Category: business

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IoTeX — When Blockchain meets the Internet of Things

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European Union limits targeted advertising and content algorithms under new law

The Digital Services Act could reshape the internet.
 

Following a marathon 16-hour negotiation session, the European Union reached an agreement early Saturday to adopt the Digital Services Act. The legislation seeks to impose greater accountability on the world’s tech giants by enforcing new obligations companies of all sizes must adhere to once the act becomes law in 2024. Like the Digital Markets Act before it, the DSA could have far-reaching implications, some of which could extend beyond Europe.

While the European Commission has yet to release the final text of the Digital Services Act, it did detail some of its provisions on Saturday. Most notably, the law bans ads that target individuals based on their religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or political affiliation. Companies also cannot serve targeted ads to minors.

Another part of the law singles out recommendation algorithms. Online platforms like Facebook will need to be transparent about how those systems work to display content to users. They will also need to offer alternative systems “not based on profiling,” meaning more platforms would need to offer chronological feeds. Additionally, some of the largest platforms today will be required to share “key” data to vetted researchers and NGOs so those groups can provide insights into “how online risks evolve.”

“Today’s agreement on the Digital Services Act is historic, both in terms of speed and of substance,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “It will ensure that the online environment remains a safe space, safeguarding freedom of expression and opportunities for digital businesses. It gives practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online.”

Under the DSA, the EU will have the power to fine tech companies up to six percent of their global turnover for rule violations, with repeat infractions carrying the threat of a ban from the bloc. As The Guardian points out, in the case of a company like Meta, that would translate into a single potential fine of approximately $7 billion.

The DSA differentiates between tech companies of different sizes, with the most scrutiny reserved for platforms that have at least 45 million users in the EU. In that group are companies like Meta and Google. According to a recent report, those two, in addition to Apple, Amazon and Spotify, collectively spent more than €27 million lobbying EU policymakers last year to change the terms of the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. The laws could inspire lawmakers in other countries, including the US, as they look to pass their own antitrust laws.

“We welcome the DSA’s goals of making the internet even more safe, transparent and accountable, while ensuring that European users, creators and businesses continue to benefit from the open web,” a Google spokesperson told Engadget. “As the law is finalized and implemented, the details will matter. We look forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical

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The Digital Service Act can be viewed here.

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How Can Machine Learning Improve Business Decision-making?

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Development

It sounds like something from a 1980s sci-fi film. The idea of a machine helping to make your business decisions is something straight out of a blockbuster, but the way technology has evolved means that companies embracing Machine Learning for decision-making can actually get the edge over their competition. 

AI & Machine Learning 

Machine Learning is intrinsically linked with AI. It is the capacity that a machine has to learn and demonstrate intelligence and insight. The role of AI within a business largely depends on exactly what type of business is and what you are trying to achieve. More and more Machine Learning business apps that automate processes, analyzing data, arise every day. 

Machine Learning Predictive Models & Machine Learning Text Classification 

Predictive modeling is a process that uses data and statistics to predict outcomes with data models. It can study data and predict what is going to happen next, or what should happen next, which can be extremely useful in certain industries. The data thrown out can help tremendously with decision making.  

Predictive Modeling | Comidor Blog

Text classification is able to categorize and select texts based on Machine Learning in a smart way. The process becomes quicker and more efficient. This can be put into place for things like chat boxes.

Process Mining and Machine Learning 

Process mining evaluates business processes and can give you new methods of improving your business, either by making it more efficient or saving money. There are ways that AI Machine Learning can be constantly involved in your process mining, giving you new insights and informing the business decisions you need to make next. 

An example is using KPI’s. Process mining can explore data regarding where processes have gone wrong. For example, they could analyze data from your suppliers to tell you who is more likely to deliver on time, or they could analyze the data from previous sales to see whether or not you are likely to run out of stock. The key performance indicators are crucial or giving a number value, from which the process mining can be much more effectively carried out. 

Almost every business can benefit from becoming more efficient in one way or another, and process mining could be the first port of call. 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Decision-making

AI can be put into practice when it comes to decision making, about almost any aspect of your business. For example, you can use it to analyze data on the money you are spending, staff responsibilities, even employee happiness. If you can feed it data then AI can show you new insights. 

artificial-intelligence blog | Comidor Blog

Decision-making process – The pros & cons of AI 

The pros of including AI in your decision making are clear. Having these new insights can help you to spot new areas of improvement and make vast enhancements in the way you conduct your business. AI can often see things that other data analysts would not. It can also tick away in the background, so you don’t have to pay consultants to work with the data if a computer is interpreting it. 

AI decision-making speeds up the process. AI can operate at incredible speeds and see data in ways that humans would take years to analyze in a matter of minutes. This should be utilized by big corporations when they are looking to make their business more efficient and even to make their processes more intelligent. 

The cons of this include the fact that there are still some shortcomings. The human touch is sometimes still needed. For instance, seeing the potential of a new staff member needs human input. Statistics might tell you that they need to go, and AI might back this up, but you might see the potential in them, still. 

AI doesn’t do creative thinking or coming up with ideas, so this will still fall on business employees and leaders. 

How Machine Learning can be applied to business processes 

Almost all business processes can be streamlined in some way. It could be that AI shows exactly how to do this. AI can also be put into practical uses relevant to your business. 

