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New York Times
19-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Can Bryan Mbeumo be the ‘triple threat' that Manchester United's attack sorely needs?
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe gave a series of interviews from INEOS' headquarters in Knightsbridge a few months ago, one name came up more often than you might expect: Ian Graham. You probably know Graham as Liverpool's former director of research, who, alongside Michael Edwards, championed data science behind the scenes from a pokey box room at Melwood and ultimately played a key part in putting another of English football's behemothic clubs back on their perch. Graham left Liverpool in 2023 and, last year, published his book 'How to Win the Premier League'. Has Ratcliffe read it? Some of those close to the petrochemicals billionaire were not sure when asked by The Athletic, but said they would not be surprised. If Project 150 is to be completed, it should probably find its way to his bedside table sometime before 2028. Advertisement If he has read it, or when he does, Ratcliffe will learn that one of the key elements of Liverpool's data-influenced approach was Graham's 'possession value' model, which calculated if a player's every action in possession contributed to his team's chances of scoring or conceding a goal. Graham's model was partly inspired by Dean Oliver's concept of 'usage' in his book 'Basketball on Paper', which can also be broadly applied to its fellow 'invasion' sport: football. Put simply, this is the idea that a player can only score a goal if they shoot. But shooting often ends a spell of possession, and a team can only score if they have the ball. Sometimes it is more advantageous to play an extra pass or beat an opponent with a dribble. Ideally, your best attacking players should be capable of doing all three of those things, and should know when one or the other will improve their team's chances of scoring. They should be, what Graham calls, a 'triple threat'. 'These players are difficult to defend against,' he writes. 'They can choose to pass or dribble instead of shoot. And they use up fewer possessions than players whose only skill is shooting.' Liverpool's research department believed they had three 'triple threats' in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. But they also considered each to have particular strengths which complemented the others. Firmino's ability to link play and find the right pass made the most of Salah's expert finishing, for example. For all the complex metrics and machine learning, here was an example of the simple, intuitive logic at the heart of Liverpool's title-winning data science. The best frontlines are balanced frontlines, where the players have complementary strengths and no clear weaknesses. So, how much attention was Ratcliffe paying by page 152, if indeed he has read that far? Advertisement The targeting, pursuit and long-awaited agreement to sign Bryan Mbeumo suggests at least some, because you would be hard-pressed to find another Premier League player who added more value to his team's attacks than the Brentford winger. Outside of Anfield, at least. According to StatsBomb's On-Ball Value (OBV) metric — a possession-value model of the type that was a cornerstone of Graham's work — only Salah added more value to his team's attacks last season than United's new £65million ($87.2m) signing. Those figures are total values rather than per 90 minutes, meaning players such as Salah and Mbeumo benefit somewhat from having consistently played a lot of football last season. Yet these metrics record both positive and negative contributions, punishing errors and mistakes harshly. Players with a lot of minutes have more opportunities to be both rewarded but also to be penalised. Still, Mbeumo ranked highly among his peers. Clearly, United will be hoping for a repeat of his 20 league goals — the fourth-most of any player last season and a career best for Mbeumo — although five came by dint of being Brentford's penalty-taker, a responsibility he is unlikely to assume from Bruno Fernandes. As has been well documented, Mbeumo overperformed his 12.3 expected goals (xG) significantly last term. That will almost certainly not be repeatable season after season at Old Trafford. Yet, last season was actually a down year on the underlying metrics for the 25-year-old, with his 2.08 shots and 0.20 non-penalty xG per 90 minutes being his lowest totals since becoming a Premier League player. Data by StatsBomb; vs Premier League attacking midfielders/wingers Mbeumo made up for that by ranking far better among his peers on value-added metrics, where his execution of shots helped turn low-quality chances into goals, ranking among the 89th percentile of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League. A repeat in United's colours could, in some ways, mitigate fellow new signing Matheus Cunha's tendency to shoot from range, which led to some spectacular goals from Wolverhampton Wanderers last season but, according to Shot OBV, was often detrimental to his team's chances of scoring. Data by StatsBomb; vs Premier League attacking midfielders/wingers Yet both players are more than just goalscorers anyway, and were arguably most influential as providers last term. Both ranked highly among players in their position for Pass OBV, with only three players adding more value to attacks than Mbeumo: Fernandes, Salah and his Brentford team-mate Mikkel Damsgaard. Advertisement For all that Mbeumo overperformed in terms of his goalscoring, the quality of the chances that he created for teammates suggests that he was unfortunate not to have racked up a couple more assists. As we can see