Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
February 5-11, 2024:
• Unifying recruiter workflows: hireEZ launches CRM platform to pair with sourcing solution;
• Ensuring safe & responsible development: EU Member States unanimously approve AI Act;
• Fueling new work technologies: Acadian Ventures closes $30M Fund II to continue investment;
• Catching up with the times: UK’s Labour government drafts act to grant equal pay to minorities;
• Creating a better ChatGPT: NXAI launches in Austria to promote European LLM development.
PLUS
Early Bird Discounts end in 2 weeks for the LIMITED SEATING TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum. Avoid FOMO, register right now for the only conference in the North American market that is specifically designed both for job board and talent technology company CEOs, their direct reports and rising stars and to accelerate the bottom-line growth of their enterprises. Why the rush? Because the conference will be held June 4-6, 2024 at The International Spy Museum which has a limited seating capacity and Early Bird Discounts on registration are due to expire shortly. So, register today and accelerate the success your company achieves, today, tomorrow and into the future!
hireEZ Launches CRM Platform to Empower TA Leaders and Recruiters
hireEZ announced today the launch of hireEZ 2, the only candidate relationship management (CRM) platform built for recruiters by recruiters with industry-leading sourcing, analytics, and automation functionality. Nearly a decade after launching the world's first AI candidate sourcing solution, hireEZ 2 pairs the hireEZ platform's unparalleled access to talent with a CRM that empowers leaders and recruiters to grow their organizations while minimizing technology expenses. "What we've heard from industry leaders and recruiters is traditional recruitment CRMs don't get the job done. They are overly complex and create disjointed workflows, ultimately hurting recruiter productivity," said Steven Jiang, CEO and co-founder of hireEZ. "hireEZ 2 is purpose-built to unify recruiter workflows within a single system, designed to maximize productivity, and provide stronger insights across candidate engagement, talent pool creation, applicant match, and more for better decision-making." hireEZ 2's industry-leading sourcing, analytics and automation solutions aim to save recruiters time, increase hiring quality and inform stronger hiring strategies by supporting every aspect of the recruitment workflow. With greater team productivity, leaders can reduce unnecessary tool spend and finally have a CRM worthy of their investment.
EU’s AI Act Receives Unanimous Approval, Sets Global Precedent
In a landmark decision, EU Member States have voted unanimously to approve the AI Act, a significant move that sets the stage for comprehensive regulation of artificial intelligence technologies within the European Union. This decision, following two years of negotiations, underscores the EU’s commitment to ensuring the safe and responsible development and use of AI technologies across various sectors. The Act is poised to have far-reaching implications not only within the EU but also on a global scale, impacting industries ranging from healthcare to defense. The EU’s new regulations on AI are touted as the most comprehensive to date, encompassing measures to ensure both safety and innovation in AI development and deployment. Designed to shape global standards, the Act will impact diverse industry sectors, including segments of military application. Throughout the legislative process, concerns were raised by tech associations and startups regarding potential roadblocks. Yet, EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton reassured stakeholders, emphasizing the Act’s balanced approach to fostering trust and innovation in AI.
Acadian Ventures Closes $30 Million Fund II to Invest in the Next Generation of Work Technologies
Acadian Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, today announced the successful close on an oversubscribed $30 million in capital commitments for its second fund. The new fund is anchored by ServiceNow Ventures and Connecticut Innovations with additional participation from venture capital firms, family offices, high-net individuals, many of the firm's founders, and a majority of limited partners from our first fund. Acadian Ventures Fund II is almost triple the size of its inaugural first fund and the firm has already made 12 investments out of the second fund. Acadian Ventures is a global venture capital firm that invests in the next generation of work technologies. Today, the firm is focused on four core themes: Intelligent work applications (i.e. A.I.), work infrastructure (i.e. data and APIs), new regulatory and compliance, and the emerging global workforce. These emergent areas in technology will create opportunities for new ways to manage work, creating new market categories, and disrupting existing incumbents.
Labour plans to extend equal pay rights to black, Asian and minority ethnic staff
A Labour government would extend the full right to equal pay that now exists for women to black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers for the first time under radical plans for a draft race equality act seen by the Guardian. The legal right, which would follow a consultation with business groups and unions, would be phased in to give employers time to adapt to paying all their staff fairly, with back pay only available from when the law changes. The change, which would also cover disabled people, would mean that equal pay claims on the basis of ethnicity and disability were treated the same as those made by women who, under the existing law, have more stringent protections. Labour would also appoint a Windrush commissioner if it won the general election to monitor the compensation scheme, which has faced criticism over its slow rollout, and has threatened to move it out of the Home Office if it continues to fail.
NXAI: AI researcher Hochreiter launches AI startup with Pierer and Netural
Last year, Sepp Hochreiter complained about the lack of a sensible AI strategy in Austria. That's why he is now planning to join forces with investor Stefan Pierer to launch NXAI, a private research center for AI and product development. The private center is to become a pioneer in Europe – the plan is to bring a "better ChatGPT" to market maturity – it will be positioned in Linz. It's actually only known from Silicon Valley: that private individuals invest in basic research and create their own infrastructure to keep technology local. AI pioneer Sepp Hochreiter intends to do just that with NXAI. "I'm sitting here in Linz on something brilliant, but I don't have the money to do it," Hochreiter told APA. Albert Ortig's Netural and entrepreneur Stefan Pierer's Pierer Digital Holding each hold a 37 percent stake in NXAI, while researcher Sepp Hochreiter holds 26 percent and is thus just above the blocking minority. The focus of NXAI GmbH, which currently employs ten people, will continue to be on the further development of the European large language model technology xLSTM in the future. It is intended to serve as a basic technology for all industries. Netural X and NXAI CEO Albert Ortig says he will be comparing his own research with current technologies on the market in the coming months. "At the same time, we are working on diverting the products and transforming them into business and industry."
Early Bird Discounts for TAtech North America End in 2 Weeks
Early Bird Discounts end in 2 weeks for the LIMITED SEATING TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum. Avoid FOMO, register right now for the only conference in the North American market that is specifically designed both for job board and talent technology company CEOs, their direct reports and rising stars and to accelerate the bottom-line growth of their enterprises. Why the rush? Because the conference will be held June 4-6, 2024 at The International Spy Museum which has a limited seating capacity and Early Bird Discounts on registration are due to expire shortly. Whether your company is a niche or general job board, aggregator, talent marketplace, online classifieds business, programmatic platform, chatbot, conversational AI solution, ATS, recruitment marketing solution, CRM platform, interviewing or assessment system or talent technology consultancy, this event will supercharge your sales and your profits. So, register today and accelerate the success your company achieves, today, tomorrow and into the future!