In a world where quality standards are crucial to success, NewPower Worldwide is making an important move by joining the ANSI/ASQ Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) 69 and 176. This decision places NewPower alongside respected organizations like CATERPILLAR, CISCO, INTEL, BOEING, LOCKHEED MARTIN, MICRON TECHNOLOGY, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, and GOOGLE. By becoming a member of this select group, NewPower seeks to actively contribute to the development and refinement of international quality standards, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of the industry and keep pace with technological advancements.As part of its responsibilities, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) oversees U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs), which develop and transmit U.S. consensus positions on ISO standards. U.S. TAGs play a critical role in the approval, revision, and withdrawal of these standards while also selecting delegates to represent the U.S. at ISO meetings.NewPower's Commitment to Excellence and InnovationAs a member of TAG 69, which focuses on Applications of Statistical Methods, and TAG 176, dedicated to Quality Management and Quality Assurance standards, NewPower is positioned to influence the standards that govern global quality practices. This involvement reflects NewPower's dedication to pioneering quality initiatives that align with the company's vision of excellence and innovation.Pioneering New Standards: ISO 10009-2024NewPower's quality leadership was also engaged in the development and release of the ISO 10009 - 2024 standard, which serves as a companion to ISO 9001 and ISO 10017. This new standard provides quality practitioners with essential tools for structured problem-solving, encouraging their application in various contexts.By leveraging the guidance offered by the ISO 10009 - 2024 standard, organizations can achieve tangible benefits, including reduced complaints, minimized waste, faster turnaround times, improved responsiveness, and enhanced regulatory compliance. This standard serves as a valuable resource for quality practitioners, helping them enhance their quality management systems and overall effectiveness.The Future of Quality LeadershipNewPower's membership in ANSI/ASQ TAGs 69 and 176 marks a pivotal point in the company's journey toward setting a benchmark for quality leadership in the industry. By actively contributing to the development of international standards, NewPower is poised to influence the future of quality management practices. This strategic move enhances NewPower's capabilities and affirms its commitment to fostering a culture of quality that benefits both the company and the broader industry landscape.To learn more about NewPower's commitment to quality, visit www.newpowerww.com or email info@newpowerww.com.

Precise and complete physiological parameter monitoring plays a vital role in affecting the outcome of medical care and diagnosis.Medical institutions today use a variety of physiological monitoring devices. Without a way to integrate these devices, it is difficult to centrally manage patients' physiological data and this puts a burden on healthcare professionals.To address this, combining traditional physiological parameter monitoring and advanced ICT technologies, BROADSIMS introduces a 5G patient monitoring system featuring multiple physiological parameter sensors and connectivity with all kinds of medical applications and third-party devices. BROADSIMS' solution can significantly improve medical care efficiency and diagnostic accuracy.A synergy between traditional patient monitoring and ICT technologies improves medical care efficiency and diagnostic accuracyAccording to BROADSIMS founder and CEO Dr. Bruce Yu, a recent key trend for the healthcare industry is to develop smarter and higher-performance devices through the integration of ICT technologies with traditional medical devices as a way to improve medical care efficiency and optimize patient experience. In line with the trend, BROADSIMS applied its core strength and expanded physiological monitors commonly seen at hospitals into a smart platform that integrates a wide range of solutions from the healthcare ecosystem.BROADSIMS' 5G multi-parameter patient monitoring system checks basic physiological signals such as ECG, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and respiratory rate like traditional monitoring devices, and more importantly, it also supports all types of medical apps and third-party hardware through an open platform, allowing one device to monitor multiple physiological signals. Yu added that the system is like a smartphone for medical care. Not only does it have robust fundamental monitoring capabilities but it also features software and hardware expandability to accommodate the wide-ranging needs of different healthcare use scenarios. Healthcare professionals will greatly benefit from BROADSIMS' innovation, said Yu. They will be able to monitor multiple physiological parameters on a central platform and no longer need to operate several individual devices just to measure and track a patient's physical condition. Physicians have simultaneous access to a patient's complete physiological data, enabling them to make the right diagnosis.On top of healthcare efficiency improvement, BROADSIMS' 5G multi-parameter patient monitoring system also benefits physiological monitoring device manufacturers. Yu explained that single-feature medical device manufacturers face fierce competition. Even if their devices have been certified, they still struggle to overcome market entry barriers. By integrating with BROADSIMS' solution, the data collected by their devices can realize greater value, giving them another chance to penetrate medical institutions. Taiwan's positive startup environment supports BROADSIMS' global expansion while its open platform strategy expands application scenarios Yu revealed that BROADSIMS' ecosystem strategy has generated positive results. The company has actively engaged with ultrasound and video equipment makers for hardware integration on its open platform.It has also introduced a platform development kit (PDK) for use by medical research and academic institutions