The biotechnology sector has seen a flurry of activity recently, with major drugmakers looking to acquire smaller biotech firms to boost their pipelines. According to a recent Bloomberg News report, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is in talks to acquire Mirati Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech focused on developing novel cancer treatments.
While negotiations are still ongoing, this potential deal highlights the enormous value being seen in emerging biotech firms like Mirati that are pioneering cutting-edge medicines. Mirati’s lead drug candidate is a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, one of the most common and deadly forms of cancer.
These mergers and acquisitions underscore the biotech sector’s immense growth prospects. With novel approaches to treating cancer, genetic diseases, and other unmet medical needs, biotechs have become hotbeds for innovation. And major drugmakers are increasingly looking to tap into these scientific advancements through strategic deals.
For investors, the busy M&A environment highlights the potential windfalls in identifying and investing in promising biotech firms early on. While risky, buying shares in companies with disruptive technologies before they are on Big Pharma’s radar can result in exponential returns.
With science rapidly advancing, the coming decades are likely to see huge leaps in biomedical innovations. The recent wave of pharma-biotech mergers shows large drugmakers recognize the future potential of biotech. Savvy investors who spot these opportunities stand to profit as more biotech firms are snatched up or grow into full-fledged pharmaceutical leaders themselves.
Biotechnology represents an exciting new frontier in drug development. Unlike traditional pharmaceuticals derived from chemical compounds, biotech drugs utilize living organisms and biological molecules to treat disease.
Some key innovations driving growth in biotech include:
Gene therapy – Altering genes to treat genetic conditions. Gene editing tools like CRISPR have made gene therapy more precise and scalable.
Cell therapy – Using modified human cells as treatments, such as CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancers.
RNA interference – Silencing specific genes by blocking mRNA translation through RNAi mechanisms.
Monoclonal antibodies – Targeted antibodies cloned from immune cells are blockbuster therapies for cancer, autoimmunity, and more.
Vaccines – Novel vaccine platforms like mRNA vaccines are enabling rapid development of new vaccines.
These advanced technologies promise to revolutionize medicine and usher in an era of personalized, precision medicine. The possibilities span from regenerative medicine to reversing aging. For investors, biotech represents enormous growth potential.
Biotech Deal Frenzy
Given the vast promise of biotech, it is no surprise that pharmaceutical giants have been scooping up biotech firms at a fierce clip. Small promising biotechs are prime targets for acquisition.
Big Pharma companies like Sanofi, Merck, and Bristol-Myers need to refill drying pipelines. Revenue-generating biotech drugs can also help offset losses from older medications losing patent protection.
For the acquiring company, buying a biotech with an innovative drug candidate eliminates the risks and costs of developing a new medicine from scratch. And the more established resources and expertise of a pharma giant can help push novel therapies through late-stage trials and regulatory approvals.
Meanwhile, being acquired provides biotech startups with an influx of funds and resources to continue advancing their pipeline. It also offers a lucrative exit for early investors.
As the healthcare needs of the global population increase, larger pharmaceutical companies will likely continue acquiring emerging biotechs to remain competitive. This M&A frenzy shows no signs of slowing down.
Investment Opportunities
For investors, the busy biotech M&A environment provides exciting opportunities to profit. Here are some tips:
Seek out early-stage biotechs with promising technologies before they become acquisition targets. The ideal scenario is investing pre-IPO.
Focus on firms with advanced clinical pipelines addressing urgent unmet needs like cancer, rare diseases, neurodegeneration, etc.
Evaluate the strength of a biotech’s intellectual property and licensing agreements for its core technology.
Assess the management team’s experience in drug development and commercialization.
Consider biotechs focused on next-gen platforms like gene editing, cell therapy, RNAi, etc which are garnering lots of interest.
Be prepared to hold for longer time horizons and have a higher risk tolerance. Clinical trials have high failure rates.
For investors comfortable with risk, the payoffs for spotting the next potential biotech star could be immense as entire new markets for cutting-edge medicines continue to emerge.
Firm advocates for advancement of women through ISG Women in Digital program
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, today announced it has been recognized as one of India’s Best Workplaces for Women for 2023 by the Great Place To Work® Institute.
The ISG Center of Excellence in Bangalore, India, where more than 700 employees provide critical services to ISG clients, was named one of only 100 organizations in India that succeed in establishing high-trust, high-performance cultures, maximizing human potential by bridging experience gaps and establishing great places to work for all.
ISG India has also been Great Place To Work Certified™ for four consecutive years, recognized as having a High-Trust, High-Performance Culture™ designed to deliver sustained business results.
“We are honored to have earned certification as one of the best workplaces for women by the Great Place To Work® Institute, considered the gold standard of employer brand recognition,” said Michael P. Connors, chairman and CEO of ISG. “Nearly half of our employees in India are women, and these talented, successful women are forging new paths in business and technology and serving our clients and firm with distinction.”
Great Place To Work research finds the Best Workplaces for Women 2023 deliver an experience that is more favorable for women, resulting in 89 percent of women reporting they are strongly committed to their work and their employer. The organization’s research also finds a consistent upward trajectory in the representation of women in the workforce in India, rising from 21 percent in 2021 to 26 percent in 2023.
ISG has long been an advocate for the advancement of women in the technology sector. The firm established the ISG Women in Digital community in 2018 to provide a platform to exchange practical advice and innovative ideas on diversity and advancement in the workplace. The community hosts a LinkedIn page, an ongoing ISG Digital Dish podcast series, regular events for ISG employees and the IT and business services industry, and the annual ISG Women in Digital Awards program, launched in 2022 in the Americas and expanded for 2023 to the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific regions, including India.
In 2023, 327 women in the Americas, EMEA, Asia Pacific and India were nominated for the 2023 ISG Women in Digital Awards program, recognizing exceptional leadership among women in digital roles. The awards for Asia Pacific and India will be presented in a virtual awards ceremony on October 11, at 6 p.m., AEDT/12:30 p.m., IST.
“Digital technology is opening new doors for women in India to achieve significant growth in their careers and to make important contributions to business success,” said Vishwakumar Nandagopal, chief business leader, ISG India operations. “Improvements in the workplace culture for women translate directly to improvements in the overall performance of the organization. We are pleased to be recognized for supporting and enabling the excellence of our female employees.”
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
E-commerce titan Amazon is making a huge investment into artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, injecting up to $4 billion into the budding firm. The massive funding underscores Amazon’s ambitions to be a leader in next-generation AI capabilities.
Anthropic is a two-year old startup launched by former executives from AI lab OpenAI. The company recently introduced its new chatbot called Claude, designed to converse naturally with humans on a range of topics.
While Claude has similarities to OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT, Anthropic aims to take natural language AI to the next level. Amazon’s investment signals its belief in Anthropic’s potential to pioneer groundbreaking generative AI.
Generative AI refers to AI systems that can generate new content like text, images, or video based on data they are trained on. The technology has exploded in popularity thanks to ChatGPT and image generator DALL-E 2, sparking immense interest from Big Tech.
Amazon is positioning itself to capitalize on this surging interest in generative AI. As part of the deal, Amazon Web Services will become Anthropic’s primary cloud platform for developing and delivering its AI services.
The startup will also let AWS customers access exclusive features to customize and fine-tune its AI models. This tight integration gives Amazon a competitive edge by baking Anthropic’s leading AI into its cloud offerings.
Additionally, Amazon will provide custom semiconductors to turbocharge training for Anthropic’s foundational AI models. These chips aim to challenged Nvidia’s dominance in supplying GPUs for AI workloads.
