The University of San Francisco Center for Business Studies & Innovation in Asia-Pacific (CBSI) & the venture capital firm Amino Capital invite you to the USF-Amino Venture Capital Summit on April 12th, an engaging discussion & exploration of technology trends, venture capital, & career opportunities related to generative artificial intelligence innovations such as ChatGPT. The USF-Amino Venture Capital Summit is co-sponsored & hosted by Amino Capital, the USF Center for Business Studies & Innovation in Asia-Pacific Global Student Ambassador Program (GSAP), the University of San Francisco MBA & Executive MBA programs, & the USF Startup Club. Speakers: Dr. Huican Zhu - Managing Partner, Amino Capital Dr. Huican Zhu is a Founder & Managing Partner at Amino Capital. He joined Google in 2000, where he was responsible for many significant Google research projects, a pioneer of Google's image search, & the first Senior Chinese Engineer & Senior Manager. From 2010 to 2012, Dr. Zhu was the Chief Architect & General Manager of Infrastructure at Tencent.

Tredence, the Data Science and AI Solutions company, announced it has raised USD 175 million in Series B funding from Advent International (Advent) to accelerate data-fueled growth and AI value realization for industries. Advent is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The full financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Advent will acquire a minority stake in Tredence with the $175 million investment. Advent has significant investment experience in the technology services and software sectors.

Modulate, a leader in the fight against online toxicity, announced the completion of a $30 million Series A funding round led by Lakestar with participation from existing investors Everblue Management, Hyperplane Ventures, and others. In addition, Mika Salmi, Managing Partner of Lakestar, will join Modulate's Board of Directors. The company will use the funds to expand its team and continue scaling its groundbreaking proactive voice moderation platform, ToxMod. "ToxMod is changing the way game developers attack toxic behavior in their communities and this funding is a real validation of our mission to make online communities safer," said Mike Pappas, CEO of Modulate. "We're thrilled to welcome Mika and his vast store of experience to the Board as we grow our team and ramp up the development and deployment of ToxMod."

The program schedule will cover six days from July 26 until July 31. Presentations each day will start at 10:30 and end at 12:30 US Eastern Time. We will start on July 26 with a presentation on the IEEE Entrepreneur Program and an overview of the Entrepreneur Process and the resources that are available to support the aspiring Entrepreneur. Each following day will provide a Speaker that can give their experience in creating a IoT based Start Up. On the last day, July 31, we will have a spirited competition of Start Ups making their "Pitches".

Waabi, founded by AI pioneer and visionary Raquel Urtasun, today launched out of stealth to build the next generation of self-driving technology. Waabi's innovative approach unleashes the power of AI to'drive' safely in the real world, bringing the promise of self-driving closer to commercialization than ever before. Waabi also announced today a $83.5-million (USD) Series A financing with backing from best-in-class investors across the technology, logistics and the Canadian innovation ecosystem. The round, which is among the largest Series A rounds ever raised in Canada, was led by Khosla Ventures with additional participation from Uber, Radical Ventures, 8VC, OMERS Ventures, BDC Capital's Women in Technology Venture Fund (WIT), Aurora Innovation Inc., AI luminaries Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel, Sanja Fidler and others. AI and self-driving pioneer Raquel Urtasun is the founder and CEO of Waabi.

The MyFood Family Smart Greenhouse got a lot of traction at CES 2020, so much that the unit exhibited at the FrenchTech pavilion was sold during the show! Given that the price tag for such a large model (Family model, 22 m² / 242 ft²) varies between 8,600 to 22,000 euros (VAT incl.), that sale was a great validation of the product and the technology powering it. Mickaël Gandecki, co-founder, CTO and Managing Partner, MyFood, told me that the Chef of the Tao restaurant at the Venitian Hotel was so impressed that he wanted his team to visit the smart solar aquaponic greenhouse during CES. Founded in 2015 by Mickaël Gandecki, Matthieu Urban and Johan Nazaraly, MyFood aims to fight the damages caused by industrial agriculture by bringing food production back home, off-grid, using 90% less water, and without pesticide. The company's mission statement reads: "Our ambition: to make it possible to produce at home a healthy, diverse and ultra-fresh diet all-year-round. Reconnect with nature and enjoy a sense of well-being."

Bottom Line: Every Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) needs a career roadmap that prioritizes building strong AI digital dexterity skills and continual upskilling, two key skills that are defining the future of talent management. One of my favorite quotes is from Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, who wrote: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." It's prescient for CHROs who need to start taking action to strengthen their AI-based digital dexterity skills and define their upskilling roadmap. Alvin Toffler's quote also speaks to the challenge every CHRO faces today of creating programs at scale that help workers learn, unlearn and relearn valuable AI, machine learning, and digital skills. CHROs and employees who participate in upskilling programs are learning more about how AI and machine learning can help them in their jobs.

Dr. Nick Taylor -- Co-Founder & CEO -- UnmindLauren Kunze -- CEO -- PandorabotsKhaliya -- Mental Health Futurist, Neuro-technologist, Co-founder Falkora & Tell Your Story -Rich Pierson -- CEO & Co-Founder -- HeadspaceDr.

We've asked experts to predict what would define this year's digital trends and here's what they had to say! "Mobile has enabled "on-demand services" in 2018 more than ever before, just recollecting my professional and personal life in 2018, I came across: I guess, this will continue, making mobile-first touchpoints front and center of almost eavery business."

The'Internet of Things' is a name given to exponential technologies encompassing our physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and increasingly normal everyday objects such as water bottles, that can store and exchange data. For consumers, they are often fearful of these advances and question how secure their personal data is. To overcome this issue, consumers must self-educate about personal security, moving away from a naive perspective and become mature, responsible agents when operating these data-storing devices. They discuss the implications of the Internet of Things (IoT) and what the future holds – not just for businesses but also consumers. 'Artificial Intelligence' has materialised much faster than leading researchers and security professionals in the field expected, and the future of it remains unknown.