Latest news with #SAP
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Science
- Gulf Today
Varsity on track to achieve sustainability goals
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) is on track to achieve the sustainability goals set out in its five-year Sustainability Action Plan (SAP), with initial reports showing that it has the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among UAE universities. According to the findings of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Report conducted by ZeeDimension consultancy for the university, AURAK's total GHG emissions are significantly low when evaluated against those of other universities. Further, according to published data from UAE universities, AURAK exhibits the lowest GHG emissions per capita of 3.67 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO₂e), in contrast to three other top universities whose emissions ranged between 5.68 to 7.59 MTCO₂e. The university has set an ambitious target to reduce Co2 emissions by 20% by 2030. This reduction will be achieved through the use of vehicles that rely on alternative energy fuel sources, reduced reliance on on-site backup generators, and the expansion of renewable energy sources on campus, such as solar-powered lighting and heating systems. Prof. Stephen Wilhite, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success and Provost at AURAK, says: 'We take sustainability very seriously at AURAK. We committed to aligning our sustainability actions with the Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through extensive use of solar energy, adoption of clean transportation, adherence to green building regulations, implementation of circular waste systems, and integration of agriculture with nature-based solutions.' Prof. Tahseen Anwer Arshi, Associate Provost for Research and Sustainability, and Director AURAK's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said: 'Our Sustainability Action Plan is a blueprint for reducing our carbon footprint, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action. The findings of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Report validates our commitment to be active contributors to international efforts to reduce global warming. In addition, we are engaged in cutting edge research that focuses on finding alternative solutions to environmental conservation.' AURAK has also aligned its strategies to the Green Building Standards set forth by the RAK Municipality's 'Barjeel' regulations. Accordingly, we aim to reduce embodied carbon in the primary materials used in new construction and major renovations on our campus. One of the significant initiatives outlined in AURAK's sustainability action plan is to enhance biodiversity on campus and improve the quality of life for the university community. The university has embarked on a public-private partnership to create a biodiversity hub – a forest-centric sustainability space that will function as a central hub for research in agriculture and biodiversity, focusing on the evaluation of technologies and systems that harness wastewater and solar energy to promote a circular economy.
Finextra
3 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
SAP Fioneer releases AI agent
SAP Fioneer, a leading global provider of financial services software solutions and platforms, today announced the launch of its AI Agent: an expert-built solution designed to intelligently enhance core operations of financial services institutions. 0 The first release of the Fioneer AI Agent lays the foundation for banks and insurers to automate processes, gain real-time insights, and make smarter decisions using natural language and without the need to share data externally. The Fioneer AI Agent is generally available now as an add-on for SAP Fioneer S/4HANA products in Banking, Insurance, and Finance. By leveraging the suspense account analysis, finance teams can generate complex reports using natural language, significantly reducing manual effort, improving operational efficiency, and achieving considerable time savings. 'Our approach to AI-powered financial services focuses on delivering tangible outcomes to our customers in two ways: Embedded directly into our products and solutions or, via our AI Agent, operating across our portfolio as a powerful add-on', said Dirk Kruse, CEO at SAP Fioneer. 'Unlike generic AI tools, the Fioneer AI Agent comes pre-configured to integrate seamlessly with Fioneer's products and future data models and is engineered with deep expertise for the financial services industry.' The Fioneer AI Agent delivers intelligence that is integrated into SAP Fioneer's banking, insurance, and finance solutions, offering contextual, transparent, and actionable use cases without the need for custom development and heavy IT dependance. It empowers financial professionals to interact with data using natural language, eliminating reliance on IT teams and accelerating time to value. Designed for flexibility, the Fioneer AI Agent supports bring-your-own-LLM strategies as well as SAP BTP AI Core LLMs and will integrate with SAP Joule and other agents such as Microsoft Copilot. Integrated and aligned with the SAP strategy, it ensures full compliance with data privacy and auditability standards, making it a trusted solution for institutions seeking to scale AI responsibly and effectively. Fioneer's AI Agent is developed in alignment with industry-standard AI ethics frameworks, ensuring fairness, transparency, and human oversight.
