Asia
Sinitic AI automates customer support for Asia’s iGaming industry
Sinitic AI-enabled system solves Asian iGaming customer support automation’s 4 biggest problems
TAIPEI, August, 2018 – Natural language processing (NLP) company Sinitic has announced the launch of a customized customer support automation solution for the iGaming industry in Asia.
Sinitic’s solution is artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled and targets the biggest pain points for customer support automation for iGaming operators.
Because of unique market factors, customer support costs currently make up 50-60% of an Asian iGaming company’s Costs of Goods Sold. These costs are particularly high as companies tend to centralize their operations in the few regulated markets and therefore need to import a large number of staff for multilingual customer support teams.
Sinitic’s AI-enabled chatbots – conversational assistants that assist human customer support staff – give businesses the power to control and reduce these operational costs while expanding profits.
After analyzing several iGaming operators’ data, Sinitic discovered that, on average, 75% of chat is just mundane chit-chat, or FAQs. Only 22 percent is what is termed multiturn, or longer-form complaints. This means that 75% of the total customer support costs are being wasted on easy-to-automate conversations.
The Sinitic product suite streamlines operations by addressing the four biggest challenges for automation projects:
1. Operators spend months labelling their chat history so it can be used for chatbot dialogue. Sinitic’s BotBuilderTM uses a deep-learning algorithm to rapidly convert chat history into chatbot dialogue in a matter of hours.
2. Artificial intelligence can help increase agent productivity. Sinitic’s ChatCentreTM offers advanced features for agent aliases, multi-brand and language management, as well as agent and customer sentiment analysis.
3. The Sinitic CaseManagerTM combines chat and case management, allowing agents to focus on the most urgent customer complaints.
4. Lastly, the Sinitic BotTrainerTM fixes confused chatbots and automatically improves bots’ natural language understanding.
The entire product suite is powered with the SiniticNLPTM engine, which aggregates terminology from hundreds of thousands of chats from the iGaming industry, and supports key Asian languages such as Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, and Bahasa Indonesia, among others. Crucially, it also uses a proprietary deep-learning algorithm to understand mixed languages including Chinglish, Taglish, and Singlish.
The accuracy is impressive. For a company that receives over 900,000 messages per day, SiniticNLPTM delivered 11% higher Chinese language understanding compared with Microsoft LUIS, using the exact same data without any additional training.
Big spending on software with no automation capability
In Asia, customer support tends to be via messaging platforms such as WeChat or Line, which means iGaming operators need customer support software that integrates support for all chat platforms. However, iGaming companies in the region have typically repurposed limited tools such as Zendesk for their customer support, which not only costs between $3,000 and $6,000 a month but is ill-suited for the iGaming environment. For example, it does not support multiple aliases for agents who may work across several brands, and does not offer chatbots capable of understanding Asian languages.
Another unique feature of the iGaming industry is that operators often do not wish to reveal that they are using chatbots. In the instance that the bot does not understand a question, a human agent will take over the conversation seamlessly, with the same name as the chatbot.
Sinitic has already signed with several Asian-facing operators, who will use the company’s proprietary AI-enabled products for customer support automation.
ABOUT SINITIC:
With a pedigree in the banking and system integrator industries, Sinitic is a fast-growing, niche-focused Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business. The company is headed by Curtis Matlock, a software sales director with experience adapting the SaaS business model to markets in Asia-Pacific, and Albert Zhuang, an award-winning computer science graduate from the National Taiwan University. Zhuang’s master thesis on coreference resolution won first distinction from the Association for Computational Linguistics and Chinese Language Understanding.
To learn more, visit sinitic.ai.
Asia
AMD Announces GameOn 2024: Nationwide Counter-Strike 2 Tournament Offers ₹300,000 Prize, Culminates in Hyderabad
AMD, a leader in semiconductor manufacturing, has unveiled the AMD GameOn 2024, an open-for-all esports tournament for Counter-Strike 2 with a total prize pool of INR 300,000. The Main Event of the AMD GameOne 2024 is set to take place at IndiaJoy 2024 Asia’s premier media and entertainment congregation, in the HICC, Novotel, Hyderabad on Nov. 16 and 17.
