Fintech infrastructure platform Synctera launches embedded banking in Canada
Synctera's embedded banking platform launch comes nine months after the company landed a $15 million financing from the National Bank of Canada.
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Synctera raises $15M to help companies launch embedded banking products in Canada - Techcrunch
After getting its start in the United States, banking as a service (BaaS) platform Synctera has launched in Canada.
The platform allows organizations of various sizes, from small FinTech startups to major brands, to develop FinTech apps and embedded banking products — including bank accounts, card programs and lending — that are compliant with Canadian payments and banking regulations.
According to Synctera’s Drew Olanoff, the startup is now closing deals with an average annual contract value of $500,000 USD.
The Canadian platform will launch with bank account, card, and electronic fund transfer functionalities, with more features like bill payment planned for the future.
“We’ve had this aspiration for a really long time, effectively since we started the company,” Kris Hansen, Synctera’s co-founder and chief technology officer, told BetaKit in an interview.
Synctera was founded in 2020 by Peter Hazlehurst, former lead of Google Wallet and Uber Money, Hansen, former chief technology officer of Koho and Portag3 Ventures, and Dominik Weisserth.
Despite its Canadian-majority engineering team, the company initially launched its two-way marketplace in the US in 2021. Hansen said it was partly due to the country’s size and ultra-competitive banking industry, which has thousands of regional and community banks in addition to major financial institutions, and partly due to the regulatory complexity for Canadian FinTechs.
Fifty companies use Synctera in the U.S., including TipHaus, Float, Firstcard, Exo Freight, Waya and BTG, Latin America’s largest investment bank, and the company said it is launching between two to four more into production every month. Drew Olanoff, Synctera’s head of communications, said the company is now closing deals with an average annual contract value of $500,000 USD, and its biggest deals between $2 million and $3 million USD.
The company first revealed plans to expand to Canada in March, when it announced National Bank as its banking partner in Canada and a $15-million funding round from the bank’s corporate venture arm, NAventures, with participation from The Banc Funds, Veritex Community Bank, Midland States Bank and Emigrant Bank.
Hansen said Synctera began plotting its expansion after its Canadian employees saw the unique offerings being launched through the platform and weren’t able to try them out themselves.
“Friends in the engineering team and I would talk about solutions launching in the U.S. and a lot were really cool — ‘oh, I’d use that, that would be fun, boy I’d like to test that,’” he said. “We just started wondering what it would take to do this, and we had people imploring us to come to Canada.”
Hansen admitted the move was “daunting” to contemplate given the regulatory landscape Canadian FinTech startups need to navigate to launch compliant products.
Lisa Durnford, Synctera’s head of compliance in Canada, said the company sees itself as a “compliance starter pack” for FinTech customers, with embedded compliance solutions for navigating know-your-client, know-your-business, fraud and anti-money laundering requirements. It was the result of “collaborative conversations” with National Bank’s compliance teams to find ways to address common regulatory hurdles.
“It’s a known challenge in Canada that once you’re regulated as a money service business, or soon a payment service provider, it’s almost seen as a downside or a challenge, or often it’s so prohibitive that companies start to build in Canada and launch in the U.S. first,” said Durnford, who joined Synctera from Wealthsimple, where she was the company’s director of compliance and product risk.
“For a long time I found that to be so frustrating,” she said. “Businesses have great ideas and launch awesome products here and have a vision for what they want to build, but face challenges accessing banking, and the regulatory requirements are an upfront hurdle.”
Money service businesses (MSBs) are regulated by FINTRAC. She said it’s a broad category under anti-money laundering legislation that covers a wide variety of businesses. Because some types of money movement are considered high risk, there’s a perception that all such regulated businesses are risky. Synctera itself is regulated as an MSB.
“The most frustrating response, when you’re looking to build something and need a partner, is that it feels too risky and they’re not able to support it,” she said. “There’s something exciting about being able to embrace the money service business category and dig into what the risks are, how to manage them effectively and build a seamless path forward.”
Elena Litani, Synctera’s product lead for Canada, said that without a platform like Synctera’s, FinTechs often have to “piecemeal” a solution when building a new product for customers — finding a banking partner, establishing a relationship with a credit card provider, and figuring out the compliance process on their own. Litani said she struggled with that very problem when she co-founded FinTech startup Pillar, which shut down in April.
