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Zurich – Koa has successfully completed a Series B financing. With 15 million dollars in fresh capital, the Swiss-Ghanaian start-up wants to continue to grow with the utilization of cocoa fruits and drive forward the transition to regenerative and climate-friendly agriculture.
Koa has increased its equity capital by 15 million dollars in a Series B financing round. According to a press release, the Swiss-Ghanaian start-up based in Zurich intends to further expand its use of the cocoa fruit. The Land Degradation Neutrality Fund led the round with 9 million dollars. It was initiated by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Geneva-based asset manager Mirova, a subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers.
The Regenerative Growth Fund 1, which is managed by Zebra Impact Ventures and Bank Mirabaud, and the Luxembourg-based Haltra Group have also invested. It had led the Series A financing in 2021. "We are proud to have closed the Series B round in this difficult market environment for investments in start-ups," Koa's CFO Fabien Nizard is quoted as saying.
Koa is the first company in West Africa to establish a new value chain around its previously discarded fruit pulp. In this way, Koa works closely with smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana to reduce food waste on the farms and generate additional income for the families. At the same time, the company provides new ingredients for the food and beverage industry.
The deal came just a few months after Koa inaugurated "Africa's largest cocoa fruit factory" in eastern Ghana. The company sees this as the basis for a tenfold increase in production and for cooperation with 10,000 additional cocoa farmers. Koa also intends to develop new cocoa fruit products and expand its marketing and sales activities. The start-up also supports the transition to regenerative agriculture. It is intended to make cocoa cultivation more resilient to the consequences of climate change. ce/mm
Koa has established a value chain around previously discarded fruit pulp. Picture: Agyeman Duah / Koa
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Zurich – Helbling supports companies in developing suitable future strategies for the Internet of Things (IoT), including within the framework of new standards such as Matter. Matter wants to create a standardized ecosystem in the home, but this is not worthwhile for all applications.
As an innovation service provider, the Zurich-based engineering and consulting company Helbling is particularly active in the smart home sector, where various communication systems are currently still established. The Helbling experts help companies to achieve greater standardization. According to a specialist article, a current instrument for this is the new Matter standard. In an ecosystem, it is intended to implement the networking that the Internet of Things (IoT) basically intends: a standardized language for all devices in the household. This could soon make it possible to control the majority of electrical appliances in the home via Matter and a single app.
To date, some products are already compatible with Matter - according to the Helbling analysis, these are mainly lamps and switchable sockets. This is partly due to the fact that the lighting sector is one of the most important in the smart home environment. Products are being developed primarily in the fields of security technology and air conditioning. According to the experts, countless applications are still possible. But at the moment, Matter may not always prove to be an added value for the manufacturer - partly because the process is lengthy and time-consuming. On the other hand, implementation also has clear advantages for the future of the devices, such as ensuring future Matter compatibility and system security.
These aspects must be weighed up in each individual case in order to make a sustainable decision, according to the tenor. Helbling experts are on hand to provide independent advice. And if a company decides to do so, Helbling will support the development and, with the appropriate infrastructure, also the certification. ce/yvh
The Internet of Things could soon connect all household appliances. Image: Jakub Zerdzicki via Pexels
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Winterthur – The New Zealand beekeeping company Waiau Apiaries relies on Vatorex for sustainable parasite control in the production of its manuka honey. The two partner companies have started a trial with 600 heatable honeycombs from Vatorex.
Vatorex and the New Zealand beekeeping company Waiau Apiaries have joined forces to combat the Varroa mite without chemicals. The two companies have launched a medium-sized trial with 90 Vatorex bee colonies, Vatorex reported in a press release. The Winterthur-based company has developed an automated technology in which the bee pests are destroyed by heat treatment. On the South Island of New Zealand, 600 of the sensor-equipped heatable honeycombs from Vatorex are being used.
The collaboration with Waiau Apiaries represents Vatorex's first cooperation with a commercial third-party company, according to the press release. Testing the technology in New Zealand also offers Vatorex the opportunity to further improve its own brood detection algorithm. The company also wants to use the trial as preparation for large-scale Canadian trials planned for next April. ce/hs
Vatorex founders Willi Brunner, Pascal Brunner and Renato Cortesi (from left) bring warmth to beehives with their solution. Image: Vatorex
Voices
Amanda Boekholt is Legal Advisor & Project Stakeholder Manager for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation Switzerland (Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt, BAZL).
The term U-space, refers to a collection of digitalised and automated functions and processes aimed at providing safe, efficient and fair access to airspace for the growing number of civilian drone operations. U-space provides a framework to facilitate the implementation of all types of operation in all classes of airspace and all types of environment, while ensuring an orderly coexistence with manned aviation and air traffic control. Switzerland does not yet have an operational U-space airspace. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation Switzerland is currently working to establish such airspaces, especially in areas where a large number of simultaneously operated drones are expected or where drones are operated alongside manned aircraft (aircraft, helicopters).
Voices
Due to rapid technological progress, the framework conditions of AI technologies are often unclear for companies, research and administration. For this reason, the Canton of Zurich's Division of Business and Economic Development, together with partners from the administration, research and business sectors, launched the "Innovation Sandbox".
