Web3 Expert Wordrap with Danku_R
Danku_R is a Web3 Enthusiast and Crypto Blogger/Youtuber and supports Venionaire as Expert Partner in different web3 and crypto topics.
First Austrian Crypto Fund – Tigris Web3
Our team at Venionaire Investment is proud to announce that we have received approval from the FMA (Finanzmarktaufsicht) for the first Austrian “crypto fund” – Tigris Web3.
Discount for Blockchain Summit Austria
We know how important it is to organize the agenda from the beginning of the year in order to don’t miss anything. Let’s start by saving the dates of the most important events. 2019 will be full of technological events that will revolutionize the spectrum. There are more and more players in the field, more things to learn, professionals to meet, projects to be developed, etc. That’s why we don’t want to miss any of them, do you?
BLOCKCHAIN SUMMIT AUSTRIA: We are looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd of April. It will be a full two-day conference that will focus on the real applications of blockchain in different areas. Also if you want to learn how to start your own blockchain project or how to effectively implement the blockchain in your existing company, this is your event!
Use our promotion code and save 15% on your tickets!
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Experienced speakers, enthusiastic investors and opinion leaders will examine the opportunities and threats of this emerging technology. Don’t miss this unique opportunity!
Follow us on our social networks to get more discounts like this and be informed about other events!
Hightech Venture Days 2018 – Meet Europe’s Best Hardware Scale-Ups
In order to the new high-tech European companies to develop and survive in an international context, they need smart investors who support young companies with knowledge, networks and of course capital. Hardware in particular is extremely difficult, but it is possible and there is a Hub for them: Dresden, Germany!
HIGHTECH VENTURE DAYS 2018 Europe’s leading investors’ conference in the high-tech sector, showcased some of the best hightech scale-ups we have seen in a long time. Berthold Baurek-Karlic, Founder and Managing Partner at Venionaire Capital enjoyed moderating the microtronics panel together with Dr. Ulrich Eisele, Osram Ventures.
The HIGHTECH VENTURE DAYS address the potential of European high-tech innovations and their capitalization as a two day match-making format for the decisive growth phase. Last 17th and 18th of October in Dresden, forty selected startups had the opportunity to present their projects to national and international investors, within the beautiful venue of Volkswagen Glaspalast.
The focus was on high-tech businesses from the areas of environmental & energy technology, ICT, micro- and nanotechnologies, life sciences, mechanical & plant engineering, materials science and transport & logisticst.
The exchange of different opinions and angles on the topic of innovation in various areas contributed to broadening perspectives of all those that took part. And that is exactly what a successful technology innovation event should be all about … we are looking forward to partner up with this great event again next year.
6 Trends in LegalTech
The new generation of lawyers has high expectations about what technology can do for them. With life cycles of innovation getting constantly shorter, we are surrounded by new disruptive technologies and this is not different in the legal world. According to research from Thomson Reuters Legal, 579 “lawtech” patents were filed worldwide in 2016, up from just 99 in 2012. The expansion in Legal-Startups and patent filings are driven by interest for quicker and less expensive approaches to legal services.
In honor of the Legal Tech Conference taking place in Vienna today, we are highlighting 6 legaltech trends, which could make a big impact in the work of lawyers as well as the experience of their clients.
#1 – Robotic Lawyers
The most interesting case of a robotic lawyer is ROSS, an artificially intelligent legal research assistant built on IBM’s Watson supercomputer. Capable of handling ‘natural language’ legal questions, for which ROSS will return cited legal answers and topical readings from legislation to case law and secondary sources instantly, many legal heavyweights in the US are already using it, such as Latham & Watkins LLP.
#2 – Intelligent Legal Research and Document Analysis
Legal research is very costly for law firms. Therefore, advanced analytics programs, some of which use artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, are already proving to be invaluable for law firms, which handle and generate loads of documents. Most legaltech startups to date have focused on making this procedure and all this material more manageable.
Companies such as Justis and Ravel Law (which was acquired by Lexis Nexis) are already using advanced analytical algorithms to make the research task more manageable.
#3 – Big Data Analytics
Big data has already caused a big impact in various industries, and it is not different for the legal world. Many tools are already helping improve the search process and give lawyers data-driven tools to research through millions of documents. Using big data can also lead to a greater degree of efficiency and transparency, which everyone will benefit from. Reducing the time it takes for lawyers to complete research and casework, will lead to improved access to the justice system.
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#4 – Automated Legal Assistance
Many firms are already using packaged legal solutions instead of custom-tailored solutions for every client. For example, Wevorce users can have access for around USD 800 to a pre-packaged divorce plan that suits their needs together with pre-filled divorce forms. We can also find startups such as Bright Advise, where users only need to submit a question and a professional will be in touch with them shortly after.
