Tag Archives: management

Revamping BMI Strategies: The Urgent Need for Speed in Health Management

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In the field of medicine, acting too quickly can lead to catastrophic results. A prime example is the thalidomide scandal associated with morning sickness. Pregnant animals were never tested, reflecting the risks of changing procedures based on insufficient evidence. However, slow responses can also pose dangers, as seen with the reliance on body mass index (BMI).

For years, BMI, a straightforward calculation based on weight and height, has proven inadequate for distinguishing between fat and muscle or accounting for global variations. While it is a quick and cost-effective measure, its prolonged use has misclassified millions, leading to denied fertility treatments and surgeries.

Fortunately, alternative measurements are gaining traction. In a pivotal move last year, The Lancet urged that BMI not be the sole metric for assessing obesity, a recommendation embraced by 75 international medical organizations.

This shift indicates a potential resolution to the medical inertia stemming from insufficient evidence, lack of consensus, and leadership necessary for progress, especially after the errors of the 20th century.

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We need only look to COVID-19 vaccines to illustrate that rapid, safe, and evidence-based actions can indeed be achieved.
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The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, which saved approximately 14 million lives within their first year, serves as an exemplary model of fast, evidence-based action in healthcare.

This type of proactive response is crucial in various underdeveloped healthcare sectors, including enhanced menopause care, innovative psychiatric treatments, additional male contraception options, and new antibiotics.

While caution is essential, it’s crucial to act swiftly without compromising safety and effectiveness.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Sustainable Resource Management through a Circular Economy – Sciworthy

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Rare earth elements, commonly referred to as REE, are vital chemical components for mobile phones, computers, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and nearly all digital electronic devices. These unique elements, with names like Cerium (CE), Neodymium (ND), Praseodymium (PR), Dysprosium (DY), and Terbium (TB), can be recycled from electronic gadgets. However, much like fossil fuels, REE resources are finite. Additionally, only four countries possess about 85% of the REE supply found in the Earth’s crust. Consequently, scientists are working on sustainable methods for mining and distributing REEs.

Pen Wang and his team propose that the solution lies in the circular economy. This model focuses on utilizing readily available resources while minimizing waste. For instance, China adopted this policy in the 2000s and capitalized on its REE reserves. They noted that nations and industries could employ five strategies to foster a circular economy: baseline usage, recycling, reuse, replacement, and reduction.

First, countries monitor current resource usage, known as Baseline. Next, they engage in recycling by utilizing easily accessible resources to minimize waste and develop sustainable technology, followed by Reuse. They then promote the use of accessible materials at the manufacturing level, referred to as the production level with an emphasis on Alternative methods that waste fewer materials, and Reduction. Furthermore, various countries integrate these strategies to enhance sustainability and achieve Combined results.

The researchers concluded that not all strategies in the circular economy carry equal weight. They found that reduction and alternatives are the most impactful since they originate at production sources, while recycling and reuse are merely reactive strategies rather than preventive measures. To assess which strategies yield the most benefits for REE distribution, they examined how the REE sector aligns with the five strategies of a circular economy.

It has been observed that mining companies primarily extract REE directly from the Earth, referred to as Land stocks. However, substantial deposits of REEs have only been identified in a limited number of countries, including China, Brazil, Vietnam, and Russia. Existing electronic devices already contain a significant quantity of REE stocks. Utilization of these stocks offers a promising avenue. The team argued that recycling these devices would lessen the need for underground extraction and stabilize the economy as underground stocks dwindle. They indicated that, under the current economic model, a considerable portion of available inventory would be discarded, leading to depletion by 2042 without efficient re-introduction of used stocks.

The team highlighted that trade plays a crucial role in the global circular economy. Free trade enables the unimpeded flow of resources such as REEs across borders, with taxes and duties acting as trade-offs. However, disruptions to free trade could hinder the accumulation of inventory during REE use. For instance, they estimated that waste from two REEs, such as ND, PR, DY, and TB, would remain unutilized due to exporting nations with stock in circulation.