Business Wire
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
The Hackett Group ® Announces Winners of the 2025 Hackett Innovation Awards
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT), a leading generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) consultancy and executive advisory firm, today announced the winners of its inaugural Hackett Innovation Awards, which recognize companies that are using artificial intelligence (AI) to transform their end-to-end business process performance. These companies have successfully infused AI into a wide range of end-to-end business processes. 'These companies aren't just adopting AI – they're building intelligent systems that solve real business problems at scale.' Share The 2025 Hackett Innovation Award winners and their win categories are: Bosch (Purchase-to-Pay), BT International (Order-to-Cash), Johnson & Johnson (AI/Automation Center of Excellence), McCormick & Company, Inc. (Source-to-Purchase), Roche Turkiye (Business Operations), and Schneider Electric (Plan-to-Source-to-Make-to-Deliver). 'These companies aren't just adopting AI – they're building intelligent systems that solve real business problems at scale,' said Vin Kumar, principal at The Hackett Group ® and a judge of the competition. 'There has been a significant shift from last year's submissions that were more experimentation to much broader scale execution, and the results speak for themselves.' Key trends highlighted by Kumar and other judges include: Hyper-automation at scale: Leading companies are using Gen AI and agentic automation to transform entire end-to-end processes – cutting cycle times, eliminating manual tasks and generating return on investment (ROI) in record time. Domain-specific innovation: From clinical oncology to agricultural procurement, organizations are embedding AI into the core of industry-specific workflows to drive breakthrough performance. Rapid ROI realization: All winners achieved measurable returns within 3-12 months, with some exceeding 2,500% ROI – proving that well-targeted AI investments deliver immediate business value. This year's winners are: Bosch: Winner, Purchase-to-Pay: Agentic AI-Based Processing of Dunning Inquiries in Invoice-to-Pay (I2P) The Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services, boosts efficiency in its Invoice-to-Pay Customer Service Center by using agentic AI-based processes. Like many large companies, Bosch receives approximately 500,000 I2P inquiries annually – mostly by email. With its AI expertise in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products, Bosch was able to create an AI agent that searches and retrieves relevant invoice information in any of Bosch's 40 SAP instances. As a result, in up to 80% of the addressed cases, the response time is reduced to just a few minutes. Since the launch in November 2024, the system fielded 20% of inquiries by mid-March and will cover 80% of inquiries within the next few months. BT International, Powered by Wipro: Winner, Order-to-Cash: Performance Improvement Using Digital Transformation-Led Innovative Pilot Smart Operations Concerned about delays in revenue realization due to high end-to-end order fulfillment cycle times and a large volume of backlogged orders, the UK-based multinational telecommunications company leveraged AI and machine learning to predict order backlog and potential order fulfillment failures with over 85% accuracy. A first in the telecommunications industry, this system significantly improved the order management and fulfillment process. Managed by Wipro – the information technology services firm – BT International was able to reduce order backlog by 29%. Order fulfillment quality improved with 96% right first-time delivery. Total annual benefit amounts to $83.9 million (early revenue realization) – with ROI to date topping 26,000%. Johnson & Johnson: Winner, AI/Automation Center of Excellence: JAIDA-GenAI Since its launch in 2020, JAIDA (J&J Artificial Intelligence Digital Assistant) had matured from a limitedly featured chatbot to a much broader Gen AI product. As the sophistication and reach of the program grew, J&J Global Services began to develop a five-stage methodology for delivering automations within J&J. Now engaged with 11 different internal functions focused on improving the employee digital experience and creating measurable value for J&J over the next three years, use case level investment payback is expected within 12 to 18 months. More importantly, company leaders see the investment as laying the groundwork for future growth and innovation. McCormick & Company, Inc.: Winner, Source-to-Purchase: Project IRMA (Iconic Raw Materials Analysis) McCormick & Company, Inc., a global leader in flavor and a prominent purchaser of agricultural products, sought to identify the optimal purchasing windows to maintain supply flexibility and strengthen its competitive advantage. In response, McCormick's procurement team partnered with their data and analytics colleagues