MONTRÉAL, Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Mila and CEIMIA, two leading global players in the responsible development of artificial intelligence (AI), released today the most comprehensive policy report to date on gender equality and diversity in AI. Informed by extensive consultations with diverse voices and experts, this report and its policy guide companion offer policy-makers clear recommendations to foster greater inclusivity in technology development.

The report, which is an initiative of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) working group on Responsible AI, was launched earlier today in Montreal, Canada, as part of an event that gathered Canada’s President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, as well as global leaders, policymakers, and AI community representatives.

The report, entitled “Towards Substantive Equality in AI: Transformative AI Policy for Gender Equality and Diversity” aims to empower states and other stakeholders to create inclusive, equitable, and just AI ecosystems, driving both economic and social development. It explores effective practices, offers policy insights, and provides actionable recommendations to improve gender equality and diversity in AI and related policymaking.

The rapid advancement of AI is transforming industries and driving economic growth, holding great potential to improve lives and livelihoods globally. However, it risks exacerbating existing inequalities by mirroring and magnifying societal biases, discrimination, and harmful stereotypes, particularly those affecting women and other historically marginalized groups. There are already documented cases where AI systems and processes have, for instance, led to non-consensual personal image distribution and online harassment. The lack of diversity throughout AI ecosystems can also reinforce harmful stereotypes and discrimination by excluding diverse perspectives. This has resulted in cases of restricted employment opportunities for marginalized groups and unfair resource allocation to individuals with disabilities.

“This report is crucial as the recommendations address the root causes of inequality to achieve substantive equality in AI and beyond. Achieving this through transformative changes in AI development and policies will advance human rights,” says Paola Ricaurte Quijiano, Full Professor, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and co-lead of the report. “We need to create a robust regulatory framework to prevent harm and to ensure a beneficial development of AI systems and processes for all.”

The key recommendations are divided into four categories:

Incentivize Inclusive Design and Democratic Innovation: Integrate affirmative action and measures for institutional inclusion, and support inclusive technology design.Enhance Meaningful Participation in AI Governance: Foster and ensure the active involvement of marginalized groups in AI governance to ensure better AI policy for all.Ensure Transparency and Accountability for Harm Prevention: Establish safeguards and mechanisms for accountability among all AI actors to prevent harm and ensure fairness.Guarantee Effective Access to Justice: Implement measures to ensure that marginalized groups have access to legal recourse against AI-driven discrimination and bias.

The report recommends, for instance, to direct funding to initiatives aligned with inclusive technology design principles, promoting equitable and just applications, practices, and processes in AI ecosystems. Recommendations also include developing strategies to enable the public and private sectors to conduct fundamental rights impact assessments before deploying AI systems. Other examples include ensuring algorithmic transparency, to allow people affected by an AI system to challenge its outcome based on clear and understandable information, and easing the burden of proof for claimants to improve access to legal recourse against AI-driven discrimination and bias.

“Robust regulatory frameworks are urgently needed to prevent harm and work towards true equality and diversity in AI ecosystems which ultimately, affect human life,” adds Benjamin Prud‘homme, Vice-president, Policy, Safety and Global Affairs at Mila and co-lead of the report. “Through inclusive AI policies, we can enhance the quality, usability and effectiveness of AI systems, contributing to a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous future for all.”

To complement the report, CEIMIA and Mila are also publishing a Policy Guide Companion to assist policymakers in implementing the recommendations. This guide offers a step-by-step roadmap for building more inclusive AI ecosystems and actionable steps to facilitate this much-needed industry transition.

Based on a human rights-based approach to AI, over 200 participants, representing over 50 countries and diverse perspectives, took part in consultations or advisory processes to create the report.

