[Lakera](https://www.lakera.ai/), a Swiss startup devoted to shielding generative AI systems from fraudulent prompts and other dangers, has raised $20 million in a Series A fundraising round, lead by European venture capital firm [Atomico](https://atomico.com/).

Although generative AI has acquired a lot of traction—as demonstrated by well-known apps like ChatGPT—security and data privacy concerns continue to be key problems for businesses. Generative AI is powered by large language models (LLMs), which allow machines to produce and comprehend text in a manner akin to that of humans. Malicious prompts, however, have the ability to deceive these models into carrying out unwanted tasks, like disclosing sensitive information or allowing unauthorized access to private networks. With Lakera, these increasing "prompt injection" risks are to be addressed.

Having been established in 2021 in Zurich, Lakera began operations in October of last year with [$10 million in seed money](https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/12/lakera-launches-to-protect-large-language-models-from-malicious-prompts/). Its goal is to shield enterprises against LLM security flaws like as rapid injections and data leaks. Their technology works with several LLMs, including as Claude from Anthropic, Google's Bard, OpenAI's GPT-X, and Meta's Llama. As a "low-latency AI application firewall," Lakera claims to be able to secure communication between and within generative AI applications.

The database used by Lakera's first product, [Lakera Guard](https://www.lakera.ai/lakera-guard), was created using a variety of sources, including internal machine learning research, open-source datasets from websites like Hugging Face, and an interactive game called Gandalf that tests players' ability to trick the system into disclosing a secret password. Lakera's "prompt injection taxonomy," which classifies these attacks, was developed with the assistance of these interactions.

In order to quickly identify malicious prompt injections, the business develops its own models. By continuously learning from a large number of generative AI interactions, these models are able to recognize dangerous tendencies and adapt to new threats.

Businesses can safeguard themselves from harmful prompts by integrating the Lakera Guard API. Furthermore, Lakera has created models that look for harmful content, such as profanities, violent content, hate speech, and sexual content, in prompts and application outputs. Although they are used in other situations as well, these detectors are especially helpful for apps that interact with the public, such as chatbots. With just one line of code, businesses can incorporate Lakera's content moderation features and set specific content thresholds via a centralized policy control panel.

With this fresh capital of $20 million, Lakera intends to increase its global footprint, particularly in the United States. Notable clients of the business already exist in North America, such as the Canadian unicorn Cohere and the American AI startup Respell.

Securing AI applications is a goal shared by SaaS providers, large corporations, and providers of AI models. Although interest comes from a variety of industries, financial services businesses are early adopters and particularly aware of the security and compliance threats. To stay competitive, the majority of businesses understand that they must integrate generative AI into their fundamental business operations.

In addition to Atomico, Redalpine, Citi Ventures, and Dropbox's venture capital division participated in Lakera's Series A investment.


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Lakera Secures $20M to Shield Enterprises from Generative AI Threats and LLM Vulnerabilities


[Temu](https://www.temu.com/) is an emerging e-commerce platform introduced in 2022 by PDD Holdings Inc., the parent company of Pinduoduo. With a goal to transform the landscape of online shopping, Temu presents a diverse range of products at competitive price points. In this article, we look at Temu, including its background, business model, distinctive attributes, and influence on the e-commerce sector.


## History and Background of Temu<a id="history-and-background-of-temu"></a>

### Founding and Launch of Temu<a id="founding-and-launch-of-temu"></a>

Temu, founded by PDD Holdings Inc., builds upon the achievements of [Pinduoduo](https://pinduoduo.com/), a prominent e-commerce platform in China. Launched in September 2022, Temu aimed at the North American market initially, with plans for global expansion.


### Growth and Expansion of Temu<a id="growth-and-expansion-of-temu"></a>

Since its launch, Temu has undergone substantial expansion, diversifying its range of products and extending its market presence. By prioritizing competitive pricing and a wide selection products, the company has successfully appealed to consumers, resulting in a notable increase in both website traffic and sales volume.


## Temu's Business Model<a id="temus-business-model"></a>

### Competitive Pricing Strategy<a id="competitive-pricing-strategy"></a>

Temu's core strategy revolves around providing products at exceptionally competitive prices. This is achieved by capitalizing on its extensive supply chain network and streamlined logistics, enabling Temu to maintain low costs and extend these savings to consumers. Consequently, Temu successfully appeals to cost-conscious customers who prioritize affordability.


### Wide Range of Products on Temu<a id="wide-range-of-products-on-temu"></a>

Temu offers a diverse range of products, including electronics, fashion, home goods, beauty products, and more. This wide selection caters to various customer needs and preferences, making Temu a one-stop shop for many shoppers.


### User Experience and Technology at Temu<a id="user-experience-and-technology-at-temu"></a>

Temu invests significantly in technology to elevate user experience. The platform leverages advanced algorithms and data analytics to tailor recommendations and enhance search capabilities. Moreover, the mobile application is crafted for user-friendly navigation, guaranteeing a smooth shopping experience.