#5 – Writing of Documents
Writing legal documents, together with legal research, are the tasks that most likely cause a strain on lawyer’s finances and time. Some startups are already automating those tasks using various programs or services. Many services like Ironclad may help create, fill, and manage contracts in an effective way.
#6 – New business models and payment methods for lawyers
The search for new business models or at least for the possibility of expanding their own business model will also play a greater role in the future for lawyers. An example would be to use data and smart algorithms to predict what a client might need and actively approach it.
All those trends, while impressive and likely to ease the workload and research of many lawyers, are still far from being an everyday reality. Legal advice is still a very personal job, clients often seek reassurance in face-to-face advice. The reality of an artificial intelligence lawyer might have to wait some decades but today the increasing presence of automated processes will start replacing associate-level lawyers and help firms save money and time managing documents and handling research.
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If you are interested in getting to know more about this topic and how we can help your firm be more efficient, please contact our Partner and Head of Legal Alexander Rapatz.
What Companies (and Start-ups) should know about WiEReG
On the 15th of January 2018, the Austrian law on Economic Ownership Register (wirtschaftliche Eigentümer Registergesetz – WiEReG) enters into force. The purpose of this register is to make ultimate beneficial owners transparent and verifiable and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The European Union ascertained a need to identify any natural person who exercises control over a legal entity. Europe argues that the need for up-to-date information on the beneficial owner is a key factor in tracing criminals who might otherwise hide their identity behind a corporate structure. WiEReG is implementing in Austria the European Directive 2015/849, also known as Fourth Money Laundering Directive. From the beginning of 2018, all direct or indirect ultimate beneficial owners with shares of more than 25% in an Austrian legal entity are to be entered into the new register.
What has to be registered?
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The beneficial owners of a legal entity are to be registered. This includes any natural person who directly or indirectly has sufficient shares to exercise control over the management of a company. In this case, a direct beneficial owner has to register if he has a 25% + 1 share of the shares or a holding of more than 25% shares in an Austrian company. An indirect beneficial owner (i.e. indirectly through a group of companies) shall register if they have more than 25% shares of a legal entity. If no natural person as an economic owner can be ascertained, the members of the highest management level of the legal entity (managing director, board member) shall be deemed to be economic owners.
The name, date of birth, nationality, place of residence as well as the nature and extent of the economic interest or the extent of the participation or function of the person concerned shall be indicated.
When?
The bodies with full powers of representation of all companies and legal entities must report the requested and relevant data by 1st June 2018. For newly founded companies from May 2018, generally, a 4-week deadline for the announcement of the economic ownership applies.
How to register?
Registering of legal entities can be made electronically on the website of the Austrian so-called Unternehmensserviceportal (USP). All registered legal entities have the right to access their data (free of charge) collected in USP. Tax and financial authorities are also entitled to have access to the data in the register, as well as interested parties for the purpose of prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Penalties
In order to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements, WiEReG provides for fines. If the legal entity omits the notification, makes unauthorized access or registers incorrect data, makes for a punishable offense, punished up to 200.000 € or imprisonment. We are happy to advise on and provide you with more detailed information about the WiEReG and the legal framework behind it. Therefore, feel free to reach out to our Partner Alexander Rapatz.
SOURCES:
- DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/849 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012. https://bit.ly/2xKX8k4
- Legal Text- Wirtschaftliche Eigentümer Registergesetz https://bit.ly/2yaPDPh
- Unternehmensserviceportal, https://www.usp.gv.at/Portal.Node/usp/public
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Article Part 4: The Future of Artificial Intelligence – WALL-E or Terminator?
In cooperation with Venionaire Capital, DerBrutkasten.com publishes a four-part article series on the subject of artificial intelligence. We are concentrating on the economic aspects of how AI works to the current research and the future of artificial intelligence.
The fourth and last article will concentrate on how the artificial intelligence will turn out in the future.
According to a quote from Stephen Hawking in The Guardian, Artificial Intelligence will be “either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity”. The growing computer performance and Big Data enable machines to become even smarter. In an open letter, therefore, numerous industry leaders, such as Elon Musk or Hawking, call for the prevention of artificial intelligence and the control of the systems.
Musk believes that AI could become an existential threat to people and emphasized the need for legal requirements. Other AI skeptics are worried about the labor market. AI, according to the apprehension, will at least provide a new wave of mass unemployment in the short to medium term.
Joe Lobo, “chief botmaster” at the Startup Inbenta, has a more positive idea of the future of work and artificial intelligence. In a Forbes podcast he explained how technologies create new jobs and people can use their skills for new opportunities. So far, the development showed that AI systems complement human workers more than replace them. AI skeptics and enthusiasts, however, agree that jobs will change and new forms of employment will arise.
