Paul Cole-Ingait is a professional accountant and financial advisor. He has been working as a senior accountant for leading multinational firms in Europe and Asia since 2007. Cole-Ingait holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting and finance and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Birmingham.

As the automotive industry continues to evolve, AMD is stepping up to the plate with new AMD Advanced AI Engines that promise to transform the way they interact with their vehicles. At the upcoming CES 2024, AMD is set to unveil two key products that are expected to make significant strides in vehicle technology. These products are the Versal AI Edge XA adaptive SoC and the Ryzen Embedded V2000A Series processor. With these innovations, AMD is not just entering the automotive market; it’s aiming to redefine it.

The Versal AI Edge XA adaptive SoC is a cutting-edge AI engines that’s been crafted to drive the most advanced systems in the automotive world. It’s a powerhouse that merges artificial intelligence with the processing of real-time data from edge sensors and centralized domain controllers. This SoC is designed to be at the heart of the next wave of automotive design, enabling cars to be smarter and more responsive to the environment around them.

On the other hand, the Ryzen Embedded V2000A Series processor is all about enhancing the digital experience inside the car. It’s built to deliver high-definition graphics and enable efficient multitasking, ensuring that the digital cockpit is as user-friendly as possible. With its advanced 7 nm process technology and compatibility with both Automotive Grade Linux and Android Automotive, this processor is set to elevate the standard for in-vehicle computing.

AMD’s commitment to the automotive industry is clear from these developments. The Versal AI Edge XA adaptive SoC is not just about raw computing power; it’s about scalable AI computing that can handle complex vision and signal processing tasks. It also comes with essential safety and security features built-in. The Ryzen Embedded V2000A Series processor, meanwhile, is a testament to AMD’s focus on providing a seamless and powerful user experience for vehicle occupants.

At CES 2024, AMD isn’t just planning to talk about these products; it’s going to show them in action. Attendees can expect to see live demonstrations that highlight the capabilities of AMD’s automotive technologies. These will include AI-driven object detection, systems that can automate parking, and driver monitoring systems that enhance safety. Through these demonstrations, AMD will showcase the versatility and performance that its technologies can bring to the automotive sector.

AMD’s approach to innovation in the automotive industry is not a solitary one. The company has built a network of partnerships with key players in the automotive ecosystem. This includes collaborations with industry leaders such as BlackBerry, Cognata, and Visteon. These partnerships are crucial because they ensure that AMD’s technologies are not only cutting-edge but also well-integrated and optimized for use in a variety of automotive applications.

The announcement of the Versal AI Edge XA adaptive SoC and the Ryzen Embedded V2000A Series processor at CES 2024 marks a significant moment for AMD. It’s a clear signal that the company is serious about its role in the automotive industry. These technologies are poised to enhance the driving experience, making it safer, more efficient, and more enjoyable. With AMD’s new products, the automotive sector is on the cusp of embracing a wave of technological innovation that could redefine their relationship with their vehicles.

As they look toward the future, it’s clear that technology will continue to play an increasingly important role in the automotive industry. With companies like AMD at the forefront of innovation, they can expect to see vehicles that are not only more connected and intelligent but also safer and more user-friendly. The technologies that AMD is set to unveil at CES 2024 are just the beginning. They represent the next step in the journey toward a future where their cars are not just modes of transportation but partners in their daily lives.

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In the market, giants often steal the limelight. However, an intriguing narrative exists woven by lesser-known yet promising stocks priced under $10. Enterprising companies have silently amassed momentum, signaling an imminent surge in their value. The terrain of consumer electronics and cutting-edge technology systems hosts these three underdogs, each concealing a treasure trove of growth potential waiting to be unearthed.

Amidst the ever-evolving landscape of innovation and market dynamics, these companies have intricately carved their path to success. The first one’s strategic product launches and expansive retail endeavors, the second one’s diversification beyond automotive realms and the third one’s groundbreaking underwater technologies mark pivotal strides toward market dominance.

Beyond the stock prices, delve into the hidden narratives of resilience, adaptability and innovation driving these companies’ growth. Read more to uncover these undervalued stocks‘ latent potential and promising trajectories.

