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Medical Sensors Market Size to Reach US$ 27.7 Bn by 2026 – SPONSOR: CardioComm Solutions $EKG.ca – $ATE.ca $TLT.ca $OGI.ca $ACST.ca $IPA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:15 AM on Thursday, February 13th, 2020

SPONSOR: CardioComm Solutions (EKG: TSX-V) – The heartbeat of cardiovascular medicine and telemedicine. Patented systems enable medical professionals, patients, and other healthcare professionals, clinics, hospitals and call centres to access and manage patient information in a secure and reliable environment.

Medical Sensors Market Size to Reach US$ 27.7 Bn by 2026

Transparency Market Research (TMR) has published a new report titled, “Medical Sensors Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018–2026”. According to the report, the global medical sensors market is projected to reach US$ 27.7 Bn by 2026 at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2018 to 2026.

Factors such as increase in government initiatives for the adoption of mHealth products and rise in adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) and other medical advancements are propelling the global market. Moreover, increase in public and private investments in mHealth products and rise in adoption of smartphones and other electronics with sensor technology boost the growth of the global medical sensors market. The Americas is projected to dominate the global medical sensors market owing to availability of advanced health care infrastructure and high consumption of medical devices.

Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) are potential markets. The medical sensors market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period. Increase in focus on development of medical sensors in the past few years, improvement in health care infrastructure, and early detection of diseases fuel the growth of the medical sensors market in Asia Pacific and EMEA.

Rise in Government Initiatives for Adoption of mHealth Products and Increase in Public and Private Investments in Medical Sensor Companies to Drive Market

Increase in government initiatives for adoption of mHealth products drives the global market. The U.K. Government Department of Health started the NHS digitization initiative in 2016 and allocated over US$ 6.0 Bn for it. More than US$ 2.6 Bn was allotted to transfer paper records to a centralized electronic record system, implementation of wireless technologies, and addressing cyber security concerns in NHS IT ecosystem. New innovations in the health care industry in terms of medicine are fast and productive. IoT has emerged as the next wave in the industry. Google and Novartis launched their combined plan in 2014 to create a connected lens with the ability to monitor blood glucose levels by analyzing an individual’s tears.

Implantable Sensors to be Highly Lucrative Segment

Implantable sensors is an emerging segment of medical sensors. The segment is projected to account for 28.5% share of the market by 2026. It is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 12.0% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026. Advancements in sensor technology and rise in demand for continuous monitoring systems such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) are anticipated to boost the growth of the segment during the forecast period.

Home Care Settings to be Promising Segment

In terms of end-user, the global medical sensors market has been segmented into hospitals, clinics, home care settings, and others. The hospitals segment held the major share of the global market in 2017. The segment is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2018 to 2026. The home care settings segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 12.7% during the forecast period. The segment is expected to gain market share by 2026. Rise in use of wearable health tracker for the measurement of blood pressure, heart rate, and metabolites such as glucose and lactate are the factors likely to boost the use of medical sensors in the home care settings segment.

Americas Projected to Dominate Global Market

The global medical sensors market has been divided into three major regions: the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific. The Americas dominated the global market in 2017. The market in the region was valued at US$ 6.27 Bn in 2017.

This is attributed to the availability of advanced health care infrastructure and high consumption of medical devices in the region. The medical sensors market in the Americas is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.0% during the forecast period. Biosensors and wearable sensors are the two most promising segments in the region. The medical sensors market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period.

The region is likely to gain market share due to rise in prevalence of chronic disorders and surge in awareness about medical sensors among the people. Rise in disposable income of people also contributes to the growth of the market in Asia Pacific and EMEA. Increase in focus on development of medical sensors in the past few years, improvement in health care infrastructure, and early detection of diseases fuel the growth of the medical sensors market in APAC and EMEA. Read More http://techannouncer.com/medical-sensors-market-size-to-reach-us-27-7-bn-by-2026/

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India’s #Vedantu scores $24M more for its online tutoring service #Edtech – SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:34 AM on Thursday, February 13th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

India’s Vedantu scores $24M more for its online tutoring service

  • The fresh infusion to Series C, which Vedantu first unveiled in August last year, was led by global VC firm GGV Capital.
  • Some existing investors also participated in the round. The $24 million extension broadens the five-year-old startup’s Series C round to $66 million, and its total raise to date to $82 million.

By: Manish Singh

Vedantu, a Bangalore-based startup that operates a learning app aimed at students aged between 12 to 18, has secured an additional $24 million as part of its Series C financing round as it looks to serve more students and make its brand a household name.