Researchers pointed out that China is currently the sole nation capable of meeting its own REE needs. However, they anticipate that the US could possess up to 50% of the usable stocks by 2050. Developing circular economy practices is in the US’s interest, as they contend that trades concerning REEs will evolve into a multi-billion dollar industry in the coming decades. They believe these practices can also yield social advantages since countries concentrating on resource extraction can cultivate a sustainable economy grounded in processing existing stock rather than depleting new resources.

The researchers concluded that adopting a circular economy to recycle utilized stocks would enhance the global accessibility of REEs in the future. However, success hinges on global economic collaboration, which may present challenges. They proposed that the US should forge partnerships with countries excelling in recycling to initiate a Western movement toward engaging in this economic system.


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Source: sciworthy.com

Uncovering the Impact of the LA Wildfire: Key Estimates Lacking After Trump’s Management Changes

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As President Donald Trump took office, the wildfires in Los Angeles were still burning, prompting a return to previous Biden-era directives for federal agencies addressing the climate crisis. Flip

January’s fire conditions, exacerbated by climate change, played a significant role in igniting wildfires in Palisades and Eton. Nearly 40,000 acres were affected. By March, Adam Smith, the chief investigator of the $1 billion weather and climate disaster program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was still assessing the severe impact of the LA wildfires when he received informal orders to cease all work-related communications.

Each month, Smith’s team maintained an extensive online database tracking losses from over 400 natural disasters since 1980, all causing more than $1 billion in damages. Following the LA wildfire, Smith reported having received restrictions that prevented him from updating this database and sharing initial findings with the public. The wildfire incurred damages amounting to at least $50 billion.

In early May, Smith resigned due to concerns about the agency’s plans for the future. The billion-dollar weather and climate disaster online database Smith had developed over 15 years at NOAA was subsequently shut down. Days later, NOAA confirmed it would cease updates for this important resource, which provides essential data for scientists, citizens, and insurance firms evaluating climate risk.

A NOAA spokesperson stated that the database would no longer be updated “due to changing priorities and staffing adjustments.” The White House did not provide any comments regarding the matter.

According to Smith, the database’s economic losses are particularly vital, as billion-dollar disasters like hurricanes and widespread wildfires are increasingly common. In 2023, the US set new records for billion-dollar disasters, with the database indicating a staggering $28 billion event. Over the past five years, the US has averaged about $24 billion in disasters annually, a significant rise from just $3 billion average during the 1980s.

“We need to be more prepared than ever,” Smith told NBC News. “Some have access to the data and insights for better preparation. Unfortunately, discontinuing resources like these creates a gap in knowledge.”

Researchers have identified rising global temperatures as a key driver in these changes over recent decades. Long-term droughts and increased wildfire risks are affecting regions across the western United States, where warming atmospheres retain more moisture, resulting in more intense storms and hurricanes.

This increase in extreme weather events presents significant challenges for insurance policyholders in areas susceptible to natural disasters. Rates in hurricane-prone states like Louisiana and Florida have surged, with some homeowners facing nearly $10,000 in annual insurance premiums. In California, major insurance firms, including State Farm, have rescinded policies due to escalating fire risks.

A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that the heightened risk of disasters would drive up annual insurance costs for households affected by climate issues by an estimated $700 over the next three decades. On a global scale, reports from German insurance giant Munich RE indicated that natural disasters resulted in record insurance losses of $140 billion worldwide in 2024.

“You cannot conceal the costs of climate change from those who are already incurring those costs through their insurance premiums,” stated Carly Fabian, a civic policy advocate from a consumer rights nonprofit. “The insurance and reinsurance sectors are built to withstand a limited number of major multi-billion dollar disasters, but are not equipped for consecutive disasters occurring with such frequency.”

Data compiled in the multibillion-dollar disaster database illustrates the financial toll of hurricanes, severe storms, and wildfires across the nation, serving as a critical resource for private insurers modeling climate risks and establishing rates for homeowners in vulnerable areas. Although insurance companies utilize various datasets for their climate risk assessments, the scale of NOAA’s database remains unmatched.

