Cover Story

We speak with Mikael Spuhl, CEO at 3D Interactive Sthlm AB

James Brown: Could you give us a brief introduction to AR and its benefits?

The usual technical description of augmented reality (AR) is “a technology that layers computer generated enhancements on top of an existing reality”. I would introduce AR as way of bringing the real and digital worlds together. With AR, you can make printed material or objects come to life by adding 3D content, animation and video on top of those objects. We see AR as a communication platform that allows you to connect with your clients/customers in a completely new way. To describe the benefits of AR, I think it´s best to give concrete examples of how some of our customers have integrated AR into their businesses: 

Whether out of thriftiness or ethics, more and more consumers are opting for synthetic, man-made diamonds over the real thing.

While the establishment maintains that man-made stones are nothing more than low-grade fakes that won’t ever be serious contenders, industry observers aren’t so sure. It’s starting to look like man’s genius has finally matched nature’s brilliance.

With the international investment space currently rife with uncertainty, volatility, and what seem to be constantly shifting sands, it’s no surprise that British investors have retreated back into the relative safe haven of UK property. Instead of pouring cash into actual bricks and mortar, though, more and more are looking to homebuilders and construction firms. Despite a recent blip, the numbers indicate it’s a good bet.

Few other entrepreneurs have risked so much and taken such gambles as Elon Musk. And few have had such incredible successes. Even more amazing, the real impact of his entrepreneurship – whether in the area of space travel, electric vehicles or solar energy – has yet to be felt by humanity. The best, it could be said, is yet to come from Elon Musk.

However, it is the CityCube Berlin, a modern convention and expo centre, which reinforces the city’s already global competitiveness.

The latest Ernst & Young Attractiveness Survey, which is widely recognised as the one of the most comprehensive data sets for foreign direct investment across Europe, recently reinforced Scotland’s position as the top region in the UK outside London for foreign direct investment.And while foreign direct investment (FDI) has proved challenging in recent years, Scotland has undoubtedly sharpened its focus on not only maintaining but continuing to build on its reputation as a world class investment location.

Xeon International focuses on value creation capacities in major International markets. Its focus on business value creation is supported by global experience in a wide range of industries. Xeon looks at early stage emerging markets with good headroom for development, by selecting high-quality investments with strong growth and integration potential. But first and formost, it has a strong focus on socially responsible corporate investment. In the interview below, Yves Duponselle and Giancarlo d’Elia of Xeon Fund describe how they are catering to a new generation of socially responsible investors.

NEE : Corporate social responsibility has emerged as a prominent theme in the wake of successive financial crises. What is the next-generation investor calling for?

YD: We have observed that in today’s market, a third-millennium investor typology has emerged, focusing on investing in projects that benefit society. That caused us to rethink value creation today. We went back to the fundamentals of the value creation process, and the cornerstone of our thinking was to redefine the terms of good investment. We concluded that we needed to expand the profit generation objective to include other considerations. The idea is to be smart enough to make substantial profits while focusing on an important additional dimension: making a contribution to society. And this contribution should have a social and an environmental impact. We believe that the current generation must start taking action to accelerate responsible corporate social investments.