AI agents could soon beat humans in hiring queue, says NextDC CEO
Craig Scroggie pointed to a recent directive from Shopify boss Tobi Lukte who demanded his staff first prove that what they want done can't be done by AI before attempting to hire.
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Mercury
32 minutes ago
- Mercury
X2M Connect is wiring Asia's smart cities and it's only getting started
AI boom puts X2M Connect at heart of Asia's smart cities From solar farms to safety alarms, this Aussie tech is everywhere The company is scaling fast across the region Smart cities are no longer futuristic puzzles, they're being built in real time across Asia. From Seoul's live 3D model of the city to India's purpose-built GIFT City, the region is racing to stitch data into the fabric of daily life. And with investment surging and AI stepping in as the city's co-pilot, urban living is getting a full-blown tech makeover. Into this rapidly evolving ecosystem steps X2M Connect (ASX:X2M). If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. But this Aussie outfit has quietly become the digital spine behind some of Asia's smartest cities. X2M owns a patented software platform that connects almost any device – old or new – to the internet, collects data and sends instructions back, often without needing a human to step in. 'Our business is data aggregation, data management and data distribution,' CEO Mohan Jesudason explained to Stockhead. 'We can collect data from any device – analogue, digital, smart, dumb. We see ourselves as a software platform that is a key enabler of artificial intelligence." He adds that smart devices can be connected quickly, while older ones can be retrofitted with a chip to send and receive data, making nearly any machine controllable through X2M's platform. And that's exactly what it's doing today across half a million devices and counting in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the UAE. From utilities to AI X2M's platform started in water and gas, replacing manual meter reading with real-time digital data. In cities like Gochang, South Korea, it helped detect leaks, improve billing and even uncovered more than 200 welfare cases where residents had stopped using water. In Japan, it's used to predict when bottled gas will run out, cutting truck trips and slashing supplier costs by nearly 20%. But while the early focus was utilities, the ambition was always bigger. Today, that same platform powers solar forecasting, smart city systems and emergency response. In June, for example, X2M signed a $3 million deal to roll out 100,000 'Help Me' safety devices across Seoul, linking directly to police and CCTV in real time. 'It gives the police your exact location, and directs all the public CCTV cameras to you, so that they can track you to help,' said Jesudason. The project could scale to 1 million units, he said, showing X2M's platform was now critical infrastructure. Jesudason breaks the AI value chain into three layers: engines, data aggregation and management. 'In that data collection space, there are lots of hidden gems. That's an undiscovered, in my view, valuable layer.' And that is exactly where X2M is staking its ground. Solar, smarter One of X2M's biggest growth areas is renewable energy. Through its platform, built in partnership with UAE-based Sirius Digitech, X2M provides data that helps solar operators forecast demand, detect faults and boost efficiency. In Taiwan, delivers forecasts in 15-minute intervals for up to 30 days with better than 90% accuracy (according to the company's data). And when you're managing a solar farm with 100,000 panels, that level of insight is crucial. 'You might have a few thousand panels that are not working or that are about to stop working. And our AI engines can tell you that these panels are not working,' said Jesudason. The platform helps lift earnings by up to 10%, cut costs and improve decision-making. 'We are the provider of data for artificial intelligence applications in the renewable energy space,' Jesudason said. Fast to deploy, easy to scale According to Jesudason, X2M can also deploy its solution in a new market in a matter of days, thanks to its microengine and network-agnostic design. 'For instance, we've integrated into a large Indian company in under seven days, and we don't need any capex to scale up," he said. India's massive 250-million-meter digitisation program is indeed a clear target for the company. 'We will move into the Indian market in the foreseeable future.' So is the UAE, where X2M's partner Dicode has already secured two commercial contracts. The company also expects Australia and the US to open up within 12-18 months. And once X2M's platform is in, it tends to stick. Switching away is expensive and in many regions, the platform is already listed on official government websites. What the market doesn't see, yet… X2M is now entering what it calls 'Horizon Three", a transformation phase focused on scaling and hitting profitability. Horizon One was about building and validating the platform. Horizon Two was expansion, getting enterprise and government customers onto the system and locking them in. 'Horizon Three is, how do you scale this business up? How do you take it to profitability? How do you end up with a share price that's many times what it is today?' Jesudason said. He says X2M will become profitable when revenue hits $15–16 million, and from there, it's highly scalable. 'Once you get past that 15, 16 million dollar hump, then you tend to grow your earnings exponentially. And it's a business that spits out a lot of cash.' 'But I think right now, investors haven't got their heads around the value that's going to accrue to companies that can capture and manage and distribute data quickly, efficiently and cheaply." The proverbial penny, he believes, will eventually drop that there is a lot of value to be had in this space. At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While X2M Connect is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article. This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decision. Originally published as X2M Connect is wiring Asia's smart cities and it's only getting started