## Key Features of Temu<a id="key-features-of-temu"></a>

### Flash Sales and Promotions on Temu<a id="flash-sales-and-promotions-on-temu"></a>

Temu frequently offers flash sales and promotional, offering substantial discounts on trending products. These limited-time offers generate a feeling of urgency and anticipation, boosting traffic  and sales during these promotional phases.


### Secure Payment Options on Temu<a id="secure-payment-options-on-temu"></a>

The platform offers various payment options to cater to the diverse needs of customers. These options include credit cards, digital wallets, and other secure payment methods. By providing this flexibility, customers can select the payment method that is most convenient for them.


### Efficient Logistics and Delivery by Temu<a id="efficient-logistics-and-delivery-by-temu"></a>

Temu's logistics network is crafted to ensure speedy and reliable delivery. The firm collaborates with top-tier logistic providers to ensure prompt shipping, tracking, and effortless returns


## Impact of Temu on the E-commerce Industry<a id="impact-of-temu-on-the-e-commerce-industry"></a>

### Competitive Pressure from Temu<a id="competitive-pressure-from-temu"></a>

Temu's aggressive pricing strategy and wide range of product offerings have intensified competition in the e-commerce industry. Established companies are under pressure to innovate and adapt in order to sustain their market presence.


### Changing Consumer Behavior<a id="changing-consumer-behavior"></a>

Temu's strategy of providing an extensive range of products at competitive prices has been instrumental in shaping consumer behavior. This approach motivates customers to venture into uncharted product categories and make purchases that they may not have otherwise contemplated.


### Temu's Market Expansion<a id="temus-market-expansion"></a>

Temu's success in North America set the stage for its global expansion. The company's growth strategy includes entering new markets and further diversifying its product offerings to cater to a broader audience.


## Challenges and Future Prospects for Temu<a id="challenges-and-future-prospects-for-temu"></a>

### Competition Facing Temu<a id="competition-facing-temu"></a>

While Temu has undoubtedly made remarkable progress, yet it encounters formidable competition from prominent e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba. Sustaining its competitive advantage will necessitate ongoing innovation and well-planned strategic ventures.


### Sustainability Efforts by Temu<a id="sustainability-efforts-by-temu"></a>

Temu, like many e-commerce platforms, faces sustainability challenges concerning packaging, shipping, and returns. It is imperative to adopt eco-friendly practices and endorse sustainable products to ensure long-term success.


### Future Growth of Temu<a id="future-growth-of-temu"></a>

Looking ahead, Temu's future prospects appear promising. The company's focus on technology, competitive pricing, and customer satisfaction positions it well for continued growth and expansion in the global e-commerce market.


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Temu has positioned itself as a strong contender in the e-commerce sector by utilizing competitive pricing, a diverse product selection, and advanced technology to draw in and maintain a loyal customer base. With its ongoing growth and commitment to advancement, the company is poised to have a significant impact on the evolution of online shopping.

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Temu: An Overview of the E-commerce Platform

[Llama 3.1 405B](https://ai.meta.com/blog/meta-llama-3-1/), an open-source AI model with 405 billion parameters, is the largest model that [Meta ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms)has released so far. It's not the largest model overall, but it is the largest open-source model that has been made available recently. Utilizing new methodologies, Llama 3.1 405B, trained on 16,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, can rival top-tier proprietary models like Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet and OpenAI's GPT-4o. The model may be downloaded and used on cloud computing platforms including Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure. It is also integrated into chatbots in the United States using WhatsApp and Meta.ai.

Though it is restricted to text-based activities, Llama 3.1 405B can execute a wide range of tasks, including coding and multilingual document summarizing (in English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Spanish, and Thai). While these are not currently publicly accessible, Meta is actively working on multimodal Llama models to handle photos, videos, and speech. The model was reinforced with synthetic data, which is usual but raises questions about potential bias, then trained on a refined sample of 15 trillion tokens.

The model can effectively handle longer inputs and keep conversation context thanks to its 128,000 token context window. The Llama 3.1 8B and Llama 3.1 70B are smaller models that can also utilize third-party tools and APIs to increase their adaptability in addition to having this expanded context capability. These models can communicate with a [Python](https://codelabsacademy.com/blog/ok-but-what-is-python) interpreter for code checking, Brave Search, and Wolfram Alpha for mathematical questions.

Meta wants to create a developer ecosystem around Llama so that it becomes a pillar of generative AI. With some limitations on deployment for larger developers, the new license permits developers to use model outputs for developing third-party generative models. In order to facilitate fine-tuning, producing synthetic data, and developing sophisticated applications, Meta is also releasing new safety tools and the [Llama Stack API.](https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-agentic-system)

CEO Mark Zuckerberg places a strong emphasis on democratizing access to AI while establishing Meta's AI technologies as industry norms. Over 300 million Llama models have been downloaded, and 20,000 variant models have been made, despite legal issues and worries over data practices.

