Latest news with #Hyperion
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Williams stable celebrate whopping $1.1 million Alsephina sale ahead of Western Empire's Belmont Sprint tilt
Grant and Alana Williams have a chance to cap an already remarkable week with Western Empire in Pinjarra's transferred Group 3 $200,000 Belmont Sprint (1400m). On Tuesday, the Williams' bonny mare Alsephina sold for $1.1 million to Katsumi Yoshida of Japan at the Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, ending her whirlwind tenure for the husband-wife training duo. Her sale price almost matched her deeds on the track, retiring with stakes of over $1.1 million after running in March's Group 1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill. ' Ï thought she could make $1 million. The reserve was a lot lower, but I said to them, 'put a realistic, conservative reserve on her and get her on the market' and the market took care of the rest,' her consigner Julian Blaxland said. 'She's a beautiful mare, great physical and she rated really well with all the ratings guys. She was a proper mare, she might have only been a Group 2 winner, but she was certainly Group 1 calibre.' Despite the excitement, Grant Williams remains all business at the stable's Karnup property to ready Western Empire for the Belmont Sprint. After the latter half of Belmont's Saturday fixture was postponed due to track issues, Williams had to take evasive action to ensure the gelding's preparation was spot on. 'On Sundays, every horse in our place has the day off,' Williams told TABradio. 'They have a light day on the Friday and just go on the water walker, so we couldn't afford to give them an easy day Saturday as well. 'We galloped a few of those horses that weren't able to race on Saturday, on Sunday. 'We took him to the old hill on Sunday just for a change and he worked really good. '(Alana) is happy with him, so that's good enough for me.' A $4.20 TABtouch second elect trailing favourite West Star ($3), Western Empire is awkwardly drawn in gate 14 but will be suited to the rise to 1400m. 'We'll still be three deep with cover at some stage,' Williams said. 'Belmont does suit the horse; it's a big open track. It's not ideal (to be at Pinjarra), but at least we're going around. 'The only way we could be at 1200m again (like last start) would be because we needed a run or something like that. 'That won't happen again and we'll change our course next time, and go back to the longer races.' The son of Iffraaj is the defending champion of the Belmont Sprint having beaten Searchin' Roc's by a nose last year. He went on to run in the Hyperion and Strickland Stakes (1600m and 2000m) subsequent to that run, with Williams indicating that may again be the case. This Saturday's Belmont meeting has also been shifted to Pinjarra with further extensive testing commissioned to external consultants Ground Science and Living Turf, who will analyse both the surface of the track and soil and sand profiles beneath.
Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Matthew Best obituary: conductor and bass singer
In 1973 a small choral group in Sevenoaks, Kent, were giving their first concert and needed a name. Their programme included several 15th and 16th-century madrigals, many of which referred to Corydon, a shepherd or rustic figure, and thus they became the Corydon Singers. 'Yes, I know it looks like Croydon spelt backwards, but 70 concerts later we are stuck with the name,' Matthew Best, their founder and conductor, told Gramophone magazine in 1990. 'At the time, just after my O-levels, all very precocious, we had no idea we would give more than a one-off performance.' Over the years the Corydon Singers evolved into one of the country's finest choral groups, performing in London concert halls and recording previously uncharted repertoire for the Hyperion label, often ecclesiastical in nature. 'Although we have always had a regular concert series, it has been through recordings that we have made our name,' Best said. Selecting the right voices was in itself an art form. 'Singers are booked individually for each rehearsal and performance, and we don't meet once a week like choral societies,' he explained. 'I used to twist people's arms to join. Now we receive many requests for auditions.' The critics were impressed by the results. 'The Corydon Singers would lift the roof as required one moment and the hair on the back of one's neck a few bars later,' The Guardian noted after one concert. The Corydon Singers were one of many outlets for Best's musical talents. 