to develop a sophisticated predictive system named Iconic Raw Materials Analytics (IRMA). By harnessing the power of machine learning and AI-driven insights from agricultural, economic, weather and futures datasets, IRMA has evolved into a key strategic tool, seamlessly integrated into the company's sourcing strategies. Since its implementation, this cloud-based solution has consistently demonstrated its value by enhancing efficiency and impact across the business. Roche Turkiye: Winner, Business Operations: Clinical Data Platform for Oncology Most Hackett Innovation Award winners save money and time. Roche Turkiye's Clinical Data Platform for Oncology is also on track to save the lives of thousands of Turkish women. The AI-powered clinical data platform is designed to standardize and optimize breast cancer treatment processes across provincial healthcare systems. In the four-month pilot phase, 25% of patients achieved better treatment, as their healthcare providers followed the AI agent's treatment recommendations. One positive side effect was that over the following four months – as the number of healthcare professionals enrolled in the program grew by 50% – ROI topped 2,500% because early treatment is not only more effective, it's also cheaper. Schneider Electric: Winner, Plan-to-Source-to-Make-to-Deliver: Cost Analytics Power (CAP) Tool for Procurement Negotiation Seeing an opportunity to augment data from traditional enterprise resource planning systems with information from business intelligence systems like adding material waste, part composition and very granular market information – all factors essential for accurate cost forecasting – Schneider Electric GSC Data & Analytics and its Global Procurement Services Center of Excellence developed their own solution cost analysis tool. Schneider's Cost Analytics Power (CAP) tool is built on a Quickbase low-code platform to fill those missing gaps in their knowledge. The Quickbase-based solution consolidated and improved data accuracy across regions. Thanks to the CAP tool, they can now analyze about 30 million transactions per year, which can identify significant savings opportunities. Payback took no more than three months. 'The award-winning organizations have found operational areas where they have designed, developed and implemented AI solutions in their production environments,' said John K. Thompson, senior vice president and principal at The Hackett Group ®. 'We were impressed with the ability of these organizations to drive change and transformation with AI and to begin to see and plan for scaling of those solutions across their global operations. We are excited to see where the market is next year. We expect broader and deeper adoption of AI technologies across the enterprise.' About The Hackett Group ® The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT) is an IP and platform-based, Gen AI strategic consulting and executive advisory firm that enables Digital World Class ® performance. Using AI XPLR™ and ZBrain™ – our ideation through implementation platforms – our experienced professionals help organizations realize the power of Gen AI and achieve quantifiable, breakthrough results, allowing us to be key architects of their Gen AI journey. Our expertise is grounded in unparalleled best practices insights from benchmarking the world's leading businesses – including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 90% of the Fortune 100, 70% of the DAX 40 and 51% of the FTSE 100. Visit us at Trademarks The Hackett Group ®, quadrant logo, and Digital World Class ® are the registered marks of The Hackett Group ®. Cautionary Statement Regarding 'Forward-Looking' Statements This release contains 'forward-looking' statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements including without limitation, words such as 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' or other similar phrases or variations of such words or similar expressions indicating, present or future anticipated or expected occurrences or outcomes are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include without limitation, the ability of The Hackett Group ® to effectively market its digital transformation, our ability to transition our capabilities to support generative artificial intelligence (AI)-related consulting services and solutions and other consulting services, our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions, including the Spend Matters™ acquisition into our operations, our ability to manage joint ventures and successfully cooperate with our joint venture partners, competition from other consulting and technology companies that may have or develop in the future, similar offerings, the commercial viability of The Hackett Group ® and its services as well as other risk detailed in The Hackett Group's reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hackett Group ® does not undertake any duty to update this release or any forward-looking statements contained herein.