from the map below, he was excellent at moving the ball into the box from his wide role, frequently finding players inside the six-yard box from corners, perhaps a product of Brentford's meticulous approach to set pieces. Crucially for United, both players stood out among the rest of the league as front-footed and progressive, whether that was passing or dribbling. It is something that Ruben Amorim's side sorely lacked, with often only Fernandes' playmaking driving the team up the pitch. Again, Mbeumo ranked highly for adding value to Brentford's attacks through his dribbling last season, with Cunha not far behind for Wolves. One player to outperform both was Amad, who may now see more minutes at wing-back this season as a result of United's spending targeting the two No 10 spots. Mbeumo could be more effective when dribbling, though, and more threatening on goal too. As well as he ranks on possession-value metrics, his raw volume in terms of shots, progressive carries and take-ons was below the Premier League average last season. Mbeumo often lingered on the edge of attacking moves and held the width at Brentford — though he could be decisive when he picked up the ball and looked to drive inside. It is not just penalties he could lose, either. A steady diet of set-piece duties has helped lift those eye-catching chance-creation numbers. Cunha held many of the same responsibilities at Molineux, too. But both are well-rounded attacking players who can shift the emphasis of an attack in various ways with the ball at their feet. The type that last season's often staid, predictable United attack badly needed. And particularly in the case of Mbeumo. Whether Ratcliffe has read Graham's book or not, there is a hint of its lessons in the identity of the biggest signing he has sanctioned at Old Trafford to date. United must hope they have found their own 'triple threat'. Additional reporting: Thom Harris (Lee Parker – CameraSport via Getty Images)
South China Morning Post
10-07-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Award-winning data scientist She Yiyuan takes job in China after decades in US
Award-winning data scientist She Yiyuan has left the United States to take up a full-time position at Westlake University in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Advertisement She, who taught at Florida State University for almost two decades, will conduct research at his new institution as a chair professor at the school of science and the Institute for Theoretical Sciences, according to a July 1 social media post by the Chinese university. She has won the Career Award, the most prestigious award from the US National Science Foundation to support early career scholars. He is a fellow of some of the world's most prominent communities of statisticians, including the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He is also an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. The statistician's move is set to boost China's position in emerging hi-tech sectors, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and medical sciences, amid fierce competition with the West. Statistics, as the foundation of data science, is 'an indispensable supporting discipline in fields such as machine learning and artificial intelligence', according to Westlake University. The discipline underpins a wide range of fields, including the natural sciences, engineering, technology and social sciences. Advertisement According to the university's website, She's research focuses on high-dimensional statistics, machine learning, optimisation techniques, big data analysis and robust statistics, among other areas. His research takes a cross-disciplinary approach, integrating the theories, methods, and applications of statistics, mathematics and computer science. Westlake University said that She's research not only provided new methods for machine learning to discover patterns in complex data, but also offered effective tools and innovative approaches for data analysis in disciplines such as biomedicine and economics.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ohio State Marion professors win grant to bring data science to teens
Two Ohio State Marion professors have secured a $20,000 grant to modernize high school math education by integrating data science. According to an announcement, physics Associate Professor Chris Orban and mathematics Associate Professor Scott Zimmerman received the Ohio State Energy Partners Academic Collaboration Award for their project, 'The STEMcoding Data Science High School Curriculum Initiative.' The funding will expand the STEMcoding project, which aims to introduce computer and data science concepts into high school math and science classes. The new curriculum includes hands-on data gathering and analysis activities, as well as exercises where students download data from federal agencies like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The activities will be shared with a network of teachers who have been involved with the STEMcoding project since its inception in 2017. Ohio State students often contribute to and appear in instructional videos that explain these activities at a level that is appropriate for high school students. These videos are available on the STEMcoding YouTube channel. 'Compared to high school data science efforts at other universities, our curriculum focuses on physical science, atmospheric science, and sustainability,' Zimmerman said in their proposal. The grant will provide resources and training for high school math and science teachers, helping students develop important spreadsheet and computer science skills for the workforce. 'Another big theme in the curriculum is 'data storytelling.' Students need to understand how to ask questions of data, and to focus on those questions as they consider different ways to visualize the results,' Orban said. The professors are eager to expand the curriculum and collaborate with more teachers. Interested educators can fill out an online contact form to learn more. The Ohio State University and Ohio State Energy Partners entered a comprehensive energy management partnership in 2017. As part of its commitment to academic collaboration, OSEP contributes $810,000 annually to the university to support faculty, staff and student-led projects, especially those connected to sustainability. The Office of Academic Affairs at Ohio State administers this program in collaboration with OSEP. This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Ohio State Marion professors earn grant to boost math with coding
