Business & Tech News: Is Generative AI the Next Frontier? EU Urges Urgent Investigation

Introducing you to our news digest, where we’ll bring you the latest updates in the world of AI, startups, security, and venture. From the remarkable achievement of Robocat, a robot created by DeepMind, which has mastered complex robotics tasks, to the revolutionary billing platform, Hyperline, that is transforming the SAAS industry. Stay tuned as we explore these exciting developments and more in our current news roundup.

AI

Robocat, created by Deepmind, learns to perform robotics tasks

DeepMind has developed RoboCat, an AI model capable of performing various tasks using robotic arm models. RoboCat’s ability to adapt and solve multiple tasks using real-world robots makes it unique. The model was trained using images and action data from simulated and real robotic environments. 

During training, researchers gathered 100 to 1,000 demonstrations of tasks performed by humans using robotic arms. They then fine-tuned RoboCat on specific tasks and expanded its training dataset by incorporating data from spin-off models and demonstrations. The final version of RoboCat was trained on 253 tasks and tested on 141 task variations in both simulated and real-world settings.

DeepMind observed varying success rates during testing, ranging from 13% to 99%, depending on the number of demonstrations provided. In some cases, RoboCat was able to learn new tasks with as few as 100 demonstrations. DeepMind envisions RoboCat simplifying the process of solving new robotics tasks. By fine-tuning the model with a limited number of demonstrations, RoboCat can generate additional data and further enhance its performance.

EU urged to launch an urgent investigation into the high-stakes realm of generative AI

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) urgently calls for investigations into generative AI risks due to deception, manipulation, harm, disinformation, bias amplification, and fraud. They urged authorities to enforce regulations to protect consumers. The call aligns with a report from Forbrukerrådet in Norway highlighting AI-related consumer harms. 

The EU is actively involved in AI debates and legislation to increase trust and address high-risk applications. The recently approved AI law categorizes AI applications and aims to establish legal frameworks. Collaboration with member countries is underway to finalize the law and ensure consumer protection. BEUC’s influential role emphasizes the need for public scrutiny, control, and transparency in generative AI systems. The ongoing regulatory efforts indicate a lengthy process ahead.

Security

Notarize introduces proof for safe online transactions

Notarize, the world’s largest online notary network, is launching Proof, a new platform for digital identity verifications. Proof is designed to serve large banks and real estate companies, offering identity-assured transaction management and addressing gaps in online identity verification. It includes features such as biometric identity verification, human verification of identity and signature, and fraud risk monitoring. 

Notarize’s existing online notary network will continue alongside Proof. The platform aims to protect against fraud and provide secure transactions by meeting industry encryption and identity verification standards. Companies have widely adopted Notarize, and Proof expands its services beyond notarization to provide verifications of consumer identity.

Startups

Meet Hyperline: the game-changing billing platform for SAAS products

Hyperline is a new product that simplifies pricing and billing for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. It offers integrations and supports various scenarios, such as recurring subscriptions and usage-based billing. Unlike complex revenue management platforms, Hyperline targets small SaaS startups. The platform handles revenue-related tasks, including:

• importing customer data;
• configuring pricing rules;
• connecting with CRMs;
• facilitating payments through popular providers like Stripe or GoCardless;
• generates invoices;
• manages different VAT rates;
• automates payment requests.

It also provides a monitoring dashboard for failed payments and allows billing actions. 

The startup recently raised a $4.4 million funding round from Index Ventures. Hyperline’s “no-code” approach enables easy configuration and tweaking of pricing strategies without involving the tech team. By offering continuous pricing management, Hyperline aims to align pricing and product features, ultimately improving acquisition and reducing churn for SaaS companies. As the platform scales and gathers more data on SaaS revenue strategies, it can make recommendations to enhance performance.

Gladia revolutionizes audio-to-text conversion with near real-time accuracy

Have you already met Gladia? a French AI startup aims to revolutionize audio data interaction for companies with its advanced audio transcription API. Unlike existing solutions offered by major cloud providers, Gladia’s API overcomes key limitations, including high costs, unreliable output for specific languages, and slow processing times. Built on OpenAI’s Whisper model, Gladia has optimized the model for speed and accuracy, addressing issues such as hallucination. 

By training on closed captions and implementing preprocessing and post-processing algorithms, Gladia achieves impressive results. With a transcription cost of $0.61 per hour and a processing time of approximately 60 seconds, Gladia’s API detects multiple speakers and languages and adds punctuation and casing automatically. The startup has attracted investors, including New Wave, Sequoia, and Cocoa, and plans to expand its audio intelligence capabilities, such as translation, summarization, categorization, sentiment analysis, and more.

Venture

Robin Capital, led by Robin Haak, joins the growing wave of Solo GPs in Europe as they launch their latest fund

Robin Haak, a prominent figure in the tech scene, has launched Robin Capital, a Solo GP fund in Europe. With an initial close of €3 million and a target final close of €10-20 million, the fund aims to participate in angel, pre-seed, and seed funding rounds. Haak, known for his previous investments in companies like N26, Frontify, and Aircall, brings a network of operators and value-add Limited Partners. 

Robin Capital will focus on outstanding entrepreneurs and software subscription businesses, primarily in Europe, Israel, and the US. The fund’s investment strategy spans multiple regions, leveraging Haak’s involvement in building companies across different geographies. The rise of Solo GPs is noticeable in the venture capital landscape, with successful fund-raises reaching significant amounts of capital commitments.