Business Insider
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
SAP Fioneer launches AI Agent to transform financial services operations
Walldorf, Germany, June 30th, 2025, FinanceWire SAP Fioneer, a leading global provider of financial services software solutions and platforms, today announced the launch of its AI Agent: an expert-built solution designed to intelligently enhance core operations of financial services institutions. The first release of the Fioneer AI Agent lays the foundation for banks and insurers to automate processes, gain real-time insights, and make smarter decisions using natural language and without the need to share data externally. The Fioneer AI Agent is generally available now as an add-on for SAP Fioneer S/4HANA products in Banking, Insurance, and Finance. By leveraging the suspense account analysis, finance teams can generate complex reports using natural language, significantly reducing manual effort, improving operational efficiency, and achieving considerable time savings. 'Our approach to AI-powered financial services focuses on delivering tangible outcomes to our customers in two ways: Embedded directly into our products and solutions or, via our AI Agent, operating across our portfolio as a powerful add-on', said Dirk Kruse, CEO at SAP Fioneer. 'Unlike generic AI tools, the Fioneer AI Agent comes pre-configured to integrate seamlessly with SAP Fioneer's products and future data models and is engineered with deep expertise for the financial services industry.' The Fioneer AI Agent delivers intelligence that is integrated into SAP Fioneer's banking, insurance, and finance solutions, offering contextual, transparent, and actionable use cases without the need for custom development and heavy IT dependance. It empowers financial professionals to interact with data using natural language, eliminating reliance on IT teams and accelerating time to value. Designed for flexibility, the Fioneer AI Agent supports bring-your-own-LLM strategies as well as SAP BTP AI Core LLMs and will integrate with SAP Joule and other agents such as Microsoft Copilot. Integrated and aligned with the SAP strategy, it ensures full compliance with data privacy and auditability standards, making it a trusted solution for institutions seeking to scale AI responsibly and effectively. SAP Fioneer's AI Agent is developed in alignment with industry-standard AI ethics frameworks, ensuring fairness, transparency, and human oversight. About SAP Fioneer SAP Fioneer is a global provider of financial services software. We deliver modern platforms and solutions that enable financial institutions run core operations, drive innovation, and meet evolving regulatory demands. Built on SAP technology and backed by deep industry expertise, our modular approach enables clients to scale securely, adapt quickly, and lead with confidence. Headquartered in Germany and supported by over 1,300 employees worldwide, SAP Fioneer is a trusted partner to more than 1,200 banks and insurers and committed to long-term partnerships across the financial services ecosystem.
Technical.ly
10 hours ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
In the 2010s, the Philly tech coalition worked. Why won't anyone admit it?
