Archive for April 26, 2021

TELUS Ventures Invests In Dark Slope’s Immersive Learning Lumerto Inc. Business

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 26, 2021 by itnerd

Spatial technologies company Dark Slope Inc. today announces the launch of Lumeto Inc., an immersive learning company deploying its XR learning platform to the health care and public safety sectors. Lumeto (lumeto.com) has been incubating inside of Dark Slope for eighteen months as it developed its core technology and built its first industry partnerships.

Alongside the launch the company is announcing the closing of its Pre-A round of financing, and is pleased to welcome lead investor Mars IAF as well as TELUS Ventures and Golden Ventures into its ownership group as it redoubles its development efforts on the rapidly evolving immersive learning industry.

Lumeto’s Involve XR is an open and flexible XR learning platform for institutions looking to deploy data-driven, enterprise-grade, immersive training and assessment across their workforce. The platform is initially tailored to institutions training frontline workers in the health care and public safety sectors. Involve XR is a next generation learning platform, delivering an unprecedented level of flexibility, customization, enterprise-grade security, data collection and analysis capabilities. The platform enables live or asynchronous simulation classes via VR, AR or flatscreen, as well as learner assessment and benchmarking, providing learners an efficient way to remotely and easily re-skill and up-skill. The company has signed agreements with partners representing more than 35,000 frontline workers – to be announced at a later date.

The company is happy to welcome new investors MaRS IAF, an early stage investor in IT, health and cleantech companies; TELUS Ventures, the investment arm of the dynamic, world-leading communications technology company; and Golden Ventures, a leading early-stage venture capital fund. In addition to MaRS, TELUS Ventures and Golden, the round includes participation by original investors Radical Ventures and Globalive Capital Inc., among others.

Additionally, the company is pleased to announce the appointment of Brice Scheschuk, Managing Partner at Globalive Capital Inc. and previous co-founder and CFO of Wind Mobile, to its board of directors. Michael Ho from MaRS IAF and Jon Wolkin from TELUS Ventures both join as observers to the board. They join current board member Wayne Purboo, former SVP Product of AT&T, observers Steven DeNure, co-founder and former president/COO of Wildbrain and a representative of Radical Ventures, as well as Raja Khanna, board chair and CEO.

Dark Slope was founded in 2018 on the belief that spatial computing, propelled by advancements in hardware, 5G, and real-time rendering platforms, was poised to become the fourth wave in computing after mainframe, desktop and mobile. Initially the company launched Dark Slope Studios, focused on developing applications and technology to power the future of entertainment, including the development of untethered VR, AR and mixed reality (MR) theme-park experiences, virtual productions and metaverse platforms. Dark Slope Studios (darkslopestudios.com) continues under that banner and has recently announced a slew of new hires, and a 300% increase in year-over-year revenues.

Following this launch both entities, Dark Slope Studios and Lumeto, will be sister companies with separate operating teams, sharing a common shareholder group and common senior leadership.


ABOUT LUMETO
Lumeto enables the future of work through its advanced XR simulation, training and skills assessment platform, Involve XR. The platform enables institutions looking to deploy data-driven, enterprise-grade, immersive training and assessment across their workforce. The company currently operates across the health care and safety fields, enhancing learning outcomes tied to individual and team decision-making, problem-solving, de-escalation and complex procedures. Involve XR enables enhanced levels of learner assessment and benchmarking, providing learners an efficient way to remotely re-skill, up-skill and study in live, synchronous, immersive, scenario-based learning environments. Lumeto is based in Toronto, Canada, and employs a global workforce. Visit www.lumeto.com to learn more.


ABOUT DARK SLOPE STUDIOS
Founded in 2018, Dark Slope Studios has continued to push the boundaries of multi-sensory entertainment center spectacles, virtual reality experiences, immersive games, and motion capture-driven virtual production for television. From it’s 8000 square foot studio, Dark Slope Studios leverages its warehouse-scale virtual production stage with proprietary pipeline, tools, workflows and game-engine technology in order to bring world class creative properties to life. Based in Toronto, and with a global workforce, Dark Slope Studios combines advanced technologies with compelling storytelling to reimagine the future of entertainment. Visit https://darkslopestudios.com/ to learn more.