“It’s chilling for small businesses,” she said. “It’s very difficult to find partners — some have parts of [what you need] but none of them have everything.”
The platform is the same in both the U.S. and Canada, Hansen said, just with different back-end banking partners — creating a “relatively straightforward path” for U.S. companies to expand to Canada.
Synctera’s first Canadian customer, Toronto-based card program provider Yariex, is set to launch in the coming weeks. Yariex focuses on specialized cards for niche markets, including white-label cards and cards for non-governmental organizations. It is also working on a card program specifically for parents to give their children allowances. The company’s card programs allow the purchaser to put restrictions on the use of the card, as well as access to analytics on how money is being spent.
FinTech startups need to have a bank sponsor in order to issue cards. Vahid Abolhassani, co-founder and chief operating officer of Yariex, told BetaKit in an interview that with the National Bank partnership through Synctera, Yariex may be the first FinTech to be sponsored by one of the big six banks.
Yariex’s first offering — prepaid cards for Food Banks Canada that the charitable organization can distribute to its members to take the pressure off their grocery bills — is rolling out in January.
Abolhassani said Synctera did “a lot of the heavy lifting” to help the company navigate the bank’s compliance requirements and tailor them to the specialized nature of the card program, as well as with product testing to ensure the cards work once they’re out in the world.
Hansen said as Synctera has grown in the U.S., it’s been “pleasantly surprised” by the solutions that customers have created with its API “building blocks.” While he said the company’s target use case when it launched was supporting retail-focused FinTechs and challenger banks, he said customers have started to build commercial applications — including commercial banking solutions for purchasing buildings, supply chain finance and manufacturing companies creating account structures to help customers buy, move and distribute their products.
More open infrastructure in the U.S., and in particular the launch of the FedNow real-time rails over the summer, has allowed Synctera to build its offerings to those specifications, and for its customers to rethink their business dynamics, Hansen said.
In its fall economic statement, the federal government announced plans to introduce long-awaited legislation to implement consumer-directed finance — also known as open banking — in Budget 2024, and committed to amend the Canadian Payments Act to expand membership eligibility for Payments Canada, which is charged with delivering the real-time rail.
But Hansen said he believes the lack of open infrastructure to date “in general hampers innovation. … In Canada, in general, the mood around the real-time rail is we’ll see, but no one is building to it yet. It seems a bit more precarious. For FinTech V2, there’s not as much visioning around the art of the possible.”
Durnford said the company is aiming to enable more competition and innovation in the country. “Every company building in the space will benefit from continued conversation.”
ClearBank and LemFi partner to solve international payments challenges for immigrants
ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking for financial institutions, today announced its partnership with LemFi, a leading fintech platform transforming financial services for immigrants.
After finding that a sizable segment of the immigrant population was underbanked, LemFi was established to provide financial services for this demographic. Originally focused on offering payment services for the African diaspora in North America and Europe, last year, the payments company acquired Rightcard Payment Services in the UK, which holds an EMI license, allowing it to provide its customers with e-wallets. This year, LemFi raised $33 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital. LemFi has now expanded its mission to build the future of international payments for everyone.
ClearBank is providing LemFi with agency banking services, powering its e-wallet offering in the UK to provide African immigrants with an alternative to traditional banking. LemFi selected ClearBank as its agency banking partner due to its reputation for facilitating robust payments and advanced banking infrastructure which supports local virtual accounts and access to secure UK payment rails.
“At LemFi, our mission has always been to make financial services accessible to everyone. By partnering with ClearBank, and leveraging its technology and banking licence, we are building a proposition that improves the quality and accessibility of financial services for emerging market immigrants. We are delighted with our relationship so far and as we continue to grow, we’re looking forward to expanding the relationship even further.” said LemFi CEO, Ridwan Olalere
The partnership has gone from strength to strength, with payment volumes up to 550,000 transactions in September 2023. This is in addition to 37,000 virtual accounts held with ClearBank for its e-wallet offering, with customer numbers continuing to grow each month.
“We’re excited about enabling LemFi to deliver on its mission through flexible, secure and compliant banking infrastructure. ClearBank is dedicated to partnering with organisations which make banking services more accessible, particularly to previously underserved populations. We’re thrilled to continue and expand our work with LemFi, not just as a business venture but as an opportunity to serve markets considered hard to reach.” - Chief Customer Officer John Salter
Cyber security leader Upfort partners with Arch Insurance to expand access to Cyber Insurance
Another big step forward from Upfort as they build they leading cyber security and insurance platform for SMBs. The partnership will focus on offering businesses security tools to make cyber insurance programs more sustainable.