The fresh infusion to Series C, which Vedantu first unveiled in August last year, was led by global VC firm GGV Capital. Some existing investors also participated in the round. The $24 million extension broadens the five-year-old startup’s Series C round to $66 million, and its total raise to date to $82 million.

Vedantu serves students in grade 6 to 12 and offers live and interactive courses. Students who have enrolled for the interactive sessions are required to answer questions every few minutes by tapping on their smartphone screen or on the desktop. They also can raise their doubts at the end of the session.

Some of these sessions are free for students, but a selection of it requires a subscription, Vamsi Krishna, co-founder and CEO of the startup, told TechCrunch in an interview.

The app has amassed over 75,000 paying subscribers, a figure that Krishna expects to surpass 100,000 this year, he said. The cost of these subscriptions can vary from Rs 100 ($1.4) for students looking for sessions around a particular topic, to Rs 50,000 ($700) for long-term courses that focus on training students for undergraduate-level courses. More than 25 million users, in total, come to Vedantu app or website each month to consume free lessons.

India has the largest school-age population in the world and households in the nation are willing to invest in their children’s education to advance their lives. About a million students look to pursue under graduate courses each year, for instance.

But the quality of education and its affordability are two major challenges that millions of students, especially those living in smaller cities and towns, have to confront. An offline coaching centre can have as many as 100 students sitting in the room, with most not getting a chance to engage with the teacher. But for some, it also means there aren’t many teachers left to teach them.

From right to left: Vamsi Krishna, CEO and co-founder; Anand Prakash, co-founder; and Pulkit Jain, co-founder and head of product

In recent years, a wave of tech startups including Byju’s, which was valued at $8 billion in its most recent fund raise last week, have emerged to tackle these challenges as low-cost Android handsets flood the Indian market and mobile data prices become incredibly affordable.

Vedantu allows students to interact with their teachers through the microphone and camera on their smartphone or desktop and also through a chat box on the app. These teachers also have assistants who work with students on their doubts.

Since it’s a virtual class, Vedantu is also able to accommodate more students in a session. A paid session may have as many as 600 students while the free lessons could have 2,000, said Krishna, who is a teacher himself, and ran Lakshya Institute that helped students prepare for undergraduate-level courses until early 2014 before selling a majority stake to Mumbai-based K-12 tutoring and test preparation firm MT Educare.

Running a tech platform has also enabled Vedantu to offer its subscription service at a more affordable price than a typical offline coaching equivalent that can cost users anything between a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.

To ensure that students are paying attention and identify their weaknesses, Vedantu says it has built a patented system called WAVE that evaluates about 70 parameters including whether the student is looking at the screen. More than 90% of its students engage with the session (raise and answer questions, for one), said Krishna.

Hans Tung, Managing Partner at GGV Capital, who is joining the board of Vedantu as part of the investment, said he thinks Vedantu has reached the inflection point with its WAVE product. WAVE enables teachers to deliver “superior results as it can offer personalized education to many students at once,” he said. “We are excited to partner with Vamsi and the Vedantu team and share GGV’s global expertise and network to help them scale and shape learning outcomes for millions of students in India and beyond.”

Krishna said the startup has grown phenomenally in recent years so it is beginning to spend some money to better market its brand. In December, the startup ran some commercials on TV channels. In addition to that, Vedantu has also started to add courses to serve even younger students. The new courses are in pilot stage and would be broadly launched in a few months, he said.

Source: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/indias-vedantu-scores-24m-more-103453756.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMXOkOqEb0PPmTQ5AXZ9ds53Eyl4lc40TefWUy_IU_8p7idep45E8kdorerUVQwNTif3ONR83s31zGGdDOkHVCs8ZcEvIDl3m78BgbSjf2tjBJyID8xFTFE3k-EW1a6vEDCOuyYxChw_vwoVoSAQpwViZBO3rsMAPEgZd78hldFZ

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Coding Ninjas Bags $5.2 Mn From Info Edge To Expand Operations #Edtech SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:15 PM on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Coding Ninjas Bags $5.2 Mn From Info Edge To Expand Operations

  • Info Edge has invested INR 37.10 Cr in Series A round of Coding Ninjas
  • The funding will also be used in expanding business in newer geographies
  • Coding Ninjas was founded by Ankush Singla, Kannu Mittal and Dhawal Parate

New Delhi-based edtech startup Coding Ninjas, on Wednesday (February 12), announced that it has raised INR 37.10 Cr ($5.2 Mn) in a Series A funding from Info Edge, the parent company of online job listing platform Naukri.