Something good happened, and in perfect Philadelphia style, just about nobody wants to admit it. In the 2010s, cheap money pumped up future-looking tech startups everywhere. But from near irrelevance a decade and a half ago, Philly's tech and startup economy just ranked one of the 15 most vibrant in the world. Compared to faster-growing regions elsewhere in the country, Philadelphia has far outpaced peers. It was no accident: It was an intentional success, and a case study other regions can learn from. Why won't anyone take the victory lap? And what happens next? In fall 2009, I took an elevator up to a rooftop party held by a buzzy tech startup in Philadelphia's Center City. That the party was hosted by a consumer-facing web company founded in Philadelphia was interesting enough. What was even newer was where the party was held. Up till then, what had been the region's tech and startup community was almost entirely based in the western suburbs: When then-President Ronald Reagan needed a backdrop in 1985 to represent resurgent economic dynamism under his leadership, he spoke in a suburban Chester County business park. In the 1990s, early software giant SAP chose for its North American headquarters suburban Delaware County over the then-fledgling Navy Yard in South Philadelphia When local tech organizers put together a poster visualizing the region's tech industry at the dot-com heights of 1999, less than a quarter of the activity was city based. The result was a diffuse and disconnected industry, which according to 'agglomeration effects' research, contributed to the region's underperformance. 'Despite having been building Boomi from 2000-2010, my take was basically 'There is no tech scene in Philly,'' said Rick Nucci, cofounder of the cloud integration company. Boomi was resold in 2021 for $4 billion and is considered one of the region's defining software exits. There was a cyclical reason for the issue: Philadelphia city leaders struggled to overcome 20th century urban disinvestment, over-relying on outdated tax policy that chased away profit-maximizing businesses. 'If you can locate three miles outside of Center City and not have to pay an extra 4%,' David Bookspan, a well-regarded repeat founder based in the region, once told me about the city's long-reveiled wage tax, 'you have a strong incentive to do that.' This led more upwardly mobile, skilled professionals to leave for the suburbs, which in turn gave even more reason for new and emerging businesses to be based there. Missing the dot-com boom When North Philadelphia native, Central High School graduate and computing pioneer Lee Felsenstein cofounded the legendary Homebrew Computer Club that inspired Apple cofounders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, he did so in Menlo Park, California. A generation like him followed. Back home in Philadelphia, none of the bold swings from the 1990s broke through: Infonautics didn't become AOL and CDNow didn't become Amazon. What 90s-era success the region did celebrate was centered on briefly-billionaire Pete Musser's legendary Safeguard Scientifics investment firm. Musser brought Comcast to Philadelphia and helped launch home-shopping pioneer QVC. 'Everything was clustered around Safeguard,' Bookspan the entrepreneur told me of the legendary suburban-based investment vehicle that defined generations of technology in Philadelphia. But Musser, and an ecosystem dependent on Safeguard, collapsed when the dot com bubble burst. Publicly-traded Safeguard's stock price plummeted from $98 a share in March of 2000 to just over $6 that December. 'I got seduced by the value of my holdings,' Musser, who died in 2019, said back then. Even before the collapse, early lists tracking emerging tech hubs — like an influential one from the Wall Street Journal that gave Pittsburgh the nickname 'Roboburgh ' — overlooked Philadelphia. Tech leaders scattered. By the early 2000s, Philadelphia was the nation's fifth biggest city, and among its largest regions, media markets and economies. But by nearly any measure, it failed to create widespread benefit from the internet, software and computing boom the region helped launch. It seemed like Regan's visit was less prescient than misguided. That's why taking an elevator upstairs to a rooftop cocktail party held by a consumer tech startup in Center City felt like something entirely new. Turns out it really did mark the beginning of a decade of change. By 2020 and the eve of the pandemic, Philadelphia's tech economy was transformed: It was urban, thriving and commanding more of a national stage — and named a top 'emerging' tech and startup ecosystem. Tech parties, meetups and presentations in Center City became so commonplace that locals complained about lack of coordination. Philadelphia had entered the chat. Building the kind of entrepreneurship ecosystem policymakers crave There is still only one unquestioned tech and startup leader: the corridor between San Francisco and San Jose that we call Silicon Valley. It's not