Amy Tomlinson Gayle

Eva Maydell is a Bulgarian politician and member of the European Parliament. She was born and raised in Bulgaria and spends her time between Sofia and Brussels. Maydell holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Business Administration from John Cabot University in Rome, and a post-graduate qualification in leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Since July 2014, she has represented Bulgaria’s GERB political party, and the European People’s Party in the European Parliament. Maydell is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), including the trade delegations to Japan and the United States. She is a substitute member on the Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON).

In 2017, she was elected Presidentpresident of the European Movement International, an umbrella body for civil society groups and associations in Europe. She served as the Coordinatorcoordinator of the Young Members’ Network of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. She is the vice-presidentvice president of SME Europe, as well as the co-foundercofounder of Education Bulgaria 2030.

Sproxxy is a conference intelligence platform in the event management software industry. Established in 2022 in New York, the company offers a solution for conference discovery, management, and analysis. The enterprise Saas platform quantifies conference activity, and assists users in identifying conference opportunities.

Sproxxy helps users pitch to conference organizers, as well as identify, track, and manage booked speaking opportunities. The event intelligence platform also assists corporate event management personnel to collaborate across teams, and quantityquantify business impact.

Ivy Ventures, invested $600,000 to kickstart operations. An extra $500,000 came from industry angels and Techstars. Sproxxy's goal is to raise a total of $1.8 million to fill out the round. In February 2024, the platform was officallyofficially launched.

We’re positioned as a conference intelligence platform. And what we’re doing is quantifying conference activity. So we help brands prove the business impact of them participating at conferences and knowing the ROI or value of speaking, sponsoring and attending an industry event.

In recent years, Microsoft has begun developing AI-powered products. The company has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, acquiring a 49% stake. AI technology from Microsoft and OpenAI has been integrated into a range of Microsoft products. In 2023, Microsoft launched its AI assistant, Copilot, on Edge, Microsoft 365 products, and Windows 10 and 11. In November 2023, the company also introduced its first AI chip, the Azure Maia 100.

Microsoft's executive leadership team is made up of Satya Nadella (CEO), the Presidentpresident and Vicevice Chairchair, the Chiefchief Marketingmarketing Officerofficer, the Chiefchief Humanhuman Resourcesresources Officerofficer, the Chiefchief Financialfinancial Officerofficer, and the Executiveexecutive Vicevice Presidentpresident for Businessbusiness Developmentdevelopment, Strategystrategy, and Venturesventures. The company's board of directors is mostly made up of company outsiders. Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders' meeting. After stepping down as CEO, in 2000, Bill GatesBill Gates served on the board of Microsoft until March 2020.

Microsoft has made many acquisitions over the years, including the acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in December 2016 and the acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion in May 2011. Microsoft acquired the company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in January 2022. Other acquisitions by the company include GitHub in 2018 and NokiaNokia Devices and Services in 2014.

Childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul AllenPaul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975. Allen quit his job as a programmer in Boston, and Gates left Harvard University, where he was a student, to start Microsoft. Originally called Micro-Soft, the company was started to produce software for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer developed by MITS, and was based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the same city as MITS.

By the end of 1978, Microsoft sales grew to over $1 million. On January 1, 1979, Microsoft moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington, the Seattle suburb where Gates and Allen grew up. On June 25, 1981, Microsoft was incorporated. The company went on to license its MS-DOSMS-DOS operating system to IBM for its first personal computer, introduced on August 12, 1981. In 1983, Allen left Microsoft. In 1985, Microsoft released Windows, its new operating system with a graphical user interface that included drop-down menus, scroll bars, and other features. In 1986, the company moved to its corporate campus in Redmond, Washington, and went public at $21 a share, raising $61 million. A year after going public, Gates became the world's youngest billionaire at 31thirty-one years old. By the late 1980s, Microsoft had grown to become the world’s largest personal computer software company, based on sales.

In 2017, Microsoft launched Xbox One X, announced major renovations to its Redmond campus, broke ground on a new silicon valley campus, and opened a new campus in Dublin, Ireland.

In 2017, Microsoft launched Xbox One X, announced major renovations to its Redmond campus, broke ground on a new Silicon Valley campus, and opened a new campus in Dublin, Ireland.