With its end-to-end AI capabilities across hardware, cloud services and applications, Amazon aims to be the go-to AI provider. The Anthropic investment caps off a flurry of activity from Amazon to own the AI future.
Recently, Amazon unveiled Alexa Voice, AI-generated voice assistant. The company also launched Amazon Bedrock, a service enabling companies to easily build custom AI tools using Amazon’s machine learning models.
And Amazon Web Services already offers robust AI services like image recognition, language processing, and data analytics to business clients. Anthropic’s generative smarts will augment these solutions.
The race to lead in AI accelerated after Microsoft’s multi-billion investment into ChatGPT creator OpenAI in January. Google, Meta and others have since poured billions into AI startups to not get left behind.
Anthropic has already raised funding from top tier backers like Google’s VC arm and Salesforce Ventures. But Amazon’s monster investment catapults the startup into an elite group of AI startups tapping into Big Tech’s cash reserves.
The deal grants Amazon a minority stake in the startup, suggesting further collaborations ahead. With Claude 2 generating buzz, Anthropic’s next-gen AI technology and Amazon’s vast resources could be a potent combination.
For Amazon, owning a piece of a promising AI startup hedges its bets should generative AI disrupt major industries. And if advanced chatbots like Claude reshape how customers interact with businesses, Amazon is making sure it has skin in the game.
The e-commerce behemoth’s latest Silicon Valley splash cements its position as an aggressive AI player not content following others. If Amazon’s bet on Anthropic pays off, it may pay dividends in making Amazon a go-to enterprise AI powerhouse.
ISG Announces 2023 ISG Paragon Awards™North America Winners
9/14/2023
Program recognizes innovative approaches to leveraging technology and new operating models for business success
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, has announced the winners of the 2023 ISG Paragon Awards™ North America, which celebrate the ongoing transformation of sourcing industry partnerships through new approaches and technologies.
Winners in each category were selected by a panel of independent industry experts and announced at the ISG Sourcing Industry Awards Gala Dinner on Wednesday, September 13, at the Westin Dallas Stonebriar Golf Resort & Spa in Dallas.
The 2023 North America ISG Paragon Award winners are:
Excellence: Recognizing outstanding delivery by a technology or service provider
Infosys with Fortune Brands
Innovation: Recognizing the importance of imagination and entrepreneurial spirit in helping organizations future-proof their businesses and better serve clients
Material with Whataburger
Transformation: Recognizing the successful transformation of an organization or key business function
USTwith Harris Health
Workplace of the Future: Recognizing client and employee experience and productivity beyond technology
Unisys with California State University
Environmental Sustainability: Recognizing outstanding positive impacts in one or more environmental sustainability fields for clients, consumers, communities and/or employees
Mastek with Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management
Diversity: Recognizing diversity of thought and lived experience that enables changes to the status quo to deliver better client outcomes
Hexaware with IQVIA
“Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 ISG Paragon Awards North America for their innovative achievements in the technology services and sourcing industry,” said Todd Lavieri, partner and president, ISG Americas and Asia Pacific. “Providers and enterprises are continuously finding new ways to complement each other’s strengths and overcome business challenges together. ISG is honored to recognize these important and effective partnerships.”
The ISG Paragon Awards™ North America, produced by ISG Events, were awarded during ISG Sourcing Industry Week, which includes the ISG Sourcing Industry Conference and ISG SourceIT. Winners of the ISG Provider Lens™ Awards, recognizing outstanding performances by providers featured in ISG Provider Lens studies, were also honored at the September 13 gala.
ISG made a contribution in honor of ISG Sourcing Industry Week to Bridging Tech, a nonprofit public charity dedicated to providing educational opportunities and technology to K-12 students affected by homelessness.
Full details of the ISG Paragon Awards program are available on the award website.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
Worldcoin Crypto Project Launched by OpenAI’s Sam Altman
In a revolutionary move, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman began rolling out Worldcoin on July 24. The cryptocurrency project aims to reinvent the way the world identifies living, breathing humans compared to AI bots. The core offering of Worldcoin is its innovative World ID, often described as a “digital passport” that serves as proof of a person’s human identity. But that is just the beginning of the project goals.
To obtain a World ID, users must undergo an in-person iris scan using Worldcoin’s revolutionary ‘orb.’ This silver ball, about the size of a bowling ball, ensures the legitimacy of the individual’s identity, subsequently creating the unique World ID.
The brains behind this revolutionary project are the San Francisco and Berlin-based organization, Tools for Humanity. During its beta phase, the project amassed an impressive 2 million users, and with the official launch on Monday, Worldcoin is rapidly expanding its ‘orbing’ operations to 35 cities across 20 countries.
In select countries, early adopters will be rewarded with Worldcoin’s own cryptocurrency token, WLD. This incentive has already driven WLD’s price to soar after the announcement. On Binance, the world’s largest, WLD reached a peak price of $5.29 and continued to trade at $2.49 (from an initial starting price of $0.15) as of 11:00 AM ET. Notably, the trading volume on Binance has reached a staggering $25.1 million.
The Role of Blockchain
Blockchains play a crucial role in this project, as they securely store World IDs while preserving user privacy and preventing any single entity from controlling or shutting down the system, according to co-founder Alex Blania.
One key application of World IDs is its ability to distinguish between real individuals and AI bots in the age of generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which are adept at mimicking human language. By leveraging World IDs, online platforms can effectively combat the infiltration of AI bots into human interactions.
Economic Implications of AI
Altman emphasized the economic implications of AI, stating that people will be profoundly impacted by AI’s capabilities. “People will be supercharged by AI, which will have massive economic implications,” he said.
One interesting example of what Altman believes AI can eventually provide is universal basic income (UBI), a social benefits program aimed at providing financial support to every individual. According to Altman, as AI gradually takes over many human tasks, UBI can play a vital role in mitigating income inequality. Since World IDs are exclusive to genuine human beings, they can act as a safeguard against fraud in UBI distributions.
Though Altman acknowledged that a world with widespread UBI is likely in the distant future and the logistics of such a system are still unclear, he believes that Worldcoin paves the way for experiments and solutions to tackle this societal challenge.
The launch of Worldcoin marks a significant step in the convergence of cryptocurrency and AI technologies, with potential far-reaching effects on how we identify ourselves and interact in the digital age. As the project gains momentum, financial market professionals should closely monitor the developments surrounding Worldcoin and its impact on the future of money.
As March Madness Looms, Growth in Legalized Sports Betting May Pose a Threat to College Athletes
March Madness began on March 14, 2023, it’s a sure bet that millions of Americans will be making wagers on the annual college basketball tournament.
The American Gaming Association estimates that in 2022, 45 million people – or more than 17% of American adults – planned to wager US$3.1 billion on the NCAA tournament. That makes it one of the nation’s most popular sports betting events, alongside contests such as the Kentucky Derby and the Super Bowl. By at least one estimate, March Madness is the most popular betting target of all.
While people have been betting on March Madness for years, one difference now is that betting on college sports is legal in many states. This is largely due to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for each state to decide whether to permit people to gamble on sporting events. Prior to the ruling, legal sports betting was only allowed in Nevada.
Since the ruling, sports betting has grown dramatically. Currently, 36 states allow some form of legalized sports betting. And now, Georgia, Maine and Kentucky are proposing legislation to make sports betting legal.
About two weeks after sports betting became legal in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023, someone, disappointed by an unexpected loss of the University of Dayton men’s basketball team to Virginia Commonwealth University, made threats and left disparaging messages against Dayton athletes and the coaching staff.
The Ohio case is by no means isolated. In 2019, a Babson College student who was a “prolific sports gambler” was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sending death threats to at least 45 professional and collegiate athletes in 2017.
