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Sergey Tokarev: STEM is FEM progresses to end gender imbalance

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STEM is FEM was initiated by Sergey Tokarev, a Reface investor, in 2019 to address the key issue of gender imbalance in the fields related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The program has completed its first year with some achievements. The program initiator talked about the program and its achievement during the first year.

STEM is FEM, a Program to Target Gender Imbalance

Sergey Tokarev realized the fact that there was a huge gender imbalance in the Ukrainian IT-sphere. The number of women working in this sphere is still close to one-third of the number of total workers. It is a global issue that is needed to be addressed as soon as possible. There is a need for collaborative efforts at the global level to destroy gender stereotypes. According to the stereotypes existing in the STEM-related fields, women are not suitable for the It development jobs. However, it is not true at all.

The STEM is FEM program deals with organizing free-educational STEM-related modules for the Ukrainian schoolgirls. During the first year, the charity initiative organized seven modules. More than 200 schoolgirls participated in them. The modules allowed them to attain knowledge in the field of IT, biotechnology, mechanical engineering, robotics, 3D modelling and printing, and others. As a result of these modules, the Ukrainian schoolgirls designed various projects including disinfection robots, benches to practice social distancing, and innovative bike stations.  

Most of the modules were organized in Kyiv during the first year. Each module included lectures, creative activities, and a filed visit. Sergey Tokarev noted, “During the offline modules, our participants visited the aviation museum, the genetic laboratory, the hydrometeorological institute, the dispatch service of Kyiv Electric Networks, as well as GlobalLogic, Beetroot, and a BMW car showroom.” The project moved to online modules in Spring 2020 amid COVID-19 concerns.

A Key Success Factor of STEM is FEM

Along with specialist in their respective fields, each module includes motivational speakers to allow the girls to get aspiration and motivation. According to Sergey Tokarev, the girls need motivation importantly as it is one of the main keys to success in every field of life. They talk to the motivational speakers to get confidence in their abilities.

“We let our participants meet successful female ambassadors, ministers, and top managers so that the girls get more faith in themselves,” noted Reface investor. STEM is FEM is not limited to the modules. It also organizes various other events for the Ukrainian schoolgirls including meetings with female scientists, webinars, workshops, visits to embassies, and many more. The Goethe Institute cooperated with STEM is FEM to create a youth reading club, LitMINT. The main aim of all these events and activities is to encourage girls to choose career paths leading to the tech sectors.

Future Insight

After achieving various key goals in the first year, STEM is FEM is entering its second year. The program plans to introduce girls to the artificial intelligence, space, agro-industry, and many other STEM-related fields. According to Sergey Tokarev, the next module is scheduled to be held on December 12-13. Conclusively, he urged the global organizations and leaders to take steps to address the gender imbalance in STEM-related fields. “The problem of gender imbalance in STEM is global. And it can only be solved by joint efforts,” he said.       

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Wiz will pay $450 million to acquire Cloud Remediation Startup Dazz

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Wiz revealed on Thursday that it will buy channel-focused company Dazz in an agreement to add cloud remediation capabilities to the vendor’s cloud and AI security platform.

With features like application security posture management and continuous threat and exposure management, Dazz provides a remediation-focused cloud security platform.

Jared Phipps, a seasoned cybersecurity industry executive who most recently worked for SentinelOne, was hired by Dazz in February as its CRO as the business sought to expand its collaboration with channel partners. Presidio, situated in New York, has been one of the key partners.

Dazz said in July that it has raised a $50 million round of funding, increasing its total funding since its 2021 launch to $110 million.

Dazz provides a “industry-leading remediation engine,” according to a post published on Thursday by Wiz Co-Founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport, which will allow Wiz to “empower security teams to correlate data from multiple sources and manage application risks in one unified platform.”

This is Wiz’s third purchase overall and its second acquisition of 2024 after the company’s April acquisition of cloud detection and response provider Gem Security.

Wiz, a four-year-old startup, reported in May that it had raised $1 billion in new capital at a $12 billion valuation, citing its continued strong development in the cloud and AI security areas. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) for the business reportedly increased from $350 million earlier this year to above $500 million.

