Mediaboss Marketing

BOSTON & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pear Therapeutics, Inc., the leader in Prescription Digital Therapeutics (PDTs), announced today that it has entered into agreements with multiple technology innovators, including Firsthand Technology, Inc., leading researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, Winterlight Labs, Inc., and NeuroLex Laboratories, Inc. These new agreements continue to bolster Pears PDT platform, by adding to its library of digital biomarkers, machine learning algorithms, and digital therapeutics.

Pears investment in these cutting-edge technologies further supports its strategy to create the broadest and deepest toolset for the development of PDTs that redefine standard of care in a range of therapeutic areas. With access to these new technologies, Pear is positioned to develop PDTs in new disease areas, while leveraging machine learning to personalize and improve its existing PDTs.

We are excited to announce these agreements, which expand the leading PDT platform, said Corey McCann, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Pear. "Accessing external technologies allows us to continue to broaden the scope and efficacy of PDTs.

The field of digital health is evolving rapidly, and PDTs are going to increasingly play a big part because they are designed to allow doctors to treat disease in combination with drug products more effectively than with drugs alone, said Alex Pentland, Ph.D., a leading expert in voice analytics and MIT Professor. For PDTs to make their mark in healthcare, they will need to continually evolve. Machine learning and voice biomarker algorithms are key to guide that evolution and personalization.

About Pear Therapeutics

Pear Therapeutics, Inc. is the leader in prescription digital therapeutics. We aim to redefine medicine by discovering, developing, and delivering clinically validated software-based therapeutics to provide better outcomes for patients, smarter engagement and tracking tools for clinicians, and cost-effective solutions for payers. Pear has a pipeline of products and product candidates across therapeutic areas, including severe psychiatric and neurological conditions. Our lead product, reSET, for the treatment of Substance Use Disorder, was the first prescription digital therapeutic to receive marketing authorization from the FDA to treat disease. Pears second product, reSET-O, for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder, received marketing authorization from the FDA in December 2018. For more information, visit us at http://www.peartherapeutics.com.

________________________________

1. Jones, T., Moore, T., & Choo, J. (2016). The Impact of Virtual Reality on Chronic Pain. PloS one, 11(12), e0167523. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167523

2. Ljtsson B, Hesser H, Andersson E, Lackner JM, Alaoui El S, Falk L, Aspvall K, Fransson J, Hammarlund K, Lfstrm A, Nowinski S, Lindfors P, Hedman E. Provoking symptoms to relieve symptoms: A randomized controlled dismantling study of exposure therapy in irritable bowel syndrome. Beh Res Ther. 2014 Feb 10;55C:2739. PMID:24584055

3. Ljtsson B, Hedman E, Andersson E, Hesser H, Lindfors P, Hursti T, Rydh S, Rck C, Lindefors N, Andersson G. Internet-delivered exposure-based treatment vs. stress management for irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized trial. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011 Aug;106(8):148191. PMID:21537360

4. Ljtsson B, Andersson G, Andersson E, Hedman E, Lindfors P, Andrewitch S, Rck C, Lindefors N. Acceptability, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of internet-based exposure treatment for irritable bowel syndrome in a clinical sample: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Gastroenterol. 2011;11(1):110. PMID:21992655

5. Ljtsson B, Falk L, Vesterlund AW, Hedman E, Lindfors P, Rck C, Hursti T, Andrewitch S, Jansson L, Lindefors N, Andersson G. Internet-delivered exposure and mindfulness based therapy for irritable bowel syndrome - a randomized controlled trial. Beh Res Ther. 2010 Jun;48(6):5319. PMID:20362976

See more here:
Pear Therapeutics Expands Pipeline with Machine Learning, Digital Therapeutic and Digital Biomarker Technologies - Business Wire

Joint silicon development through SiFive's DesignShare Program combines IP and design strengths of both companies to develop Edge AI SoCs for a range of high-volume end markets including smart home, automotive, robotics, security, augmented reality, industrial and IoT

SAN MATEO and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 7, 2020 -- SiFive, Inc., the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP and silicon solutions and CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies, today announced a new partnership to enable the design and creation of ultra-low-power domain-specific Edge AI processors for a range of high-volume end markets. The partnership, as part of SiFive's DesignShare program, is centered around RISC-V CPUs, CEVA's DSP cores, AI processors and software, which will be designed into SoCs targeting an array of end markets where on-device neural networks inferencing supporting imaging, computer vision, speech recognition and sensor fusion applications is required. Initial end markets include smart home, automotive, robotics, security and surveillance, augmented reality, industrial and IoT.