Faculty members of Miami University’s Institute for Responsible Gaming, Lottery, and Sports are concerned that the increasing prevalence of sports betting could potentially lead to more such incidents, putting more athletes in danger of threats from disgruntled gamblers who blame them for their gambling losses.
The anticipated growth in sports gambling is quite sizable. Analysts estimate the market in the U.S. may reach over US$167 billion by 2029.
Gambling Makes Inroads into Colleges
Concerns over college athletes being targeted by upset gamblers are not new. Players and sports organizations have expressed worry that expanded gambling could lead to harassment and compromise their safety. Such concerns led the nation’s major sports organizations – MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL and NCAA – to sue New Jersey in 2012 over a plan to initiate legal sports betting in that state. They argued that sports betting would make the public think that games were being thrown. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that it was up to states to decide if they wanted to permit legal gambling.
Sports betting has also made inroads into America’s college campuses. Some universities, such as Louisiana State University and Michigan State University, have signed multimillion-dollar deals with casinos or gaming companies to promote gambling on campus.
Athletic conferences are also cashing in on the data related to these games and events. For instance, the Mid-Atlantic Conference signed a lucrative five-year deal in 2022 to provide real-time statistical event data to gambling companies, which then leverage the data to create real-time wager opportunities during sporting events.
As sports betting comes to colleges and universities, it means the schools will inevitably have to deal with some of the negative aspects of gambling. This potentially includes more than just gambling addiction. It could also involve the potential for student-athletes and coaches to become targets of threats, intimidation or bribes to influence the outcome of events.
The risk for addiction on campus is real. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, over 2 million adults in the U.S. have a “serious” gambling problem, and another 4 million to 6 million may have mild to moderate problems. One report estimates that 6% of college students have a serious gambling problem.
What Can be Done?
Two faculty fellows at Miami University’s Institute for Responsible Gaming, Lottery, and Sport – former Ohio State Senator William Coley and Sharon Custer – recommend that regulators and policymakers work with colleges and universities to reduce the potential harm from the growth in legal gaming. Specifically, they recommend that each state regulatory authority:
Develop plans to coordinate between different governmental agencies to ensure that individuals found guilty of violations are sanctioned in other jurisdictions.
Dedicate some of the revenue from gaming to develop educational materials and support services for athletes and those around them.
Create anonymous tip lines to report threats, intimidation or influence, and fund an independent entity to respond to these reports.
Assess and protect athlete privacy. For instance, schools might decline to publish contact information for student-athletes and coaches in public directories.
Train athletes and those around them on basic privacy management. For instance, schools might advise athletes to not post on public social media outlets, especially if the post gives away their physical location.
The NCAA or athletic conferences could lead the development of resources, policies and sanctions that serve to educate, protect and support student-athletes and others around them who work at the schools for which they play. This will require significant investment to be comprehensive and effective.
This article was republished with permission from The Conversation, a news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It represents the research-based findings and thoughts of, Jason W. Osborne,Professor of Statistics, Institute for Responsible Gaming, Lottery, and Sport, Miami University.
Getting to Know ChatGPT: A Shallow Dip into Its Current Functionality and Future Potential
ChatGPT and the underlying AI technology are, as near as anyone can tell, the next-level toolkit for research, communication, idea generation, and a million other uses. If you haven’t introduced yourself to it yet, leave plenty of time – getting started is easy, but getting yourself to stop may not be. Those of us that were around pre-internet may liken the first-time experience to the first time we gained access to the world wide web. The Sudden, much easier access to a world of information, puts one in a place where you don’t know what to try first.
Over the past couple of months, the now-familiar name, ChatGPT has made headlines. It quickly captivated the worlds imagination as an AI product that is likely to disrupt or destroy some industries while enhancing others. Obviously, this is of particular interest to investors. With this in mind, I sat down for an interview with ChatGPT; below are answers to questions that many investors are asking.
Channelchek (PH) – Am I able to interview Chatgpt?
ChatGPT – Hello! As an AI language model, I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. However, it’s important to keep in mind that I don’t have personal experiences or opinions like a human, and I can only provide information based on my training data. So feel free to ask me anything!
Channelchek (PH) – What do most users have ChatGPT to do for them?
ChatGPT – As an AI language model, ChatGPT can be used for a wide range of tasks, including:
Language translation: ChatGPT can be used to translate text from one language to another.
Content creation: ChatGPT can generate text for various types of content, such as articles, blog posts, and product descriptions.
Chatbot development: ChatGPT can be used to develop chatbots that can interact with users and provide information.
Sentiment analysis: ChatGPT can be used to analyze the sentiment of a piece of text, such as a social media post or a product review.
Question-answering: ChatGPT can be used to answer questions on a wide range of topics.
Text summarization: ChatGPT can be used to summarize long pieces of text into shorter, more manageable summaries.
Language modeling: ChatGPT can be used to train new models for specific domains, such as medical or legal language.
These are just a few examples of what ChatGPT can be used for. Its versatility and flexibility make it a powerful tool for many different applications.
Channelchek (PH) – From where do you pull your answers ChatGPT?
ChatGPT – As an AI language model, I don’t have pre-programmed answers. Instead, I generate responses to questions by analyzing patterns in large amounts of text data that I was trained on. Specifically, I was trained on a dataset of billions of words from various sources, including books, articles, websites, and other textual sources. During my training, I was exposed to a wide range of topics and writing styles, which helps me generate responses to many different types of questions.
When you ask me a question, I use natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze the question and generate a response based on patterns in the text data that I was trained on. I then use statistical models to determine the most likely response based on the context of the question and the patterns in the training data.
It’s important to note that my responses are only as accurate and reliable as the patterns that I learned during my training. While I strive to provide accurate and helpful information, I may not always get it right, and my responses may not reflect the views or opinions of OpenAI.
Channelchek (PH) – Are you at risk of having the response you generate slanted or biased based on users feedback adjusting your training ChatGPT?
ChatGPT – As an AI language model, I am designed to learn from the data that I am trained on, including the feedback that users provide to adjust my training. However, it’s important to be aware that the feedback that users provide can sometimes introduce biases into my training.
If the feedback is consistently biased in a particular direction, this could affect the accuracy and fairness of my responses. This is why it’s important to carefully monitor and evaluate any feedback that is used to adjust my training, and to ensure that it is representative of a wide range of perspectives.
To address this issue, OpenAI has implemented a number of safeguards to prevent bias and ensure that my training data is as accurate and diverse as possible. For example, the training data is carefully curated to include a wide range of sources and perspectives, and the training process is carefully monitored to ensure that biases are not introduced.
Additionally, OpenAI has implemented a number of techniques to help identify and mitigate any biases that may be present in the training data or feedback. For example, I am periodically evaluated to ensure that my responses are accurate and unbiased, and any issues that are identified are addressed through additional training or other adjustments to the model.
Channelchek (PH) – As an editor I write for Channelchek about stocks, the financial markets, the economy and business climate. Are you a good resource for current events related to these topics ChatGPT?
ChatGPT – As an AI language model, I can certainly provide you with information on current events related to stocks, financial markets, the economy, and the business climate. I have been trained on a vast amount of text data, including news articles and other sources related to these topics, so I can provide you with up-to-date information and insights on current events.
When asking me questions related to these topics, it’s important to provide me with as much context and specificity as possible so that I can provide you with the most accurate and relevant information. For example, if you are looking for information on a particular company or sector, you could provide me with the name of the company or sector, as well as any other relevant details or questions you may have.
