South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
02
Feb, 2024

By Adam Elitzur

Microsoft 365 Community Day Miami (M365 Miami)

Discover the best of what’s next in Microsoft 365 with Artificial Intelligence and the Power Platform at M365 Miami. Join us for a day of problem-solving with experts, making global connections, and empowering yourself to lead your organization in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

Immerse yourself in a day of cost-free tech education at our event, showcasing 34 expert international speakers, including Microsoft employees and MVPs. Dive into five tracks of sessions exploring real-world use cases, with increasing complexity as the day unfolds. Get your questions answered at an Ask the Experts booth. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, business owner, or simply curious about cutting-edge technology, join us to elevate your skills and discover what is left uncharted!

, , 0
10
Oct, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

South Florida high school student wins FBLA nationals

Read Time 4 Minutes

South Florida student Archit Namboodiri has won the championship at the 2023 National Leadership Conference of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

Archit finished second in the Management Information Systems (MIS) competition where more than 300 students competed. The final awards ceremony was held in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a very prestigious honor that is only awarded to a few students in each category every year.

Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA) is the largest business Career and Technical Student Organization in the world. Each year, FBLA helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business. As the premier business education association in the country, FBLA is on a mission to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences. According to their organizational bylaws, “The organization provides an integral part of the instructional program, additional opportunities for secondary students (grades 9-12) in business and/or business-related fields to develop vocational and career supportive competencies, and to promote civic and personal responsibilities.”

The first FBLA high school chapter in Florida was founded in 1948 at Hillsborough High School in Tampa and has since spread with over 11,000 members across Florida, making it one of the largest FBLA chapters in the country!

Florida FBLA offers opportunities as early as middle school through high school, college and into their professional careers. The top five takeaways of Florida FBLA are aimed at developing your business leadership skills, increasing confidence in yourself and your work, learning how to become involved in leadership opportunities, having a better understanding of American business enterprises, and developing a path towards future college and career goals.

Archit’s interest in Information Systems grew after attending the Mark Cuban Foundation’s AI bootcamp in the fall of 2022. The hands on classes were co-sponsored by South Florida Tech-Hub and Florida Power & Light and held at FPL’s Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach.  They learned several artificial intelligence-specific methods and tools and made powerful connections with fellow students and instructors.

Archit and fellow students had the opportunity to listen and interact with tech executives such as Michael Fowler, IT Business Unit CIO at FPL. FPL is known for it’s philanthropic efforts, passion for driving tech talent, and giving back to the Florida community through multiple education initiatives such as STEM classroom makeovers, working with organizations such as Tech Hub, Mark Cuban AI bootcamps, Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code and so many more. FPL is also known for their one-of-a-kind internship program aimed at developing new talent and identifying candidates for a suitable future full-time employment opportunity.

Inspired by the AI Bootcamp, Archit then attended a Cyber Security bootcamp organized by the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa during the summer this year. He learned about several core cybersecurity topics, such as penetration testing, cross-browser scripting, and ransomware detection and negotiation. Archit had the opportunity to interact and network with several leading technology leaders from companies such as CISCO and Microsoft.

“The Marc Cuban AI boot camp sponsored by South Florida Tech-Hub and FPL opened a new world for me,” said Archit. “I learned about AI and how it is applied in our day-to-day lives. Through hands-on activities in the camp. I was exposed to several cutting-edge AI concepts, such as Machine Learning, Big Data, and Computer Vision and used these concepts in my FBLA competition to
demonstrate how organizations can make effective use of AI.”

He continued, “I’m thankful to the South Florida Tech Hub and FPL for providing me with this opportunity and to my school’s FBLA advisor, Mr. Pardo, for his continued guidance and support throughout the competition process.”

Archit is also the Treasurer of a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization run solely by students, Surface 71, with a mission to raise awareness about plastic pollution and keep our cities and oceans cleaner and more beautiful. The students hold beach clean ups every month and have installed water refill stations into eleven local schools. He joined Surface71 in 2023 and is passionate about how technology can improve the environment.

Archit wants to pursue his college education in IT business with a focus on cyber security and data privacy and looking forward to helping the tech community by teaching middle and high school students what he has learned.

We wish you all the best Archit – we are sure to see you creating positive change for our future. Keep up the great work!

Click here for the complete 2023 list of winners. To learn more about Florida FBLA, visit https://www.floridafbla-pbl.com/

, , , ,
11
Jul, 2023

By Adam Elitzur

Techstrong Group Launches Techstrong.ai to Document the AI Revolution

Read Time 4 Minutes

Techstrong Group, the power source for people and technology, has unveiled its latest venture, Techstrong.ai.

Techstrong.ai is Techstrong Group’s community to discuss AI – all the time. Techstrong.ai covers how AI is disrupting multiple industry verticals, such as tech, media, finance, manufacturing, transportation and health. The community is creating content such as news, analysis, case studies and learning opportunities, in different form factors, such as written articles, podcasts, videos and interactive events.

TechStrong.ai is a part of the TechStrong Group company and larger portfolio. A Boca Raton-headquartered omniversal media company, TechStrong covers the IT industry and practices that are reshaping the world of technology. Techstrong Group accelerates understanding of technologies that drive business. With a broad set of IT-related communities and offerings, Techstrong Group is the only media company serving the needs of IT leaders and practitioners with news, research, analysis, events, education, certifications and professional development. The company’s focus is digital transformation, DevOps, cybersecurity, cloud and cloud-native. Techstrong Group business units include: Techstrong Media, Techstrong Associations, Techstrong Research, Techstrong Learning and Techstrong Live!. For technology providers, Techstrong business units offer many ways to reach IT professionals and tell their stories.

This addition to their portfolio of companies aims to document the forward march of AI as it rapidly disrupts one vertical market after another and become a destination site and community dedicated to the creation and distribution of AI-related content. Techstrong.ai will be covering many verticals in a variety of mediums, including current issues and concerns, use-cases within industries, research, news and Q&As.

 

Why Techstrong.ai now?

AI is not a new concept. By the late 1980s, AI made the leap from science fiction to science fact, and since the 2000s, many dollars have been spent and many hours of brain power expended to try to understand, apply and advance AI for real-world use cases.

“For many folks, though, AI really got real with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The large language model (LLM) generative AI with a chatbot front-end has ignited a firestorm of attention worldwide. VC money is pouring in and everyone is trying to “AI enable” their applications; at the same time, there’s a vocal backlash from thought leaders trying to stop–or at least slow down– its further development until we can properly assess the risks and try to put some mitigating measures in place,” Alan wrote in a recent blog.

Alan Shimel has years of experience in venture-backed tech startups, especially in the cybersecurity field. He started his journey in tech with the onset of the commercial internet in the mid-90s and started and sold a company during that period. After writing and speaking about tech topics for years, Shimel launched MediaOps, the predecessor of Techstrong Group, in 2013. MediaOps grew from being a single-person blog, to a blog with multiple authors, and an online community.

Shimel pointed out his realization that AI is not just another technology trend, but a civilization changer that deserves its own platform, so he created TechStrong.ai. “If AI is going to change civilization, we can’t afford to just cover it as a side topic in our other channels. It has to have its own place,” Shimel said.

But for better or worse, the AI genie is out of the bottle.

 

TechStrong’s view on the future of AI.