Whether advocates or adversaries, it is certain, in AI will be further invested and researched. In the end it is in our hands whether we end up with a terminator or a Wall-E.
However, to an artificial superintelligence it is in any case still a long way, as we described it in the second part of our series. In the third part, we also showed that the research and development of artificial intelligence was not a linear process, but had to repeatedly record ascensions and declines. The economic impacts of AI, which we dealt with in the first part, are equally interesting for start-ups and early-stage investors.
For the whole article click here.
The top 15 AI Deals in Europe
The marketplace for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is thriving. Beyond the hype and the intensive media attention, the numerous start-ups and internet companies racing to acquire them, we can observe that private companies are increasing their investment and adoption to these technologies.
To complement the article series on artificial intelligence we would like to outline the 15 biggest deals on artificial intelligence start-ups in Europe.
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1. Kreditech
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Funding Amount: USD 162.590.000
Webpage: kreditech.com
Provider of a lending as a service (Laas) based credit-scoring platform designed to improve financial freedom for the under-banked by the use of technology. The company’s lending as a service (Laas) based credit-scoring platform identifies and scores individuals online, decides and instantly pays out loans, based on 15,000 data points, providing banking products (instalment loans, microloans, credit cards, electronic wallets) to customers in emerging markets.
2. BenevolentAI
Location: London, United Kingdom
Funding Amount: UDS 100.000.000
Webpage: benevolent.ai
Provider of artificial intelligence technology intended to transform the process of pharmaceutical research and development. The company’s self-learning artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities focuses on the disease areas of inflammation, neurodegeneration, orphan diseases and rare cancers as well as Judgment Augmented Cognition System (JACS), enabling human health, bio science and information technology sectors to analyse vast quantities of scientific information for the advancement of scientific discovery and applying it to real world problems.
3. Alteryx
Location: Broomfield, Colorado
Funding Amount: USD 85.000.000
Webpage: alteryx.com
Alteryx is the leader in self-service data analytics
4. Blue Yonder
Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Funding Amount: USD 75.000.000
Webpage: blue-yonder.com
Provider of Big Data analytics and predictive applications. The company offers a cloud-based scalable platform with machine-learning algorithms. The enterprise’s platform automates decision-making in real time and supplies precise forecasts. It is also used in dynamic pricing and in customer analyses.
5. Darktrace
Location: London, United Kingdom
Funding Amount: USD 64.000.000
Webpage: darktrace.com
Provider of cyber threat defense systems designed to detect and respond to previously unidentified threats. The company’s cyber threat defense systems include detecting emerging cyber-threats and to proactively defend against in-progress cyber-attacks, enabling clients to defend against evolving threats that bypass all other systems.
6. Arago
Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Funding Amount: USD 55.000.000
Webpage: arago.co
Provider of information technology automation services. The company develops artificial intelligence software for banking and telecommunication sectors. Its products include AutoPilot, CloudPilot, DocMe, BuildMe and MARS-O-matic and its services include WebFarm and CloudFarm.
7. Blippar
Location: India, Turkey, United States, United Kingdom
Funding Amount: USD 54.000.000
Webpage: blippar.com
Provider of augmented reality software for smartphones. The company offers a platform that enables users to turn images into interactive Web experiences, through image-recognition technology.
8. Cambridge Quantum Computing
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Funding Amount: USD 50.000.000
Webpage: cambridgequantum.com
Provider of tools for the commercialization of quantum computers. The company provides cryptography, financial, medicinal, biotech and big data services.
9. Quid
Location: San Francisco, United States of America
Funding Amount: USD 39.000.000
Webpage: quid.com
Provider of a visualization platform designed to offer text-based data analysis. The company’s visualization platform combines search, premium data and high-performance algorithms from news articles, blog posts, company profiles and patents to create visualizations of markets, trends and cultural phenomena, enabling businesses to analyze investment trends, gain competitive intelligence, map innovation as well as make decisions that matter.
10. Rapid Miner
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Funding Amount: USD 36.000.000
Webpage: rapidminer.com
Provider of data science platform designed to offer predictive analytics built on an open stack. The company’s data science platform allows to build software for real data science, fast and simple, unifies data preperation, machine learning and model deployment, enabling companies to drive revenue, reduce costs and avoid risks.
11. Withings
Location: Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Funding Amount: USD 33.830.000
Webpage: withings.com
Developer of digital health and wellness smart devices and applications. The company offers software and devices that enable people to monitor and track their personal health data.