'I've always had a double career, as an opera singer and as a conductor,' he told the journalist Andrew Green in a recent online interview looking back on their 1994 recording of Vaughan Williams's opera Hugh the Drover that also featured the New London Children's Choir directed by Ronald Corp. Gradually Best narrowed his own singing down to a select band of repertoire. 'I made a conscious decision in 1992 to cut out the rest and concentrate on the Wagnerian roles,' he said. At the 2000 Edinburgh International Festival he gave a towering performance of Wotan in Scottish Opera's Ring Cycle, appearing on stage for almost the entirety of Die Walküre, including the full 90 minutes of Act Two. This brought not only mental demands, but also physical difficulties. 'I drink huge amounts of liquid because it's good for the voice,' he told The Scotsman. 'But I always have to bear in mind that once I step on to the stage I'm there to the bitter end. There's no loo on the set.' Matthew Robert Best was born in Kent in 1957, the son of Peter Best and his wife Mary (née Reid). He recalled hearing Wotan's farewell for the first time. 'I was sitting with my mother at home doing my homework while listening to the wireless. My ears pricked up when it came on and I sat spellbound. It made a big impression,' he said. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 and moved on to singing, conducting and composing while at Sevenoaks School. 'My best creation was the opera Humbug, which was performed at the school last year,' he told the Sevenoaks Chronicle in 1974 about his adaptation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. As a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge, Best's robust singing occasionally got the better of him. On one occasion he was in the choir rehearsing Michael Wise's 17th-century setting of the canticles for choral evensong when Philip Ledger, the director of music, fixed him with stern gaze and growled somewhat presciently: 'Mr Best, you are singing Wise in F, not Wotan.' He was a soloist in the university music society's performance of Handel's Israel in Egypt and in 1978 Opera magazine praised his 'astonishingly ripe and sonorous voice' as Seneca in a student staging of Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea. He went on to train at the National Opera Studio and in February 1979 returned to King's College to conduct the premiere of his own operetta Alice, based on Lewis Carroll's Alice Adventures in Wonderland, directed by Nicholas Hytner. There were further performances in that year's Aldeburgh Festival, including a guest appearance by the tenor Sir Peter Pears. In 1980 he joined the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as principal bass though was rarely cast in anything other than minor roles, and two years later won the £1,000 Decca-Kathleen Ferrier Prize. He made his Proms debut in the first half of the 1986 Last Night as one of the soloists in Puccini's rarely heard Preludio Sinfonico and Messa di Gloria. Meanwhile, in 1983 he married Roz Mayes, a member of the Corydon Singers. She survives him with their children, Alex, who is a sports teacher, and Natasha, a music teacher. By then much of his energy was going into the Singers. 'In 1981 we decided to make a record for the fun of it; a compilation of English music through the ages,' he said. This caught the attention of Ted Perry, the founder of Hyperion, who released the Singers' next album, featuring Bruckner Motets, and followed this with the first recording of Herbert Howells's Requiem, which was made a few days after the composer's death. In 1991 the Corydon Singers were joined by the Corydon Orchestra, which made its debut in a series of Mozart concerts at St John's, Smith Square. They accompanied the Singers in their recordings of Bruckner's Masses, some of which they brought to the Proms in 1994, while their recordings of Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ and Beethoven cantatas were runners-up at the 1996 and 1997 Gramophone Awards respectively. In recent years Best taught at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, though conducting and singing remained his greatest passions. 'I'm consciously trying not to blur the issue, but ultimately I feel that the combination of the two must come together,' he once said. 'Somewhere along the line, I would like to think I could combine the two experiences.' Matthew Best, bass singer and conductor, was born on February 6, 1957. He died from cancer on May 10, 2025, aged 68
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Innoviz Technologies Ltd (INVZ) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenues and Strategic ...
