise in IP management to jointly develop the new patent auto-classifier and other IP tools that will bring tangible benefits to our clients in their day-to-day work.

"AnyGen AI's expertise and experience in both analytic and generative AI are a powerful addition to Anaqua's IP offerings, enabling us to transform how our clients organise and leverage their intellectual property," said Anaqua Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bob Romeo.

Meanwhile, AnyGen AI CEO Suresh Vallabhaneni said: "Anaqua has an impressive history of innovation, and we are honoured they chose us to support them in delivering AI solutions to their clients.

"The patent auto-classifier will increase efficiencies, improve consistency, and lower costs, allowing Anaqua clients to analyse competitive patents from the point of view of their private patent taxonomies."

The patent auto-classifier marks a significant leap forward in Anaquas commitment innovation in utilising AI technology to help clients streamline their IP workflows. Afte development and joint testing with a set of anchor clients, the patent classifier is now bein offered in general release.

By integrating AnyGen AI's solution into Anaqua's AQX and PATTSY WAVE IPMS platforms ar leveraging the AcclaimiP patent analytics software and datasets, Anaqua aims to help its client accelerate research and development, simplify prior art searches, improve competitive analysis, and identify new monetisation opportunities from their IP.

--BERNAMA

JTB TO SPONSOR MLB’S WORLD TOUR VIA INTERNATIONAL DEAL

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- Japan’s travel agency, JTB Corp announced a new multi-year international partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), making JTB an official sponsor of MLB’s World Tour.

According to JTB in a statement, as part of the new multi-national business arrangement, the travel agency will offer exclusive international hospitality packages for the season-opening Seoul Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

The two-game series at Seoul’s Gocheok SkyDome from March 20 to 21 marks the regular season Dodgers debuts of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“Last year we experienced a dramatic rise in demand for travel and events around the world as we finally moved beyond most challenges caused by the pandemic and now we clearly see that the market needs for real and exciting experiences are very strong,” said JTB President & Chief Executive Officer, Eijiro Yamakita.

Meanwhile, MLB Deputy Commissioner, Business & Media, Noah Garden said: “With MLB’s growing international popularity over the last decade, we have continually focused on developing and growing the game abroad. We believe JTB can provide that vital support and we look forward to working closely together on the World Tour.”

As an official partner of the MLB World Tour, JTB will also be offering access for fans worldwide, outside the United States (US), to select VIP ticket and hospitality packages to World Tour events including the Seoul Series and London Series.

Furthermore, JTB will provide tickets to MLB regular season games to fans based in Asia as part of hospitality packages that also include travel to and accommodations in the US.

A Tokyo-based international operation, JTB opened its New York office 60 years ago and has handled a large number of overseas trips along with the liberalisation of overseas travel in Japan, having steadfastly maintained its position as a leading travel agency in Asia.

-- BERNAMA

JESS AU JOINS BHSI AS HEAD OF GENERAL PROPERTY IN ASIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced the appointment of Jess Au as Head of General Property in Asia.

Based in Singapore, Jess Au succeeds Ophelia Szeto who is retiring from the role after nearly a decade with the company, according to BHSI in a statement.

“Jess takes the reins of our general property portfolio with more than 20 years of experience in Asia. I look forward to working with her as we continue to build and expand BHSI’s long-term relationships in the region.

“I also want to thank Ophelia for her work and her dedication in establishing our commercial property presence in Asia and we wish her success in her next endeavours,” said BHSI Regional President, Asia Middle East, Marc Breuil.

Au brings with her a wealth of technical experience and market knowledge across Asia. Prior to joining BHSI, she held several regional managing & underwriting positions in the Singapore market, where she was most recently Regional Property Facultative Lead.

She graduated from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), majoring in Insurance.

In Asia, BHSI provides general property coverage for a wide range of classes, including manufacturing, infrastructure, and real estate, as well as stand-alone natural catastrophe coverage.

-- BERNAMA

NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS ACQUIRES MINORITY STAKE IN INDIA’S WIZ FREIGHT

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express Holdings Inc has acquired a minority equity stake in Wiz Freight (Wiz), a digital forwarding service provider in India, on Jan 12 as its third investment made via the NX Global Innovation Fund, a corporate venture capital (CVC) fund established in January last year.