close. By most other measures, the second tier of American hubs is a tossup between Seattle, Boston and New York. Next in line are a dozen regions that distinguish themselves with branding that marketers sell them (Silicon Hills! Silicon Beach! Silicon Prairie! Cellicon Valley!) and obscure portmanteaus that consultants sell them (healthtech! mobilitytech! fintech!) The numbers matter more. Over the last 15 years, Philadelphia has outpaced its peers. VC deal activity: Between 2013 and 2023 among the 10 regions with the most VC deals in the country between 2013–2023, Philadelphia startup's share grew second fastest, behind only New York and ahead of Miami, Austin and Los Angeles — stealing share from SIlicon Valley, Boston and Seattle. Retention of college graduates: By 2019, Philadelphia retained as many of its college graduates as any peer region, vanquishing its former brain-drain problem, and making in-roads with tech graduates specifically. Shifting tech jobs to the urban center: Regionwide over the last five years, the number of tech jobs in Philadelphia has grown faster than population growth — and the fastest rate of growth was within city boundaries. Amplifying the successes: There were nearly 50% more stories published last year about tech and startups in Philadelphia than in Phoenix, which was a peer a decade earlier and by most other economic measures has outpaced Philly. All this resulted in a string of unicorns, private businesses valued at $1 billion or more, and several that came near. They include Gopuff (logistics), Phenom (HR tech), dbt Labs (developer tools) and DuckDuckGo (search advertising). In the last six months alone, ad tech companies Vistar Media and then Audigent and autonomous robot maker Ghost Robotics were all acquired for nearly half a billion. These companies span industries, but each had a founder who was in some way involved in what we now call Philadelphia's startup community. Several previously worked at other Philly tech firms; all were active in local meetups. Most have city offices. Two have university affiliations. Half took early investment from state-backed economic development organization Ben Franklin Technology Partners — so their financial successes contributed to Pennsylvania's state budget. 'I think it's a culmination of decades of work,' said Scott Nissenbaum, who has been with Ben Franklin for a decade and its CEO since 2020. There's more: Salaries for tech workers grew faster in Philly than a basket of other peer regions. Black representation in the tech workforce grew faster too, and the region's density of tech jobs grew faster in Center City than elsewhere in the region. In 2010, announced Philly Tech Week to stitch together various efforts. From just a dozen events the first year, the series grew to a high-water mark of more than 100 and 20,000 attendees. 'I've seen the change,' said Damon McWhite, who started his career in tech recruiting. He's now director of partnerships at 1Philadelphia, which produces Philly Tech Week. 'The access to tech opportunities that existed 15 years ago is not the same as it is today.' Meanwhile, evidence has stacked up that this matters: New businesses create effectively all net new jobs, and that each 1% increase in entrepreneurship correlates with 2% declines in poverty. Tech jobs have high multiplier effects: each new tech job supports at least two others. Urban density generates more breakthroughs, and makes these jobs more accessible for people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Improving conditions for new startup business benefits individual residents. When Philly's scene started to thrive (but no one wants to say so) In 2013, longtime tech executive Mike Krupit, once CEO of publicly-traded CDNow, spoke on-stage with privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo's Gabe Weinberg. Krupit argued one of Philadelphia's clearest missing links was a string of big, growing tech companies that spun off local talent. 'The arrival of Josh Kopelman in Philadelphia is a game changer.' Mayor Michael Nutter Where was their conversation? Inside the glossy new headquarters of First Round Capital, the only A-list venture capital firm launched in Philadelphia, whose influential cofounder Josh Kopelman extended his commute to put a footprint into the city. At the time, Mayor Michael Nutter said, 'The arrival of Josh Kopelman in Philadelphia is a game changer.' Back then, the Nutter administration took a technocratic and collaborative approach to encouraging local economic growth. They quietly tweaked policy to accommodate venture capitalists. They launched a city-backed investment fund, and then reorientated the focus following community feedback. They launched good-governance and expanded open data policy. '[Nutter] and his team were engaged and worked to help the community,' said Tracey Welson-Rossman, a longtime regional tech executive and cofounder of Philly Startup Leaders. 