Leave a comment »

Stage 1 of The Rainbow Six Siege North American League Is Done

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 26, 2021 by itnerd

The past several weeks of the Rainbow Six: Siege North American League have been action packed, with not a dull moment in sight. Stage 1 has come to an end, so that means it’s time to take a peek at current standings, and get ready for an intense Stage 2 ahead.

It’s time to break out the Canadian flag and start cheering for your Canadian stars (if you haven’t been already) because Mirage from out of Montreal are currently taking the league by storm and sitting in a comfortable third place overall!

Going into Stage 2 sitting nice and pretty, Oxygen is leading the series with Soniqs right on their tail. Finally, a crowd favourite and the NAL Stage 1 MVP goes out to ICONIC, leading his team to the top four in the series.

Leave a comment »

Roku & Google Get Into Anti-Trust Fight…. And Users As Usual Are Caught In The Middle

Posted in Commentary with tags , on April 26, 2021 by itnerd

There’s some bad news for users of the Roku platform. The company is warning its customers with YouTube TV subscriptions that the service could go dark in the coming days due to what it calls Google’s “predatory” and “monopoly” behavior:

In a lengthy statement, a Roku spokesperson blasted Google’s actions in detail. The tech giant is “attempting to use its YouTube monopoly position to force Roku into accepting predatory, anti-competitive and discriminatory terms that will directly harm Roku and our users.” The company has also sent an email to customers this morning expressing the concerns. Roku is arguing that YouTube and Google are out to manipulate the user experience to siphon data and tilt search results in YouTube’s favor, among other complaints. It also maintains that Google could require Roku to spend money upgrading microchips or other equipment in order to accommodate YouTube TV. The current agreement between the companies will expire in the next few days. While the Roku statement did not specify a date, this week will see April end and May begin, a turning of the calendar that matches with most distribution contract deadlines.

The thing is that I can see this escalating quickly. For example, Google has pulled the YouTube app off of Fire TV devices before. Which means that users will be affected by this fight. So if you have a Roku device, do not be surprised if the YouTube app disappears from your device in the next few days unless these two companies can work something out.

5 Comments »

Liquid Avatar Launches KABN Prepaid Visa Card & Mobile Card App In Canada

Posted in Commentary on April 26, 2021 by itnerd

Liquid Avatar Technologies has begun to roll out the program in Canada and has plans to expand its card program rollout to other geographic regions subject to all necessary approvals. The KABN Prepaid Visa Card and Card App will provide users with a host of services similar to those of major financial institutions. Additionally, the KABN Prepaid Visa Card will integrate seamlessly with the Liquid Avatar mobile App, providing qualified Liquid Avatar App users with an easy way to apply for and access their KABN Prepaid Visa Card directly from the Liquid Avatar mobile App.

KABN cardholders will automatically be entitled to participate in KABN KASH, an exclusive and customized consumer experience where users can earn cash back on transactions with over 400 major online merchants, like Chapters Indigo, Walmart, Lenovo, Sephora, Viator, Nike and others. Liquid Avatar mobile App users that also have a KABN Prepaid Visa Card will, from time to time, receive additional bonus offers.

As part of its onboarding strategy for KABN Prepaid Visa Cardholders, the Company’s state of the art, Verifiable Credentials Ecosystem, will provide users with a digital identity verification and validation services at no charge. Thus, allowing them to prove their identity continuously without the hassle of verifying time and time again to a growing list of online service providers and other value-based programs. In turn, validated users are qualified, subject to permissions and necessary approvals, for unique and customized financial services other value-based opportunities via KABN KASH.