“Every once in a while a tech innovation comes along that transcends technology and tears through the very fabric of civilization. We believe that AI is that kind of technology–perhaps the biggest thing since the internet itself. AI will disrupt one vertical market after another,” said Alan Shimel, Founder & CEO at Techstrong Group. “That is what Techstrong.ai is all about. We intend to document the forward march of AI as it disrupts so many models in existence today.”

Shimel expressed his conviction that AI is going to have a profound impact on humanity. “I’m not here to scare anyone that AI is going to take your job away,” Shimel remarked. “AI is not going to make fewer jobs. It’ll make more jobs. They’ll just be different jobs. And that’s part of what our mission is: to show these different jobs. How you not only survive but thrive in an AI world. We think AI’s impact is going to be like a seismic wave that works its way through civilization. What does it mean for young people? What does it mean for careers?” he said.

“All the various forms of AI are transforming how businesses around the world operate,” said Mike Vizard, Chief Content Officer at Techstrong Group. “With the launch of Techstrong.ai we are committing to not only providing strategic insights into where to apply AI, but also demystifying a set of technologies that at their core are based on familiar data science techniques and principles.”

Techstrong Group’s mission is to report the news and create content for technology professionals looking for fresh insights and new skills. Techstrong Group’s portfolio of companies includes DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, Cloud Native Now, Digital CxO and Techstrong TV. 

Mike says that TechStrong.ai welcomes your support and participation, whether as a contributor, community member or any other way you want to participate. If you would like to be involved, please contact us at info@techstrong.ai.

“We don’t make the news,” Shimel stated. “We report the news. So as this continues to unfold, we’ll keep on top of it.”

, , , ,
12
Jun, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Levatas named as first Certified Technology Partner by Boston Dynamics for industrial AI

Read Time 4 Minutes

On June 7th, Levatas announced a strategic first-of-its-kind partnership with Boston Dynamics.

Based in West Palm Beach, Levatas is a leading provider of AI software and solutions for automating industrial inspections with robots, cameras and drones. The company creates and delivers end-to-end solutions that enable robots, drones, remote sensors, and camera systems to autonomously perform equipment monitoring, safety checks, and site surveillance tasks in industrial environments.

As part of the collaboration with Boston Dynamics, Levatas’ industrial AI software will be made available to Boston Dynamics customers through the 3.3 software release for the advanced mobile robot, Spot®, marking the first computer vision based inspection capability made available on the platform. The partnership expands on each company’s work to automate inspection tasks that are considered challenging, dangerous and otherwise undesirable for humans, freeing up employees in the field to handle more valuable work.

The MIT spinoff and Mass-based, Boston Dynamics, is on a mission is to imagine and create exceptional robots that enrich people’s lives. Building machines that can approximate the mobility, dexterity and agility of people and animals is a grand challenge. Curiosity and respect for the natural world are at the heart of the company’s work on robots. Boston Dynamics sees products derived from this work as the next step in the human history of building machines to reduce the danger, repetition and physically difficult aspects of work.

The first Levatas-powered inspection model being made available to Boston Dynamics customers is designed to detect and read analog gauges. Additional tools, available through Levatas’ Cognitive Inspection Platform, give customers the ability to autonomously detect and alert for unauthorized people, identify various forms of corrosion, notify employees of unsafe conditions like liquid spills, and detect unexpected changes to an environment.

“We are incredibly proud to work alongside Boston Dynamics, whose Spot robot represents the most sophisticated and capable option available for navigating challenging environments to automate inspections,” said Chris Nielsen, Founder and CEO of Levatas. “Pairing Spot’s incredible mobility with our Cognitive Inspection Platform gives customers the ability to automate inspection programs at an incredible scale.”

In April this year, Levatas announced the opening of their new Industrial AI Lab. The lab allows operations and innovation teams the ability to rapidly explore the capabilities of our Cognitive Inspection Platform in real-time, both in-person and remotely. It also provides a dedicated space for our engineers to incubate, test, resolve issues discovered in the field, and even explore new ideas for the way robots and advanced AI can be used for automated inspection.

In a recent Levatas blog announcing the partnership, the company wrote, “But this was hardly an overnight success. It was in October 2019 when Levatas first recognized the immense potential of Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot as the ideal platform to collect data in challenging environments; and, being a company that specializes in building computer vision models, data from hard-to-navigate places was what we needed. For this reason, each company seemed to complement each other extraordinarily well.

It was then that Spot became our firm’s lead platform for data collection and the automation of industrial inspections. Our team became laser focused on providing the Boston Dynamics robot the cognitive intelligence necessary to tackle the most demanding inspection tasks. Over the years that followed, our team set out to develop Industrial AI models specifically designed for Spot. Along the way, we made friends, delivered customer wins, broke things, fixed things, learned a ton, and probably had more Spot units operating at once than anyone else in the world. Cut to today, and we have created an entire platform of Industrial AI tools that can read analog gauges, identify thermal anomalies, listen for air and gas leaks, detect forms of corrosion, and even alert humans to any unexpected changes in their environments.”

Levatas has worked closely with Boston Dynamics’ sales and Spot development teams to help enterprise customers identify suitable use cases, set up the software, and integrate the technology into their existing systems and workflows. This new partnership designation reflects Levatas’ ability to assist joint customers in scaling these solutions.

“Our collaboration with Levatas has been instrumental in bringing advanced automation and inspection capabilities to our customers,” said Renee Burns, VP of Partnerships at Boston Dynamics. “Their capabilities align with ours, and their experience and track record helps our joint customers drive the value and impact they are looking for with robotic automation.”

The combined Levatas and Boston Dynamics solution is already significantly impacting industries such as manufacturing, electric utilities, oil and gas, and petrochemicals. Prominent customers utilizing this innovative solution include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Avangrid, BMW, and Global Foundries.

 

, , , , , ,
05
Jun, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

ChenMed, a leading primary care provider, recognized for using intelligence and automation in HR practices

Read Time 3 Minutes

ChenMed, a national leading primary care provider based in South Florida, was recently recognized at the Phenom Intelligent Talent Experience Awards as this year’s Intelligent Talent Experience: Advocate of the Year.

Phenom, a purpose-driven HR tech company, recently announced the winners of the Phenom Intelligent Talent Experience Awards, recognizing organizations for exceptional achievements using intelligence, automation and experience to hire employees faster, develop them to their full potential and retain them longer. Through AI-powered solutions, employers increased efficiencies, and saved valuable time for all talent stakeholders — candidates, recruiters, managers, employees, HR and HRIS teams. Award recipients were honored at IAMPHENOM, the company’s premier conference for human resources hosted in Philadelphia.

“We’re celebrating the organizations whose platform use and partnerships are driving lasting impact across their businesses, their industries, their teams and HR as a whole,” said Jess Elmquist, Chief Human Resources Officer at Phenom.

On a mission to hire faster and better and simultaneously empower employee development and mobility with a talent marketplace, ChenMed is a model example for hypergrowth peers. By infusing hyper-personalized experiences into their hiring, development and retention strategies, ChenMed has increased quality applies, reduced time to fill and improved employee retention despite a challenging talent landscape.

When three out of every four professionals in healthcare are looking to leave the industry, providing a better talent experience is no longer optional — it’s critical to hire, develop, and retain workers.