'This energy that was in the air made us believe we could change how the city viewed itself and did business.' Kopelman, who still works from Center City, was the brightest light in a string of what the Nutter camp called ' gateway offices.' 'There was also a better connection between what had been happening in the burbs and Philadelphia proper than had been before,' said Welson-Rossman, herself a GenX suburbanite who has long invested in city-based connectivity. 'There may have been grumbling about coming into the city, but people did it because that is where things were happening.' Meanwhile, Philadelphia was becoming a better place to live. That came with a flourishing of tech meetups and other connective tissue. 'The biggest lesson is simple: People did stuff and showed up to each other's stuff,' said Alex Hillman, who founded beloved coworking community Indy Hall and has remained a fierce champion of local organizing. 'The stakes were low to try things, to push back on status quo tech/business ecosystem players, and the upside potential was high.' Indy Hall grew across several Old City locations in the 2010s, helping to give credence to the N3rd Street nickname that got official city-sanctioned signage in 2012. Importantly though, Hillman's tribe wasn't alone. When hosted our annual Super Meetup in summer 2016, more than 1,000 came out from nearly three dozen active tech groups. One was Philly Startup Leaders, which started as an informal, volunteer-led group for and by local tech entrepreneurs. In addition to Welson-Rossman, among its founders and most active members in those days was Chris Cera, who grew software consulting firm Arcweb. After the Boomi acquisition, Cera connected with suburban Nucci and got him involved in PSL and other city tech and startup events. 'Every week I would meet a new founder building a cool thing,' Nucci said. Other tech CEOs, software builders and entrepreneurs followed. Philadelphians make civic sport of explaining away successes Alongside our daily reporting, Technically made our contribution via Philly Tech Week, which widened the tent and broadcast the message. In 2012, we partnered with the University City Science Center to put digital art up on the PECO Crown Lights. In 2013 and 2014, with Drexel professor Frank Lee, Technically kicked off Philly Tech Week by playing what is still today the world's largest video game, and caught the attention of New York Times, USA Today and CNN. A few thousand came out for the spectacle. Philly Startup Leaders grew its Entrepreneur Expo into a gathering of nearly 100 startups and hundreds of attendees. But few civic leaders took this seriously. One influential economic development pro told me at the time: 'If you take all the tech startups together, I'm not sure they'd fill 100,000 square feet of commercial real estate.' That assertion proved quantifiably wrong as splashy (if small) software offices in Center City stacked up. In spring 2015, hosted a tech-focused mayoral forum that surprised several of the candidates with more than 350 attendees, representing thousands of jobs in the region. Before the pandemic took hold in January 2020, Gopuff confirmed it raised a financing round that valued the convenience-delivery platform at well over $1 billion, creating a certifiable, homegrown, city-based, consumer-facing tech unicorn. Others followed. Elsewhere, policymakers and economic leaders might take the W. Not so in Philadelphia, where self-flagellation is a cornerstone shibboleth. Even repeat entrepreneur Bob Moore, a proud Philly booster whose tenure as chairman of Philly Startup Leaders was the group's apex, demurred at first. In his telling, his first startup RJMetrics, which is credited with creating a 'mafia' of alumni, employed 150 in Center City at its mid-2010s peak 'not because we did anything brilliant but because [venture capitalists] needed to diversify where they were deploying capital.' It's true that steady economic growth and low-interest rates in the 2010s supported speculative startup investment — which helped regions around the country develop the human and financial capital to sustain it in the 2020s. 'So many ecosystems can support early stage startups these days,' wrote Peter Walker, head of insights at Carta, which produces widely-used company valuation software. Over the last 12 months, according to Walker, the median post-money company valuation (over $15m) for a Philadelphia-based tech founder was similar to Denver, Chicago, and Los Angeles – and well over Atlanta, San Diego and in North Carolina's Research Triangle. Top Philly valuations (those in the 75th percentile or above) were above Boston and Austin, closer to New York and Seattle. Philadelphia may be competing as just one of a dozen of the country's most dynamic tech hubs. But it helps to understand a decade ago it wasn't that. Why no shouts of victory? A true ecosystem approach obscures big wins If it has all gone so well, why don't we admit it? Exactly because Philadelphia's success was such a community, or, to use economic development lingo, an ecosystem