around the world to develop new applications. With close collaborations with global manufacturers as well as medical research and academic institutions, BROADSIMS continues to expand the scale and diversity of its ecosystem, hoping to start a positive cycle attracting more partners to get on board.BROADSIMS' 5G multi-parameter patient monitoring system was put to clinical use at NTU Hospital and Taichung Veterans General Hospital in 2021 and 2022. It officially passed medical device certification in May 2024 and entered the market.Close to half of the medical centers in Taiwan now use BROADSIMS' 5G multi-parameter patient monitoring system to optimize their healthcare efficiency. For example, Taichung Veterans General Hospital combines the system with mobile communication to continuously monitor the conditions of patients during transit and send the data back to the hospital.This significantly raises emergency care efficiency and patient safety. The solution also meets the needs of the home critical care program the Taiwan government is actively promoting. It enables the same quality of healthcare outside the hospital setting. Aside from Taiwan, BROADSIMS is applying for medical device certification in Southeast Asia and Europe while exerting efforts toward the US and other overseas markets.Looking back at the process of developing and bringing the system to market, Yu attributed the success to the BROADSIMS team's effort. He also considered Taiwan's startup environment and TTA's support critical in helping BROADSIMS secure a foothold in the market.Yu pointed out that with a multitude of accelerators and support programs, Taiwan's startup ecosystem is growing mature. As an important resource provider, TTA incubates startups by offering them opportunities to participate in international exhibitions and bridging them with mentors, media, prospective customers, and investors.Going forward, BROADSIMS will continue to expand its ecosystem and engage with more partners with its open platform strategy and PDK. Furthermore, it will actively strengthen its collaborations with medical institutions, hoping its robust technological capability coupled with the innovative application model will create a win-win situation for hospitals and patients.

SK Hynix announced today that it has developed PEB110 E1.S (PEB110), a high-performance solid-state drive (SSD) for data centers.With the advent of the AI era, customer demand for high-performance NAND solutions such as SSDs for data centers, as well as ultra-fast DRAM chips including high bandwidth memory (HBM), is growing. In line with this trend, the company has developed and introduced a new product with improved data processing speed and power efficiency by applying the fifth-generation (Gen5) PCIe1 specifications.SK Hynix expects to meet diverse customer needs with a more robust SSD portfolio following the successful mass production of PS10102 with the introduction of PEB110.The company is currently in the qualification process with a global data center customer and plans to begin mass production of the product in the second quarter of next year, pending qualification.PCle Gen5, applied to the new product, provides twice the bandwidth of the fourth generation (Gen4), enabling PEB110 to achieve data transfer rates of up to 32 gigatransfers per second (GT/s). This enables PEB110 to double the performance of the previous generation and improve power efficiency by more than 30%.SK Hynix has also applied the security protocol and data model technology, or SPDM, to PEB110, for the first time for its data-center SSDs to significantly enhance information security features.SPDM, a key security solution specialized in protecting server systems, offers secure authentication and monitoring of servers. With the recent increase in cyberattacks on data centers, the company expects that PEB110 with SPDM will meet the high information security needs of customers.The product will be released in three capacity versions—2 terabytes (TB), 4 TB, and 8 TB—and supports the OCP3 version 2.5 specifications for greater compatibility across global data centers."The new product builds on the company's best-in-class 238-high 4D NAND, boasting the most competitive standards in the industry in terms of cost, performance, and quality," said Ahn Hyun, Head of the N-S Committee at SK Hynix."Looking ahead, we are on track to proceed with customer qualification and volume production to solidify our position as the No. 1 global AI memory provider in the ever-growing SSD market for data centers," said Ahn.Credit: SK HynixAbout SK Hynix Inc.SK Hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world's top-tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips ("DRAM"), flash memory chips ("NAND flash"), and CMOS Image Sensors ("CIS") for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company's shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK Hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

For most consumers today, checking online content to decide whether to visit a restaurant has become a usual practice. Therefore, one of the most challenging tasks for restaurant owners might not be serving delicious signature dishes, but rather putting effort and time into managing social media platforms to attract potential guests' attention and encourage them to walk through their restaurants' doors.As a third-generation family member in the restaurant business, Eric Fung deeply understands restaurant owners' pain points. Drawing on 15 years of experience in the tech industry in Silicon Valley and his entrepreneurial spirit, he founded Colega AI with partners, and leverages AI technology to provide solutions that help restaurant owners easily manage social media platforms and create promotional content. Starting with Taiwan as the base, the startup is gaining growth support from TTA and SparkLabs Taiwan, and achieving some success in the market."I've been in the AI industry since 2018, and we've seen so much progression in AI, especially with ChatGPT coming out and all those technologies." Eric, the Co-founder & CEO of Colega AI, said, "I'd like to see how I can combine my knowledge in AI and apply it to Industries that still need to be innovative and catch up to modern