Hello, Fellow Tech Enthusiasts!
It’s time for the latest updates from Ralabs and the tech industry.
📊 Focus & Insights
- We recently held a strategic session in Croatia, where our core management discussed the company’s direction for the coming year. The 4-day session involved consultations with industry experts. While the market remains stable, growth in demand has not yet returned, and the IT outsourcing industry continues to face challenges. AI disruption is playing a significant role, with the potential to reduce development costs and a growing need to adopt AI tools for engineers, such as automation for tasks like unit testing.
- Software engineers, once viewed primarily as coders, are now expected to operate at a higher level of abstraction. This requires not just technical skills but also creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving—capabilities that AI alone cannot replicate. Despite the strong performance of our Account Management team, which has contributed to maintaining stability through the crisis period, it hasn’t translated into significant growth.
We’ve mapped out a clear, actionable plan for the next six months, using tools like PEST, As-Is Canvas, and Value Chain Analysis. The road ahead is busy, but we’re ready to take it on. - This month, we hosted our first webinar with Daniel Niiaziiev, our Head of Engineering, and Ross O’Crowley, CEO of OrkidTech, who discussed the implementation costs, challenges, and use cases of Local LLMs for businesses. Thanks to everyone who attended! If you couldn’t join, the recording is available on our YouTube channel.
- Following the success of our first webinar, we’re excited to announce the next one! The topic will be: Mastering RAG: Enhancing AI Applications with Retrieval-Augmented Generation, featuring Ali Hesham, Data Engineer at Ralabs, and long-time partner Sheamus McGovern, Founder of ODSC. Don’t miss it—register now!
-
Curious about the risks of Large Language Models? Our AI/ML expert has published a must-read article diving into these challenges. Read Here.
👩🏼💼 HR Updates
- We continue to grow – Ralabs welcomed nine new team members last month!
- We hosted two tech talks this month: AI Tools for Daily Use and Mastering the Basics: ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level Certification. Both sessions were packed with useful insights, and you can catch the recordings on YouTube in English.
📈 Business Development
- Our latest case study explores how we developed a proof of concept for Private Generative AI for Audit Automation for Waythru. Read the full case study.
- Another case study focuses on how we streamlined Invoice.Me’s financial operations using Microservices and Cloud-Native Architecture.
💻 Coding Insights
- A comprehensive collection of Python design patterns. Explore here.
- Ever wonder what happens when an internet domain disappears? Here’s an insightful read on that topic.
- V0 by Vercel is an AI-powered React-frontend generator that creates interactive prototypes. Try it here.
- Florida iPhone users: you can now send texts via satellite if cell service is down during hurricanes. Stay safe! And upgrade your iPhones to IOS 18. Read more.
- Swarm, a lightweight multi-agent orchestration framework, is worth a look if you’re interested in agent coordination.
- ben-n93/SQL-tips-and-tricks – SQL tips and tricks for those without a good SQL visual editor.
- Sliiidea is a tool for those with too many ideas but limited time to execute them.
- line/ts-remove-unused – removes unused code from your TypeScript project. It’s similar to knip but focuses solely on code, not dependencies.
- Penify will document everything for you: PRs, code changes, repos, architecture diagrams, APIs, and more.
- Want to chat with your database using AI, without writing code? Try insightbase.
🤖 AI Developments
- Google’s NotebookLM has caught my attention. It’s like having a personal AI-powered research assistant, organizing and summarizing your notes. I’m impressed with its capabilities so far.
- OpenAI Unveils Secret Meta Prompt — And It’s Very Different From Anthropic’s Approach.
- I recently published an article on the EU’s first AI Act on Medium. Read Here.
- Adobe has integrated its AI video model directly into Premiere Pro. It’s worth checking out for video creators.
- The EU’s first AI Act is making waves, categorizing AI systems into three risk categories: unacceptable risk, high risk, and limited/minimal risk. This regulation is poised to significantly shape the future of AI development and deployment in Europe. You can explore the full details here.
📚 Books and Reading
- This month, I have two book recommendations. I found some extra time while commuting between my new home in the village near Kyiv and my office on the right bank of the city, which I used to enjoy a couple of great audiobooks:
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri – A powerful collection of short stories exploring themes of loneliness, cultural differences, and personal struggles. Lahiri’s first book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, showcases Indian and Indian-American characters facing real, emotional challenges.
Available on Amazon.
- Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner – A thrilling story of Sadie Smith, an undercover agent tasked with manipulating an eco-commune in France. The novel delves into complex questions of morality and manipulation.
Available on Amazon.
💡 Thoughts
- While the EU AI Act offers strong consumer protection, it presents significant challenges for AI companies operating in Europe. Many AI features in products may be restricted or disabled due to the stringent regulations, which could potentially slow down innovation. At Ralabs, we argue that this legislation was developed without fully grasping the evolving AI landscape, putting Europe at a disadvantage compared to regions like the U.S. and Japan. In these countries, industries are advancing rapidly without the weight of restrictive laws, fostering greater innovation and flexibility in AI development.
🔍 Other Noteworthy Mentions
- Google’s investment in nuclear power is making waves. They’ve committed to buying energy from reactors built by Kairos Power. Read More.
- “It’s not good for something as important as AI to be a monopoly held by one or two companies” – says Terence Tao, one of the greatest mathematicians of our time. His interview touches the results from the recent presidential election in Venezuela, whether AI is a threat that could destroy humanity, AI systems like AlphaProof and AlphaGeometry and more.
- AI is already taking over human jobs. TikTok has been using it to replace human moderators. Read More.
If you found this update helpful, please feel free to share it with others. My newsletter is also published as a blog on our website – Ralabs Blog. You can now read the previous updates if you want to.
Lastly, as a company with deep Ukrainian roots, we continue to seek your support for Ukraine during these challenging times. Every contribution makes a difference.
Stay safe and connected,
Best,
Andrew
