tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post8529637246820454555..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: Pakistani-American's Tech Unicorn Files For IPO at $1.6 Billion ValuationRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-48763275366176439422021-11-18T19:29:29.976-08:002021-11-18T19:29:29.976-08:00Afiniti Founder Zia Chishti Ousted After Sexual As...Afiniti Founder Zia Chishti Ousted After Sexual Assault Allegations <br /><br /><br />https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-18/ai-startup-afiniti-ousts-ceo-after-sexual-assault-allegations<br /><br />Tatiana Spottiswoode, a former employee, said the 50-year-old Chishti sexually assaulted her during a business trip to Brazil. After accusing the founder of attacking her, he filed for arbitration in order to silence any accusations, she said.<br /><br />Spottiswoode, the daughter of an Afiniti co-founder, provided photographs of the alleged assault as part of her testimony, saying the encounter was so violent that a nurse who examined her at a hospital said she had signs of concussion. “My body was covered with scratches, cuts and contusions,” Spottiswoode testified. “I had bruises around my neck that looked like I had been strangled, a large bump on my head, a black eye.”<br /><br />Five former Afiniti employees say the testimony is illustrative of a culture of heavy drinking and drug use at Afiniti. Much of the partying took place during business trips to far-flung locales such as Dubai and Brazil where female employees in their early 20s were encouraged to socialize with senior executives, the people said, asking not to be named for fear of retaliation from Chishti.<br /><br />Spottiswoode described a visit to Dubai in 2016, where she said Chishti groped her in front of co-workers and assaulted a colleague. She said Afiniti reached a settlement with the other young woman that barred her from discussing any details of the assault or any compensation -- a detail that was confirmed to Bloomberg by two former employees of Afiniti. <br /><br />“The Board of Directors of Afiniti announces that Mr. Zia Chishti has stepped down from his role as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Afiniti, effective immediately,” the company said in a statement. “The Board will make additional organizational announcements in the coming days.”Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-33834667877519845852017-05-09T10:35:00.111-07:002017-05-09T10:35:00.111-07:00National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI)...National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) approved, in principle, today by CDWP. This has been Minister Ahsan Iqbal's desire for over a year and a part of Vision 2025.<br />This will be a Consortuim of 8 Labs across several Universities with 4 computing clusters and its own Competitive Research Fund to be open to All AI Reseachers and Universities (including private Universities).<br />A unique academic partnership driven by results to aspire for sustainability in 3 years, specific targets about publications, startups, and collaborations. This will become a model of extremely competitive research funding at Universities for the future. Looking for industrial and corporate partners to join the gang and make Pakistan artificially intelligent.Athar O.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-71823189089470401652017-04-23T16:45:03.241-07:002017-04-23T16:45:03.241-07:00OPEN (Organization of Pakistani-American Entrepren...OPEN (Organization of Pakistani-American Entrepreneurs) in Silicon Valley recently congratulated Ahmed Khaishgi for one of the biggest M&A wins ever for a Pakistani American entrepreneur.<br /><br />https://www.facebook.com/opensiliconvalley/posts/1454432157919712<br /><br />Ahmaed Khaishgi is the CEO of SquareTrade acquired by AllState for $1.4 billion. <br /><br />Allstate Non-Insurance Holdings Inc., the insurance broker subsidiary of Allstate Corp. ALL, -0.52% said late Monday it has agreed to buy SquareTrade Holding Company Inc. for about $1.4 billion in cash and debt. The transaction is expected to close in January. Privately held SquareTrade, based in San Francisco and London, is a provider of extended warranty plans for electronics and gadgets. Shares of Allstate fell 0.2% in the extended session after ending the regular trading day down less than 0.1%.<br /><br />http://www.marketwatch.com/story/allstate-unit-to-buy-squaretrade-for-14-billion-2016-11-28Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-79487816365533771532017-04-18T21:34:52.829-07:002017-04-18T21:34:52.829-07:00Riaz hack WW Pak Alumni, how goes man? Long time n...Riaz hack WW Pak Alumni, how goes man? Long time no hear, this is your old friend from chowk, the badshah masadi, still unemployed and still resisting. You still polishing musharraf's butt and throwing out stats you don't understand. Come on man, give it up. Trump was good but turned, the MIC won, he bombed Syria the asshole based on the CIA's fake chemical attack, and what about Flint Michigan, which country should bomb the US because of chemical poisoning of the black community, huh WW?? Lay it out man, don't be afraid that the FBI might arrest you for speaking truth to power...and most of all don't f'ing censor my comments. Have a nice day...and do some exercise goddamit.masadinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-74678205792079330852017-04-16T10:16:48.249-07:002017-04-16T10:16:48.249-07:00Amer: "Isn't Careem in that league too ?&...Amer: "Isn't Careem in that league too ?"<br /><br />Well yes I suppose. But Afiniti is fully homegrown though with all founders from Pakistan and initial call center operations which inspired the software development again all in Pakistan.Monis R.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-17070537041044332232017-04-16T10:15:52.342-07:002017-04-16T10:15:52.342-07:00Isn't Careem in that league too ?Isn't Careem in that league too ?Amer S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-29380870637967464882017-04-16T10:14:33.180-07:002017-04-16T10:14:33.180-07:00This is not the first time that Zia Chisti has don...This is not the first time that Zia Chisti has done something like this..a great mind coupled with a great team has resulted in this..Hamid S.noreply@blogger.com