technology, and what better industry than the industry that I grew up in?"According to Eric's observations and experience, most restaurant operators do not understand new technologies or think it will be quite difficult to learn how to use them, particularly small and medium-sized businesses with tight human resources. Therefore, his philosophy is to provide AI tools that are easy to use even for those who do not know technology, allowing restaurant owners to focus on what they do best: providing delicious food and a welcoming atmosphere for their guests.Colega AI's users don't need to know programming or go through the cumbersome process of registering, obtaining an account, and filling out numerous forms. They just need to connect with Colega via instant messenger like LINE or WhatsApp, link their social media accounts, and gain an exclusive 24/7 Social Media Manager who creates engaging content to attract online attention for their restaurant.Building exclusive AI model for the F&B industryOf course, the effort and technical expertise required to create such a simple and user-friendly tool is beyond what the end users can imagine. In creating an AI assistant specifically for restaurant owners, Colega chose open-source large language models as the foundation and retrained them with the datasets collected by themselves. During the initial launch phase of Colega's service, they also did extensive manual work on the model fine-tuning to ensure the correct and fluent language they provide, especially the Traditional Chinese used in Taiwan."We take a very careful approach to train our AI model, it's because we want our AI-powered social media manager to be like you're essentially talking to a Taiwanese person." Eric explained, "So everything we do revolves around that. One of the big features that Colega AI can do is proactively tell you, give you ideas or suggestions of what to post, and the data sources come from what's happening around you in Taiwan."For example, if an international superstar recently came to Taiwan, Colega's users will get a message and give suggestions to create a post to capitalize on this hot topic. "So, we have to understand the local events and trends, even the weather. When it comes down to language, we don't just do a lot of manual work at the moment to make sure that the tone, slang, and phrases or grammar are consistent with the everyday language used by people in Taiwan. We can also learn the users' habitual expressions and preferences from their social media posts to create personalized content for them. It takes a lot of work, but we plan to apply this standard and approach to every international market we enter. It's about respecting each country's nuances," Eric added.Establishing a foothold and expanding to broader marketsColega AI is still in a very early stage. The team is currently gaining experience and continuously improving service quality through close collaboration with both independent restaurants and restaurant chains based in Taiwan. According to Eric, Colega AI offers its services through a monthly or annual subscription. In addition to providing suggestions for social media content posts, the company can also offer customized reports on post engagement and follower analysis. This allows F&B operators to gain valuable insights into how social media tools can help their business.Currently, Colega AI's services are already operating in Taiwan and the United States through LINE and WhatsApp. The startup also plans to enter Japan, where social media marketing and LINE usage are prevalent, and they have already received ongoing interest from restaurants there and across Asia. As for other industries beyond the F&B business that also need social media management, Eric mentioned that while Colega AI hopes to serve a broader market, building datasets and training custom models for specific industries is a demanding task. Therefore, the team will first focus on the areas they are familiar with, and establish a solid foothold before considering longer-term future developments.

Semiconductor process technology advancements have enabled extreme miniaturization of electronic devices. Coupled with battery technology breakthroughs and AI algorithm maturity, these developments have given rise to increasing popularity of unmanned vehicles. In particular, the market of unmanned aerial vehicles is of the largest scale.According to the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the global unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone market is projected to reach US$140 billion in ten years. Aside from drones, unmanned vehicles are being designed and used for a wide range of application scenarios. For example, governments around the world are investing into autonomous driving vehicles as part of their efforts to improve public transportation. Automated guided vehicles (AGV) are also widely used at warehouses and factories to raise efficiency and reduce labor costs.DROXO CEO Chun Lin Liu noted that drones are used to do many things, for example, spraying pesticides, shooting videos and delivering packages. There have been a multitude of successful use cases. However, drones have limitations such as inability to navigate confined spaces. For the routine maintenance or repair of industrial equipment made of carbon steel such as petrochemical storage tanks, large vessels and wind turbines, purpose-built unmanned vehicle solutions are required.This market segment currently does not offer a lot of choices. Existing solutions are mostly provided by foreign device suppliers and generally do not deliver satisfactory results. DROXO is among the few suppliers capable of providing complete smart storage tank maintenance solutions. Its products have been used to successfully address customer needs in Taiwan. DROXO is also in talks with overseas partners to expand its footprint worldwide.DROXO builds special-purpose solutions to overcome challenges in large storage tank maintenanceStarting out its business developing drone technologies, DROXO chose to endeavor on agriculture drones with a lower entry barrier when it was first established in 2019. It was able to commercialize its agriculture drones and made significant progress within a short period