Latest news with #Eko
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eko Health Inc. enter digital health collaboration to improve heart murmur detection in dogs
A novel canine-specific detection algorithm is designed to improve early identification of heart disease and expand access to life-extending cardiac care for dogs Ingelheim, Germany, and San Francisco, Calif., June 10, 2025 | Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in animal health, and Eko Health, a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence (AI) for early detection of heart and lung diseases, have entered a strategic collaboration agreement. This collaboration brings together Boehringer's depth in canine cardiology with Eko Health's powerful AI algorithms and digital stethoscopes – already trusted by healthcare professionals worldwide, with over 650,000 devices sold for use in human medicine. Leveraging their combined expertise, along with Boehringer's proprietary algorithm developed with support from leading veterinary cardiologists worldwide, the partnership aims to enhance the early detection and diagnosis of heart disease in dogs. A canine-specific detection algorithm will be made available to veterinarians through a purpose-built Eko mobile app launching in 2026. A heart murmur in dogs is an audible sound resulting from turbulent blood flow when cardiac valves fail to close properly, similar to the condition observed in humans. Heart murmurs are a very typical finding in canine myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD)1, a chronic and common heart condition that is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in dogs2 and affects approximately 10 to 15% of dogs in their lifetime.3 'As a longtime leader in canine cardiology, we know that early diagnosis of MMVD and consideration of early appropriate treatment are key to helping affected dogs live better and longer lives; explained Dr. Erich Schött, Head of Pet Therapeutics and Pet Vaccines at Boehringer Ingelheim. 'By collaborating with Eko Health, we look forward to simplifying and improving canine heart murmur detection so that more dogs and pet owners can have additional years of life to love. The innovative tool will give veterinarians the ability to hear, see and document the sounds of heart murmurs and to share it with the dog owners.' Regular veterinary check-ups are vital for maintaining optimal health in dogs, yet many dogs are not evaluated for potential heart murmurs. In a typical clinic visit, veterinarians rely on an analog stethoscope to detect murmurs—often in noisy environments and during time-constrained exams. This traditional method can miss subtle or early-stage murmurs, especially those that fall outside the range of human hearing. Through this partnership, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eko are equipping veterinarians with a simple, powerful tool to detect heart murmurs earlier and with greater confidence.'We're proud to partner with Boehringer Ingelheim to deliver AI-powered tools that meaningfully improve how veterinarians detect heart disease,' said Connor Landgraf, CEO and co-founder of Eko Health. 'By combining Boehringer's global leadership in animal health with Eko's unique ability to deliver advanced detection algorithms to the point of care, we can help millions of pets—and the families who love them—receive the life-extending care they Boehringer Ingelheim Boehringer Ingelheim is a biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health. As one of the industry's top investors in Research and Development, the company focuses on developing innovative therapies in areas of high unmet medical need. Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire value chain. More than 53,500 employees serve over 130 markets to build a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable tomorrow. Learn more at About Boehringer Ingelheim – Animal Health business Boehringer Ingelheim provides first-in-class innovation for preventing and treating diseases in animals. The company offers a wide range of vaccines, parasite-control products, and medicines for pets, horses, and livestock to veterinarians, animal owners, farmers, and governments. As a leader in animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim values that the health of humans and animals is deeply connected and strives to make a difference for people, animals, and society. Learn more at For more information, visit About Eko Health Eko Health is a leading digital health company advancing how healthcare professionals detect and monitor heart and lung disease with its portfolio of digital stethoscopes, patient and provider software, and AI-powered analysis. Its FDA-cleared platform, with over 650,000 devices sold to clinicians globally, allows them to detect earlier and with higher accuracy, manage treatment effectively, and ultimately give their patients the best care possible. Eko Health is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with over $165 million in funding from ARTIS Ventures, DigiTx Partners, Double Point Ventures, EDBI, Highland Capital Partners, LG Technology Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Morningside Technology Ventures Limited, NTTVC, Questa Capital, and others. For more information, visit Hezzell M. Pathology and prognosis of canine myxomatous mitral valve disease. In pract.2018 Mar; 40 (S1): 3-6.2 Häggström, J et al. 'New insights into degenerative mitral valve disease in dogs.' Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice. 2004 vol 34, 5: 1209-1226. doi: 10.1016/ Keene, Bruce W et al. 'ACVIM consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs.' Journal of veterinary internal medicine vol. 33,3 (2019): 1127-1140. in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A serial entrepreneur, a musician, and Walmart's CEO walk into an AI factory…
In the days after the serial entrepreneur Ben Kaufman exited from his retail store startup CAMP early last year, he found himself in Walmart's hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas meeting with a fellow tech founder he had partnered with years earlier. Before CAMP, Kaufman had also founded consumer startups Mophie, Quirky and Homesick Candles, and held exec roles at BuzzFeed. Now, he was looking for inspiration on what he might pursue next. The fellow entrepreneur was Yoni Bloch, an Israeli musical artist who in 2010 had founded a video tech startup now known as Eko, which Kaufman's companies partnered with in the past. In its early years, Eko (formerly Interlude) was supposed to disrupt the entertainment business by creating technology that enabled interactive features like choose-your-own adventure type customization of videos for online viewers. As a result, it attracted strategic investors like MGM Studios and Warner Music Group, in addition to venture players like Intel Capital and Sequoia Capital's former Israel-focused fund. But when that didn't catch on, layoffs and a pivot ensued. Eko finally found product-market fit in a less flashy but more monetizable space: the product catalogues of online shopping sites. More specifically, by bringing more detail and interactivity to