However, it’s important to note that my responses are generated based on patterns in the text data that I was trained on, and may not reflect the views or opinions of OpenAI. Additionally, while I can provide you with information on current events and trends, I cannot provide investment advice or make predictions about future market performance. It’s always important to carefully evaluate information and seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.
Channelchek (PH) – Do users ask you to forecast the stock market direction?
ChatGPT – Yes, users sometimes ask me to forecast the direction of the stock market. However, as an AI language model, I cannot make accurate predictions about future market performance. While I can provide information on current market trends and historical data, predicting the future direction of the stock market is a highly complex task that involves a range of economic, political, and social factors.
It’s important to note that investing in the stock market involves a certain degree of risk, and investors should always carefully evaluate market conditions and seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions. While I can provide general information and insights related to stocks and financial markets, I cannot provide investment advice or predict the future performance of individual stocks or the overall market.
Channelchek (PH) – Are you familiar with Channelchek?
ChatGPT – While I am not specifically programmed to be familiar with individual websites, I may have come across content from Channelchek during my training.
That being said, I can still provide you with general information on what Channelchek is. From my understanding, Channelchek is a financial information platform that provides independent research, analysis, and market commentary on publicly traded companies. It offers a range of tools and resources for investors and financial professionals, including market data, stock quotes, and research reports.
Channelchek’s focus is on providing unbiased and independent information to help investors make informed investment decisions.
Channelchek (PH) – Does your AI technology pose a risk to traditional internet search engines?
ChatGPT – My purpose is not to compete with traditional search engines like Google or Bing, but rather to complement them by providing an additional source of information and assistance to users. While I am capable of providing answers to a wide range of questions and generating responses to open-ended queries, I am not designed to replace traditional search engines or web browsing.
Search engines like Google and Bing are still the primary means by which users navigate the internet and find information, and they use a range of sophisticated algorithms and machine learning techniques to index and rank content on the web. While I am capable of processing natural language queries and generating responses, my training data is based on pre-existing content, which means that my responses are generated based on patterns in the text data that I was trained on, rather than direct access to the vast amounts of data on the internet.
Early Boolean Phrase Search Tool
Overall, AI language models like me are part of a larger ecosystem of tools and technologies that are designed to help users access and navigate the vast amount of information available online. While there may be some overlap between the capabilities of traditional search engines and AI language models, both serve different purposes and can work together to provide users with the most comprehensive and accurate information possible.
Channelchek (PH) – What industries are you likely to disrupt and which are you likely to augment or help build?
ChatGPT – As an AI language model, my capabilities are quite broad, and I have the potential to impact a wide range of industries and areas of society. Here are a few ways in which I could potentially disrupt or augment various industries:
Industries that could be disrupted:
Customer service: AI language models like me are already being used by many companies to automate and improve customer service interactions, and this trend is likely to continue. As AI technology improves, it could potentially replace many human customer service jobs.
Content creation: AI language models have the potential to automate certain types of content creation, such as news articles, product descriptions, and even social media posts. This could have a significant impact on the journalism and writing industries.
Education: AI language models could potentially disrupt the traditional education model by providing personalized learning experiences and automating certain types of teaching and grading.
Industries that could be augmented:
Healthcare: AI language models could help augment healthcare by providing more accurate and personalized diagnoses, and by automating certain types of administrative tasks.
Finance: AI language models could help augment finance by providing more accurate and data-driven investment advice, and by automating certain types of financial analysis.
Research: AI language models could help augment research by processing and analyzing vast amounts of data, and by identifying patterns and insights that might be difficult for humans to spot on their own.
Overall, the impact of AI language models like me on various industries will depend on a wide range of factors, including the development of the technology, the regulatory environment, and societal attitudes toward automation and AI. While there may be some industries that are more susceptible to disruption or augmentation than others, it’s important to approach these developments with a nuanced understanding of the potential benefits and risks.
Channelchek (PH) – Are users using ChatGPT to create social media bots to respond without human intervention likely to flood the internet?
ChatGPT – While it is technically possible for users to use AI language models like ChatGPT to create social media bots that can respond to messages without human intervention, I cannot speculate on whether this is likely to flood the internet.
The use of AI language models like ChatGPT could potentially make it easier and more accessible for users to create more sophisticated chatbots that can mimic human conversation more convincingly.
It’s also important to consider the potential impact of widespread use of social media bots on the quality and authenticity of online interactions. While chatbots can be useful in certain contexts, they can also be used to spread misinformation and propaganda or to manipulate public opinion. As with any technology, it’s important to approach the use of AI language models and chatbots in a responsible and ethical way, and to consider the potential risks and benefits of their use.
Channelchek (PH) – What do you call one that uses ChatGPT?
ChatGPT – There is no specific term for a person who uses ChatGPT or other AI language models, as these tools are designed to be accessible and usable by anyone with an internet connection.
However, a person who uses ChatGPT to create chatbots or other automated tools could be referred to as an AI developer or AI engineer. Similarly, a person who uses ChatGPT to conduct research or analysis in a specific field could be referred to as an AI researcher or analyst.
Channelchek (PH) – How much do you cost?
As an AI language model, I do not have a specific cost as I am not a commercial product. My purpose is to provide information and assistance to users like you, and I am freely accessible through various platforms that integrate my technology, including chatbots, voice assistants, and search engines.
Channelchek (PH) – Should I throw out the encyclopedias on my book shelf and rely instead on ChatGPT?
ChatGPT – Ultimately, whether or not to keep your encyclopedias depends on your personal preferences and how you prefer to access information. While AI language models like ChatGPT are convenient and accessible, they may not always provide the level of detail or accuracy that you require for a specific question or topic. So, it’s always a good idea to consult multiple sources of information to ensure that you have a well-rounded understanding of a given topic.
Channelchek (PH) – How does one get started using ChatGPT for research?
ChatGPT – Getting started with using ChatGPT for research can involve several steps. Here are a few basic steps you can follow:
Identify your research question or topic: Start by identifying the research question or topic you want to investigate. This will help you to focus your search and make the best use of ChatGPT.
Choose a ChatGPT platform: There are several platforms that integrate ChatGPT, including chatbots, voice assistants, and search engines. Choose a platform that best fits your needs and preferences.
Familiarize yourself with the platform: Once you have chosen a platform, take some time to explore and familiarize yourself with its features and capabilities. Many platforms offer tutorials and guides to help you get started.
Start asking questions: Once you are comfortable with the platform, start asking questions related to your research topic. Try to ask open-ended questions that will allow ChatGPT to provide more detailed and relevant answers.
Evaluate the results: As you receive answers from ChatGPT, evaluate the accuracy and relevance of the information. Keep in mind that ChatGPT is not perfect and may not always provide the most accurate or comprehensive information. Be sure to double-check any information you receive with other sources to ensure its accuracy.
Refine your search: If you are not finding the information you need, try refining your search by using more specific keywords or phrases.
Overall, using ChatGPT for research can be a valuable tool for gathering information and conducting preliminary investigations. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it is just one tool in the research process, and should be used in conjunction with other sources of information and research methods.
Wrap Up
It’s easy to comprehend how this technology, which will likely see stronger competition in the coming year, will quickly become something that is used every day to help streamline how we do our jobs, and find information in our personal lives. Unlike an internet search engine, queries produce individual results tailored to the individual question. The same question will recieve different phraseology if asked a minute later. Whereas Google or DuckDuckGo list websites that may provide the answer, ChatGPT responds using its own answer using artificial intelligence.
Getting started is as easy as going to OpenAI.com and navigating to Chat.OpenAI.com and providing an email and verification phone number. Click on my name below and write me, I’d love to hear what you are using it for.