With the recently raised funds, the startup plans to scale operations and hire new professionals in tech and content teams. The funding will also be used in expanding business in newer geographies. “As Naukri is one of the major recruitment platforms, the partnership will boost the placement side of our business,” said Ankush Singla, cofounder of Coding Ninjas.

Founded in 2016 by Singla, Kannu Mittal and Dhawal Parate, Coding Ninjas offers online computer language courses that are used to design applications, software, etc. It also offers educational courses related to new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), etc.

Moreover, Coding Ninjas is also planning to invest funds in its new offering Career Camp. Launched in 2019, Career Camp is a six-month-long online training programme that offers an option for students to pay for their fees from their salaries upon receiving a job offer. Coding Ninjas also offers a unique teaching assistant model which helps in addressing doubts of students in real-time. Ex-students of Coding Ninjas can also help current students in their doubt-clearing sessions.

Besides Coding Ninjas, there are various other edtech players in the space, which are offering similar courses. However, Coding Ninjas has differentiated itself from others by offering these courses in Hindi as well. The startup claims to have provided education classes to over 20K students. It also claims to have more than 2000 professors registered on the platform.

Info Edge’s CEO Hitesh Oberoi said that there are long term synergies between skill-based education and recruitment and this partnership allows the company to enter this segment.

According to DataLabs by Inc42’s latest report “The Future Of India’s $2 Bn Edtech Opportunity Report 2020”, a total of $1.802 Bn was raised by edtech startups across 303 deals between 2014 and 2019.

Among the edtech startups which have driven this growth in India are belong to K-12 and test prep segment, with certification products and services following.

In the edtech space in India, Coding Ninjas competes against Acadview which helps fresh graduates to enhance their employability by upskilling them with in-demand technologies through online live courses and industry projects. Acadview was acquired by Mumbai-based edtech startup UpGrad in October 2018. Other players in the space include Konfinity, Harappa Education, GreyAtom, among others.

Source: https://inc42.com/buzz/coding-ninjas-bags-5-2-mn-from-info-edge-to-expand-operations/

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Empower Clinics $CBDT.ca Subsidiary Sun Valley Health to Lead Sponsor the Arizona #Cannabis Expo and Empower Board Member Andrejs Bunkse to Speak at Cannabis Industry Event in Phoenix Arizona $WEED.ca $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $HEXO.ca $OGI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:53 AM on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020
  • Announced that its Sun Valley Health division will be a lead sponsor at the Arizona Cannabis Industrial Market Place expo February 13th & 14th, 2020 at the Phoenix Convention Center.
  • In addition, the Company will run an onsite Sun Valley Health POP-UP medical clinic, offering cannabis consultations, certifications and services by Sun Valley Health doctors.

EMPOWER CLINICS SUBSIDIARY SUN VALLEY HEALTH TO LEAD SPONSOR THE ARIZONA CANNABIS EXPO AND EMPOWER BOARD MEMBER ANDREJS BUNKSE TO SPEAK AT CANNABIS INDUSTRY EVENT IN PHOENIX ARIZONA

VANCOUVER B.C. FEBRUARY 12TH, 2020 – EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE: CBDT) (OTC: EPWCF) (Frankfurt 8EC) (“Empower” or the “Company”), a vertically integrated and growth-oriented CBD life sciences company is pleased to announce that its Sun Valley Health division will be a lead sponsor at the Arizona Cannabis Industrial Market Place expo February 13th & 14th, 2020 at the Phoenix Convention Center. In addition, the Company will run an onsite Sun Valley Health POP-UP medical clinic, offering cannabis consultations, certifications and services by Sun Valley Health doctors.

“Our Sun Valley Franchising team has toured the U.S. over the past six months sharing our Scientific Approach to Alternative Medicine.” Said Dustin Klein, SVP Business Development and Director. “Being the title sponsor for the Cannabis Industrial Market Place national tour has brought us tremendous opportunities from around the globe. The upcoming Arizona CIMP Expo gives us the opportunity to share our growth and recent success with our dedicated community of patients, advocates, and business partners.”