product image galleries that the startup says drive higher engagement and better conversion rates from online shoppers. One of the biggest supporters of the reimagined Eko vision has been Walmart and, perhaps more importantly, its CEO Doug McMillon. (When I was conducting interviews for my book Winner Sells All about the Amazon/Walmart rivalry, several former Walmart execs used the same phrase to describe Eko founder Bloch's influence on McMillon—to them, he was the CEO's technology 'muse.') McMillon first met Bloch on a trip to Israel, the story goes, and a $250 million investment in Eko and joint venture followed. (In what is a rare startup occurrence that might only be interesting to an e-commerce nerd like me: Amazon sits alongside its retail rival Walmart on Eko's cap table, thanks to the tech giant's acquisition of early Eko investor MGM.) Now, a year and a half after the Kaufman/Bloch powwow in Bentonville, Eko is announcing that it has hired Kaufman as its president and chief commercial officer, and that he'll oversee the buildout and operations of a new 70,000-square-foot warehouse in Bentonville—what the startup is dubbing a 'capture factory.' Inside this 'factory,' AI-powered robotic cameras will shoot images of eventually hundreds of thousands of products—predominantly for Walmart at first, but eventually for other e-commerce websites and brands in the future. Eko says it'll hire 200 local residents to run the facility. Today, Eko's technology helps produce 'smart' image galleries—a few thousand are currently live on Walmart's shopping site—that provide online shoppers a more realistic view of a product: What does this bakeware set look like with the lids on versus off? How does the fabric of the swivel chair come across in the real world? But Kaufman's vision for Eko and its robotic photo studios is much bigger. He believes that all of the product data and attributes that the startup's proprietary camera system captures—and which the startup says is often more accurate than the details a product's suppliers might provide—could serve as a 'source of truth' in an online shopping world where AI companies like OpenAI and Perplexity need accurate data if they want to successfully popularize the AI-powered shopping recommendations and agents they've recently launched. 'GS1 was the standard to help computers identify products,' Kaufman told me recently, referencing the standard for retail barcodes. 'In the future, Eko could become the standard to help computers understand products.' It's an ambitious vision—and it starts on a new type of factory floor. See you tomorrow, Jason Del ReyX: @DelReyEmail: a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here. Nina Ajemian curated the deals section of today's newsletter. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Middle East Eye
24-04-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
Shareholders confront Axa over investment in companies arming Israel
Shareholders have confronted Axa, the French insurance giant, at its annual general meeting in Paris over investments in arms manufacturers accused of supplying Israel with weapons used in Gaza. During the meeting, one shareholder reportedly challenged Axa executives over investments in companies whose weapons may have been used in alleged Israeli war crimes. A report published in October by advocacy groups Eko and American Friends Service, titled Axa: Profiting Off Genocide, stated that the insurance company had invested $173.62m in 14 arms companies. It said that more than $150m of those funds were invested in firms supplying arms used by Israel in Gaza, including Boeing and General Dynamics. The arms companies with Axa investments reportedly supplied the bombs dropped on tents in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, a so-called safe zone, on 10 September 2024, as well as on the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp in Rafah three and a half months prior. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to the report, $135m of Axa's arms investments are in companies that produce depleted uranium bombs, white phosphorus and nuclear arms. Activists posit that such investments may violate Axa's own responsible investment policy, which says it excludes companies involved in 'controversial weapons'. The shareholder action was accompanied by a protest outside the AGM, which took place in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in the French capital. Action de militants pro-palestiniens devant l'AG des actionnaires d'AXA à Paris. Ils demandent des comptes au groupe concernant ses investissements dans des entreprises d'armement impliquées dans des massacres par Israël à Gaza. — Enzo Rabouy (@enzorabouyy) April 24, 2025 Activists played an eight minute audio piece, which mixed sounds from bombs, children's screams, helicopters and the collapse of Palestinian homes. Footage shared online showed demonstrators, amid a heavy police presence, chanting slogans and holding a banner reading: 'Axa, don't insure Israeli apartheid.' Several protesters held up posters with the word "Gaza" written in the font of Axa's logo. Others held manakins wrapped in a shroud, resembling dead Palestinian bodies. There were also protests outside and inside the AGM over Axa's large investments in the fossil fuel industry. 'Benefiting from genocide' 'Not only is Axa profiting from an industry devastating both civilian populations and the planet - it is directly benefiting from an ongoing genocide,' said Leyla Larbi at Eko. 'This is not just a moral scandal - it's a legal and reputational risk. Companies and their executives can be held criminally liable for complicity in international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Investors must choose: complicity or responsibility.' In August, Axa reportedly withdrew $20m worth of investments in three Israeli banks that the United Nations had accused of supporting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Eko said Axa had engaged in a "clear, fast, and intentional divestment" from Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, and Israel Discount Bank, selling off 2.5 million shares, worth $20.4m, between 30 September 2023 and 24 June 2024 after a sustained campaign by pro-Palestine activists. The insurance company also did not reinvest in two other banks, First International Bank of Israel and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, which had also been accused of financial complicity in Israeli crimes. 'Axa backed down on Israeli banks thanks to public pressure,' said Fiona Ben Chekroun, of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions national committee. 'We will keep calling out investors and urging a boycott [of] Axa until the group ends all ties with weapons manufacturers complicit in Israel's genocide in Gaza.' Last month, a report published by Boycott Bloody Insurance, a UK-based campaign group, said that five major insurance companies were complicit in Israeli crimes through its investment in defence companies. It said that Axa, Allianz, Aviva, Zurich Insurance Group and RSA (Intact) had invested $1.7bn across 15 companies involved in Israeli 'militarism'.