of time. On the foundation, DROXO independently developed wall-climbing intelligent vehicles which received the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Business Startup Award - Innovative Traditional Industry Category 2023.On the basis of the outstanding achievements, DROXO continues to fulfill customer needs by integrating all types of sensors, mechanical designs and automation accessories while staying committed to technological advancements and innovations. On top of that, DROXO leverages its robust hardware mechanical design and software/firmware development capabilities accumulated over time to develop smart vehicles for industrial applications. Not only has DROXO had its R&D results validated but it has also mastered critical technologies.According to Liu, DROXO's wall-climbing intelligent vehicles enable the maintenance work on storage tanks to be performed without the need for scaffolding. Leading chemical suppliers have approached DROXO for the labor cost savings its solutions can bring when they are used to inspect or service large storage tanks. Multiple leading Taiwan-based manufacturers including China Steel, LCY Chemical and Chang Chun Chemical have adopted DROXO's solutions for the purpose of eliminating the risks and uncertainties when using human workers to service or inspect storage tanks.AAROW series of storage tank maintenance solutions. Credit: DROXOForaying into Japan and the Middle East, DROXO taps immense maintenance opportunitiesDROXO has recently introduced a whole-new and complete range of intelligent storage tank maintenance solutions, including AAAROW Scan, AAROW Blast, AAROW Coater and AAROW DECK. Among them, AAROW Scan adheres to the tank wall using neodymium magnets and checks the wall and coating thickness with non-destructive inspection equipment. The inspection results are presented in 3D visualization on ARROW DECK. DROXO's unique product received the 2024 Taiwan Excellence Silver Award.Liu commented that the traditional approach of using human workers to perform storage tank maintenance is very risky. First of all, workers might fall from a scaffold or inhale harmful fumes when doing coating. Furthermore, workers manually measuring tank wall thickness might make mistakes and fail to discover weak spots that will soon crack. The traditional approach also does not allow manufacturers to build 3D models of the tank. Each one of these challenges can be addressed with DROXO's intelligent storage tank maintenance solutions. DROXO operates by providing services instead of selling products. Apart from Taiwan, it is also working with partners in Singapore, Japan and the Middle East to provide services in the local markets.DROXO has focused efforts on technology R&D. Thanks to the assistance from flyingV, stationed in TTA, not only is DROXO able to strengthen its financial planning and business operation skills, but it also gained access to funding from venture capital firms, allowing it to secure market presence in the competitive unmanned vehicle sector.

In the face of growingly intense market competition, companies began to sell gift cards or vouchers decades ago to maintain steady growth.This approach allows them to get paid in advance while encouraging consumer spending. Today almost every consumer has a mobile device so electronic vouchers or tickets are replacing the printed version to become the mainstream.Especially when COVID-19 gave rise to zero-contact shopping, e-vouchers became something that consumers preferred. Seeing that e-vouchers might be susceptible to cybercrime, more and more vendors now integrate blockchain with e-voucher systems and expand their business footprint into the global market.Two groups of vendors combine blockchain with e-vouchers. The first group comprises blockchain startups. They generally don't know the industry well enough to win the favor of international sales channel operators. The second group comprises the original distributors of printed vouchers.They generally work with ICT solution providers but they may not be technically proficient enough to communicate with their ICT partners. 3T GDS is among the very few vendors that have the experience and technical caliber to integrate blockchain with e-vouchers. It was recognized and funded by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in 2022.According to 3T GDS CEO Eric Ko, blockchain enables traceability, immutability, and irreversibility. It has been widely used across a diversity of fields. Blockchain integrated with e-voucher systems prevents fraudulent use of e-vouchers and protects consumers and businesses.The security feature will undoubtedly attract partnership opportunities. Safeguarding e-vouchers with blockchain will also help companies expand their footprint globally as overseas consumers can rest assured that their purchase and use of the e-vouchers are protected against cybercrime. This is what distinguishes 3T GDS from the other e-voucher platform vendors.3T GDS offers more than 5,000 electronic commodities with its global network of 15 channel partnersAs consumers increasingly opting for e-vouchers gives rise to the rapid growth of the e-voucher market, 3T GSD, a startup founded in 2020, endeavors to realize borderless living with digital assets and tourism banking solutions. Leveraging the popular blockchain technology on top of the team's 20 years of experience, 3T GDS brought together cross-border service providers and formed a big league of international e-voucher suppliers.3T GDS's team of seasoned experts has built a global e-voucher purchase and sales platform providing travel commodity trust and reservation services, aiming to deliver higher quality service and stronger guarantees for every aspect of the travel experience. The company currently operates the 3TEZ online ticket point-of-sale platform, the 3TET e-voucher shopping site, the 3T GDS global distribution system, and the 3T GDS CRM distribution management platform. In collaborations with Trip.com, Ctrip.com, Alibaba, ezTravel, and a slew of other internationally known channels, 3T GDS helps them accelerate the distribution and preservation of electronic tickets or vouchers.According to Ko, not only does 3T GDS enable cross-border merchants to manage their inventory on all international channels, but it also helps them digitize their commodities or services and make them available on all international channels. It consolidates all the orders from the international channels and provides them to the merchant so that the merchant does not have to worry about exchange rates and cross-border payment clearing issues. 