The Company is also pleased to announce that Andrejs Bunkse, a Company Director, will be participating as an expert panelist in the “Growing Your Business in the Cannabis Industry” – Fireside Chat hosted by Rebel Rock Accounting of Phoenix Arizona.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-your-business-in-the-cannabis-industry-fireside-chat-registration-89899753583

“Being an active participant in our industry is imperative to our growth, it provides us greater connections to patients, plus early access to trends and new developments that allow us to be progressive thought leaders” Said Steven McAuley, Chairman & CEO.  

“We are delighted to host this event, bringing together many of Arizona’s successful cannabis operators “ Said Melissa Diaz, CFO & Co-Founder of Rebel Rock. “Our women owned business is at the forefront in helping the cannabis industry become more mainstream and appealing to women consumers and entrepreneurs.” 

ABOUT EMPOWER

Empower is a vertically-integrated health & wellness brand with it’s first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility under development, the Company produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based products and distributes products through company owned and franchised clinics, with wholesale partnerships, online channels and with new retail opportunities nationwide in the U.S. The company is a leading multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics, focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through innovative physician recommended treatment options. The company has commenced activity on how to connect its significant data, to the potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies.

ABOUT REBEL ROCK

Rebel Rock was founded in 2019 by three accomplished female entrepreneurs to fill a clear and vast void in the cannabis industry. Rebel Rock puts confidence in cannabis, by helping emerging cannabis companies manage all their accounting, tax and operational efficiency needs.   The Company offers customized cloud accounting solutions and business system implementations that provide peace of mind, streamlined operations and improved profitability.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steven McAuley
Chief Executive Officer

CONTACTS:

Investors:      Steven McAuley

                   CEO

                   [email protected]

                   604-789-2146

Investors:      Dustin Klein
SVP, Business Development
[email protected]
720-352-1398

For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: [email protected], T: (888) 585-MARI

DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” (collectively “forward looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements can frequently be identified by words such as “plans”, “continues”, “expects”, “projects”, “intends”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “may”, “will”, “potential”, “proposed” and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding; the Company’s intention to open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility, the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders as a result of the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; the effectiveness of the extraction technology; the expected benefits for Empower’s patient base and customers; the benefits of CBD based products; the effect of the approval of the Farm Bill; the growth of the Company’s patient list and that the Company will be positioned to be a market-leading service provider for complex patient requirements in 2019 and beyond. Such statements are only projections, are based on assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including; that the Company may not open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility; that legislative changes may have an adverse effect on the Company’s business and product development; that the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its business plan; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; failure to obtain any necessary approvals in connection with the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; and other factors beyond the Company’s control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable laws.

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Fake news, deep fakes and fraud detection 2020 – addressing an epidemic – SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited $DM.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:15 AM on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020

SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited (TSX-V: DM) A revenue generating small cap A.I. company that NATO and Canadian Defence are using to fight fake news & social media threats. The company announced three $1M contacts in Q3-2019. Click here for more info.

Fake news, deep fakes and fraud detection 2020 – addressing an epidemic

  • Online giants and regulators alike have taken up the fight against fake news and deep fakes. Simon Marchand says the answer has been on the tips of our tongues all along. 

Since 2016 when the Macquarie Dictionary named ‘fake news’ as its word of the year, the spread of misinformation online has only increased. Technology has become more sophisticated, giving rise to the production of ‘deep fakes’ and synthetic voices.

It’s no wonder the Analysis and Policy Observatory’s (APO) 2019 ‘Digital News Report’ for Australia found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of the nation is concerned about what is real or fake on the internet ― above the global average.

The lack of consumer confidence in online content is a major threat to marketers, with their brands’ success firmly embedded in establishing a trustworthy and authentic reputation – consumers are far more likely to purchase from, stay loyal to and advocate for brands they trust.

Introduce deep fakes into the mix and you’re looking at a far more sophisticated threat to brand reputation that demands an ultra-modern response. Big tech organisations, government bodies and social media platforms are fighting back against fake news with new policies, technology, litigation and more. However there is an existing, under-utilised tool that could have a major impact if employed by marketers – voice biometrics technology.

Deep fakes – how tech is propelling the issue forward

Deep fakes are used in the context of broad propaganda campaigns, intended to influence the opinion of groups of individuals. On a large scale, this can potentially have a dramatic impact, such as heavily influencing the outcome of a political election. Consumers are continuously warned to be sceptical and afraid; we’re in the middle of a fake news epidemic. The technology used to create this content has become more realistic and accessible, so it’s easy to see why. Effectively, anyone with a computer, internet connectivity and a bit of free time, could produce a deep fake video or audio file. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it’s become increasingly hard to discern what is real or fake.