Entrepreneur
09-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How One Entrepreneur is Shaping the AI Narrative for a Billion Indians
"Our reports cover different segments, geographies, and technologies, providing the latest intelligence on analytical trends," says Ashish Sukhadeve, Founder of Analytics Insight, IndustryWired, and Big Data Council You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In a world awash with digital content and fleeting headlines, Ashish Sukhadeve stands out as a builder of depth. As the founder of multiple influential platforms, including Analytics Insight, IndustryWired, and Big Data Council, Sukhadeve has spent the last decade creating data-driven media brands that serve as compasses for enterprises navigating the disruptive world of artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and emerging technologies. From the early days of his career in data consulting to helming one of the world's first AI-focused publications (Analytics Insight), his journey reflects a rare blend of research rigour, entrepreneurial foresight, and journalistic passion. "I was passionate about journalism and writing from the beginning," Sukhadeve says, tracing the origins of his media journey. "Working with research-led organisations gave me the ability to analyse and present results in a comprehensive manner. But I always felt that traditional research reports included data with no insights or recommendations." This realisation became the spark for Analytics Insight, founded in 2016. At the time, very few tech publications focused deeply on AI and data science. Those that did often lacked analytical depth or failed to connect trends with business strategy. "We built a platform that not only offered what was trending in emerging technologies but also delivered reports that helped organisations make strategic business decisions," he explains. A Data-Driven Philosophy Sukhadeve's work is united by a singular mission: to bridge the gap between disruptive technology and business intelligence. Whether through Analytics Insight, IndustryWired, or the more recent Big Data Council, his platforms strive to build communities around data and insight-led innovation. "Data is now the new currency," he says. He feels data is a valuable resource that powers decision-making, innovation, and transformation across all sectors. This mission has found fertile ground in India, where the AI ecosystem is undergoing rapid transformation. India currently has over 600,000 AI professionals, and with a growing digital population of 700 million internet users, the demand for insight-driven tech content is surging. More than 2,000 AI startups have been launched in the past three years alone, contributing to the country's status as the world's third-largest startup ecosystem. Sukhadeve sees his platforms as enablers in this evolution. "Being a researcher and data professional, I saw a huge gap in the media industry where customised solutions to drive growth, leadership, and recognition for enterprises were missing. Our reports and insights help organisations identify trends, optimise processes, and anticipate future needs, leading to increased profitability and a competitive edge." Becoming a Media Entrepreneur Before his entrepreneurial leap, Sukhadeve held key positions at research and analytics firms like GlobalData, Evalueserve, and Wolters Kluwer. Armed with degrees in Electronics & Communication Engineering from NIT Durgapur and an MBA in International Business, he later pursued executive education in business analytics from NMIMS and IIT Hyderabad, which gave him both technical acumen and business perspective. "I worked across domains from automotive to healthcare and IT, providing useful insights to stakeholders to strategise and make business decisions," he recalls. But over time, it became clear to him that market reports often lacked narrative. They were filled with numbers but missed the story. He envisioned a platform that not only contextualised data but made it actionable. That vision became Analytics Insight, the world's first print and digital publication dedicated exclusively to insights on disruptive technologies. What began as a niche experiment has today become a global brand read by Fortune 500 companies, universities, and government think tanks alike. The Business of Insight Unlike many traditional media outlets, Analytics Insight follows a diversified revenue model rooted in both content and consulting. "We generate the majority of our revenue from advertisements, reports, and advertorials," Sukhadeve shares. "We promote products and solutions through marketing campaigns that include interviews, social media promotions, research reports, and content promotions." Custom research is a critical offering. The brand works closely with enterprises to generate market intelligence reports that chart clear roadmaps