Being a rapidly-growing primary care provider, ChenMed knows this firsthand. To succeed, they needed:

  • A reliable, robust talent community of quality candidates
  • An improved candidate experience for both internal and external job seekers
  • Automated, time-saving talent acquisition processes for recruiters

ChenMed is a family-owned, family-oriented organization serving underserved moderate-to-low-income seniors with complex chronic diseases. The company’s high-touch, VIP, preventive primary care works for patients and team members. Unlike typical primary care providers, ChenMed has a much lower doctor-patient ratio which allows doctors to spend more time with their patients, getting to know them and their concerns so we can better serve them. ChenMed has 100+ centers across 15 states and is a privately held and physician-led company.

“Because we’re in hypergrowth, we’re looking for ways to automate things so our recruiters don’t have to do them. Phenom helps us do that so our recruiters aren’t bogged down by administrative tasks and have time to spend with candidates,” stated Christin Davis, ChenMed’s Managing Director of HR Operations and Technology.

Above all, the ChenMed culture is what’s most important for Davis and her team to maintain: “This company’s mission is simple: helping seniors live longer and healthier lives. The only way to manage that mission is to buy into it. Now that we can easily see who identifies with our culture, it’s easier to make the right hiring choices.”

ChenMed is using the Phenom Intelligent Talent Experience platform to increase applies, reduce time to fill, and level employee turnover. Through AI-powered solutions, ChenMed is increasing efficiencies and saving valuable time for candidates, recruiters, managers, employees, HR, and HRIS teams and in a candidate-driven market time could cost you.

Additionally, when candidates have options, a streamlined professional and timely process helps give candidates the first impression they are looking for and HR professionals not lose out on that next best candidate.

Phenom has a purpose of helping a billion people find the right job. Through AI-powered talent experiences, employers are using Phenom to hire employees faster, develop them to their full potential, and retain them longer. The Phenom Intelligent Talent Experience platform seamlessly connects candidates, employees, recruiters, hiring managers, HR and HRIS — empowering over 500 diverse and global enterprises with innovative products including Phenom Career Site, Chatbot, CMS, CRM, AI Scheduling, Video Assessments, Campaigns, University Recruiting, Talent Marketplace, Career Pathing, Gigs, Mentoring, and Referrals.

Phenom has earned accolades including: Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies (3 consecutive years), Deloitte Technology’s Fast 500 (4 consecutive years), five Brandon Hall ‘Excellence in Technology’ awards including Gold for ‘Best Advance in AI for Business Impact,’ Business Intelligence Group’s Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards (3 consecutive years), and a regional Timmy Award for launching and optimizing HelpOneBillion.com (2020).

Click here to read more about all award recipients.

, , , , , , , ,
30
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

IBM to grant $5M to schools to boost cybersecurity & AI skills

Read Time 4 Minutes

In response to the growing threat of ransomware attacks against schools around the world, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced it will provide in-kind grants valued at $5 million to help address cybersecurity resiliency in schools. The deadline to apply is June 23, 2023.

Since its creation in 2021, the IBM Education Security Preparedness Grants program has expanded globally, and this year will also include enhanced offerings from IBM SkillsBuild on topics including AI and cybersecurity.

Ransomware is unfolding faster than ever, with attackers managing to cut down the time required to deploy ransomware attacks from over two months to just under four days between 2019 and 2021, according to IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023. In fact, the share of cybersecurity incidents observed in the education sector more than doubled in 2022 compared to the year prior, experiencing the largest increase year over year than any other industry.

“Time and time again attackers go after the education sector, yet many of these institutions remain constrained in their security resources,” said Andy Piazza, Global Head of Threat Intelligence, IBM Security X-Force. “To date, this program has helped more than 350,000 students across schools in the US and abroad, with IBM Service Corps helping them recover from ransomware attacks, strengthen their security posture against future attacks, and prevent further disruption.”

Applications for schools are now open globally. Grants valued at $500,000 each ($5 million in total) will be awarded to six school districts in the US with an additional four around the world. Volunteers, through IBM Service Corps, will use their professional skills to help schools establish programs to address cybersecurity resiliency. Hear more from Andy here.

Each selected school will receive:

  • incident response plans and ransomware playbooks,
  • programs to help address the need for updating operating systems,
  • strategic communication plans to use in response to cyber incidents, and
  • training and digital credentials through IBM SkillsBuild on topics including AI and cybersecurity, and additional benefits such as enhanced access to IBM mentors, teacher training and toolkits, and customized learning pathways.

“The global skills gap across cybersecurity and AI is a growing challenge that demands immediate attention,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Chief Impact Officer. “To address this challenge, IBM awards Education Security Preparedness Grants to drive impact with schools worldwide. This year, we’re excited to expand the program to bring the benefits of IBM SkillsBuild training on topics like AI and cybersecurity for students and teachers.”

Robert Losinski, Manager of Information Security at Denver Public Schools, stated that “With IBM’s assistance, we improved our cybersecurity incident response plan and used it to better prepare us for handling incidents in the future.” He continued , “Attackers are targeting schools because many do not have mature security frameworks to effectively defend against ransomware and other cybercrime. Getting professional assistance in expanding your cybersecurity program will really help you identify the most critical areas to protect.”

Since its inception in 2021, IBM has received hundreds of applications for this award-winning program from school districts seeking to strengthen their security postures in response to the growing threats in the education space. Past recipients of the IBM Education Security Preparedness Grants have encouraged other schools to apply.

The 2022 and 2021 Grantees included:

  • Brevard Public Schools in Viera, FL
  • City of Dublin Educational Training Board in Ireland
  • Cupertino Union School District in Sunnyvale, CA
  • Denver Public Schools in Denver, CO
  • East China School District in East China, MI
  • Goffstown School District in Goffstown, NH
  • KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools in Atlanta, GA
  • Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in United Arab Emirates
  • Newburgh Enlarged City School District in Newburgh, NY
  • Newhall School District in Valencia, CA
  • Poughkeepsie City School District in Poughkeepsie, NY
  • Prince William Country Public Schools in Manassas, VA
  • Rossville Cons. School District in Rossville, IN
  • Sheldon Independent School District in Houston, TX

Awards were allocated based on cybersecurity needs, experiences, community resources, and potential risks.

K-12 public schools and educational institutions/organizations that are interested in applying for IBM’s education cybersecurity grant can apply via IBM.com here: https://www.ibm.com/impact/initiatives/security.

For more information about IBM’s cybersecurity grants for schools, visit: https://www.ibm.com/impact/initiatives/security.

For more information about IBM Security X-Force’s services and capabilities, visit: https://www.ibm.com/security/xforce.

The 2023 grant cycle is now open. Apply by June 23, 2023 to receive one of ten available grants.

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
09
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

ODP Corporation expands collaboration with Microsoft to leverage the power of AI technology from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service

Read Time 3 Minutes

The ODP Corporation (“ODP”) (NASDAQ:ODP) announced that it is expanding its longstanding relationship with Microsoft to include Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service advanced artificial intelligence technology to enhance customer experience, drive operational efficiencies, and more effectively pursue growth opportunities.

Recognizing Azure’s immense potential, ODP has been working with Microsoft to migrate legacy systems and to build out its customer-facing platforms, including its Varis digital procurement ecosystem and Business Central integration, on Microsoft Azure. This collaboration has enabled ODP to leverage the power of Azure’s scalable cloud infrastructure, improving the speed, reliability, and security of its online services and applications.