Commenting on the tournament, Pramit Khanna, Channel Marketing Manager DIY and Gaming, AMD India said, “As one of the leaders in the computing space, we have been supporting India’s esports ecosystem since day 1, and the AMD GameOn 2024 is another such IP for esports enthusiasts. The open-for-all format ensures every gamer has a chance to compete in the pan-India tournament and make it to the LAN in Hyderabad. I wish the best of luck to all participants and can’t wait to welcome the four finalists in Hyderabad.”
The AMD GameOn 2024 began with the open qualifiers, where the registered teams competed for slots to the Closed Qualifiers. The Closed Qualifier, with 8 total teams, has wrapped up, confirming the four finalists for the AMD GameOn 2024 Main Event at IndiaJoy 2024 on Nov. 16 and 17 in Hyderabad. Skyesports is set to be the esports partner for the event.
The four teams are listed below. They will compete in a single-elimination bracket to determine the champions of India. Matches from the AMD GameOn 2024 Main Event will be livestreamed on the Skyesports YouTube channel.
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True Rippers
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Carnival Gaming
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Gods Reign
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Victores Sumus
Besides the esports action at the AMD booth in the IndiaJoy 2024, players will also be able to experience gaming on AMD Advantage systems, which deliver a supreme and optimized performance by combining AMD Ryzen™ CPUs, AMD Radeon™ GPUs, smart technologies, and AMD software. Therefore, AMD’s experiential zone at the IndiaJoy 2024 will be the one-stop immersive place for gamers, combining esports action and providing a hands-on gaming experience.
Shiva Nandy, the Founder and CEO of Skyesports, said, “We are thrilled to be the esports partner for AMD GameOn 2024, working once again with our anchor brand, AMD. With open qualifiers to give every gamer a chance and invited teams to ensure top-notch esports action, this tournament is a delight for all gamers. AMD has been one of the biggest supporters of esports in India over the years, and this tournament aligns with our vision of bringing Counter-Strike 2 into the spotlight ahead of Skyesports’ $1.7 million prize pool roadmap for 2025, where we will host four on-ground events across the country.”
India currently has about 500 million gamers, a number expected to grow to 730 million by 2028, with a 5-year CAGR of 10 percent, making the country the largest market by the number of gamers. Additionally, 65 percent of gamers either watch esports or compete in tournaments, per Niko Partners, with IPs like the AMD GameOn at the forefront of attracting their attention.
Asia
DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con 2024 Day 2: Wagh Suyog crowned champion of Rapid Chess tournament; Karan Kanchan steals the show with electrifying DJ set
The second day of DreamHack 2024 x Hyderabad Comic Con, India’s largest celebration of gaming and pop culture, delivered thrilling esports action, landmark achievements, and unforgettable moments as fans turned out in large numbers at the Hitex Exhibition Centre.
Hosted by NODWIN Gaming, a leader in new-age youth entertainment, gaming, and esports this year marks the fifth anniversary of India’s biggest gaming festival. DreamHack’s legendary BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Zone reached an unprecedented milestone, with tickets selling out for the first time ever. Gamers from across the country brought their own setups to compete and compete in titles including eFootball, THE FINALS, World Cricket Championship 3 (WCC 3), Brawlhalla, Counter-Strike 2, Spectre Divide, and many more, making the zone a hub of energy and camaraderie throughout the day.
After intense semi-final matches, Team LFO, Team Cheems, Team Payback, and AMIGOS Esports qualified for the grand finals of the OMEN VALORANT Campus Quest Season 2. Each team demonstrated exceptional strategy and team play, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
Meanwhile, Wagh Suyog showcased remarkable talent and focus,`outmaneuvering a field of skilled competitors to win the Rapid Chess tournament and take home the INR 3 Lakh prize pool championship. His/her victory was celebrated with roaring applause, highlighting the growing appeal of chess as part of DreamHack’s diverse lineup.
In other esports action, GodLike Esports, Vibrance Esports, XLR8, and Anthem showcased their dominance on Day 2 of the Snapdragon Pro Series (Call of Duty: Mobile), while Aditya ‘The Dark Lord’ Verma emerged victorious in the Street Fighter 6 segment of KO Fight Night.
Much to the attendees’ delight KO Fight Night delivered electrifying matches in Tekken 8 and Super Mario Bros Ultimate. Players also turned out in large numbers to participate in the Retro and Board Games tournaments, adding to the vibrant gaming atmosphere.