Upfort, a cutting-edge cyber security and insurance platform, and Arch Insurance (Arch), a global provider of specialty risk insurance solutions and leading cyber insurance underwriter, today announced a strategic partnership to transform cyber insurance programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), associations and risk pools.
“At Arch Insurance, we’ve been thoughtfully growing our cyber brand to meet the needs of our customer base”
With cyber insurance premiums expected to grow by 20 percent year-over-year until 2025, more market segments need to access coverage to protect against evolving cyber risks.
“We’re excited to join forces with Arch Insurance to revolutionize how cyber insurance is bought and sold,” said Josh Riley, Managing Director of Upfort. “By integrating our technology with Arch’s industry-leading insurance solutions, we’re accelerating the world’s journey toward cyber resilience. We are proud to be the partner of choice for Arch to expand its cyber offering.”
Upfort and Arch will work with brokers to develop group programs prioritizing broad insurance coverage, competitive pricing, embedded security solutions and a seamless digital experience. This will allow insurance agents and brokers to promote cyber resiliency at scale, in addition to fostering more meaningful and productive connections with clients and prospects.
Amid changing market conditions, Upfort empowers brokers to serve organizations that have traditionally been harder to insure, particularly in recent years. Combining powerful loss control and automated underwriting with a user-friendly, low-touch process, Upfort allows Arch’s brokers to efficiently meet the needs of these businesses.
“At Arch Insurance, we’ve been thoughtfully growing our cyber brand to meet the needs of our customer base,” said Jamie Schibuk, Executive Vice President, Professional Liability and Cyber at Arch Insurance. “Partnering with Upfort equips us with the tools to deliver a sophisticated solution that combines the financial strength and experienced incident response services we provide with the powerful yet practical security solutions that Upfort has to offer. With Upfort, we’re well positioned to lead the pack in the fastest-growing commercial insurance line of business in history.”
Upfort is taking cyber resilience a step further and is the first to embed cyber security solutions within every Upfort program policy at no additional cost to the insured or broker.
Today’s partnership announcement is the latest development amid a series of company milestones for Upfort. Earlier this year, Upfort announced its transition from Paladin Cyber to Upfort and the company’s Series A funding round.
To learn more about Upfort, visit upfort.com.
To learn more about Arch Insurance’s Cyber product offerings, visit https://insurance.archgroup.com/north-america/united-states/offering/cyber/.
About Upfort
Upfort is a leading platform for cyber security and insurance that provides holistic protection from evolving cyber threats. Founded in 2017 to expand global access to cyber resilience, Upfort makes cyber risk easy to manage and simple to insure. Upfort delivers turnkey security proven to proactively mitigate risk and comprehensive cyber insurance from leading insurers. With proprietary data and intelligent automation, Upfort’s AI anticipates risk and streamlines mitigation for hassle-free underwriting. Insurers, brokers, and risk advisors partner with Upfort to offer clients resilience and peace of mind against cyber threats. In 2023, Upfort won the coveted Fortress Cybersecurity Award from Business Intelligence Group and was recognized as Top Infosec Innovator by Cyber Defense Magazine. To learn more about Upfort, visit upfort.com.
About Arch Insurance North America
Arch Insurance North America, part of Arch Capital Group Ltd., includes Arch’s insurance operations in the United States and Canada. Business in the U.S. is written by Arch Insurance Company, Arch Specialty Insurance Company, Arch Property & Casualty Insurance Company and Arch Indemnity Insurance Company. Business in Canada is written by Arch Insurance Canada Ltd.
About Arch Capital Group Ltd.
Arch Capital Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACGL) is a publicly listed Bermuda exempted company with approximately $18.0 billion in capital at September 30, 2023. Arch, which is part of the S&P 500 Index, provides insurance, reinsurance and mortgage insurance on a worldwide basis through its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Contacts
Media Contacts:
Christina Levin
Caliber Corporate Advisers
upfort@calibercorporate.com
Stephanie Perez
Arch Capital Services, LLC
stperez@archgroup.com
Collective Audience NASDAQ:CAUD appoints digital advertising and media executive, Elisabeth Demarse to the Board of Directors
Collective Audience which recently listed on the Nasdaq: CAUD, a leading provider of audience-based performance advertising and media solutions, has appointed Elisabeth DeMarse as an independent member of its board of directors, and Chair of the compensation committee.