Machine Learning Processing at the Edge

Domain-specific SoCs which can handle machine learning processing on-device are set to become mainstream, as the processing workloads of devices increasingly includes a mix of traditional software and efficient deep neural networks to maximize performance, battery life and to add new intelligent features. Cloud-based AI inference is not suitable for many of these devices due to security, privacy and latency concerns. SiFive and CEVA are directly addressing these challenges through the development of a range of domain-specific scalable edge AI processor designs, with the optimal balance of processing, power efficiency and cost.

The Edge AI SoCs are supported by CEVA's award-winning CDNN Deep Neural Network machine learning software compiler that creates fully-optimized runtime software for the CEVA-XM vision processors, CEVA-BX audio DSPs and NeuPro AI processors. Targeted for mass-market embedded devices, CDNN incorporates a broad range of network optimizations, advanced quantization algorithms, data flow management and fully-optimized compute CNN and RNN libraries into a holistic solution that enables cloud-trained AI models to be deployed on edge devices for inference processing. CEVA will also supply a full development platform for partners and developers based on the CEVA-XM and NeuPro architectures to enable the development of deep learning applications using the CDNN, targeting any advanced network, as well as DSP tools and libraries for audio and voice pre- and post-processing workloads.

SiFive DesignShare Program

The SiFive DesignShare IP program offers a streamlined process for companies seeking to partner with leading vendors to provide pre-integrated premium Silicon IP for bringing new SoCs to market. As part of SiFive's business model to license IP when ready for mass production, the flexibility and choice of the DesignShare IP program reduces the complexities of contract negotiation and licensing agreements to enable faster time to market through simpler prototyping, no legal red tape, and no upfront payment.

"CEVA's partnership with SiFive enables the creation of Edge AI SoCs that can be quickly and expertly tailored to the workloads, while also retaining the flexibility to support new innovations in machine learning," said Issachar Ohana, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales at CEVA. "Our market leading DSPs and AI processors, coupled with the CDNN machine learning software compiler, allow these AI SoCs to simplify the deployment of cloud-trained AI models in intelligent devices and provides a compelling offering for anyone looking to leverage the power of AI at the edge."

"Enabling future-proof, technology-leading processor designs is a key step in SiFive's mission to unlock technology roadmaps," said Dr. Naveed Sherwani, president and CEO, SiFive. "The rapid evolution of AI models combined with the requirements for low power, low latency, and high-performance demand a flexible and scalable approach to IP and SoC design that our joint CEVA / SiFive portfolio is superbly positioned to provide. The result is shorter time-to-market, while lowering the entry barriers for device manufacturers to create powerful, differentiated products."

Availability

SiFive's DesignShare program, including CEVA-BX Audio DSPs, CEVA-XM Vision DSPs and NeuPro AI processors, is available now. Visit http://www.sifive.com/designshare for more information.

About SiFive

SiFive is on a mission to free semiconductor roadmaps and declare silicon independence from the constraints of legacy ISAs and fragmented solutions. As the leading provider of market-ready processor core IP and silicon solutions based on the free and open RISC-V instruction set architecture SiFive helps SoC designers reduce time-to-market and realize cost savings with customized, open-architecture processor cores, and democratizes access to optimized silicon by enabling system designers in all markets to build customized RISC-V based semiconductors. Founded by the inventors of RISC-V, SiFive has 16 design centers worldwide, and has backing from Sutter Hill Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Spark Capital, Osage University Partners, Chengwei, Huami, SK Hynix, Intel Capital, and Western Digital. For more information, please visit http://www.sifive.com.