Twitter’s New Data Fees Leave Scientists Scrambling for Funding – or Cutting Research
Twitter is ending free access to its application programming interface, or API. An API serves as a software “middleman” allowing two applications to talk to each other. An API is an accessible way to collect and share data within and across organizations. For example, researchers at universities unaffiliated with Twitter can collect tweets and other data from Twitter through their API.
Starting Feb. 9, 2023, those wanting access to Twitter’s API will have to pay. The company is looking for ways to increase revenue to reverse its financial slide, and Elon Musk claimed that the API has been abused by scammers. This cost is likely to hinder the research community that relies on the Twitter API as a data source.
The Twitter API launched in 2006, allowing those outside of Twitter access to tweets and corresponding metadata, information about each tweet such as who sent it and when and how many people liked and retweeted it. Tweets and metadata can be used to understand topics of conversation and how those conversations are “liked” and shared on the platform and by whom.
This article was republished with permission from The Conversation, a news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It represents the research-based findings and thoughts of, Jon-Patrick Allem, Assistant Professor of Research in Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California.
As a scientist and director of a research lab focused on collecting and analyzing posts from social media platforms, I have relied on the Twitter API to collect tweets pertinent to public health for over a decade. My team has collected more than 80 million observations over the past decade, publishing dozens of papers on topics from adolescents’ use of e-cigarettes to misinformation about COVID-19.
Twitter has announced that it will allow bots that it deems provide beneficial content to continue unpaid access to the API, and that the company will offer a “paid basic tier,” but it’s unclear whether those will be helpful to researchers.
Blocking Out and Narrowing Down
Twitter is a social media platform that hosts interesting conversations across a variety of topics. As a result of free access to the Twitter API, researchers have followed these conversations to try to better understand public attitudes and behaviors. I’ve treated Twitter as a massive focus group where observations – tweets – can be collected in near real time at relatively low cost.
The Twitter API has allowed me and other researchers to study topics of importance to society. Fees are likely to narrow the field of researchers who can conduct this work, and narrow the scope of some projects that can continue. The Coalition for Independent Technology Research issued a statement calling on Twitter to maintain free access to its API for researchers. Charging for access to the API “will disrupt critical projects from thousands of journalists, academics and civil society actors worldwide who study some of the most important issues impacting our societies today,” the coalition wrote.
@SMLabTO (Twitter)
The financial burden will not affect all academics equally. Some scientists are positioned to cover research costs as they arise in the course of a study, even unexpected or unanticipated costs. In particular, scientists at large research-heavy institutions with grant budgets in the millions of dollars are likely to be able to cover this kind of charge.
However, many researchers will be unable to cover the as yet unspecified costs of the paid service because they work on fixed or limited budgets. For example, doctoral students who rely on the Twitter API for data for their dissertations may not have additional funding to cover this charge. Charging for access to the Twitter API will ultimately reduce the number of participants working to understand the world around us.
The terms of Twitter’s paid service will require me and other researchers to narrow the scope of our work, as pricing limits will make it too expensive to continue to collect as much data as we would like. As the amount of data requested goes up, the cost goes up.
We will be forced to forgo data collection on some topic areas. For example, we collect a lot of tobacco-related conversations, and people talk about tobacco by referencing the behavior – smoking or vaping – and also by referencing a product, like JUUL or Puff Bar. I add as many terms as I can think of to cast a wide net. If I’m going to be charged per word, it will force me to rethink how wide a net I cast. This will ultimately reduce our understanding of issues important to society.
Difficult Adjustments
Costs aside, many academic institutions are likely to have a difficult time adapting to these changes. For example, most universities are slow-moving bureaucracies with a lot of red tape. To enter into a financial relationship or complete a small purchase may take weeks or months. In the face of the impending Twitter API change, this will likely delay data collection and potential knowledge.
Unfortunately, everyone relying on the Twitter API for data was given little more than a week’s notice of the impending change. This short period has researchers scrambling as we try to prepare our data infrastructures for the changes ahead and make decisions about which topics to continue studying and which topics to abandon.
If the research community fails to properly prepare, scientists are likely to face gaps in data collection that will reduce the quality of our research. And in the end that means a loss of knowledge for the world.
Recent Investment Trends Include Small-Cap Artificial Intelligence Stocks
C3 AI, sometimes written C3.ai, is an artificial intelligence platform that provides services for companies to build large-scale AI applications. Its stock had the fifth highest traded shares among Fidelity’s retail investors on Monday (February 6). This included a record-breaking $31.4 million worth of shares traded among the broker’s individual self-directed traders. According to Reuters, “Retail investors are piling up on small-cap firms that employ artificial intelligence amid intensifying competition between tech titans.” The article points to Google and Microsoft as examples of companies that expect AI to be the next meaningful driver of growth.
Investors, for their part, are looking to get ahead of any acquisition spree that deep-pocketed companies may embark on, which could include buying the advanced technology by acquiring small-cap tech firms.
Focus Heightened by ChatGPT
The spotlight ChatGPT finds itself in, three months after its launch, is indicicative of the interest in this technology amongst investors and users. With applications as numerous than one can think up, the technology could outdate many services provided by tech companies like Alphabet (GOOGL), or Microsoft (MSFT) – big tech has catching up to do. This seems to have created a race by cash rich companies to not be disrupted and left behind.
Investor’s recent focus on small companies in this space prefer those that are concentrated in AI technology. One main reason is that small-cap or microcap firms in this space are likely to have AI as a more concentrated part of their business. The bet being that whether the small company continues to grow independently, or is acquired by a larger firm looking to instantly be par with current technology, doesn’t much matter, it is a win for the investor if either occurs.
And it is a win, C3 AI stock rallied 46% last week, and climbed another 6.5% on Monday. It is now up 146% year to date.
Other Companies Involved
SoundHound AI, provides a voice AI platform services, and Thailand-based security firm Guardforce AI have more than doubled so far this year, while analytics firm BigBear.AI has increased ninefold.
US-listed shares of Baidu Inc climbed after the Chinese search engine indicated it would complete an internal test of a ChatGPT-style project called “Ernie Bot” next month.
Shares of Microsoft, which supports ChatGPT parent OpenAI, had been ratcheting up over the past month. The company is expected to make an announcement on their AI gained 1.5% in premarket trading ahead of the AI plans this week.
Google-owner Alphabet Inc said this week it would launch Bard, a chatbot service for developers, alongside its search engine.
Take Away
Change in technology that leads to improvements in daily lives has always been a focus of investors betting on which companies will outlast the others with “the next big thing.” These companies start out as small growth companies as Apple (AAPL) did in 1976. Then, a number of paths lay ahead. They either grow on their own like the Jobs/Wozniak computer maker did, get acquired for an early payday for investors and other stakeholders, or they can be outcompeted leaving investors with a non-performing asset.
Channelchek is a platform that specializes in bringing data and research on small-cap companies, including many varieties of new technology, to the investors that insist on being informed before they place a trade. Discover more on the industries of tomorrow by signing up for notifications in your inbox from Channelchek by registering here.
Cathie Wood Reveals 2022’s Most Disruptive and Innovative Technologies
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood penned a lookback-themed article about the innovations and disruptive companies of 2022. The purpose seemed to be to remind followers that although during the year, investors may have become disheartened with innovation, ‘look at the amazing opportunities that occurred.’ The innovations and companies highlighted were somewhat overlooked; following the path we are accustomed to from many breakthroughs, they fly under the radar. Then, suddenly they’re widely adopted. Below are many of her picks for innovation and companies she may now wish her funds held large positions in.