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“We welcome Elisabeth’s extensive executive and board experience at both private and public companies,” stated Suen. “Her more than a decade of experience as chief marketing officer at Bloomberg as well as having served as president and CEO of TheStreet makes Elisabeth a tremendous asset to our management team. She has helped transform and grow several companies, including AppNexus which was acquired by AT&T for $1.7 billion. She joins us at an opportune time as we pursue a number of prospective acquisitions, and we look forward to her guidance and insights as we take Collective Audience to the next level.”
DeMarse commented: “The digital advertising industry is primed for great change, and I see Collective Audience as well-positioned to disrupt the market with its digital advertising platform that uniquely eliminates inefficiencies from the digital ad buyer and seller process. Now as a Nasdaq company, it can leverage this stronger position to pursue strategic accretive acquisitions that complement its leading-edge technology and accelerate its growth.”
Elisabeth DeMarse Bio11
For more than 35 years, DeMarse has served on the board and in executive positions on several digital media and technology companies. She previously served as president, CEO, and chairman of the board of TheStreet (NASDAQ: TST), where she notably diversified the company from a B2C ad supported, retail stock picking business into a global B2B M&A, data, and news organization. Founded by Martin Peretz and Jim Cramer in 1996, TheStreet distinguished itself from other financial media companies with its journalistic excellence, unbiased approach, and interactive multimedia coverage of the financial markets, economy, industry trends, investment, and financial planning.
Earlier, DeMarse was CEO and president of CreditCards.com, which she created by consolidating numerous assets around the world, and eventually selling the company to Bankrate in 2010 for $145 million.
DeMarse also transformed iLife.com into Bankrate, engineering the turnaround of the company, driving exponential growth, and creating $450 million in shareholder value.
She spent a decade as chief marketing officer for Bloomberg, working directly for the founder, Michael Bloomberg, and was instrumental in the formation of several media properties.
DeMarse serves as a limited partner of Tritium Partners, a private equity firm focused on buyouts of growth companies in the lower middle market, with a focus on internet and information services, asset-light supply chain and logistics, and differentiated financial and business services.
She is also a limited partner at Kimbark, a family limited partnership that owns and operates commercial real estate. Earlier, she served as CEO and on the board of Newser, an American news aggregation website.
- Kubient (Nasdaq: KBNT), a cloud advertising platform.
- AppNexus, a global technology company with a cloud-based software platform powers and optimizes the programmatic sale and purchase of programmatic advertising. She also served on its compensation committee until it was acquired by AT&T for $1.7 billion.
- ZipRealty, a Nasdaq-traded company and provider of solutions that empower real estate experts to thrive. She also served on the company’s compensation and audit committees until it was acquired by Realogy.
- All Star Directories, an independent, employee-owned marketing and technology company focused on helping individuals advance their careers and improve their lives through education.
- Internet Patents Corporation, a former Nasdaq-traded company and an operator of a patent licensing business focused on its e-commerce technologies. She also served on the company’s audit and governance committees.
- InsWeb (acquired by Bankrate), an online insurance marketplace designed to allow consumers to compare insurance products and rate quotes from a variety of providers. She also served on the company’s audit and governance committees.
- EDGAR-Online, a division of OTC Markets Group and a premium supplier of real-time SEC regulatory data and financial analytics. She also served on the company’s compensation and audit committees.
- Heska (acquired by Mars), a former Nasdaq-traded company and a purpose-driven business, supporting veterinary professionals globally. She also served on the company’s audit committee.
DeMarse previously served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Austin Ventures, where she worked together via DeMarseCo. The company’s thesis is to provide growth equity for buyouts, spinouts, recaps rollups and acquisitions in the consumer internet sector. Its acquisitions have included AllStarDirectories, ClickSuccess and Freedom Marketing.
DeMarse has received numerous awards, including Working Mother of the Year, Folio’s Top Women in Media, Dealmaker of the Year, Most Intriguing Person in Media, Girls Scouts Woman of the Year, NOW Woman of Power and Influence, Fast Company 50, Inc. 500 and ACG Award for Outstanding Corporate Growth.
DeMarse received her AB in History from Wellesley College and MBA from Harvard Business School.