to tap into new opportunities. These curated insights offer a comprehensive understanding of the market landscape and its interdependencies that are valuable for strategy formulation in an era of constant change. Another critical pillar of the brand's authority lies in its highly cited rankings and reports. "Our reports cover different segments, geographies, and technologies, providing the latest intelligence on analytical trends," he explains. With a team of subject-matter experts, editors, and data analysts, the company pulls information from multiple sources, performs quantitative analysis, and forecasts market trends using algorithms. "Using this analysis, we curate reports that pinpoint emerging trends, explore high-growth markets, and uncover untapped growth opportunities." India's AI Momentum The backdrop to Sukhadeve's work is the fast-evolving AI economy around the world. But when we focus on the Indian market, we are not shocked but surprised by witnessing the huge transformation in the evolving Indian AI economy. According to BCG, the Indian AI market is projected to cross $17 billion by 2027, more than triple its current value. India also makes up 16 per cent of the world's AI talent pool, placing it just behind the United States. This demographic dividend, powered by a strong STEM education infrastructure and widespread digital adoption, has positioned India as a global force in AI. The momentum is reflected not just in urban tech hubs but also in India's expanding innovation footprint. Over 51 per cent of recognised startups (in overall categories) now emerge from Tier II and III cities, with major centres like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai anchoring the country's entrepreneurial activity. Government schemes like Startup India have further catalysed the ecosystem, offering incentives and policy support for early-stage ventures. The role of media in this transformation is pivotal, argues Sukhadeve. "Companies require data and insight-driven coverage of emerging tech developments," he says. The Web3 Frontier Sukhadeve also sees promise in emerging sectors such as Web3, digital currencies, and decentralised finance (DeFi). In 2024, India recorded a 28 per cent year-on-year increase in Web3 developers, adding 4.7 million contributors on GitHub. The country accounted for 17 per cent of all new Web3 developers globally. With over 1,200 Web3 startups now active, the sector raised $564 million in 2024, a 109 per cent jump over the previous year. The traction is real, especially in areas like gaming and real-world assets. Web3 gaming has particularly taken off, with many hybrid gamers fully shifting to blockchain-based platforms. However, Sukhadeve feels, "India's regulatory framework is still evolving when it comes to cryptocurrencies. While the government has taken steps such as imposing tax on crypto gains, a comprehensive regulatory framework is still needed." Initiatives like the Centre of Excellence for blockchain technology launched by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) in collaboration with STPI, the Government of Haryana, and industry partners indicate forward movement. These incubators are creating fertile ground for startups in blockchain and other emerging technologies. An Extension of Analytics Insight Beyond media, Sukhadeve's latest venture, Big Data Council, is about fostering community-led innovation. Founded in 2022 as an extension of Analytics Insight, the Council is a forum for C-suite leaders, data scientists, and tech innovators to collaborate, share best practices, and drive industry-wide conversations around responsible tech. "Our aim with Big Data Council was to promote research, development, and knowledge sharing in disruptive technologies," he says. "These discussions foster collaboration, leadership, and problem-solving. It also serves as a repository of ideas and insights that can guide the next generation of innovation." Challenges and Leadership Lessons Like any startup story, Sukhadeve's journey has not been without challenges. "The biggest challenge we face at Analytics Insight is hiring the right resources," he admits. "Tech-driven media requires team members to be creative, adaptable, and strategic." Scaling also demands efficient processes to manage the increased workload without compromising on speed or quality. As a leader, Sukhadeve advocates for adaptability, strategic thinking, and continuous learning. "Managing a content and tech-driven media organisation comes with inevitable ups and downs. I believe adaptability plays a significant role. It allows us to navigate uncertainty with calm and critical thinking." He also places a high value on psychological safety within the team. "Prioritising learning fuels psychological safety and helps team members see their areas of improvement as opportunities, not weaknesses." The Future of Media-Tech At Analytics Insight, innovation is baked into the culture. The team actively experiments with new formats and uses data to refine its content strategy. "We've created a process in which team members use data at every point to get stronger results," says Sukhadeve. "This helps us prove the value of our work to both the organisation and the audience." Looking ahead, Sukhadeve envisions a media landscape that plays an even larger role in shaping responsible tech discourse. With AI, blockchain, and quantum computing poised to transform industries, there's a growing need for clarity, curation, and credibility—traits that define his media brands. "Our mission is to build a larger community around disruptive technologies that solves tomorrow's most challenging problems and the impact they will have on the entire humanity," Sukhadeve concludes.