The Future of Internet
Suddenly everyone is talking about ChatGPT. According to Wood, artificial intelligence (AI), specifically, ChatGPT is advancing at a pace that is surprising even by standards set by earlier versions. This version of GPT-3, optimized for conversation, signed up one million users in just five days. By comparison, this onboarding of users is incredibly fast benchmarked against the original GPT-3, which took 24 months to reach the same level.
In 2022, TV advertising in the US underwent significant changes. Traditional, non-addressable, non-interactive TV ad spending dropped by 2% to $70 billion, according to Wood. Connected TV (CTV) ad spending on the same terms increased by 14% to ~$21 billion. Pure-play CTV operator Roku’s advertising platform revenue increased 15% year-over-year in the third quarter, the latest report available, while traditional TV scatter markets plummeted 38% year-over-year in the US. Roku maintained its position in the CTV market as the leading smart TV vendor in the US, accounting for 32% of the market.
Digital Wallets are replacing both credit cards and cash. In the category of offline commerce. They overtook cash as the top transaction method in 2020 and accounted for 50% of global online commerce volume in 2021. As an example of the growth, Square’s payment volume soared 193%, six times faster than the 30% increase in total retail spending 2019-2022 (relative to pre-COVID levels).
While overall e-commerce spending increased by 99% over the last three years, social commerce merchandise volume grew even faster. Shopify’s gross merchandise volume grew by 312%, almost four times faster than overall e-commerce and taking a significant share from other retail.
Underlying public blockchains continue to process transactions despite what may be going on surrounding the connected industries. Wood says it highlights that “their transparent, decentralized, and auditable ledgers could be a solution to the fraud and mismanagement associated with centralized, opaque institutions.” She explains, “After the FTX collapse, the share of trading volume on decentralized exchanges, which allow for trading without a central intermediary, rose 37% from 8.35% to 11.44%.
Genomic Revolution
Base editing and multiplexing have the potential to provide more effective CAR-T treatments for patients with otherwise incurable cancers. Cathie Wood provided an example from 2022 about a young girl in the UK with leukemia that went from hopeless in May to Canver-free in November.
In 2022 Dutch scientists at the Hubrecht Institute, UMC Utrecht, and the Oncode Institute used another form of gene editing called prime editing to correct the mutation that causes cystic fibrosis in human stem cells. Another example of how it is being adopted comes from Korean researchers at Yonsei University that used prime editing successfully to treat liver and eye diseases in adult mice.
CRISPR gene editing in Cathie’s words, “has delivered functional cures for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease.” She gives examples: CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals which together have treated more than 75 patients, resulting in some well-publicized “functional cures”. They are expecting FDA approval for Exa-Cel, the treatment for sickle cell and beta thalassemia, in early 2023.
In the category the Ark Invest founder referred to as other cell and gene therapies, she says in 2022, regulators approved several landmark cell and gene therapies. The examples she used to highlight this are Hemgenix for the treatment of Haemophilia B, Zyntelgo for beta thalassemia, Skysona for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, Yescarta and Breyanzi for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Tecartus for mantle cell lymphoma, and Carvykti and Abecma for multiple myeloma.
Liquid biopsies, blood tests via molecular diagnostic testing are enabling the early detection of colorectal cancer which, if discovered at or before stage 1, have a five-year survival rate greater than 90%. Late-stage or metastatic cancers account for more than 55% of deaths over a five-year period, but only 17% of new diagnoses.
Autonomous Technology & Robotics
During 2022 electric vehicle maker Tesla sales increased by 49% even as automobile sales declined by 8%. Tesla’s share of total auto sales in the US has increased to 3.8% from 1.4% in three years.
During 2022, GM expanded its autonomous driving taxi service to most of San Francisco in the first large-scale rollout in a major US city. Then it launched in both Phoenix and Austin late in the year. The automaker with a stodgy reputation, managed to compress the time to commercialization from nine years in San Francisco to just 90 days in Austin. Tesla, for its part, expanded access to its FSD (full self-driving) beta software to all owners in North America who had requested access.
By January 4, 2023, both Amazon and Walmart had begun deliveries using drones in select US cities. Autonomous logistics technology is no longer futuristic and is likely to continue being adopted and expanded.
Across the top 50 medical device companies, 90% rely on 3D printing for prototyping, testing, and even in some cases printing medical devices.
In 2022, SpaceX nearly doubled the number of rockets it launched to 61. It reused the same rocket in as few as 21 days, a dramatic improvement over the 356 days required for its first rocket reuse. Private Space Exploration is a reality. 61 rockets is an average of more than one per week.
Take Away
Hedge fund manager Cathie Wood took the new year as an opportunity to communicate examples of game-changing innovation that the equity market largely ignored in 2022. She finds these as confidence building that the premise of many of her managed funds is with merit. More importantly, in the face of market headwinds and media criticism, she wants these examples to help boost investor confidence “that ARK’s strategies are on the right side of change.” She tells readers, “innovation solves problems and has historically gained share during turbulent times.”
– Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating EBITDA of $1.3 Million – – Merger with MEOA SPAC Targeted to Close in First Quarter Calendar 2023 –
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Digerati Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: DTGI) (“Digerati” or the “Company”), a provider of cloud services specializing in UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) solutions for the small to medium-sized business (“SMB”) market, announced today financial results for the three months ended October 31, 2022, the Company’s first quarter for its Fiscal Year 2023.
Key Financial Highlights for the First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 (Ended October 31, 2022)
Revenue increased by 115% to $8.1 million compared to $3.8 million for Q1 FY2022.
Gross profit increased 131% to $5.3 million compared to $2.3 million for Q1 FY2022.
Gross margin increased to 64.9% compared to 60.6% for Q1 FY2022.
Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA income increased by 161% to $0.8 million, excluding all non-cash items and one-time transactional expenses, compared to $0.3 million for Q1 FY2022.
Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating EBITDA (OPCO EBITDA) income increased by 86% to $1.3 million, excluding corporate expenses, non-cash items and one-time transactional expenses, compared to $0.7 million for Q1 FY2022.
Key Business Highlights for the First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 (Ended October 31, 2022)
Announced business combination with Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc. (MEOA).
Appointed Derek Gietzen to President.
NextLevel Internet named one of the Fortune top 100 best small & medium workplaces for 2022.
Update on Plan to List on NASDAQ via Business Combination with Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc.
The Company and MEOA have made significant progress since the business combination agreement was executed on August 30, 2022. Key accomplishments include:
MEOA’s filing of the S-4 registration statement for the business combination on November 30, 2022.
Filing by MEOA of its Charter Amendment approved by the shareholders of MEOA on November 29, 2022.
The transaction results in a $105 million enterprise valuation for Digerati and has been approved by the board of directors of both Digerati and MEOA, with an expected closing in the first quarter of CY 2023, subject to shareholder, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and NASDAQ approval. The S-4 registration statement for the business combination is currently under review by the SEC.
Arthur L. Smith, CEO of Digerati, commented, “We continue to demonstrate successful execution of our acquisition strategy through improved quarterly financial results that included achieving record quarterly profitability in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OPCO EBITDA for the Company’s first quarter in FY2023. We look forward to carrying this financial momentum into subsequent quarters as we work towards closing our merger with MEOA and moving our listing to NASDAQ that we expect will greatly enhance our ability to replicate this success with additional targeted accretive acquisitions in the future.”