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Eko Brings Online Product Pages To Life With Interactive Media
Eko helps consumers discover products. Courtesy of Eko Eko, an AI-driven ecommerce company, has transformed online product pages by creating video images that allow consumers to more deeply experience items. Founded by Yoni Bloch, an Israeli singer with three albums to his name, Bloch created music videos for Cold Play and Bob Dylan, but wanted a more sustainable business proposition. He found that retailers' online product pages were ripe for innovation. 'We went from the world of entertainment and storytelling to the much more boring world of ecommerce and we found out this interesting thing about product detail pages,' Bloch said. 'It's actually a very important moment in shopping. You're deciding whether you want to buy an item and the page hasn't been changed in the last 30 years since ecommerce started. It actually looks the same with text and a small gallery on the side that shows you pretty boring photos.' Walmart, a foundational partner, has implemented Eko's technology over the last 18 months and has increased sales across a variety of high-consideration items in the electronics, home goods, toys, and baby categories. Walmart and Eko are set to continue their partnership into 2025, during which time it's anticipated they will release hundreds of thousands of products on and its mobile applications. 'It's inspiring to see how our associates are leveraging Eko's technology to make shopping with us more enjoyable and convenient,' said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Walmart. 'Around the world Walmart's goal is simple: We're focused on saving our customers and members both money and time. We'll continue to leverage great tech to give them the best possible experience.' When customers experience products through Eko, it positively impacts metrics such as gross merchandise value and lowers the rate of returns and increases both conversion rates and engagement because shoppers feel more confident about what they're buying, Bloch said. Now Walmart is implementing Eko across its entire catalog. After testing on thousands of items Eko will now be found on millions of items, making Walmart the first retailer to commit to video-based product pages across its entire catalog. 'It's a huge scale, a really big deal for us,' Bloch said. 'We're hiring hundreds of people and creating this huge capability. It really combines the incredible scale of the millions of items that Walmart brings and our capability which makes sure that each item is incredibly cinematic and engaging and exciting.' Eko uses data-driven insights to optimize and personalize customer experiences. The company creates one-on-one experiences for customers that optimize the product gallery and increase certainty and confidence. 'Imagine you're going shopping for a stroller,' said Bloch. 'We know if it's the first time you've been to the site or the third time or the tenth time. We tailor what we show you in the gallery. The first time, we show you all the things that you technically need to know. On the third time, you'll see social proof or other people using those strollers. 'We're a technology company but we're not selling technology, we're trying to reimagine the shopping experience,' Bloch said. 'We're coming with a big appetite. We feel this world of ecommerce hasn't changed and hasn't evolved. People are taking the same experience and making little iterations, but nobody's reimagined it.'
Al Arabiya
18-03-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Maersk AGM to vote on halting arms shipment to Israel amid Gaza war
Owners of shipping giant Maersk will vote on Tuesday on a shareholder proposal to halt any shipments of arms to Israel for as long as there is a war in Gaza, a proposition the Danish company has so far dismissed. United Nations experts have called on countries to impose sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel, arguing that Israel's military campaign in Gaza since October 7, 2023, in which Gaza health officials say more than 48,000 people have died, amounted to genocide. Israel has strongly rejected the UN report and says it is combating Islamist group Hamas, whose fighters stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 253 hostages by Israeli tallies. The proposal to ban Maersk from shipping arms to Israel, which was put forward by Danish shareholder group Kritiske Aktionærer, is on the agenda for Tuesday's annual general meeting (AGM). Maersk said the company's board did not support the proposal. 'The premise of the proposal is not correct, as the company is not transporting arms to Israel,' Maersk said. Activist group Eko in a separate proposal called for Maersk to enact greater transparency in its human rights processes, particularly focusing on high-risk areas including arms shipments. Maersk's board said it also did not support Eko's proposal. Eko said in a statement the company's denial of arms shipments came despite Danish media pointing to the contrary. Investigative media outlet Danwatch and Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet have reported bills of ladings from Maersk, which showed it had shipped armored combat vehicles and other military hardware to Israel.