ODP is now expanding this relationship to include Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service advanced artificial technology capabilities. Through this collaboration, ODP is harnessing the power of Microsoft Azure OpenAI, including ChatGPT hosted securely on Azure, to further improve customer experience, streamline internal operations, and position the Company to pursue growth opportunities more efficiently.

“We’re excited to expand our collaboration with Microsoft to harness the power of Azure OpenAI Services, including ChatGPT,” said Gerry Smith, Chief Executive Officer of The ODP Corporation. “This technology will enable continued transformation in our business, driving additional operational efficiencies consistent with our low-cost business model, and positioning us to deliver greater value to customers while more effectively pursuing growth opportunities. Our relationship with Microsoft positions ODP to be at the forefront of innovation, enhancing our digital capabilities and creating a sustainable competitive advantage for the future.”

The ODP Corporation (NASDAQ:ODP) is a leading provider of products and services through an integrated business-to-business (B2B) distribution platform and omnichannel presence, which includes world-class supply chain and distribution operations, dedicated sales professionals, a B2B digital procurement solution, online presence and a network of Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores. Through its operating companies Office Depot, LLC; ODP Business Solutions, LLC; Veyer, LLC; and Varis, Inc., The ODP Corporation empowers every business, professional, and consumer to achieve more every day.

“We are delighted that ODP has chosen Microsoft Azure OpenAI service as its solution for integrating transformational AI capabilities into critical business processes and systems,” said Eric Boyd, Corporate Vice President of Azure AI Platform at Microsoft Corp. “Through our deepened relationship, we will partner more closely with ODP to take advantage of generative AI, to drive innovation, increase productivity and enhance the experience of ODP’s customers.”

ODP can now take advantage of large-scale, generative AI models with deep understandings of language and code to enable new reasoning and comprehension capabilities for building cutting-edge applications. Apply these coding and language models to a variety of use cases, such as writing assistance, code generation, and reasoning over data. Detect and mitigate harmful use with built-in responsible AI and access enterprise-grade Azure security.’

ODP and ODP Business Solutions are trademarks of ODP Business Solutions, LLC. Office Depot is a trademark of The Office Club, Inc. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

, , , , , , , ,
09
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

For the second year in a row, South Florida will once again welcome the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp for high schoolers

Read Time 6 Minutes

For the second year in a row, South Florida will once again welcome the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp for high schoolers to our region in the Fall. BUT, this year will be even better!

South Florida Tech Hub was able to connect the Mark Cuban Foundation with the wonderful folks at Florida Power & Light and with offices in both Palm Beach and Miami, FPL immediately saw potential to bring this program to the entire region.  Having a great relationship with Miami Dade College, FPL reached out to the MDC team who quickly hopped on board to be the first Miami location. The program launched in October 2022 in both Miami and Palm Beach counties.

We are proud to announce that this year, not two, but four Tech Hub member organizations have committed to bringing this program to South Florida ensuring that students all across all three counties (Miami, Broward and Palm Beach) can apply!

The AI Bootcamp will be targeted at underserved high school students (9th -12th grade) especially those from underrepresented groups and will introduce these high school students to basic AI concepts and skills.

“The future global competitiveness of our country depends on having as many AI literate people as possible. I think there is an untapped wealth of knowledge and innovation in underserved communities,” stated Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and founder, Mark Cuban Foundation.

The Bootcamp sessions will be held over four consecutive Saturdays starting on Oct. 14 and ending on Nov. 4. The bootcamp will run each Saturday from 2-6 PM and if accepted, high school students must commit to attending all four sessions. Aimed to increase AI literacy and understanding in students from underserved communities, the high schools students don’t need any prior experience with computer science, programming, or robotics to apply and attend. Students interested should apply by Friday, Sept. 8. (Apply at bottom of article.)

With AI being a relevant topic on many news sources, students will learn what artificial intelligence is and is not, where they already interact with AI in their own lives, and the ethical implications of AI systems—including but not limited to TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars, to name a few. Participants will also learn how Large Language Models like ChatGPT are changing life as we know it by answering questions, telling original stories, and even writing computer code.   

Students will benefit from volunteer corporate mentor instructors who are knowledgeable about AI, ML and data science and able to help students quickly understand material normally taught at a collegiate level. As part of the 4-hour curriculum, students will work with open source tools each day to build their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and Generative AI.  

In 2022, Grace Kurian, Executive Director of Information Technology-Nuclear at NextEra Energy Inc, led the launch of the AI Bootcamp in Palm Beach County. She told South Florida Tech Hub that months of planning, hundreds of hours, and over 22 volunteers brought the program to life. From entry-level developers to tech executives such as Grace and Michael Fowler, VP of IT and Business Unit CIO at FPL the students got to interact with tech professionals of all levels.

In it’s fifth year, the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp is still a fairly new initiative that was founded in 2019 by the Mark Cuban Foundation. With just about 30 locations across the entire United States chosen for this program, we are so proud to have three of them right here in our backyard. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year.

“FPL is pleased to be the host company for Mark Cuban’s AI Boot Camp (Palm Beach) for the second consecutive year. As a company, we believe success begins with people, and this program helps introduce STEM and computer science to students that grew up with limited technology exposure,” said Jason Price, Agile Leader – EP Technologies & Innovation @ NextEra Energy Inc. (FPL parent company). “We are excited to help inspire bright young talent right in our backyard about how technology can elevate the world around them.”

Normally taught at the collegiate level, students had the opportunity to interact in hands-on workshops about chatbots, AI, Machine learning and Natural Language processing – topics many had never encountered before.

FPL is excited to welcome this year’s students into the new PGA Office Center.

 

“Office Depot is excited to support such a wonderful program this year. Exposing our students and future talent to new technologies will help the talent pool down the road by sparking their interest in AI and showcasing how it’s being used in the real world,” said Andy Parry, VP of Application Development & Support at Office Depot.

Being able to add Broward county to the programming this year and support students in the underserved community fits right in line with Office Depot’s giving efforts.

Office Depot will be sponsoring the Broward bootcamp and partnering with Nova Southeastern University’s  Levan Center of Innovation as the host venue.

“We believe that this program will help to cultivate the next generation of AI leaders, who will shape the future of technology and create a more equitable world,” said John Wensveen, Ph.D., NSU’s Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the Levan Center of Innovation.

 

“Miami Dade College‘s Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp was a huge success. After only 4 weeks the high school students that attended created impressive projects around AI in Music, AI in Healthcare and AI in Safety and Security,” wrote Antonio Delgado, VP of Innovation and Technology Partnerships at Miami Dade College, in a social media post.

“Kudos to everyone involved to bring this opportunity for free to Miami students. They represent a diversity that it’s not widely seen in tech companies today. They are the next generation that will be creating meaningful AI products and applications.”

Antonio told South Florida Tech Hub that this year Miami-Dade College will be sponsoring the Miami bootcamp and hosting two camps in Miami, one at each of their AI Centers (North Campus and Downtown Wolfson) allowing them to impact even more student within the county.

The Mark Cuban Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit led by Dallas Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban. The AI Bootcamps Program at MCF seeks to inspire young people with emerging technology so that they can create more equitable futures for themselves and their communities. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the Bootcamp’s curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the corporate sponsors, work to provide food, transportation, and access to laptops for students at no cost throughout the duration of Bootcamp.

