Data Science
PingCAP | September 13, 2023
On September 12, 2023, PingCAP, a prominent distributed SQL database provider, announced its attainment of the coveted Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data and Analytics Competency status. This prestigious designation underscores PingCAP's track record of successfully assisting customers in collecting, storing, governing, and analyzing data at any scale.
The achievement of AWS Data and Analytics Competency signifies PingCAP as a distinguished member of the AWS Partner Network (APN), specializing in software solutions tailored to assist enterprises in embracing, developing, and deploying intricate projects on the AWS platform. This designation is reserved for APN members with extensive AWS proficiency who deliver solutions seamlessly within the AWS environment.
Moreover, PingCAP has also secured AWS Service Ready designations for both AWS PrivateLink and Amazon Linux 2. The AWS Service Ready Program rigorously assesses AWS partner solutions for compatibility with specific AWS services. To obtain these accolades, PingCAP underwent meticulous technical evaluations of its product architecture, received references from customers, and provided product documentation.
By harnessing AWS PrivateLink, customers gain access to a streamlined experience for connecting PingCAP TiDB Cloud with other AWS services and applications, ensuring heightened security and adaptable network configuration.
AWS empowers organizations of all sizes with scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions, ranging from startups to global enterprises. In support of seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS has instituted the AWS Competency Program, enabling customers to identify AWS Partners with profound industry acumen and expertise.
Eddie Xu, Director of Cloud Alliances at PingCAP, commented,
We are thrilled to achieve the AWS Data and Analytics Competency. Many of our customers have made long-term strategic investments to build their digital businesses on AWS. Being a part of this program reflects PingCAP's commitment to delivering a solution that meets security, compliance, and efficiency standards in support of our customers scaling their transactional workloads on AWS.
[Source: Globe Newswire]
About PingCAP
PingCAP, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is the visionary behind TiDB, an advanced, open-source, distributed SQL database. This database powers modern applications, boasting a streamlined tech stack, elastic scalability, real-time analytics, and uninterrupted access to data—all unified within a singular database solution. These innovative capabilities liberate emerging enterprises from the complexities of data infrastructure management, allowing them to set their sights firmly on the future. Some of the world's leading businesses across the travel, technology, financial services, web3, and gaming sectors trust TiDB to manage their mission-critical workloads.
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Data Science
J.D. Power | September 18, 2023
J.D. Power, a prominent global leader in data analytics, has recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire Autovista Group, a renowned pan-European and Australian automotive data, analytics, and industry insights provider. This strategic acquisition complements J.D. Power's existing strengths in vehicle valuation and intricate vehicle specification data and analytics while significantly expanding its presence within the European and Australian automotive markets.
This acquisition represents a crucial moment, as it delivers substantial value to the customers of both companies. It brings together Autovista Group's extensive European and Australian market intelligence with J.D. Power's market-leading predictive analytics, valuation data, and customer experience datasets. These complementary offerings will empower original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), insurers, dealers, and financing companies with a truly global perspective on critical industry trends. They will also provide the tools to accurately predict risk, capitalize on emerging trends, and align sales strategies with real-time market dynamics.
Pete Cimmet, Chief Strategy Officer at J.D. Power, stated:
The addition of Autovista Group broadens our global presence allowing us to serve our customers across key global markets including North America, Europe and Asia/Australia. We look forward to partnering with the Autovista team to launch innovative new products and pursue strategic add-on acquisitions in Europe and Australia.
[Source: Business Wire]
Autovista Group, through its five prominent brands—Autovista, Glass's, Eurotax, Schwacke, and Rødboka—standardizes and categorizes a multitude of technical attributes for nearly every vehicle manufactured in European and Australian markets. This comprehensive approach offers clients a 360-degree view of detailed vehicle data, which is invaluable for valuations, forecasts, and repair estimates. Furthermore, Autovista Group's robust analytical solutions and its team of seasoned experts are trusted by stakeholders across the automobile industry for their in-depth insights and benchmarks related to vehicle values, ownership, replacements, and repair costs.
Under this agreement, Autovista Group's senior leadership, along with its 700 employees, will remain part of the organization, serving as J.D. Power's automotive data and analytics platform for Australia and Europe. Lindsey Roberts will continue to lead the team in her role as President of J.D. Power Europe, reporting to CEO Dave Habiger.