It is expected that international logistics operations will become more digitised as a result of major challenges the industry has faced in recent years, including the increasing complexity of supply chain and the standardisation/streamlining of trade operations brought about by the expansion of global transactions.

According to a statement, the Nippon Express (NX) Group has been pursuing digital transformation (DX) and, in July of last year, it has launched e-NX Quote and e-NX Visibility, both digital forwarding services that enable online quotation and tracking.

To further promote DX, the group has been actively exploring the use of external resources, including collaborations with startup companies in Japan and overseas, as one solution.

By investing in Wiz which is a company strong in digital forwarding services in India and other emerging markets, the NX Group will bolster its own global forwarding business and accelerate its DX initiatives.

Founded in India in 2020, Wiz addresses rapidly growing needs for digital cross-border supply chain services in emerging countries and has more than 900 employees working at over 25 offices in six countries/regions.

The NX Group will continue co-creating new business values with promising startups by leveraging its domestic and international networks to achieve business growth.

-- BERNAMA

SAMBANOVA SUITE DEPLOYED BY ANALOG DEVICES TO SPEARHEAD GLOBAL AI TRANSFORMATION

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- SambaNova Systems and global semiconductor leader, Analog Devices Inc (ADI), announced that ADI has deployed SambaNova Suite to spearhead its global artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, making AI pervasive enterprise-wide.

“Our efforts with ADI reinforce our vision that a complete software and hardware AI stack is the right answer for today’s enterprise. This is true market validation of our product direction,” said SambaNova Systems Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rodrigo Liang in a statement.

Meanwhile, ADI Chief Technology Officer, Alan Lee said ADI is synonymous with innovation, and it has a legacy of technology leadership in bridging its physical and digital worlds for the benefit of the planet and its people.

“We are working with SambaNova Systems, pioneers of cutting-edge AI solutions, to rapidly deploy their enterprise-scale generative AI platform toward enabling our customers’ success,” he said.

As part of the initial deployment, ADI will leverage the SambaNova Suite to accelerate field sales and customer enablement across its business.

For example, ADI plans to leverage the technology to streamline access to its extensive data sheets, helping inform recommendations in the field, and deepen its customer connections.

Delivered on-premises or in the cloud, the SambaNova Suite is a fully integrated platform offering state-of-the-art open-source models, which can be fine-tuned using customer data for greater accuracy.

Customers retain model ownership in perpetuity, so they can turn generative AI into one of their most valuable assets.

Makers of the only purpose-built, full-stack AI platform, SambaNova’s was founded in 2017 by industry luminaries, and hardware and software design experts from Sun/Oracle and Stanford University.

-- BERNAMA

EMGA SECURES US$30 MLN SENIOR DEBT FINANCE FOR SRI LANKA'S CDB

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Emerging Markets Global Advisory LLP (EMGA), an investment bank specialising in emerging markets, has successfully secured a commitment for US$30.0 million in senior debt finance for Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) based in Sri Lanka. (US$1=RM4.63)

In a statement, EMGA said it originated, structured and negotiated this financing arrangement, with the financial support provided by the United States (US) International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Its Head of Investment Banking, Sajeev Chakkalakal said despite the challenges the firm faced, it is delighted to have delivered again an innovative funding solution for CDB.

“We believe this marks a significant milestone, in being the first external funding commitment secured for a Sri Lankan NBFI in several years. It will also allow for CDB to continue to support SMEs, including female-owned enterprises, as well as the renewable energy sector in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, DFC Deputy Vice President of the Office of Development Credit, Maryam Khosharay said:  “We are very glad to continue DFC’s commitment to bolstering investments in Sri Lanka especially those advancing financing for women and green assets in times of economic difficulty and high energy prices.”

Commenting on the transaction, CDB Director Corporate Finance, Roshan Abeygoonewardena opined that CDB has been continually strengthening the bottom of the pyramid as an overarching ethos of its sustainability agenda.

“Prioritising women’s empowerment in our business model with access to finance which in turn will spur financial independence and inclusivity will be the panacea in adding fillip to Sri Lanka’s development and economic agenda,” Abeygoonewardena added.

Based in London and New York, EMGA helps financial institutions and corporates seeking new debt or equity capital. Its multi-national team combine the decades of experience necessary to complete transactions within most emerging countries, including Sri Lanka.

-- BERNAMA