Latest news with #Spot
Axios
4 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: CloudZero raises $56M to tame cloud costs
CloudZero raised $56 million to help companies rein in soaring AI-driven cloud costs, CEO Phil Pergola tells Axios Pro. Why it matters: Enterprises are struggling with exploding multicloud costs, especially as AI initiatives rapidly increase cloud usage. Cloud infrastructure spending is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2030, driven by AI's rollout, according to Goldman Sachs Research. How it works: CloudZero's platform helps engineering teams optimize their cloud and AI infrastructure costs, directly correlating cloud decisions to the business. State of play: Strategics and investors alike are seeing the demand for products that may help contain their cloud costs. In January, Flexera acquired NetApp's Spot financial operations product, to help customers "seeking to manage growing multi-cloud costs." Last month, Cast AI Group, another finops startup that specializes in optimizing the efficiency of cloud-native environments, raised a $108 million Series C. What they're saying:"Cloud spend is growing, that trend is not slowing down," Pergola says. "But companies are also very fixed on unit economics and making their business healthy." Zoom in: The Series C round was led by BlueCrest Capital Management and Innovius Capital. Other venture firms participating in the round included Matrix Partners, Threshold Ventures, Underscore VC and G20 Ventures. MongoDB also made a strategic investment in the round. CloudZero closed at $32 million Series B fundraising round led by Innovius Capital and Threshold Ventures in June 2023. What's next: Pergola says the company has enough cash after the new round to take it to profitability, but will not rule out a Series D down the line if the company wanted to "double down." Bottom line: Expect more SaaS vendors to start buying — or developing — products they can put into their platform that offer cost visibility and optimization.
Buzz Feed
25-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Buzz Feed
You're Welcome: Just 31 Products You'll Use Every Day
A lightweight Eos body lotion that offers 24-hour moisture! Its non-greasy formula contains seven nourishing oils and butter, including shea butter, so you'll wanna pet your soft self all day long. And it's vegan, hypoallergenic, and paraben-free. A super small LED thumb light you can attach to just about anything. Need help finding your keyhole at night? Attach this thumb light to your keys! Walking your pup at night and can't tell if they're eating a treat or a poo? Attach this thumb light to your leash! Hate the big light in your living room, but can't see the buttons on your remote control? I think you get it, but attach this thumb light to your remote control! A pair of sockless shoe liners so your feet don't overheat in actual socks. A summer without sweaty, smelly socks? Sounds like a win to me. These no-slip and no-show liners are also washable! A dog paw scrubber — just squeeze the bottle to unleash the antibacterial foaming formula within and get those dirty spots off Spot's paws. This is perfect for at-home and on-the-go use! Now, you don't have to worry about cleaning the floors after your pup tracks ickiness throughout your home. A 3-in-1 wireless charger that'll charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods simultaneously, so you don't have to wait for one to get to 100% before charging the others. It's so compact that you can toss it in your purse for your on-the-go needs. And a pair of portable USB-C cordless phone chargers if you're always on the go and don't always have access to an outlet when your phone drifts to a measly 15%. This little guy gives you at least one full charge, shows you how much battery it has left, AND can even prop your phone up for watching videos or shows. A cute and trendy quilted laptop bag with soft padding and soooo many sections and pockets; there's a main compartment with two slip pockets, one zip pocket, a 15.6" laptop sleeve, two side pockets, and one front zip pocket! It's big enough to use as a work bag, gym bag, travel bag, and more. You'll love feeling a little more stylish (and organized). A bottle of Olay body wash formulated to offer you 24 hours of hydration so you can bid adieu to dry, cracked skin! And since it contains shea butter, collagen peptide, niacinamide, and vitamin E, it'll also smooth and brighten your skin. Your old body wash could never. A set of boho-chic hair tie bracelets because they're so cute, they can absolutely pass as jewelry! These are designed to not damage your hair OR hurt your wrists, which can't be said of the basic hair ties you've been using that low-key cut off blood circulation. A vegan and cruelty-free skin-tightening Sol de Janeiro body cream containing coconut and açai oil. Its caffeine-rich formula helps stimulate circulation for potentially smoother-looking skin. Some deep-reaching, ergonomic "flossing toothbrushes" with dual-layered flossing bristles that are designed to get deep into the grooves of your teeth and gums. Though this shouldn't replace flossing, these toothbrushes can help rid your teeth of plaque and food residue. Plus, they're designed with sensitive gums in mind. A super fast electric milk