An AI and computer science research institute backed by Google and AWS has opened its doors in Bulgaria. The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Technology (Insait) launched with $100M in backing from Bulgaria's government as well as funding from U.S. tech giants. More: - Based in Sofia, Insait received $3.75M from Amazon Web Services, $3M from Google, and $285,000 from Alphabet AI subsidiary DeepMind. Other investments include $6.5M from tech firm SiteGround and $600,000 from Bulgaria-based entrepreneurs.
- Google and DeepMind's investments will be over three years. AWS' funding will extend over five years to support research on "automated reasoning, the algorithmic search for proofs in mathematical logic."
- The institute was launched in partnership with Switzerland’s ETH Zurich university and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. It was modeled after MIT, the University of California, Berkeley, Germany's Max-Planck Institutes, and the University of Cambridge in the U.K., according to the Insait architect Martin Vechev.
- The aim is to develop Insait into "a world-class institute" and regional hub for competitive research and pay, which is expected to retain and attract global talent, according to Vechev, an ETH Zurich professor of Computer Science and a co-founder of the deep tech startup LatticeFlow.
- Reports noted that an estimated 30,000 Bulgarians leave the country each year to advance their careers. The institute could draw in more tech and AI talent to eastern Europe.
TECH.EU 
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 An autonomous Cruise vehicle was pulled over in San Francisco for not having its headlights on, drawing attention to how driverless vehicles could interact with law enforcement as they become more common. The interaction was captured in a video posted on Instagram. More: - The video shows a police officer approaching the Cruise-operated Chevy Bolt. The officer fails to see a driver and walks back to his car.
- At that point, the autonomous vehicle starts driving away and later pulls over with its hazard lights on, where it is approached once again by police.
- The vehicle was attempting to find a safer location to park, a Cruise spokesperson confirmed.
- An officer contacted the company, and "no citation was issued." The headlights have since been fixed, the spokesperson said.
- GM-owned Cruise said it "works closely" with San Francisco police and has a dedicated phone number they can call.
- In February, Cruise opened a public sign-up list for self-driving taxi rides in SF. The public can now request rides, which have no backup safety driver, through an app from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
TECHCRUNCH
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 Diligent Robotics, a robotic automation startup, has raised more than $30M in Series B funding to meet the growing demand for automation/robotics in the healthcare industry. In 2018, the Austin-based company debuted Moxi, a collaborative robot assistant for hospitals and health care centers. More: - Moxi, which assists frontline healthcare clinical staff with non-patient-facing tasks, has now been deployed to a number of health systems across the U.S.
- The robot is capable of avoiding people and objects. It can open doors and autonomously grab and pull objects.
- According to Diligent, the robot can also learn and adapt to an environment over time with human guidance.
- The startup's latest funding was led by Tiger Global, with participation from True Ventures, DNX Venture, Ubiquity Ventures, E14 Fund, Next Coast Ventures, Boom Capital, Gaingels, and others.
- The capital will go toward optimizing the startup's supply chain and design teams to deploy its robots faster. It will also help Diligent integrate its robotics with hospital infrastructure.
- The female-led startup has raised close to $50M to date.
PYMNTS.COM
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Google's Fitbit gained FDA approval for an algorithm that it says can passively detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) through its wearables. The PPG (photoplethysmography) algorithm tech can assess a person's heart rhythm while they're asleep or still. It then sends a notification if an irregular heart rhythm is detected. More: - According to Google, the algorithm uses an optical heart-rate sensor to detect volume changes of blood vessels while a user is wearing certain Fitbit smartwatches or trackers.
- Those measurements can identify signs of AFib, which raises a person's risk of stroke by 5x, according to Fitbit.
- In a FitBit heart study of 455,699 patients during the pandemic, the algorithm was able to identify AFib episodes 98% of the time, according to data presented at American Heart Association scientific sessions.
- The company said its ECG app also has a "spot check" to proactively screen for AFib and record an ECG trace to later review with a doctor.
- Fitbit hasn't said when it could release the algorithm as a feature or what specific devices will support it.
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Fluence, an energy storage provider, signed a deal to acquire Nispera, a provider of AI and machine learning-enabled software-as-a-service for the renewable energy sector. The deal involves an all-cash buyout of roughly $30M. More: - Nispera's AI technology can monitor, analyze, forecast, and optimize renewable energy assets. Its offerings include a SaaS product along with apps for predictive maintenance app, operations, portfolio management, and enhanced power generation forecasting services for energy assets.
- The startup's platform currently manages 8 gigawatts, or 8 billion watts, for 450 wind and solar projects worldwide.
- Fluence says it plans to integrate Nispera's applications into its own IQ Digital Platform to expand its capabilities.
- The IQ Digital Platform also uses machine learning to help recommend optimal times to bid for energy and grid services.
- According to a U+ report, the combination of AI and renewable energy could save investors $1.3T in energy transitions over the next three decades.
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AI Events and Conferences: - ODSC AI Expo & Demo Hall: April 19-21, Boston, and virtual.
- ICLR 2022, the International Conference on Learning Representations: April 25-29, virtual.
- World Summit AI Americas 2022: May 4-5, Montréal, Canada.
- International Conference and Expo On Robotics and Artificial Intelligence: May 16-18, London.
- CVPR 2022, IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition: June 19-24, New Orleans.
- Deep Learning World: June 19-24, Las Vegas.
- International Conference on Machine Learning and Data Mining: July 16-21, New York City.
- ICML 2022, International Conference on Machine Learning: July 17-23, Baltimore, in-person conference with virtual elements.
- AI & Big Data Expo Global: Dec. 1-2, London.
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- Y Combinator-backed Encord has launched a beta of CordVision, an AI-assisted tool that helps label medical images to train algorithms for computer vision projects.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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