Streaming data integration continuously moves data in real-timereal time from the source to the target storage system. Streaming involves capturing and processing data as it becomes available in the source system and immediately integrating it into the target system. It is commonly used in scenarios that require up-to-date insights, such as real-time analytics

Data integration is the process of unifying data from multiple sources across an organization to provide a comprehensive and accurate dataset. The field comprises the practices, tools, and architectural techniques used to achieve consistent access to data across different subject areas and structure types in the organization, meeting the requirements of all business applications and processes. Data integration includes data replication, ingestion, and transformation to combine different data types into standardized formats for storage in a target repository, such as a data warehouse, data lake, or data lakehouse.

Data integration aims to provide a range of benefits to organizations, enabling them to make better-informed decisions, streamline operations, and gain a competitive advantage. The process breaks down data silos (isolated data sources), eliminating redundancies and inconsistencies through a unified and comprehensive view of the organization's data. Transformation and cleansing processes associated with data integration improve data quality by identifying and correcting errors. Integrated data sets facilitate smoother business practices, reducing manual data entry. Data integration simplifies data access for analysis, leading to faster decision makingdecision-making. Data integration is a fundamental part of business intelligence and data-driven innovation initiatives.

Traditionally, data integration tools have been delivered via a set of related markets with vendors offering a specific style of tool. The most popular in recent years is the ETL (extract, transform, learn) tool market. Vendors offering tools optimized for a particular style of data integration hashave led to fragmentation in the data integration market, complicating data integration processes in large enterprises with different teams relying on different tools, resulting in significant overlap and redundancy without common management of metadata. However, data integration submarkets have been converging at the vendor and technology level, enabling organizations to take a more holistic approach with a common set of data integration capabilities across the enterprise.

Data integration includes a combination of technical processes, tools, and strategies to bring data together from disparate sources, transforming it into a unified and usable format for meaningful analysis and decision-making. An overview of a typical data integration process can include the following:

• Data source identification—identifying the data sources that need to be integrated, such as databases, spreadsheets, cloud services, APIs, legacy systems, and others.
• Data validation and quality assurance—validation is the process of checking for errors, inconsistencies, and data integrity to ensure accuracy and quality. Quality assurance processes are implemented to maintain data accuracy and reliability.
• Data transformation—extracted data is converted and structured into a common format that ensures consistency, accuracy, and compatibility. This process may include data cleansing, data enrichment, and data normalization.
• Metadata management—improving discoverability and usability so users can more easily understand the data’s context, source, and meaning.

There are multiple approaches to data integration, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Selecting the best data integration method depends on a number of factors, including the organization's data needs, technology landscape, performance requirements, and budget constraints. Common approaches include the below:

To implement these processes, data engineers, architects, and developers either manually code an architecture using SQL or set up and manage a data integration tool to streamline development and automate the system.

An ETL pipeline transforms the data before loading it into the storage system, converting raw data to match the new system via three steps: extract, transform, and load. The data transformation in the ETL process takes place outside of the data storage system, typically in a separate staging area. This allows for fast and accurate data analysis in the target system and is most appropriate for small datasets whichthat require complex transformations or in scenarios when data quality is the most important factor, as it can include rigorous data cleaning and validation steps. Change data capture (CDC) is a popular method of ETL and refers to the process of identifying and capturing changes made to a database.

A more modern approach to data integration, in ELT the data is immediately loaded and then transformed within the target system. This can include cleaning, aggregating, or summarizing the data. ELT is more appropriate for large datasets that need to be integrated quickly. ELT operates either on a micro-batch or change data capture (CDC) timescale. Micro-batch loads the data modified since the last successful load. In contrast, CDC continually loads data as and when it changes on the source.

Streaming data integration continuously moves data in real-time from the source to the target storage system. Streaming involves capturing and processing data as it becomes available in the source system and immediately integrating it into the target system. It is commonly used in scenarios that require up-to-date insights, and immediately integrating it into the target system. It is commonly used in scenarios that require up-to-date insights such as real-time analytics

Data virtualization creates a virtual layer to provide a unified view of data from different sources, regardless of the data's source. Organizations can access and query integrated data in real-timereal time without the need for physical data movement. It is well-suited to scenarios where agility and real-time access to integrated data are crucial, or transactional systems needingneed high-performance queries.

Established in 2017, Meati Foods is an alternative meat company providing fungi-based protein. Eat MeatiTM, the debut product line from the company, features cutlets and steaks developed from mushroom root. In July 2022, Eat MeatiTM made its retail debut after sales were made through its online store.

In January 2023, Meati Foods opened a production facility called Mega Ranch in Colorado. Mega Ranch allows the company to grow, harvest, and process its mycelium and produce its products. A $150 million Series C round of capital raised in 2022, alongside an extension round of $22 million, financed the 100,000-square-foot facility.