About CEVA, Inc.

CEVA is the leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies. We offer Digital Signal Processors, AI processors, wireless platforms and complementary software for sensor fusion, image enhancement, computer vision, voice input and artificial intelligence, all of which are key enabling technologies for a smarter, connected world. We partner with semiconductor companies and OEMs worldwide to create power-efficient, intelligent and connected devices for a range of end markets, including mobile, consumer, automotive, robotics, industrial and IoT. Our ultra-low-power IPs include comprehensive DSP-based platforms for 5G baseband processing in mobile and infrastructure, advanced imaging and computer vision for any camera-enabled device and audio/voice/speech and ultra-low power always-on/sensing applications for multiple IoT markets. For sensor fusion, our Hillcrest Labs sensor processing technologies provide a broad range of sensor fusion software and IMU solutions for AR/VR, robotics, remote controls, and IoT. For artificial intelligence, we offer a family of AI processors capable of handling the complete gamut of neural network workloads, on-device. For wireless IoT, we offer the industry's most widely adopted IPs for Bluetooth (low energy and dual mode), Wi-Fi 4/5/6 (802.11n/ac/ax) and NB-IoT. Visit us at http://www.ceva-dsp.com

Read the original:
SiFive and CEVA Partner to Bring Machine Learning Processors to Mainstream Markets - Design and Reuse

Storied film company Warner Bros. has signed a deal with Cinelytic, an LA startup that uses machine learning to predict film success. A story from The Hollywood Reporter claims that Warner Bros. will use Cinelytics algorithms to guide decision-making at the greenlight stage, but a source at the studio told The Verge that the software would only be used to help with marketing and distribution decisions made by Warner Bros. Pictures International.

In an interview with THR, Cinelytics CEO Tobias Queisser stressed that AI was only an assistive tool. Artificial intelligence sounds scary. But right now, an AI cannot make any creative decisions, Queisser told the publication. What it is good at is crunching numbers and breaking down huge data sets and showing patterns that would not be visible to humans. But for creative decision-making, you still need experience and gut instinct.

Regardless of what Cinelytics technology is being used for, the deal is a step forward for Hollywoods slow embrace of machine learning. As The Verge reported last year, Cinelytic is just one of a new crop of startups leveraging AI to forecast film performance, but the film world has historically been skeptical about their ability.

Andrea Scarso, a film investor and Cinelytic customer, told The Verge that the startups software hadnt ever changed his mind, but opens up a conversation about different approaches. Said Scarso: You can see how, sometimes, just one or two different elements around the same project could have a massive impact on the commercial performance.

Cinelytics software lets customers play fantasy football with films. Users can model a pitch; inputting genre, budget, actors, and so on, and then see what happens when they tweak individual elements. Does replacing Tom Cruise with Keanu Reeves get better engagement with under-25s? Does it increase box office revenue in Europe? And so on.

Many AI experts are skeptical about the ability of algorithms to make predictions in a field as messy as filmmaking. Because machine learning applications are trained on historical data they tend to be conservative, focusing on patterns that led to past successes rather than predicting what will excite future audiences. Scientific studies also suggest algorithms only produce limited predictive gains, often repeating obvious insights (like Scarlett Johansson is a bankable film star) that can be discovered without AI.

But for those backing machine learning in filmmaking, the benefit is simply that such tools produce uncomplicated analysis faster than humans can. This can be especially useful at film festivals, notes THR, when studios can be forced into bidding wars for distribution rights, and have only a few hours to decide how much a film might be worth.

We make tough decisions every day that affect what and how we produce and deliver films to theaters around the world, and the more precise our data is, the better we will be able to engage our audiences, Warner Bros. senior vice president of distribution, Tonis Kiis, told THR.

Update January 8, 11:00AM ET: Story has been updated with additional information from a source at Warner Bros.

Originally posted here:
Warner Bros. signs AI startup that claims to predict film success - The Verge

PHOTO:Shutterstock

Do aspiring marketers need to study formally, or is self-learning and and a good portfolio enough to make it as a digital marketer in 2020?

