The healthcare industry is one of the most innovative fields in the world right now. From the kind of products to the kind of technology available, everything about the medtech startup world is changing for the better. Here are some of the most creative startups doing good in the world currently.
1. Clover Health
One of the most ground breaking unicorn startups in the world, Clover Health is an insurance startup which works to use data science and improve the conditions of preventive medicine. With over 25,000 benefiting from its services, Clover Health hit the headlines when it recently secured an investment of $ 130 million from Google! The startup aims at improving the lives of people not only in the United States, but all over the world as well.
2. Sensible Baby
Touted to be one of the major game changers of the baby monitoring industry, Sensible Baby was created with the aim of helping new parents breathe easy. While essentially similar to the functionalities of a standard baby monitor, the SmartOne device by Sensible Baby was launched so parents would not have to constantly worry about their child, especially due to the rising infant deaths through Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (a disease which still has no cure.) Furthermore, the device sends constant feedback to the parents’ smartphones, thereby ensuring constant contact!
3. Practo
Perhaps one of the most successful healthcare startups in India, Practo is a tool that helps schedule appointments with your doctors. Giving users a wide data pool of doctors specializing in various fields, Practo lets users look for specific departments and get treatment from the doctor of their choice. The tool also gives you a complete picture of how much the consultation is going to come up to and whether the city you live in has the doctor you need or not. A handy tool for people who do not have a direct access to doctors, Practo simplifies the lengthy process of finding and booking appointments.
4. Grow Fit
According to several surveys, a large number of lives were lost in India in the year 2016, primarily due to lifestyle diseases. While the number in itself is a staggering one, what makes this issue slightly more serious is that the expenses incurred because of these deaths is estimated to be almost $ 4.58 billion. Looking at this huge gap between the lives lost and the treatment available, Grow Fit was created. By working with an expert team of nutritionists, doctors and health analysts, Grow Fit looks at helping those who are susceptible to contracting these diseases and also works with solving issues through diet tips, health tips and behavioural insights.
5. PORTEA
Looking at the lack of proper healthcare facilities for the elderly and the people living in areas which are not accessible through technology, PORTEA was created to make access to medical facilities easy. Through remote diagnostics, point of care devices, monitoring equipment, doctors and medical professionals, PORTEA helps monitor and take care of patients who are in no position to travel to hospitals.
Through startups like these working on improving the lives of patients everywhere, innovators work every day to make treatment an easy process. If you think we missed out on any startups that have to be mentioned, comment and let us know!
Microsoft has made significant strides in the field of AI with the release of its new Phi-3.5 models. This series includes Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct, and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct, which demonstrate impressive performance, surpassing industry benchmarks and rivaling models from leading AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta.
Key Highlights of the Phi-3.5 Models
Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct: This powerful model features 41.9 billion parameters, excelling in advanced reasoning tasks and outperforming larger models such as Llama 3.1 and Gemini 1.5 Flash. It supports multilingual capabilities and can process longer context lengths, making it versatile for various applications.
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct: A lightweight yet potent model with 3.8 billion parameters, it demonstrates strong performance in long-context tasks, outperforming larger models like Llama-3.1-8B-instruct and Mistral-Nemo-12B-instruct-2407. This model is optimized for quick reasoning tasks, making it ideal for applications such as code generation and logical problem-solving.
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct: With 4.15 billion parameters, this model excels in visual tasks, surpassing OpenAI’s GPT-4o on several benchmarks. It can understand and reason with images and videos, making it suitable for applications that require visual comprehension, such as summarizing video content or analyzing charts.
Open-Sourcing the Future of AI
Microsoft’s commitment to open-sourcing these models aligns with its vision of democratizing AI technology. By making these models available on Hugging Face under an MIT license, Microsoft empowers researchers and developers to build innovative AI applications without the constraints typically associated with proprietary software.
The Phi-3.5 models have the potential to revolutionize various industries, including healthcare, finance, and education. Their advanced capabilities can help automate tasks, improve decision-making processes, and enhance user experiences across different platforms.
Advanced Features
One of the standout features of the Phi-3.5 series is its extensive context window of 128,000 tokens, which allows the models to process large amounts of data effectively. This capability is crucial for real-world applications that involve lengthy documents or complex conversations, enabling the models to maintain coherence over extended interactions.
The training process for these models was rigorous:
The Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was trained on 3.4 trillion tokens over a span of ten days.
The Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct required more extensive training, processing 4.9 trillion tokens over 23 days.
The Phi-3.5-vision-instruct was trained on 500 billion tokens using a smaller training period of six days.
These extensive training datasets comprised high-quality, reasoning-dense public data that enhanced the models’ performance across numerous benchmarks.
Conclusion
As AI continues to evolve, Microsoft’s Phi-3.5 models are poised to play a crucial role in shaping the future of technology by offering smaller yet highly efficient solutions that outperform larger counterparts in specific tasks. By focusing on efficiency and accessibility through open-source initiatives, Microsoft is addressing the growing demand for powerful AI tools that can be deployed in resource-constrained environments as well as large-scale cloud settings.