The facility is slated to possessbe theable abilityto ofproduce producingaboutabout 45 million pounds of product. Its Eat Meati product line is produced at the ranch and includes four products: the Classic Cutlet, Crispy Cutlet, Classic Steak, and Carne Asada Steak. These products are sold via retail and foodservice partners, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Sweetgreen, and Birdcall. They are also sold online.

Space Perspective is a developer of pressurized capsules designed to fly passengers to the edge of space for space tourism. The company is developing a pressurized capsule attached to a stratospheric balloon powered by renewable hydrogen, which allows passengers to experience space. The Space Perspective capsule is developed to give passengers a comfortable trip with cocktail service, a meal, WiFi, and a lavatory, all from what the company calls a Space Lounge.

Space Perspective was founded in 2019 by Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum and is headquartered in Titusville, Florida. Poynter and MacCallum met as original members inof Biosphere 2 and previously founded World View and Paragon Space Development Corporation.

Space Perspective unveiled the Spaceship Neptune in early 2024. The Spaceship Neptune was developed to be carbon-neutral, powered by hyrdogenhydrogen power, and is a space balloon spaceflight capsule intended to bring passengers to the edge of space before returning to the ground. The spacecraft is a large spherical capsule at 16 feet in diameter and providingprovides a pressurized volume of more than 2,000 cubic feet - orfeet—or roughly twice the volume of Virgin Galactic's Spaceship Two and Blue Origin's New Shepard. The Neptune capsule hangs below a football-stadium lengthfootball-stadium-length SpaceBallon, which is filled with hydrogen. The balloon takes two hours to reach altitude, allows for two hours of sightseeing, beforeand athen furtherdescends two hours to descend as gas is released from the balloon.

The Neptune is developed with a spherical shape to create a perfect pressure vessel. This is intended to allow for a roomy interior with repeated vertical windows to allow for a contiguous panoramic views. These windows are further designed to protect from harmful wavelengths of sunlight while controlling for heat inside the capsule orand alternot altering the color of what a passenger sees.

Further, the interior of the Neptune has been compared to a lounge, offering passengers an aesthetically pleasing interior with drinks and meals for passengers. It includes a lavatory, and includes a lavatory which includes a window to ensure passengers who use the lavatory do not miss out on the trip. The toilet includes a cushion, toso allowtravelers travellers tocan take a moment without being uncomfortable, and has led to itsthe restroom's official name of "Space Spa."

To launch and recover the Neptune, Space Perspective uses a system at sea, called the Marine Spaceport Voyager, which launches and recovers the system. The decision for marine operations allowsenables the Neptune to splash down with a recovery vehicle as near as possible, and having a marine-based launch pad allows Space Perspective to launch as desired, rather than relying on a licensed launch pad constrained by other users and weather.

To achieve this, the capsule is designed to launch with minimal forces felt by the passengers, and to drop down with similar ease and splash down with minimal disruption to the comfort of the passengers. This includes ensuring the capsule is capable of handling the heat and stress of re-entry.

Antarctica Capital is a New York-based firm dedicated to investments in private markets and real assets. The private equity company's investment approach has a unique investment approach, with a strong focus on sustainability. AntarcticaIn Capital providesaddition moreto thanproviding capital to develop companies, evaluatingAntarctica Capital evaluates investment opportunities and creatingcreates value through the implementation of its hands-on investment strategies, headquartered in New York with assets under management in excess of $2 billion as of December 31, 2020.

SpaceRyde, formerly called Loonify Space, is a company developing a launch system to carry small satellites into orbit. thatIt is headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and was founded in 2018 by Saharnaz Safari and Sohrab Haghighat.

The company's launch systemssystem consists of a balloon that carries a rocket up to approximately 35 km, and then the rocket is launched in mid-air for orbital or suborbital flights. The SpaceRyde launch system is designed specifically for launching small satellites into orbit. SpaceRyder claims theyit areis offering the lowest cost per KG of payload of any launch provider (as of February 2020).

On June 9, 2019, SpaceRyde performed theirits first test flight in North Bay, Ontario, and was conducted toat a low altitude. The company released a statement about their test flight by telling reporters they carried out:

On March 18, 2019, SpaceRyde announced raising an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Y Combinator (lead investor), Pi Campus, Pegasus Tech Ventures, and One Way Ventures. The seed funding was announced right after Y Combinator's W19 Demo Day.