Following suit to the electric atmosphere of DreamHack, the second day of Hyderabad Comic Con was a vibrant celebration of creativity, fandom, and entertainment. Fans were enthralled by special sessions from Maruti Suzuki Arena, Crunchyroll, and Yamaha Racing, each offering unique insights and experiences for attendees.
Attendees were also treated to comic book debuts, including The Warrior God and Abba Aari (the sequel to Mard Bann), alongside the cover launch of Weapons of Mass Extinction: Stage 1 – Blood of The Last Asuran.
On the other hand, music enthusiasts danced to an electrifying DJ set by Karan Kanchan, while rising comedy star Ravi Gupta (a.k.a. Shudh Desi Comic) had audiences in splits with his witty, desi humour.
The Meet & Greet Zone today featured 8Bit Creatives’ popular gaming personalities, such as Raj Varma (Snax), Payal Dhare (Payal Gaming), Parv Singh (Regaltos), Salman Ahmad (8bit Mamba), Monika Jeph (Sherlock Live), Nishant Williams (Willy Gamingg), Mithul Nayak (Binks), Dhwani Bhatt (Pinkcess), and Dhruv Sangwan (Dhruv), who connected with fans through their stories, popular slangs and gaming insights.
Just like yesterday, the Hyderabad Comic Con Cosplay Contest stole the show, with hundreds of cosplayers competing for a prize pool exceeding INR 5 Lakhs, including a daily grand cash prize of INR 50,000. The city’s best cosplayers battled it out to represent Hyderabad at the Indian Championship of Cosplay 2025 Qualifiers, aiming for a daily reward of INR 1.25 Lakhs.
Day 3 of DreamHack 2024 x Hyderabad Comic Con is set to be a spectacular finale, packed with more comic book launches, special sessions, and engaging fireside chats. As the event reaches its climax, SPS, OMEN Campus Quest Season 2, PAN FEST, KO Fight Night, Blitz Chess tournament, and the BYOD and retro tournaments will all wrap up with their much-anticipated grand finals.
Two critically acclaimed stand-up comedy stars, Syed Bashaar, and Harsh Gujral, will bring the laughs, while Geek Fruit will take everyone on a nostalgic journey with iconic theme songs.
For further updates and information regarding DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con 2024, follow NODWIN Gaming & DreamHack India on social media. Get your tickets now to experience the best of both worlds and experience the excitement of DreamHack India 2024 x Hyderabad Comic Con firsthand!
Asia
Mascots Xiyangyang and Lerongrong ready for China’s 15th National Games
Joint events were held in Guangdong, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR on November 9 to mark the one-year countdown to China’s 15th National Games (NG), the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD), and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG).
Scheduled to take place from November 9 to 21, 2025, the 15th NG will be hosted across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG following from December 8 to 15, 2025.
The three regions are united in their commitment to delivering a “green, inclusive, open, and clean” event, while ensuring it is “simple, safe, and spectacular”. Collaborative efforts are well underway, with preparations progressing actively and prudently.
On the same day, the official theme slogans, emblems, and mascots of the events were unveiled. The slogan for the 15th NG is “Passionate National Games, Vibrant Greater Bay Area”, and that for the following games encourages those participants to pursue dreams in the Greater Bay Area and embark on a brighter journey.
According to the organizing committee of the 15th NG, both slogans are deeply aligned with the strategic positioning of the Greater Bay Area. They embody the Olympic values, Chinese cultural values, and China’s sporting spirit. Beyond that, the slogans reflect the pulse of the times, emphasize local identity, and highlight the features of sports, while striking an emotional chord and fostering a sense of unity.
The mascots for these sporting events are inspired by the Chinese white dolphin, a national first-class protected wild animal. These two adorable creatures, named Xiyangyang and Lerongrong, symbolize joy, harmony, and unity.
Designed around the theme of “prosperity and inclusiveness”, the emblem draws inspiration from the moment of fireworks bursting. The visually striking creation features three intertwining petals that rotate to form a harmonious pattern. Drawing on the distinct shapes and hues of flowers, the designers have carefully arranged the petals in a spiral that converges at the center. This symbolizes the harmonious integration and boundless vitality of the Greater Bay Area. It also represents the region’s deep connection with the motherland and its expanding global influence.
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