frother to add to your Corner (of the kitchen) Café so you can add lattes to your at-home menu. This can also be used to make cold foam! A nutrient-rich Mise En Scene hair serum formulated with seven hydrating and reparative oils: argan, olive, coconut, apricot, marula, jojoba, and camellia. Got split ends? Tangles? Dry and unhealthy hair? Need help protecting your locks from heat damage? Then this serum needs to be added to your haircare regimen STAT! A Bluetooth shower speaker, because your phone is trying but can't compete with the volume of running water. This waterproof speaker comes with a removable suction cup so you can stick it to the inside of your shower. Need it on the go? It also comes with a carabiner! A memory foam weighted eye mask that'll help you get your beauty sleep! The weight may help reduce stress and promote deeper sleep, and its contoured design ensures there's not too much pressure on your eyes. A vegan K-beauty facial cleanser formulated with rice water to help brighten and hydrate skin. This rich, foaming cleanser will also help smooth out your skin. A hypoallergenic Aveeno body oil mist for soothing and moisturizing super sad, dry skin while also leaving behind a stunning, natural-looking glow. Formulated with jojoba oil and vitamin E, this body mist is designed to absorb quickly into skin without leaving you feeling oily and sticky. Basically, it's all 10s across the board! A colorful stainless-steel Owala FreeSip water bottle with a built-in straw and spout so you can choose how you drink your still-cold water. Oh, did I not mention that this can keep drinks cold for up to 24 hours? Well, it can. And it's cup holder-friendly, so go ahead and take it with you everywhere! A Furbo pet treat camera that'll allow you to keep an eye on your pupper when you're not home. It has 2-way audio so you can tell Spot what a good boy he's being while you have Furbo toss him a treat. It'll even send push notifications to your phone when he's barking. A darling cloud-shaped magnetic key holder and mail organizer to give your keys a real home so that you won't experience brain fog when trying to figure out where you last left them. This is renter-friendly and super easy to install because it just sticks onto your wall! A pair of wireless Bluetooth earbuds for all your music- and podcast-listening needs! And since they're waterproof, durable, and have a noise reduction feature, they're great for chillin' by the pool, working out, commuting, grocery shopping, and so much more. Even reviewers say these earbuds won't disappoint! A clip-on stroller fan with three speeds to help keep your little one cool on warmer days. Its flexible tripod design allows you to bend it into the perfect angle for some sweet, sweet relief. A hydrating Mixsoon hyaluronic acid serum that exfoliates and strengthens. This K-beauty holy grail will help smooth and clear skin and give it a luscious, glass skin-like glow! Its vitamin- and antioxidant-rich formula is designed to be safe on sensitive skin; I mean — hello — it's vegan and fragrance-free. A set of Beckham Hotel bed pillows because you've been telling yourself for far too long that you're gonna replace your flat, lumpy, and stained pillows. Now's the time! Try these super comfy and luxe pillows for a sleep so good, you'll think you dreamt it. A L'Oréal collagen face moisturizer perfect for daily use. It'll provide you with so much hydration and may help fill in the appearance of lines and wrinkles. This fragrance-free formula absorbs into the skin quickly, so no weird, sticky residue for you! A mason jar cold brew coffee maker — just add coffee grounds to the mesh filter, pour in water, and let it sit overnight. Cold caffeinated goodness? Yes, please! It even has a flip cap pour spout for a no-mess pour. Prep this before bed so you can have coffee first thing in the morning! A pore-blurring SPF 30 Elizabeth Mott face primer that'll help soften the appearance of fine lines while also protecting your skin against UVA/UVB rays. This lightweight formula will give you a lovely, dewy, glass-like finish. Chock-full of nutrients from shea butter, green tea, cucumber, and linseed, this primer is the holy grail you've been searching for. A John Frieda air-dry styling foam if you're trying to avoid using heat on your hair, but you still want perfect ringlets. This smooth and non-sticky foam will help grant your wish while also creating a barrier around each curl so they stay in perfect shape. Just apply to wet hair, scrunch, and let it air dry! A sleek sound machine for creating a soothing environment that'll help lull you to sleep. Choose from 30 sounds (including white noise and nature sounds) — you're sure to find the perfect one. A Philips baby bottle warmer, because waiting for a pot of water to boil so you can warm up a bottle is as tedious as it sounds. This will heat your milk or formula to the perfect temperature in as little as three minutes. Now, you don't have to waste time periodically testing baby's milk on your wrist (and potentially burning yourself in the process). An undated tear-off daily planner that has spaces to track your to-dos, appointments, health goals, and water intake, as well as any special accomplishments you've achieved during the day. Make future you proud by getting things done today!