Energy difficulties arise when scaling these models since training puts a strain on power grids. Since Meta intends to build even larger models in the future, resolving these difficulties will be essential. With the release of Llama 3.1 405B, Meta has taken a significant step toward its AI strategy, which aims to push the boundaries of generative AI and challenge competitors.

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Meta Unveils Llama 3.1 405B: The Largest Open-Source AI Model in Recent Years


## Major Disruptions in Airlines, Hospitals, and Retail Due to Microsoft User Outage<a id="major-disruptions-in-airlines-hospitals-and-retail-due-to-microsoft-user-outage"></a>

On Friday, a global tech outage led to significant disruptions in critical businesses and services, including airlines, hospitals, train networks, and TV stations, affecting Microsoft users worldwide.

This incident resulted in grounded flights, system access challenges for workers, and payment issues for customers in various countries. Although some problems were quickly [addressed](https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/technical-details-on-todays-outage/), numerous businesses, websites, and airlines encountered ongoing difficulties in their recovery efforts.


## What Happened During the Global Tech Outage?<a id="what-happened-during-the-global-tech-outage"></a>

A series of outages spread globally, impacting various systems such as information displays, login systems, and broadcasting networks. The root cause can be traced back to a faulty update released by CrowdStrike, an American cybersecurity firm known for protecting users from hackers. Microsoft acknowledged issues affecting machines running "CrowdStrike Falcon" and an earlier outage impacting U.S. Azure cloud service users. It is possible that certain users experienced the impact of both incidents simultaneously.

Despite CrowdStrike sending out a fix, some systems remained affected by midday in the United States, requiring manual updates for resolution. CrowdStrike's president and CEO [indicated](https://x.com/George_Kurtz/status/1814235001745027317) that recovery could take some time.


## Industries and Services Affected by the Microsoft Outage<a id="industries-and-services-affected-by-the-microsoft-outage"></a>

#### Airline Disruptions<a id="airline-disruptions"></a>

**-** In Australia, passengers experienced long lines at Sydney airport due to blank information screens, and programming was disrupted at the national broadcaster.

**-** Airports in Britain, Germany, and Taiwan faced long delays at check-ins, with some flights delayed or canceled.

**-** In South Korea, handwritten boarding passes were issued slowly.

**-** Major international hubs like Gatwick and Schiphol also experienced significant disruptions, stranding thousands of passengers​​.


#### Banking and Financial Sector Impact<a id="banking-and-financial-sector-impact"></a>

**-** Some banks, including JPMorgan Chase, faced delays in processing trades because bankers could not log into their work systems.

**-** TD Bank customers reported difficulties accessing online accounts.


#### Healthcare Systems Affected<a id="healthcare-systems-affected"></a>

**-** In Germany, a few hospitals canceled elective procedures.

**-** In Britain, some doctors in the National Health Service were unable to access systems.

**-** Kaiser Permanente in the United States activated backup systems to continue patient care after its hospitals’ systems were affected.


#### Emergency Services and Public Safety<a id="emergency-services-and-public-safety"></a>

**-** The outage affected emergency 911 lines in multiple states, but most issues were resolving by midmorning.


## Ripple Effects Across Time Zones and Industries<a id="ripple-effects-across-time-zones-and-industries"></a>

Flights continued to be disrupted at airports around the world into the morning due to the cascading effect of delays and cancellations. The reports indicated intermittent ground stops and delays at some airports as airlines dealt with residual technology issues.


## Quick Resolutions and Continuing Problems<a id="quick-resolutions-and-continuing-problems"></a>

**-** In Ukraine, Sense Bank and the mobile operator Vodafone reported brief service disruptions.

**-** At Dubai International Airport, two airlines switched to alternative systems, allowing operations to resume.


## Retail and Logistics Sector<a id="retail-and-logistics-sector"></a>

**-** Major grocery chains in the United States were largely unaffected.

**-** Logistics companies like United Parcel Service and FedEx reported disruptions, causing delivery delays in some regions​.


## CrowdStrike Takes Responsibility for the Outage<a id="crowdstrike-takes-responsibility-for-the-outage"></a>

CrowdStrike took responsibility for the software bug that caused the outage and clarified that it did not affect Mac and Linux users. They confirmed that the incident was not a cyberattack, and reassured customers that their protection remained intact. However, implementing a complete [fix](https://www.crowdstrike.com/falcon-content-update-remediation-and-guidance-hub/) may require some time. In response to the situation, Microsoft provided suggestions to users, such as restoring backup systems, in order to resolve the issue. It worth noting that although CrowdStrike bears responsibility for the software bug, the extent of the damage has been attributed to the poor resiliency of Microsoft's operating system.



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###### Image Source: X

Lakera Secures $20M to Shield Enterprises from Generative AI Threats and LLM Vulnerabilities

Temu: An Overview of the E-commerce Platform

Meta Unveils Llama 3.1 405B: The Largest Open-Source AI Model in Recent Years

Global Tech Outage Disrupts Critical Services: Airlines, Banks, and More Affected