This is a test environment for the implementation of AI projects. By working closely with the administration and participating organizations on regulatory issues and enabling the use of novel data sources, responsible innovation will be encouraged. The video with Ronovatec and Lonomy, which are developing autonomous farming systems, shows exactly what this can look like.
Voices
Thomas Gemperle is Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer at Scewo. Scewo develops smart technologies with futuristic design and foolproof operation. What this adds up to? The Scewo Bro, an electric wheelchair that can climb stairs - up or down. In the video, Thomas tells how the idea came about and what challenges the young founders had to contend with.
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The Energy Science Center (ESC), competence center of ETH Zurich for energy research and education, holds its annual energy conference, the “Energy Week @ ETH” for the seventh time. The event series takes place from Monday to Friday, 4-8 December 2023 at ETH Zurich and online, and offers a wide range of activities: a Symposium, Design-Thinking Workshops for students and Focus Dialogues. Additionally, this year’s Energy Week @ ETH serves as platform for the following two partner events: DemoUpCARMA Closing Event and Energy Data Summit.
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Participants will gain an insight into what a modern, standardized intranet, implemented with Microsoft 365, looks like in the healthcare sector and how it can improve collaboration and communication. From introduction to productive operation, all possibilities are shown.
Check-in from 15:45, start at 16:00
Nicole Vetsch, Professional Project Leader at Aveniq AG
Fabian Ackeret, Senior Strategic Consultant at Aveniq AG
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In collaboration with Voicetechhub, we are organizing the three-part event series “Generative AI in Healthcare, Pharma and Medicine”.
The content is aimed at healthcare professionals, managers from the medical-pharmaceutical industry and from the medical environment who would like to deepen their knowledge of artificial intelligence. During a half-day interactive event and two subsequent online sessions, participants will learn more about Generative AI and how it will shape the future of medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.
Practical use cases will be used to demonstrate the benefits that AI can bring to the healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical sectors, where risks exist and what lies ahead for the industries. From strategic approaches, use cases (cost reduction, quality optimization) to the implementation of generative AI systems in companies, this event covers all important aspects of successfully using generative AI. Thanks to international guest speakers, in-depth insights into the practice and applications of generative AI will be provided.
The event is subject to a charge. You can find more information on the event documentation.
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With the Structure Calls the DIZH innovation program support the establishment of long-term innovation structures over a period of up to 5 years with the aim of creating organizational forms that outlast the DIZH.
These structures are intended to be innovative, flexible, and future-oriented formats that can respond to change and foster collaboration between universities and societal actors.
A total of three structure calls are planned, with this being the second and the third expected to be announced in 2026. Four structures were funded in the first call.
For this second call, a funding volume of approximately 6 million CHF is planned. Each structure can be funded with 500,000 CHF to 2 million CHF (or with max. 250,000 CHF to 1 million CHF for the first sub-period, which ends after 2.5 years at the latest) by the DIZH special credit. According to the general conditions for DIZH support, each proposal must have at least an equal contribution from the institutions of the proposal team and/or practice partners.
The structures are accompanied by the innovation panel, with a status assessment about one year after the start of the project and an interim evaluation after about two years to decide on further funding.
Please read the further information in the program concept and rules, the document “Understanding of Innovation and Evaluation Criteria” and the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
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The infrastructure maintenance of roads, bridges and dams offers great potential for the use of artificial intelligence (AI). AI-based image recognition can systematically and automatically detect the smallest cracks or damage. Infrastructure operators currently still carry out most inspections manually.
As part of the InnovationSandbox for AI, IBM Research and pixmap gmbh have implemented a pilot project at the military airfield in Dübendorf to assess the potential of AI-based inspections. A drone created high-quality images of the runway in order to automatically detect damage with the help of AI models.
The findings will be used to drive forward the use of AI in the inspection and maintenance of other infrastructure elements. The image material is made available to other innovation players. With this project, the cooperation between the administration, the military, research and the private sector is contributing to the further development of the international AI location in the Zurich metropolitan area.
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This report by the NHS AI Lab and Health Education England explores the factors influencing healthcare workers’ confidence in AI-driven technologies.
The research follows the Topol Review (2019) recommendation to develop a healthcare workforce able and willing to use AI and robotics, and is part of Health Education England’s Digital, AI and Robotics Technologies in Education (DART-Ed) programme to understand the impact of advances of these technologies on education and training requirements. Supporting healthcare workers to feel confident in identifying when and how to use AI is a main objective of the NHS AI Lab, and a key component of its vision for the safe, effective, and ethical adoption of AI technologies across health and care.
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The SWISS DIGITAL HEALTH Startup Map provides a unique and comprehensive overview on digital health startups in Switzerland. Currently, Health-Trends has identified 194 Swiss-based digital health startups.
This is the second edition of the SWISS DIGITAL HEALTH STARTUP MAP status report, following the first publication in October 2021. In this report, Health Trends provides an update on the latest changes on the map. You will learn which digital health startups have been added, including detailed information about them. In addition, we inform you which digital health companies are no longer part of the map. And, you will also find a lot of background information on Health Trends in the report.