TimesLIVE
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Function over flash: Specialised robots attract billions with efficient task handling
"We've found that by solving a very specific problem in a high-need area like healthcare, we can create a sustainable business model," Diligent Robotics CEO Andrea Thomaz said, adding Moxi has reached product-level profitability. Humanoid challenges The interest comes as general-purpose humanoids face challenges such as teaching machines to navigate unpredictable environments and developing sophisticated reasoning abilities. Unlike generative AI, which is trained on vast online datasets of text, images and audio, the data available to develop humanoid robots is far more limited. These machines must learn by interacting with the physical world and training on datasets focused on tasks such as stacking boxes. Firms like Figure AI, which aims to ship 100,000 humanoid robots over the next four years, rely on advanced AI to process real-time sensory data. That means such robots are mostly confined to controlled environments such as car factories. The cost of humanoids is also far higher than task-specific robots. Components such as cameras and lidar sensors can push manufacturing costs for humanoid robots to between $50,000 (R895,542) and $200,000 (R3.6m) per unit, compared with $5,000 (R89,554) to $100,000 (R1.8m) for task-specific machines, according to industry executives and a market study by startup Standard Bots. "[True] general-purpose robots have not really been invented yet," said Marc Theermann, strategy chief at Boston Dynamics, adding that "if somebody claims that they are commercially finding a general-purpose robot, they are over-promising and they will under-deliver." While the company's Atlas robot has made headlines with viral clips of it leaping, flipping and dancing, Theermann said the value currently lies in targeted designs. Its four-legged robot, Spot, excels in hazardous industrial inspections, a narrow but lucrative niche. Era Ventures has backed ViaBot, whose autonomous machines manage trash collection in parking lots. Parkway Venture Capital has diversified its bets between Siera AI's forklift automation and Figure AI's humanoid ambitions. "You'll see a transition where there will be robots built for a task doing something very useful, very cost-effectively," said Raja Ghawi, Partner at Era Ventures. "And as that gets better, people will realise there is a good reason to have a full humanoid."
Korea Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Who let the bots out? Robot dogs on the job in Singapore
SINGAPORE (Straits Times/ANN) — They detect intruders, inspect danger zones and guide the blind. Robot dogs have found no shortage of work in Singapore — taking on jobs in underground maintenance areas, construction sites and even in social services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one such robot dog named Spot was deployed as a safe distancing ambassador in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. More recently, another robot dog accompanied PSP candidate Tony Tan on a walkabout as part of his election campaigning. The trend here reflects the robot dog's popularity globally, where more of such devices have been deployed as police dogs, in war zones and even in nuclear plants. Robot dogs — or quadruped robots — were made popular by Boston Dynamics, a robotics firm spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which launched Spot in 2016 after several iterations. Since then, manufacturers — including several from China — have developed their own versions of Spot, which are often deployed in conditions deemed hazardous for humans. In Singapore, National Robotics Program (NRP) deputy director Chan U-Gene said more companies have deployed robot dogs here, especially for surveillance and inspection operations, amid the strong growth of the robotics sector. The NRP, which aims to support the robotics industry to boost efficiency, documented more than 300 robotics-related firms in its database, up from around 200 companies in 2023, said Chan. Although the NRP does not track the number of robot dogs in deployment, he said more firms are exploring the use of the legged forms, which are more mobile and adaptable for various conditions, like stairs and outdoor terrain, compared with standard wheeled robots. With more manufacturers such as those from China entering the market, robot dogs now cost as little as $2,700 — only a fraction of the $75,000 that Boston Dynamics initially charged. So, just how are these robot dogs deployed in Singapore? Guide dogs Robot dogs are being trained as guide dogs for the visually impaired in trials by the National University of Singapore. Machines are cheaper and easier to train than real guide dogs and, once the technology is ready, they will be more widely available, said robotics PhD student Cai Shaojun from the NUS Smart Systems Institute, noting the shortage and high cost of assistance dogs. In last June, there