While degrees were once a requirement for aspiring marketers, the digital era has made the world of digital marketing far more accessible to, well, just about anybody with an internet connection. Many new marketing professionals have gotten their start without a university degree, and many seek innovative ways of self-learning using online education platforms, or good old trial and error. High-profile marketing expert Seth Godin has even gone so far as to create a short altMBA course for aspiring marketers and business leaders.

A recent study carried out by ClickMinded revealed that attending graduate school can be up to 10 times less profitable and 3 times slower than self-learning online.

Compared with attending graduate school, learning digital marketing with an unaccredited course and starting a website is:

With these thoughts and findings in mind, weve asked marketing managers how they view degrees today. More specifically, we wanted to learn whether degrees are a requirement and why aspiring marketers may still want to get one. The experts also share some best tips for getting educated in marketing and hired without a degree.

Related Article:Marketing Certifications That Can Help You Earn More

In my opinion Marketing degrees are not a necessity depending on the role, stated Kyle Turk, VP of marketing at Keynote Search. When hiring a digital marketer, for example, its often best to choose a candidate with experiences using specific software so they can quickly hit the ground running. If the role requires technical expertise for certain softwares, Turk continued, self-learning would prove to be more valuable.

Paula Connor, chief content marketing officer at 256 says employers especially government organizations still require formal marketing or business qualifications, but thats rapidly changing. My short answer is no, [marketing degrees] arent useless, Connor began. many employers still look for formal marketing or business qualifications, especially in government organizations.However, he points out, you can definitely learn a lot of digital marketing skills by yourself for free.

Tony Mastri, digital marketing manager at MARION Marketing believes someone that wants to move into a more general business role beyond marketing will want to get a university degree. A university degree will really help expedite the move from entry-level to some sort of senior role or management position, he said. Thats because marketing degrees cover areas like accounting, finance, economics, management and other business topics as well.

Maddison agreed, A marketing degree offers the greatest flexibility to pivot, for those unsure about what area of the industry they want to specialize in. When self-learning, it can be challenging to get a comprehensive insight into all the different aspects of a role ranging from market analysis to data analysis and budgeting.

The main criticism with the material covered by marketing degrees itself is that the focus is largely centered on marketing theory. The better programs incorporate practical elements, Connor explained, like giving students the opportunity to work on real-life client projects, work experience/internship modules and include modules where you would gain practical skills such as obtaining a Google Analytics certification.

Related Article:8 Skills Every Digital Leader Needs

In a good job market, Mastri said, a portfolio of success (candidates will still need previous work experience or successful project examples) can be enough to land an entry-level position. He says companies can always try a candidate out with a contract-to-hire role rather than taking a leap of faith. That said, he still views it as a risky decision. There is a small chance I would hire a marketing employee without a degree, but still a chance, he stated.

If someone has an amazing portfolio of work to show, can demonstrate their skills and has great references from former clients/employers, Connor said, then well be interested in talking to them degree or no degree. Companies that dont value these factors often significantly limit the talent pool theyre willing to hire from and miss out on great hires.

For many organizations, however, formal education is not what matters most. The most important quality for a candidate wanting to start a career in marketing is to have a continued willingness to learn, stated James Maddison, head of content marketing at iwoca. He says a lot of whats required can be learned on the job, and marketing degrees are merely an indicator of knowledge. The industry develops at such a fast pace that the majority of things learned during a marketing course wouldve changed by the point of graduation, Maddison said.

Employees can get started with digital marketing using online learning platforms or even just online research, Mastri said. But he strongly suggests candidates build the right portfolio or examples of work to stand out from college graduates.

You can get started by learning from the likes of HubSpot, Google, SEMrush and Moz, Connor recommended. These companies all offer training programs and certifications for inbound marketing, analytics, paid ad manager, SEO and more. Whether it be a combination of some of these certifications or all of them, Turk agreed, it would be more useful for me to have someone who is an expert with the digital tools we already have in place.

As a marketing leader, Turk concluded, I would definitely hire a candidate without a formal degree as long as they have tangible self-learning certifications that are relevant to our business. It looks as though marketing degrees wont be going away anytime soon, but there are alternate paths for todays aspiring digital marketers.