About Collective Audience
Collective Audience is a U.S.-based provider of e-commerce and digital customer acquisition solutions that simplifies digital advertising. It provides data-driven, end-to-end marketing through its results solutions or access to data for activating campaigns across multiple channels.
The company’s digital marketing business includes a holistic, self-serve AdTech platform, a proprietary data-driven, AI-powered system that enables brands and agencies to advertise across thousands of the world’s leading digital media and connected TV platforms.
To learn more, visit collectiveaudience.co.
Investor Contact:
Ron Both
CMA Investor Relations
Tel (949) 432-7566
Email contact
Media Contact:
Tim Randall
CMA Media Relations
Tel (949) 432-7572
Email contact
Innovative cyber security and insurance platform Upfort closes $8m Series A to scale
We couldn't be more excited to be a part of Upforts journey and close their Series A to accelerate their platform. They have cracked the AI, data-driven code to build a highly scalable cyber security married with a cyber insurance product offering.
Upfort, a pioneering cyber security and insurance platform, has raised a substantial $8m in a recent Series A funding round. Funding propels Upfort’s efforts to empower businesses in building cyber resilience.
The round was spearheaded by SYN Ventures and saw significant contributions from Eniac Ventures and Fika Ventures. Notably, the latter two had co-led Upfort’s seed round.
Upfort, a cutting-edge cyber security and insurance platform, today announced it has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by SYN Ventures, with participation of Eniac Ventures and Fika Ventures, which co-led Upfort’s seed round. This investment advances Upfort’s goal to simplify the way brokers and insurers sell insurance and shield their clients from cyber threats – a trillion dollar drain on the economy, with ransomware attacks alone affecting 66% of organizations in 2022.
Upfort revolutionizes how cyber risk is assessed and managed, empowering insurers and brokers to dramatically reduce their clients’ exposure to cyber attacks. In fact, in a recent 18-month study of a leading cyber insurance program, policyholders that fully implemented Upfort Shield saw significantly fewer security breaches and claims, with the likelihood of filing a claim decreasing by 80%. Upfort allows organizations to fully address their cyber security needs–from risk management tools to insurance policies–through one easy-to-use platform.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support of all of our investors, including SYN Ventures, as we fundamentally transform the economics of cyber risk. Today’s announcement is a testament to their trust and support of our work to bolster cyber resilience for companies worldwide.”
“Upfort was founded as a comprehensive cyber platform to safeguard businesses against evolving threats and new risks. The new investment will enable us to build on these efforts as we continue our mission of accelerating the world’s journey toward cyber resilience,” said Xing Xin, Upfort CEO and Co-Founder. “We are grateful for the ongoing support of all of our investors, including SYN Ventures, as we fundamentally transform the economics of cyber risk. Today’s announcement is a testament to their trust and support of our work to bolster cyber resilience for companies worldwide.”
Businesses can leverage the best in modern cyber protection by partnering with Upfort, and there are a myriad of benefits to them, including transforming a historically cumbersome and costly process: cyber insurance underwriting. Upfort’s proprietary cybersecurity technology streamlines the cyber insurance purchase and underwriting process for brokers, insurers and their clients. These offerings holistically protect organizations against the leading causes of cyber claims. Upfort’s AI-powered email protection, network defense, security training, and ongoing monitoring are trained on and tuned to prevent incidents causing widespread financial damage to businesses.
“At SYN Ventures, we wholeheartedly believe in the Upfort team’s vision–and ability–to transform the way businesses approach cyber security protection and resilience overall,” said Ryan Permeh, Operating Partner at SYN Ventures. “In an age of rising cybercrime, Upfort equips organizations with the tools they need to protect themselves against the threat of cyberattacks, prevent losses, and analyze risk more intelligently. We are excited to spearhead the Series A funding round for Upfort - can’t wait to see all it does next.”
The Series A fund was led by SYN Ventures, with additional participation from Eniac Ventures, Fika Ventures, Altai Ventures, Chaos Ventures, Aquila Capital Partners, Gaingels and Cyber Mentor Fund.
Today’s announcement comes amid a series of pivotal developments and company milestones for Upfort. Last month, Upfort announced its transition from Paladin Cyber to Upfort, reflecting the company’s expanded capabilities as a one-stop shop for businesses’ cyber security and insurance needs. To learn more about Upfort, visit upfort.com.
