PJSC Sberbank : Elena, a visual character by Sber, co-hosts RBC TV shows

Elena, a virtual host developed by the SberDevices' Visper team, is a new co-host of Markets and Investor Calendar shows on RBC TV until November 26. She can also be seen in the Video of the Day section on the home page of RBC.

Markets is one of RBC's news programs aired every hour on weekdays from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm, and then at 9:20 pm as a large and final broadcast to deliver the latest coverage of the key stock market events from across the world. Investor Calendar covers important corporate news. It is aired on weekdays from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Elena is a photorealistic visual character by SberDevices. Avatars can have any visual image, from a real person to a cartoon character. They can be used in different fields, for example, on television, information websites, and help with navigation in shopping or medical centers, government agencies, and museums.

Konstantin Kruglov, senior vice president for new digital surfaces at Sberbank and CEO of SberDevices:

"The Visper platform is quite young, but it is evolving rapidly, and the characters we create develop with it. For example, they have recently learned to speak English. We are pleased to see how they take new images and assume new functions every day, and Elena is now on television! We are happy to cooperate with RBC on this project and hope that our very first virtual host will discover new topics of the broadcasts for her."

Ilya Doronov, managing director, RBC TV:

"This is an interesting and important experiment for RBC. Similar technology is developing throughout the world, and we will soon see similar virtual hosts on many channels. This is why we are especially pleased to be the first who has dared to put Elena to test on the air of RBC TV."