The APEC Secretariat unveiled the newly revamped StatsAPEC website—a central hub designed to make it easier and quicker to access more than 120 economic and social statistics across the 21 member economies.
Managed by the APEC Policy Support Unit, StatsAPEC offers annual data from 1989 to the present for all APEC member economies, along with aggregates for both APEC and the world.
Celebrating StatsAPEC’s 15th year with a major upgrade underscores APEC’s continued commitment to providing objective and high-quality data.
Re-engineered for improved functionality and increased user-friendliness, the upgraded StatsAPEC now integrates a new “Explore by Economy” page examining key metrics for each APEC member—serving as a quick factsheet for journalists, students, and the public. Enhanced features include a streamlined interface for intuitive navigation and customizable queries that allow users to tailor data visualizations to their specific needs.
“APEC’s revamped StatsAPEC platform marks a significant milestone in our efforts to foster an open and dynamic information ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.
“By providing high-quality, accessible data, we are empowering our member economies to make evidence-based decisions that drive sustainable growth and regional integration,” he added.
Carlos Kuriyama, Director of the APEC Policy Support Unit, emphasized the platform’s enhanced functionality and the team’s commitment to continue innovating.
“StatsAPEC is not just a data portal but also a strategic tool for fostering informed discussions and collaborative policy development across the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
“Our team is very excited to continue bringing new features and making StatsAPEC an even better tool for everyone to use,” Kuriyama concluded.
For further details and media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
In response to escalating energy demands and persistent reliance on fossil fuels, APEC economies addressed the urgent need for a transformative approach to clean electricity generation.
In a policy dialogue held in Gyeongju, Korea, last week, policymakers, researchers and industry experts explored how a diversified mix of carbon-free energy technologies could mitigate environmental risks and bolster regional energy resilience.
Carbon-free energy (CFE) technologies refer to a suite of technologies that generate electricity with zero or minimal carbon emissions. These include nuclear power, hydrogen and ammonia fuels, carbon capture and storage, and advanced energy storage systems. For Korea and other APEC economies, CFE is critical not only for reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also for ensuring a stable and dispatchable power supply amid growing electricity demand.
“APEC’s collective energy challenges call for a unified and forward-looking strategy. By embracing a diverse range of carbon-free energy technologies, we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and secure a reliable, resilient power supply that supports sustainable economic growth,” said Weiguo Shan, lead shepherd of the APEC Energy Working Group.
“This dialogue underscores our commitment to developing pragmatic, data-driven policies that benefit all member economies and set a clear path for a cleaner, more secure energy future.”
Data presented by Dr Kazutomo Irie of the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre highlighted both progress and persistent challenges in reducing carbon dioxide emission in the region. Between 2010 and 2022, APEC economies increased the share of modern renewables in final energy consumption by 75.6 percent and in power generation by 63.4 percent. Despite these gains, carbon dioxide emissions from power generation continued to rise, as carbon-emitting sources produced nearly twice as much electricity in 2022 compared to carbon-free sources, underscoring the need for a broader mix of low-carbon, dispatchable technologies.
“While there are multiple pathways to contribute to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing clean electricity within the energy sector remains a central priority,” said Eekno Jo, Director General for Energy Policy of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy in his opening remarks at the dialogue. “To accelerate these energy transitions, we need to continue our endeavour to deploy and scale up carbon-free energy technologies,”
During the dialogue, participants examined the technical and economic challenges of integrating CFE technologies. Discussions centered on the lower capacity factors of wind and solar power relative to dispatchable generators and the implications for grid reliability. Experts debated financing mechanisms and policy measures necessary to scale up these technologies, stressing that a balanced energy mix is essential to meet peak demand and ensure stable supply.
“Expanding clean electricity is essential to ensure stable and reliable power supply and to achieve carbon neutrality targets,” added Dr Sunghee Shim, Vice President of the Korea Energy Economics Institute.
“In order to achieve this, we must go beyond simply increasing renewable energy sources by incorporating various carbon-free energy technologies. We can enhance flexibility and stability in the power supply while playing a complementary role in the overall energy mix.”
The policy dialogue marked a significant milestone in APEC’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy security. By integrating robust data analysis with targeted policy discussions, the workshop provided a clear roadmap for expanding clean, dispatchable electricity—a vital step for achieving carbon neutrality and long-term energy resilience in the region.
Achieved record gross bookings of $65.8 million and revenue of $59.7 million in full-year 2024
Signed 46 new customers in 2024 and expanded relationship with existing customers across key markets including power, automotive, memory, foundry, and display
Expanded Product Portfolio with the Acquisition of Cadence’s Process Proximity Compensation Product Line
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Silvaco Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVCO) (“Silvaco” or the “Company”), a provider of TCAD, EDA software, and SIP solutions that enable innovative semiconductor design and digital twin modeling through AI software and automation, today announced its fourth quarter and full year 2024 results.
“We are proud to close out the year with strong momentum and growing customer traction, including 46 new customer wins in 2024 and multiple bookings on our AI based, flagship FTCO platform,” said Dr. Babak Taheri, Silvaco’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Taheri continued, “Our first acquisition as a public company marks a significant milestone in executing our M&A strategy for talent, technology and expanding through inorganic growth. With a continued focus on innovation and execution, we are well-positioned to build on this success and drive further growth in 2025 for our EDA and TCAD product lines.”
Fourth Quarter 2024 and Recent Business Highlights
Acquired 13 new customers across key markets including Photonics, Power, Automotive, Memory, and Foundry, which represented approximately 9% of gross bookings for the quarter.
Announced a partnership with Micon Global to expand Silvaco’s reach across the EMEA market, leveraging Micon’s expertise to deliver cutting-edge TCAD, EDA, and SIP solutions to new customers.
Joined the SMART USA Institute under the CHIPS Manufacturing USA program to advance digital twin technologies in semiconductor manufacturing, reinforcing Silvaco’s leadership in innovation. We received our first booking from this program.
Received a $5.0 million follow-on order for FTCO™ digital-twin modeling product from a strategic memory customer. This order extends the footprint of our FTCO™ product line and further validates our strategic focus on this unique technology.
Achieved ISO 9001 certification, underscoring Silvaco’s commitment to quality and continuous improvement across its TCAD, EDA, and SIP product portfolio.
On March 4, 2025, Silvaco closed the acquisition of the Process Proximity Compensation (PPC) product line from Cadence Design Systems, Inc. The addition, an optical proximity correction suite of tools, is highly complementary to Silvaco’s EDA and TCAD tool suites.
Full Year 2024 Business Highlights
Acquired 46 new customers across key markets including Power, Automotive, Government/Mil-Aero, Photonics, IOT, 5G/6G, Memory, and Foundry, which represented approximately 10% of gross bookings for the year.
Expanded Victory TCAD and Digital Twin Modeling Platform to Planar CMOS, FinFET and Advanced CMOS Technologies which is a necessary step to enable FTCO for Advanced Process.
Silvaco Announced that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of all claims against Silvaco brought by Aldini AG.
Silvaco was added to the Russell 2000®, Russell 3000®, and Russell Microcap® indexes in September 2024.
Completed initial public offering in May 2024, raising $106 million net of underwriters’ fees.
Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results
GAAP Financial Results
Revenue of $17.9 million, up 43% year-over-year and up 63% quarter-over-quarter.
TCAD revenue of $12.7 million, up 65% year-over-year.
EDA revenue of $4.2 million, up 57% year-over-year.
SIP revenue of $0.9 million, down 57% year-over-year.
GAAP gross profit and GAAP gross margin were $15.4 million and 86%, respectively, which includes the impact of $194,000 stock-based compensation expense, $249,000 amortization of acquired intangible assets, and $80,000 payroll taxes from the RSU lockup release, up from $9.8 million and 79% in Q4 2023.
GAAP net income of $4.2 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $2.2 million in Q4 2023.
GAAP basic and diluted net income per share of $0.14, compared to GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share of $(0.11) in Q4 2023.
As of December 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $87.5 million.
Key Operating Indicators and Non-GAAP Financial Results:
Gross bookings were $20.3 million, up 30% year-over-year.
As of December 31, 2024, the remaining performance obligation balance of $34.3 million, 46% of which is expected to be recognized as revenue in the next 12 months.
Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross margin were $16.0 million and 89%, respectively, up from $9.8 million and 79% year-over-year.
Non-GAAP net income of $4.3 million, compared to Non-GAAP net loss of $(1.6) million in Q4 2023.
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.15, compared to Non-GAAP diluted net loss per share of $(0.08) in Q4 2023.
Full Year 2024 Financial Results
GAAP Financial Results
Revenue of $59.7 million, up 10% year-over-year.
TCAD revenue of $40.2 million, up 25% year-over-year.
EDA revenue of $14.6 million, up 4% year-over-year.
SIP revenue of $4.9 million, down 40% year-over-year.
GAAP gross profit and GAAP gross margin were $47.6 million and 80%, respectively, which includes the impact of $3.0 million stock-based compensation expense, $747,000 amortization of acquired intangible assets, and $80,000 payroll taxes from the RSU lockup release, up from $44.9 million and down from 83% in 2023.
GAAP net loss of $(39.4) million, compared to $(0.3) million in 2023.
GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share of $(1.53), compared to $(0.02) in 2023.
Key Operating Indicators and Non-GAAP Financial Results:
Gross bookings were $65.8 million, up 13% year-over-year.
Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross margin were $51.4 million and 86%, respectively, up from $44.9 million and 83% year over year.
Non-GAAP net income of $6.7 million, compared to $3.4 million in 2023.
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.25, compared to $0.17 in 2023.
For a discussion of the non-GAAP metrics presented in this press release, as well as a reconciliation of non-GAAP metrics to the nearest comparable GAAP metric, see “Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation” in the accompanying tables below.
First Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Outlook
As of March 5, 2025, Silvaco is providing guidance for its first quarter of 2025 and its full-year 2025, which represents Silvaco’s current estimates on its operations and financial results. The financial information below represents forward-looking financial information and in some instances forward-looking, non-GAAP financial information, including estimates of non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss) and non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share. GAAP gross margin is the most comparable GAAP measure to non-GAAP gross margin, GAAP operating income (loss) is the most comparable GAAP measure to non-GAAP operating income (loss). GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share is the most comparable GAAP measure to non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share. Non-GAAP gross margin differs from GAAP gross margin in that it excludes items such as stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release. Non-GAAP operating income (loss) differs from GAAP operating income (loss) in that it excludes items such as acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release, IPO preparation costs, and executive severance costs. Non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share differs from GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share in that it excludes certain costs, including IPO preparation costs, acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release, executive severance costs, change in fair value of contingent consideration, foreign exchange (gain) loss, loss on debt extinguishment, and the income tax effect on non-GAAP items. Silvaco is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of these exclusions without unreasonable effort. Therefore, Silvaco has not provided guidance for GAAP gross margin, GAAP operating income or GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share or a reconciliation of the forward-looking non-GAAP gross margin or non-GAAP operating income or non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share guidance to GAAP gross margin or GAAP operating income or GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share, respectively. However, it is important to note that these excluded items could be material to our results computed in accordance with GAAP in future periods.
Based on current business trends and conditions, the Company expects for first quarter 2025 the following:
Gross bookings in the range of $16.0 million to $19.0 million, which would compare to $16.1 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Revenue in the range of $14.5 million to $17.0 million, which would compare to $15.9 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 84% to 87%, which would compare to 88% in the first quarter of 2024.
Non-GAAP operating income in the range of ($1.0) million loss to $1.0 million income, compared to $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share in the range of ($0.03) loss to $0.03, compared to $0.12 in the first quarter of 2024.
For full year 2025, the Company expects:
Gross bookings in the range of $72.0 million to $79.0 million, which would represent a 9% to 20% increase from $65.8 million in 2024.
Revenue in the range of $66.0 million to $72.0 million, which would represent a 11% to 21% increase from $59.7 million in 2024.
Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 84.0% to 89.0%, which would compare to 86% in 2024.
Non-GAAP operating income in the range of $2.0 million to $7.0 million, which would compare to $5.5 million in 2024.
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share in the range of $0.07 to $0.19, compared to $0.25 in 2024.
Q4 2024 Conference Call Details
A press release highlighting the Company’s results along with supplemental financial results will be available at https://investors.silvaco.com/ along with an earnings presentation to accompany management’s prepared remarks on the day of the conference call, after market close. An archived replay of the conference call will be available on this website for a limited time after the call. Participants who want to join the call and ask a question may register for the call here to receive the dial-in numbers and unique PIN.
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025 Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time Webcast: Here (live and replay)
About Silvaco
Silvaco is a provider of TCAD, EDA software, and SIP solutions that enable semiconductor design and digital twin modeling through AI software and innovation. Silvaco’s solutions are used for semiconductor and photonics processes, devices, and systems development across display, power devices, automotive, memory, high performance compute, foundries, photonics, internet of things, and 5G/6G mobile markets for complex SoC design. Silvaco is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has a global presence with offices located in North America, Europe, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on Silvaco’s current expectations. The words “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “project”, “will”, and similar phrases as they relate to Silvaco are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views and assumptions of Silvaco and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations.
These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to, statements regarding our future operating results, financial position, and guidance, our business strategy and plans, our objectives for future operations, our development or delivery of new or enhanced products, and anticipated results of those products for our customers, our competitive positioning, projected costs, technological capabilities, and plans, and macroeconomic trends.
A variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the following: (a) market conditions; (b) anticipated trends, challenges and growth in our business and the markets in which we operate; (c) our ability to appropriately respond to changing technologies on a timely and cost-effective basis; (d) the size and growth potential of the markets for our software solutions, and our ability to serve those markets; (e) our expectations regarding competition in our existing and new markets; (f) the level of demand in our customers’ end markets; (g) regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; (h) changes in trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs; (i) proposed new software solutions, services or developments; (j) our ability to attract and retain key management personnel; (k) our customer relationships and our ability to retain and expand our customer relationships; (l) our ability to diversify our customer base and develop relationships in new markets; (m) the strategies, prospects, plans, expectations, and objectives of management for future operations; (n) public health crises, pandemics, and epidemics and their effects on our business and our customers’ businesses; (o) the impact of the current conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Hamas and the ongoing trade disputes among the United States and China on our business, financial condition or prospects, including extreme volatility in the global capital markets making debt or equity financing more difficult to obtain, more costly or more dilutive, delays and disruptions of the global supply chains and the business activities of our suppliers, distributors, customers and other business partners; (p) changes in general economic or business conditions or economic or demographic trends in the United States and foreign countries including changes in tariffs, interest rates and inflation; (q) our ability to raise additional capital; (r) our ability to accurately forecast demand for our software solutions; (s) our expectations regarding the outcome of any ongoing litigation; (t) our expectations regarding the period during which we qualify as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act and as a smaller reporting company under the Exchange Act; (u) our expectations regarding our ability to obtain, maintain, protect and enforce intellectual property protection for our technology; (v) our status as a controlled company; (w) our use of the net proceeds from our initial public offering, and (x) our ability to successfully integrate, retain key personnel, and realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of Cadence’s PPC product line.
It is not possible for us to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Accordingly, you should not rely on any of the forward-looking statements. Additional information relating to the uncertainty affecting the Silvaco’s business is contained in Silvaco’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Relations section of Silvaco’s website at http://investors.silvaco.com/. These forward-looking statements represent Silvaco’s expectations as of the date of this press release. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and Silvaco disclaims any obligations to update or alter these forward-looking statements in the future, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We use certain non-GAAP financial measures to supplement the performance measures in our consolidated financial statements, which are presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures include non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss), and non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share. We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making and as a mean to assist us in evaluating period-to-period comparisons.
We define non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross margin as our GAAP gross profit and GAAP gross margin adjusted to exclude certain costs, including stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets and payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release. We define non-GAAP operating income (loss), as our GAAP operating income (loss) adjusted to exclude certain costs, including IPO preparation costs, acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release, and executive severance costs. We define non-GAAP net income (loss) as our GAAP net income (loss) adjusted to exclude certain costs, including IPO preparation costs, acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release, executive severance costs, change in fair value of contingent consideration, foreign exchange (gain) loss, loss on debt extinguishment, and the income tax effect on non-GAAP items. Our non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share is calculated in the same way as our non-GAAP net income (loss), but on a per share basis. We monitor non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share as non-GAAP financial measures to supplement the financial information we present in accordance with GAAP to provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results.
Certain items are excluded from our non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share because these items are non-cash in nature or are not indicative of our core operating performance and render comparisons with prior periods and competitors less meaningful. We adjust GAAP gross profit, GAAP gross margin, GAAP operating income (loss), GAAP net income (loss), and GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share for these items to arrive at non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss), and non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share because these amounts can vary substantially from company to company within our industry depending upon accounting methods and book values of assets, capital structure and the method by which the assets were acquired. By excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our recurring core operating results, we believe that non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance.
We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors and others because they allow for additional information with respect to financial measures used by management in its financial and operational decision-making and they may be used by our institutional investors and the analyst community to help them analyze our financial performance and the health of our business. However, there are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP financial measures, and these non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or in isolation from, our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate these non-GAAP financial measures differently or not at all, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
SILVACO GROUP, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited, in thousands except share and par value amounts)
December 31,
December 31,
2024
2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
19,606
$
4,421
Short-term marketable securities
63,071
–
Accounts receivable, net
9,211
4,006
Contract assets, net
11,932
8,749
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
3,460
2,549
Deferred transaction costs
–
1,163
Total current assets
107,280
20,888
Non-current assets:
Non-current marketable securities
4,785
–
Property and equipment, net
865
591
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net
1,711
1,963
Intangible assets, net
4,369
342
Goodwill
9,026
9,026
Non-current portion of contract assets, net
12,611
6,250
Other assets
1,698
1,825
Total non-current assets
35,065
19,997
Total assets
$
142,345
$
40,885
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$
3,316
$
2,495
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
19,801
10,255
Accrued income taxes
1,668
1,626
Deferred revenue, current
7,497
7,882
Operating lease liabilities, current
744
735
Related party line of credit
–
2,000
Vendor financing obligations, current
1,462
–
Total current liabilities
34,488
24,993
Non-current liabilities:
Deferred revenue, non-current
3,593
5,071
Operating lease liabilities, non-current
946
1,198
Vendor financing obligations, non-current
2,928
–
Other non-current liabilities
307
221
Total liabilities
42,262
31,483
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024; no shares authorized as of December 31, 2023
–
–
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 28,526,615 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024; 25,000,000 shares authorized; 20,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023
3
2
Additional paid-in capital
130,360
–
(Accumulated deficit) Retained earnings
(28,012
)
11,392
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(2,268
)
(1,992
)
Total stockholders’ equity
100,083
9,402
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$
142,345
$
40,885
SILVACO GROUP, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Unaudited, in thousands except share and per share amounts)
Three months Ended December 31,
Twelve months Ended December 31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue:
Software license revenue
$
13,870
$
8,738
$
43,991
$
39,331
Maintenance and service
3,989
3,748
15,689
14,915
Total revenue
17,859
12,486
59,680
54,246
Cost of revenue
2,422
2,682
12,042
9,354
Gross profit
15,437
9,804
47,638
44,892
Operating expenses:
Research and development
5,283
3,337
20,740
13,170
Selling and marketing
3,983
3,833
18,300
12,707
General and administrative
7,529
4,570
37,571
17,881
Estimated litigation claim
(3,782
)
–
11,306
–
Total operating expenses
13,013
11,740
87,917
43,758
Operating (loss) income
2,424
(1,936
)
(40,279
)
1,134
Loss on debt extinguishment
–
–
(718
)
–
Interest income
1,077
2
2,976
6
Interest and other expenses, net
(67
)
(95
)
(899
)
(630
)
(Loss) income before income tax provision
3,434
(2,029
)
(38,920
)
510
Income tax provision (benefit)
(723
)
218
484
826
Net (loss) income
$
4,157
$
(2,247
)
$
(39,404
)
$
(316
)
(Loss) earnings per share attributable to common stockholders:
Basic and diluted
$
0.14
$
(0.11
)
$
(1.53
)
$
(0.02
)
Weighted average shares used in computing per share amounts:
Basic and diluted
28,734,082
20,000,000
25,672,845
20,000,000
SILVACO GROUP, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited, in thousands)
Year Ended December 31
2024
2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss
$
(39,404
)
$
(316
)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
1,285
601
Stock-based compensation expense
26,915
–
Provision for credit losses
351
220
Accretion of discount on marketable securities, net
(1,685
)
–
Estimated litigation claim
11,306
–
Loss on debt extinguishment
718
–
Change in fair value of contingent consideration
(27
)
325
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
(5,971
)
1,378
Contract assets
(10,293
)
(5,208
)
Prepaid expense and other current assets
(790
)
133
Other assets
57
(267
)
Accounts payable
1,326
156
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
(2,160
)
2,015
Accrued income taxes
74
(23
)
Deferred revenue
(1,585
)
2,268
Other non-current liabilities
109
(102
)
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities
(19,774
)
1,180
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of marketable securities
(99,630
)
–
Maturities of marketable securities
33,600
–
Purchases of property and equipment
(505
)
(339
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(66,535
)
(339
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriting fees
106,020
–
Proceeds from issuance of convertible note, net of debt issuance costs
4,852
–
Proceeds from loan facility
4,250
–
Repayment of loan facility
(4,250
)
–
Proceeds from related party line of credit
–
1,000
Repayment of related party line of credit
(2,000
)
(1,000
)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock for share-based awards
315
–
Payroll taxes related to shares withheld from employees
(4,575
)
–
Deferred transaction costs
(2,649
)
(650
)
Contingent consideration
(74
)
(1,002
)
Payments of vendor financing obligation
(588
)
–
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
101,301
(1,652
)
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents
193
(246
)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
15,185
(1,057
)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
4,421
5,478
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$
19,606
$
4,421
SILVACO GROUP, INC.