Over the course of the four four-hour-long sessions, students will:

  • identify AI in the real world
  • build their own application
  • discuss AI ethics and bias in data
  • meet and learn from AI experts

The AI Bootcamp is open to students who:

  • live and attend high school (9th–12th grade) in Miami, Broward or Palm Beach county
  • have an interest in technology and machine learning
  • can attend in-person at one of the locations outlined below

Application deadline: Friday, September 8, 2023. For answers to some of your questions, please visit markcubanai.org/faq

👉🏽 Click here to apply today!

, , , , , , , , , ,
23
Mar, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Did you know? History & Future of Tech in South Florida started in Boca Raton.

Read Time 10 Minutes

From Miami Beach to Palm Beach, South Florida is becoming one of the best-known tech hub’s across the country. 

Many cities throughout the state of Florida — now the fastest-growing state in the nation — have been announced as up-and-coming tech hubs. South Florida Tech Hub recently celebrated the birth of the tech scene in South Florida and our region’s continued innovation at the “History & Future of Tech in South Florida” event held at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus. 

Guests at the event enjoyed a blast from the past as we explored the era of IBM’s first PC, the ground-breaking research being done, and the thousands of patents and inventions still driving technology today. We heard from some of the original OGs of South Florida tech and former IBM employees – where they went, what they built, and where they are now.

ABOUT THE VENUE

South Florida holds a major piece of tech history right in the heart of Boca Raton. Designed by iconic architect Marcel Breuer, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, or “BRIC,” was IBM’s North American Research and Development facility in the 1960s.

BRIC is home to the invention of the first personal computer. IBM’s own PC (IBM 5150) was introduced in August 1981, only a year after corporate executives gave the go-ahead to Bill Lowe, the lab director in the company’s Boca Raton facilities. He set up a task force that developed the proposal for the first IBM PC.

As home to the invention of their first personal computer, one might argue that the future of tech in South Florida began here!

The office park has been significantly upgraded since Crocker Partners acquired the property in 2018.What began as an outpost for IBM’s R&D and became the birthplace of the PC is now a state-of-the-art office park that is a magnet for forward thinkers in technology and life sciences. There is a growing roster of entrepreneurs, visionaries and global enterprises who have chosen BRIC as their stomping grounds.

Today, at 1.7 million square feet, BRIC is the largest single-office facility in the state of Florida. BRiC consists of three interconnected facilities located on 123-acres of beautifully maintained land with a lake situated in the center of the property, offering supreme office views and walking paths. CP Group, formerly known as Crocker Partners, has a massive vision of building off its innovative past and evolving the campus into the premier technology and life sciences hub in the Southeast.

Among the future featured amenities, there will be a Science Technology Engineering Art and Technology (STEAM) lab and coworking space, presentation hall that seats up to 1,000 to host science and technology trade shows, TedX events, coding camps and community events, a wellness center, including on-site salon, medical center and massage therapy and so much more. The renovations and construction have already begun. 

Oh, and BRIC is also home to the longest hallway in America coming in at 907 feet. For comparison, the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall, the Gateway Arch is 630 feet and the Golden Gate Bridge stands at 746 feet in height.

 

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE

The event started with a special keynote by Dr. Dave Bradley, or “Dr. Dave,” one of the twelve engineers who worked on the original IBM PC. He is famously known for developing the computer’s ROM BIOS code and for implementing the “Control-Alt-Delete” key combination used to reboot the computer. In his speech, he shared insights on early IBM marketing, the release of the first personal computer, working with Bill Gates, and other significant inventions.

Although internationally know for being the inventor of CTRL-ALT-DELETE, he doesn’t think this is his biggest contribution to to computing history. He’s proud that he created something became so popular, but knows that this is minimal to some of the other development work having been done in IBMs early days.

Bradley described the time that he helped with a sales pitch to the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, aiming to convince them to use personal computers as part of their instruction. They showed a demo program allowing the user to pick a song, which is then played on the two-and-a-quarter-inch speaker. However, there were 30 people in the room. They came up with the idea to plug in a guitar amplifier into the cassette cord. Then, no matter what song the user chooses, The Stars and Stripes Forever is played. They made the sale.

During testing of the IBM PC, Bradley frequently had to power the computer off, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on. As a result, he decided to make a shortcut: CTRL + ALT + DELETE. This was never supposed to be used in production, but then the publications team found out about it. They were trying to tell people how to start up a program, and they found the answer with the keyboard shortcut. It took Bradley five minutes to create and has since become an essential element of the user experience and even a “cultural icon”.

After the success of the IBM PC, thousands of IBM employees started working on the PS/2 family of products in Boca Raton. They took up so much office space, and even expanded into the Boca Raton mall where a department store went out of business. Bradley remarked that IBM filled all of Boca Raton in order to get the PC developed.

 

 

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

The evening’s agenda featured two panel discussions focused on the history and future of South Florida’s tech ecosystem and featured some of the trailblazers of modern technology.

The goal of the event was to educate the community about South Florida’s history in tech and innovation, honor some of the former IBMers who made huge strides back in the 80s, 90s and 2000s allowing the rest of the tech community to flourish today, and showcase what many of these technology leaders are doing currently.

Many people have no idea the original IBM PC was even born in South Florida, the fact that the company has thousands of patents that a huge percentage of current tech companies use, or that these tech professionals didn’t just stop innovating after they left IBM.

IBM patents range from the ATM to e-commerce, speech recognition technology, two-nanometer chips, the UPC bar code, Lasik laser eye surgery technology, screen rotation technology, “siesta” or sleep mode on the computer screen (Pete Martinez), quantum computing and so much more!

Now, the future of IBM is cloud, AI and quantum computing.

 

 

PANEL: History of Tech

The history of technology panel discussion was moderated by Pete Martinez, former IBM executive and founder of Sivotec and RaiseLink. Panelists included Chris Fleck, a former IBM executive and Vice President and Tech Fellow at Citrix, Maria Hernandez, a former Chief Innovation Officer-LATAM at IBM and CEO of InnoGuia, and Nick Savage, a former Senior NLS Developer at IBM, entrepreneur, and Digital Inclusion Director at CPSF. Each speaker transformed from working at IBM to executive roles or founding their own companies.

Each former IBM employee shared stories of their experiences at IBM, the culture around innovation they created, and some of the forward-thinking projects they were a part of at the time.

  • Hernandez was a developer on IBM’s airline reservation system in 1985, which, believe it or not, is still in use as a main system today. She also served as the technical assistant to the senior vice president of research. Her job was to help take research projects to the market faster. Hernandez helped train the voice control in cars’ natural language processing algorithm. She worked with Modernizing Medicine to introduce IBM Watson and AI to the healthcare industry.
  • Savage was a Senior Systems Engineer & Product Manager helping to develop the disk operating system (DOS) and modernize the keyboard into a software app. Savage remarked that he knew he was at the forefront of something great. He helped design SQL (Structured Query Language), and all the products building off of the operating system. Savage was in biweekly meetings with Bill Gates, Steven Ballmer, and Paul Allen. Savage was asked to escort the IBM Personal Computer AT to its announcement in New York. The AT computers took up three first-class seats.
  • Fleck was a Business Unit Executive at IBM, working on mainframe manufacturing. Fleck turned a lot of IBM technology into commercial offerings, such as IBM branded robots and industrial computers.
  • Martinez described his department in IBM working long hours on the original PCs and being given special permission from IBM to break the rules, to not conform to the old standard of five years of product development and three years of testing. They became a favorite of the company, which came with respect, but also responsibility. Failure was not an option. Martinez used the RISC chip (reduced instruction set computing), which was very fast, allowing a PC to act like a supercomputer. He and his team worked with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to do the age progression of children who had been missing for years. This process would take around two weeks for a skilled agent to do manually, but the IBM team reduced this to about an hour. This led to an increase from a 46% to a 78% recovery rate in a year.