Sohrab Haghighat is an entrepreneur with a specialtyspecializing in robotics, autonomous driving, and space technology. He is the co- foundercofounder &and CEO of SpaceRyde, a company building a space transportation infrastructure called the Rocket Network.

Sohrab Haghighat standing next to a component of the Ryder rocket engine.

Sohrab Haghighat standing next to a component of the Ryder rocket engine.

He holds a PhD in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Toronto, alongside a Masters in Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. From May 2012 to November 2012, Haghighat served as a Performanceperformance Specialistspecialist at Safran, an international technology group operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment, and interiors), defense, and space markets.

From December 2012 to October 2014, he was a member of the Researchresearch Staffstaff of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL), a company carrying out basic and applied research in multi-physical multiphysical modeling and simulation, optimization, control, signal processing, and artificial intelligence.

From November 2014 to May 2015, he served as a Seniorsenior Algorithmsalgorithms Engineerengineer at Cymer, an ASML company providing light sources utilized by chipmakers to pattern semiconductor chips. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Controlscontrols engineer Engineer,and then Engineeringengineering Managermanager at Cruise Automation, a company building self-driving vehicles. He then co-foundedcofounded SpaceRyde in January 2018 alongside his wife, Saharnaz Safari.

Legends of ElysiumLegends of Elysium is an online game that combines the classic card game experience with the technology behind non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which allows the players to have true ownership over assets they possess. It is a play-to-earn (PTE) game, so players will be able to earn the game's native cryptocurrency, $LOE, once the supply begins beingis unlocked. Players will be abletable oto earn $LOE through being active in the game, such as daily tasks or competing in esportseSports tournaments. LOE is used aas currency in the game for purchases, such as non-fungible token (NFT) game cards, and also allows the token holder to partake in governance activities.

Sora is a diffusion model, that generates videos from a starting point of static noise. While large language models (LLMs) have text tokens, Sora has visual patches, an effective representation for models of visual data. Patches are scalable and allow generative models to be trained on a range of video and image types. Sora is a generalist model for visual data, generating videos and images of diverse durations, aspect ratios, and resolutions, outputting up to one minute of high-definition video. It can generate entire videos at once, extend previously generated videos to make them longer, add missing frames to an existing video, and animate an existing still to generate a video.

OpenAI announced the text-to-video model Sora on February 15, 2024. Sora is a diffusion model that can output videos up to one minute long based on user prompts. Upon the announcement, OpenAI made Sora available to red teamers, to assess potential areas of harm and risks, and visual artists, designers, and filmmakers to gain feedback on performance.

Sora is OpenAI's text-to-video AI model capable of generating videos up to a minute long based on user prompts. Sora is a diffusion model, that generates videos from a starting point of static noise. It uses a transformer architecture similar to OpenAI's GPT models and builds on previous research from the Dall-E models, in particular, using the recaptioning technique from Dall-E 3 that involves generative descriptive captions for visual training data. Analogous to text tokens for LLMs, Sora uses visual patches, an effective representation of visual data. Patches are scalable and allow generative models to be trained on a range of video and image types. At a high level, Sora turns videos into patches by compressing them into a lower-dimensional latent space and decomposing the representation into spacetime patches.

SandboxelsSandboxels is a falling-sand simulator that can be played in a browser. The game features heat simulation, electricity, density, chemical reactions, cooking, and a fire spread. With about 500 elements to play with, there are various interactions between the different materials, plants, animals, fluids, and powders in the game.

The falling-sand game is a genre of sandbox games characterized by falling particles of different kinds. Users click or utilize their touchscreens to choose a category, like Liquidsliquids, and then select an element, like Waterwater. They then Dragdrag on the canvas above in order to place their pixels, and watch them interact with others.

SandboxelsSandboxels possesses different applications in education, as it helps give students an understanding of emerging phenomena in various fields, like biology, chemistry, ecology, geology, cooking, and virology.

Adele Clooney is an American accountant whoand is best known as the older sister of the American actor, George Clooney. Adele Clooney’s mother, Nina Bruce, was a beauty queen. Her father, Nick Clooney, worked as a TV host and presenter, including five years on AMC.

Adele is of Irish, German, and English descent. Her maternal great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Sparrow, was a half-sister of Nancy Lincoln, the mother of President Abraham Lincoln. Her aunt, Rosemary Clooney, was a comedian and actress. Some of her other cousins who are also actors include Miguel Ferrer, Rafael Ferrer, and Gabriel Ferrer, married to singer Debbie Boone.