Antonio Estrada, CFO of Digerati, stated, “We had a very productive quarter in streamlining our business as we approach the one-year anniversary of closing the acquisitions of SkyNet and Next Level Internet. We successfully integrated the acquired businesses as demonstrated by the improved margins and profitability resulting from operating efficiencies and elimination of redundant costs. We recently closed on a $1.5 million financing which provides us with the capital necessary to close our NASDAQ listing transaction with MEOA that includes fees for extending the SPAC, as well as attorney and audit expenses.”
Three Months ended October 31, 2022 Compared to Three Months ended October 31, 2021
Revenue for the three months ended October 31, 2022 was $8.1 million, an increase of $4.4 million or 115% compared to $3.8 million for the three months ended October 31, 2021. The increase in revenue between periods is primarily attributed to the consolidation of the closed acquisitions of SkyNet Telecom and NextLevel Internet during the period. The total number of customers increased from 2,658 for the three months ended October 31, 2021, to 4,565 customers for the three months ended October 31, 2022.
Gross profit for the three months ended October 31, 2022 was $5.3 million, resulting in a gross margin of 64.9%, compared to $2.3 million and 60.6% for the three months ended October 31, 2021.
Selling, General and Administrative expenses (excluding legal and professional fees) for the three months ended October 31, 2022 increased by $2.4 million, or 133% to $4.1 million compared to $1.8 million for the three months ended October 31, 2021. The increase in SG&A is attributed to the consolidation of the closed acquisitions of SkyNet Telecom and NextLevel Internet, and the absorbed employees responsible for service delivery for the customer base, technical support, sales, customer service and administration.
Operating loss for the three months ended October 31, 2022, was $0.4 million, a decrease of $0.2 million or 31%, compared to $0.6 million for the three months ended October 31, 2021.
Adjusted EBITDA income for the three months ended October 31, 2022, was $0.8 million, an increase of $0.5 million, or 161%, compared to an adjusted EBITDA income of $0.3 million for the three months ended October 31, 2021. In accordance with SEC Regulation G, the non-GAAP measurement of Adjusted EBITDA has been reconciled to the nearest GAAP measurement, which can be viewed under the heading “Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA” in the financial table included in this press release.
Of note were the following non-cash expenses associated with the three months ended October 31, 2022: Company recognition of stock-based compensation and warrant expense of $0.02 million and depreciation and amortization expense of $1.0 million. Gain on derivative instruments was $3.1 million for the three months ended October 31, 2022.
Non-GAAP adjusted operating EBITDA (OPCO EBITDA) for the three months ended October 31, 2022, improved to income of $1.3 million, excluding corporate expenses, an increase of $0.6 million, or 86%, compared to a non-GAAP adjusted operating EBITDA of $0.7 million for the three months ended October 31, 2021.
Net loss for the three months ended October 31, 2022, was $5.0 million, an increase of $7.4 million, as compared to net income of $2.4 million, for the three months ended October 31, 2021. The resulting EPS for the three months ended October 31, 2022, was a loss of ($0.03), as compared to income of $0.01 for the three months ended October 31, 2021.
At October 31, 2022, Digerati had $1.0 million of cash.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measurements
The Company believes that EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is useful to investors because it is commonly used in the cloud communications industry to evaluate companies on the basis of operating performance and leverage. Adjusted EBITDA provides an adjusted view of EBITDA that takes into account certain significant non-recurring transactions, if any, such as impairment losses and expenses associated with pending acquisitions, which vary significantly between periods and are not recurring in nature, as well as certain recurring non-cash charges such as changes in fair value of the Company’s derivative liabilities and stock-based compensation. The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides investors with a measure of the Company’s operational and financial progress that corresponds with the measurements used by management as a basis for allocating resources and making other operating decisions. Although the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as one of several financial measures to assess its operating performance, its use is limited as it excludes certain significant operating expenses. Non-GAAP operating EBITDA (OPCO EBITDA) is useful to investors because it reflects EBITDA for the core operation of the business excluding corporate expenses, non-cash expenses and transactional expenses. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Non-GAAP operating EBITDA are not intended to represent cash flows for the periods presented, nor have they been presented as an alternative to operating income or as an indicator of operating performance and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). In accordance with SEC Regulation G, the non-GAAP measurements in this press release have been reconciled to the nearest GAAP measurement, which can be viewed under the heading “Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA” in the financial table included in this press release.
About Digerati Technologies, Inc.
Digerati Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: DTGI) is a provider of cloud services specializing in UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) solutions for the business market. Through its operating subsidiaries NextLevel Internet (NextLevelinternet.com), T3 Communications (T3com.com), Nexogy (Nexogy.com), and SkyNet Telecom (Skynettelecom.net), the Company is meeting the global needs of small businesses seeking simple, flexible, reliable, and cost-effective communication and network solutions including, cloud PBX, cloud telephony, cloud WAN, cloud call center, cloud mobile, and the delivery of digital oxygen on its broadband network. The Company has developed a robust integration platform to fuel mergers and acquisitions in a highly fragmented market as it delivers business solutions on its carrier-grade network and Only in the Cloud™.
About Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc.
Minority Equality Opportunities Acquisition Inc. is a blank check company, also commonly referred to as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, organized under the laws of the Delaware and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with companies that are minority owned, led or founded.
INVESTMENT IN ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SEC OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY NOR HAS ANY AUTHORITY PASSED UPON OR ENDORSED THE MERITS OF THE OFFERING OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Important Information and Where to Find It
As mentioned above, the parties have filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC (the “Registration Statement”), which includes a preliminary proxy statement for MEOA and Digerati shareholders and also serves as a prospectus related to offers and sales of the securities of the combined entity. MEOA will also file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. A definitive proxy statement/prospectus will also be sent to the stockholders of MEOA and Digerati, seeking required stockholder approval. Before making any voting or investment decision, investors and security holders of MEOA and Digerati are urged to carefully read the entire registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus, when they become available, and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to these documents, because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction. The documents filed with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
In addition, the documents filed with the SEC may be obtained from MEOA’s website at https://www.meoaus.com.
Participants in the Solicitation
MEOA, Digerati and their respective directors, executive officers, other members of management, and employees, under SEC rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of Digerati’s stockholders in connection with the Business Combination. Investors and security holders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names and interests in the Business Combination of Digerati’s directors and officers in MEOA’s filings with the SEC, including the Registration Statement filed with the SEC by MEOA, which includes the proxy statement of Digerati for the Business Combination. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described above.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain statements that are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the terms and conditions of the proposed business combination and related transactions disclosed herein, the timing of the consummation of such transactions, assumptions regarding shareholder redemptions and the anticipated benefits and financial position of the parties resulting therefrom. These statements are based on various assumptions and/or on the current expectations of MEOA or Digerati’s management. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by any investor or other person as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of MEOA and/or Digerati. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets; the amount of redemption requests made by MEOA’s public shareholders; NASDAQ’s approval of MEOA’s initial listing application; changes in the assumptions underlying Digerati’s expectations regarding its future business; the effects of competition on Digerati’s future business; and the outcome of judicial proceedings to which Digerati is, or may become a party.
If the risks materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Digerati and MEOA presently do not know or currently believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect expectations, assumptions, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Digerati and MEOA anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause these assessments to change. However, while Digerati and/or MEOA may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, each of Digerati and MEOA specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Digerati’s or MEOA (or their respective affiliates’) assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
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Why Fusion Ignition is Being Hailed as a Major Breakthrough in Fusion – a Nuclear Physicist Explains
American scientists have announced what they have called a major breakthrough in a long-elusive goal of creating energy from nuclear fusion.
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Dec. 13, 2022, that for the first time – and after several decades of trying – scientists have managed to get more energy out of the process than they had to put in.