About Upfort
Upfort is a leading platform for cyber security and insurance that provides holistic protection from evolving cyber threats. Founded in 2017 to expand global access to cyber resilience, Upfort makes cyber risk easy to manage and simple to insure. Upfort delivers turnkey security proven to proactively mitigate risk and comprehensive cyber insurance from leading insurers. With proprietary data and intelligent automation, Upfort’s AI anticipates risk and streamlines mitigation for hassle-free underwriting. Insurers, brokers, and risk advisors partner with Upfort to offer clients resilience and peace of mind against cyber threats. To learn more about Upfort, visit upfort.com.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Christina Levin
Caliber Corporate Advisers
upfort@calibercorporate.com
Lynk Global and bmobile Solomon Islands launch Sat2Phone service for bmobile subscribers
bmobile is 3rd mobile network operator in the world to begin sat2phone services
Lynk Global, the world’s leading sat2phone telecoms provider, and bmobile Solomon Islands Limited (bmobile), a leading mobile operator in the Solomon 
Islands, today announced the start of initial satellite direct-to-mobile phone services to subscribers using Lynk’s “cell-towers-in-space”. Bmobile becomes the latest MNO in the world to launch Lynk’s sat2phone technology as a service for their subscribers.
Established in 2010, bmobile is a leader in providing high-speed data, reliable voice and SMS telecommunications across the Solomon Islands. bmobile currently operates in four provinces across the country: Guadalcanal; Malaita; Western; and Central Province. With a footprint that is growing rapidly, bmobile is a leader in bringing innovative products to the Solomon Islands.
“Bmobile is excited to announce this partnership with Lynk. Bmobile now has the ability to further extend geographic mobile coverage for the people of Solomon Islands. We feel Lynk is a must-have service that can save lives and help people no matter where they are. Bmobile is starting by giving immediate coverage to our mobile subscribers across Makira. As the Lynk service grows it will bring 21st Century connectivity to all the people of the Solomon Islands across the entire nation,” said Devan Kula, CEO of bmobile.
Lynk has proven SMS, broadcast emergency alerts, and voice calls on all seven continents, and anticipates starting commercial service with many more MNOs globally over the rest of 2023.
“Lynk is humbled and thrilled to bring sat2phone connectivity to the people of Solomon Islands, everywhere in Solomon Islands,” says Dan Dooley, Lynk’s chief commercial officer. “For bmobile subscribers, this service will be like no other in use today. Our initial Sat2Phone service will start as a beta service in the Makira and extend next year across the island nation to include all remote areas, including the Solomon Islands maritime economic exclusion zone, which covers more than 1.6 million kilometers. Lynk will also be used to provide back-up services, when natural disasters damage the ground network, to enhance network resilience,” says Dooley. “With over 75% of Solomon Islands’ residents living outside urban areas in mostly small communities, Lynk’s service has the potential to be a game changer for residents and visitors alike,'' Dooley continues.
Lynk is also targeting service launch this year in Papua New Guinea with bmobile’s parent company Telikom Ltd.
About bmobile
Established in 2010, bmobile is a leader in providing high-speed data, reliable voice and SMS telecommunications across the Solomon Islands. bmobile currently operates in four provinces across the country: Guadalcanal; Malaita; Western; and Central Province. With a footprint that is growing rapidly, bmobile is a leader in bringing innovative products to the Solomon Islands.
About Lynk
Lynk is the world’s only patented, proven, commercially-licensed, and operational satellite-direct-to-standard-mobile-phone system. Today, Lynk is unique in allowing commercial subscribers to send and receive text messages to and from space, via standard unmodified mobile devices. Our service has been demonstrated in over 20 countries and is currently being deployed commercially, based on >30 MNO commercial service contracts covering >50 countries. Lynk is currently providing cell broadcast (emergency) alerts, and two-way SMS messaging, and will launch voice and mobile broadband services in the future. By partnering with Lynk via a simple roaming agreement, a mobile network operator opens the door to new revenue in untapped markets, gives subscribers peace of mind with ubiquitous connectivity, and provides a pathway to economic prosperity for billions. For more information, visit www.lynk.world or follow @lynktheworld.
Narrative Unveils advanced AI to amplify the power of Rosetta: Revolutionizing data collaboration
Narrative I/O announced the next generation of our proprietary AI tool, and below are 3 reasons why this product is going to be a game changer:
EASY: Rosetta turns layman’s terms into complex data queries so even I can use it
TIME SAVING: Days of Engineering work can now be done in minutes as simple as typing a sentence into the Rosetta Chatbot
HAPPINESS: Engineering/Data Scientists will no longer have to deal with the business team requests that they are annoyed doing!