GoPro (GPRO)

Source: Larry George II / Shutterstock.com

GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) delivers substantial growth in performance. For instance, in Q3 2023, the company exceeded revenue expectations at $294 million, surpassing non-GAAP earnings per share targets. This performance reflected the company’s ability to forecast effectively and indicated a positive market response to its products and strategies. Thus, the sequential growth of 31% and a 16% year-over-year increase in total camera unit sales suggest effective demand capture.

Furthermore, the subscription service maintained its value, evident in its 20% year-over-year growth, reaching 2.5 million subscribers. This results in solid attachment and retention rates, indicating strong customer engagement. Launching a desktop version of the Quik app for Mac OS and introducing a premium plus $99 subscription tier demonstrates GoPro’s focus on offering enhanced features and increased cloud storage.

Fundamentally, these impressive figures hint at effective product positioning, customer engagement, and a solid marketing approach. On the product side, the launch of the Hero 12 Black at $399 represented a key strategic move by GoPro. The product has succeeded and indicates its resonance with both professional and casual users. Thus, these leads consolidate GoPro’s position as an industry benchmark.

Additionally, GoPro’s focus on expanding its retail presence has shown impressive results. The company met and exceeded its target of adding 2K new retail doors by the end of 2023 (+25% annual increase). By fostering strong partnerships and investing in retail channels, GoPro expanded its reach and accessibility to potential customers.

The planned 30% increase in retail doors by 2024 indicates a proactive approach to market penetration. Hence, by strategically positioning products in retail spaces, GoPro aims to capitalize on physical retail environments to drive sales and brand recognition.

BlackBerry (BB)

Source: Shutterstock

BlackBerry’s (NYSE:BB) IoT business experienced notable revenue growth. Most recently, the business has achieved a 12% sequential and 8% year-on-year increase in Q3 fiscal 2024. The revenue streams were diversified, with royalties accounting for 44%, development seats for 32%, and services contributing 24% of the total revenue. The significant increase in revenue despite industry-level headwinds indicates the resilience and potential of BlackBerry’s IoT segment.

Fundamentally, the growth was primarily driven by the automotive sector, particularly Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). BlackBerry secured crucial design wins with leading automakers globally, expanding its footprint in ADAS solutions and automotive operating systems. These wins include partnerships with European and Asian automakers for the Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) and ADAS platforms. This illustrates BlackBerry’s credibility and growth potential within the automotive industry.

Notably, BB is expanding beyond automotive, and its success extended beyond automotive, diversifying into various sectors such as industrial automation, medical devices, and autonomous defense vehicles. This expansion indicates the scalability and adaptability of BlackBerry’s IoT solutions across different industries, reducing reliance on a single sector for revenue generation.

Moreover, the upcoming launch of QNX SDP 8.0, with its promised enhanced performance and scalability, is poised to unlock new opportunities in the IoT space. Additionally, IVY’s progress, Proof of Concept trials, growing ecosystem, and demonstrations at CES suggest potential growth avenues outside the automotive sector.

Finally, BlackBerry’s cybersecurity business is another impressive company growth aspect. The business’s revenue soared to $114 million, marking a substantial 44% sequential and 8% year-over-year increase. The noteworthy improvement in gross margin, rising by 0.14% to 68%, underscores the efficiency and profitability of BlackBerry’s cybersecurity offerings.

Coda Octopus (CODA)

Source: shutterstock.com/whiteMocca

Coda Octopus (NASDAQ:CODA) has established an exemplary track record of profitability. The company has boasted consistent profitability in 45 out of the last 50 quarters and has maintained profitability for the last 12 consecutive years. Such an extended period of sustained profitability highlights the company’s robust operational efficiency and adaptability.

Furthermore, Coda Octopus has invested in developing innovative underwater products and solutions. The Echoscope PIPE and the Diver Augmented Vision Display System (DAVD) are significant strengths driving the company’s growth potential. Over the past four years, the company has dedicated substantial resources to advancing these cutting-edge technologies. Hence, these investments align them with its growth strategy and market demands.

The Echoscope PIPE, a real-time 3D imaging sonar, caters to emerging defense and underwater vehicle market requirements. Favorably, its unique capabilities in providing high-resolution, real-time imaging have garnered attention from defense entities, positioning Coda Octopus as a frontrunner in offering advanced sensor technology for underwater applications.