This is compounded by the increasing reliance on social media for news―the APO’s report found almost half of generation Z (47%) and one-third of generation Y (33%) use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social channels as their main source of news. Blind trust in social media platforms is enabling fake news to spread to masses in record time.

The rise of social media and influencer marketing in recent years has put brands in an extremely vulnerable position. A convincing deep fake of a company’s CEO, brand’s celebrity or an influencer ambassador can be created with ease. If their visual image were manipulated to depict them or even the brand itself in a way that is false or offensive, this would pose a serious threat to modern-day marketers.

The threat-level heightens when you consider that debunking fake news takes time, and content published for that purpose typically receives less coverage than the original, false article. As a result, misinformation can have lasting effects, even once discredited – it is a phenomenon researchers across the globe are investigating.

How social media and tech companies are fighting back

As AI becomes increasingly refined, big tech is racing to keep up. Twitter has announced it will add labels to or remove tweets carrying manipulated content, while Facebook has partnered with Microsoft and academics to create the Deepfake Detection Challenge, which seeks to better detect when AI has been used to alter video.

Google recently released more than 3,000 visual deep fakes to help inform a FaceForensics benchmark that is combating manipulated videos. This follows its earlier release of a synthetic speech dataset.

These solutions are a work in progress, however. Voice biometrics technology – existing fraud detection tech – could have a major impact in marketing.

Voice biometrics to combat fake news

Banks, insurance providers and governments across the globe are already using voice biometrics as an easy and secure way to authenticate their customers, combat fraudulent activity and improve customer satisfaction.

A voiceprint includes more than 1000 unique physical and behavioural characteristics of a person, such as vocal tract length, nasal passage shape, pitch, cadence, accent and more. In fact, research shows it’s as unique to an individual as a fingerprint.

Where behaviours can be easily mimicked, physical voice characteristics cannot, thus preventing impersonators from ‘tricking’ the system. Voice biometrics could be monumental in verifying if a video or audio recording is legitimate, analysing if the voice is actually from the person the message claims to be, or has been manipulated, simulated, or created synthetically to create fake news stories.

The accuracy and speed with which voice biometrics can authenticate a person’s identity mean that harmful deep fakes be debunked with certainty – quickly mitigating the threat to a brand’s reputation.

Biometrics represent a new era of identity security, and given the dramatic influence fake news can have, combating deep fake videos and synthetic audio with voice biometrics is a natural progression for the technology.

Source: https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/fake-news-deep-fakes-and-fraud-detection-2020-addressing-an-epidemic/

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#PGM demand, prices likely to remain high this year #Palladium #Platinum SPONSOR: New Age Metals $NAM.ca $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:46 AM on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020

SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. The company owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces Inferred. Learn More.

PGM demand, prices likely to remain high this year

By: Marleny Arnoldi

  • After resurgent demand pushed the platinum market into deficit in 2019, with the total volume of platinum under investment coming in at a record 3.4-million ounces at the start of this year, speciality chemicals company Johnson Matthey says the platinum market could move back into surplus this year unless investor appetites are sustained.

Last year, more than one-million platinum ounces were added to exchange-traded fund holdings, outweighing a contraction in global industrial and automotive demand, as well as a double-digit drop in the Chinese platinum jewellery market.

Johnson Matthey notes in its latest ‘Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Market’ report that demand for platinum this year will be supported by rising PGM loadings on heavy-duty trucks in China and India, where stricter emissions legislation is due to be implemented.

However, it notes that this will be offset by a further erosion in platinum jewellery demand and a drop in purchases by the glass sector.

“With weaker primary supplies balanced by further growth in autocatalyst recycling, investment will again be the primary factor which determines the direction of market balance.

Platinum supplies in 2020 could fall below six-million ounces for the first time in six years, reflecting the impact of ongoing rationalisation programmes in South Africa, a lower contribution from the release of excess pipeline stocks and the depletion of PGM-rich surface materials that have supported PGMs output at Norilsk Nickel’s operations in recent years.

AUTOCATALYST DEMAND

Johnson Matthey explains that while autocatalyst recycling is expected to rise again this year, it will, at best, offset the decline in primary supplies.

Recent growth in platinum recoveries reflects the dramatic expansion in platinum use in diesel catalysts that occurred between 2000 and 2007.

Platinum consumption in light-duty vehicles peaked at around 3.5-million ounces in 2006 and 2007, but fell steeply during the global financial crisis in 2008; thereafter demand was also affected by falling diesel vehicle registrations and increased use of palladium in diesel catalyst systems.