REVENUE
(Unaudited)
2023
2024
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Year
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Year
Revenue by Region:
Americas
35
%
29
%
31
%
29
%
31
%
27
%
51
%
31
%
40
%
38
%
APAC
51
%
62
%
61
%
63
%
59
%
62
%
41
%
58
%
52
%
53
%
EMEA
14
%
9
%
8
%
8
%
10
%
11
%
8
%
11
%
8
%
9
%
Total revenue
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
Revenue by Product Line:
TCAD
62
%
62
%
52
%
62
%
59
%
66
%
69
%
59
%
71
%
68
%
EDA
29
%
20
%
31
%
22
%
26
%
30
%
20
%
24
%
24
%
24
%
SIP
9
%
18
%
17
%
16
%
15
%
4
%
11
%
17
%
5
%
8
%
Total revenue
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
Revenue Item Category:
Software license revenue
75
%
71
%
74
%
70
%
73
%
77
%
74
%
62
%
78
%
74
%
Maintenance and service
25
%
29
%
26
%
30
%
27
%
23
%
26
%
38
%
22
%
26
%
Total revenue
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
Revenue by Country:
United States
34
%
28
%
28
%
28
%
30
%
51
%
30
%
39
%
39
%
37
%
China
19
%
29
%
16
%
29
%
23
%
17
%
25
%
23
%
23
%
18
%
Other
47
%
43
%
56
%
43
%
47
%
32
%
45
%
38
%
38
%
45
%
Total revenue
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
SILVACO GROUP, INC.
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
(Unaudited, in thousands except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended
Twelve Months Ended
12/31/2024
12/31/2023
12/31/2024
12/31/2023
GAAP Cost of revenue
$
2,422
$
2,682
$
12,042
$
9,354
Less: Stock-based compensation expense
(194
)
–
(2,974
)
–
Less: Amortization of acquired intangible assets
(249
)
–
(747
)
–
Less: Payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release
(80
)
–
(80
)
–
Non-GAAP Cost of revenue
$
1,899
$
2,682
$
8,241
$
9,354
GAAP Gross profit
$
15,437
$
9,804
$
47,638
$
44,892
Add: Stock-based compensation expense
194
–
2,974
–
Add: Amortization of acquired intangible assets
249
–
747
–
Add: Payroll tax from the IPO lockup release
80
–
80
–
Non-GAAP Gross profit
$
15,960
$
9,804
$
51,439
$
44,892
GAAP Research and development
$
5,283
$
3,337
$
20,740
$
13,170
Less: Stock-based compensation expense
(535
)
–
(5,091
)
–
Less: Executive severance
(215
)
–
(215
)
–
Less: Payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release
(397
)
–
(397
)
–
Less: Amortization of acquired intangible assets
(43
)
(82
)
(206
)
(339
)
Non-GAAP Research and development
$
4,093
$
3,255
$
14,831
$
12,831
GAAP Sales and marketing
$
3,983
$
3,833
$
18,300
$
12,707
Less: Stock-based compensation expense
(388
)
–
(4,319
)
–
Less: Payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release
(85
)
–
(85
)
–
Less: IPO preparation costs
–
–
(178
)
–
Non-GAAP Sales and marketing
$
3,510
$
3,833
$
13,718
$
12,707
GAAP General and administrative
$
7,529
$
4,570
$
37,571
$
17,881
Less: Stock-based compensation expense
(1,410
)
–
(14,531
)
–
Less: Acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs
(523
)
(515
)
(4,629
)
(1,707
)
Less: Executive severance
(200
)
–
(200
)
–
Less: Payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release
(163
)
–
(163
)
–
Less: IPO preparation costs
–
(45
)
(695
)
(1,221
)
Non-GAAP General and administrative
$
5,233
$
4,010
$
17,353
$
14,953
GAAP Estimated Litigation claim
$
(3,782
)
$
–
$
11,306
$
–
Add (Less): Acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs
3,782
–
(11,306
)
–
Non-GAAP Litigation claim
$
–
$
–
$
–
$
–
GAAP Operating expenses
$
13,013
$
11,740
$
87,917
$
43,758
Less: Stock-based compensation expense
(2,333
)
–
(23,941
)
–
Less: Acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs
3,259
(515
)
(15,935
)
(1,707
)
Less: Executive severance
(415
)
–
(415
)
–
Less: Payroll tax from the IPO lock-up release
(645
)
–
(645
)
–
Less: IPO preparation costs
–
(45
)
(873
)
(1,221
)
Less: Amortization of acquired intangible assets
(43
)
(82
)
(206
)
(339
)
Non-GAAP Operating expenses
$
12,836
$
11,098
$
45,902
$
40,491
GAAP Operating (loss) income
$
2,424
$
(1,936
)
$
(40,279
)
$
1,134
Add: Stock-based compensation expense
2,527
–
26,915
–
Add (Less): Acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs
(3,259
)
515
15,935
1,707
Add: Payroll tax from the IPO lockup release
725
–
725
–
Add: Executive severance
415
–
415
–
Add: IPO preparation costs
–
45
873
1,221
Add: Amortization of acquired intangible assets
292
82
953
339
Non-GAAP Operating (loss) income
$
3,124
$
(1,294
)
$
5,537
$
4,401
GAAP Net (loss) income
$
4,157
$
(2,247
)
$
(39,404
)
$
(316
)
Add: Stock-based compensation expense
2,527
–
26,915
–
Add: Amortization of acquired intangible assets
292
82
953
339
Add (Less): Acquisition-related estimated litigation claim and legal costs
(3,259
)
515
15,935
1,707
Add: Payroll tax from the IPO lockup release
725
–
725
–
Add: Executive Severance
415
–
415
–
Add: IPO preparation costs
–
45
873
1,221
Add: Loss on debt extinguishment
–
–
718
–
Add (Less): Change in fair value of contingent consideration
(9
)
(7
)
(27
)
325
Add (Less): Foreign exchange (gain) loss
(14
)
(3
)
404
335
Add: Income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustment
(566
)
(27
)
(831
)
(169
)
Non-GAAP Net (loss) income
$
4,268
$
(1,642
)
$
6,676
$
3,442
GAAP Net income (loss) per share:
Basic and diluted:
$
0.14
$
(0.11
)
$
(1.53
)
$
(0.02
)
Non-GAAP Net income (loss) per share:
Basic
$
0.15
$
(0.08
)
$
0.26
$
0.17
Diluted
$
0.15
$
(0.08
)
$
0.25
$
0.17
Weighted average shares used in GAAP and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share:
Met detectives appeal for victim-survivors to come forward after serial rapist convicted
A serial rapist – who drugged and raped a number of women both in the UK and China – has been convicted, following one of the most complex investigations carried out by detectives in the Met.
Zhenhao Zou, 28 (20.02.97), of Churchyard Row, Elephant and Castle, was today (Wednesday, 5 March) found guilty of a total of 28 offences, including 11 counts of rape against 10 different women.
A jury found Zou guilty after a five-and-a-half-week trial at Inner London Crown Court. He will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, 19 June.
Following the conclusion of today’s court proceedings, detectives can now share they believe the scale of Zou’s offending may be much wider and are making a direct appeal for any victim-survivors who have not yet been identified to come forward and seek specialist support.
While detectives have identified two victim-survivors, eight of the women who Zou was convicted of raping remain unidentified. Beyond this, detectives believe there may be more than 50 other women who may have been a victim and have not yet been identified by police.
The investigation
Zou is originally from Dongguan in the Guangdong Province of China and is believed to have lived in the UK since 2017.
Before his arrest in January 2024, Zou was a student at University College London (UCL) since 2019 and prior to that studied at Queen’s University Belfast.
Zou met women using online platforms and dating apps, inviting them to his home under the guise of studying or to have drinks. Officers have established that he invited women back to his address – one in central London and another in Elephant and Castle.
Once inside he would offer them a drink which contained a substance – believed to be butanediol, which converts to GHB once in the human body.
This would leave the victim-survivors drifting in and out of consciousness. While unconscious, he filmed himself as he raped and sexually assaulted them.
Zou also kept items from victim-survivors, such as jewellery and clothing.
After a woman came forward to report Zou, police searched his home and found the drugs butanediol and ketamine, as well as a number of hidden cameras. They also seized a number of laptops and mobile phones, which later uncovered the true scale of Zou’s offending.
Officers downloaded the digital devices amounting to six and a half trillion bytes of data, which included around nine million WeChat messages.
Met investigators spent months trawling through messages to understand Zou’s pattern of offending, painstakingly translating them into English from Simplified Chinese.
They also watched hundreds of videos stored on his devices, which appear to show Zou filming himself raping and sexually assaulting women. It was after analysis of this graphic and disturbing material that it became apparent that he had not only committed offences in London, but also in his home country of China too.
During the trial, officers were assisted by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, who helped to facilitate one of the brave victim-survivors giving evidence against Zou.
As part of the investigation, the Met has also been supported by the Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The appeal
To protect the integrity of ongoing legal proceedings after Zou was first charged with offences, detectives have not been able to publicly appeal for further potential victim-survivors until this time.
The Metropolitan Police is now asking anyone who thinks they may have been a victim to come forward and speak with police.
Specialist officers work closely with victim-survivors to seek justice and are available to offer support and signpost to external partners, so they can get help.
Officers are keeping an open mind about the identities of unidentified victim-survivors, but are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student community who may have met Zou and were living in and around London between 2019-2024. They also would like to speak to potential victims-survivors who may have met Zou while he was living in China.
Women may have met Zou via online platforms, including student forums on the Chinese social media apps WeChat or Little Red Book, or may have spoken to him on dating apps, such as Bumble.
Victim-survivors may have visited Zou at his accommodation in Woburn Place in central London or his address in Churchyard Row in Elephant and Castle in London. Others may have met Zou when he was living in China.
Due to the nature of Zou’s offending, detectives believe that some women may not know they have been a victim-survivor and do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be to read or hear about his crimes following this verdict. They are reassuring potential victim-survivors that any reports will be fully investigated and dealt with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion.
Officers also understand that not every victim-survivor may wish to speak with the police to get support. Therefore, the charity Rape Crisis is also offering support for women to seek help and guidance from advisors who are independent to the police.
As part of their appeal, detectives are also keen to speak to any witnesses who might have helpful information, in particular anyone who might have met Zou at parties or spoke to him on social media apps and has any concerns.
Commander Kevin Southworth, lead for public protection at the Metropolitan Police, said: “Zhenhao Zou is a dangerous and prolific sexual predator, who manipulated and drugged women in order to prey on them in the most cowardly way.
“I’d like to acknowledge the two women who bravely gave evidence against Zou in court – their courage and resilience has been unwavering.
“We are determined to support all victim-survivors and are now asking women who believe they may have concerns about Zou to please come forward. I want to reassure anyone impacted that you are not alone and can seek specialist support and guidance, not only from the police, but also from independent charities and services.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the investigation team, who have shown professionalism, compassion and determination in their pursuit for justice.”
The Met recognises the impact that this horrific case will have on Londoners, in particular Chinese students who may have lived in and around Southwark and Lambeth. Officers continue to liaise with partners to ensure anyone with concerns can access advice and specialist support from local police teams.
How to contact the police and independent support agencies:
If you wish to speak to Met detectives or make a report relating to Zou, you can also contact police via email on survivors@met.police.uk
You can also make a report to police by calling 101 from within the UK, quoting reference 2904/04FEB25.
If you live in England or Wales and have been affected by this case and would like to seek support from specialist agencies, please contact the independent charity Rape Crisis via their 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line or call them on 0808 500 2222. Specially trained staff are there to listen, answer questions and offer emotional support.
Background
Please consult ‘Document 1’ for a full breakdown of offences, including information relating to locations of offences
Please consult ‘Document 2’ for a timeline of offences
Tackling Violence against Women and Girls
In 2023, the Met launched its new Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan, working with women and girls across London to shape a new approach to keep them safe.
The Met has transformed the way it investigates rape and serious sexual offences. Under Operation Soteria, the Met is doing more to put victim-survivors at the heart of its response to these crimes.
As part of its commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, caused largely at the hands of predatory men, officers are placing more focus on suspects and offering support to those impacted alongside specialist partners.
Since 2021, the Met has more than doubled its charge rate for rape.
Presenting Advanced Power Management Solutions for Automotive, AI, Mobile, and Data Center Applications
MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, March 5, 2025– Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), a leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, today announced its participation in the upcoming 2025 Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), taking place March 17–19 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company will highlight its cutting-edge power management technology platform with its high-efficiency power conversion capabilities including the latest 300mm 65nm 3.3V-based BCD solution, designed to meet the growing demands of Automotive, AI, Mobile PMIC, and Data Center power delivery.
Tower’s industry-leading 0.18μm (200mm) and 65nm (300mm) Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) platforms drive innovation across a broad range of applications, including driver ICs, battery management, portable power solutions, PC power control, and high-voltage gate drivers. With its recently announced 3.3V gate oxide technology offering 3.3V and 5V-based solutions as well as a comprehensive suite of design enablement tools, Tower continues to set new benchmarks in power efficiency, enabling next-generation solutions for a variety of high-demand sectors.
Presentation schedule: Tower Semiconductor’s BCD Technology Foundry Offerings: From Automotive to Datacenter Power By Dr. Mete Erturk, Sr. Director, Power Management Marketing Date: March 19, 2025 Time: 12:45 PM – 1:15 PM Location: A312
To meet with Tower’s engineering team at APEC 2025, visit booth #1148.
For more information on Tower’s Power Management solutions, visit here.
About Tower Semiconductor
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, provides technology, development, and process platforms for its customers in growing markets such as consumer, industrial, automotive, mobile, infrastructure, medical and aerospace and defense. Tower Semiconductor focuses on creating a positive and sustainable impact on the world through long-term partnerships and its advanced and innovative analog technology offering, comprised of a broad range of customizable process platforms such as SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed-signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, non-imaging sensors, displays, integrated power management (BCD and 700V), photonics, and MEMS. Tower Semiconductor also provides world-class design enablement for a quick and accurate design cycle as well as process transfer services including development, transfer, and optimization, to IDMs and fabless companies. To provide multi-fab sourcing and extended capacity for its customers, Tower Semiconductor owns one operating facility in Israel (200mm), two in the U.S. (200mm), two in Japan (200mm and 300mm) which it owns through its 51% holdings in TPSCo, shares a 300mm facility in Agrate, Italy with STMicroelectronics as well as has access to a 300mm capacity corridor in Intel’s New Mexico factory. For more information, please visit: www.towersemi.com.
Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. A complete discussion of risks and uncertainties that may affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements included in this press release or which may otherwise affect Tower’s business is included under the heading “Risk Factors” in Tower’s most recent filings on Forms 20-F, F-3, F-4 and 6-K, as were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Israel Securities Authority. Tower does not intend to update, and expressly disclaim any obligation to update, the information contained in this release.
###
Tower Semiconductor Company Contact: Orit Shahar | +972-74-7377440 | oritsha@towersemi.com
Regulators and trade officials from APEC member economies are working to advance cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) standards to support interoperability, regulatory alignment and responsible development across the region.
As AI technologies continue to transform industries and societies, discussions at the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance meeting in Gyeongju last week focused on promoting recognition of AI-related standards to facilitate trade and ensure transparency in the digital economy.
Dr Byung Goo Kang, Chair of the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance, emphasized the importance of international collaboration in AI standardization, noting that technical alignment can enhance trust in AI systems while reducing regulatory complexity for businesses.
The meeting laid the groundwork for the APEC AI Standards Forum Conference, to be held in August this year, aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation among APEC economies to share information on international standardization, regulatory frameworks and certification systems in AI.
“AI is revolutionizing industries around the world, and with the accelerating development of the technology, standards and conformance assessments to ensure reliability and interoperability are becoming increasingly important,” said Dr Kang.
“At the APEC AI Standards Forum Conference, we will exchange knowledge and best practices on AI standardization, discuss ways to improve interoperability, and build a network of AI-related experts to promote the safe and responsible development of AI,” Dr Kang added.
Members are also strengthening cooperation to develop the next generation of experts in standards and conformance, recognizing the critical role of technical expertise in facilitating trade and regulatory alignment.
A panel discussion at the meeting explored strategies to enhance training programs, institutional support, and international collaboration on capacity-building initiatives. Member economies shared approaches to integrating standardization education into professional development programs.
“As standardization is key to international trade, training and empowering the next generation of professionals is critical to the continued development of standards and conformity assessment. Therefore, enhanced cooperation among APEC economies is essential,” Dr Kang explained.
With businesses and regulators facing evolving market demands, members discussed the importance of harmonizing digital conformity assessment procedures and expanding e-certification to reduce administrative burdens. Strengthening cooperation on digital standards certification among APEC economies will enhance interoperability, improve efficiency, and support trade facilitation.
Discussions at the meeting also emphasized the need to expand Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) and explore the impact of digital transformation on standards development. Efforts will focus on enhancing cross-border recognition of conformity assessment systems and aligning digital standards with global frameworks.
Members reaffirmed the importance of ensuring that digital certification systems are consistent with WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreements to promote regulatory coherence.
Members also intensified cooperation on sustainable energy standards to facilitate the transition to low-carbon technologies and renewable energy adoption. They explored ways to align renewable energy standards, expand carbon reduction initiatives, and enhance certification frameworks for clean energy technologies.
Additionally, members highlighted opportunities for greater collaboration with international standardization organizations, such as ISO and IEC, to support the development of global best practices for energy efficiency and sustainability.
“The APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance’s efforts have been instrumental in driving domestic regulatory development. It has played an important role in promoting economic growth and alignment with international standards,” Dr Kang said.
“Now, we need to continue working together to advance AI standardization, digital certification, and sustainable energy standards so that we can build a more resilient and innovative APEC region that supports businesses, consumers, and economies alike,” Dr Kang concluded.
IIFT Signs MoU with APEC – Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center, Belgium to Strengthen Trade and Logistics Education MoU to build cooperation,provide training and insights into global trade practices: Minister Shri Jitin Prasada
Posted On: 03 MAR 2025 9:44PM by PIB Delhi
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with APEC – Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center, Belgium, marking a significant step towards enhancing academic collaboration and knowledge exchange in the fields of international trade, logistics, and supply chain management.
The MoU aims to strengthen trade education and training ties between India and Belgium by facilitating faculty and student exchanges for cross-cultural business learning. It includes joint research on port management, global logistics, and trade facilitation, along with specialized training programs, workshops, and industry interactions. Additionally, the collaboration will enhance knowledge transfer in critical areas such as e-governance, digital trade, and emerging business technologies.
Addressing the gathering, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Shri Jitin Prasada underscored the importance of international partnerships in strengthening India’s trade ecosystem. “India and Belgium have shared strong trade ties for decades. This MoU will further build on our cooperation, ensuring that our future business leaders are equipped with world-class training and insights into global trade practices.”
The dignitaries from Belgium lauded the initiative, acknowledging the role of such collaborations in strengthening global trade networks. His Excellency Matthias Diependaele remarked that the people of India are making the right choices by choosing democracy, the rule of law, and partnership. He also highlighted Antwerp’s strategic location, noting that it serves as a vital gateway to Europe, facilitating trade and economic connectivity on a global scale. They expressed optimism about the positive impact this partnership will have on trade education and policy development.
Commerce Secretary Shri Sunil Barthwal expressed his happiness over the signing of the MoU and reaffirmed India’s commitment to becoming globally competitive in international trade logistics through IIFT’s new initiative in collaborative research and training with APEC.
Following the MoU signing, a roundtable discussion was held between the Minister-President of Belgium and IIFT alumni who had previously visited Flanders, sharing their experiences and key takeaways from the program.