Jeremy Porter, a climate risk expert at the First Street Foundation, emphasized that the database is one of the most effective tools for illustrating the economic impact of climate-related disasters. First Street utilizes the $1 billion disaster database for its national risk assessment reports.

The NOAA database also serves as an essential resource for homeowners facing rising rates, non-renewals, and cancellations in home insurance.

“We are navigating an industry where insurers have extensive access to private data while the average consumer lacks insight into that data,” remarked the policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, a nonprofit advocating for stricter regulations. “The removal of public data sources exacerbates this imbalance, hindering individuals’ ability to understand their risks and the challenges they face from financial service providers.”

Madison Condon, an environmental law professor at Boston University, highlighted that the cuts to NOAA’s $1 billion disaster database are part of a broader trend involving rollbacks of national climate assessments and data resources, including the annual report detailing the impacts of climate change in the US released in late April. The Trump administration notably rejected numerous scientific contributions to these reports.

Additionally, the Trump administration has eliminated data products related to melting Antarctic glaciers and sea ice cover, marking yet another setback for US Antarctic research. Leaked documents obtained by ProPublica indicated that Trump intended to reduce NOAA funding by 27%, particularly for innovative climate-related initiatives, and proposed nearly 75% cuts to the Bureau of Ocean and Atmospheric Research, responsible for maintaining global climate models essential for insurers’ climate risk assessments.

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Source: www.nbcnews.com

Research: Elderberry juice high in anthocyanins may be an effective weight management aid

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Consuming elderberry juice daily for one week (12 ounces of juice daily) significantly increases the gut microbial community associated with health benefits, according to a new randomized, placebo-controlled study. Compared to placebo, elderberry juice significantly increased Firmicutes and Actinobacteria and decreased Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, elderberry juice increased. FaecalibacteriumRuminococcaceae , and Bifidobacterium Bacteroidetes and lactic acid-producing bacteria decreased.

Elderberry is a small dark purple fruit that grows on the elderberry tree, which is native to Europe. Image credit: TheOtherKev.

More than 70% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. The latest estimates indicate that 42% of adults suffer from obesity, and this is expected to increase to 48-55% by 2050.

Obesity has myriad and multifaceted causes. Proactive dietary management of obesity-related cardiometabolic complications includes dietary patterns that incorporate food sources rich in bioactive food components, such as the Mediterranean-style diet.

These dietary patterns include 5 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, which are rich sources of polyphenols that promote human health and longevity.

Anthocyanins are a diverse subclass of flavonoids that have been widely studied for health-promoting properties, including metabolic changes associated with obesity, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.

Furthermore, research results ranging from translational studies in rodents to large prospective cohort studies show that anthocyanin-rich berries have a protective effect against obesity-related morbidity and mortality. It's proven.

The mechanisms of action of anthocyanin benefits include preventing the intestinal absorption of monosaccharides, promoting cellular metabolism in adipose and muscle tissue, and modulating the gut microbiome.

“We have previously shown that consuming 600 g of blackberries per day for one week increases insulin sensitivity as evidenced by dietary challenge testing and decreases in respiratory quotient by 24-hour indirect calorimetry. “We demonstrated that fat oxidation also increases.” Dr. Patrick Solverson and colleagues at Washington State University.

“The aim of this human study was to determine whether the metabolic benefits observed with other anthocyanin-rich berries also apply to elderberry.”

Researchers tested elderberry's effects on metabolic health in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 18 overweight adults.

While maintaining a standardized diet, participants consumed either elderberry juice or a placebo with a similar color and flavor specifically designed by North Carolina State University's Food Innovation Lab.

Post-intervention clinical trials showed that participants who consumed elderberry juice had significantly increased amounts of beneficial gut bacteria, such as Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and decreased amounts of harmful bacteria, such as Bacteroidetes. It was shown that

In addition to positive changes in the microbiome, elderberry intervention improved metabolism.