Platinum recycling volumes are expected to reach a plateau in the next few years.

Combined platinum demand in the autocatalyst, industrial and jewellery sectors is not expected to change much this year. On balance, Johnson Matthey believes combined demand in these “consuming” applications is more likely to fall than to rise, but this will depend on factors such as vehicle production volumes and the timing of industrial platinum purchases for new chemical, glass and petroleum refining plants.

“In the light-duty diesel market, production volumes will be the principal factor determining the direction of platinum demand,” Johnson Matthey notes.

THE CASE FOR PALLADIUM

All-time highs were recorded in the palladium price last year as the market deficit widened to more than one-million ounces – demand reached an all-time high of 9.7-million ounces, despite demand for palladium falling in industrial applications.

Johnson Matthey says that intensifying use of palladium in gasoline cars in Europe and China pushed auto demand to a record level, despite lower vehicle output. It adds that the tightening emission legislation and stricter vehicle testing regimes are driving up the PGMs content of three-way catalysts in most major vehicle markets.

The palladium deficit is likely to deepen this year, as an increasing number of Chinese and European vehicles meet China 6 and Euro 6D legislation, respectively. This is expected to drive up global average loadings on gasoline catalysts and could lift world automotive demand above ten-million ounces.

Although secondary recoveries from spent catalytic converters will continue to rise, primary supplies may fall slightly, reflecting rationalisation at South African mines and the depletion of palladium-rich surface materials at Norilsk Nickel.

Johnson Matthey notes that while the market remains in significant deficit, prices are likely to remain strong, stimulating efforts to thrift and substitute palladium where possible, and incentivising the mobilisation of market stocks.

RHODIUM

Rhodium moved into a modest deficit last year, as a small rise in combined supplies was not enough to meet a 10% increase in total demand.

Global consumption of rhodium on autocatalysts leapt by nearly 15% in 2019, following a step-change in loadings in Chinese vehicles.

Johnson Matthey says car companies in other regions also used more rhodium, in response to tighter emissions standards and more stringent testing.

“These gains offset a sharp fall in rhodium use in the glass industry, as capacity expansion slowed after two years of exceptionally strong activity.

“Although combined primary and secondary supplies rose by 2%, this was not enough to prevent the market moving into deficit,” the chemicals company explains.

The outlook for 2020 is a deepening market deficit with further strong gains expected in autocatalyst demand, albeit at a slower rate than last year.

Source: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/pgm-demand-prices-likely-to-remain-high-this-year-2020-02-12/rep_id:3650

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Posted in New Age Metals | Comments Off on #PGM demand, prices likely to remain high this year #Palladium #Platinum SPONSOR: New Age Metals $NAM.ca $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

INTERVIEW: $HPQ.ca Game Changing Silicon Process For #Lithium-Ion #Battery Market Is Just Months Away $FSLR $SPWR $CSIQ $PYR.ca $XMG.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:59 PM on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

When a globally renowned technology partner – who supplies plasma torch technology to US Aircraft Carriers – says the following about your company, you are forced to stand up and take notice:

“We never thought, when we first embarked on this project, that we would be developing game-changing technology sought after by the Lithium-ion battery market.”

– Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis Canada Inc. 

There is no shortage of small cap companies claiming they want to supply materials to the Lithium-Ion battery market …. but only one of them is pursuing the material that can increase capacity by as much as 10X ….. Silicon. 

HPQ Silicon (HPQ:TSXV) isn’t just pursuing Silicon, they are on the verge of providing the market with multiple high-value silicon products sought after by Corporations building the next generation of Lithium-ion batteries, including one undisclosed company that is already under NDA with HPQ Silicon.

One of the best parts?  HPQ Silicon doesn’t have to worry about capital expenditure barriers that come with mining battery metals …. because Silicon is manufactured and HPQ has a patent pending process to manufacture Silicon at some of the lowest prices in the world.  A process that is fully funded all the way through to their pilot plant launching this year. 

If you believe in a future driven by electric vehicles and renewable energy, grab your favourite beverage and watch this video interview with CEO Bernard Tourillon.

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A new supertool fights fake images – SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited $DM.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:45 PM on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited (TSX-V: DM) A revenue generating small cap A.I. company that NATO and Canadian Defence are using to fight fake news & social media threats. The company announced three $1M contacts in Q3-2019. Click here for more info.