The MoU was signed in the presence of esteemed dignitaries, including Shri Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry – Ajay Bhadoo; the Belgian delegation – His Excellency Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister of Economy, Innovation, and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Digitalisation, and Facility Management; Mr. Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges; Mr. Dirk De Fauw, President of Port of Antwerp-Bruges International and Mr. Kristof Waterschoot, Managing Director of Port of Antwerp-Bruges International.
From IIFT, the event was graced by Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Vice Chancellor, IIFT, along with senior faculty members and distinguished alumni who have previously benefited from exposure to the Port of Antwerp.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Vice Chancellor, IIFT, emphasized the importance of this partnership in providing IIFT students with practical exposure to global trade and logistics operations. “This collaboration will not only enhance our students’ understanding of port operations and global supply chain mechanisms but also create opportunities for joint research, training programs, and faculty exchanges,” he said. He reiterated IIFT’s commitment to offering world-class education with practical insights into international trade and logistics.
Mr. Kristof Waterschoot, Managing Director of Port of Antwerp-Bruges International, highlighted the longstanding relationship between Port of Antwerp and IIFT, stating, “This MoU will further solidify our efforts in capacity building and knowledge-sharing in trade facilitation.”
This collaboration builds on the longstanding relationship between IIFT and the Port of Antwerp, which began in 2019 with 206 students from the institute visiting the port for firsthand learning. As an integral part of IIFT’s curriculum, port visits have enriched students’ understanding of supply chain efficiencies, customs regulations, and global trade operations.
The event concluded with a commitment from both institutions to implement the objectives outlined in the MoU and work towards building a robust framework for academic and industry collaborations in international trade.
About IIFT: Established in 1963 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has gained Deemed University status and is one of the premier business institutions in India, focusing on Foreign Trade. It is highly regarded as an academic center of excellence in international business research, training, and education.
About APEC – Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center: APEC is a leading training institute affiliated with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, providing specialized programs in port management, trade facilitation, and logistics, contributing to global capacity building in the maritime and trade sectors.
Strengthening regulatory frameworks is critical in ensuring that vaccines are quickly approved and distributed. Using a systematic approach, gaps in key areas of the regulatory system can be identified, prioritized, and effectively addressed through regulatory capacity building and education of regulatory professionals.
The World Health Organization Global Benchmarking Tool was developed to evaluate regulatory systems objectively and systematically, identify strengths and areas for improvement, guide interventions, and monitor progress in strengthening the regulatory system. Consistent and regular training of national regulators can also complement regulatory systems strengthening efforts by focusing on the identified gaps.
The diverse and fragmented regulatory environment in Asia and the Pacific calls for regulatory convergence[1] and cooperation to facilitate timely and equitable access in the region. Stable, well-functioning national regulatory authorities in the region listed as WHO Maturity Level 3 and 4 and WHO Listed Authorities, such as those in the People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam, could foster regional regulatory cooperation and serve as reference agencies for lower-resourced regulatory agencies.
Such cooperation could be facilitated by formalized processes and relationships such as memoranda of understanding. For example, Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority has adopted a confidence-based regulatory approach that leverages the decisions of established and trusted regulatory agencies through formal recognition mechanisms and has expedited reviews without compromising the robustness of regulatory decisions. This has reduced approval timelines to 90 working days from 270 working days for the Health Sciences Authority’s full evaluation route under its verification evaluation system.
Confidence-based approaches can be adopted in various stages of the vaccine life cycle. The ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Good Manufacturing Practice Inspection enables member states to leverage on the regulatory inspections performed by other member states. It is legally binding for member states to recognize one another’s good manufacturing practice certificates, benchmarked against the international Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme.
Regulatory cooperation can range from legally-binding mechanisms in the form of mutual recognition agreements and reliance mechanisms to other forms of cooperation such as joint collaborative assessments, report sharing and work sharing. Work sharing can promote mutual learning and the sharing of best practices among participating national regulatory authorities and can encourage regulatory convergence. For industry, the work-sharing model can be commercially attractive, providing simultaneous access to multiple countries and shorten timelines with the consolidation of questions.
While cooperation on vaccine regulation is still nascent, there are other examples of regulatory cooperative mechanisms. Work sharing is practiced by Access Consortium, comprising the national regulatory authorities of Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. A similar coalition is the Opening Procedures at EMA to Non-EU authorities (OPEN) initiative, led by the EMA, which partners Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and WHO in joint assessments. In Asia and the Pacific, the Indo-Pacific Regulatory Strengthening Program, comprising Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and supported by Australia, successfully expedited approval of the antimalarial tafenoquine in Thailand in 2019 in its joint review.
While the work-sharing model has its advantages, the following points also need to be considered:
Participating national regulatory authorities may have different priority drug lists and approval timelines.
Participating national regulatory authorities may have different technical requirements.
Lack of clarity in regulatory decisions could impact company filing strategies.
Convergence of regulatory requirements can further contribute to successful work-sharing collaborations. One way to incentivize the alignment of key regulatory requirements is the creation of a consensus on indicators that measure overall efficiency of the work-sharing pathway, which participating countries can jointly work towards. Regional regulatory convergence efforts include the APEC Action Plan on Vaccination Across the Life-Course, which sets key policy targets to achieve by 2030. Priorities for alignment include post-approval change management, labeling, and packaging.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia, and Professor of International Relations, La Trobe University
Debating Australia’s role in world politics is not always high on the political agenda. Elections here are more often fought on economic issues than foreign or defence policy. And while the major parties have different views on foreign policy, there tends to be bipartisanship on the central tenets of our strategic policy, including Australia’s alliance with the United States.
In recent years, however, Australia has found itself wedged between two great powers: its security guarantor, the US, and its major trading partner, China. The increasing strategic competition between these two great powers, especially in Asia, has raised new questions about how Australia should manage these relationships and conceive of its role in the world.
For some countries, having a prominent role on the global stage may be more obvious than for others. Wealthy states with large militaries and populations, for example, often play the part of “great powers”. These countries tend to make claims about their unique rights and responsibilities, such as having a greater say in multilateral institutions (like the United Nations) and the “rules” intended to govern international conduct.
However, most of the world’s countries are not great powers. For a middle-sized nation like Australia, its role on the global stage is not necessarily static but determined by how our leaders balance national interests and values.
These, in turn, are shaped by “material factors”, such as geography, population and economy size, natural resources, shared political ideals (for example, our belief in democratic institutions), norms and culture.
In addition, a middle-sized country’s global role can change depending on how leaders perceive contemporary threats and challenges to their security.
Australia as a ‘middle power’
The National Defence Strategy released in 2024 describes Australia as an “influential middle power”. According to the strategy, this is demonstrated by several things:
our enduring democratic values
our history of safeguarding international rules and contributing to regional partnerships
the strong foundations of our economy
the strength of our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.
Whether Australia should be described as a “middle power”, though, has long been the subject of political debate. Since H.V. “Doc” Evatt, then-attorney general and minister for external affairs, used the term in 1945, it has been most often (but not always) associated with the Labor Party.
Recent Coalition governments have been more reluctant to view Australia as “just” a middle power.
Alexander Downer, the foreign minister in the Howard government, would occasionally use the term “pivotal power”. Pivotal powers, as one political analyst put it, are “destined to shape the contours of geopolitics in key regions of the world” due to their strategic location, economic power and political influence.
Meanwhile, Julie Bishop, foreign minister in the Abbott and Turnbull administrations, preferred the term “top 20 country”, arguing this better reflected Australia’s standing and level of influence on the global stage.
At the core of this historical debate is the extent to which a country like Australia can – and does – have influence in the region and globally.
Middle powers have different characteristics from great or smaller powers. Size, geography and economic wealth affect the extent to which they can shape the world. As a result, middle powers often adopt certain types of actions or behaviours to enhance their influence.
There are a number of ways middle powers do this, such as by:
supporting adherence to international law and rules (because these can help restrain more powerful states from imposing their will on others)
encouraging cooperation through multilateralism (cooperation between multiple states)
finding creative new solutions to global problems, such as climate change
taking the diplomatic lead on specific, but important, issues.
A liberal-democratic middle power, such as Australia, may also seek to promote its values internationally, including the respect for human rights, free and open trade, and the principles of democratic governance and accountability.
Australia’s reliance on ‘great and powerful friends’
In addition, middle powers often choose to align themselves with a bigger power to boost their influence even further.
In Australia’s case, its strategic dependence on the United States developed, in part, by historical anxieties that faraway “great and powerful friends”, as former diplomat Allan Gyngell phrased it, might abandon it in a potentially hostile region.
Prior to the second world war, Australia relied on its former colonial ruler, Britain, for its security. The Fall of Singapore in 1942, in which Japanese forces routed British and Australian troops defending the island, demonstrated the risks of our overdependence on a distant ally.
In the aftermath of the war, Australia forged a new security alliance with a new global superpower, the United States, through the ANZUS Treaty. Yet, replacing one “great and powerful” but distant friend with another did not alleviate Australia’s abandonment anxieties.
Since then, debates about Australia’s international role have largely focused on the extent to which it can – and should be – self-reliant in the context of the US alliance, or if it should pursue a more independent foreign policy.
US domestic politics – particularly during President Donald Trump’s time in office – have also driven uncertainty about Washington’s reliability, as well as its commitment to Asia and the implications for allies like Australia.
Despite such concerns, Australia’s relationship with the US is as strong and deeply entwined as it has ever been. In fact, it only got stronger during Trump’s first term. While Canberra has sought to deepen engagement with regional states it views as “like-minded”, such as Japan, South Korea and India, it has done so firmly in the context of its broader alliance with the United States.
This, of course, is driven by the new anxieties over China’s rise as a major economic and military power in the region. In recent years, Beijing’s assertive and coercive behaviours in the region have made it the key national security threat facing Australia.
This is a break from the past, when Australian leaders – both Labor and Liberal – broadly agreed that a “pragmatic approach” to engaging great powers meant Canberra would not have to “choose sides” between China and the US.
In 2023, the Albanese government sought a détente of sorts with China, attempting to return to this pragmatic approach. But wariness of Beijing remains.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing in late 2023.
An Indo-Pacific power?
In the context of these new challenges presented by a rising China, Australia has increasingly leaned into becoming an “Indo-Pacific” power in recent years. There are a number of ways in which this shift is observable.
First, Australia has been instrumental in encouraging the global adoption of this phrase, “Indo-Pacific”, as a new way of referring to the region. This is partly driven by the desire to maintain US leadership and presence in Australia’s neighbourhood. The US is a Pacific state, so this concept anchors the US in our region in a way that “Asia” does not.
And when people used the term “Asia-Pacific” to talk about the region in the past, this had a primarily economic connotation. This is due to the importance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the move towards free-trade agreements between Australia and other countries in the region.
As such, the new term “Indo-Pacific” has become more of a security concept centred on the region’s waters. Generally, it is used to incorporate South, Southeast and Northeast Asia, Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands) and the United States. By connecting the Indian (“Indo”) and the Pacific Oceans, it has become primarily a maritime strategic concept.
The narratives usually associated with the Indo-Pacific also relate to the need to protect the international rules-based order, and freedom of navigation and overflight for ships and aircraft in the region. This, again, reflects the growing geopolitical anxieties about a rising China, particularly in the disputed South and East China seas and the Taiwan Strait.
Australia does not have territorial or maritime claims in either sea, but we are nonetheless concerned about China’s efforts to undermine the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and what this might mean for the “rules-based order” more generally.
The second way Australia is moving more towards becoming a regional power is in the narrowing of its core defence interests to an “inner ring” focused on the South Pacific and maritime Southeast Asia, and to a lesser extent, an “outer ring” in the broader Indo-Pacific and wider world. These geographical boundaries have consequences for how Australia views its international role.
After nearly two decades of military engagement in the Middle East and Afghanistan, Australia is shifting its focus back on its home region. This reflects not just the limits of our military capabilities, but also new concerns about the changing balance of power in Asia.
Third, Australia is increasingly focusing on a more strategic, narrower form of multilateralism. This, too, has been more centred on our region.
Multilateralism has always been seen as an important part of middle power identity. Australia, for instance, played a key role in setting up institutions like the United Nations.
However, this began to shift under recent Coalition governments. Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed scepticism about such institutions, criticising them as an “often ill-defined borderless global community” that promoted “negative globalism”.
Under successive Coalition governments, Australia instead became a key player in two smaller groups of nations – the re-branded “Quad” in 2017 (along with Japan, the US and India) and AUKUS in 2021 (with the US and United Kingdom).
Under the Albanese government, global multilateralism was reinstated as an important pillar of foreign policy. But Australia’s investment and involvement in these smaller groups has only deepened.
Both AUKUS and the Quad demonstrate Australia’s changing role as a regional power in the Indo-Pacific. These groups offer Australia an opportunity to shape the regional security agenda by joining forces with other powerful states. They also provide a way of encouraging the US to maintain its presence and leadership in the region and to counterbalance China’s rise.
As part of this, Australia has become a key proponent of what the Biden administration coined “integrated deterrence”.
This is a central pillar of the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy that seeks to mobilise “like-minded” states – especially its regional allies such as Australia, Japan and South Korea – to form a regional coalition against rival states. This strategy reflects a growing awareness the US can’t provide security in Asia alone.
The AUKUS security agreement, including the commitment to develop new nuclear-powered submarines for Australia, is a part of this strategy.
Since the announcement of the submarine plan in 2021, both the procurement plan and the language that American and Australian leaders have been using suggest that Canberra is preparing to play a bigger security role in the region alongside the US.
Time for a new ‘strategic imagination’?
Has Australia’s shift to an Indo-Pacific regional power served it well?
It has allowed the deepening of defence relationships with partners like Japan and India. And through its roles in the Quad and AUKUS, Australia has a seat at the table and is more visible in regional security discussions.
But there are risks to a more assertive regional power stance. Australia could be viewed by its neighbours as too focused on military and not invested enough (or in the right way) in diplomacy or regional development. Australia’s overseas aid contribution, for example, has been declining for three decades.
It is also unclear which other regional states are likely to participate in a US-led coalition if a real conflict with China ever broke out. The Quad and AUKUS groups may be viewed by others as exclusionary or contributing to increasing tensions in the region.
How nuclear-powered submarines will “deter” potential adversaries is also yet to be clearly explained. These submarines could potentially entangle Australia in a regional conflict instead. Being able to clearly articulate and distinguish between Australian and US interests will remain vital for ensuring that future governments don’t “sleepwalk” into war.
Finally, Australia’s advocacy of the “rules-based order” has left it – and the US – exposed to criticisms of hypocrisy and double standards, particularly with Washington’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
…one which can develop a coherent security strategy by working with old and new allies and partners to shape the regional order in ways that ensure its security.
The approach emphasises the need for all parts of our government to work in coordination to protect Australians from the range of complex conventional and unconventional challenges it faces (including climate change).
Australia’s security and its international role should not be viewed through the lens of the “China threat” alone. Doing so is counter-productive, as many states in the region do not share the same perception about China.
Instead, as Wallis and I wrote, Australia needs a “more comprehensive, nuanced and contingent understanding of the range of security opportunities and threats” we face.
This is an edited extract from How Australian Democracy Works, a new collection of essays from The Conversation on all aspects of the country’s political landscape.
Rebecca Strating receives funding from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Amidst rising global economic tensions, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) met in Brisbane this week to reaffirm its support for the value of trade and cooperation, and the original APEC commitment to free, fair, open and rules-based trade.
Members expressed alarm at the escalating challenges posed by rising protectionism, regulatory complexity and other challenges including climate change, aging populations, declining growth rates for member economies and the business environment. Global uncertainty impacts trade flows, business planning and investment decision-making. Now more than ever, business and government must come together for the benefit of all.
Economies must remain alert to emerging and disruptive technologies, including advancements in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, which offer both enormous promise and challenge to our economic development.
“We must also redouble our efforts to put in place tangible enabling solutions like paperless trade, trade facilitation, resilient supply chains and other tangible items that ABAC 2025 aims for,” said ABAC Chair 2025 H.S. Cho.
ABAC underscored the need for robust trade architecture, emphasising that a strengthened WTO and the APEC vision for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) are vital counterweights to economic fragmentation. ABAC believes that this is the way to ensure fair, mutually beneficial trade as economies navigate the challenges of digital transformation and the climate crisis.
ABAC has adopted an ambitious theme for the year: “Bridge. Business. Beyond.” The 2025 work program emphasizes the role of business in connecting policymakers and stakeholders across the region, driving innovative growth, and shared prosperity.
The ABAC work program is both visionary and practical. For example, ABAC is looking at how to use digital tools like AI to promote small-business formalisation, create smart health systems, and tackle the carbon transition, including energy. Economies must also urgently address gaps in infrastructure investment for energy security, energy transition, and digital transformation.
ABAC wants to use the FTAAP process to drive quick progress on safer and more resilient supply chains, advance digital trade interoperability, and unlock green trade. ABAC remains committed to breaking down the barriers to women’s economic success, including by being able to tap into the venture capital they need and by closing the gender pay gap.
ABAC will also develop recommendations to narrow the digital divide by using digital tools including AI, to support MSMEs to transition to the formal economy and access global markets.
On meeting the challenges posed by aging populations, rising healthcare costs, and inequities in accessing medical services, ABAC will be developing recommendations for innovative, inclusive and smart health care systems. This will incorporate sustainable financing mechanisms, advanced health care models and the integration of digital health tools to enhance accessibility, efficiency and resilience of healthcare systems.
To meet decarbonization goals amid rising electricity demand, ABAC will also develop recommendations to achieve a realistic and ambitious energy transition by utilizing advanced technologies to increase low carbon investments and expanding transition finance, supported by international cooperation and the development of low-carbon roadmaps.
In a series of dynamic discussions with APEC Senior Officials, ABAC members sought to align priorities to produce actionable recommendations for leaders. “These discussions are the first of many interactions that we will have with policymakers and ministers this year. We are keen to ensure that the business perspective is woven into key policy decisions,” the Chair added.
The Chair expressed ABAC’s deep gratitude to the Australian government, particularly to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, for their support in hosting this meeting.
ABAC will reconvene in late April in Toronto, Canada, as it continues to develop its recommendations to achieve APEC’s goals, for presentation to APEC Leaders during their meeting in October in Korea.
For further information please contact:
Hyungkon Park (Mr), ABAC Executive Director 2025 at +82 2 6050 3686 and [email protected]
Antonio Basilio (Mr), Director of the ABAC Secretariat at +63 917 849 3351 and [email protected]
Korea kicks off its APEC 2025 host year in Gyeongju, a historic city home to numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites. It brings together delegates from 21 economies to set the stage for a year of policy deliberations and cooperation on trade, digital transformation and sustainability.
Against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty, this first set of meetings taking place from 24 February to 9 March, will serve as the launchpad for Korea’s forward-looking agenda — one that seeks to enhance regional connectivity, harness AI-driven growth, and accelerate the transition to a more resilient and prosperous Asia-Pacific.
Under the overarching theme of “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow,” APEC 2025 will focus on three key priorities: Connect, Innovate, and Prosper. These pillars reflect APEC’s commitment to developing practical policies to support a resilient and interconnected future.
“The Asia-Pacific is navigating complex challenges — supply chain disruptions, the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs and industries, and fundamental changes in the demographic landscape,” said Ambassador Yoon Seong-mee, Chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting.
“Through APEC, we have a unique opportunity to strengthen trade and investment flows, promote resilience in supply chains, and foster innovation that is beneficial to everyone,” she added.
Once the capital of the ancient Silla Kingdom, Gyeongju has evolved into a dynamic modern city while preserving its rich cultural heritage — making it a fitting venue for these meetings. More than 100 events are set to take place covering issues such as investment, trade facilitation, anti-corruption efforts, energy cooperation, and digital economy policy. The city is anticipating participation from around 1,500 delegates from all around the Asia-Pacific.
“APEC 2025 is about creating meaningful change,” said Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. “The discussions and commitments we make this year will shape the region’s ability to tackle global uncertainties and ensure shared prosperity for all.”
“Korea’s role as host is not just about convening meetings — it is about setting a vision for a resilient, interconnected, and innovative APEC region. We look forward to working with all member economies, businesses, and stakeholders to turn this vision into reality,” Pedrosa added.
Notable sessions for the meetings in Gyeongju include an exhibitions on customs technologies and green customs initiatives; policy dialogues on AI governance, digital privacy, and cross-border data flows; workshops on carbon-free energy, hydrogen and fuel cell standardization, and clean energy transitions; as well as discussions on financial inclusion, structural reform, and the future of work.
A press conference is scheduled for Sunday, 9 March, at 13:30 local time at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center (HICO), featuring Ambassador Yoon Seong-mee and Eduardo Pedrosa. They will provide a readout on the outcomes of the meetings and outline key priorities and upcoming events for APEC 2025 in the months ahead. The time and venue are subject to change, with updates to be communicated via email and posted on APEC’s social media platforms.
“We are at a critical juncture for the global economy and Korea is committed to making APEC 2025 a platform for real and measurable progress on economic resilience, digital transformation, and sustainability,” Ambassador Yoon concluded.