Release Date: May 14, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Innoviz Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:INVZ) reported record revenues of $17.4 million for Q1 2025, marking a nearly threefold increase sequentially and 2.5 times year-over-year growth. The company achieved a gross margin of approximately 40%, the highest in its history, supported by positive contributions from NREs. Innoviz Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:INVZ) has expanded its NRE payment plan from $80 million to $95 million, with significant cash payments expected in 2025 and 2026, indicating strong customer commitment. The strategic partnership with Fabinet is expected to efficiently scale production of the Innovvi2 platform, enhancing manufacturing capabilities globally. Innoviz Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:INVZ) is experiencing strong momentum in the automotive sector, with significant collaborations, including an expanded partnership with Nvidia on the Hyperion platform. Despite the record revenues, the company's operating expenses for Q1 2025 were approximately $21 million, which, although reduced from the previous year, still represent a significant cost. The gross margin improvement is largely attributed to NREs, which may not be sustainable at the same level in the future, leading to potential fluctuations. The company's revenue expectations for 2025 are back-loaded, indicating potential volatility and dependency on customer timelines. There is uncertainty regarding the impact of US tariffs, which could affect future operations despite current minimal impact. Innoviz Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:INVZ) faces competitive pressures in the autonomous driving market, requiring continuous technological advancements to maintain its leadership position. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with INVZ. Q: What is Innoviz's market position in the RoboTaxi sector, especially with the recent VW announcement and other partnerships? A: Innoviz is working with strong platform players like Mobilize, which is gaining partners such as Volkswagen, Holon, and Verner. The recent Uber and Volkswagen deal is expected to allow faster scaling. The removal of limitations on autonomous taxis in the U.S. has started a race among companies to capture city markets. Innoviz's early presence in this space, with its LiDAR technology, positions it as a significant player in the RoboTaxi market. (Respondent: CEO) Q: Can you explain the strong gross margin in Q1 and what can be expected from NRE programs in the future? A: The Q1 gross margin was 40%, significantly influenced by NREs, which positively impact margins. While such high margins may not be consistent, positive and relatively high margins can be expected when NREs are involved. The unevenness in margins is due to the relative percentage of NRE versus unit sales. (Respondent: CFO) Q: How are tariffs impacting Innoviz, and what measures are in place to mitigate any potential effects? A: Innoviz's products do not fall under the 25% tariff category as they are automotive components. The impact is expected to be minimal to none. Additionally, Innoviz's partner, Fabinet, has facilities worldwide, providing flexibility to address any future tariff issues. (Respondent: CFO) Q: Could you provide more insights into the partnership with Nvidia on the Hyperion platform? A: Innoviz is a leader in the collaboration with Nvidia on the Hyperion platform, which is a full-stack solution offered by Nvidia. Innoviz's LiDAR is the reference sensor for this platform outside of China. This partnership is crucial for scaling through partners, similar to the engagement with Mobileye. (Respondent: CEO) Q: Are you seeing a growing number of RoboTaxi RFQs or programs, or is the pipeline still focused on Level 3 programs? A: The pipeline is about fifty-fifty between traditional OEMs focusing on Level 3 and technology companies developing platforms for various vehicle types, including RoboTaxis. The race to deploy RoboTaxis is intensifying, and Innoviz's automotive-grade, geopolitically free solutions offer advantages in challenging environments. (Respondent: CEO) For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Gunshot detection system paying dividends for Tupelo police
TUPELO – Instead of worrying about the long arm of the law, Tupelo criminals now have to consider its long ear. For the last two years, the Tupelo Police Department has been using a system that can not only detect gunshots but can also pinpoint their location. And just how accurate is the FireFly system? Extremely accurate. Derek Schulte, the FireFly program manager for Tupelo-based Hyperion, said the system is designed to both detect and geolocate gunshots. It will also determine if a noise was, in fact, a gunshot. Schulte said if the system rates a location with high confidence, you should be able to find spent shells casings within a 15-foot radius. Police say it is usually more accurate than that. 