A new supertool fights fake images

A new supertool fights fake images, plus the Economist’s guide to Instagram and a new way to pay for journalism

  • How can technology strengthen fact-checking? Jigsaw, a nonprofit division of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, asks and then answers its own question with the announcement of Assembler, an experimental detection platform that aims to help fact checkers and journalists identify manipulated images.

The platform pulls together several existing technologies — for example, one that spots copy-and-pastes within images and another that detects image brightness manipulations — into one supertool. Right now, Jigsaw is working with a group of global newsrooms and fact-checkers to test Assembler’s viability in real situations. That means, unfortunately, it isn’t available for the rest of us yet.

This new tool can show you what journalists are writing about on a large scale. MuckRack Trends (log-in required) is a lot like Google Trends, which shows you what people are searching for on Google, but it’s specific to news articles. You can use it, for example, see how many news articles have been written about Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho over the past week (5,733, as I write this) and compare it to someone like, say, Martin Scorsese (5,612). There are SO MANY great uses for this. I wrote about some of them here.

The Economist makes charts … for Instagram. The visual social media platform is a natural home for informative and interesting infographics from one of the world’s most prestigious media brands. Charts like “Who is more liberal: Uncle Joe or Mayor Pete?” and “Interest in veganism is surging” perform well between the organization’s beautiful photos and illustrations. The Economist offers a few tips for others willing to try putting info on Insta, including: Keep colors consistent so that fast-scrollers know who they’re looking at, rethink charts and graphs to fit into a small space and cater to your audience, which is probably younger on Instagram.

If you need a new online publishing system, start here. Content management systems, or CMSs, are the engines that run our online journalism. A good engine works without you having to think much about it. A bad one — and I’m just making things up here — takes forever to load, formats text in unexplainable ways and occasionally deletes your stories outright. Together with News Catalyst, Poynter put together a guide on how to get a new CMS, along with a look at five of our favorite modern CMS choices and live demo opportunities for each.

SPONSORED: It takes a village to publish a story. That’s why Trint’s collaborative speech-to-text platform lets newsroom teams work on the same transcript at the same time. Trint’s Pro Team plan means editing, verification and exporting happen simultaneously — stories are published in near real time and with 100% accurate information. And with Trint’s Workspaces, you can choose who has access to what data through custom permissions. Journalists, editors and producers from different teams instantly get access to the transcripts they need as soon as they’re uploaded. Start your Pro Team trial today.

Here’s a map that shows stunning satellite images of locations across the globe. From school bus assembly plants (so much yellow) to airports (kind of meta!), from iron ore mine ponds (so much pink) to man-made islands that depict a pair of dolphins circling each other (‘nuff said), this map is fun to explore and might offer a story idea or two. 

Don’t call it a paywall. It’s more of a parking meter. A company called Transact has joined the fight to get people to pay for journalism. Transact’s transactions work similarly to micropayments, in which readers pay for articles from across the internet à la carte instead of a flat-rate subscription, except that users load up lumps of money at once and spend as they go. Transact calls it a “digital media debit card.” The Santa Barbara Independent, an alt-weekly newspaper in California, is one of the first to implement it. Transact joins a growing list of alternative payment schemes for journalism, including Blendle (which made a pivot away from micropayments not long ago) and Scroll (which kills ads and provides a better user experience).

Source: https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/2020/a-new-supertool-fights-fake-images-plus-the-economists-guide-to-instagram-and-a-new-way-to-pay-for-journalism/

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PRIMO Nutraceuticals $PRMO.ca – Consumers Clamor for #CBD as More Novel Uses are Purported $CROP.ca $VP.ca NF.ca $MCOA

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:15 PM on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

SPONSOR:  PRIMO NUTRACEUTICALS INC. (CSE: PRMO) (OTC: BUGVF) (FSE: 8BV) (DEU: 8BV) (MUN: 8BV) (STU: 8BV) provides strategic capital to the thriving cannabis cultivation sector through ownership and development of commercial real estate properties. The company also offers fully built out turnkey facilities equipped with state-of-the-art growing infrastructure to cannabis growers and processors. Click here for more info.

Consumers Clamor for CBD as More Novel Uses are Purported

  • CBD products overall are having a major impact on the global industry because they offer a number of therapeutic benefits without the psychoactive effects of THC
  • Currently, this segment of the cannabis industry is also gaining prevalence for its potential to treat serious medical conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, and anxiety.

NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2020 — Earlier in 2018, the Farm Bill restored industrial hemp to nationwide legal production for the first time since World War II. Removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA) also helped create a financial domino effect – eventually leading to mass-market retailers CVS Health, Rite Aid, and Walgreens Boots Alliance to carry hemp-CBD brands. Notably, cannabis-based oils have become widely popular because of their potent and immediate effects.

In fact, CBD products overall are having a major impact on the global industry because they offer a number of therapeutic benefits without the psychoactive effects of THC. Currently, this segment of the cannabis industry is also gaining prevalence for its potential to treat serious medical conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, and anxiety. And as the U.S. hemp industry matures, it is expected to transition from being a seed, textile, and industrial product importer to a global exporter. And according to data compiled by Hemp Business Journal, a division of New Frontier Data, the total sales for the U.S. hemp industry totaled USD 820 Million in 2017. The research also suggests that the industry is expected to grow to USD 1.9 Billion by 2022 and at a CAGR of 14.4% during the 5-year period.

The 2018 Farm Bill, however, explicitly preserved the FDA’s authority to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds under the FD&C Act and section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act). This leaves a lot of uncertainties regarding which products can be sold legally. According to the FDA, it treats products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds as it does any other FDA-regulated products – meaning they’re subject to the same authorities and requirements as FDA-regulated products containing any other substance.

This is true regardless of whether the cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds are classified as hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill. And despite the federal regulatory uncertainties, at least 70% of the 2019 U.S. hemp harvest is intended for extract production, with Colorado leading the nation in hemp cultivation and processing land area with over 80,000 acres reported.

“The 29 U.S. states reporting licensed hemp cultivation acreage total almost half a million acres in combined cultivation land area, which is a massive increase compared to 2018 figures of a total land area barely over 100,000 acres. While there continues to be uncertainty and a healthy amount of confusion around hemp cultivation for CBD production, it is clear that demand is nonetheless continuing to rise across the U.S.,” noted Giadha Aguirre de Carcer, New Frontier Data CEO and Founder. “As states issue more licenses, consumer demand increases, and mass-market retailers such as CVS and Walgreens continue to expand their own product offerings, we expect the FDA may be forced to provide further regulatory clarifications sooner rather than later.”

Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consumers-clamor-for-cbd-as-more-novel-uses-are-purported-301002483.html

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Indian #Edtech firm #Byju’s valued at about $8.2b – SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:45 PM on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Indian edtech firm Byju’s valued at about $8.2b

By: Kenan Machado

  • Indian edtech company Think and Learn, the owner and operator of learning app Byju’s, is now valued at about US$8.2 billion, following a fresh US$200 million funding by private equity firm General Atlantic, a person familiar with the company’s thinking said.

The latest injection in the company’s series F round comes after Tiger Global’s US$200 million investment last month.

“General Atlantic has been one of our strongest partners, and this additional investment shows their confidence in our vision, growth, and future,” Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran said in a press release.

The education app creates learning programs for K-12 students, as well as for other competitive exams. It currently has 42 million registered users and 3 million paid subscribers, according to the company. AD. Remove this ad space by subscribing. Support independent journalism.

This latest fundraise comes amid reports of turmoil at other Indian unicorns. The snafu at SoftBank-backed WeWork has forced many to pivot and focus on profitability, which has hurt growth prospects at a time when India’s economy is slowing.

Byju’s is one of the few profitable startups in India. It got its start in 2005, when Raveendran took a break as a service engineer for a shipping company to coach students.

The company turned profitable on a full-year basis for the financial year that ended in March 2019, Byju’s said. According to the firm, net profit stood at about US$2.8 million, with revenue of about US$207 million. It had earned about US$73 million in revenue a year earlier. However, Byju’s didn’t provide a figure for the bottom line for fiscal year 2018.

Byju’s is on track to earn a little more than US$420 million for the financial year that will end in March 2020, it said. The company adds that students use the app for some 71 minutes on average daily, and renewal rates are currently at 85%.

The firm raised US$150 million in July 2019 via a round led by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority. Edtech investor Owl Ventures was also involved in the fundraise. Their investment in Byju’s marked the first time that the two firms backed an Indian startup. AD. Remove this ad space by subscribing. Support independent journalism.

Four months earlier in March, Byju’s raised about US$11.4 million from General Atlantic and Tencent, which took its valuation to about US$4 billion.

Other notable investors in the company are Naspers, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, among others.

Source: https://www.techinasia.com/indian-edtech-firm-byjus-valued-us82-billion

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