Five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. cities are still adjusting to a new normal, with more people working remotely and less economic activity in city centers. Other factors, such as underfunded pension plans for municipal employees, are pushing many city budgets into the red.
Urban fiscal struggles are not new, but historically they have mainly affected U.S. cities that are small, poor or saddled with incompetent managers. Today, however, even large cities, including Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, are under serious financial stress.
This is a looming nationwide threat, driven by factors that include climate change, declining downtown activity, loss of federal funds and large pension and retirement commitments.
Spending cuts abound in many U.S. cities as inflation lingers and pandemic-era stimulus dries up.
Why cities struggle
Many U.S. cities have faced fiscal crises over the past century, for diverse reasons. Most commonly, stress occurs after an economic downturn or sharp fall in tax revenues.
Florida municipalities began to default in 1926 after the collapse of a land boom. Municipal defaults were common across the nation in the 1930s during the Great Depression: As unemployment rose, relief burdens swelled and tax collections dwindled.
Declaring bankruptcy was not a cure-all. It allowed cities to refinance debt or stretch out payment schedules, but it also could lead to higher taxes and fees for residents, and lower pay and benefits for city employees. And it could stigmatize a city for many years afterward.
In the 1960s and 1970s, many urban residents and businesses left cities for adjoining suburbs. Many cities, including New York, Cleveland and Philadelphia, found it difficult to repay debts as their tax bases shrank.
The New York Daily News, Oct. 30, 1975, after U.S. President Gerald Ford ruled out providing federal aid to save the city from bankruptcy. Several months later, Ford signed legislation authorizing federal loans. Edward Stojakovic/Flickr, CC BY
In the wake of the 2008-2009 housing market collapse, cities including Detroit, San Bernardino, California, and Stockton, California, filed for bankruptcy. Other cities faced similar difficulties but were located in states that did not allow municipalities to declare bankruptcy.
Even large, affluent jurisdictions could go off the financial rails. For example, Orange County, California, went bankrupt in 2002 after its treasurer, Robert Citron, pursued a risky investment strategy of complex leveraging deals, losing some $1.65 billion in taxpayer funds.
Today, cities face a convergence of rising costs and decreasing revenues in many places. As I see it, the urban fiscal crisis is now a pervasive national challenge.
Events like wildfires and flooding have twofold effects on city finances. First, money has to be spent on rebuilding damaged infrastructure, such as roads, water lines and public buildings. Second, after the disaster, cities may either act on their own or be required under state or federal law to make expensive investments in preparation for the next storm or wildfire.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (center) discusses wildfire recovery in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Jan. 27, 2025. Cleaning up after the wildfires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures, will include disposing of several million tons of toxic ash and debris. Drew A. Kelley/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images
Increasing uncertainty about the total costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change will inevitably lead rating agencies to downgrade municipal credit ratings. This raises cities’ costs to borrow money for climate-related projects like protecting shorelines and improving wastewater treatment.
Underfunded pensions
Cities also spend a lot of money on employees, and many large cities are struggling to fund pensions and health benefits for their workforces. As municipal retirees live longer and require more health care, the costs are mounting.
For example, Chicago currently faces a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion, which stems partly from underfunded retirement benefits for nearly 30,000 public employees. The city has $35 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and almost $2 billion in unfunded retiree health benefits. Chicago’s teachers are owed $14 billion in unfunded benefits.
Policy studies have shown for years that politicians tend to underfund retirement and pension benefits for public employees. This approach offloads the real cost of providing police, fire protection and education onto future taxpayers.
In my view, President Donald Trump’s administration is highly unlikely to bail out urban areas – especially more liberal cities like Detroit, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Trump has portrayed large cities governed by Democrats in the darkest terms – for example, calling Baltimore a “rodent-infested mess” and Washington, D.C., a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap.” I expect that Trump’s animus against big cities, which was a staple of his 2024 campaign, could become a hallmark of his second term.
Detroit officials respond to disparaging remarks about the city by Donald Trump during a campaign speech in Detroit, Oct. 10, 2024.
Resistance to new taxes
Cities can generate revenue from taxes on sales, businesses, property and utilities. However, increasing municipal taxes – particularly property taxes – can be very difficult.
In 1978, California adopted Proposition 13 – a ballot measure that limited property tax increases to the rate of inflation or 2% per year, whichever is lower. This high-profile campaign created a widespread narrative that property taxes were out of control and made it very hard for local officials to support property tax increases.
Thanks to caps like Prop 13, a persistent public view that taxes are too high and political resistance, property taxes have tended to lag behind inflation in many parts of the country.
The crunch
Taking these factors together, I see a fiscal crunch coming for U.S. cities. Small cities with low budgets are particularly vulnerable. But so are larger, more affluent cities, such as San Francisco with its collapsing downtown office market, or Houston, New York and Miami, which face growing costs from climate change.
Workers in North Miami Beach, Fla., distribute sandbags to residents to help prevent flooding as Hurricane Milton approaches the state on Oct. 8, 2024. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
One city manager who runs an affluent municipality in the Pacific Northwest told me that in these difficult circumstances, politicians need to be more frank and open with their constituents and explain convincingly and compellingly how and why taxpayer money is being spent.
Efforts to balance city budgets are opportunities to build consensus with the public about what municipalities can do, and at what cost. The coming months will show whether politicians and city residents are ready for these hard conversations.
John Rennie Short does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. cities are still adjusting to a new normal, with more people working remotely and less economic activity in city centers. Other factors, such as underfunded pension plans for municipal employees, are pushing many city budgets into the red.
Urban fiscal struggles are not new, but historically they have mainly affected U.S. cities that are small, poor or saddled with incompetent managers. Today, however, even large cities, including Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, are under serious financial stress.
This is a looming nationwide threat, driven by factors that include climate change, declining downtown activity, loss of federal funds and large pension and retirement commitments.
Spending cuts abound in many U.S. cities as inflation lingers and pandemic-era stimulus dries up.
Why cities struggle
Many U.S. cities have faced fiscal crises over the past century, for diverse reasons. Most commonly, stress occurs after an economic downturn or sharp fall in tax revenues.
Florida municipalities began to default in 1926 after the collapse of a land boom. Municipal defaults were common across the nation in the 1930s during the Great Depression: As unemployment rose, relief burdens swelled and tax collections dwindled.
Declaring bankruptcy was not a cure-all. It allowed cities to refinance debt or stretch out payment schedules, but it also could lead to higher taxes and fees for residents, and lower pay and benefits for city employees. And it could stigmatize a city for many years afterward.
In the 1960s and 1970s, many urban residents and businesses left cities for adjoining suburbs. Many cities, including New York, Cleveland and Philadelphia, found it difficult to repay debts as their tax bases shrank.
The New York Daily News, Oct. 30, 1975, after U.S. President Gerald Ford ruled out providing federal aid to save the city from bankruptcy. Several months later, Ford signed legislation authorizing federal loans. Edward Stojakovic/Flickr, CC BY
In the wake of the 2008-2009 housing market collapse, cities including Detroit, San Bernardino, California, and Stockton, California, filed for bankruptcy. Other cities faced similar difficulties but were located in states that did not allow municipalities to declare bankruptcy.
Even large, affluent jurisdictions could go off the financial rails. For example, Orange County, California, went bankrupt in 2002 after its treasurer, Robert Citron, pursued a risky investment strategy of complex leveraging deals, losing some $1.65 billion in taxpayer funds.
Today, cities face a convergence of rising costs and decreasing revenues in many places. As I see it, the urban fiscal crisis is now a pervasive national challenge.
Events like wildfires and flooding have twofold effects on city finances. First, money has to be spent on rebuilding damaged infrastructure, such as roads, water lines and public buildings. Second, after the disaster, cities may either act on their own or be required under state or federal law to make expensive investments in preparation for the next storm or wildfire.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (center) discusses wildfire recovery in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Jan. 27, 2025. Cleaning up after the wildfires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures, will include disposing of several million tons of toxic ash and debris. Drew A. Kelley/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images
Increasing uncertainty about the total costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change will inevitably lead rating agencies to downgrade municipal credit ratings. This raises cities’ costs to borrow money for climate-related projects like protecting shorelines and improving wastewater treatment.
Underfunded pensions
Cities also spend a lot of money on employees, and many large cities are struggling to fund pensions and health benefits for their workforces. As municipal retirees live longer and require more health care, the costs are mounting.
For example, Chicago currently faces a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion, which stems partly from underfunded retirement benefits for nearly 30,000 public employees. The city has $35 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and almost $2 billion in unfunded retiree health benefits. Chicago’s teachers are owed $14 billion in unfunded benefits.
Policy studies have shown for years that politicians tend to underfund retirement and pension benefits for public employees. This approach offloads the real cost of providing police, fire protection and education onto future taxpayers.
In my view, President Donald Trump’s administration is highly unlikely to bail out urban areas – especially more liberal cities like Detroit, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Trump has portrayed large cities governed by Democrats in the darkest terms – for example, calling Baltimore a “rodent-infested mess” and Washington, D.C., a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap.” I expect that Trump’s animus against big cities, which was a staple of his 2024 campaign, could become a hallmark of his second term.
Detroit officials respond to disparaging remarks about the city by Donald Trump during a campaign speech in Detroit, Oct. 10, 2024.
Resistance to new taxes
Cities can generate revenue from taxes on sales, businesses, property and utilities. However, increasing municipal taxes – particularly property taxes – can be very difficult.
In 1978, California adopted Proposition 13 – a ballot measure that limited property tax increases to the rate of inflation or 2% per year, whichever is lower. This high-profile campaign created a widespread narrative that property taxes were out of control and made it very hard for local officials to support property tax increases.
Thanks to caps like Prop 13, a persistent public view that taxes are too high and political resistance, property taxes have tended to lag behind inflation in many parts of the country.
The crunch
Taking these factors together, I see a fiscal crunch coming for U.S. cities. Small cities with low budgets are particularly vulnerable. But so are larger, more affluent cities, such as San Francisco with its collapsing downtown office market, or Houston, New York and Miami, which face growing costs from climate change.
Workers in North Miami Beach, Fla., distribute sandbags to residents to help prevent flooding as Hurricane Milton approaches the state on Oct. 8, 2024. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
One city manager who runs an affluent municipality in the Pacific Northwest told me that in these difficult circumstances, politicians need to be more frank and open with their constituents and explain convincingly and compellingly how and why taxpayer money is being spent.
Efforts to balance city budgets are opportunities to build consensus with the public about what municipalities can do, and at what cost. The coming months will show whether politicians and city residents are ready for these hard conversations.
John Rennie Short does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Nov. 28 hosted a summit at his office for visiting Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics on raising bilateral cooperation and analyzing regional and international situations.
Both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in sectors such as bio and pharmaceuticals, national security and the defense industry.
Korea-Malaysia summit (November 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Nov. 25 hosted summit talks in Seoul with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was on an official visit to Korea, and adopted a joint statement on their newly formed strategic partnership.
Both leaders welcomed the resumption of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement this year and agreed to accelerate efforts to conclude the deal next year. They also pledged to raise cooperation in infrastructure and supply chains for core minerals.
Korea-Peru summit (November 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Nov. 16 held a bilateral summit at the Presidential Palace in Lima, Peru, and agreed to bolster cooperation in the defense sector and infrastructure. The two countries concluded memorandums of understanding on joint production of KF-21 fighter jet parts, development of naval ships (submarines) and cooperation in army ground equipment.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visits to Peru, Brazil for APEC, G20
Korea-ASEAN summit (October 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 10 attended the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane, Laos, where he and ASEAN leaders agreed to form a comprehensive strategic partnership and launch joint projects in a range of sectors.
They also agreed to stimulate trade and investment through a bilateral free trade agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, while creating a “conducive and favourable environment” for ASEAN and Korean business such as the ASEAN-ROK (Republic of Korea) Business Council.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visit to 3 Asian nations
Korea-Japan summit (October 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 10 held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, their first talks since the prime minister assumed office on Sept. 1.
Both leaders agreed on the growing need to raise bilateral cooperation in regional and global issues and expand the horizons for such collaboration on the global stage.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visit to 3 Asian nations
Korea-Philippines summit (October 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol, on a state visit to the Philippines, on Oct. 7 agreed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to form a bilateral strategic partnership at their summit held at the presidential Malacanang Palace in Manila.
Both leaders also adopted a joint declaration on higher cooperation in all sectors including national security and economy like nuclear power plants.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visit to 3 Asian nations
Korea-Czechia summit (September 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sept. 19 discussed with Czech President Petr Pavel in Prague cooperation in strategic sectors including nuclear power plants. Both leaders also shared opinions on developing their bilateral strategic partnership.
Korea-New Zealand summit (September 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Sept. 4 at their bilateral summit adopted a joint statement on stronger bilateral relations in trade, economy, science, human exchange, national security and international cooperation.
Both leaders also agreed to elevate their Partnership for the 21st Century concluded in 2006 to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Korea-Germany summit (July 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 10 in Washington held bilateral talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. President Yoon said he hopes to work more closely with Germany on global issues such as support for Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and the climate crisis. He also hailed Germany’s application to join the United Nations Command.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s US visit for NATO Summit
Korea-Japan summit (July 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 10 in Washington held bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. President Yoon said, “The recent signing by Russia and North Korea of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty and their accelerated closeness in military and economic ties are raising serious concern over global security as well as that of East Asia.”
Current Affairs President Yoon’s US visit for NATO Summit
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Nov. 28 hosted a summit at his office for visiting Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics on raising bilateral cooperation and analyzing regional and international situations.
Both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in sectors such as bio and pharmaceuticals, national security and the defense industry.
Korea-Malaysia summit (November 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Nov. 25 hosted summit talks in Seoul with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was on an official visit to Korea, and adopted a joint statement on their newly formed strategic partnership.
Both leaders welcomed the resumption of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement this year and agreed to accelerate efforts to conclude the deal next year. They also pledged to raise cooperation in infrastructure and supply chains for core minerals.
Korea-Peru summit (November 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Nov. 16 held a bilateral summit at the Presidential Palace in Lima, Peru, and agreed to bolster cooperation in the defense sector and infrastructure. The two countries concluded memorandums of understanding on joint production of KF-21 fighter jet parts, development of naval ships (submarines) and cooperation in army ground equipment.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visits to Peru, Brazil for APEC, G20
Korea-ASEAN summit (October 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 10 attended the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane, Laos, where he and ASEAN leaders agreed to form a comprehensive strategic partnership and launch joint projects in a range of sectors.
They also agreed to stimulate trade and investment through a bilateral free trade agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, while creating a “conducive and favourable environment” for ASEAN and Korean business such as the ASEAN-ROK (Republic of Korea) Business Council.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visit to 3 Asian nations
Korea-Japan summit (October 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 10 held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, their first talks since the prime minister assumed office on Sept. 1.
Both leaders agreed on the growing need to raise bilateral cooperation in regional and global issues and expand the horizons for such collaboration on the global stage.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visit to 3 Asian nations
Korea-Philippines summit (October 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol, on a state visit to the Philippines, on Oct. 7 agreed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to form a bilateral strategic partnership at their summit held at the presidential Malacanang Palace in Manila.
Both leaders also adopted a joint declaration on higher cooperation in all sectors including national security and economy like nuclear power plants.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s visit to 3 Asian nations
Korea-Czechia summit (September 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sept. 19 discussed with Czech President Petr Pavel in Prague cooperation in strategic sectors including nuclear power plants. Both leaders also shared opinions on developing their bilateral strategic partnership.
Korea-New Zealand summit (September 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Sept. 4 at their bilateral summit adopted a joint statement on stronger bilateral relations in trade, economy, science, human exchange, national security and international cooperation.
Both leaders also agreed to elevate their Partnership for the 21st Century concluded in 2006 to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Korea-Germany summit (July 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 10 in Washington held bilateral talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. President Yoon said he hopes to work more closely with Germany on global issues such as support for Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and the climate crisis. He also hailed Germany’s application to join the United Nations Command.
Current Affairs President Yoon’s US visit for NATO Summit
Korea-Japan summit (July 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 10 in Washington held bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. President Yoon said, “The recent signing by Russia and North Korea of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty and their accelerated closeness in military and economic ties are raising serious concern over global security as well as that of East Asia.”
Current Affairs President Yoon’s US visit for NATO Summit
Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GRAVITY Co., Ltd. (NasdaqGM: GRVY) (“Gravity” or “Company”), a developer and publisher of online and mobile games, announced that Gravity Communications Co., Ltd., Gravity’s wholly-owned subsidiary, officially launched Ragnarok Begins (RO 仙境傳說：一定要可愛), an Action Side-scrolling MMORPG Mobile and PC game, in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau on February 13, 2025 at 9:00 p.m. (Taiwan local time).
Ragnarok Begins (RO仙境傳說：一定要可愛) is an Action Side-scrolling MMORPG set 100 years before the events of Ragnarok Online, supporting cross-play between PC and mobile platforms. The game offers a detailed class and advancement system, allowing for character growth and extensive equipment customization. It enhances community features with systems such as guilds, DIY housing and world boss cooperative battles. Players can also engage in PVP content, Arena of Valhalla, compete in teamwork and participate in ranking matches. Additionally, the Tower of Infinity dungeon offers the challenge of progressing through multiple floors, either solo or in a team. The game is available for download in Google Play and Apple App Store.
Ragnarok Begins (RO仙境傳說：一定要可愛) was launched in North America in 2022 and in South Korea in 2023, and has continued to provide stable service while gaining a strong and loyal following from users.
Gravity stated, “ We plan to provide excellent service in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and encourage users to participate in the pre-launch event, where those who register early will receive in-game currency and the exclusive item ‘Tebirus Headband.’ We appreciate your interest and participation.”
Gravity is a developer and publisher of online and mobile games. Gravity’s principal product, Ragnarok Online, is a popular online game in many markets, including Japan and Taiwan, and is currently commercially offered in 91 regions. For more information about Gravity, please visit http://www.gravity.co.kr.
Contact:
Mr. Heung Gon Kim Chief Financial Officer Gravity Co., Ltd. Email: kheung@gravity.co.kr
Ms. Jin Lee Ms. Yujin Oh IR Unit Gravity Co., Ltd. Email: ir@gravity.co.kr Telephone: +82-2-2132-7801
People visit the 12th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Technology Conference and Fair (APEC SMETC) in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, Nov. 10, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
An index tracking the development of China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) edged up in January, data from an industry association showed Tuesday.
The SME development index rose by 0.1 points to 89.0, compared to the previous month, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises data showed.
Six of the eight sub-indices rallied in January, including market, labor and investment, according to the association.
In terms of sectors, sub-indices for the industry, transport, real estate, wholesale and retail sales, social service, and information transmission software sectors grew by 0.1, 0.4, 0.2, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.3 points, respectively.
In terms of regions, the sub-indices for the east, west and northeast regions stood at 89.7, 88.1 and 81.0, up 0.1, 0.3 and 0.3 points, respectively. The sub-index for the central region was 89.9, equivalent to the previous month.
In China, more than 90 percent of private companies are SMEs, and more than 90 percent of SMEs are private companies.
MUNCIE, Ind., Feb. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Merchants Corporation declared a cash dividend on February 7, 2025 of $0.35 per share. The dividend is payable on March 21, 2025, to common shareholders of record as of March 7, 2025. For purposes of broker trading, the ex-date of the cash dividend is March 6, 2025.
About First Merchants Corporation:
First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank. The Bank also operates as First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (as a division of First Merchants Bank).
First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s Internet web page (http://www.firstmerchants.com).
FIRST MERCHANTS and the Shield Logo are federally registered trademarks of First Merchants Corporation.
For more information, contact: Nicole M. Weaver, First Vice President and Director of Corporate Administration 765-521-7619 http://www.firstmerchants.com
Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds talks with Woo Won-shik, National Assembly Speaker of the Republic of Korea (ROK), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
China’s top legislator Zhao Leji held talks with Woo Won-shik, National Assembly Speaker of the Republic of Korea (ROK), in Beijing on Wednesday.
Zhao, chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said China and the ROK are close in geography and culture, and enjoy convenient conditions for exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China-ROK relations have developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results, which has brought benefits to both sides and their peoples and also promoted regional stability and development, he said.
China is willing to work with the ROK to strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication, make good use of the dialogue and communication mechanisms between government and political parties of the two countries, and enhance mutual understanding and trust, Zhao added.
“Taking the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as an opportunity, the two countries will speed up the second phase of negotiations on the FTA and strive to reach an agreement at an early date,” Zhao said.
Zhao noted that the legislative bodies of China and the ROK have maintained close exchanges and cooperation for a long time, playing an important role in promoting the development of bilateral relations.
He said the NPC of China is willing to work with the ROK National Assembly to uphold the tradition of friendship and make good use of regular exchange mechanisms and other platforms to enhance communication and exchanges between high-level legislative bodies, special committees, friendship groups, NPC deputies and parliamentarians, so as to create a sound policy and legal environment for bilateral cooperation in various fields.