3T GDS is currently in partnership with more than 35 channel operators, marketing over 8,000 commodities in Taiwan and over 5,000 commodities abroad.Successfully foraying into Singapore, 3T GDS signed an agreement with a prestigious banking groupDespite the widespread popularity of e-vouchers around the world, only Taiwan and Japan have a complete system to regulate e-voucher execution to protect consumers from fraudulent bankruptcy. 3T GDS learns from the system and has signed an agreement to work with a Singaporean banking group to provide escrow services for e-vouchers, creating a multi-win situation for merchants, consumers, platform operators, and financial institutions.Ko noted that without laws and regulations in place, there have been incidents in Singapore where e-voucher sellers went out of business maliciously and consumers demanded financial institutions for refunds. In view of this, when expanding into Singapore, 3T GDS signed escrow agreements with financial institutions and merchants to safeguard against such incidents. The Singaporean banking group therefore quickly agreed to the partnership with 3T GDS.Thanks to the assistance from Foodland Ventures, based in TTA, 3T GDS was able to add many partners in the food service sector, helping them issue e-vouchers and unlock new revenue streams. Going forward, 3T GDS plans to work with TTA and Foodland Ventures to keep expanding OTA, EC, social media, and payment channels in different countries as part of its efforts to build a solid foundation for long-term growth.

In precision-driven industries where quality is non-negotiable, deionized water plays a vital role. Unlike readily available tap water, it undergoes a rigorous purification process, removing dissolved minerals and salts to achieve exceptional purity. This meticulously treated water supports diverse industries, enabling manufacturers to produce cutting-edge technologies and safeguard product integrity.Here are three interesting insights on the unique properties of deionized water:Demystifying the TransformationDeionized water is water that has been stripped of its conductive constituents, rendering it electrically neutral and chemically inert. This is achieved by running water through ion exchange resins which act as microscopic magnets, selectively attracting and capturing dissolved minerals and salts in the water.Why deionize? Though inconsequential for everyday uses, the presence of dissolved ions in tap water can pose significant challenges in industrial applications. They can disrupt sensitive chemical reactions, corrode vital equipment, and compromise product quality. Stripped of disruptive mineral interferences, deionized water forms a predictable and dependable base for a variety of high-precision applications.Purity with NuanceWhile deionized and distilled water strive for the crown of purity, their paths diverge. Distillation relies on the age-old art of boiling, capturing the pristine steam that condenses into pure water, leaving behind a concentrated broth of minerals. Deionization, on the other hand, employs the finesse of ion-hungry resins, directly extracting the offending ions.Production methods: Distillation demands significant energy expenditures, while deionization often boasts a gentler footprint. However, deionized water possesses a thirst for atmospheric carbon dioxide, leading to slight acidity over time. Distilled water, on the other hand, maintains its neutral stance.Technology's guiding hand: Both processes have thrived under the watchful eye of technological advancements. Modern deionization systems utilize sophisticated mixed-bed resins for enhanced ion removal, while real-time monitoring ensures consistent water purity. Purity Reigns SupremeDeionized water is essential in many industries outside of sterile laboratories, powering progress and safeguarding quality. Some examples include:Semiconductor fabrication: In the intricate world of chip manufacturing, deionized water is used extensively for cleaning and rinsing electronic components, circuit boards, and other sensitive parts, washing away contaminants, oils, and particles that would threaten the performance and reliability of the electronic devices. Food & beverage production: Deionized water is used as an ingredient water to ensure consistent water quality as this can alter the taste, texture, and appearance of the final products. Power generation: The use of deionized water in cooling towers and heat exchangers prevents scale formation and corrosion, ensuring boilers and turbines hum efficiently.Textile processing: From fabric rinsing to dyeing, deionized water plays a crucial role in removing impurities and residual chemicals to ensure the quality and durability of textiles. Chemicals & petrochemicals manufacturing: High-purity deionized water is used in production and formulation as impurities can lead to unwanted chemical reactions or interactions.Embracing the Power of PurityDeionized water is more than just pure; it's a critical element in ensuring accuracy, quality, and safety across various industries. Its multifaceted applications, from powering scientific research to ensuring the efficacy of life-saving medicines, showcase its undeniable significance.Veolia Water Technologies, a leader in water treatment solutions, recognizes the vital role deionization plays in various sectors.The company's Service Deionization offering provides customized solutions tailored to specific purity requirements and operational needs. With expertise in resin selection, system design, and ongoing maintenance, Veolia ensures a reliable and cost-effective supply of deionized water for clients across China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.To find out more about Veolia's Service Deionization solutions, please visitwww.veoliawatertechnologies.com/asia/en/solutions/services/service-deionization or email marcom.apac@veolia.com.