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Good enough': ASX jumps on positive inflation reading
Banks, property and supermarket shares drove the ASX to a near record high on Wednesday after quarterly inflation all but confirmed an interest-rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australia board meets in August. The benchmark ASX 200 jumped 51.80 points or 0.60 per cent to 8,756.40, with the market lifting after 11.30am on the CPI data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The broader All Ordinaries also traded higher up 48.70 points or 0.54 per cent to 9,015.40. Australia's dollar slid on the news down 0.05 per cent to US 65.09 cents. Six of the 11 sectors finished in the green. Shares related to a rate cut jumped on the news. Gains were led by the major banks with bourse heavyweight CBA up 1.55 per cent to $176.99, NAB gained 0.71 per cent to $38.47, Westpac jumped 1.60 per cent to $33.72 and ANZ closed 1.25 per cent higher to $30.70. Woolworths Group added 1.58 per cent to $31.44, Coles jumped 1.72 per cent to $20.65 and Endeavour Group is up 1.23 per cent to $4.12. Stockland shares jumped 2.21 per cent to $5.55, Charter Hall Group gained 1.76 per cent to $20.21 and Mirvac Group gained 2.73 per cent to $2.26. Betashare chief economist David Bassanese said near enough was good enough for a rate cut as trimmed mean inflation fell to 2.7 per cent for the 12 months until June. 'Underlying inflation is inching closer to the middle of the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent target band and so justifies a further easing in what – in the RBA's own words – a still 'modestly restrictive' level of interest rates,' he said. Josh Gilbert, market analyst for eToro, described it as hard for the RBA to hold rates. 'After the surprise pause in July, today's data means an August rate cut is all but nailed on,' he said. 'Markets are now pricing a 93 per cent chance of a cut, and it's easy to see why. Cost-of-living pressures are easing, and the risk is now skewed towards holding rates too high for too long.' In company news, Rio Tinto half-yearly earnings fell to a five-year low on the back of weaker iron ore prices throughout the previous six months. The major iron ore exporter told the market its underlying profits came in at $US4.8bn for the first six months until June 30, which is down from $US5.75bn ($8.83bn) last year Interim dividends fall to $US1.48 a share versus $1.77 a year ago Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment used its quarterly update to announce the sale of its Queen's Wharf precinct in Brisbane was 'unlikely' to go through by Thursday's deadline. But it also pointed to an improving cash position with Star having $234m in cash and $269m in cash equivalents, as of June 30, up from $44m at the end of March. Shares in Star Entertainment Group slumped 4.35 per cent to $0.11 following the announcement.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
ASX soars on firming rate cuts
Banks, property and supermarket shares drove the ASX to a near record high on Wednesday after quarterly inflation all but confirmed an interest-rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australia board meets in August. The benchmark ASX 200 jumped 51.80 points or 0.60 per cent to 8,756.40, with the market lifting after 11.30am on the CPI data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The broader All Ordinaries also traded higher up 48.70 points or 0.54 per cent to 9,015.40. Australia's dollar slid on the news down 0.05 per cent to US 65.09 cents. Six of the 11 sectors finished in the green. The ASX 200 jumped on the back of quarterly inflation data. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Shares related to a rate cut jumped on the news. Gains were led by the major banks with bourse heavyweight CBA up 1.55 per cent to $176.99, NAB gained 0.71 per cent to $38.47, Westpac jumped 1.60 per cent to $33.72 and ANZ closed 1.25 per cent higher to $30.70. Woolworths Group added 1.58 per cent to $31.44, Coles jumped 1.72 per cent to $20.65 and Endeavour Group is up 1.23 per cent to $4.12. Stockland shares jumped 2.21 per cent to $5.55, Charter Hall Group gained 1.76 per cent to $20.21 and Mirvac Group gained 2.73 per cent to $2.26. Betashare chief economist David Bassanese said near enough was good enough for a rate cut as trimmed mean inflation fell to 2.7 per cent for the 12 months until June. 'Underlying inflation is inching closer to the middle of the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent target band and so justifies a further easing in what – in the RBA's own words – a still 'modestly restrictive' level of interest rates,' he said. Six of the 11 sectors gained on Wednesday. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Josh Gilbert, market analyst for eToro, described it as hard for the RBA to hold rates. 'After the surprise pause in July, today's data means an August rate cut is all but nailed on,' he said. 'Markets are now pricing a 93 per cent chance of a cut, and it's easy to see why. Cost-of-living pressures are easing, and the risk is now skewed towards holding rates too high for too long.' In company news, Rio Tinto half-yearly earnings fell to a five-year low on the back of weaker iron ore prices throughout the previous six months. The major iron ore exporter told the market its underlying profits came in at $US4.8bn for the first six months until June 30, which is down from $US5.75bn ($8.83bn) last year Interim dividends fall to $US1.48 a share versus $1.77 a year ago Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment used its quarterly update to announce the sale of its Queen's Wharf precinct in Brisbane was 'unlikely' to go through by Thursday's deadline. But it also pointed to an improving cash position with Star having $234m in cash and $269m in cash equivalents, as of June 30, up from $44m at the end of March. Shares in Star Entertainment Group slumped 4.35 per cent to $0.11 following the announcement. Pointsbet shares rallied a further 4.2 per cent to $1.25 after rival wagering business Betr upped its takeover offer.