On the other hand, the DAVD is transitioning from the Navy’s research and development (R&D) phase to its field adoption phase. This progress signifies a crucial milestone for the company. The successful implementation and training events with entities like the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) and the Underwater Construction Team (UCT) demonstrate this technology’s operational integration and usability within critical defense operations. 

Notably, there are positive feedback and adoption intentions from European offshore service providers and Japanese companies. This underscores the market’s recognition of the DAVD’s potential to enhance safety and efficiency in underwater operations.

Overall, by further refining and expanding the capabilities of its Echoscope and DAVD solutions, the company can capture a larger market share and penetrate new segments.

As of this writing, Yiannis Zourmpanos held a long position in GPRO. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

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Mahesh Rajasekharan is the President and CEO of Cleo.

During the last 30 years, increased manufacturing outsourcing to emerging economies has led to high supply chain sophistication, with manufacturers, suppliers, logistics providers and end consumers spread across continents. Supply chain leaders have handled the ensuing variability in demand and supply from such globally distributed supply chains by optimizing demand planning, inventory management and logistics fulfillment.

However, while supply chain professionals have primarily focused on managing variability and lead times, it is the increasing volatility in supply and demand that’s creating new economic risks for businesses. One stark reality about today’s global economy is its constant tendency to fluctuate sharply and create uncertainty.

Consider Brexit, China tariffs and the Covid-19 pandemic. According to an article from SAP (via Forbes), "The inability of the United Kingdom to move forward with a clear plan for exiting the European Union has left most companies with UK operations in limbo. Business planning, such as it is, has focused on building up safety stock — which increases inventory carrying costs." The article goes on to note that goal is to "avoid import duties for incoming goods in case of a hard Brexit," which may or may not happen.

Similarly, the trade tensions between the U.S. and China and the resulting tariffs point to slower growth and increased costs. And Covid-19 has so hampered industries’ supply chains that even after a year, many have not recovered.

Companies need a supply chain optimized for visibility and agility to effectively manage and overcome the challenges associated with volatility and uncertainty. This is not to say that volatility hasn’t also created opportunities for those savvy enough to organize their processes, technologies and organizational models to capitalize on change triggered by uncertain events.

Take Amazon, for example. Despite facing product availability challenges, worker shortages, and delivery hurdles, Amazon aggressively responded to the pandemic by hiring 400,000 workers, adding 220 packaging facilities, and leasing 12 Boeing cargo planes, increasing overall delivery capacity by 50% through a $30 billion capital spend. This put the company in a prime growth position during 2020 when U.S. e-commerce sales surged 44% to more than $860 billion.

The Amazon success story illustrates that while volatility is bad, companies that understand how to manage it can thrive. Put another way, volatility is the new variability. 

In addition to supply-side risks, volatility in demand will also continue to increase. A key contributor to demand volatility is the accelerating pace at which new products and trends are influenced, promoted, and spread through social media, particularly among millennials.

A McKinsey survey showed that 5% of influencers offering product recommendations drive 45% of social influence. Recall Popeye’s restaurant chain, which in 2019 famously ran out of chicken sandwiches because it didn’t have the processes or resources in place to respond to the extreme demand volatility generated by a viral social media response.

It’s safe to say that volatility will only be increasing for a good number of reasons:

• Accessibility of information in the digital era prompts companies to make rapid changes to their demand and supply needs.

• Social media influence can generate trends, which trigger sudden shifts in demand, causing massive inventory risks.

• Customer experience as shaped by companies like Amazon — with availability, choice and same-day delivery — puts pressure on other retailers and manufacturers.

• Geopolitical, environmental and health crises can cause supply shocks that cripple supply chains for extended periods.

Given these trends, supply chain leaders have only two “levers” to effectively manage and thrive in the face of uncertainty:

• Visibility enables supply chain leaders to identify demand signals in data earlier (such as consumer buying trends) and inform rapid operational decisions around production and inventory based on accurate real-time information.

• Agility means supply chain leaders can more quickly implement changes in light of dynamic business conditions, such as switching suppliers based on tariffs or oil prices, offering promotions based on point-of-sale data, optimizing dynamic pricing and so on.