“We will encourage more young people to participate in bilateral exchanges and build strength for China-ROK friendship from generation to generation,” Zhao added.
Woo Won-shik said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have made remarkable cooperative achievements in political, economic, cultural and other fields. The ROK and China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting this year and next year respectively. He expressed hope that the two sides will support each other and further deepen bilateral cooperation.
Adhering to the one-China principle, the ROK hopes to expand bilateral cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, enterprise investment, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains, expand cultural exchanges and continuously enhance the friendly feelings between the two peoples, Woo Won-shik added.
Headline: How real-world businesses are transforming with AI – with 50 new stories
Updated February 5, 2025: The post contains 50 new customer stories, which appear at the beginning of each section of customer lists. The post will be updated regularly with new stories.
One of the highlights of my career has always been connecting with customers and partners across industries to learn how they are using technology to drive their businesses forward. In the past 30 years, we’ve seen four major platform shifts, from client server to internet and the web to mobile and cloud to now — the next major platform shift to AI.
As today’s platform shift to AI continues to gain momentum, Microsoft is working to understand just how organizations can drive lasting business value. We recently commissioned a study with IDC,The Business Opportunity of AI, to uncover new insights around business value and help guide organizations on their journey of AI transformation.The study foundthat for every $1 organizations invest in generative AI, they’re realizing an average of $3.70 in return — and uncovered insights about the future potential of AI to reshape business processes and drive change across industries.
Check out the top 5 AI trends to watch from IDC and Microsoft
Today,more than 85% of the Fortune 500are using Microsoft AI solutions to shape their future. In working with organizations large and small, across every industry and geography, we’ve seen that most transformation initiatives are designed to achieve one of four business outcomes:
Enriching employee experiences: Using AI to streamline or automate repetitive, mundane tasks can allow your employees to dive into more complex, creative and ultimately more valuable work.
Reinventing customer engagement: AI can create more personalized, tailored customer experiences, delighting your target audiences while lightening the load for employees.
Reshaping business processes: Virtually any business process can be reimagined with AI, from marketing to supply chain operations to finance, and AI is even allowing organizations to go beyond process optimization and discover exciting new growth opportunities.
Bending the curve on innovation: AI is revolutionizing innovation by speeding up creative processes and product development, reducing the time to market and allowing companies to differentiate in an often crowded field.
In this blog, we’ve collected more than 300 of our favorite real-life examples of how organizations are embracing Microsoft’s proven AI capabilities to drive impact and shape today’s platform shift to AI. Today, we’ve added new stories of customers using our AI capabilities at the beginning of each section. We’ll regularly update this story with more. We hope you find an example or two that can inspire your own transformation journey.
Enriching employee experiences
Generative AI is truly transforming employee productivity and wellbeing. Our customers tell us that by automating repetitive, mundane tasks, employees are freed up to dive into more complex and creative work. This shift not only makes the work environment more stimulating but also boosts job satisfaction. It sparks innovation, provides actionable insights for better decision-making and supports personalized training and development opportunities, all contributing to a better work-life balance. Customers around the world have reported significant improvements in employee productivity with these AI solutions:
New Stories:
Acentra Health created MedScribe using Azure OpenAI Service. The solution has saved 11,000 nursing hours and nearly $800,000. It also helped each nurse process 20 to 30 letters daily, while achieving a 99% approval rate for MedScribe-generated letters.
Brisbane Catholic Education provides Microsoft 365 Copilot to 12,500 educators, and uses Microsoft Copilot Studio to create a generative AI tool to help educators integrate Catholic traditions and values into the classroom.
Crediclub saves 96% per month in auditing expenses and analyzes 150 meetings per hour with Azure AI, freeing up time for 800 sales advisors and 150 branch managers to interact directly with customers.
eClinicalWorks developed a tool using Azure AI services and Azure AI Document Intelligence to help healthcare workers scan, sort and match thousands of faxes each year to match the faxed data with current patient files.
Education Authority of Northern Ireland (EANI) introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce admin work, allowing teachers to focus on students. The Microsoft partnership ensures secure and ethical AI use, while teacher training focuses on prompt writing and effective tool adoption.
Ma’aden uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity, saving up to 2,200 hours monthly. Tasks like drafting emails, creating documents and data analysis have become more efficient, helping Ma’aden achieve its growth goals.
Marketing org mci group uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance the use of AI and other technological advances to boost employee efficiency.
Michelin deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot and a generative AI in-house chatbot based on Azure OpenAI Service called “Aurora” designed to help employees optimize work and team performance, boosting productivity tenfold.
Raiffeisen Bank International built its own ChatGPT using Azure OpenAI Service to automate repetitive tasks like documenting intelligence and more rapidly summarize legal, regulation and banking documents.
Sanabil Investments deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot to help employees reduce the time spent on manual everyday tasks that diverted focus from more strategic and valuable work. Within two months, approximately 70% of employees regularly used Copilot.
Sensei rolled out Microsoft 365 to reduce the number of internal apps and better connect systems for easier collaboration, and is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to increase efficiency.
Sikshana Foundation is working with Microsoft Research India to introduce an AI copilot for teachers that shortens preparation time for lessons from an hour or more to just minutes.
The University of Hong Kong adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity by automating administrative tasks and providing intelligent assistance, allowing faculty to focus more on teaching.
Accenture and Avanade launched a Copilot business transformation practice, supported by Microsoft, and co-invested in new capabilities, solutions and training to help organizations securely and responsibly reinvent their business functions with generative and agentic AI and Copilot technologies.
Access Holdings Plc adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, integrating generative AI into daily tools and, as a result, writing code now takes two hours instead of eight, chatbots launch in 10 days instead of three months and presentations are prepared in 45 minutes instead of six hours.
Adobe is connecting Adobe Experience Cloud workflows and insights with Microsoft 365 Copilot to deliver generative-AI powered capabilities that enable marketers to increase collaboration, efficiency and creativity.
Amadeus empowers its teams to focus their time and skills on value-added tasks with Microsoft 365 Copilot, by summarizing email threads, chat or transcripts and summing up information from diverse sources.
ANZ has invested in Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot and Copilot in Microsoft Edge to boost productivity and innovation across its workforce.
Asahi Europe & International (AEI) has adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, saving employees potentially 15% of time previously spent on administrative tasks.
AXA developed AXA Secure GPT, a platform powered by Azure OpenAI Service that empowers employees to leverage the power of generative AI while targeting the highest level of data safety and responsible use of the tool.
Axon Enterprise developed a new AI tool with Azure OpenAI Service called Draft One, resulting in an 82% decrease in time spent on reports, which freed up officers to engage more with their community.
Aztec Group enhanced productivity and client experience by trialing Microsoft 365 Copilot with 300 staff, uncovering “unlimited” use cases and plans for a wider rollout.
Bader Sultan & Bros. Co. W.L.L. implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance employee productivity and speed up customer response times.
Bancolombia is using GitHub Copilot to empower its technical team, achieving a 30% increase in code generation, boosting automated application changes to an average of 18,000 per year, with a rate of 42 productive daily deployments.
Bank of Queensland Group is using Microsoft 365 Copilot, with 70% of users saving two-and-a-half to five hours per week.
BaptistCare Community Services is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to save employees time as they navigate workforce shortage challenges allowing them to focus more on the people they care for.
Barnsley Council was recognized as “Double Council of the Year in 2023” for its implementation of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which modernized operations and reduced administrative tasks, leading to improved job satisfaction and increased creativity.
BlackRock purchased more than 24,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses spanning all employees, functions and locations, helping improve the Copilot experience, including codeveloping new features and functions.
British Heart Foundation is testing Microsoft 365 Copilot and in its initial test, users estimate that Microsoft 365 Copilot could save them up to 30 minutes per day.
Buckinghamshire Council deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot with staff reporting productivity improvements, quality enhancements and time savings which are enabling the different teams to do more with less.
Campari Group adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to help employees integrate it into their workflow, resulting in time savings of about two hours a week from the support of routine activities such as email management, meeting preparation, content creation and skill acquisition.
Canadian Tire Corporation moved its data from on-premises systems to Microsoft Azure and built digital assistants using Azure OpenAI Service, and now more than 3,000 corporate employees save 30 to 60 minutes a day using its ChatCTC digital assistant.
Capita is using GitHub Copilot for productivity improvements as well as improvements in developer satisfaction, recruitment and retention.
Cathay leverages Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meetings and manage information more effectively, reducing time-consuming tasks and fostering creativity.
CDW used Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve work quality for 88% of users, enabling 77% to complete tasks faster, and increasing productivity for 85% of users.
Chi Mei Medical Center is lightening workloads for doctors, nurses and pharmacists with a generative AI assistant built on Azure OpenAI Service.
Clifford Chance adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline tasks, automate processes and enhance collaboration. Lawyers use it to draft and manage emails and ensure compliance, allowing them to focus on complex legal work and improve productivity.
DLA Piper chose Microsoft 365 Copilot to boost productivity for operational and administrative teams, saving up to 36 hours weekly on content generation and data analysis.
Eaton adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate the creation of 1,000 standard operating procedures to streamline customer service operations and improve data access across teams, cutting creation time from one hour to 10 minutes.
E.ON is focused on Germany’s energy transition, leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot to manage the complex grid in real-time, increasing productivity and efficiency for its workforce.
Enerijisa Uretim has adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meeting summaries, reformat documents and compile reports, enabling employees to concentrate on more strategic and fulfilling activities instead of spending six hours in meetings.
EPAM is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to consolidate information and generate content and documents.
Farm Credit Canada implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot which resulted in time savings on routine tasks for 78% of users, with 30% saving 30 to 60 minutes per week and 35% saving over an hour per week, allowing employees to focus on more value-added tasks.
Finastra used Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate tasks, enhance content creation, improve analytics and personalize customer interactions, with employees citing a 20%-50% time savings.
Four Agency Worldwide increased employee productivity using Microsoft 365 Copilot to generate ideas for creative work and support administrative-heavy processes, data analysis and report generation, allowing staff to focus on outreach and less time doing paperwork.
Goodwill of Orange County developed an AI-powered app using Azure AI capabilities to help more people, including those with developmental, intellectual and physical disabilities, work in unfilled e-commerce positions.
Harvey uses Azure OpenAI to simplify routine tasks across hundreds of law firms and legal teams, with one corporate lawyer saying he saved 10 hours of work per week.
Honeywell employees are saving 92 minutes per week — that’s 74 hours a year! Disclaimer: Statistics are from an internal Honeywell survey of 5,000 employees where 611 employees responded.
Insight employees using Copilot are seeing four hours of productivity gained per week from data summarization and content creation.
Joos uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to grow its brand with worldwide collaboration by streamlining meetings, optimizing presentations and improving communications.
Kantar is harnessing the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot by reducing costly, time-consuming IT processes and boosting productivity for employees.
KMS Lighthouse enhanced its knowledge management platform with Microsoft Teams and Dynamics 365 integration, enabling users to leverage KMS Lighthouse without having to switch applications. And with Azure OpenAI Service, companies can create relevant content more quickly within the KMS Lighthouse application.
KPMG Australia is using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search and Microsoft Copilot 365 to perform advanced text analysis of dozens of client source documents to identify full or partial compliance, or noncompliance, in a fraction of the time required for manual assessments.
LGT is launching Microsoft Copilot LGT to improve efficiency, showing users save an average of an hour a week even in the pilot phase.
Localiza&Co, a leader in the mobility industry in Latin America, implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate processes and improve efficiency, and reduced 8.3 working hours per employee per month.
Lotte Hotels & Resorts has been creating a new work culture that allows employees to work more efficiently and focus on the nature of the work by adopting Microsoft Power Platform for automation.
MAIRE is leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate routine tasks, saving over 800 working hours per month, freeing up engineers and professionals for strategic activities while supporting MAIRE’s green energy transition by reducing their carbon footprint.
McDonald’s China chose Microsoft Azure AI, GitHub Copilot and Azure AI Search to transform its operations, resulting in a significant increase in AI adoption, consumption and retention from 2,000 to 30,000 employee transactions monthly.
McKnight Foundation adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot for all staff, saving time, increasing productivity and freeing space to focus on strategic priorities.
Medigold Health uses Azure OpenAI Service to significantly reduce the time that clinicians spend writing reports during their consultation and administrative time.
Morula Health is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity, streamline medical writing tasks and ensure data security, ultimately improving efficiency and client satisfaction.
Motor Oil Group is achieving remarkable efficiency gains by integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot into its workflows, with staff spending minutes on tasks that used to take weeks.
Nagel-Group uses Azure OpenAI Service to help employees quickly access information which saves time, creates efficiency and transparency and leads to higher-quality answers overall.
National Australia Bank is leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot for daily productivity and data analysis and insights and Microsoft Copilot for Security to quickly analyze millions of security event logs and allow engineers to focus on more important areas.
NFL Players Association integrated Azure AI Services and Azure App Service into their video review process, reducing review time by up to 73%, significantly increasing efficiency and enhancing player safety through consistent rule enforcement.
O2 Czech Republic boosts productivity and streamlines meetings with Microsoft 365 Copilot, revolutionizing how information is shared and making automation a part of daily work.
Onepoint developed a secure conversational agent based on Azure OpenAI which delivers productivity gains of between 10% and 15% across all business lines.
Orange Group has over 40 use cases with Azure OpenAI Service and GitHub Copilot across business functions to support employees in their day-to-day tasks, enabling them to concentrate on higher value-added activities.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve staff report productivity by saving one to two hours a week, or simple formatting tasks down to a matter of seconds, enabling more resources to deliver frontline services.
PA Consulting transformed its sales operations with Microsoft 365 Copilot, so its people can invest more time on the activities that have the biggest impact for clients and maximize the strategic value they provide.
Petrobras used Azure OpenAI Service to create ChatPetrobras, which is streamlining workflows, reducing manual tasks and summarizing reports for its 110,000 employees.
Petrochemical Industries Company automates work processes to save time with Microsoft 365 Copilot from weeks to days, hours to seconds.
PIMCO built ChatGWM with Azure AI Studio, a comprehensive platform that provides the ability to ask questions, receive responses and verify answers all in one place, so teams can spend more time engaging clients and having deeper conversations.
PKSHA Technology is optimizing their time on critical work by increasing efficiency in meeting preparations, data analytics and ideation with the help of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Providence has collaborated with Nuance and Microsoft to accelerate development and adoption of generative AI-powered applications, helping improve care quality and access, and reduce physician’s administrative workloads.
RTI International adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to gain productivity wherever possible, allowing staff to focus on their areas of expertise, delivering even better science-backed solutions for clients.
SACE, an Italian finance and insurance firm, is using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Viva to boost productivity and unlock employee potential while enhancing overall well-being — and productivity improvement data from the first nine months of implementation shows a 23% increase.
Sandvik Coromant is using Microsoft Copilot for Sales to drive efficiency and accuracy, shaving at least one minute off each transaction, allowing sellers and account managers to focus their expertise on responding to customers’ needs with analysis, creativity and adaptability.
Sasfin Bank built a solution on Microsoft Azure that centralized 20,000 documents to analyze contract clauses and provide real-time snapshots, moving guesswork into data-driven decision-making.
Scottish Water implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot reducing mundane tasks to a minimum, and thus freeing up time for employees to work on the more meaningful tasks.
Shriners Children’s developed an AI platform allowing clinicians to easily and securely navigate patient data in a singular location, enhancing patient care, and improving the efficiency of their healthcare services.
Siemens is leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to improve efficiency, cut downtime and address labor shortages.
Softchoice employees are experiencing firsthand how Microsoft 365 Copilot can transform daily workflows, realizing productivity gains of 97% reduction in time spent summarizing technical meetings and up to 70% less time spent on content creation.
Syensqo utilized Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to develop a custom AI chatbot in three months, which improved their internal data management, decision-making and overall efficiency.
Teladoc Health uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to revolutionize its telehealth operations, automating routine tasks, boosting efficiency and increasing productivity.
Telstra developed two cutting-edge generative AI tools based on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service: 90% of employees are using the One Sentence Summary tool which resulted in 20% less follow-up customer contact and 84% of customer service agents using the Ask Telstra solution.
Topsoe achieved 85% AI adoption among office employees in seven months, significantly enhancing productivity and business processes.
Torfaen County Borough Council utilized Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline back-office processes, resulting in significant time savings and enhanced productivity for both business and children’s services teams, with further rollouts planned.
Trace3 leveraged Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline and enhance processes across the business and with clients, such as reducing the time it takes HR recruiting managers to respond to applicants within a couple of days instead of several weeks.
Unilever is reinventing their marketing process with Copilot, saving time on briefing tasks, automatically pulling in relevant market data, content and insights to accelerate campaign launches.
Uniper SE implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce time spent on manual and repetitive tasks, and help workers focus on more pressing work, such as developing enhanced solutions to speed up the energy transition.
Unum Group built a custom AI application to search 1.3 terabytes of data with 95% accuracy using Azure OpenAI Service.
Virgin Atlantic adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot and is seeing real business benefits, including productivity improvements, enabling new ways of working.
Visier built a generative AI assistant that leverages Azure AI and Azure OpenAI Services to deliver workforce analytics and actionable insights for more than 50,000 customers.
Virtual Dental Care developed an AI application Smart Scan that leverages Microsoft Azure to reduce paperwork for mobile dental clinics in schools by 75% and frees dentists to devote more time to patient care.
Zakladni Skola As Hlavkova adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot and saw a 60% improvement in handling administrative documents, decreased lesson preparation from hours to few minutes, increased inclusivity and enhanced communication with students and parents.
Reinventing customer engagement
We’ve seen great examples of how generative AI can automate content creation, ensuring there’s fresh and engaging materials ready to go. It personalizes customer experiences by crunching the numbers, boosting conversion rates. It makes operations smoother, helping teams launch campaigns faster. Plus, it drives innovation, crafting experiences that delight customers while lightening the load for staff. Embracing generative AI is key for organizations wanting to reinvent customer engagements, stay ahead of the game and drive both innovation and efficiency.
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Aditya Birla Capital built the SimpliFi chatbot on Microsoft Azure to simplify financial services information and offers through intelligent search and proactive nudging with minimum latency and high scalability.
AIA is using Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service to allow customer service representatives to handle more cases in less time by automating time-consuming tasks like drafting customer emails and summarizing lengthy chats and case histories.
Aydem Energy and Microsoft partner Softtech used Azure OpenAI Service to create an AI assistant for WhatsApp, providing customers with real-time updates and handling meter readings, bill checks and claims.
The City of Buenos Aires developed Boti with ChatGPT using Azure OpenAI Service to manage multiple service channels and personalize key services for residents and tourists. The chatbot centralizes data, enables natural language interactions and scales to handle high demands, managing 2 million queries per month without human intervention, alleviating the operational burden by 50%, improving the citizen experience and increasing efficiency.
de Alliantie built a generative AI chatbot using Azure OpenAI to digest information in their online knowledge base so staff can get accurate answers in seconds. Another Azure AI-based solution transcribes and summarizes calls, then categorizes them by theme.
Haceb created a virtual technical support assistant with generative AI, helping on-the-ground technicians troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve product issues faster and more efficiently.
Lloyds Banking Group developed the Branch Translation App using Microsoft Power Apps and Azure AI services with a goal to improve communication with non-English speaking customers and the innovation enhanced service delivery, receiving positive feedback from employees and customers alike.
Staffbase provides its clients with Staffbase Companion, which helps it enhance internal communication with quick content generation, summarization, translation and future capabilities — and remain confident in data protection.
Tekion built Automative Retail Cloud, a unified, cloud-native platform that uses generative AI to analyze communications, extract insights and provide customer-specific recommendations for sales agents.
Welcome Account created a banking application with a conversational agent based on Azure OpenAI Service, in order to help people manage their finances and administrative procedures. This multilingual agent already assists no less than a thousand refugees on a daily basis.
UBS is using Azure AI solutions, including Azure AI Search and Azure OpenAI Service, to power “Smart Assistants” that streamline content access and provide real-time information to Client Advisors, boosting efficiency and client engagement.
Virbe enables businesses to interact with customers through AI-powered avatars, and with Azure AI services like Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search, Virbe enhanced its AI avatars and simplified engagement with enterprise customers — and customers are seeing up to a 10x increase in leads.
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Absa has adopted Microsoft Copilot to streamline various business processes, saving several hours on administrative tasks each day.
Adobe leverages Microsoft Azure to streamline the customer experience, harnessing the power of the connected cloud services and creating a synergy that drives AI transformation across industries.
Acentra Health developed Medscribe, a web application that uses Azure OpenAI Service to generate draft letters in a secure, HIPPA-compliant enclave that responds to customer appeals for healthcare services within 24 hours, reducing the time spent on each appeal letter by 50%.