Here is the original post:
Are Marketing Degrees Worth the Paper They Are Printed On? - CMSWire

Quba's Owner and MD, Matthew Williams, is optimistic about this coming year. Reflecting on what went well in 2019, he explains that collaboration between specialists is much more important than being a Jack-of-all-trades.

2019 was an interesting and turbulent year - to say the least - but we all got through it and Id like to think theres an air of optimism as we have the whole of 2020 laid out in front of us.

Much of our success in 2019has been down to an outward-looking and collaborative approach to how we do business; and I believe that way of working will be one of the biggest trends and growth areas for the entire marketing and digital sectors.

The term collaboration does tend to throw up some rather dodgy marketing speak connotations, butits all about adding value to our clients. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do; fromhow we work with our clients and suppliers, to how we communicate internally.

But more and more, its been focussed on working more closely with other agencies who can deliver first-class and complementary services that we dont offer for the ultimate benefit of our clients.

Let me wind back a bit... In my view, full service agency is a bit of a misnomer for most of the companies that claim to be one. You need tobe specialists in what you do.

For example, a PR or ad agency that brings in a junior developer to work on small scale projects and then claims to be a digital or full service agency isnt being honest.Theyre simply not one.

You can count the number of truly full-service agencies - andmoreimportantly, first-class ones -in the UK on a couple of hands. I dont want to knock anyone as were all trying to do the best we can, but it takes courage to focus on one thing, ignore the noise and do what you do well.

We should all be proud of what we can deliver, but when the need arises the most switched on and commercial firms look outside for the extra skills that are going to add the most value.

Take our own sector, for example. The scope and breadth of software used within the marketing and digital industries has expanded exponentially over the last 10 years.For example,software like CMS platforms have become far more complex to build in and they have to do a lot more than just manage page content; the growth of CRMs and marketing automation software has been unprecedented; whilst cloud software such as Azure has taken off in a huge way.

This means that from a technical perspective, all but the very largest of agency networks are able to fully deliver all the potential requirements a client may have via their internal resources. So my question is this: why do companies still feel the need to be seen as full service when theyre not?

The answer is simple - agencies dont want to turn work away and they dont want to risk their client looking to others to deliver their projects, so they claim to be all things to all men. However, it doesnt have to be this way - if onlywe all started to work together more strategically and openly, by building stronger relationships with other agency partners. We shouldnt view each other as threats, but as opportunities to grow and develop together.

During 2019 we took the decision to take specialising to the next level at Quba. We decided to pull out of providing SEO and PPC services. We felt the market had become too diverse and that we would actually provide a better service to our clients by using a select number of specialist SEO and PPC partners.

Over the past 12 months, this approach has benefited Qubas bottom line. By building a trusted network weve been able to be 100% transparent with our clients and they really appreciate that honesty. They know who is delivering what and they can see the benefits that collaborative working brings.

This has particularly been the case with our larger and more complex clients as they just want the best tools for the job rather than a one-stop shop. They appreciate quality, insight, strategic knowledge and technical expertise over and above anything else. In the most simplest of terms, they now know that with great agency integration comes great work and first-class results. Thats all they care about.

On a far more practical level, collaboration also makes agencies far more competitive and nimble as it mitigates the need to take on the extra overheads and the expenditure of additional staff, training or technologies in order to service what may only be a short- to medium-term client or requirement. Partnering with another agency removes all of this, as you can spin up the resource quickly and with minimal financial outlay.

My prediction is that collaboration will become much more the norm and the growth in networks likePimento, Agency Hackers and The Network One clearly backs this up. Agencies just need to become far more open to partnering and realise that its the best way to retain clients and provide the highest levels of service.

My advice? Choose your partners carefully to ensure they fit the blend of clients you have, and ensure your clients know you've spent time ensuring you use the best possible partners, and havent just pulled them out of a hat. Finally, be loyal to each other, be transparent and work together when things dont quite go to plan.

Read the original:
2020: The year of greater agency collaboration - Prolific North