After making a number of management additions aimed at facilitating quicker partner-driven growth, Rappaport stated in February that Wiz would prioritize its channel operations moving ahead.

I“In cybersecurity partners are super, super important in the success of a company. So we’ve always [seen that] this has huge potential for us to tap into. I think there is so much more we can do,” he stated at the time.

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ProRata, an AI startup, Teams up with UK Publishers after reportedly Hitting $130 Million in Valuation

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A number of well-known British media outlets have joined ProRata, an AI firm that claims to compensate publishers for the usage of their work, in its expanding network of partnerships.

The Los Angeles-based firm announced on Wednesday that it has signed licensing deals with publishers such as Sky News, the Guardian, and the Daily Mail’s publisher, DMG Media.

In a recent Series A funding round, ProRata raised $25 million from investors such as the Mayfield Fund, Prime Movers Lab, and Revolution Ventures.

“ProRata’s founder and CEO Bill Gross said his firm’s AI technology is the only one that pledges to credit and compensate creators, while providing users with accurate search results.

“We have had hundreds of content owners and media companies reach out to us from around the world who are interested in piloting our technology. Stealing and scraping content is not a sustainable path forward,” he continued.

Similar alliances have previously been formed by ProRata with the German publisher Axel Springer, the Atlantic, Fortune, Time, and Universal Music Group (UMG).

Media firms are offered reasonable compensation by ProRata for the use of their content. The startup’s in-house technology may determine the proper amount of pay by evaluating the worth of the information used to create responses from an AI platform. This would make it possible to pay copyright holders for their work on a per-use basis.

Gross had previously said that AI platforms have been using “shoplifted, plagiarized content,” which fosters an atmosphere in which “disinformation thrives and creators get nothing.”

Gross is recognized for having created the pay-per-click model of internet search monetization with his business, GoTo.com, which was eventually acquired by Yahoo! in 2003.

In a recent blog post, Tige Savage, a cofounder of Revolution, stated that Bill Gross is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in monetization techniques.

“He’s attracted a world-class tech team led by AI luminary Tarek Najm to implement the vision and an accomplished business team, including Annelies Jansen and Jonas Lee to drive content and AI partnerships,” Savage continued.

The unpaid use of copyrighted materials by OpenAI and other tech companies to train their AI systems has led to litigation from media companies and other content creators.

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Film Bazaar Unveils an Interactive Cinema App from an Indian Tech Startup

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Arjun Nittoor, the founder of the Indian technology firm Vireza, disclosed at Film Bazaar that the company is creating a new mobile application that would transform the experience of watching movies in theaters by enabling viewers to engage with the films in real time.

The technology, which was created wholly in-house at the company’s research and development department in Bengaluru, allows viewers to use their smartphones to vote on important plot points during the movie. To keep up with the current screening, patrons download an app before entering the theater and scan a QR code at their seat.

“The film industry is one of the few sectors where the audience experience has seen minimal technological disruption in theatres,” Nittoor stated. “While screen and sound quality have advanced and 3D has been partially adopted, the viewing experience has largely remained the same for decades.”

The screen automatically brightens to show voting options and dims again when choices are made. The system uses discreet phone notifications to encourage audience participation around every ten minutes.

In 2026, Vireza intends to introduce the technology with a full-length interactive movie that will be produced in both English and South Indian for international distribution. The business is presently in the development stage and will shortly start doing multiplex chain trial screenings.

CtrlMovie’s prior success in the interactive film industry was mentioned by Nittoor. CtrlMovie is well-known for “Traces of Responsibility” and “Late Shift.”

In order to overcome the difficulties in cinematography, editing, shot composition, and writing that plagued previous attempts at the format, the firm has spent five years creating what Nittoor refers to as “a new science of filmmaking” that is especially tailored for interactive cinema.

“Despite the proliferation of viewing devices, big-ticket films continue to draw massive crowds to theatres, with box office numbers higher than ever,”  Nittoor stated. “This demand underscores the potential for a meaningful technology shift that could draw audiences out of their homes and into cinemas.”

Other Asian businesses are likewise investigating audience-driven narrative in motion pictures. In February of the following year, Japan’s King Records intends to release “Hypnosis Mic – Division Rap Battle,” an animated interactive film.

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