In recent decades, cancer immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the host's immune system to eliminate cancer cells, has marked a significant advancement in cancer treatment. This approach offers a more precise and personalized therapeutic option compared to traditional chemotherapy and targeted therapies.However, emerging evidence indicates that the metabolic dysregulation within cancer cells creates physiological conditions in tumors that suppress anti-tumor immunity by reprogramming the tumor microenvironment (TME) to be more immunosuppressive. This challenge hampers the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy, highlighting the importance of targeting immunometabolism—ushering in a new chapter for cancer treatment.Metabolism is a core process underlying essentially all biological functions. The integration of metabolism with immunity, known as immunometabolism, is at the forefront of immunology research, as it continues to transform the field.Given its novelty and potential in cancer immunotherapy, immunometabolism is garnering increasing attention from the global medical and biotechnological industries. According to Raven Lin, co-founder and CEO of Pilatus Biosciences, cancer cells predominantly consume essential nutrients and produce harmful metabolic waste, thereby altering immune responses within the TME.By dissecting immunometabolism, we can understand how the interplay between immunology and metabolism impacts the functions of T cells and other immune cells. This understanding can lead to the development of innovative treatments aimed at reprogramming the TME and enhancing the effectiveness of immunotherapy.Pilatus Biosciences is advancing preclinical studies and translational medical research in the field of immunometabolism at globally renowned research institutions and medical centers. The company has also developed multiple pipelines aimed at creating innovative treatments that target immunometabolism.Unveiling outstanding PLT012 preclinical resultsFounded by Prof. Ping-Chih Ho and Dr. Raven Lin at the Ludwig Cancer Research (Lausanne), Pilatus Biosciences pioneers the development of first-in-class biologics targeting metabolic checkpoints. These cutting-edge innovations aim to advance cancer immunotherapy and tackle the current challenges in cancer treatment. The Pilatus Biosciences team boasts extensive knowledge and experience in immunology, oncology, and biotechnology, providing a solid foundation for its biologics research and development. Continuing to push the frontiers of cancer medicine, Pilatus Biosciences is committed to delivering more effective and safer treatment options to conquer cancer's greatest challenges.Pilatus Biosciences' first groundbreaking antibody, PLT012, was developed to block CD36-mediated fatty acid uptake, driving immunometabolic reprogramming in the TME. This leads to remarkable anti-tumor efficacy and inhibits the growth and spread of cancer cells. Pilatus Biosciences has presented preclinical proof-of-concept data of PLT012, particularly in the context of liver and colon cancer, at several international medical conferences.As a leading research group in immunometabolism, Prof. Ping-Chih Ho, co-founder of Pilatus Biosciences, focuses on studying how immune cells' metabolic adaptations are regulated or modulated in response to the tumor microenvironment. Prof. Ho's in-depth research on T cell metabolism in the tumor microenvironment has laid a solid foundation for Pilatus Biosciences' development of innovative immunotherapy and played a critical role in Pilatus Biosciences' remarkable achievements.Three major bottlenecks in today's immunotherapy are: (1) exhaustion and dysfunction of anti-tumor immune cells, (2) immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment, and (3) the challenge of selectively activating anti-tumor immune cells without affecting systemic immunity in the body. Pilatus Biosciences' PLT012 addresses these issues by blocking CD36-mediated fatty acid uptake. This immunometabolic mechanism selectively activates anti-tumor immune cells and reduces immunosuppression, effectively overcoming the current limitations of immunotherapy. Credit: Pilatus BiosciencesPilatus Biosciences establishes a Subsidiary in Taiwan to strengthen R&D and fundraising effortsLeveraging its strong expertise in immunometabolism research, Pilatus Biosciences further works with a renowned European cancer center to establish an ex-vivo patient sample culture platform. This platform retains the tumor microenvironment and cell populations of patients' cancer tissues, enabling efficacy assessment across various cancers.As part of its strategy to enhance R&D capabilities, Pilatus Biosciences plans to build a lab in Taiwan starting in July 2024. Pilatus Biosciences' endeavors not only provide more precise data for personalized medical care but also facilitate the selection of indications and biomarkers during biologics development. This approach can significantly reduce the risks of biologics development while greatly benefiting the advances of personalized medical care.According to Lin, Taiwan has cultivated a comprehensive industry ecosystem for pharmaceutical industry from translational research disease model, manufacturing, pre-clinical testing, and clinical development, gradually establishing itself as a global leader in this field. To accelerate its development, in 2023, Pilatus Biosciences partnered with Mosaic Venture Labs, a startup