About CEIMIA
CEIMIA was created to play a leading role both nationally and internationally: as a catalyst for high value-added responsible AI projects, CEIMIA works to ensure the development and adoption of AI that benefits humanity, across borders. The organization has also been mandated to both strengthen the influence of Canadian and Quebec players in responsible AI internationally, and ensure that the interests and involvement of emerging and developing countries are taken into account in projects and discussions around AI governance. CEIMIA also supports the activities of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), which aims to develop applied AI projects aligned with the common priorities of OECD member countries. For more information, visit https://ceimia.org/en/.

About Mila
Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal, Mila is a research institute in artificial intelligence that now brings together over 1,200 specialized researchers in machine learning. Based in Montreal, Mila’s mission is to be a global centre for scientific advancements that inspire innovation and the growth of AI for the benefit of all. Mila is a globally recognized non-profit organization for its significant contributions to deep learning, especially in the fields of language modeling, automatic translation, object recognition, and generative models. For more information, visit mila.quebec.

Contact: Eric Aach, eaach@national.ca, +1 514-569-3594; or Gabrielle Landry, glandry@national.ca, +1 514-688-5837

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Eon Raises $70 million Series C Led by BOND, bringing its total funding to $200 million, to provide instant access to backed-up cloud data through its next-generation platform

NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Eon, the next-generation cloud backup platform, announced today that it has raised a $70 million Series C funding round led by BOND, growing its valuation to $1.4 billion. Several return investors joined the round, including Sequoia Capital, Greenoaks, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Eon’s novel cloud backup posture management platform transforms data backups from a manual and cumbersome process into a simple and automated solution, enabling enterprises to unlock the true potential of their backed-up data. Founded in January 2024, Eon has already filed dozens of patents for cloud storage and data management technologies and raised $200 million in funding.

Companies are spending more than ever in the cloud, with the global annual spend expected to reach $679 billion by the end of 2024. Enterprises from every industry invest millions of dollars a year on cloud backups for both business and compliance needs. Despite its importance, cloud backup operations remain a challenge, and currently, backups offer little tangible benefit or value. Requiring error-prone manual work, companies regularly find themselves under or over-backed up. Even when backed up properly, backups remain difficult to access, manage, and operationalize, leaving enterprises in risky positions. 

Eon is the first backup platform for the age of cloud infrastructure. By creating a new tier of storage, it enables instant access to backed-up data, which until now has been a “black box.” Eon’s platform eliminates manual backup tasks by autonomously scanning, mapping, and classifying cloud resources. At its core, Eon allows enterprises to finally control and utilize their backups, offering full visibility and seamless access to data whenever needed. 

“Sometimes, an innovation arrives that doesn’t just improve processes—it completely redefines them. From our first meeting with Eon’s founders, we knew they were onto something that would reshape the enterprise landscape,” said Jay Simons, Partner at BOND. “Eon is setting a bold new benchmark for how companies operate, and we’re excited to support them in driving this transformation forward.”

Founded by Ofir Ehrlich and Gonen Stein, of the CloudEndure founding team (acquired by Amazon Web Services in 2019), and Ron Kimchi, former general manager of AWS migration and disaster recovery services, Eon launched in October with $130 million in funding. With the new funding from BOND, Eon has now raised $200 million in under a year from Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Greenoaks, and dozens of industry leaders.

“With Eon we set out to put an end to backup challenges for enterprises by providing instant access to all backed-up cloud data. This fundamentally changes the essence of backups by making them instrumental to businesses for the first time,” said Ofir Ehrlich, Co-Founder and CEO of Eon. “During our conversations with Jay and the BOND team it became clear how valuable they would be as a partner to Eon as we work to reinvent cloud backup management. BOND’s track record of investing in industry-defining companies speaks for itself, and we are excited to have them join us”.   

Eon will be attending AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas from December 2nd – 6th with CTO Ron Kimchi speaking at a breakout session. Alongside Chris Rogers, Senior Manager of Storage Solutions Architects at AWS, they will present a session that will explore advanced capabilities for cloud backup and recovery.