PANEL: Future of Tech

The future of technology panel was moderated by Nikki Cabus, CEO of South Florida Tech Hub. Panelists included Pete Martinez (above) , Vanessa Michelini, a former Distinguished Engineer and Chief Technologist at IBM and Senior Director of Engineering at Natera, Mark Smith, a former VP and Senior Partner at IBM and President of OZ Digital Consulting, and Ania Rodriguez, a former UX Consultant at IBM and CEO of JourneyTrack.

Panelists discussed the biggest contributions of South Florida’s tech industry, the largest enterprises, the coolest startups, and companies that made an impact in the industry.

  • After working at IBM, Martinez decided to dedicate his next stage in life to improving the human condition, primarily in health and education. He created a number of companies, primarily in the AI space, starting with biotech and genomics. Martinez also co-founded a fintech company called RaiseLink, which uses a matching engine to link investors with startup opportunities, supported by AI technology.
  • Michelini worked on applying speech recognition technology to the industry at IBM before moving on to the genomics space. She worked on a project called Watson Genomics, which focused on using artificial intelligence and data analytics to interpret genomics in clinical oncology. Michelini fell in love with the mission of helping people through the combination of biology and technology. She joined Natera, a company dedicated to using genomics to interpret oncology, prenatal care, and organ transplants, after leaving IBM.
  • Rodriguez started at IBM in 2000, where she worked on building user experience and front-end interfaces, which she excelled at, particularly in accounts that were struggling with their technology. She also mentioned being part of a program for top ten women at IBM, which allowed her to meet many influential people. Rodriguez started her own consulting firm, which ended up being one of South Florida’s top women-led businesses. Rodriguez’s firm works with Fortune 500 companies to help optimize their digital transformations by focusing on the strategy behind it, rather than the design. Rodriguez also shared her recent successful venture into SaaS (Software as a service) product creation. However, she has had some difficulties with fundraising, particularly as a woman in the industry.
  • Smith worked in the management consulting group at IBM and focused on digital transformation, using artificial intelligence. He also worked on commercializing Watson’s natural language processing capabilities to help clients digitize unstructured data in the insurance industry. The main struggle was to attain trust in the data and algorithm. Now with OZ Digital Consulting (the food sponsor of the evening!), Smith works with startups to help them leverage emerging technologies and solve business gaps. Smith believes that startups are often at the forefront of innovation and offer valuable insights on how to use emerging technologies.

For almost 30 years, IBM led the United States in producing patents and in its pinnacle year filing over 10,000 US patent applications just that year. That’s more than any other tech company including companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft. These patents generate around $3 billion per year. They do not need to build products anymore, instead, they license them. Therefore, IBM technology is used extensively behind the scenes.

That all changed in 2022 – the first time since 1993 that IBM didn’t claim the top spot on the list of companies with the most U.S. patents. That was completely intentional though. IBM decided that they no longer aimed to be the leader in patent creation, but in innovations in hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. IBM has been opening collaborating with competitors in an effort to further innovation. IBM has re-focused.

OUR EVENT PARTNERS

The Boca Raton Historical Society Martinez made a patent called siesta mode, which turns off the monitor when it is not used for a period of time. exhibited a working original IBM personal computer at the event which was a treat for our younger attendees who probably hadn’t seen one in real life. It sure captured some of their attention.

 

Brian Callanan from Callanan Financial Advisors opened with a sponsor message telling his story of “1995’s spring break capitol of the world” in Ft. Lauderdale as a college student to relocating back to South Florida years later during a time when the internet and technology industry was rapidly evolving, with companies like Microsoft, Craigslist, Match.com, Amazon, and eBay emerging as major players. Only 12 million people, or 3% of Americans, had logged onto the World Wide Web at that time.

Callanan initially sold telephone systems, voicemail, and data networks before getting involved in the technology community. He was introduced to an organization by a direct competitor and began attending meetings with a small group of like-minded individuals to stay on top of the latest developments. As the group grew in size and influence, Callanan became increasingly involved in regional technology initiatives, eventually serving as president of the South Florida Telecom Forum which was later acquired by SFTA and then by South Florida Tech Hub.

Callanan shared some insights on the current market trends for platform acquisitions. Private equity firms are the main financiers in this space and are actively seeking businesses in the tech and skilled labor sectors. Callanan emphasized the importance of having scalable, bankable profits and transferable value for companies to be considered exit-ready. He also mentioned the importance of effective communication among professionals to avoid costly mistakes. In addition, Callanan encouraged a regional approach to promoting South Florida’s tech ecosystem applauding the work of South Florida Tech Hug, highlighting the potential benefits for all businesses in the area.

The event was a great success, and attendees had the opportunity to learn about the journey of South Florida’s tech industry, its pioneers, and its future. Thank you to our sponsors and partners: Callanan Financial Advisors, OZ Digital Consulting, Boca Raton Innovation Campus, The Boca Raton Historical Society, Dr. Dave and all our panelists.

See event photos here. 📸

To stay updated with future events, tech news and startup resources, make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

 

This article was written in collaboration between South Florida Tech Hub and Tech Hub volunteer, Adam Elitzur. To read his full article, click here.
, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
22
Mar, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

CAST AI Receives $20M in New Funding Led by Early-Stage VC Creandum

Read Time 3 Minutes

The intelligent cloud-native automation and cost management startup, CAST AI, has announced the closing of a $20M investment round.

The investment round was led by Creandum, an early-stage venture capital investment firm behind companies like Spotify, neo4j, and Klarna. Creandum invested $15M, joining CAST AI’s original lineup of investors which injected an additional $5M, signaling renewed enthusiasm for advanced AI-driven cloud cost optimization solutions.

Founded in 2003, Creandum is a leading pan-European early-stage venture capital firm whose portfolio of 120+ companies includes some of Europe’s most successful tech companies across a wide range of industries. Today, every sixth company is a unicorn. Creandum’s advisory teams are based in Stockholm, Berlin, London, and San Francisco and offer extensive operational expertise to support the funds’ portfolio companies from seed to exit to become global category leaders. Learn more at www.creandum.com.

With this investment, CAST AI is ready to take advantage of the significant opportunity as the market for cloud-native solutions is experiencing hypergrowth and, at the same time, facing the challenge of sustainable cost management. In a recent ‘State of Kubernetes Report” released by CAST AI, it showed that companies overspend by 60% due to overprovisioning containerized applications.

CAST AI Co-Founders, Laurent Gil (CPO), Leon Kuperman (CTO), and Yuri Frayman (CEO), started the company out of their own personal frustration with rising cloud costs. They had just sold their previous startup, Zenegade, which was acquired by Oracle and they stated that they couldn’t get it out of their head that there must be a better way to manage costs. And so came, CAST AI.