12. Nanigans
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Funding Amount: USD 32.850.000
Developer of an advertising automation software. The company’s online platform offers programmatic media buying, predictive revenue optimization and real-time business intelligence.
13. Graphcore
Location: London, United Kingdom
Funding Amount: USD 30.000.000
Webpage: graphcore.ai
Developer of a processor designed to accelerate machine intelligence learning. The company’s intelligence processing unit emphasizes massively parallel, low-precision floating-point computing and provides higher compute density than other solutions, and the C++ programming framework provides seamless interface to standard machine learning frameworks, with simple integration for existing applications written for Tensorflow, enabling researchers to explore machine intelligences across a much broader front than current solutions.
14. Pyramid Analytics
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Funding Amount: USD 30.000.000
Webpage: pyramidanalytics.com
Provider of a business intelligence platform designed to simplify the access to information to help organizations optimize their business. The company’s business intelligence platform provides delivers intuitive enterprise level Business Intelligence through an integrated, scalable dashboard and analytic application for all types of business users, providing them with modules that can be accessed through a single, web-based interface.
15. Celonis
Location: New York, United States of America
Funding Amount: USD 27.500.000
Webpage: celonis.com
Celonis offers the most advanced Process Mining tool for analysing & visualizing business processes.
As we might have seen in this article, Europe has a fast growing Artificial Intelligence Industry most of them being in the data analytics market. AI is transforming every industry and process, and Europe is leading the way.
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Article Part 3: The history of AI – From the “AI Winter” to the final breakthrough
In cooperation with Venionaire Capital, DerBrutkasten.com publishes a four-part article series on the subject of artificial intelligence. We are concentrating on the economic aspects of how AI works to the current research and the future of artificial intelligence.
In the first article we described “Artificial Intelligence (AI)” as the ability of a machine to learn and adapt from its own experience. The second article was about the basis concept of AI and in the third part, we will provide an overview of research, trends and leading companies in the field.
Artificial intelligence is often seen as a new world conquered just by brave pioneers from Silicon Valley. In reality, however, the subject had a lot of ups and downs. The breakthrough seemed only a matter of time, but the researchers underestimated the problem that words can have different meanings in different contexts. The US Government cancelled the financing and this this period was referred to as “AI Winter” in analogy to the concept of “nuclear winter”.
Historically, there have always been such drought periods. The result of financial incidences were fewer research activities. Over and over again there were deep and then high phases (“AI Sommer”).
After a difficult situation in the early 1990s, the AI industry was finally recovering in the 2000s. The upturn was supported not so much by governments but by tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft or the Chinese company Baidu. The basis for the rapidly growing commercial interest are the computer systems that now enable the broad use of AI technologies for the first time.
The search engine giant Google is one of the leading companies when it comes to the topic of artificial intelligence. The main focus of their research (see research.google.com) is Machine Learning, Natural Language Understanding, the entire health care system, the perceptive abilities of machines, robotics and, interestingly, the creation of music and art. Thereby “deep learning” plays a very important role, for example Google’s Alpha Go, which clearly defeated the professional Go player Fan Hui and later Lee Sedol.
The question that is important to investors is, of course, whether the high phase is only a hype or sustainable. In contrast to the past, AI is already being used in everyday life.
For the whole article click here.
Article Part 2: Comprehend, Sense, Act – The basis concept of AI
In cooperation with Venionaire Capital, DerBrutkasten.com publishes a four-part article series on the subject of artificial intelligence. We are concentrating on the economic aspects of how AI works to the current research and the future of artificial intelligence.
In the first article we described “Artificial Intelligence (AI)” as the ability of a machine to learn and adapt from its own experience. In this article we want to get deeper in the matter. AI consists of diverse technologies that are the result of a combination of three elements: comprehend, sense and act.
Language Processing and knowledge representation are important for comprehend. Natural Language Processing (NLP) combines technologies that are able to understand and generate speech in spoken or written form. Knowledge representation helps to communicate knowledge and facilitate subsequent decision-making, for example digital assistants.
Sense includes machine vision, voice recognition and further processing in sensors. This makes it possible to capture, identify, analyze and process the input information from cameras, microphones or other sensors.
Once information is collected through comprehending and sense, the logical third step is action. This is mainly used in industrial robotics, as Amazons show impressively.
These are the three pillars of the artificial intelligence According to Stuart Russel and Peter Norvig machines must also have specific abilities to act as a human being. Known in this context is the Turing Test from 1950, where a human questioner talkes with two unknown conversation partners. One of them is a person, the other one is a machine. If the questioner does not suceed in telling which of them is the machine, the machine wins. This test is now more than half a century old and we are still at the beginning of the development.
For the whole article click here.
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