But just how significant is the development? And how far off is the long-sought dream of fusion providing abundant, clean energy? Carolyn Kuranz, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan who has worked at the facility that just broke the fusion record, helps explain this new result.
What Happened in the Fusion Chamber?
Fusion is a nuclear reaction that combines two atoms to create one or more new atoms with slightly less total mass. The difference in mass is released as energy, as described by Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc2 , where energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. Since the speed of light is enormous, converting just a tiny amount of mass into energy – like what happens in fusion – produces a similarly enormous amount of energy.
Fusion is the same process that powers the Sun. NASA/Wikimedia Commons
Researchers at the U.S. Government’s National Ignition Facility in California have demonstrated, for the first time, what is known as “fusion ignition.” Ignition is when a fusion reaction produces more energy than is being put into the reaction from an outside source and becomes self-sustaining.
The technique used at the National Ignition Facility involved shooting 192 lasers at a 0.04 inch (1 mm) pellet of fuel made of deuterium and tritium – two versions of the element hydrogen with extra neutrons – placed in a gold canister. When the lasers hit the canister, they produce X-rays that heat and compress the fuel pellet to about 20 times the density of lead and to more than 5 million degrees Fahrenheit (3 million Celsius) – about 100 times hotter than the surface of the Sun. If you can maintain these conditions for a long enough time, the fuel will fuse and release energy.
The fuel is held in a tiny canister designed to keep the reaction as free from contaminants as possible. U.S. Department of Energy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The fuel and canister gets vaporized within a few billionths of a second during the experiment. Researchers then hope their equipment survived the heat and accurately measured the energy released by the fusion reaction.
So What Did They Accomplish?
To assess the success of a fusion experiment, physicists look at the ratio between the energy released from the process of fusion and the amount of energy within the lasers. This ratio is called gain.
Anything above a gain of 1 means that the fusion process released more energy than the lasers delivered.
On Dec. 5, 2022, the National Ignition Facility shot a pellet of fuel with 2 million joules of laser energy – about the amount of power it takes to run a hair dryer for 15 minutes – all contained within a few billionths of a second. This triggered a fusion reaction that released 3 million joules. That is a gain of about 1.5, smashing the previous record of a gain of 0.7 achieved by the facility in August 2021.
How Big a Deal is this Result?
Fusion energy has been the “holy grail” of energy production for nearly half a century. While a gain of 1.5 is, I believe, a truly historic scientific breakthrough, there is still a long way to go before fusion is a viable energy source.
While the laser energy of 2 million joules was less than the fusion yield of 3 million joules, it took the facility nearly 300 million joules to produce the lasers used in this experiment. This result has shown that fusion ignition is possible, but it will take a lot of work to improve the efficiency to the point where fusion can provide a net positive energy return when taking into consideration the entire end-to-end system, not just a single interaction between the lasers and the fuel.
Machinery used to create the powerful lasers, like these pre-amplifiers, currently requires a lot more energy than the lasers themselves produce. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CC BY-SA
What Needs to Be Improved?
There are a number of pieces of the fusion puzzle that scientists have been steadily improving for decades to produce this result, and further work can make this process more efficient.
First, lasers were only invented in 1960. When the U.S. government completed construction of the National Ignition Facility in 2009, it was the most powerful laser facility in the world, able to deliver 1 million joules of energy to a target. The 2 million joules it produces today is 50 times more energetic than the next most powerful laser on Earth. More powerful lasers and less energy-intensive ways to produce those powerful lasers could greatly improve the overall efficiency of the system.
Fusion conditions are very challenging to sustain, and any small imperfection in the capsule or fuel can increase the energy requirement and decrease efficiency. Scientists have made a lot of progress to more efficiently transfer energy from the laser to the canister and the X-ray radiation from the canister to the fuel capsule, but currently only about 10% to 30% of the total laser energy is transferred to the canister and to the fuel.
Finally, while one part of the fuel, deuterium, is naturally abundant in sea water, tritium is much rarer. Fusion itself actually produces tritium, so researchers are hoping to develop ways of harvesting this tritium directly. In the meantime, there are other methods available to produce the needed fuel.
These and other scientific, technological and engineering hurdles will need to be overcome before fusion will produce electricity for your home. Work will also need to be done to bring the cost of a fusion power plant well down from the US$3.5 billion of the National Ignition Facility. These steps will require significant investment from both the federal government and private industry.
It’s worth noting that there is a global race around fusion, with many other labs around the world pursuing different techniques. But with the new result from the National Ignition Facility, the world has, for the first time, seen evidence that the dream of fusion is achievable.
This article was republished with permission from The Conversation, a news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It represents the research-based findings and thoughts of, Carolyn Kuranz, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering, University of Michigan. Carolyn Kuranz receives funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She serves on a review board for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She is a member of the Fusion Energy Science Advisory Committee.
The hashtag #TwitterFiles is trending on Twitter and is likely to be for some time to come. After Elon Musk released the first set of documents that strongly suggests wrongdoing by both political parties, agencies of the government, and perhaps even elected officials, Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey joined the discussion on the social media/microblogging site. Dorsey’s tweet suggested impatience with the method with which Musk is sharing what is discovered within the Twitter offices and files.
Dorsey (@Jack) tweeted on Wednesday, “If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves?” He further tweeted, “Including all discussions around current and future actions? Make everything public now. #TwitterFiles.”
Elon Musk, who has promised to make Twitter more open tweeted back, “Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted, but everything we find will be released.”
The cause for Dorsey’s tweet may have been the result of learning that Jim Baker, a former FBI lawyer, was filtering documents released in the exposé. This was mentioned by Matt Taibbi the writer of the first installment of the “Twitter Files.” Taibbi suggested there is a delay in getting the second installment out because Baker was filtering documents to be released in the exposé, leading to the delay of the second batch of information. The journalist chosen to present the second installment of the Twitter files is named Bari Weiss.
Jim Baker has a reputation that includes distrust, and his name is often preceded by the word “disgraced [former FBI agent].” “The news that Baker was reviewing the ‘Twitter Files’ surprised everyone involved, to say the least,” Taibbi tweeted Tuesday night. ” Twitter chief Elon Musk acted quickly to ‘exit’ Baker Tuesday.”
Future installments are being compiled, according to Taibbi. “Reporters resumed searches through Twitter Files material — a lot of it — today,” he tweeted. “The next installment of ‘The Twitter Files’ will appear @bariweiss. Stay tuned.”
Does Jim Baker deserve to be scorned? Baker’s alleged involvement in the Twitter censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop in the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election has become a news story all its own, in a blog post by Jonathan Turley who is a constitutional law expert, Turley wrote a review titled “Six Degrees from James Baker: A Familiar Figure Reemerges With the Release of the Twitter Files.”
Was Dorsey involved in censorship? As for Dorsey’s level of involvement in censorship at Twitter before he was forced out, Taibbi referenced the former executive a number of times. “An amazing subplot of the Twitter/Hunter Biden laptop affair was how much was done without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, and how long it took for the situation to get ‘unf***ed’ (as one ex-employee put it) even after Dorsey jumped in,” Taibbi tweeted Friday.
“There are multiple instances in the files of Dorsey intervening to question suspensions and other moderation actions for accounts across the political spectrum,” Taibbi tweeted.
There is nothing better than drama to draw people to social media platforms. Musk’s open file policy is creating substantial drama and, for many, increased usage of Twitter. If Musk was to release the files all at once, as suggested by Jack Dorsey, the platform would have one large burst of activity and then settle down. The method he instead is using to share information includes assigning a journalist to unveil batches of documents, and this ought to keep the #TwitterFiles trending into 2023 and increase Twitter’s user base.