The results showed that elderberry juice lowered participants' blood sugar levels by an average of 24%, significantly improving their ability to process sugar after ingesting carbohydrates. Results also showed that insulin levels were reduced by 9%.

Additionally, the results suggested that elderberry juice may increase the body's ability to burn fat.

Participants who consumed elderberry juice showed a significant increase in fat oxidation, or the breakdown of fatty acids, after a high-carbohydrate meal or during exercise.

“Food is medicine, and science is catching up to that conventional wisdom,” Dr. Solverson said.

“This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that elderberry, which has been used as a folk medicine for centuries, has many benefits for metabolic as well as prebiotic health. .”

“Other berries also contain anthocyanins, but usually in lower concentrations,” he added.

“To get the same amount of anthocyanins found in 6 ounces of elderberry juice, you would need to consume 4 cups of blackberries a day.”

of findings appear in the diary nutrients.

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Christy Teets others. 2024. A 1-week elderberry juice intervention enhances fecal microbiota and suggests improved glucose tolerance and fat oxidation in a randomized controlled trial. nutrients 16(20):3555;doi: 10.3390/nu16203555

Source: www.sci.news

Indigenous Australians’ management of land through fire spans 11,000 years.

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Aboriginal people use fire to manage the landscape

Penny Tweedy/Getty Images

Analysis of sediment cores taken from ancient lakes shows that Australia's indigenous peoples have been using fire to manage their environment for at least 11,000 years.

michael bird Researchers at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, say their findings suggest that returning to indigenous regimes of more frequent but smaller fires could reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. This suggests that environmental management could be improved.

It has long been known that Australia's first people, who are thought to have lived on the continent for 65,000 years, carefully managed the landscape, using fire to make it easier to move around and hunt prey. . They also realized that this benefits some of the plants and animals they like and reduces the risk of more dangerous fires.

But how long this has been going on is difficult to establish, Bird said. That's because most waterways dry up completely during the annual dry season, destroying carbon in the sediment.

Girraween Lagoon, near Darwin in the Northern Territory, is a huge sinkhole that covers an area of ​​about 1 hectare and has remained permanently wet for at least 150,000 years. As the climate changed over the millennia, so did the vegetation around the sinkhole. “Girraween Lagoon has 150,000 years worth of sediment that has never dried out,” says Bird.

Bird and his colleagues were able to study three important indicators by analyzing sediment cores from the lagoon floor. It is a measure of the accumulation of fine charcoal particles, the proportion of burnt material in charred vegetation material, and the amount of different types of charcoal. Carbon that remains after combustion.

The first two indicators allow researchers to estimate the intensity of the fire, and the third indicates whether the fire was cold enough to leave traces of grass.

Before the arrival of humans, natural fires in the savanna of northern Australia were ignited by lightning strikes at the end of the dry season, when the vegetation and landscape were almost completely dry. This type of more intense fire burns biomass more completely, especially fine fuels such as grass and trash, leaving less grass uncharted.

Indigenous fires, on the other hand, burn more frequently, but with much lower heat, and their impact is confined to smaller areas and to the ground layer, promoting a mosaic of vegetation and helping to protect biodiversity.

Byrd said recent layers of the core show more frequent fires and clear evidence of grass that hasn't completely burned, indicating the fires are cooler. . This type of fire is very different from traditional natural fire patterns and is evidence of indigenous fire management, he says.

Researchers collect sediment cores in Girraween Lagoon, Northern Territory, Australia

michael bird

This signal can be seen in sediments that are at least 11,000 years old, but the study found that metrics for the proportion of grass and tree debris before that point have become difficult to study. Bird said there are signs of human fire starting 40,000 years ago, but the evidence is less clear.

“This means that savannahs have been growing alongside humans for at least 11,000 years,” he says. “Biodiversity has grown with that fire policy. When you remove this kind of burnout, you start to see serious problems with biodiversity.”

david bowman Researchers from Australia's University of Tasmania say the paper highlights the twin importance of climate and humans in shaping fire regimes.