About Eon

Eon’s mission is to provide instant access to all backed-up cloud data, through a next-generation platform – unlocking backups’ true potential. By introducing the first backup autopilot for the age of cloud infrastructure, Eon brings cloud backup posture management (CBPM) to enterprises and transforms traditional, hard-to-use cloud backups into useful, easy-to-manage assets. Founded in 2024 by Ofir Ehrlich and Gonen Stein, of the CloudEndure founding team (acquired by Amazon), along with Ron Kimchi, former GM of AWS Migration and Disaster Recovery Services, Eon is backed by leading venture capital firms including BOND, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Lightspeed, as well as dozens of industry leaders. For more information and to learn more, please visit https://www.eon.io/.

Media Contact
Josh Schaefer
josh@headline.media
+972-50-790-4505 

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MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J., Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Digital Color Concepts (“DCC”) proudly announces the acquisition of TigerPress, a comprehensive folding carton and commercial print manufacturer based in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. This strategic transaction significantly boosts DCC’s manufacturing capacity and extends its presence throughout the Northeast. TigerPress will continue to deliver outstanding customer service, rapid turnaround times, and exceptional quality from its approximately 100,000-square-foot facility as part of the DCC platform.

TigerPress has a long history of innovation and growth – Jennifer and Reza Shafii opened their print shop in 1985, which evolved over the next four decades into a diversified print and packaging business focused on folding cartons, commercial, digital, and large format printing, and fulfillment. Both businesses have complementary customer-centric cultures, and this partnership will strengthen DCC’s existing capabilities and allow the combined company to better serve their customers with additional resources and equipment.

“We are thrilled to complete this acquisition within a year of our investment in DCC, highlighting the promising growth ahead,” says Parker Shields, co-Managing Partner at Sherburne Partners, a private investment firm based in New York City and DCC’s majority shareholder. “This transaction will significantly bolster our revenue potential across all manufacturing lines and allow us to be a stronger, value-added partner to all of our stakeholders,” commented Oliver Patten, co-Managing Partner at Sherburne Partners.

“The TigerPress acquisition enhances DCC’s leadership in folding carton and commercial printing in the Northeast, adding valuable resources to drive long-term growth while maintaining our unwavering commitment to serving our customers,” said Don Terwilliger, President of DCC.

“We’re delighted to partner with DCC, who values our traditions of exceptional customer service and quality. Above all, we know that they will continue operating TigerPress at the same location, and with the same dedicated team who helped build our business over the last 39 years. Our customers, suppliers and employees will be in good hands,” remarked Reza Shafii, former President of TigerPress.

The transaction marks the first acquisition since DCC received a growth investment from Sherburne Partners in December 2023. The transaction closed on November 20, 2024. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About DCC
Digital Color Concepts (“DCC”) is a premier end-to-end print and packaging provider, transforming ideas into impactful communication tools that inspire action. From luxury packaging to everyday essentials, DCC delivers precision solutions with a client-centric approach, a legacy of excellence, and a commitment to the highest social and environmental standards, ensuring a premium experience for every project.  For more information on DCC, please visit dccnjpackaging.com.

About TigerPress
Since 1985, TigerPress has delivered superb packaging and printing services using a wide range of production options. TigerPress offers a complete range of prepress, printing, packaging, and bindery services, along with exceptional quality and customer service. Each job receives individual attention and care. For more information on TigerPress, please visit tigerpress.com.

About Sherburne Partners
Sherburne Partners (“Sherburne“) is a private investment firm based in New York City that invests in and builds upon companies in fragmented industrial and business service industries. Sherburne invests primarily in founder and family-owned businesses with attractive growth prospects and customer-centric cultures. Sherburne makes majority-control investments and provides capital to create enduring market leaders. For more information on Sherburne, please visit sherburnepartners.com.

Contact
Don Terwilliger, President, DCC
Email: don@dccnyc.com
Phone: 90­8 2­64 0515

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SOURCE Digital Color Concepts