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  • Google, Meta, Microsoft, Others Agree on AI ‘Red Lines’

    Google, Meta, Microsoft, Others Agree on AI ‘Red Lines’

    …More than a dozen technology leaders, also including Amazon, IBM and Samsung, signed up to protocols for the development of artificial intelligence

    Sixteen global tech giants, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI, have vowed to commit themselves to the safe development of AI.

    The pledge, which also saw firms from China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates sign up, was announced in a UK government statement on Tuesday, as South Korea and Britain co-hosted a global AI summit in Seoul.

    The agreement, which comes at a time when the breakneck pace of AI innovation is leaving governments scrambling to keep up, is a step up from the commitments made at the first global AI summit held six months ago, the statement said.

    Zhipu.ai, backed by Chinese tech giants, Alibaba, Tencent, Meituan and Xiaomi, as well as UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute, were among the 16 companies pledging to publish safety frameworks on how they will measure risks of frontier AI models.

    The firms, also including Amazon, IBM and Samsung Electronics, voluntarily committed to not develop or deploy AI models if the risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated, and to ensure governance and transparency on approaches to AI safety, the statement said.

    “It’s vital to get international agreement on the ‘red lines’ where AI development would become unacceptably dangerous to public safety,” said Beth Barnes, founder at METR, a non-profit for AI model safety.

    The artificial intelligence (AI) summit in Seoul this week aims to build on a broad agreement at the first summit held in the United Kingdom to better address a wider array of risks.

    At the November summit, Tesla’s Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman mingled with some of their fiercest critics, while China co-signed the “Bletchley Declaration,” on collectively managing AI risks alongside the United States and others.

    British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol oversaw a virtual summit later on Tuesday, followed by a ministerial session on Wednesday.

    This week’s summit will address “building… on the commitment from the companies, also looking at how the [AI safety] institutes will work together,” Britain’s Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan said on Tuesday.

    AI in Medicine, Finance Concerns

    Since November, discussion on AI regulation has shifted from longer-term doomsday scenarios to “practical concerns” such as how to use AI in areas like medicine or finance, said Aidan Gomez, co-founder of large language model firm Cohere.

    Industry participants wanted AI regulation that will give clarity and security on where the companies should invest, while avoiding entrenching big tech, Gomez said.

    With countries such as the UK and US establishing state-backed AI Safety Institutes for evaluating AI models and others expected to follow suit, AI firms are also concerned about the interoperability between jurisdictions, analysts said.

    Representatives of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies are expected to take part in the virtual summit, while Singapore and Australia were also invited, a South Korean presidential official said.

    China will not participate in the virtual summit but is expected to attend Wednesday’s in-person ministerial session, the official said.

    South Korea’s foreign ministry said Musk, former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, Samsung Electronics’ Chairman, Jay Y. Lee and other AI industry leaders will participate in the summit.

  • Remedial Health raises $12 million to deliver financial services for neighbourhood pharmacies and drive deeper growth in Nigeria

    Remedial Health raises $12 million to deliver financial services for neighbourhood pharmacies and drive deeper growth in Nigeria

    Remedial Health, a healthtech startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, has secured $12 million in an equity and debt funding round to deepen the penetration of its services in Nigeria and support the delivery of targeted financial services to drive business growth across the country’s pharmaceutical sector.

    The $8 million Series A equity funding round was led by US-based venture capital firm, QED Investors and co-led by Ventures Platform, who have now invested in Remedial Health at every funding round since the pre-seed stage. This investment also represents Ventures Platform’s first Series A investment. Ycombinator, Tencent and Gaingels also invested after participating in previous rounds. The $4 million debt funding was led by a consortium of local and international financial institutions.

    Across Africa, 85 percent of retail medicine purchases happen at micro-enterprises, typically neighbourhood pharmacies) and Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs). For store owners, 90 percent of their wholesale purchases happen in open markets that are largely unfit for consumables and medicines. Store owners also have to endure expensive and time-consuming weekly order cycles that typically amount to two working days to access the inventory they need to stock their shelves. These realities, combined with a predominantly paper-based approach to managing operations, present various challenges that make it difficult to maximise profitability.

    Remedial Health operates at the intersection of healthcare, supply chain management, technology and financial services, delivering the digital procurement infrastructure to power effective healthcare distribution for Africa’s 1.2 million pharmacies. Starting in Nigeria, Remedial Health has built an effective operating system for pharmaceutical buyers and suppliers, working with more than 300 manufacturers and serving more than 5,000 hospitals, pharmacies and PPMVs across 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states, with regional hubs to enable a seamless experience across the country. 

    Store owners can access more than 8,000 vetted products via the mobile app, with same-day delivery and inventory financing to minimise cash-flow friction for routine orders and maximise sales opportunities. The startup also provides facility financing, payment solutions and inventory management solutions that makes it easier for store owners to run their business more efficiently and profitably. For pharmaceutical manufacturers, Remedial Health provides an effective route-to-market for their products, as well as data-driven insights into local markets that can be leveraged for more effective planning and decision making.

    This new funding will enable Remedial Health to deepen the reach of these services across Nigeria and deliver more game changing solutions to drive greater efficiency across the pharmaceutical value chain. 

