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Tech
San Francisco-based startup Earthgrid is developing a plasma boring robot that can dig tunnels 100 times faster, and up to 98 per cent cheaper than existing boring systems.
Conventional boring machines typically use massive cutting wheels to slowly excavate tunnels – but Earthgrid’s robot blasts rocks with high temperatures to break and even vaporise them via a process called spallation.
This is because the Rapid Burrowing Robot (RBR) has several 27,000 °C (48,600 °F) plasma torches mounted on large discs to blast any rocky surface in its way.
“Imagine a robot with lightsabres on the front vaporising all the rock and soil, and a Mandalorian jetpack on the back blowing out all the little bits of rock,” the company’s video explains.
What could go wrong.
Plus, it can run on electricity and the company plans to use it to re-wire energy, internet, and utility grids in the US.
The semiconductor and quantum chip developer Archer says advanced semiconductor device modelling supports its 12CQ quantum devices’ compatibility with existing industrial foundry processes.
Current quantum computing qubit architectures rely on custom-made fabrication, unlike modern classical computing circuits which are primarily silicon-based and are manufactured in, and using, well-established industrial semiconductor facilities.
Integrating qubit materials with complex control and readout electronics compatible with existing industrial-scale foundries is a significant challenge in developing quantum processors.
“The results of the advanced simulations provides Archer with an initial avenue to designing qubit devices in a form suitable for scalable processing, and importantly, using existing chip production equipment found in many industrial semiconductor manufacturing foundries,” CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair says.
“Archer intends to use this modelling to determine which commercial semiconductor manufacturers to engage with regarding future fabrication.”
Mining and environmental Software-as-a-Service provider K2F says its net operating cash flow was positive with $1.7m in the June quarter, due to strong sales and ongoing business improvement initiatives.
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) was $6.0m in Q4 FY2022, 76% higher than in Q4 FY2021.
Material contracts signed during the quarter include one with BHP Iron Ore (Total Contract Value $2.12m/ARR $620k).
New non-material contracts include a additional services agreement with Rio Tinto (purchase order $423k) and Asarco (subsidiary of Grupo Mexico) signing a three-year tailings monitoring contract for $145k ARR/$468k TCV.
Plus, the largest global private mining software group Maptek made a strategic investment in the company during the quarter, accounting for $4.05m of a $6.2m placement, with chairman Peter Johnson appointed to K2F’s board as non-executive director.
AI player Crowd Media has secured mobile network approvals to mass distribute its artificial intelligence-powered Talking Head technology for entertainment applications in the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates.
The company will deploy the AI-based product through its Subscription division which provides affiliate networks, media buyers and publishers with apps, games, mobile entertainment, and education services.
The first telco value-added products integrating Crowd Media’s Talking Head technology will be entertainment applications Bedtime Stories and Astrology VIP.
Bedtime Stories will launch in Portugal and the UAE in the coming weeks with stories currently being localised into Portuguese and Arabic while Astrology VIP is undergoing localisation into Dutch to be launched in The Netherlands.
This recruitment tech company has entered a contract for the use of its ApplyDirect end-to-end recruitment technology to provide a job matching platform tailored and specific to the Victorian industry.
The two-year $243,000 contract will see AD1 build, host and provide ongoing maintenance and digital services.
The utilities and comms service provider says revenue in Q1 FY23 was ~$6.8m (+162% vs pcp), with recurring subscription and reoccurring transaction revenue at ~$5.7.m (+167% vs pcp).
Signed contracts in Q1 FY23 comprised ~$8m (+31% vs pcp) and IKE estimates that $13-15m of signed contract backlog will be delivered and recognised as revenue in the FY23 period.
“The past quarter was another outstanding period of growth at IKE,” CEO Glenn Milnes said. “It included the material expansion of various existing customers and saw several new and important tier-1 enterprise groups onboarded, including one the five largest engineering companies serving the electric utility market across the US.
“The first phase of this contract includes supporting a 10-year network hardening program for an electric utility in the southwest. Market development activity also featured training 325 engineers on IKE products and workflows at a major investor-owned utility in the southern US.”
ELECTRO OPTIC SYSTEM (ASX:EOS)
The defence and space tech company has appointed a new CEO in Dr Andreas Schwer effective August 1.
Dr Schwer knows the company’s global operations having been president of EOS EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for two years where he oversaw the expansion of the company’s activities in NATO and Middle East markets.
“Dr Schwer’s commercial acumen, experience across the defence and space sectors as well as his extensive international experience, ideally position him to lead the company as we seek to improve our go-to market capability across Asia, Europe and the United States,” EOS chair Peter Leahy AC said.
The IoT company says three of the last four months has recorded electrical device pairings, representing 25% of the total 18,840 device as at June 2022.
The company says its Senoa product suite will soon include an accessibility range for living space occupied by people with disabilities, covered by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which include a large switch size and voice control options for lights, fans, blinds etc.
The company is also planning to launch a new breed of smoke detector in the second half of CY22.
The AI software player scored record Q4 customer cash receipts of $3.7M, a 128% increase over the PCP in Q4 FY21.
Probably in part due to multiple contracts being secured from new and existing customers over the last quarter covering all business verticals including smart cities, casinos, fuel retail and surveillance for a combined minimum value of ~$3.8M in upfront & SaaS recurring revenues from FY23.
The company expects to see the benefit of cost reduction initiatives of ~$2.5M is FY23 as it drives towards cash flow positivity.
The research and data provider says it achieved an (unaudited) full year revenue uplift of 39% to $41.7m, and EBITDA improvement, up 28% to $4.0m.
Net cash from operating activities was $3.9m for the year, up from $2.4m on pcp, resulting in a strong closing cash balance of $5.3m.
Pureprofile says it generated consumer insights from over 90 countries during FY22 with growth in the volume of multi-country studies increasing 18% on pcp. The company also signed 136 new global clients and grew market research panellists by 43% in the past 12 months.
Plus, Q4 FY22 was a record quarter for revenue at $10.9m, up 29% on pcp.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Crowd Media is a Stockhead advertiser, they did not sponsor this article.
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