were only nine active working assistance dogs here, with most of them trained and paired by Guide Dogs Singapore. Cai said that unlike real dogs, robots can be programmed with artificial intelligence and image-recognition software to understand sophisticated verbal commands, such as leading a user to a supermarket or other specific locations. His team has tested robot guide dogs with about a dozen visually impaired users and is training the robots to scale steps and navigate more challenging terrain. Cai said his team initially considered other forms, including a smart cane with wheels that steers the user away from obstacles and smart-glasses that provide verbal cues. But they ultimately decided that the quadruped design is more useful to visually impaired users, as the four-legged robots are more nimble. The team plans to pilot the robot guide dogs in more locations like transport hubs and parks to help users navigate these spaces later in 2025. Another NUS project, led by NUS AI Lab associate director Harold Soh, is building software to program robots to navigate crowded spaces more smoothly by reading social cues. Watch dogs Robot dogs have also found jobs as guard dogs. Unlike their real-life colleagues, the robots do not tire and are always alert. They have patrolled the perimeter fence at Seletar Bus Depot since September 2024, said SBS Transit spokeswoman Grace Wu. Developed with Weston Robot, the robot named Mars is equipped with high-definition cameras, thermal imaging and other sensors to look out for intruders and signs that the fence has been tampered with, she added. Security officers can tune in remotely to view what Mars sees through live feeds that stream to a centralised monitoring system. "Mars' four-legged mobility enables it to easily navigate grass patches, road kerbs, drains and staircases within the depot environment," said Wu. "The pilot results have been promising, and we are studying the feasibility of extending its use to other depots." Keeping watch over facilities, robot dogs have come some way since Boston Dynamics' Spot debuted in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in 2020 to remind park visitors of COVID-19 safe distancing measures. Spot was fitted with sensors that estimated the number of visitors in the park, and a speaker to broadcast recorded reminders to observe pandemic measures. Spot also had a job at the Changi Exhibition Centre community isolation facility, where it delivered medicine to patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms. Inspection assistants Robots are also first in line in hazardous locations. SPock, deployed by electricity and gas distribution company SP Group, tags along with inspectors, who check up to 6 kilometers of underground tunnels for anomalies. Equipped with a range of sensors, SPock can identify issues beyond human visual capacity, such as tunnel cracks or dampness. It allows the human inspectors to take a step back, minimizing their exposure to potentially dangerous environments. SBS Transit has also deployed robot dogs at Sengkang MRT Depot since July 2024 to scan undercarriages for open panels, loose oil tank caps and air leakages that are invisible to the naked eye. Named "Avatar" — short for Advanced Video Analytics Train Assessment Robot — the robot inspects the underbelly of trains, freeing up time and reducing some backache for technicians. The robot's four-legged design is the ideal form for such tasks, as it can efficiently maneuver under carriages and climb stairs to inspect the inside of a train, said Wu from SBS Transit. She added that SBS Transit is also exploring how robot dogs could be used to detect other issues, such as broken lights or damaged and missing handles. This technology has been deployed by NUS researchers to inspect the condition of staircases in housing blocks, scanning each step to ensure its height and depth are consistent. The project is on track to be spun off into a start-up in the coming months, said project lead and senior lecturer Justin Yeoh.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Oil Goes Bionic
The world's biggest oil and gas firms are embracing AI and related technology to maximize savings, optimize operations, and boost earnings. Digitalization is not new to the energy sector—oil producers and utilities have been using and perfecting it for years. But AI and its rapid advancements and capabilities are the latest hype, and it seems everyone is using it, and doing a very good job at it, at least companies say and gas firms use robot dogs and AI-enabled drones for inspections at operating assets, as well as autonomous haul trucks, among other digital and AI technologies, to minimize costs and maximize profits. At Canadian producer Imperial Oil, majority-owned by ExxonMobil, digital initiatives have helped achieve US$500 million (C$700 million) in cumulative annual value as of 2024, Cheryl Gomez-Smith, senior vice-president at Imperial Oil's upstream division, said at the company's Investor Day call last month. Digitalization is expected to deliver more than US$860 million (C$1.2 billion) annual value by 2027, Gomez-Smith said. 