accelerator based in TTA.This collaboration aims to leverage Mosaic Venture Labs' influence and resources in the Asia-Pacific region to drive the company's growth and advancement through every stage of R&D. Pilatus Biosciences is now collaborating with multiple Taiwan-based research institutions and aims to build a strong and agile operation team in Taiwan that will connect with the global research community.Phase-one human clinical trials for PLT012 in Taiwan and the US are scheduled to begin in early 2025. Mosaic Venture Labs is assisting Pilatus Biosciences in a round of funding aimed at raising US$10 million. The startup accelerator's network of biotech venture capital partners in Taiwan will help Pilatus Biosciences build up a solid foundation for its subsequent development. Hopefully, all these efforts will enable Pilatus Biosciences to present more treatment options and opportunities for patients through its biologics development achievements.

Chip complexity is growing beyond the capabilities of human intelligence alone.This is why semiconductor evolution requires electronic design automation (EDA) with AI. Mila, the Montréal Institute for Learning Algorithms, is working closely with industry to develop these IC EDA as it believes breakthroughs will require both AI and domain expertise.Reinforcement learning can help explore solution spaces when tool parameters and processes can be optimized by analyzing past component failures via Deep Learning. Other use cases include modeling physics environments to reduce compute overhead through Foundation Models, AI-guided Inverse Design to accelerate the discovery of new precursor materials, chip energy efficiency improved with Distributed Learning, and Computer Vision for rapid wafer quality inspection.Mila, the world's largest academic research center in deep learning, is at the forefront of developing these methods. Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the Université de Montreal in Québec, the research institute in artificial intelligence brings together over 1,200 specialized researchers in machine learning. It is globally recognized for its significant contributions, especially in the fields of language modeling, automatic translation, object recognition, and generative models.Québec's great AI hub is made up of +18,000 university students in programs related to AI and data analytics. The province is home to the headquarters of Scale AI, the AI supercluster dedicated to Canada's supply chain. This prominent AI ecosystem feeds from surrounding strategic industries and vice versa. This includes life sciences, quantum sciences, optic-photonics, and of course microelectronics among others.Québec is an immense collaborative space with intense synergy. All levels of government with industry and academia collaborate very tightly for opportunities to foster. Technum is Québec's innovation zone for microelectronics in Bromont. It is home to some of the largest companies – ABB, IBM, Teledyne – as well as innovation collaborative centers such as C2Mi and CMC, providing access to state-of-the-art technology for making micro-nanotechnologies, and for training industry-ready graduates.On the AI side, Mila plays a central role in the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy–the first national AI strategy in the world– for which a 2-billion-dollar investment was announced in the April 2024 federal budget. Thanks to applied research and its large talent pool, Mila is a real catalyst for development for industry partners at home and abroad. Just in 2023 and in collaboration with Intel, they published 12 material discovery papers on automating AI-driven discovery of novel materials, applying causal machine learning for climate science, and accelerating the study of molecular drivers of diseases and drug discovery.AI's already crucial integration with semiconductor manufacturing will grow in every step of the supply chain as shrinking components introduce novel challenges. The length of time from design to manufacture will shrink as AI produces faster designs, fewer manufacturing errors, and quicker recalibrations.Radical innovations will emerge as a result of growing compute demand, a faster pace of chip design, and new AI-driven material discoveries. This innovation can already be seen in Québec, in which semiconductor and AI ecosystems expand and synchronize.The Mila is cultivating the next generation of Canadian compute by focusing on three areas relevant to the semiconductor revolution: AI for material discovery through experimental new architecture, tighter co-development between fundamental research and industry for AI-specific chips and firmware optimization and finally, integration of AI in IC EDA. The technological advancements meet the specifics of the latest generation chips and semiconductors.Invest Québec, the financial arm and economic development agency for the Québec government collaborates closely with foreign companies to kickstart their expansion in the American Northeast corridor where a fully integrated value chain for semiconductors is building itself from the ground up.To learn more about what Québec's ecosystem can bring to your business contact Rachel Yin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-yin/, Info@Invest-Quebec.com