    According to Samuel Okwuada, CEO and co-founder of Remedial Health, “We are delighted to have raised these funds, particularly with the wider context of the global funding downturn and the wide range of economic headwinds in Nigeria. Our continued growth has put us in a strong position to deliver our mission of creating a tech-enabled, pharmacy-centred healthcare network and we are looking forward to leveraging these funds to achieve more success.”

    Gbenga Ajayi, Partner, Head of Africa, QED Investors, said “The success that Remedial Health has enjoyed to date is an indication of the market gap that exists, and the value they provide in providing effective holistic services to thousands of pharmacies across Nigeria. QED is particularly excited about the embedded financial services opportunities within the vertical — the ability to provide payments, embedded lending and other fintech solutions to this underserved but very crucial sector. The Remedial Health team is perfectly positioned to solve this problem because of its unique positioning as a partner across the entire pharmaceutical value chain and the unique backgrounds of the founders as both seasoned phama operators and technology professionals. We are very excited to be on this journey and to support this next phase of the company and to bring our fintech DNA to bear in what is an already positive growth journey.”

    Kola Aina, Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, said “We are incredibly proud to have been part of Remedial Health’s journey since the earliest phase of the company’s development. This partnership exemplifies our mission to support  category leaders before they become obvious. Remedial Health’s dedication to improving Nigeria’s pharmaceutical value chain is critical  and their success in securing this $12 million funding demonstrates their remarkable growth and the management’s tenacity over the years. Our investment in this round represents our continued belief in their mission to deliver financial services to neighbourhood pharmacies and drive deeper growth in the pharmaceutical sector.” 

  • Remedial Health secures $4.4 million in seed funding to provide access to credit for neighbourhood pharmacies in Nigeria

    Remedial Health secures $4.4 million in seed funding to provide access to credit for neighbourhood pharmacies in Nigeria

     Remedial Health, a healthtech startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, has raised $4.4 million in seed funding to accelerate its expansion across Nigeria and to provide access to credit for inventory purchases for its growing customer base of neighbourhood pharmacies, Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and hospitals in the country. 

    The seed funding round was led by Global Ventures – a leading MEA venture capital firm, that re-invested after participating in the previous round. Tencent, Y Combinator, Cathexis Ventures, LightSpeed Venture Partners Scout Fund, Ventures Platform, Alumni Ventures and True Capital Management also participated in the round which included prominent angel investors such as Guillaume Luccisano and Christopher Golda.

    Remedial Health provides a range of solutions, including its digital procurement and PMR (patient medication records) platforms that make it easier for neighbourhood pharmacies, PPMVs and hospitals to access affordable and authentic retail medicines. Healthcare providers can source vetted medications at prices the same, or better, than open-air medicine market prices – with 24 hour delivery to their practice via Remedial Health’s logistics network. In addition to procurement, pharmacies and PPMVs can access credit to fund inventory purchases and provide loans and salary advances for employees.

    Since January 2022, Remedial Health has seen 600 percent increase in sales volumes and the company now covers 16 of Nigeria’s 36 states. This new funding will support the rollout of its services across the rest of Nigeria, and also lay the groundwork for expansion across Africa in 2023.

    The impact of various global events from the last three years – from the COVID-19 pandemic to rising inflation – has led to a sharp increase in the price of medicines in Nigeria. For neighbourhood pharmacies and Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) that represent the main source of medicines for the majority of Nigerians, these price increases mean there is added pressure to balance the need to provide lifesaving medicines to their communities and the need to run their businesses effectively. There is also the challenge of an opaque supply chain where manufacturers have limited or delayed visibility into what is happening on the frontlines, which means pharmacies and PPMVs are often left to make do with what they can get, rather than what they need. 

    By leveraging Remedial Health’s tech-enabled platform, neighbourhood pharmacies, PPMVs and hospitals can benefit from group/bulk buying discounts, time-saving and improved efficiency, access to credit to improve their earnings, as well as additional revenue from providing financial services and other primary healthcare services. Manufacturers also benefit from an efficient supply chain, a clear and instant route-to-market for their products and real-time intelligence on product utilization to improve decision-making on forecasting, production and distribution.

    According to Samuel Okwuada, CEO and co-founder of Remedial Health, “Neighbourhood pharmacies and PPMVs have the potential to be the face of a thriving healthcare system in Africa, and we believe that technology can play a significant role in making this vision a reality. The funds that we have raised and the strategic support from our investors will enable us to deliver the solutions to address various challenges that have hampered these businesses’ growth for many years, and make it easier to safeguard lives and livelihoods across the continent for years to come”

    Sacha Haider, Principal at Global Ventures, said, “The market opportunity to serve community pharmacies across Africa is significant; in Nigeria alone, 500,000 community pharmacies drive over 80% of a 70 billion dollar market in annual pharmaceutical sales. The team at Remedial Health is proactively addressing challenges including price opacity, poor drug quality control and a very fragmented supply chain, head on to create a tech-enabled, pharmacy-centered healthcare network that has allowed over 25% in cost reductions at the point of care. We are excited to partner with Sam on his mission to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare in Africa through optimized pharmaceutical supply chains”.