How Machine Learning can determine a pricing strategy

Machine learning might also be used to dictate pricing. An algorithm can learn from consumer information and other seller data to help you to price goods and services in a way that is competitive and likely to convert. 

AI decision-making – Developments for the near future 

From consumer protection to intelligent process automation, there aren’t many ways in which Machine Learning can’t be applied in business. It is very hard to know exactly how it will pan out, but there is little denying that AI is here to stay. Practical uses and an understanding of exactly what your customer is looking for, or how customers and staff behave, will become more intertwined with how business is done. 

The Future – Decision-Making For Your Business With AI 

When it comes to making decisions about a business, data is always going to be vital, but with Machine learning, we have so many ways in which we can use them and find out more and more about customers, businesses, and the processes we use. Don’t worry, the robots aren’t taking over like an 80s sci-fi film, but we do have more tools and functions to use as part of our business strategies than ever before thanks to Machine Learning. 

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Okta to pay $6.5B to acquire Seattle’s Auth0; identity tech startup was valued at $1.9B last year

 

Auth0, the billion-dollar Seattle-area startup that is a leader in identity authentication software, is being acquired by Okta, another leader in the space, the companies announced Wednesday. The all-stock deal is valued at approximately $6.5 billion — one of the largest acquisitions of a Seattle tech company.

Auth0 was co-founded in 2013 by Eugenio Pace, who formerly ran the patterns and practices group at Microsoft, and Matias Woloski, a software engineer who remains the company’s CTO. Both hail from Argentina, and Auth0 has built its more than 850-person team through a distributed approach with workers scattered all over the world.

The startup raised a $120 million round in July at a $1.9 billion valuation, making it a rare Seattle unicorn. That step up in valuation from $1.9 billion to $6.5 billion in just eight months is impressive, but not everyone is thinking that Auth0 should have sold so soon.

Even still, the deal is a huge windfall for the company’s founders and early investors, including Pacific Northwest firms Founders’ Co-op and Portland Seed Fund. And it’s a big payoff in Seattle’s startup scene — nearly tripling the $2.25 billion that EMC paid for Seattle data storage company Isilon in 2010.

“We started Auth0 seven years ago,” Pace said last year at the GeekWire Awards, after Auth0 won honors for Deal of the Year. “Sometimes it feels like seven minutes and sometimes it feels like 70 years. But it’s been a great journey.”

GeekWire heard rumblings about a play for Auth0 a few weeks ago, but we were unable to confirm the news. Forbes, which broke the story today, noted that the deal was slow to close because Auth0 was weighing other options, including an IPO and other possible suitors.

Auth0 will continue operating as an independent business within Okta.

San Francisco-based Okta boasts a market capitalization of $31 billion, with 2,800 employees worldwide. The company’s shares fell more than 13% in after-hours trading.

Okta reported its fourth quarter earnings Wednesday, with revenue up 40% to $234.7 million and net losses growing to $75.8 million, up from $50.4 million.

“Okta and Auth0 have an incredible opportunity to build the identity platform of the future,” Pace said in a news release.

Auth0 co-founders CEO Eugenio Pace, bottom left, and Matias Woloski, bottom right, sign acquisition agreement papers via video chat with Okta co-founders Frederic Kerrest and CEO Todd McKinnon, top right. (Okta Photo)

Auth0 is currently ranked No. 4 on the GeekWire 200, our index of top Pacific Northwest startups. However, as is customary with an acquisition or IPO, Auth0 will now be moved off the list.

“We think it’s a fantastic validation of their ‘developer-first’ approach to enterprise software, and of Seattle’s startup ecosystem more generally,” Founders’ Co-op Managing Partner Chris DeVore told GeekWire. “We’re thrilled for the founders and have already seen the knock-on effects of the entrepreneurial culture they built as two of our most recent investments (Fusebit and Zerowall) were both founded by Auth0 alums.”

Salesforce Ventures led Auth0’s $120 million Series F round in July. The funding followed a $103 million round in May 2019. Total funding to date for the 8-year-old company is more than $330 million.

Other Auth0 investors include DTCP, Bessemer Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Meritech Capital, World Innovation Lab, Trinity Ventures, Telstra Ventures, and K9 Ventures. Early investor and first Auth0 board member Sunil Nagaraj, who at the time of the deal was working for Bessemer, writes about the early days of the startup in this blog post congratulating the founding team on the acquisition.

“You will not find another person on Earth that cares more about understanding someone and communicating something clearly than Auth0 CEO Eugenio Pace,” Nagaraj wrote.

Auth0 co-founders Matias Woloski, left, and Eugenio Pace. (Auth0 Photo)

Auth0 combines existing login and identity verification options into a few lines of code that developers can quickly add to their applications. Its platform includes services like single sign-on, two-factor authentication, password-free login capabilities, and the ability to detect password breaches.

The pandemic has put a spotlight on security tech companies with accelerated adoption of digital services. Pace told GeekWire last year that demand for Auth0’s services was “massive” as companies connect more and more with customers in the cloud.

Auth0 processes more than 4.5 billion login transactions per month.

“I’m thrilled by the choice, flexibility, and value we’ll offer customers: Okta and Auth0 address a broad set of identity use cases, and our identity platforms are robust and extensible enough to serve the world’s largest organizations and most innovative developers,” Todd McKinnon, CEO and co-founder of Okta, wrote in a blog post.

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