In the rapidly changing business world, data-driven strategies have become crucial to how companies can increase revenue. Digital marketing tools that play an instrumental role in data-driven strategies are also rapidly evolving.AccuHit, committed to MarTech solutions, offers three MarTech platforms including AccuNIX, AccuCDP, and Accu3DM. It has recently introduced AccuFLOW.ai, developed on the foundation of its AI strength. According to AccuHit's associate technical director Bing-Jin Lin, featuring no-code AI, AccuFLOW.ai provides tools that enable companies to build their own generative AI platforms for a diversity of use scenarios with no need for specific expertise. Developing AI-enabled MarTech innovations, AccuHit provides three major platformsAccording to Lin, AI is making giant strides and the launch of ChatGPT at year-end 2022 has spurred a wave of generative AI developments. This has profoundly impacted MarTech.The business world is now paying attention to how to incorporate generative AI into their marketing strategies to thereby make their marketing channels and models more intelligent and boost overall productivity and performance. Moreover, businesses have been making efforts to slash the costs of developing applications in recent years. This has also been driving them to increasingly adopt AI.AccuHit has developed three core products to meet MarTech's demand. AccuCDP is a multi-channel customer data platform that collects and consolidates data from various sources. It processes both structured and non-structured data and thereby tracks each user's interactions across different channels to provide companies with complete insights into the traces of users' activities, therefore enabling companies to create highly personalized user experiences.Accu3DM is a data-driven decision engine combining a URL-shortening tool and AI-based analysis. Not only does Accu3DM quickly generate and manage short URLs, but it also uses short URLs for in-depth analysis of user behavior. Its target URL management model integrates multiple short URL data generated by a batch of target web pages to provide companies with a global view of marketing effect analysis.AccuNIX is an all-encompassing conversational commerce platform featuring chatbot support on multiple social media networks and seamless integration with CRM systems to boost management efficiency. It also provides a wealth of marketing tools that effectively increase user engagement and brand stickiness. Companies can also use their data analysis capability and labeling system to precisely divide customers into target groups and create highly personalized marketing campaigns.AccuHit's latest AI solution AccuFLOW.ai. Credit: AccuHitLeveraging generative AI to raise MarTech application performanceIn early 2023, AccuHit formed a dedicated AI team that developed AccuFLOW.ai, following its three core MarTech platforms. Lin pointed out that AccuFLOW.ai focuses on generative AI applications and works with AccuNIX and AccuCDP to bring greater benefits. It empowers AccuNIX for marketing through social media networks. AccuCDP collects and analyzes user data from various channels and conducts user profiling. AccuFLOW.ai then uses the user profile data from AccuCDP to generate customized marketing content.AccuFLOW.ai supports a diversity of corporate use scenarios. For example, customer service departments can use AccuFLOW.ai to build an AI chatbot that responds to product inquiries and redirects customers to human agents when appropriate. It can also help backend support agents quickly find answers to customers' questions. AccuHit's platforms together form an end-to-end smart system that enables companies to collect and analyze data, perform precision marketing, and provide smart customer service. With AccuHit's platforms, companies can increase their marketing effectiveness and raise customer satisfaction. AccuHit's AccuFLOW.ai is being used in a wide range of applications. For example, a leading automaker uses AccuFLOW.ai for employee training, automobile sales, and maintenance services to optimize its internal processes. There are also companies in the finance and insurance sector as well as cosmetics retailers that use AccuFLOW.ai to process data traffic and use AI chatbots for customer service and product sales.AccuHit expands overseas at a steady pace, said Lin. By joining forces with customers and partners abroad, AccuHit has made contact with companies in Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan to gradually introduce its products to foreign markets.Since its establishment in 2018, AccuHit has been enjoying rapid growth in both the applications of its products and the revenue it generates. The growth is a result of the fact that AccuHit's products and their quality meet companies' marketing needs. More importantly, Taiwan's startup environment and TTA's support also play a critical role.Lin noted that the government ramping up subsidies and knowledge-sharing programs has greatly benefited startup teams. Furthermore, TTA offering workshops and venue spaces also helped AccuHit strengthen its operation and management skills and increase its product visibility. Lin therefore hopes the government will extend and expand its policies to provide even more powerful support for Taiwan-based startups.Going forward, although AI will be the center of market attention, following cutting-edge technologies will not be AccuHit's only focus. Lin emphasized that AccuHit develops products to solve real-world problems. It endeavors to help companies raise operation efficiency and competitiveness in the digital era using the most suitable solutions.