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Weekly Lists
October 13, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 26
bne:TMT
Alisa vs Alexa: Yandex
launches Russian- language voice assistant
PM Cerar aims to turn Slovenia into EU's blockchain champion
Russian online giant Yandex has launched a voice assistant, "Alisa", available on Android and iOS and, as a beta-version, on Windows, the company said on October 9.
Based on neural networks technology, the assistant can recognise speech, understand the user's request and provide assistance. Yandex claims that "Alisa" is more than just a voice assistant, but a character with a personality and a sense of humour.
The voice of "Alisa" is Russian actress Tatyana Shitova, known for dubbing Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson in Russian versions of her movies. Amazon's virtual assistant, "Alexa", doesn't have
a Russian language version.
Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar wants to position the country as the most recognised blockchain destination in the European Union.
Successful Slovenian companies in the field are already ranked among the world’s leading developers of digital investment platforms, reads the government’s October 11 statement.
“The regulatory bodies and ministries are already studying block- chain, and the state is participating in activities at European level in the area of the introduction and regulation of this technology. We are also already laying the foundations for the initial pilot testing of the technology in the state administration,” Cerar said on October 11.
In cooperation with the Slovenian Digital Coalition, Slovenia has established a blockchain think tank, which connects all of the stakeholders and will also serve as a single contact point for discussions with the state.
Russian venture capital funds Sistema_VC and Gagarin Capital have invested in the cybersport startup GOSU.AI, Vedomosti reported
on October 10. The value of the investment and the shares of the investors were not disclosed.
Cybersport is a popular field for Russian tech startups. GOSU.AI was launched by Alisa Chumachenko, former vice president of IT- Territory, a developer of multiuser online games that was acquired by the online giant Mail.ru. Her resume also includes the game developer Game Insight.
Sistema_VC and Gagarin Capital invest in cybersport startup