Building on the groundbreaking success of Rosetta, Narrative's AI-powered Data Collaboration Assistant, the company today introduced an expansive ecosystem of AI assistants to shape the future of data collaboration. With Rosetta at the helm as the Chief Data Collaboration Officer, this dynamic team will drive unparalleled capabilities, ensuring swifter response times and a revolutionary collaborative experience.
"Rosetta was the initial step in evolving how businesses access and interpret data," says Tim Mahlman, Narrative's CEO. "The addition of her specialized team members pushes us leaps and bounds further. This initiative isn't merely about faster data solutions; it's about simulating a bustling corporate ecosystem where AI-powered tools collaborate seamlessly to solve complex challenges."
Data Collaboration in Enterprises: It Takes More Than One
In the intricate world of enterprise data collaboration, the old adage rings true – it often "takes a village." Collaboration complexities necessitate diverse expertise, mirroring the multifaceted teams that exist within large organizations. The Rosetta team replicates this dynamic, ensuring that different facets of data collaboration are managed by dedicated specialists. These AI entities mimic the multiple roles and responsibilities seen in corporate data teams, but with the added advantages of being available round-the-clock and being immune to human limitations.
This streamlined approach considerably boosts the speed and quality of data processing, offering users a nuanced and tailored experience. And for those multifaceted tasks, Rosetta's team will collaborate, pooling their unique capabilities to produce comprehensive data outcomes.
24/7 Data Collaboration with Unwavering Precision
One of the crowning advantages of Rosetta and her team is their relentless dedication to service, being tirelessly available 24/7, 365 days a year. This continuous, unwavering efficiency ensures that businesses have constant access to crucial data insights. Beyond mere availability, the precision and reliability of their data processing are always maintained at the highest standards.
Importantly, this non-stop AI-driven support means that human teams can elevate their focus. Freed from the weeds of routine data tasks, they can channel their expertise into higher-value roles and strategic initiatives, thereby driving significant organizational growth and innovation. It's not just about working harder, but smarter, allowing human creativity and strategic thinking to flourish while the AI handles the heavy lifting.
Narrative's latest venture underscores its dedication to refining data collaboration. While Rosetta paved the way, her dedicated team promises to revolutionize the depth, scope, and speed of data interaction. With the complexities of today's data world, having a robust, untiring team ready to handle diverse challenges is not just a luxury—it's a necessity.
Dive into this transformative journey with us, and witness the pioneering strides we're making in the data collaboration realm.
For more information on Narrative and Rosetta's Team:
https://rosetta.st
CRAINCURRENCY Amid AI hype, family offices take cautiously aggressive approach
We are thrilled to be included in CrainCurrency for family offices investing in AI technology. Thank you Marcus Baram.
The dot-com era's investor sentiment in the late 1990s, marked by enthusiasm and subsequent crashes, set the stage for established giants such as Amazon, Google and Salesforce. Drawing parallels, family office investors note similar trends within today's AI bubble.
Their consensus is that, beyond the hype, artificial intelligence holds tangible potential. Just as the internet reshaped society and the economy, AI is expected to have a transformative impact.
"There is some euphoria to it, but there is true substance there," said Tom Raymond, a partner in investment management at the Callan Family Office. “The power is real.”
Even before ChatGPT's emergence in November 2022, family offices demonstrated an interest in AI investment. A spring survey that same year revealed that 48% of family offices had already ventured into the sector. Since then, this interest has swelled.
Notable instances include Stanley Druckenmiller investing in Nvidia Corp., Eric Schmidt backing Mistral AI and Inflection AI, the Goodrich Family Office supporting Birdstop and the Dorilton Capital Family Office entering a partnership with Blackbird.AI.
"The number of AI transactions by family offices since Q4 2022 surpasses the prior year," said Dennis Caulfield, vice president of research at FINTRX.
Seizing the moment amidst economic turmoil, opportunistic investors are capitalizing on the private markets by acquiring discounted shares in companies. Raymond likens this approach to a chance to invest in promising companies before they are overvalued. He sees it as a form of time travel for investments.