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
From On-Premises To Autonomous Systems: Why AI Agents Are The Next Big Shift In Software
Dr. Son Nguyen is the cofounder & CEO of Neurond AI, a company providing world-class artificial intelligence and data science services. The software-as-a-service market (SaaS), valued at $247.2 billion in 2024, is undergoing its most considerable transformation. For years, tools like Salesforce, Shopify, Asana and many others have significantly revolutionized business workflows. Despite their success, these platforms share a critical gap: They're static. In other words, traditional SaaS operates like a toolbox: It's useful, but only if you manually pick up each tool. Users spend a lot of time on repetitive data entry in SaaS applications, while most operate independently, with limited integration between them. The result? Frustration, inefficiency and missed opportunities. Imagine a software system that autonomously connects your tools, automates repetitive tasks and delivers insights without you lifting a finger. This is possible, as the reality of AI-powered SaaS. The Story Of Software: From On-Premises To SaaS Software has experienced a great transformation over the past few decades. In the early days of computing, software was almost delivered as on-premises solutions where companies purchased, installed and maintained applications on their hardware. Microsoft Exchange for email, SAP ERP for enterprise resource planning and Oracle Database for data management traditionally run on company-owned servers. This model gave you full control over data storage, security configurations, software customization and access management. However, on-premises solutions also came with significant challenges: high upfront costs, complex maintenance and limited scalability. Organizations had to purchase software licenses and necessary hardware, such as servers and storage systems, to run the system, and this ate up significant investments. The cost of hiring or training IT staff to manage installation, configuration and ongoing operations also created a high financial barrier, particularly for SMBs. Additionally, your businesses had to be responsible for maintaining the software and infrastructure, including applying regular updates, security patches, bug fixes and troubleshooting issues. The introduction of SaaS marked a significant shift. It delivers cloud-hosted software accessible via the Internet, eliminating infrastructure burdens. Businesses could now leverage powerful tools without managing backend complexities. Salesforce allows enterprises to manage customer relationships with advanced automation, analytics and personalized marketing campaigns, helping companies like Coca-Cola streamline sales pipelines and boost customer retention. EarthEnable adopted Asana to replace spreadsheets and emails, improving task management and communication. But here is the point: Due to static workflows, many SaaS tools follow fixed processes and rules. This means they can't easily adjust to unique or changing business needs. How can Salesforce, for instance, automatically adjust sales strategies in real time when a competitor launches a disruptive product? Businesses may have to compromise or find workarounds rather than have the software adapt to their requirements. Plus, the heavy reliance on user actions slows processes. SaaS expense management tools require employees to manually enter each expense, upload receipts and fill out forms for every purchase. If transactions from credit cards aren't imported or scanned automatically, users spend extra time on data entry. Noticeably, SaaS applications don't connect well with other software, creating separate 'islands' of data, making sharing information between different tools difficult. Suppose your company uses QuickBooks Online for accounting and Shopify for the online store. If they don't integrate smoothly, sales data from Shopify must be manually exported and then imported into QuickBooks. The finance team will struggle to get a complete, up-to-date view of the company's sales and financials. AI, particularly AI agents, would turn these limitations into opportunities. AI Agents And The Transformation Of SaaS AI agents can autonomously perform complex tasks, make decisions and navigate multistep processes. Unlike traditional SaaS tools that rely on user input or predefined rules, AI agents are proactive and can take action independently. Let's say a user might have to manually export data from Salesforce, import it into Trello, set up notifications and repeat this process for every new deal. This approach is time-consuming and prone to human error and inefficiency, especially as workflows grow in complexity. AI agents are designed to autonomously manage entire processes from start to finish. They can analyze data across multiple platforms, make real-time decisions based on context and historical patterns and execute multistep actions without waiting for user prompts. You could have an AI agent detect a new lead in Salesforce, cross-reference the lead's activity in email and support platforms, prioritize the lead, send personalized emails and update the sales pipeline—all without a human touch. If the lead responds, the agent can further adapt the workflow, notify team members and generate summary reports, seamlessly handling exceptions and changes as they arise. This autonomy is transformative for businesses. AI agents don't just automate individual tasks; they manage the entire process, making decisions and taking actions much like a skilled human would. Their capabilities enable organizations to scale operations, handle thousands of workflows simultaneously and adapt quickly to changing business needs. As a result, businesses can move from static, user-driven processes to dynamic, self-optimizing operations. Understanding the power of AI agents, giant SaaS providers have implemented this technology into their systems, breaking down silos and creating dynamic workflows. Leading customer service SaaS platform Zendesk has integrated generative AI, specifically OpenAI, to handle customer inquiries autonomously. The company has AI agents analyze tickets, suggest responses and solve complex issues, reducing response times and manual effort. Salesforce's traditional CRM required significant manual input for tasks like lead prioritization or follow-ups. With Agentforce (and Agentforce 3, the company's latest installment), AI agents autonomously qualify leads, schedule emails and generate reports, transforming Salesforce into a proactive sales and service hub. GitHub initially required developers to code and debug manually. Introducing GitHub Copilot, the company aims to create a system that can suggest code snippets and complete functions in real time. Conclusion The development from on-premises software to SaaS was a game-changer, but AI agents are writing the next chapter in the story of business solutions. By transforming static, siloed SaaS tools into intelligent, integrated ecosystems, AI agents empower businesses to operate more efficiently and competitively. To stay ahead in a rapidly growing market, businesses should take advantage of AI agents. Integrating these intelligent systems into existing SaaS platforms will unlock new levels of productivity and innovation, ensuring long-term success. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