Air India leveraged Azure OpenAI Service to develop a virtual assistant that has handled nearly 4 million customer queries with full automation, significantly enhancing customer experience and avoiding millions of dollars in customer support costs.
Alaska Airlines is using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Defender, and GitHub to ensure its passengers have a seamless journey from ticket purchase to baggage pickup and started leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to unlock more business value for its customer care and contact centers.
Ally Financial is using Azure OpenAI Service to reduce manual tasks for its customer service associates, freeing up time for them to engage with customers.
BMW Group optimizes the customer experience connecting 13 million active users to their vehicles with the MyBMW app on Azure, which supports 450 million daily requests and 3.2TB data processing.
Boyner has tripled its e-commerce performance using Microsoft Azure, seeing a rise in customer satisfaction, engagement, conversion rate and revenue.
Bradesco Bank integrated Microsoft Azure to its virtual assistant, BIA, resulting in reduced response time from days to hours, improving operational efficiency and client satisfaction.
Capgemini Mexico integrated GitHub Copilot to support scalable AI implementations which has led to improved customer experiences and increased efficiency.
Capitec Bank uses Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling their AI-powered chatbot to assist customer service consultants in accessing product information more efficiently, saving significant time for employees each week.
Cdiscount is leveraging GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service to enhance developer efficiency, optimize product sheet categorization and improve customer satisfaction.
Cemex used Azure OpenAI Service to launch Technical Xpert, an AI tool used by sales agents to provide instant access to comprehensive product and customer solution information, significantly reducing search time by 80%.
Chanel elevated their client experience and improved employee efficiency by leveraging Microsoft Fabric and Azure OpenAI Service for real-time translations and quality monitoring.
City of Burlington created two AI-powered solutions: MyFiles system using Microsoft Power Platform for building permits, and CoBy, a 24/7 customer support assistant using Microsoft Copilot Studio.
City of Madrid created an AI virtual assistant with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service offering tourists accurate, real-time information and personalized responses in 95-plus languages.
Cognizant is making performance management more effective and meaningful with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning to help clients across industries envision, build, and run innovative digital enterprises.
Coles Group has leveraged Microsoft Azure to enhance its digital presence and improve customer engagement, rolling out new applications to its stores six times faster without disrupting workloads.
Commercial Bank of Dubai used Microsoft Azure to upgrade its application infrastructure, improving transaction security and speed so individual customers can now open an account and start banking in about two minutes.
Cradle Fund, dedicated to nurturing startups in Malaysia, introduced an AI-driven chatbot to boost user interaction and increase public engagement. User engagement quadrupled while resolution time was reduced from two days to a few clicks. Cradle also decreased customer service costs by 35%, increased international interactions by 40% and increased daily average visits 10-fold.
Doctolib, a leading eHealth company in France, leverages Microsoft technology to develop an AI-powered medical assistant, integrating both Azure OpenAI Service and Mistral Large on Azure.
Docusign used Azure AI to develop its Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform, which supports millions of workflows, reducing contract processing times and enhancing customer satisfaction with advanced AI-powered analytics.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has significantly improved productivity and customer satisfaction by integrating multiple Microsoft AI solutions, reducing task completion time from days to hours and achieving a 98% customer happiness rate.
Elcome uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve the customer experience, reducing response times from 24 hours to eight hours.
elunic developed shopfloor.GPT based on Azure OpenAI leading to increased productivity for customers saving 15 minutes per request.
Estée Lauder Companies is leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to create closer consumer connections and increase speed to market with local relevancy.
First National Bank (FNB) is using Microsoft Copilot for Sales to help bankers create professional, thoughtful emails in 13 native South African languages, to enhance customer interactions, streamline communications and reinforce its commitment to innovation and customer service.
Flora Food Group migrated to Microsoft Fabric to offer more detailed and timely insights to its customers, enhancing service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Groupama deployed a virtual assistant using Azure OpenAI Service that delivers reliable, verified and verifiable information, and boasts an 80% success rate.
Holland America Line developed a virtual agent using Microsoft Copilot Studio that acts as a digital concierge on their website to support new and existing customers and travel advisors, which has achieved a strong resolution rate and is currently handling thousands of conversations per week.
International University of Applied Sciences (IU) adopted Azure OpenAI Service to revolutionize learning with a personalized study assistant that can interact with each student just like a human would.
Investec is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales to enhance the bank’s client relationships, estimating saving approximately 200 hours annually ultimately boosting sales productivity and delivering personalized, seamless customer experience.
Jato Dynamics used Azure OpenAI Service to automate content generation, helping dealerships save approximately 32 hours each month.
Kenya Red Cross worked with Pathways Technologies to develop a mental health chatbot in Azure AI.
LALIGA is delivering a seamless fan experience and AI insights with Azure Arc, using AI in Azure for optimizing match scheduling and other key operations.
Legrand used Azure OpenAI Service to reduce the time to generate product data by 60% and improve customer support interactions with fast, accurate information.
Linum is using Microsoft Azure to train their text-to-video models faster and more efficiently without losing performance or wasting resources.
Lumen Technologies is redefining customer success and sales processes through the strategic use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, enhancing productivity, sales and customer service in the global communications sector.
Mars Science & Diagnostics used the Azure AI catalog to build generative AI apps to enhance accuracy and extract data insights quickly, helping pets with critical, undiagnosed conditions receive the care they require faster.
McKinsey & Company is creating an agent to reduce client onboarding process by reducing lead time by 90% and administrative work by 30%.
Meesho leveraged Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service and GitHub Copilot to enhance customer service and software development, resulting in a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores and 40% more traffic on customer service queries.
Milpark Education integrated Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio and in just four months, improved efficiency and accuracy of student support, decreasing the average resolution time by 50% and escalation time by more than 30%.
National Basketball Association is using Azure OpenAI Service to speed up the time to market, helping fans connect with the league with personalized, localized insights to enhance the fan experience.
NC Fusion chose a comprehensive Microsoft solution to make marketing engagement activities easier and accurately target the best audience segments.
Medgate, a telehealth subsidiary of Otto Group developed a medical Copilot powered by Azure OpenAI which summarizes consultations, supports triage and provides real-time translations.
Orbital Witness embraced the use of large language models (LLMs) in Azure OpenAI to build its innovative AI Agent application, Orbital Copilot, which can save legal teams 70 percent of the time it takes to conduct property diligence work.
Pacific Gas & Electric built a chatbot using Microsoft Copilot Studio that saves $1.1 million annually on helpdesk support.
Parloa took a “voice-first” approach and created an enterprise-grade AI Agent Management platform to automate customer interactions across phone, chat and messaging apps.
Pockyt is using GitHub Copilot and anticipates a 500% increase in productivity in the medium to long term as they continue adapting AI and fine-tuning their software development life cycle.
South Australia Department for Education launched an AI-powered educational chatbot to help safeguard students from harmful content while introducing responsible AI to the classrooms.
Sync Labs is using Microsoft Azure to create AI-driven solutions that have led to a remarkable 30x increase in revenue and a 100x expansion of their customer base.
Syndigo is using Azure to accelerate digital commerce for its customers by more than 40% and expand its customer base.
Telkomsel created a virtual assistant with Azure OpenAI Service, resulting in a leap in customer self-service interactions from 19% to 45%, and call volume dropped from 8,000 calls to 1,000 calls a day.
Torrens University chose to use Azure OpenAI to uplift its online learning experience, saving 20,000 hours and $2.4 million in time and resources.
Trusting Social integrated Microsoft Azure services to launch AI-driven agents that are changing how banks function and transforming their customer’s banking experience.
University of California, Berkeley used Azure OpenAI Service to deploy a custom AI chatbot that supports student learning and helps students with complex coursework.
University of Sydney created a self-serve AI platform powered by Azure OpenAI Service, to enable faculty to build custom chatbots for enhancing student onboarding, feedback, career simulation and more.
Van Lanschot Kempen is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce the time needed for daily tasks, freeing up time to invest in that crucial personal connection.
Virgin Money built an award-winning virtual assistant using Copilot Studio to help build customers’ confidence in their digital products and services.
VOCALLS automates over 50 million interactions per year, resulting in a 78% reduction in average handling time aside from a 120% increase in answered calls.
Vodafone Group is leveraging Microsoft’s AI solutions, including Azure AI Studio, OpenAI Service, Copilot and AI Search, to achieve a 70% resolution rate for customer inquiries through digital channels and reduce call times by at least one minute.
Walmart is using Azure OpenAI Service to deliver a helpful and intuitive browsing experience for customers designed to serve up a curated list of the personalized items a shopper is looking for.
Weights & Biases created a platform which runs on Microsoft Azure that allows developers to keep records, log successes and failures and automate manual tasks.
World2Meet is providing better customer service and operations with a new virtual assistant powered by Microsoft Azure.
Xavier College is modernizing its student information systems on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Azure to unlock powerful insights, fostering innovation and data-driven decision making.
Zavarovalnica Triglav implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure OpenAI Service to streamline its operations with automated responses and smart rerouting of customer enquiries.
ZurichInsurance Group used Azure OpenAI Service to develop advanced AI applications that led to more accurate and efficient risk assessment evaluations, accelerating the underwriting process, reducing turnaround times and increasing customer satisfaction.
Reshaping business process
Transforming operations is another way generative AI is encouraging innovation and improving efficiency across various business functions. In marketing, it can create personalized content to truly engage different audiences. For supply chain management, it can predict market trends so companies can optimize their inventory levels. Human resources departments can speed up the hiring process, while financial services can use it for fraud detection and risk assessments. With generative AI, companies are not just refining their current processes, they’re also discovering exciting new growth opportunities.
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Bank of Queensland is modernizing its operations with Azure, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot, using AI to optimize business processes such as creating marketing content, building reports and plans and drafting HR content.
Document360 created an AI-powered knowledge base and service platform for companies to create, manage and publish online documentation, including product manuals, SOPs and wikis.
Eduvos is simplifying the student enrollment experience with Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365, reducing the time from 90 days to nearly instantaneous and associated costs by 90%.
Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) uses Azure Local to support its digital manufacturing platform, including support for safety-critical applications that use AI. Through its hybrid Azure environment, EGA has achieved 10 to 13 times faster AI response time and 86% cost savings for AI image and video use cases.
Hellenic Cadastre built a system that reads and categorizes property contracts, applies legal rules and provides assessments for approval using Azure OpenAI Service. Today, property transaction assessments take less than 10 minutes instead of hours, reducing costs from 15 euros to 0.11 euros per assessment. The system also enhanced property owners’ legal security and boosted the Greek economy by enabling transactions to be completed sooner.
Startup legal-i is using AI to analyze unstructured data and help expensive insurance specialists make better decisions faster — speeding up healthcare and insurance processes and improving the accuracy of outcomes.
Publishing company SHUEISHA Inc. is using Microsoft Security Copilot to enable faster incident response, boosting the confidence and effectiveness of cybersecurity personnel.
thyssencrupp is using the Siemens Industrial Copilot, built on Azure OpenAI Service, to address a skilled labor gap while revolutionizing how it programs and operates machinery.
U.S. AutoForce implemented Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management to centralize warehouse data, connect processes and improve operational efficiency while using Microsoft Copilot for Finance to automate monthly reconciliations.
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ABB Group integrated Azure OpenAI Service into their Genix Copilot platform enabling customers to achieve up to 30% savings in operations and maintenance, 20% improvement in energy and emission optimization and an 80% reduction in service calls.
Accelleron used Microsoft Power Platform to support numerous business applications and simplify processes for service agents and employees, resulting in the onboard of new agents in 30 minutes, compared to two days for other solutions.
Accenture developed an AI-powered financial advisor that leverages RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure to enhance their infrastructure and integrate financial data.
Atomicwork leverages Azure OpenAI to bring together three power capabilities: a conversational assistant, a modern service management system and a workflow automation platform.
Blink Ops fully embraced generative AI to build the world’s first Security Automation Copilot with more than 8,000 automated workflows to help any Security/IT task through prompts.
Chalhoub Group is using Microsoft Fabric to modernize its data analytics and streamline its data sources into one platform, increasing agility, enhancing analytics and accelerating processes.
Cineplex is developing innovative automation solutions for finance, guest services and other departments, saving the company over 30,000 hours a year in manual processing time.
ClearBank moved its services to Microsoft Azure to gain scalability and efficiency, pushing out 183% more monthly system releases, gaining both scalability and efficiency.
Danske Statsbaner increases productivity up to 30% with help from Microsoft AI solutions.
Dentsu implemented Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and Azure OpenAI Service to build a predictive analytics copilot that supports media insights, cutting analysis time by 80% and overall time to insight by 90%, reducing analysis costs.
Dow implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to empower teams with AI-driven insights and streamline essential workflows by automating tasks across departments, saving millions of dollars on shipping operations in the first year.
Eastmanimplemented Microsoft Copilot for Security realizing the benefits of accelerated upskilling, step-by-step guidance for response and faster threat remediation.
Fast Shop migrated to Microsoft Azure creating a self-service culture of access to data, eliminating delays, reducing costs and increasing leadership satisfaction with data while providing more agility in reporting.
Florida Crystals adopted a value-added solution across Microsoft products including Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce telecom expenses and automate industrial process controls.
GHD is reinventing the RFP process in construction and engineering with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
GovDash is a SaaS platform that leverages artificial intelligence to streamline the entire business development life cycle for government contracting companies using Azure OpenAI.
Grupo Bimbo is deploying Microsoft’s industrial AI technologies to modernize its manufacturing processes, optimizing production and reducing downtime, driving significant cost savings, and empowering global innovation.
Insight Canada implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline business operations, with 93% of users realizing productivity gains in functions including sales, finance and human resources.
Intesa Sanpaolo Group enhanced its cybersecurity with AI-enabled Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Copilot for Security, resulting in faster threat detection, increased productivity and reduced storage costs.
Kaya deployed a custom implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power BI to modernize its supply chain, leading to enhanced visibility, improved planning and streamlined inter-department operations.
Lenovo leveraged Dynamics 365 Customer Service to rapidly manage customer inquiries by streamlining repetitive tasks, boosted agent productivity by 15%, reduced handling time by 20% and reached record-high customer satisfaction.
Lionbridge Technologies, LLC is using Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI Service to accelerate its delivery times and improve quality, reducing project turnaround times by up to 30%.
LTIMindtree integrated Microsoft Copilot for Security, offering automated incident response, integrated threat intelligence and advanced threat analysis.
Mania de Churrasco used Microsoft Azure, Power Platform and Microsoft 365 to achieve high efficiency, security and scalability in its operations, in addition to improving its data intelligence, which indirectly participated in a 20% increase in sales year on year.
National Bank of Greece built an Azure-powered Document AI solution to transform its document processing, improving the bank’s accuracy to 90%.
Nest Bank has revolutionized its operations by integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service, resulting in doubled sales and increased daily transactions from 60,000 to 80,000, showcasing the transformative impact of generative AI in the financial sector.
Network Rail modernized their data analytics solution with Microsoft Azure, helping engineers understand data 50% faster than before and improve efficiency, passenger experiences and safety — all while saving costs.
Nsuredeveloped an AI-powered agent that uses Copilot Studio and Power Automate to reduce manual processing time by 60% while also reducing associated costs by 50%.
Oncoclínicas implemented Microsoft Azure to transform its entire data ecosystem with a web portal and mobile application that performs all image processing and storage.
Operation Smile used Azure OpenAI Service, Fabric and Power Apps to eliminate manual data entry, resulting in reduced translation errors by about 90% and the time required for completing reports from four to five hours to just 15 to 20 minutes.
Pacifico Seguros has adopted Microsoft Copilot for Security to optimize its security operations and anticipate and neutralize threats more efficiently and effectively.
Parexel adopted Azure Databricks and Microsoft Power BI, achieving an 85% reduction in data engineering tooling costs, a 30% increase in staff efficiency and a 70% reduction in time to market for data product delivery.
Paysafe used Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meetings, information management and document creation, addressing language barriers, eliminating time-consuming tasks and boosting creativity along the way.
Planted is integrating Azure OpenAI to manage everyday tasks more efficiently and facilitate the search for information for innovative process development.
Presidio realized dramatic productivity gains saving 1,200 hours per month on average for the employees using Microsoft 365 Copilot and created 70 new business opportunities.
Qatar Charity used Copilot Studio to increase its call center efficiency, reducing average handle time by 30%, increased customer satisfaction by 25%, and achieved a 40% reduction in IT maintenance costs.
Saphyre uses Microsoft Azure and AI to provide an intelligent cloud-based solution that automates and streamlines financial trading workflows around client and counterparty life cycle management, reducing manual efforts by 75%.
StarKist Foods used Azure to effectively unite production and demand processes with finance, reducing the planning cycle from 16 hours to less than one.
Swiss International Air Lines migrated and modernized with Microsoft Azure, achieving up to 30% cost savings, a remarkable boost in platform stability along with enhanced security visibility.
ZEISS Group uses Microsoft Fabric to create a secure and trusted data supply chain that can be shared effortlessly across a range of business units.
ZF Group builds manufacturing efficiency with over 25,000 apps and 37,000 unique active users on Power Platform.
Bending the curve on innovation
Generative AI is revolutionizing innovation by speeding up creative processes and product development. It’s helping companies come up with new ideas, design prototypes, and iterate quickly, cutting down the time it takes to get to market. In the automotive industry, it’s designing more efficient vehicles, while in pharmaceuticals, it’s crafting new drug molecules, slashing years off R&D times. In education, it transforms how students learn and achieve their goals. Here are more examples of how companies are embracing generative AI to shape the future of innovation.
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Agricultural Development Trust (ADT) of Baramati is analyzing water, weather, nutrient, pH data and more with AI to increase crop yields in India.
DrumBeat.AI is using Microsoft AI services to predict, identify and treat ear diseases in communities that are both rural and remote, helping to prevent hearing loss among Indigenous communities in Australia.
Dynamic Health Systems created its VitruCare365® platform on the Microsoft Cloud for healthcare technologies to enable motivational care planning. Built on Microsoft Azure, FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) and Dynamics 365, it provides personalized apps powered by Azure OpenAI Service to each patient and is deployed as an extension to the Microsoft 365 tools clinicians use every day.
Cities can use Esri’s ArcGIS geospatial platform to create environmental digital twins that simulate heavy rainfall and apply hot spot analysis to highlight flooding. Adding Azure AI to the geospatial digital twin will reveal insights in impossible amounts of data.
Digital employment agency Gojob developed Aglae, a virtual assistant based on Azure OpenAI Service, to pre-qualify candidates within 15 minutes, enabling recruiters to achieve record employment placement rates.
Institut Curie and Microsoft partner Witivio developed Copilot for Researcher, an agent that can help researchers with some of the administrative tasks in their jobs so they have more time to spend on actual new ideas in the fight against cancer.
NASA created Earth Copilot to transform how people interact with Earth’s data.
Parity is helping women athletes use data and AI to help improve their well-being, performance and careers.
Petbarn created “PetAI” using Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search and Azure App Service to provide Australian pet owners highly personalized advice and product recommendations.
Project Guacamaya is using daily satellite images and various AI models tailored to the Amazon ecosystem to help prevent its deforestation, allowing for quicker action to be taken in at-risk areas.
Properstar developed a solution to simplify the analysis of unstructured real estate data and create a dynamic, AI-powered filtering system that provides more nuanced search results.
RadarFit is using generative AI and a unique gamification strategy to encourage healthy habits in Brazil, with a comprehensive health and wellness program aimed at helping companies reduce chronic disease rates.
SEDUC is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for administrative tasks — such as generating legal documents and handling administrative inquiries — and has expanded to include AI usage with students and teachers, including personalized learning to cater to individual student needs and help them recover from learning losses during the pandemic.
Indonesia’s Universitas Terbuka used Microsoft Azure OpenAI services and Azure AI Foundry to build an AI tutor that delivers accurate, curriculum-aligned responses and streamlines student assessment. The tutor currently supports 500 classes and some 100,000 students.
World Traveler is using AI including Microsoft Reading Progress and Microsoft Immersive Reader to help teachers reach its globally and educationally diverse students with personalized learning experiences.
South Korean startup Wrtn Technologies brings ATI close to people, with a “superapp” that compiles an array of AI use cases and services, but localized for Korean users to integrate AI into their everyday lives.
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Air India has incorporated Microsoft 365 Copilot into multiple departments, unlocking a new realm of operational insights that not only provides critical data on flight punctuality and operational hurdles, but also empowers proactive, collaborative decision making.
Agnostic Intelligencedeployed Azure OpenAI Service to eliminate time-consuming tasks, saving users up to 80% of their time, and enabling IT managers to focus on innovation and quality assurance.
Albert Heijn is using Azure OpenAI for everything from customer personalization to demand forecast and food waste projects, making it easier for its customers to change their lifestyle.