The introduction of these models not only signifies a leap forward in AI capabilities but also challenges traditional notions about model size versus performance in the industry, potentially paving the way for more sustainable AI development practices in the future.
Apple is revolutionizing the way we create music and podcasts with a groundbreaking update to the Voice Memos app on the iPhone 16 Pro series. The introduction of AI-powered layered audio recording in the iOS 18.2 update allows users to effortlessly combine multiple audio tracks directly on their iPhones, making it an invaluable tool for musicians, podcasters, and content creators.
Key Features of Layered Recordings
The new Layered Recordings feature enables users to:
Record Vocals Over Instrumental Tracks: Users can play their music through the iPhone’s speakers while simultaneously recording their voice. This feature allows for capturing professional-quality audio without the need for external equipment, making it highly accessible for creators on the go.
Create Complex Audio Projects: The ability to layer multiple tracks of vocals, instruments, and sound effects empowers users to build intricate compositions directly on their devices.
Edit and Mix Audio: Advanced editing tools are available within the app, allowing users to fine-tune their recordings and apply professional-grade effects. This makes Voice Memos a powerful alternative to traditional studio setups.
Advanced Technology Behind the Feature
Powered by the A18 Pro chip and advanced machine learning algorithms, Voice Memos can intelligently isolate vocals from background noise, ensuring crystal-clear recordings. This technological advancement enhances the quality of audio captured, making it suitable for professional use.
Apple has showcased this feature with the popular Christmas song “Maybe This Christmas,” recorded by Grammy Award winners Michael Bublé and Carly Pearce, highlighting the practical applications of Layered Recordings in real-world scenarios.
Exclusive Availability
Currently, this powerful tool is exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, emphasizing Apple’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of mobile creativity. The app’s capabilities are designed specifically for these models, leveraging their superior hardware to deliver enhanced performance. Users on other models, including the base iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus, will not have access to this feature due to hardware limitations.
Broader Implications for Content Creation
The upgrade to Voice Memos represents a significant shift in how content creators can work. By enabling high-quality recording directly on their devices, Apple is catering to a growing demographic of musicians and podcasters who require flexibility and efficiency in their creative processes. This update not only enhances productivity but also democratizes access to high-quality audio recording tools.
Conclusion
With the introduction of AI-powered layered recording in Voice Memos on the iPhone 16 Pro series, Apple has set a new standard for mobile audio production. The combination of advanced technology, user-friendly features, and professional-grade capabilities positions Voice Memos as an essential tool for anyone looking to create music or podcasts on the go. As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more exciting advancements that will further empower creators in their artistic endeavors.
YouTube is taking a significant step in breaking down language barriers by expanding its AI-powered auto-dubbing feature to knowledge and information-based channels. Initially introduced at VidCon 2022, this feature leverages Google’s Aloud technology to automatically translate and dub videos into multiple languages, enhancing accessibility for creators and viewers alike.
How it Works
Automatic Detection and Dubbing: YouTube’s AI automatically detects the language of uploaded videos and generates dubbed versions in supported languages. This process is seamless for creators, who can upload their content without needing to make additional adjustments for dubbing.
Language Support: The auto-dubbing feature currently supports translations between several languages, including English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. This wide range of languages allows creators to reach diverse audiences across different regions.
Creator Control: Creators have the flexibility to review the auto-dubbed versions before they are published. They can choose to approve, unpublish, or delete these versions as they see fit, ensuring that the final content aligns with their standards.
Impact on Educational Content
This expansion aims to significantly increase the reach of educational and informative content to a global audience. By making videos accessible to viewers who speak different languages, YouTube empowers creators to share their knowledge and insights with a wider audience. For instance, a cooking tutorial originally in English can now be enjoyed by non-English speakers in countries like France or Japan.
Limitations and Future Improvements
While the technology presents exciting opportunities, there are some limitations:
Naturalness of Dubs: Currently, the auto-dubbed voices may not always sound entirely natural or convey the original tone and emotion of the speaker. YouTube acknowledges that this technology is still evolving and may not always produce perfect results.
Translation Accuracy: There may be instances where translations fall short or do not accurately represent the original content’s intent. YouTube is actively working on improving the accuracy and expressiveness of the auto-dubbed audio tracks.
YouTube has committed to ongoing enhancements, including an upcoming update called “Expressive Speech,” which aims to replicate not only the spoken content but also the creator’s tone, emotions, and environmental ambiance. This improvement will help create a more authentic viewing experience for users worldwide.
Conclusion
As YouTube expands its AI-powered auto-dubbing feature to more knowledge-focused channels, it is poised to make a substantial impact on content accessibility across the platform. By breaking down language barriers, YouTube is enabling creators to connect with audiences globally, fostering a more inclusive environment for learning and sharing information. As this feature continues to develop, it represents a significant advancement in how educational content can be consumed across different cultures and languages.