The Co-Founders told South Florida Tech Hub, “We are proud to be a part of Miami ecosystem and will expand our operations and our presence in the region. We will also continue to be active in the community by participating in events, helping other startups and sharing insights and know-how we’ve learned along the way.”

Headquartered in downtown Miami, CAST AI also has a European branch in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company has raised $38M from investors including Creandum, Cota Capital, and Uncorrelated Ventures.

CAST AI is an all-in-one cloud-native automation platform that cuts cloud bills in half for AWS, GCP, and Azure customers. Powered by AI, it analyzes multiple data points to find an optimal cost-performance ratio. The company founders are serial entrepreneurs who successfully led previous startups to acquisitions by Google, Comcast and Oracle. The CAST AI platform employs AI and automation to analyze compute resources and optimize them in minutes. By connecting their Kubernetes clusters to the platform, organizations can see suggested recommendations and use powerful cloud-native automation techniques for immediate cost reduction.

Recently, the platform has helped the social media unicorn ShareChat, the Adtech company Iterable, and the global mobile analytics leader Branch to start saving millions of dollars annually.

“This funding is just in time to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity in the market as more and more companies transition to containerized applications in the cloud,” said Yuri Frayman, CEO of CAST AI.

“With this investment, we can further grow our position as a leading provider of intelligent cloud optimization solutions globally as well as expand our all-in-one platform capabilities to more cloud-native ecosystems and use cases.”

Since the platform launch, CAST AI has experienced quarter-by-quarter revenue growth of over 220%, based on the company’s ability to provide optimization solutions that simplify cloud-native application management, a much-needed service in today’s tech-driven world.

Carl Fritjofsson, General Partner at Creandum, commented “CAST AI’s explosive growth is unheard of in this macro market.

This demand really shows how unique and powerful the company’s solution is. We believe the needs for DevOps automation will only grow from here, and can’t wait to see CAST AI become the leader in the cloud optimization space.”

CAST AI positions itself as an all-in-one platform for cloud-native applications. Users can benefit from the full-suite of solutions including cost monitoring, autoscaling, spot instances automation and container security.

For  more information on CAST AI, visit https://cast.ai/

, , , , , ,
22
Feb, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

FAU Tech Runway announces Venture Class 11 companies

Read Time 6 Minutes

FAU Tech Runway® just announced the 20 companies accepted into the 11th cohort of its Venture Program.

The Venture Program provides the most promising startups and talented entrepreneurs in South Florida with an opportunity to join a year-long program that offers resources from FAU’s Innovation and Business Development pipeline, entrepreneurial instruction, structured team-based mentoring, networking, marketing and capital-raising assistance, co-working space, events, intern support, and other vital programs. This program will run February – December

Companies accepted into the Venture Program must have strategic alignment with FAU’s research focus areas, including drone technologies; educational technologies; environmental science; marine science; ocean engineering; neuroscience; healthy aging; big data analytics; artificial intelligence; machine learning; cyber security; sensing; and smart systems.

“The program has been a tremendous help in many founders’ journeys, and when we joined the program, we were a one-person company with an idea,” stated Saida Florexil, Venture Class 8 alumnus and Co-Founder & CEO of Imanyco, a company aiming to improve communication accessibility for people with hearing loss.

“By the time we graduated, we had built a team, and a product, raised funds, and we were able to work with some of the world’s largest companies. The mentorship, resources, and support that we received were incredibly valuable to our journey.”

At Tech Runway, experts have created a program that harnesses and directs the entrepreneurial spirit, providing a complete ecosystem for forward-thinking entrepreneurs, innovative students, faculty, alumni and the community. Program participants receive more than $100,000 in resources and services, including but not limited to mentoring, entrepreneurial education, introductions to early-stage capital, pitch practice opportunities, networking, co-working space and much more. Applications are opened twice a year to be accepted into the Venture Program.

Jessica Beaver, Associate Director of FAU Tech Runway, told South Florida Tech Hub that as the region continues to grow as national leader for tech and business that they have seen more of a need for startup resources as startups flock to the area.

“Due to a high demand, FAU Tech Runway has committed to providing our area two cohorts each year versus only one. This is the second cohort of the year allowing us to serve 40 companies, doubling the amount of startups served in previous years.”

From smart sensors to a fitness app to a decorative planter box company, this cohort has it all. “We are excited about the mix of students, faculty, and community in this cohort and the interesting combination of both SaaS-based and physical products.”

Jessica also noted that they have seen an influx in AI-driven startups. “It’s certainly becoming more prevalent as the tech industry continues to transform. AI is becoming more and more of a common trend with the companies that apply.”

Venture Class 11 participants joined a robust community of fellow entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, instructors and top-level support professionals. They have a lot of work ahead of them, but having the right community supporting them is the best first step. FAU Tech Runway® is a public-private partnership formed to incubate and accelerate early-stage technology-based companies, under the purview of FAU’s Division of Research. Applications for the next cycle of the Venture Program will open on March 3.

The 20 companies in Venture Class 11 are:

  • ADAM Rehabilitation sells dynamic performance braces and expert-level training services to individuals with full functional abilities or disabilities, to help them achieve safer and stronger joints.
  • AskDaddysaurus is a media-based avatar targeted at new parents to provide fun, engaging and accessible childcare content to save time and energy, increase efficiency and build confidence as a new caregiver.
  • AskTakeGo Inc (ATG) is a startup based in Fort Lauderdale, engaged in the development of software for the heavy construction equipment industry.
  • Carevocacy is a learning platform aimed at the elderly population that provides 1:1 online tutoring and classes that address social determinants of health, bridge the digital literacy gap, and offer opportunities to be competitive in the workplace.
  • Enchanted Wave is a Florida-based tech startup that has developed a brainwave-sensing headband and its companion mobile apps for research use, in the field of sleep and cognitive studies and sport performances.
  • EpiPaws is developing epigenetic biomarkers for age and health to improve pet healthcare and increase pet longevity. Its first product, the Pet Age Test, estimates age in dogs and cats from a simple mouth swab.
  • Esther.ai is a cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) application that will disrupt the application development market. Esther.ai’s objective is to reduce testing time and budget from weeks to hours post-development.
  • Fair Witness Technologies (a DBA of ANV Services LLC) offers a self-authenticating digital document format that is the core element of an integrated ecosystem of technology tools. This new, open-source format creates persistent authenticity.
  • Fitnessatyourdoor is a software as a service (SaaS) marketplace that matches trainers and clients and uses data to make recommendations to both parties to improve their results.
  • K Executive Solutions Inc. is a virtual assisting agency that helps business owners and busy professionals streamline their administration tasks, handling the busy work so clients can focus on what matters the most to them.
  • MedAI/SmartBioSense has developed an AI-driven decision support system that helps build a model to understand how well we can predict mortality, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
  • Modern Trials Inc. partners with health care organizations and leverages electronic health care data to identify patients in need of advanced treatment options and match them with appropriate clinical trial opportunities.
  • My Autoimmune LLC empowers individuals with autoimmune conditions to take ownership of their health and well-being using holistic methods. It connects individuals with a trusted network of holistic health professionals and evidence-informed research.
  • Parking Genie provides an innovative peer-to-peer business concept to revolutionize how consumers park cars and store boats. Through a digital listing, homeowners can create passive income and customers can search – then pay in advance – for parking.
  • Primary AI is building a patient-centric data-sharing ecosystem in health care and medicine. Its primary goal is to bridge the gap between patients, providers and scientific research.
  • RaiseLink provides startups and startup ecosystem partners with instant matching based on personalized algorithms. Education, business planning and feedback features enhance user engagement, keeping data fresh and accurate.
  • RedeLit’s mission is to redefine literature to help people fall in love with reading, learn how to write/read in a fun way, and bring an increase to literacy percentages in the USA – and the world – so people have a better quality of life.
  • ScreenPlanter LLC is a decorative planter box for horizontal beams of screen enclosures. No tools are required as the company uses ScreenExtender™ brackets. Boxes measuring 2 feet, 4 feet, 6 feet, or a Corner ScreenPlanter™ are available.
  • Show Agents connects overbooked realtors to local licensed showing assistants that can show properties on their behalf, similar to that of Uber for realtors.
  • SyncData Inc. is a compliance tech SaaS company that automates compliance norms like ISO’s with the use of AI.