Amgen is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to boost productivity and has the potential to speed up drug development and support advancements in their business processes.
APEC leverages Microsoft Azure and deep neural network algorithms to develop an app that enables healthcare providers to capture retinal images, increasing the accuracy to identify Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP) to 90%.
ASOS is using Azure AI Studio to help customers discover new looks with genuine shopping insights, personalized conversations, naturalism and even humor to enliven the shopping journey.
Auburn University is incorporating Microsoft Copilot to promote AI literacy, accessibility and collaboration, with the aim to expand educational and economic opportunities for its entire academic community with AI-centric tools.
B3 launched an AI assistant using Azure OpenAI Service that aids 10,000 users a day to answer Brazilians’ questions about how to start investing.
Basecamp Research aims to build the world’s largest database of national biodiversity and apply AI and machine learning to advance bioscience.
Bayer is using Microsoft Copilot to contribute to feeding a growing global population and helping people lead healthier, disease-free lives.
BMW AG implemented Azure AI to develop a mobile data recorder copilot for faster data management helping engineers reduce the lead time for insights from days to hours or sometimes minutes.
Brembo leveraged Azure OpenAI to develop ALCHEMIX, a solution to generate innovative compounds for its brake pads, drastically reducing the development time of new compounds from days to mere minutes.
Canary Speech can now train new vocal models in as little as two months and handle millions of transactions per month with Microsoft Azure.
CapitaLand simplified internal processes increasing efficiency to more than 10,000 man-days saved per year and deployed Azure OpenAI Service to build the first AI hospitality chatbot for its lodging business.
Cassidy is using Azure OpenAI Service to enhance efficiency across various industries, supporting over 10,000 companies.
Coca-Cola is implementing Azure OpenAI Service to develop innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions, including testing how Microsoft 365 Copilot could help improve workplace productivity.
Denso is developing “human-like” robots using Azure OpenAI Service as the brain to help robots and humans work together through dialogue.
eFishery is using Azure OpenAI for farmers to get the data and insights on fish and shrimp farming, including more precise feeding and water quality monitoring.
EY developed an application that automatically matches and clears incoming payments in SAP, resulting in an increase from 30% to 80% in automatically cleared payments and 95% matched payments, with estimated annual time savings of 230,000 hours globally.
EY worked with Microsoft to make Azure AI Foundry more inclusive for all, serving the 20% of the global workforce identifying as neurodivergent.
FIDO is using Azure OpenAI Service to develop an AI tool that uses sound to pinpoint leaky pipes, saving precious drinking water.
Georgia Tech is using Azure OpenAI Service to enhance the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, achieving rapid data classification and predictive modeling, highlighting the reliability of networked chargers over non-networked ones.
GigXR developed a solution to create the intelligence for specific AI patients using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and other Azure services.
GoTo Group is significantly enhancing productivity and code quality across its engineering teams by adopting GitHub Copilot, saving over seven hours per week and achieved a 30% code acceptance rate.
GovTech used Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to create LaunchPad, sparking more than 400 ideas and 20 prototypes, laying the foundation for the government to harness the power of generative AI.
H&R Block is using Azure AI Studio and Azure OpenAI Service to build a new solution that provides real-time, reliable tax filing assistance.
Haut.AI provides skin care companies and retailers with customizable, AI-based skin diagnostic tools developed with the help of Microsoft AI.
Helfie is building a solution that caters to healthcare providers who can arm their patients with an application to more quickly and accurately access the care they need.
Hitachi will implement Azure Open AI Service, Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot to create innovative solutions for the energy, mobility and other industries.
Icertis is providing AI-based tools that will recognize contract language and then build algorithms to automatically choose the right approach based on the content of the contract.
Iconem leveraged AI-generated imagery to process and analyze a vast amount of photogrammetry data used to create the 3D digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica, allowing visitors to explore every intricate detail from anywhere in the world.
ITOCHU is using Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Studio to evolve its data analytics dashboard into a service that provides immediate recommendations by automatically creating evidence-based product proposals.
IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is using the power of Azure OpenAI Service to develop Syntea, an AI avatar integrated into Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot, making learning more personalized, autonomous and flexible.
Khan Academy has partnered with Microsoft to bring time-saving and lesson-enhancing AI tools to millions of educators.
Lufthansa Group developed an animated 3D avatar called Digital Hangar to help guide passengers from initial travel inspiration to flight booking through an exchange with an Avatar in natural language.
Mia Labs implemented Azure OpenAI to produce and protect its conversational AI virtual assistant Mia that provides fast support from investors, along with the sophisticated security posture and threat protection capabilities for AI workloads.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is using Azure OpenAI Service to help accelerate digital innovation in power plants.
Molslinjen has created an AI analytics toolbox that has reduced fuel emissions, improved customer satisfaction and brought in millions of additional revenue.
New Sun Road implemented AI into a local controller for energy systems to balance the supply, storage and use requirements. This optimized loads to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy for local clean power for communities.
Novo Nordisk recently published initial results with predictive AI models for advanced risk detection in cardiovascular diseases, including an algorithm that can predict patients’ cardiovascular risk better than the best clinical standards.
Ontada implemented Azure AI and Azure OpenAI Service to target nearly 100 critical oncology data elements across 39 cancer types and now accesses an estimated 70% of previously unanalyzed or unused information, accelerating its life science product development, speeding up time to market from months to just one week.
Paige.AI is using AI and Microsoft Azure to accelerate cancer diagnoses with data from millions of images.
Pets at Home created an agent to help its retail fraud detection team investigate suspicious transactions.
Plan Heal is using Microsoft AI to create solutions that enable patients to monitor and report health metrics so care providers can better serve them.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is testing a new battery material that was found in a matter of weeks, not years, as part of a collaboration with Microsoft.
Rijksmuseum is harnessing the power of Copilot to make art accessible at scale by joining forces with Microsoft to improve and expand the art experience for blind and low-vision community members.
Royal National Institute of Blind People is using Azure AI services to develop an AI-based solution that quickly and accurately converts letters to braille, audio, and large print formats.
Schneider Electric provides productivity-enhancing and energy efficiency solutions and is using a whole suite of AI tools to hasten its own innovation and that of its customers.
SPAR ICS created an award-winning, AI-enabled demand forecasting system achieving 90% inventory prediction accuracy.
SustainCERT deployed GenAI and machine learning for automated data verification, extraction from documents and to accelerate auditing processes to enable verifying the impacts and credibility of carbon credits.
Suzuki Motor Corporation is adopting Azure OpenAI Service for data security, driving company-wide use with five multipurpose apps.
Tecnológico de Monterrey created a generative AI-powered ecosystem built on Azure OpenAI Service with the goal to personalize education based on the students’ needs, improve the learning process, boost teachers’ creativity and save time on tedious tasks.
TomTom is using Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Kubernetes Service to revolutionize the driver experience.
Toyota is deploying AI agents to harness the collective wisdom of engineers and innovate faster in a system named “O-Beya,” or “big room” in Japanese. The “O-Beya” system currently has nine AI agents — from a Vibration Agent to a Fuel Consumption Agent.
Unilever is partnering with Microsoft to identify new digital capabilities to drive product innovation forward, from unlocking the secrets of our skin’s microbiome to reducing the carbon footprint of a multibillion-dollar business.
Unity used Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to build Muse Chat, an AI assistant that can guide creators through common questions and help troubleshoot issues to make game development easier.
University of South Florida is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to alleviate the burden of repetitive, time-consuming tasks so faculty and staff can spend this time creatively solving problems, conducting critical research, establishing stronger relationships with peers and students and using their expertise to forge new, innovative paths.
Utilidata built the first distributive AI and accelerated computing platform for the electric grid allowing flexible transformation and dynamic infrastructure to increase electrification and decarbonization.
Visma has developed new code with GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Azure DevOps and Microsoft Visual Studio as much as 50 percent faster, contributing to increased customer retention, faster time to market and increased revenue.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen is implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot and using Microsoft Viva to drive sustainable adoption, streamlining processes, empowering better decision making and cultivating a culture of innovation and inclusion.
Wipro is committed to delivering value to customers faster and improving the outcomes across the business by investing $1 billion in AI and training 200,000 employees on generative AI principles with Microsoft Copilot.
Read more:
IDC InfoBrief: sponsored by Microsoft, 2024 Business Opportunity of AI, IDC# US52699124, November 2024
Tags: AI, AI Azure, Azure OpenAI Service, Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365 Copilot
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Feb. 5 — China and the United States, sharing extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation, can become partners and friends.
This goodwill message, along with Chinese New Year greetings, was sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping to his friends in the U.S. state of Iowa ahead of this year’s Spring Festival.
He was replying to 58 Iowans who sent him a greeting card and recalled in it the Chinese leader’s first visit to Iowa in 1985. Among them are Xi’s longtime friends Luca Berrone, Gary Dvorchak and Sarah Lande.
Nearly four decades ago, Xi traveled to the United States for the first time. During that visit, he met these ordinary Americans. Since then, a special bond has been formed that lasts to this day.
CURIOUS YOUNG MAN
In the spring of 1985, Xi, then an official of Zhengding County, Hebei Province, led a five-member delegation to Iowa, known as “the world’s food capital,” to learn about crop production and livestock farming.
During the visit, he spent three days in Muscatine, a city in rural eastern Iowa along the Mississippi River, where he stayed with local hosts Thomas and Eleanor Dvorchak. The homestay left a lasting impression.
Recalling the trip decades later, Xi said he still remembered where he stayed: 2911 Bonnie Drive. “That was my first face-to-face contact with the Americans,” Xi said. “The days I spent with them are unforgettable.”
Xi and his delegation were warmly received in Muscatine. “On our first night, our hostess asked what time we would wake up the next morning and what we would like to eat,” recalled Xia Wenyi, the delegation’s translator.
Xi responded that he was happy to eat whatever the family typically had. According to Xia’s recollection, Xi said, “We want to experience and understand the daily life of an everyday American family.”
Hostess Eleanor prepared a big breakfast with coffee and tea every day during Xi’s stay. Xi slept in the Star Trek-themed bedroom belonging to the Dvorchaks’ son, Gary, who was then away at university.
“Everything, no matter what, was very acceptable to him — he was humble,” Eleanor recounted.
Xi’s visit came after China and the United States had spent years working to restore relations in the late 1970s. In 1983, then Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a sister-state agreement with Hebei and led a 50-member delegation to the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang in 1984, which, as he recalled, led to Xi’s trip in 1985.
“We wanted to treat them as we were treated in Hebei. So we went all out,” recalled Branstad, who served as U.S. ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020.
Xi’s itinerary in Muscatine included tours to farms and food processing plants, interviews with local media, a “Welcome to Muscatine” luncheon and a boat excursion on the Mississippi River.
It was Xi’s first sighting of the Mississippi River. “When I was young, I had read the novels of Mark Twain, and I had long wanted to see for myself the picturesque scenery of the Mississippi,” Xi said when he revisited Iowa back in 2012.
“He was curious about everything and asked questions about everything,” recalled Sarah Lande, one of the Muscatine tour coordinators. Local newspaper Muscatine Journal also reported on how Xi engaged with residents, answering “a variety of questions about China and its people.” Xi was also given a key to the city.
In 2023, reminiscing about this experience, Xi said, “I have found that although our two countries are different in history, culture and social system and have embarked on different development paths, our two peoples are both kind, friendly, hardworking and down-to-earth.”
LASTING CONNECTIONS
Xi has said on several occasions that the foundation of China-U.S. relations was laid by the people of both sides. Xi has stayed in touch with old friends in Iowa through reunions, letters and shared memories.
In 2012, Xi visited Iowa once again as China’s vice president. He made sure to add Muscatine to his jam-packed itinerary so he could reunite with the old friends. They chatted over tea at Lande’s home, gathering around a couch in the living room. Their hour-long meeting was filled with laughter.
Thomas and Eleanor Dvorchak, who had moved to Florida, made a special trip back. Xi recognized the couple the moment he saw them and shared his memories of his stay at the Dvorchaks.
“You were the first group of Americans I came into contact with,” Xi told his Iowa friends. “To me, you are America.”
Lande compiled their stories into a memoir titled Old Friends: The Xi Jinping-Iowa Story, which was published in 2018. Upon learning about Lande’s book project, Xi sent some of his own photos.
Another reunion of these old friends occurred in 2023 when Xi visited San Francisco for the APEC leaders’ meeting. When Xi saw Gary, son of the Dvorchaks, he said, “I stayed in your room and remember the sweatshirts and ball gear there.”
“There was genuine happiness, so you could see the smile on his face. He was really enjoying it,” Gary said of the reunion.
Gary first met Xi in person in 2015 when the Chinese president hosted the Dvorchak family for a private dinner in Beijing. During the gathering, Gary’s parents presented Xi with a photo album titled “Commemorating 30 Years of Friendship,” featuring photos from 1985 and 2012.
When Gary’s father, Thomas Dvorchak, passed away in 2024, Xi conveyed his condolences, expressing that he had always valued the genuine friendship.
The Dvorchaks’ Iowa home, where Xi once stayed, has been turned into a museum and renamed the Sino-U.S. Friendship House. Gary noted that visitors can appreciate how much the friendship has grown over the years.
“For America and China to be friends as countries, it is important for people to understand each other,” he said.
THE YOUTH AND TOMORROW
For the Chinese leader, the future of China-U.S. relations depends on the youth. For years, Xi has worked to foster friendly exchanges between young people in China and the United States.
During his 2023 visit to San Francisco, Xi announced an initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over a five-year span.
Shortly after, Lande, who maintained correspondence with Xi, wrote to him, expressing hope that Muscatine High School students could join the program.
With Xi’s support, over 20 Muscatine students visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei and other places in China in January 2024, becoming the first group of American students to participate in the program.
After their visit, the students, delighted by their experiences, wrote a letter to Xi. In a reply, Xi told them he felt happy for them. He encouraged more young Americans to visit China to get a first-hand experience of the real China and foster genuine friendships with their Chinese counterparts.
In April, another group of Muscatine students arrived in Hebei. They made a special trip to Zhengding County to visit the place where Xi once worked.
Lucas Berrone, board of directors of Iowa Sister States, escorted the students on the trip. Berrone met Xi in 1985. He mapped out a two-week itinerary for Xi’s first Iowa tour and spent hours driving the delegation to farms and plants. Their friendship has endured over the decades.
Berrone sees these exchange trips as an opportunity to introduce a new generation to the friendship between China and the United States. He is hopeful about “passing the torch” to the younger generation.
Joseph McNeely, a student from Muscatine who traveled to China thanks to the exchange program, expressed his gratitude to Berrone: “Thank you for continuing the friendship between you and President Xi and for helping this trip come to light.”
McNeely made some Chinese friends from Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School during the trip. As a symbol of friendship, they planted a tree in Hebei.
This year, during the Chinese Spring Festival, Berrone hosted Chinese students from Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School in Iowa. The students were on vacation, touring the United States and making new friends in Muscatine.
As he had many times before, Berrone shared his story of hosting Xi and other Chinese delegates in Iowa 40 years ago. “Their stay, even though brief, made the connection with the families opening up their homes and their hearts.”
“That connection was the first building brick of a relationship that has lasted 40 years and continues to grow as a wonderful friendship and an inspiring story for relations between China and the United States,” Berrone added.
To Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S 4th February 2025 Announcement no. 12/2025
Final terms for bonds to be listed 7thFebruary 2025
On 7th February 2025, Jyske Realkredit A/S will be listing new Covered Bonds (SDO). Final terms for the bonds are attached to this announcement.
The full prospectus for the Bonds consist of the attached final terms and the previously disclosed ”Base Prospectus for the issue of Covered Bonds (SDO), Mortgage bonds (“RO”) and Mortgage Bonds (RO) and bonds issued pursuant to Section 15 of the Danish Mortgage-Credit Loans and Mortgage-Credit Bonds etc. Act (Section 15 Bonds).”, dated June 28th, 2024.
Jyske Realkredit’s base prospectus is available on Jyske Realkredit’s home page jyskerealkredit.com
Yours sincerely, Jyske Realkredit A/S
www.jyskerealkredit.com
Please observe that the Danish version of this announcement prevails.
NEW YORK and MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Biz2X 2025 Frontiers of Digital Finance (FDF) Conference at University of Miami’s Business School, held on January 14, brought together top global leaders in technology, business and government to examine the rapidly changing digital finance landscape, particularly AI’s transformative impact on small business lending. For video highlights, click here.
FDF assembled a ‘Who’s Who’ of digital finance experts who delved into major issues, such as potential changes in regulation in the new Trump administration, increased use of AI in lending, and the rise of alternative lenders. Speakers from over 25 organizations were represented, in an invite-only audience of more than 200 delegates. Among the A-List speakers were:
Former Congressman Patrick McHenry, who served as Chair of the House Financial Services Committee for the past two years. His keynote address, The Future of Fintech Regulation, drew upon his more than two-decades in Congress. The session was moderated by Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business News.
USAA President & CEO Wayne Peacock spoke about Leadership in Fintechin TheNextDecade. Under Peacock’s visionary leadership, USAA has become a household name. At FDF, he shared insights from his expertise in mission-driven leadership to navigate the evolving financial services landscape.
Jim Esposito, President of Citadel Securities, led a discussion entitled Building the Future: Technology in Financial Markets in which he shared his insights for driving long-term growth and building global client and partner relationships.
MiamiMayor Francis X. Suarez examined Where Innovation Meets Opportunity – A Legal and Economic Vision, together with legendary litigator Marc Kasowitz from Kasowitz Benson Torres. They shared their perspectives on the legal and economic forces shaping today’s business landscape, and Mayor Suarez explored how cities like Miami can become innovation hubs for the private sector.
BCG & Biz2X Launch New SMB Finance White Paper at FDF Miami
The study examines the rapidly changing dynamics of small business lending. Biz2X and BCG analyzed the reasons why banks — particularly the country’s largest institutions — place limitations on lending to small and medium-sized businesses. BCG identifies a global small business funding gap that exceeds $5 trillion.
Biz2X and BCG conclude that SMB lending must be fundamentally altered through technology such as digital lending platforms to achieve lower risk, broader access to capital, and a significantly-improved digital experience for both borrowers and lenders. To download the full report, click here.
Looking Ahead to Future FDF Conferences
“FDF Miami 2025 was the highest-attended conference yet in our continuing series of these events. Our goal with FDF is to create a platform that drives the finance industry forward by bringing together the right people from all sides of industry and policy,” said Conference Chair and the CEO & Co-Founder of Biz2X, Rohit Arora.
Future editions of FDF in 2025 are being planned in Riyadh and Mumbai, along with a likely return to Miami, with dates to be announced. For more information about FDF sponsors, speakers, and to see exclusive content from FDF Miami and previous FDF events, visit frontiersofdigitalfinance.com.
About Frontiers of Digital Finance (FDF) FDF is an invitation only, global conference series that assembles global experts in the field. These include top financial institutions, innovative startups, investors, policy makers, technologists, and other leaders to learn about trends in digital finance and build relationships with key executives in the fintech industry.
Attendees gain valuable insights from distinguished speakers and forge meaningful connections with key industry executives through curated networking events. Previous conferences have been held in some of the world’s most dynamic financial hubs: Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, New York (at Columbia Business School) and Miami. Visit frontiersofdigitalfinance.com and LinkedIn for more information and highlights from the conferences.
About Biz2X Biz2X® is the digital lending platform chosen by successful business lenders, with more than $10 billion funded globally to businesses through the company’s innovative technology. The platform has been chosen for business lending at banks and financial institutions around the world. Lenders choose the platform because they want to transform their lending practices digitally. Biz2X makes this possible through best-in-class technology and AI-powered underwriting models. Biz2X LLC is a subsidiary of Biz2Credit. Visit Biz2X.com for more information.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Government today (December 23) announced that the Chief Executive (CE) has reappointed Ms Mary Huen as Hong Kong, China (HKC)’s representative and Mr Spencer Fung as alternate representative to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC). At the same time, the CE has appointed Mr Geoffrey Kao as HKC’s alternate representative to ABAC. All appointments are for a term of two years from January 1, 2025.
“I am very grateful to Ms Huen and Mr Fung for continuing to serve on ABAC, and to Mr Kao for agreeing to represent HKC in ABAC. I am confident that their extensive experience in the business sector and valuable insights will further enhance the work of ABAC, bringing concrete benefits to the Asia-Pacific region,” the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, said.
Ms Huen is the Chief Executive Officer (Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia) of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. Mr Fung is the Group Executive Chairman of Li & Fung. Mr Kao is the Executive Director of Wah Ming Hong Limited.
ABAC was established in 1996 as a permanent business advisory body to provide advice to APEC on business sector priorities. HKC has appointed three representatives and three alternate representatives to ABAC. Currently, the Chairman of Esquel Group, Ms Marjorie Yang, and the Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, Ms Nisa Leung, are the other two HKC’s representatives. The Chairman of Lai Yuen Company Limited, Mr Duncan Chiu, is another HKC’s alternate representative.