“Decoupling climate from anthropogenic and, importantly, indigenous fire management is a very important topic,” he says. “As we fight to combat climate-induced wildfires around the world, a long-term perspective like this will be an invaluable addition to current research and development in sustainable fire management. .”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Alphabet management informs employees to anticipate more job reductions this year

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Google’s CEO told employees to expect additional layoffs this year following recent layoffs that affected 1,000 employees.

In a memo to staff on Wednesday, Sundar Pichai said departments within the tech company continue to make changes and “some roles may be affected.”

Pichai’s memo acknowledged further layoffs reported last week, with the Alphabet Union, which represents workers within Google and its parent company Alphabet, announcing that 1,000 employees were affected.

“We have ambitious goals and will invest in big priorities,” he said in a memo reported by technology news website The Verge. “The reality is that we have to make hard choices to create this investment capacity.”

Pichai said the difficult choices so far include job losses at Google’s divisions, which include search, ad sales and the YouTube platform.

He noted that Alphabet cut 12,000 jobs across Alphabet in January last year, and said the job cuts would not reach that level. The company employed 182,000 people as of September 30 last year, according to its latest quarterly results.

“These role reductions are not at the scale of last year’s reductions and will not affect all teams,” Pichai wrote. “But I know it’s very difficult to see your colleagues and teams affected.”

Pichai announced the layoffs last year, saying Alphabet experienced a hiring boom as demand for tech companies surged during the coronavirus pandemic. He acknowledged that the company had overexpanded and wrote that it “hired for a different economic reality” than the one Alphabet faces now.

Pichai’s Wednesday memo was not on par with 12 months ago, when Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon and Meta made tens of thousands of layoffs to adapt to the post-lockdown economy, sent to employees against the background of technical layoffs elsewhere. In December, Spotify announced it would cut 17% of its global workforce, while Amazon cut hundreds of employees in its Prime Video and Studio divisions, as well as about 500 employees at live streaming platform Twitch announced that he would be fired.

According to a website that tracks job losses in the technology industry. layoff.fyi, the sector has made 7,785 job cuts globally so far this year. By the same time last year, tech companies had laid off even more employees, about 38,000.

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Pichai said Wednesday that the latest job cuts are focused on “reducing tiers to simplify execution and increase speed in some areas,” with more role cuts to come. Stated.

“While many of these changes have already been announced, we want to say upfront that some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year as needed and some roles will be affected. “There is a possibility that we will be subject to this,” he added.

Google declined to comment.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Improving the Understanding and Management of AI

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evil robot artificial intelligence

A new paper discusses the complex role of AI in society and highlights its potential for both benefit and harm. He explores AI’s contribution to national security, its role in exacerbating social problems such as radicalization and polarization, and the importance of understanding and managing its risks.
Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms have and are being used to exacerbate radicalization, strengthen polarization and spread racism and political instability, according to academics at Lancaster University. .

Jo Barton, professor of international security at Lancaster University, argues that AI and algorithms are not just tools used by national security agencies to thwart malicious online activity. He suggests that they can foster polarization, radicalism and political violence, thereby posing a threat to national security itself.

In addition to this, he says the securitization process – which presents technology as an existential threat – has helped shape how AI is designed, how it is used, and the harmful outcomes it produces.

AI in securitization and its social impact

Professor Barton’s paper was recently published in Elsevier’s High Impact magazine. Technology in society journal.

“AI is often framed as a tool to counter violent extremism,” Professor Barton says. “This is the other side of the argument.”

This paper examines how AI has been securitized throughout its history and in media and popular culture depictions, creating polarizing and radicalizing ideas that have contributed to political violence. We explore this by examining contemporary examples of AI that have had an impact.

AI in War and Cybersecurity

This article explores how the classic film series The Terminator, which depicts a holocaust caused by an “advanced and malignant” artificial intelligence, has changed the public’s perception of artificial intelligence and how machine consciousness could have catastrophic consequences for humanity. He cites it as being more helpful than anything else in instilling fear. Humanity – In this case nuclear war and a deliberate attempt to wipe out humanity. seed.