Pete Martinez, Founder and Chairman of RaiseLink, an intelligent platform for investors and startups, is one of the recently accepted Venture Class 11 cohort members. Although a long time techie and former IBM executive, Pete still understood the importance of programs like FAU Tech Runway.

“We felt it was critical that we walk in the shoes of the startup and go through all the education a startup goes through. FAU’s Venture Program is providing great insight which will in turn make us and our platform even better.”

For more information on FAU Tech Runway®, visit techrunway.fau.edu.

, , , , , , , , , ,
18
Jan, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Semantix Announces the Acquisition of Elemeno

Read Time 3 Minutes

Semantix, Inc., a leading Latin American end-to-end data platform provider recently announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Elemeno Inc. (“Elemeno”), a US-based, cloud-managed, machine learning operations (MLOps) platform provider focused on helping businesses leverage the benefits of artificial intelligence.

Elemeno specifically aims to automate the development, deployment, and management of machine learning (ML) software with an easy-to-use interface and, in so doing, accelerate artificial intelligence adoption for businesses and organizations.

Founded in 2021 by Lucas Bonatto Miguel, Elemeno simplifies machine learning development by providing an end-to-end development framework, which includes not only automation but key no-code components for managing features and models, as well as an open software development kit (SDK) for custom use cases. With a fully managed, highly scalable infrastructure and a standard serverless architecture based on Kubernetes, Elemeno aims to allow customers to build ML models with ease and effortlessly resolve challenges that can be addressed through artificial intelligence.

“We announced an important step towards helping more companies to leverage Artificial Intelligence to run efficient businesses,” Miguel wrote in a recent social media post. “Elemeno is now part of the Semantix platform, and we’re just starting!

Just this past year, the Brazilian-based Semantix expanded to the United States. The company merged with Alpha Capital (ASPC), a special purpose acquisition company, or ‘SPAC’ focused on technology in Latin America.

It was the first technology SPAC from Brazil listed in the United States debuting on NASDAQ in August 2022 under STIX.

Semantix is a leading Latin American end-to-end data platform provider. The company now has more than 300 clients with operations in approximately 15 countries.

Semantix expects the acquisition of Elemeno to complement and enhance its flagship proprietary platform, the Semantix Data Platform (SDP), and specifically strengthen SDP’s MLOps suite. Semantix also anticipates that Elemeno’s highly skilled engineering team will increase its innovation and proprietary technology development capacities. The acquisition is as well expected to expand Semantix’s growing presence in the US, which continues to be a major strategic priority.

“Semantix remains committed to growing our proprietary SaaS business and expanding our presence in the US. The acquisition of Elemeno is fully aligned with these goals, with products and technology that are highly complementary to Semantix’s Data Platform,” said Leonardo Santos, CEO of Semantix.

“We look forward to welcoming Elemeno’s team and are excited about what we can achieve together.”

The transaction will be structured as a merger of a Semantix subsidiary with Elemeno, with the surviving company becoming a subsidiary of Semantix. The completion of this transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent. Semantix and Elemeno will each maintain their business in the ordinary course in an independent manner until the closing date of the transaction.

For more information, visit ir.semantix.ai.

, , , ,
15
Nov, 2022

By Nikki Cabus

NextEra completes successful 4-week AI Bootcamp through Mark Cuban Foundation

Read Time 2 Minutes

Just this past weekend, NextEra Energy Resources completed the 4-week AI Bootcamp in collaboration with the Mark Cuban Foundation.

There were only 30 locations across the entire United States chosen for this program and two were approved here in South Florida: one in Miami and one in Palm Beach County. Although a fairly new initiative founded in 2019 by the Mark Cuban Foundation, the program attracted over 600 high school students in 9th – 12th grades.

There were over 20 high school students in attendance for the Palm Beach County program. Florida Power and Light sponsored and hosted the program at no cost to students. The classes were held in the beautiful FPL Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach which is an FPL Eco-Discovery Center.

Grace Kurian (pictured above on right) , Executive Director of Information Technology-Nuclear at NextEra Energy Inc, previously stated that “FPL is proud to serve as the host company for Mark Cuban’s AI Boot Camp for students who would otherwise not have exposure to programs in STEM. Our corporate culture is focused on giving back to the communities where we live and work. We are intentional about supporting and building thriving communities for the next generation.”

The program spanned 4 Saturdays from October 22nd to November 12th, but took months of planning, 22 volunteers and over 100+ volunteer hours to make this bootcamp come to life. Volunteers ranged from entry-level developers to the VP of IT and Business Unit CIO at FPL, Michael Fowler.

Normally taught at the collegiate level, students had the opportunity to interact in hands-on workshops about chatbots, AI, Machine learning and Natural Language processing – topics many had never encountered before.

Aimed to increase AI literacy and understanding in students from underserved communities, the high schools students didn’t need any prior experience with computer science, programming, or robotics to apply and attend.

Students completed a final project and made a presentation to the entire class. This not only helped them showcase their newly found technical skills, but the ability to present, communicate and practice public speaking skills.

At the close of the bootcamp, one students gave a thank you card with a kind message to his volunteer instructor: “Thank you for helping me with this bootcamp. I appreciate all your time and efforts into organizing this camp. I really learned a lot these past 4 weeks. Thank you!” 

, , , , , ,

LATEST POSTS

SUBSCRIBE







Microsoft 365 Community Day Miami (M365 Miami)
South Florida high school student wins FBLA nationals
Techstrong Group Launches Techstrong.ai to Document the AI Revolution
Levatas named as first Certified Technology Partner by Boston Dynamics for industrial AI
ChenMed, a leading primary care provider, recognized for using intelligence and automation in HR practices
IBM to grant $5M to schools to boost cybersecurity & AI skills
ODP Corporation expands collaboration with Microsoft to leverage the power of AI technology from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service
For the second year in a row, South Florida will once again welcome the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp for high schoolers
Did you know? History & Future of Tech in South Florida started in Boca Raton.
CAST AI Receives $20M in New Funding Led by Early-Stage VC Creandum
FAU Tech Runway announces Venture Class 11 companies
Semantix Announces the Acquisition of Elemeno
NextEra completes successful 4-week AI Bootcamp through Mark Cuban Foundation