approach. No one person, no one organization is responsible. Community groups like Philly Startup Leaders and Indy Hall mattered. Influential, if short-lived, early tech accelerator DreamIT Ventures, which attracted out-of-town founders, and others like it mattered. mattered, with our daily coverage to narrate change — data suggest our storytelling led to more follow-on coverage and a bigger, better ecosystem. Community traditions like Philly Tech Week and community events like Mobile Monday and Barcamp mattered. Individual startups, especially those with Center City offices they opened to others, like Guru and Perpay, mattered. Those lucky few founders who had breakthroughs to reach big scale and exits, and actually reinvested locally, have mattered too. Institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, the University City Science Center and state-backed Ben Franklin Technology Partners mattered. Successive teams within City Hall mattered. The region's largest private employer Comcast, which far exceeded the civic stewardship of any other corporate in the region from gleaming skyscrapers in Center City, mattered. Back in 2014, startup founders expressed concern that influential investor Kopelman, with a credible national profile, had outsized influence. Since Philadelphia had so little reputation for producing tech founders, Kopelman's imprimatur was necessary. 'If you're a Philadelphia based technology company and Josh hasn't invested in you, they want to know why,' one Center City-based entrepreneur told us back then. 'It can be a black cross on you.' Maybe then. Not so now. Kopleman's First Round Capital invested in exactly zero of the tech unicorns that Philadelphia has produced. Unlike Musser in the 1990s, Kopelman was just one of many of the many species in Philadelphia's urbane entrepreneurial ecosystem. Many groups and countless people played a part. No one person led then, so no one person is gloating now. Ecosystems have no chief marketing officer. This is good. As Philly Startup Leaders has faded as the region's primary entrepreneur support organizations, a new wave of groups are popping up. The risk of not claiming victory is that this ecosystem approach gets overlooked. Philadelphia was a nonentity in tech and startups in 2010. Over the next decade and a half, a coalition made this city and its region more dynamic and accessible. That's not to say all is going swimmingly. Investment in Philadelphia startups is down. AI is challenging software jobs (welding anyone?), and necessitating a new generation of founders. Black residents in the region are still underrepresented in the tech workforce. The life sciences–style innovation that Philadelphia's traditional economic developers have prioritized over tech has been humbled, prominently represented by the write-down of Spark Therapeutics. Just as it's becoming clear that the work from the 2010s was successful, a new chapter in 2020 is making all this work harder: student robotics groups are under threat, the region's entrepreneur support network is retreating and the importance of tech skills are questioned. Current Philadelphia Mayor Parker has not so far identified senior leaders to prioritize high-growth entrepreneurship or the efficiency gains that digital services can offer residents, though she speaks on the topic. Her budget rolls back exemptions for new business taxes. Bad timing, since now nationwide policymakers are turning their focus here. Philadelphia can once again squander the progress that's been made. 'How do we keep showing up for each other?' Wil Reynolds, SEER No question post-pandemic Philadelphia is different, like it is for anywhere else. It's a new chapter, with new obstacles. Just don't forget what we did together to get us here, because we did make progress. So we can do it again. Today's challenges are gifts from the past. We rallied together in the past. Who's leading this time? 'Now,' said Wil Reynolds, the founder of digital marketing firm SEER, which retains a headquarters in Northern Liberties: 'how do we keep showing up for each other?' What happened to that startup who hosted that rooftop cocktail party? The startup, RedLasso, which made it easier to make video clips, got sued out of existence. A few stakeholders went on to start a company called TrafficCast, which had a small exit, and that company's CTO went on to start Delaware fixed wireless company WhyFly. That company spun off several engineers who were later hired by IONOS, a European web hosting company that relocated its US headquarters to Center City in spring 2022 to hire talent. One worked at Crossbeam, another at dbtLabs, both of which have generated other founders. Most of these built real solutions, and attracted smart people to this place. Some created bits of wealth, all employed real people. Some of these people developed a civic technology community to solve other local problems. None of these companies on their own may be remembered. What we all did together could be, if we allow it.