WILMINGTON, Del., Dec. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Onfolio Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ONFO, ONFOW) (OTC: ONFOP) (the “Company” or “Onfolio”), a company that acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of online businesses, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share on the outstanding shares of the Company’s series A preferred stock.
The dividend is payable on December 31, 2024, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 21, 2024.
About Onfolio Holdings
Onfolio acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of online businesses. Onfolio acquires business that meet its investment criteria, being that such businesses operate in sectors with long-term growth opportunities, have positive and stable cash flows, face minimal threats of technological or competitive obsolescence and can be managed by our existing team or have strong management teams largely in place. The Company excels at finding acquisition opportunities where the seller has not fully optimized their business, and Onfolio’s experience and skillset allows it to add increased value to these existing businesses. Visit www.onfolio.com for more information.
Safe Harbor Statement
The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “plans,” “explores,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “continues,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing new customer offerings, changes in customer order patterns, changes in customer offering mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, delays due to issues with outsourced service providers, those events and factors described by us in Item 1.A “Risk Factors” in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q; other risks to which our Company is subject; other factors beyond the Company’s control. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Headline: Plastics Pollution Dialogue advances discussion on key focus areas towards MC14 outcome
The three issues discussed at the meeting are critical in tackling the challenges of plastics pollution while ensuring trade remains a solution to this global issue. Two other key areas – capacity building for developing members and the potential creation of domestic inventories of trade-related plastic measures – were addressed by participating delegations on 18 September.
Transparency
Delegations examined how to enhance transparency of plastics trade flows, including by supporting the work at the World Customs Organization (WCO), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and other relevant institutions. UNITAR updated members on its work to develop statistical guidelines for measuring flows of plastics throughout their life cycle, including estimates for plastics embedded in goods.
A discussion among participants focused on how domestic efforts can contribute to better identifying flows of plastics entering and exiting members’ economies and to what degree they rely on specific breakdowns of Harmonized System (HS) codes. Delegations were asked to provide examples of estimates, data or labelling requirements of average plastics content or plastic material composition in goods used in their respective economies, including for statistical purposes or to support the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of their products.
Delegations shared insights on how to improve transparency, monitoring and understanding of trade flows throughout the value chain of plastics, including flows of single-use plastics, plastic film and hard-to-recycle plastics.
Potential best practices
The WTO Secretariat delivered a presentation on technical discussions held at DPP meetings on the efficiency of measures to address plastics pollution, as well as information available in the DPP survey on trade-related plastics measures (TrPMs) regarding existing mechanisms.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) presented its paper “Avoiding Trade Concerns in the Design of Plastic Pollution Measures”, which provides insights into aspects of WTO members’ plastics measures that have created friction with trading partners. The paper suggests recommendations for the adoption of suitable policies in the future.
Delegations discussed guidelines and criteria that should be taken into consideration when identifying potential best practices for TrPMs and were asked to provide concrete examples. They also explored whether the voluntary development of domestic inventories of TrPMs could be useful to increase internal coordination, help improve transparency and coherence, and facilitate implementation and trade. Such inventories could also support cooperative and effective trade policies, aligning with actions outlined in the statement adopted at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in February 2024.
Access to technologies and services
The discussion on access to technologies and services started with a presentation by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on challenges and opportunities for trade in services for the prevention and mitigation of plastics pollution. This was followed by a presentation by the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS) on challenges and opportunities for trade in technologies related to plastics pollution. Delegations also benefited from a presentation by the Council on Economic Policies on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Non-Binding Guidelines on Services that Support the Clean-up of Marine Debris.
Several key questions were discussed – for example, the specific technologies and services, including for environmentally sound waste management, which would be particularly useful for addressing plastics pollution from a trade perspective.
Members also discussed the relevant trade policy tools, main trade barriers and challenges for accessing such technologies and services, including for developing members and least developed countries (LDCs). Additionally, delegations addressed what could be done under the DPP to help facilitate access to such technologies and services and to promote cooperation on trade that contributes to ending plastics pollution.
Participants acknowledged that extensive technical work has been done on the three key areas under discussion and considered potential proposals that could be incorporated into the DPP to further these objectives, aiming at producing concrete MC14 outcomes.
Participating delegations agreed that these discussions are pivotal in shaping the agenda for the next Ministerial Conference and ensuring that trade contributes meaningfully to addressing one of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Next meeting
The next DPP meeting will address the following areas: how to support the work at the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastics pollution; how to identify opportunities for greater harmonization, alignment, or interoperability of TrPMs; and how to identify opportunities for enhanced trade cooperation on non-plastic substitutes and alternatives, starting with standards.
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, met today in Ottawa with their Republic of Korea counterparts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and Minister of National Defence Kim Yong-hyun for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting.
November 1, 2024 Ottawa, Ontario- – Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, met today in Ottawa with their Republic of Korea counterparts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and Minister of National Defence Kim Yong-hyun for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting.
Through new announcements and initiatives, Canada and the Republic of Korea will deepen cooperation as strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific, including through our shared priorities in the North Pacific, and further the significant progress already achieved in our bilateral relations.
This builds on Minister Joly’s visit to South Korea in July 2024 to launch the Canada-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Action Plan with Minister Cho, and Minister Blair’s visit in September 2024 to co-host the Republic of Korea-United Nations Command Member States Defence Ministerial with Minister Kim.
Canada and the Republic of Korea have issued a joint statement to deepen cooperation on shared regional and global issues and to condemn in the strongest possible terms the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Canada and the Republic of Korea are gravely concerned that large numbers of North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia. This is a significant escalation with dangerous implications for security and stability in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Together, Canada and the Republic of Korea call on North Korea and Russia to withdraw North Korean troops from Russia.
For more than 60 years, Canada and the Republic of Korea have enjoyed a close friendship and longstanding peace and security cooperation that dates back to the Korean War.
Today, this partnership facilitated discussions that will help expand collaboration in the years ahead, including during Canada’s G7 Presidency and when the Republic of Korea hosts APEC in 2025.
These discussions touched on the Indo-Pacific strategies of our two countries that outline a common vision for ensuring the region remains secure, free and prosperous into the future.
To help realize this objective, Canada and the Republic of Korea agreed to launch the Canada-Korea Indo-Pacific Dialogue to allow direct collaboration between our Special Envoys for the Indo-Pacific.
Both countries have agreed to hold these ministerial dialogues on an ongoing basis to continue advancing Canada-ROK cooperation on a range of shared priorities.
We, the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of national defence of Canada and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met on November 1, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada, for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Meeting (“the ministerial”). The ministerial builds upon the elevation of our diplomatic relationship to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and is a key deliverable of the CSP Action Plan launched in July 2024.
November 1, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
We, the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of national defence of Canada and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met on November 1, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada, for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Meeting (“the ministerial”). The ministerial builds upon the elevation of our diplomatic relationship to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and is a key deliverable of the CSP Action Plan launched in July 2024.
Today, through several new announcements and initiatives, we demonstrate our resolve to deepen cooperation to reinforce global stability in the face of interconnected challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. In this, Canada and the ROK are stronger together.
Partners for global stability
We condemn in the strongest possible terms North Korea’s deepening military cooperation with Russia in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, including the provision of millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles to support Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable war of aggression in Ukraine. We are gravely concerned that large numbers of North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia, which is a significant escalation with dangerous implications for security and stability in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. We are closely monitoring what Russia provides North Korea in return for weapons and military personnel, including Russia’s possible provision of sensitive technology to advance North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. We call on North Korea and Russia to immediately cease these unlawful and destabilizing activities and to withdraw North Korean troops from Russia. Recognizing that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions are increasingly interconnected, we commit to actively pursuing further measures together with the international community.
We call on Russia to withdraw its forces immediately, completely, and unconditionally from all Ukrainian territory to its internationally recognized borders; we reiterate our unwavering support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect and defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We express our deep concern with any nation’s efforts to support Russia’s war economy, such as through the transfer of dual-use materials, including weapons components and equipment, which enable Russia to prolong and sustain its illegal war in Ukraine.
We condemn North Korea’s nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs, and continued missile launches, including its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on October 31 (local time), which threatens peace and stability in the region and across the globe, are in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) and international law. It only demonstrates that North Korea continues to prioritize its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people, and we call on North Korea to cease its destabilizing actions. We reaffirm that any further nuclear test by North Korea would be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community. We continue to call for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s WMDs. The ROK reiterated the goals of its Audacious Initiative and ‘August 15 Unification Doctrine’ and
Canada expressed strong support for the ROK’s efforts to achieve a denuclearized, free, peaceful, prosperous, and unified Korean Peninsula.
Both countries remain committed to multilateral sanctions evasion monitoring efforts and Canada will continue to provide assets via the Canadian Armed Forces’ Operation NEON.
We were pleased to join other participating countries last month in launching the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). We reaffirm the goal of assisting all UN Member States in implementing UN sanctions on North Korea by publishing information on sanctions violations and evasion attempts.
We highlight the valuable contributions of the United Nations Command (UNC) to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The ROK commends Canada for its unwavering support of the UNC since its inception, and Canada’s current leadership role within the UNC through its provision of its Deputy Commander. The co-hosting of the UNC Ministerial together this year is a symbol of our powerful ties and shared priorities in the areas of security and defence, and we will continue to collaborate closely to strengthen cooperation among the ROK, UNC and its Member States.
The ROK and Canada are committed to working together to actively promote and protect human rights in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, including within North Korea and to seeking accountability for human rights violations.
We reiterate that the situation of human rights in North Korea is intrinsically linked to international peace and security, and we call on North Korea to engage fully and constructively with the international community, including during its upcoming Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council. We also look forward to the next iteration of the Canada-ROK North Korean Human Rights Dialogue.
Canada and the ROK affirm our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes. We continue to advocate for peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific. We reaffirm that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity.
Canada and the ROK express their support for the global maritime order based on international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We express concern about developments in the South China Sea, and emphasize the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability and freedom of navigation and overflight in and above the South China Sea , consistent with UNCLOS.
Canada appreciates the ROK’s participation in the Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s 10-Point Peace Formula, hosted by Canada, Ukraine and Norway in Montreal on October 31st, demonstrating our joint resolve to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Canada and the ROK will continue to discuss ways to jointly support Ukraine’s Peace Formula, while providing the support Ukraine requires to secure a just and lasting peace.
Indo-Pacific partners
Canada and the ROK acknowledge the Indo-Pacific region’s pivotal role in shaping global geopolitical and economic relations in the 21st century, with long-term implications for our shared prosperity and security. Canada and the ROK share a common vision for the region to be more secure, free, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable.
In this context, we congratulate the organizers of the successful Canada-Korea Forum held on October 24-26, 2024 in Montreal, and the Korean Peninsula Symposium on October 23, 2024, co-organized with the Embassies of Japan, and the United States.
To deepen and implement bilateral collaboration in the region, we announce today the launch of the Canada-Korea Indo-Pacific Dialogue, where our respective Special Envoys for the Indo-Pacific will engage on identifying synergies and joining action on shared regional priorities.
We also look forward to the Indo-Pacific High-Level Forum, co-hosted by the ROK and Australia, in Seoul on December 13, as we recognize the importance of cooperation with the broader community of Indo-Pacific partners.
In 2025, we look forward to Canada’s G7 Presidency and the ROK’s hosting of APEC. We further elaborated today how our two countries will establish synergies and use our leadership for cooperation on regional and global challenges. Canada looks forward to working with the ROK on advancing G7 priorities as relevant, including building economies that benefit everyone, fighting climate change, and managing rapidly evolving technologies. Furthermore, the ROK and Canada look forward to working together for a productive APEC in 2025.
As actively engaged global partners, we will deepen our collective engagement with ASEAN, leveraging the ROK-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, while reaffirming our commitment to the principle of ASEAN Centrality.
Partners in security and defence
Canada and the ROK are committed to deepening partnerships in security and advancing shared defence priorities through bilateral and multilateral initiatives. Canada and the ROK will strengthen bilateral and multilateral exercises, including holding regular Army Staff Talks, with the inaugural edition to be hosted in Canada.
We are committed to jointly delivering and collaborating on Women, Peace and Security, so that women have full, meaningful and equal participation in defence and security, peace operations and peace negotiations. As we seek to enhance women’s participation in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict state building, Canada and the ROK will leverage the ROK’s 2024-2025 UNSC seat to jointly advance the Women, Peace, and Security agenda globally as well as in the Indo-Pacific region.
We will continue to cooperate on maritime safety, and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, including through detecting dark vessels and joint patrols under Operation North Pacific Guard. We will also continue to explore ways of addressing maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific through enhanced maritime domain awareness and relevant instruments such as the Regional Cooperation Agreement Combatting Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).
We will further utilize the Canada-Korea Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Materiel Cooperation to share technical information, discuss defence equipment and technology issues of mutual interest, and identify opportunities for bilateral defence materiel cooperation, and hold the 3rd Joint Meeting (Materiel) in Canada in 2025.
We agree to expand our work within the Canada-Korea Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Research and Development, to encourage collaboration between respective defence research and development organizations.
Canada welcomes the contribution of the ROK as a NATO partner and commits to working with the ROK to advance its Individually Tailored Partnership Programme. Canada further welcomes the ROK’s recent participation at the NATO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels.
Addressing non-traditional security challenges
We recognize that climate change is the defining challenge of our time and a threat multiplier that impacts our collective security, including within the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic areas, and we affirm our strong support for NATO’s Climate Change and Security Agenda.
We acknowledge that our democratic values, institutions and processes, and our citizens’ fundamental freedoms, are increasingly vulnerable to hybrid and digital threats, such as foreign interference and disinformation, and we will continue to expand our cooperative efforts to combat these threats.
We are committed to addressing threats and seizing opportunities linked to cybersecurity and emerging technologies, including threats to the rule of law, democracy, and critical infrastructure. We are pleased to announce today that we will hold Canada-Korea Cyber Policy Consultations to exchange information on each other’s policies, strategies and capabilities. Canada is also pleased to note the ROK’s fruitful engagement with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallin, Estonia, of which Canada is also a member.
We recognize the importance of the responsible use of artificial intelligence, including in the military domain. Canada commends the ROK for hosting several high-level international gatherings on AI to advance discussions on global AI governance, including the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024, and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military domain (REAIM) Summit in September 2024, in Seoul. We strongly support the Seoul Declaration for safe, innovative, and inclusive AI and the principles for the responsible development, deployment, and use of AI in the military domain articulated in the REAIM Blueprint for Action.
The relationship between our two nations dates back centuries; reinforced by our countries’ collective efforts to defend peace and security on the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War. We commit to meeting in this format on a biennial basis and look forward to the next iteration of this Ministerial in 2026, where we will reflect on and examine how we may further build upon the achievements stemming from today’s discussion.
Annex – announcements
Today, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Canada and the Republic of Korea announced that our countries have agreed to:
Hold this Ministerial on a biennial basis and look forward to its next iteration in 2026 to follow-up on the achievements of today’s discussion.
Launch the Canada-Korea Indo-Pacific Dialogue, where our respective Special Envoys for the Indo-Pacific will engage on identifying synergies and joint action on shared regional priorities, including in the North Pacific.
Advance bilateral diplomatic intelligence cooperation and analytic exchanges between our respective foreign ministries.
Expedite the negotiations to finalize the Agreement on the Protection of Classified Military/Defence Information.
Explore measures to facilitate and deepen military operational cooperation.
Strengthen bilateral and multilateral exercises, including holding regular Army Staff Talks, with the inaugural edition to be hosted in Canada.
Hold the 3rd Joint Meeting (Materiel), hosted by Canada in 2025 under the Canada-Korea Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Materiel Cooperation, and continue to identify and expand opportunities for defence cooperation.
Hold Canada-Korea bilateral Cyber Policy Consultations.
Government of Canada to announce support for the YMCA of Southwestern New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick · October 31, 2024 · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint John – Rothesay, on behalf of the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA, will make an announcement regarding the YMCA’s Glenn Carpenter Outdoor Education Centre
Date: November 1, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: YMCA of Southwestern New Brunswick 191 Churchill Boulevard Saint John, New Brunswick E2K 3E2
Connor Burton Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Rural Economic Development and of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Connor.Burton@acoa-apeca.gc.ca
Jezebel has long been used as a slur against women who are considered too self-confident, too independent or too close to power – particularly when they happen to be Black. From Beyonce to Nikki Minaj, US vice-president and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris is only the latest in a long line of women of colour to be on the receiving end of the slur.
But beneath the use of Jezebel’s name as a way to paint powerful women as promiscuous lies something even more sinister: the threat of sexual violence for those who will not submit to white patriarchal control.
An increasing number of Christian nationalist personalities have taken to claiming that the vice-president is a Jezebel spirit. Notably, televangelist Lance Wallnau appears in multiple videos on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that: “with Kamala you have a Jezebel spirit, a characteristic in the Bible, that is a Jezebel spirit. The personification of intimidation, seduction, domination and manipulation”.
Nor is Wallnau shy about connecting his use of Jezebel to Harris’s race: according to his video, the fact that Harris is Black makes her even more of a seductive Jezebel than Hillary Clinton: “the spirit of Jezebel in a way that will be even more ominous than Hillary [Clinton] because she’ll bring a racial component, and she’s younger”.
Jezebels old and new
Different versions of Jezebel are found in the Old and New Testaments, but both are associated with power, independence and sexuality. In 1 Kings, Jezebel is a queen from Sidon (present-day Lebanon). She ruled along with her husband Ahab and refuses to worship the biblical God; she continued her traditional worship of Ba’al.
Her authority in her marriage and in politics attracted the prophet Elijah’s negative attention. Elijah utters a prophecy that: “The dogs shall eat Jezebel” (1 Kings 21:23), and indeed, 2 Kings 9:32-37 says that the prophecy is fulfilled.
Knowing her life is in danger, Jezebel puts on her make up and does her hair to prepare to meet her enemy.
As religious studies academic Jennifer L. Koosed writes, while her self-beautification is used to sexualise Jezebel, “these acts are those of a proud and powerful queen” who boldly meets the man who is about to have her thrown from a window. Jezebel’s bloodied body is trampled by horses and her corpse utterly destroyed.
Her violent death and the desecration of her body, which is consumed by dogs, dehumanises Jezebel. The Bible presents this as apt punishment for a woman who was so bold as to defy her husband’s traditions and maintain her independence.
When we meet another Jezebel in the New Testament, the process begins again. In Revelation 2, Jezebel is a prophet, a rival of John the Seer, who travels to different early Christian communities and teaches them. John, the author of the Book of Revelation, imagines Jesus writing to the community who allow themselves to be taught by her. In that letter, the voice of Jesus declares that the punishment for this woman, who dares to be a leader, is rape. John uses vitriolic language to paint Jezebel as sexually immoral, but his complaint is with her authority.
Long and damaging history
The Bible frequently paints female characters as unacceptably sexual, or threatens them with sexual violence, in order to maintain its patriarchal hierarchy.
Definition of the word Jezebel in a religious dictionary. Shutterstock
For example, as biblical scholars such as Renita J. Weems have pointed out, Hosea 1-3 uses the metaphor of God as (abusive) husband and the people of Israel as their (abused) adulterous wife in order to convince the Israelites to worship God again.
The infamous figure of the “Whore of Babylon” in Revelation 17-18 echoes that divine threat: her control over the kings of the world, her opulence and her sexuality all make her God’s enemy – and her punishment is sexual humiliation and violence.
Kamala Harris has been labelled Jezebel since at least as early as 2021 when pastor Steve Swofford as “Jezebel Harris” and pastor Tom Buck tweeted: “I can’t imagine any truly God-fearing Israelite who would’ve wanted their daughters to view Jezebel as an inspirational role model because she was a woman in power.”
Buck doubled down on his comments the next day, saying, “For those torn up over my tweet, I stand by it 100%. My problem is her godless character. She not only is the most radical pro-abortion VP ever, but also most radical LGBT advocate. She performed one of the first Lesbian ‘marriages.’ Pray for her, but don’t praise her!”
Understood in the context of the attack on women’s rights by Christian nationalists and their allies, giving Harris the name Jezebel connects the biblical threats with the move to criminalise abortion access and even divorce – to take power away from women and restore it to the patriarchal Christian structure.
So, when Christian nationalists urge their followers to “confront this Jezebel spirit” we can’t forget that confronting Jezebel is violent – in the Bible confronting Jezebel means her death or her rape. These veiled threats should not be taken lightly.
Femicide is an ongoing crisis. A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK and three women are killed by men every day in North America. Sexual violence against women is also rampant and is a weapon in the patriarchal arsenal for subduing independent women.
Calling a powerful woman like Harris a Jezebel, then, isn’t just an offensive slur – it carries with it the persistent threat of racist violence and sexual assault.
M.J.C. Warren does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