According to Prepaid Cards Canada (Payments Canada 2020) Canadian Payments: Methods and Trends 2020,in 2019, prepaid cards, either plastic or virtual, grew significantly at the Point of Sale (“POS”) with respectively, an 8% increase in volume and a 6% increase in value.

Nearly one in five Canadians either purchased or received at least one prepaid card per month. Young adults, those aged 18 to 34, and unbanked Canadians are the most common users of prepaid payments products. This is driven by a lack of access and acceptance of traditional banking products and services. Prepaid cards are starting to be used by a wider base, as those who seek security and identity protection for purchases have turned to prepaid cards as an alternative to cash. As prepaid cards are not directly linked to user account information, they offer an electronic method of payment that carries many of the benefits of cash.

A recent study found that 70 per cent of Canadians are more concerned about fraud today than they were five years ago, which can drive more consumers towards prepaid cards to minimize the risks that come with sharing financial information online or using cards directly linked to banking accounts. The use of prepaid cards has been accelerated by emerging e-commerce and mobile payments trends. Prepaid cards accounted for 10 per cent of e-commerce payments in 2019.

Canadians were three times more likely to use a prepaid payment for e-commerce than they were at physical POS merchant locations. The growing use of mobile payments also plays a significant role in accelerating prepaid card use. In 2019, 80 per cent of prepaid POS purchases were made using closed-loop store cards, with a notable number of prepaid purchases being linked to mobile devices and virtual prepaid cards. Over a quarter of Canadians (28 per cent) used at least one prepaid virtual card. The use of prepaid cards at these establishments is directly linked with rewards and loyalty programs that drive consumer usage.

XTM, www.xtminc.com is a Miami and Toronto-based fintech innovator in the neo-banking space helping business and workers alike expedite earnings payout. We are a global card provider and real-time payment specialist providing our technology to businesses to automate and facilitate early wage access and eliminate cash. XTM integrates businesses to a payment ecosystem that is coupled with a free mobile app and a Visa or Mastercard card with free banking-style features. XTM drives enterprise value and creates a positive user experience.

Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary KABN Systems North America Inc. focuses on the verification, management and monetization of Self Sovereign Identity, empowering users to control and benefit from the use of their online identity. The Liquid Avatar App, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play is a verified Self Sovereign Identity platform that empowers users to create high quality digital icons representing their online personas. These icons allow users to manage and control their digital identity and Verifiable Access and Identity Credentials, and to use Liquid Avatars to share public and permission based private data when they want and with whom they want. www.liquidavatar.com. KABN North America has a suite of revenue generating programs that support the Liquid Avatar program, including KABN KASH a cash back and reward program that has over 400 leading online merchants and coming soon, an integrated offering engine. In Canada, KABN also has the KABN Prepaid Visa Card, a “challenger banking” platform that allows users to manage and control a range of financial services for traditional and digital currencies. The Company is currently exploring expansion of the KABN Visa program to other geographic regions, including the USA.

Oasis Digital Studios is a creative and development agency that supports a wide range of artists, talent, and enterprises with Non-Fungible Token (NFT) solutions.

Leave a comment »

TELUS 5G Network Tops The Industry: Opensignal

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 26, 2021 by itnerd

Today, Opensignal released its very first Canada 5G User Experience Report 2021, analyzing Canada’s next-generation networks. TELUS’ 5G networks received high praise, tying for first in 5G Download Speed, 5G Video Experience, 5G Upload Speed, 5G Availability, Voice App Experience, and Market Coverage, reinforcing the strength and superiority of the TELUS network across the country. 

Key highlights from the report include:

  • The average 5G download speeds of Canadian users on TELUS’ network averaged an impressive 166.2 Mbps 
  • TELUS tied for first in 5G Video Experience with a score of 81.8 points (on a 100-point scale)
  • TELUS jointly won the 5G Voice App Experience, which measures the quality of experience for over-the-top voice services such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger

This news continues a recent trend where TELUS has received praise and won awards for the quality of their network.

Leave a comment »