“This distrust of machines, the fear associated with them, and their association with biological, nuclear, and genetic threats to humanity has led to a desire on the part of governments and national security agencies to influence the development of technology. connected, we can reduce risks and (in some cases) exploit its positive potential,” writes Professor Barton.

Professor Barton said advanced drone roles, such as those used in the Ukraine war, were now capable of full autonomy, including functions such as target identification and recognition.

There have been widespread and influential campaign discussions, including at the United Nations, to ban “killer robots” and ensure that humans are always informed about life-or-death decisions. According to him, the infiltration of armed drones continues to advance rapidly.

In cyber security (computer and computer network security), AI is used in major ways, the most prevalent areas being (dis)information and online psychological warfare.

The Putin regime’s actions against the 2016 US election process and the subsequent Cambridge Analytica scandal showed that AI combined with big data (including social media) polarizes, encourages extremist beliefs, and manipulates identities. It showed the possibility of producing political effects centered on group. This demonstrated the power and potential of AI to divide society.

The social impact of AI during the pandemic

And during the pandemic, AI was seen as a positive in tracking and tracing. virus But it also led to privacy and human rights concerns.

This article examines AI technology itself, arguing that problems exist in the design of AI, the data it relies on, how it is used, and its outcomes and impacts.

The paper concludes with a strong message for researchers in cybersecurity and international relations.

“AI certainly has the ability to transform society in positive ways, but it also poses risks that need to be better understood and managed,” said John C., an expert on cyber conflict and emerging technologies and a university professor. Professor Barton, who is part of the Security and Protection Science Initiative, writes:

“It is clear that understanding the dichotomous impact of technology is critical at every stage of its development and use.

“Cybersecurity and international relations scholars have an opportunity to incorporate these elements into new AI research agendas and avoid treating AI as a politically neutral technology.

“In other words, concerns about the security of AI systems and their societal impact should not be overridden by how they are used in international and geopolitical struggles.”

Reference: “Algorithmic extremism? The Securitization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its Impact on Radicalism, Polarization, and Political Violence,” by Joe Barton, September 14, 2023. Technology in society.
DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102262

Source: scitechdaily.com

Spiff, an automated commission management platform, acquired by Salesforce

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sales force is announced plan to obtain Spiff, a platform that automates commission management for sales teams. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2017, Spiff provides a low-code interface designed to help companies easily create sales compensation plans that automatically update based on talent meeting pre-agreed goals. . Native integration with popular enterprise CRM and ERP systems allows you to handle the most complex commission structures, including any conditions to trigger a payout, while giving sales reps the ability to see in real-time the commissions owed. He Spiff says.

The Salt Lake City-based startup invested in Spiff’s Series B round in 2021, including a cash infusion from Salesforce’s own venture capital firm Salesforce Ventures, which previously led a $50 million Series C round. , which has raised more than $110 million in its six-year history. this year.

Spiff

Spiff image credits: Spiff

Once the acquisition is complete (expected within the first few months of 2024), Salesforce says it plans to bring Spiff to life internally. Sales performance management The software is a CRM connectivity product that connects customer and sales team data.

It’s worth noting that both companies have a history that goes beyond stock investments. Spiff becomes available It has been available on the Salesforce AppExchange for several years.

The deal is also the latest in a series of ecosystem companies that Salesforce has ultimately brought in-house. Back in September, Salesforce acquired Airkit, a low-code platform for building AI customer service agents. Airkit’s founders have previously exited Salesforce by selling a big data startup called RelateIQ for his $390 million in 2014, as well as Salesforce Ventures, which he founded in 2017. Since then, I have invested in Airkit several times. And like Spiff, Airkit was also available. On AppExchange.

So it’s clear that Salesforce continues to view proven ecosystem companies as a safe option for its M&A efforts, and that “low code” is also a key element.

Source: techcrunch.com