IBM this week presented research investigating how AI and machine learning could be used to improve maternal health in developing countries and predict the onset and progression of Type 1 diabetes. In a study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IBM researchers built models to analyze demographic datasets from African countries, finding “data-supported” links between the number of…

As the pandemic reaches new heights, with nearly 12 million cases and 260,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. to date, a glimmer of hope is on the horizon. Moderna and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which are developing vaccines to fight the virus, have released preliminary data suggesting their vaccines are around 95% effective. Manufacturing and distribution is expected to ramp up as soon as the…

AI-powered grocery management platform Afresh today raised $13 million in funding, which a source tells VentureBeat values the company at over $100 million. Afresh says the capital will enable it to expand its product across supply chain, store operations, and merchandising for all food categories, following a year in which it doubled the size of its workforce. Grocery stores are responsible for…

Forter, an automated fraud detection platform for ecommerce, has raised $125 million in a series E round that values the company at over $1.3 billion. The raise comes as ecommerce transactions surge under pandemic-driven lockdowns. But the throngs of people jumping online to shop have opened the floodgates to fraud. Recent data suggests digital fraud attacks have doubled in 2020, while the U.K.