Currently, Autovista Group is owned by Hayfin Capital Management, a prominent European alternative asset management firm.
The anticipated closure of the Autovista Group acquisition is set for conclusion by the end of 2023, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory review and approval.
For this transaction, RBC Capital Markets acted as the exclusive financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel to J.D. Power. TD Cowen served as the exclusive financial advisor, with Macfarlanes, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and Mishcon de Reya acting as legal advisors to Autovista Group and Hayfin.
About J.D. Power
J.D. Power, a renowned consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics firm, has consistently spearheaded the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and algorithmic modeling to illuminate the intricacies of consumer behavior for more than half a century. With a storied legacy of providing in-depth industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products, J.D. Power serves as the trusted leader for the world's preeminent enterprises, spanning diverse major sectors, profoundly influencing and refining their customer-centric strategies.
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Big Data Management
Kinetica | September 22, 2023
Kinetica, a renowned speed layer for generative AI and real-time analytics, has recently unveiled a native Large Language Model (LLM) integrated with Kinetica's innovative architecture. This empowers users to perform ad-hoc data analysis on real-time, structured data with the ease of natural language, all without the need for external API calls and without data ever leaving the secure confines of the customer's environment. This significant milestone follows Kinetica's prior innovation as the first analytic database to integrate with OpenAI.
Amid the LLM fervor, enterprises and government agencies are actively seeking inventive ways to automate various business functions while safeguarding sensitive information that could be exposed through fine-tuning or prompt augmentation. Public LLMs, exemplified by OpenAI's GPT 3.5, raise valid concerns regarding privacy and security. These concerns are effectively mitigated through native offerings, seamlessly integrated into the Kinetica deployment, and securely nestled within the customer's network perimeter.
Beyond its superior security features, Kinetica's native LLM is finely tuned to the syntax and industry-specific data definitions, spanning domains such as telecommunications, automotive, financial services, logistics, and more. This tailored approach ensures the generation of more reliable and precise SQL queries. Notably, this capability extends beyond conventional SQL, enabling efficient handling of intricate tasks essential for enhanced decision-making capabilities, particularly for time-series, graph, and spatial inquiries. Kinetica's approach to fine-tuning places emphasis on optimizing SQL generation to deliver consistent and accurate results, in stark contrast to more conventional methods that prioritize creativity but yield diverse and unpredictable responses. This steadfast commitment to reliable SQL query outcomes offers businesses and users the peace of mind they deserve.
Illustrating the practical impact of this innovation, the US Air Force has been collaborating closely with Kinetica to leverage advanced analytics on sensor data, enabling swift identification and response to potential threats. This partnership contributes significantly to the safety and security of the national airspace system. The US Air Force now employs Kinetica's embedded LLM to detect airspace threats and anomalies using natural language.
Kinetica's database excels in converting natural language queries into SQL, delivering responses in mere seconds, even when faced with complex or unfamiliar questions. Furthermore, Kinetica seamlessly combines various analytics modes, including time series, spatial, graph, and machine learning, thereby expanding the range of queries it can effectively address. What truly enables Kinetica to excel in conversational query processing is its ingenious use of native vectorization. In a vectorized query engine, data is organized into fixed-size blocks called vectors, enabling parallel query operations on these vectors. This stands in contrast to traditional approaches that process individual data elements sequentially. The result is significantly accelerated query execution, all within a smaller compute footprint. This remarkable speed is made possible by the utilization of GPUs and the latest CPU advancements, which enable simultaneous calculations on multiple data elements, thereby greatly enhancing the processing speed of computation-intensive tasks across multiple cores or threads.
About Kinetica
Kinetica is a pioneering company at the forefront of real-time analytics and is the creator of the groundbreaking real-time analytical database specially designed for sensor and machine data. The company offers native vectorized analytics capabilities in the fields of generative AI, spatial analysis, time-series modeling, and graph processing. A distinguished array of the world's largest enterprises spanning diverse sectors, including the public sector, financial services, telecommunications, energy, healthcare, retail, and automotive industries, entrusts Kinetica to forge novel solutions in the realms of time-series data and spatial analysis. The company's clientele includes various illustrious organizations such as the US Air Force, Citibank, Ford, T-Mobile, and numerous others.
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