Continued evolution in supply chain strategy and planning has driven innovation in demand planning, inventory optimization, fulfillment optimization, dynamic pricing, and promotions planning. However, these advances only tell companies what to do; they don’t tell them how to get it done. And here’s where ecosystem integration comes in. 

Ecosystem integration is a modern-day approach to help businesses plan and execute strategies for managing volatility. It does so by helping them achieve supply chain visibility and agility so they can rapidly respond with the required shift in strategy and succeed in the face of uncertainty.

So how do you know if an ecosystem integration approach is right for your business?

Follow the money. If revenue velocity is being impeded due to inefficient integration processes, or there’s a lack of end-to-end visibility across your supply chain, then volatility is impacting your business relationships, and an ecosystem integration solution could help. Think of it as a maturation process that builds on technologies you already have. For instance, if you use an on-premises file-based integration solution today (MFT), you can steadily progress to add EDI and APIs and gain better governance and visibility until you achieve a completely dynamic and intelligent integration solution.

Volatility is not going away. Subject to ever-increasing geopolitical and climate-driven disturbances, uncertainty will only increase. The winners and losers in today’s supply chain environment will be determined not by traditional supply chain management but by the ability to embrace ecosystem integration processes and technologies to focus on anticipating and managing volatility.

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WSO2 announced the Summer 2018 release of its agile integration platform with a new approach to implementing microservices at WSO2Con US 2018 in San Francisco today.

According to the company, while microservices are the software architecture of choice, agile development is being hindered by legacy technology. The Summer 2018 release aims to address this with new product developments and offerings designed to support microservices architectures.

“To successfully build modern architectures, they have to free developers from the waterfall orientation of traditional integration and empower development teams to autonomously operate by becoming integration agile,” said WSO2 CEO Tyler Jewell. “Our Summer 2018 Release advances this evolution with open, integrated products and services that enable enterprises to capitalize on microservices to innovate new digital products that operate throughout their organizations and across ecosystems.”

New features include enhancements to its API management, enterprise integration, analytics and identity and access management solutions. In addition, the latest release is backed by the company’s new WSO2 Platform Licensing.

For microservices, the solution provides low-latency access, real-time analytics, integration and a “single source of truth” for managing user identities, enforcing authorization policies and acting as a trust broker.

In addition, the company announced support for Ballerina, a cloud native programming language designed for integration.

“Ballerina was created to address the central role integration is playing in the development of next-generation apps that each manage tens to hundreds of endpoints,” said Jonathan Marsh, WSO2 vice president of business experience. “We want to welcome organizations to the Ballerina community to experience how integration can be significantly simpler and more agile. Through their Ballerina Early Access Development Support package, we’re facilitating the development efforts of early adopters and providing a way to thank them for sharing the insights they gain.”

It’s an age-old riddle: if you have a perfect sphere with a perfectly reflective inner surface, will light bounce around inside it forever? The answer is pretty obvious when you think it through, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t put the principle to use, as they see with this homemade Ulbricht sphere for optical measurements.

If you’ve never heard of an Ulbricht sphere, don’t worry — it’s also known as an integrating sphere, and that makes its function a little more apparent. As [Les Wright] explains, an integrating sphere is an optical element with a hollow spherical cavity that’s coated with a diffusely reflective coating. There are two ports in the sphere, one for admitting light — usually from a laser — and one for light to exit. The light bounces around inside the sphere and becomes perfectly diffuse, and creates a uniform beam at the exit port.

[Les]’ need for an integrating sphere comes from the desire to measure the output of some of his lasers with his Raspberry Pi-based PySpectrometer. Rather than shell out for an expensive commercial integrating sphere, or turn one on a lathe, [Les] turned to an unlikely source: cannonball molds. The inside of the mold was painted with an equally unlikely ultra-white paint concocted from barium sulfate and PVA glue. With a few ports machined into the mold, it works perfectly to diffuse the light from his dye lasers for proper measurements.

Lasers can be an expensive hobby, but [Les] always seems to find a way to make things more affordable and just as good. Whether it’s homemade doorknob caps for high-voltage power supplies or blasting the Bayer filter off a cheap CCD camera, he always seems to find a way.