'We've successfully deployed several robotics and drone technologies, including our fully autonomous truck fleet. With our fully automated fleet, we're improving safety by removing the worker from the hazard while offering efficiencies and work execution,' the executive noted. 'We're expanding generative AI capabilities, and this is where we're chatting with our own data to allow operations to gain real-time insights to drive better and faster decisions.' Imperial Oil is using two of the robot dogs called Spot, developed by Boston Dynamics, to conduct routine inspections and surveillance at the Cold Lake bitumen project in Canada, one of the largest thermal in situ operations in the world. Related: Imperial Oil estimates Spot can conduct almost 70% of some operator rounds, allowing the company to reallocate operator and maintenance resources to higher value work, Gomez-Smith said, adding that the firm will take delivery of two more Spots this quarter. Another robot, Holly, autonomously performs truck and undercarriage inspections at Imperial Oil's Kearl project, while the trucks themselves are being refueled autonomously. Imperial is using drones 'on the verge of becoming AI enabled' at Cold Lake to extract savings associated with pump jack maintenance, operator utilization, and spill reduction. Imperial Oil's parent company, U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil, says it's the first in the industry to use autonomous drilling in deep water. Exxon has developed a proprietary drilling advisory system, which is used in operations offshore Guyana. The system uses AI to determine the ideal parameters for drilling. It also allows for closed-loop automation, which controls the drilling process without human intervention. Exxon also uses AI and machine learning to make its Permian operations more efficient, in a first step towards closed-loop automation. The other U.S. supermajor, Chevron, is also using AI to boost profitability at its operations in the Permian. AI helps Chevron extract more oil for less effort, which is driving productivity, reducing cycle times, and revealing the best opportunities. Chevron boasts that it has improved execution performance in the Permian by more than 80% since 2019. Near Midland, the heart of the Permian basin, Percepto and Chevron have just reached a six-month milestone to evaluate the use of the drone company's AI-powered remote inspection capabilities. Over the first 90 days of deployment, Chevron saw work hour savings that allow personnel to prioritize activities, cost-efficient and increased monitoring frequency at remote sites, and faster issue detection, the drone company Percepto said. 'This not only keeps our workforce safer but also allows us to direct resources where they can make the biggest impact,' said Kerri Harvey, Chevron's Midland Basin Operations Superintendent. AI and other advanced technologies are not exclusively used by international majors. The top national oil companies (NOCs) in the Middle East are also deploying and touting the use of AI. Aramco, the Saudi state oil giant and largest oil company in the world, uses AI to generate new results from oil seismic data, in just one instance of its use of AI. 'In production it means we can be more accurate, and we are able to drive our drilling operations autonomously to be able to maximize production, reduce costs and help to reduce emissions,' says Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco EVP Technology & Innovation. Abu Dhabi's ADNOC boasted early this year the successful proof-of-concept trial of ENERGYai, in what the UAE's oil firm said is the world's first-of-its-kind agentic AI solution tailored for the energy and gas executives in a recent EY survey said that the two highest opportunities for creating value from AI and emerging technology are predictive maintenance for heavy equipment and assets, and intelligent optimization of operational performance. 'While reservoir simulations and drilling functions may face higher risks to using AI, they also have the opportunity for more significant rewards,' said Abhilash Krishna, Manager, Technology Consulting, Ernst & Young LLP. 'Leaders who embrace that risk — and give their people permission to fail — will solve the AI puzzle sooner and gain an advantage.' But leaders will also need to beef up resilience against cyber threats as increased digitalization creates more opportunities for cyber attacks. The energy sector ranked as the fourth most targeted sector in 2024, accounting for 10% of cyber incidents last year, according to the IBM X-Force 2025 Threat Intelligence Index. 'The critical importance of energy infrastructure to global operations and its susceptibility to disruption makes it a persistent focus for attackers,' the report found. By Tsvetana Paraskova for More Top Reads From this article on Sign in to access your portfolio