“Right now, you can buy early AI movers at a discount, secondaries in the venture space at a massive discount – 30-40% discount to their asset value,” he said. “Startups are looking for liquidity and are willing to sacrifice the longer-term upside of investments for the short-term gain of having cash in hand.”
To navigate the potential volatility of the AI bubble, family offices are rigorously evaluating startups for direct deals and suitable funds.
“As an investor, determining what’s real and what’s not is getting harder and harder,” said Ian Sheridan, a co-founder and managing director of Vestigo Ventures. He likened the process to assessing startups during the early days of the internet.
“Inventors would show up with a whiteboard,” Sheridan said, “but at the end of the day, there was no engine. Right now, the technology allows things to look superhuman really fast, and it’s up to the investor to figure out what’s really underneath, to peel back the layers.”
Key considerations when assessing AI startups:
- Market fit and execution: Gauge potential by market size and demand. Are they solving a crucial problem with demand? “We won't touch anything without those," said Peter Bordes of Trajectory Ventures. Execution is vital; failure to execute invites competition.
- Scalability: AI's elements — algorithms, data, models, infrastructure — must scale seamlessly in size, speed and complexity.
- Creating a moat: Does proprietary intellectual property provide a protective edge as the business grows? Sheridan underscores this importance.
- The Human factor: Talent is as vital as technology. Talent’s absence hinders growth.
- Leveraging expertise: Expertise in industries affected by AI aids growth. Partnerships offer more than just capital — operational expertise accelerates progress.
To be sure, investors are also assessing other startups based on their use of AI.
“There isn’t a portfolio company that we haven’t asked: ‘What is your AI strategy? If you’re not using it, why not?’ ” said Sheridan, whose Vestigo Ventures itself uses big data and machine learning in its research and other operations.
About the AUTHOR Marcus Baram
RoadSync revolutionizes logistics payments with the launch of RoadSync Pay
Championing Modern Payment Solutions for a Massively Underserved Industry
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New digital payments solution will make billing and payments faster, easier, and more secure for logistics and supply chain companies.
RoadSync, the leader in digital financial solutions for the supply chain, is pleased to introduce RoadSync Pay, designed to modernize, streamline, and expedite payments for brokers and carriers. With RoadSync Pay, brokers can effortlessly schedule and automate payments to their carriers and factoring companies.
RoadSync Pay empowers brokers to make swift payments to carriers and factoring companies at their convenience, using preferred methods like Instant Real-Time Payments (RTP). This allows payments to be made between bank accounts that are initiated, cleared and settled within seconds, at any time of the day or week, holidays and weekends included. Other features and benefits include Same Day, Next Day ACH, Checks (with a click of a button), and Fleet Check. This improved efficiency not only enhances carrier satisfaction but also facilitates the attraction and retention of top carriers while lightening the load on back-office tasks.
This platform provides the logistics industry access to some of the most modern payment rails and capabilities. Although historically underserved by payments technology, logistics companies can now enjoy the same level of payment convenience and speed as businesses in other sectors.
Additionally, RoadSync Pay offers brokers' carriers & factoring companies access to a complimentary carrier portal and automated remittance emails, providing real-time and historical insights into payment statuses, and reducing the back office burden of communicating critical information to their carriers.
Overall, RoadSync's new platform, RoadSync Pay, redefines the logistics payment experience, aligning it with the rapid, convenient, and secure payment expectations of modern consumers.
"By providing access to cutting-edge payment capabilities, we are fueling brokers and carriers with the speed, convenience, and security they deserve. Trucking hasn't always been the focus of technology innovation and our goal is to help it thrive in the digital age, ensuring that payments are as modern as the goods they transport. We are proud to lead this charge, modernizing logistics payments and shaping the future of logistics fintech," says Robin Gregg, RoadSync CEO.
For the past six years, RoadSync has been at the forefront of digital payment innovation in the logistics and supply chain sectors. Discover more about RoadSync Pay and RoadSync's expanding product range at www.roadsync.com.
About RoadSync
RoadSync is a cutting-edge, digital payment platform designed to help automate the financial solutions fueling the $800B logistics industry. By enabling more secure & efficient payment acceptance, RoadSync streamlines the payment experience for warehouses, freight handlers and repair/tow merchants alike. For more about RoadSync, visit www.RoadSync.com.
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Megan Meier, Pitch Public Relations, 1 402-213-6888, megan@pitchpublicrelations.com, www.pitchpublicrelations.com
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