'After we get a notification, you can go out to the point on the map and look around where you're standing and find shell casings,' said Capt. Doug Mansell, TPD public information officer. The system Tupelo uses is based on a military version of FireFly that can detect small-arms fire, rocket/mortar fire and unmanned aircraft systems (military drones). The law enforcement version of FireFly utilizes a series of sensors to detect the signature sound of a gunshot and record it. '(The sound) needs to be heard by a minimum of three sensors to be able to geolocate,' Schulte said. 'Then, it will try to determine if it thinks the sound is gunfire. The whole process only takes five to 10 seconds.' That allows officers to be dispatched much quicker than if they had to wait on witnesses to call 911. The system assigns each recording with a confidence level, which helps determine if it was actually gunfire and not an audibly similar sound like a car backfiring. A human ear listens to every recording before officers are dispatched to a location. The loud noise might be a garbage truck dropping a dumpster, or a roofing crew using a nail gun being put to a roof on a nearby house. By listing some sounds as not gunfire, the system can fine-tune its algorithms to improve accuracy. TPD is using FireFly as another tool to help solve crime. It is used routinely in investigations into shooting incidents within the city limits. That includes the late January arrest of a man who had a Glock pistol which had been converted to fully automatic fire. FireFly recorded the sound of the man firing dozens of rounds and led police to his location in southeast Tupelo. 'I wish we had this when I was an investigator,' said Sgt. Kevin Parker, TPD public information officer. 'You can play it in court and confirm what happened.' Mansell said FireFly adds another layer of evidence to an investigation. Since it provides a timestamp of when a shooting occurred, it can also be used to eliminate suspects in conjunction with the department's blue light cameras and private surveillance videos. 'If video captures someone on the other side of town at the time the shots were fired, then we can eliminate them and move on with the investigation,' Parker said. FireFly is actually marketed to the police departments of cities much larger than Tupelo. Phoenix, Arizona, is the biggest customer, with more than 300 sensors. Dallas, Texas, is a new customer and Chicago, Illinois, is considering the system. The high cost of the FireFly system effectively eliminates Tupelo from the regular customer base. Tupelo benefits from the fact that Hyperion is a hometown company and serves as a test bed. The setup is a win-win for both the city and the industry. Since Hyperion actually owns all the sensors in Tupelo, they are free to make changes and install upgrades. They can test new setups in real time and real-life situations. And the city benefits from pricey crime fighting tools without putting an extra burden on the taxpayers. 'Colorado Springs, Colorado was our previous test bed, but if there was a problem, it was just too far away,' Schulte said. 'We wanted a test bed location that was close enough that we could try new things. Tupelo let us set up.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Puma and Brooks Sports settle running-shoe trademark dispute
Germany-based footwear and apparel brand Puma and Brooks Sports, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, have reached a settlement in running shoe patent and trademark infringements disputes. The resolution comes after both companies filed motions to dismiss their respective lawsuits with prejudice, ensuring that they cannot be re-opened, as reported by Reuters. The legal contention began when Puma filed a lawsuit against Brooks in 2022. Puma claimed that Brooks' advertising campaign for its running shoes, which used the term "Nitro," infringed upon Puma's rights to the name associated with its own line of competing footwear. Puma's lawsuit also accused Brooks of copying its proprietary foam-moulding technology in Brooks' Aurora BL running shoes. Brooks denied these accusations. The company countered that the use of "Nitro" was purely descriptive of the nitrogen-infused midsoles featured in its shoes. The dispute escalated when Puma initiated another legal action in Seattle in June 2024, alleging that Brooks' Hyperion running shoes breached several Puma patents. Brooks dismissed this claim as a "baseless action," interpreting it as an attempt to gain leverage amidst the ongoing trademark dispute. In September 2024, Brooks also launched its own lawsuit against Puma in a Virginia federal court. This was to receive a judicial declaration that its Glycerin running shoes did not violate any Puma patents. A recent filing indicates that this case has also been settled in principle. Brooks also faced a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Skechers USA in Los Angeles in 2022. Skechers argued that Brooks' use of the numeral "5" on some running shoes could potentially cause confusion with Skechers' own "S" logo. In December 2024, Puma selected Sitoo as its partner to enhance store operations worldwide, aiming to offer a consistent shopping experience to its customers. "Puma and Brooks Sports settle running-shoe trademark dispute " was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
