GREENWICH, Conn., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunt Scanlon Ventures, a leading M&A advisory firm focused on the human capital markets, announced today that it has completed an investment in millionways, a New York-headquartered frontier lab building a behavioral intelligence layer of AI.

millionways pioneered the development of a proprietary Large Psychology Model, Thorsten-4, designed to understand human signals, motives, communication patterns, and behavior. The platform has applications across AI governance, executive hiring, talent management, leadership assessment, and enterprise environments. The company is led by co-founders Martin Cordsmeier and Max Weidemann.

"millionways is a trailblazer in behavioral intelligence," said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO and co-founder of Hunt Scanlon Ventures. "As investors, we see behavioral intelligence as a new layer of AI infrastructure, giving artificial intelligence a missing layer—the ability to interpret the human dynamics behind communication and decision-making."

"The next leap in AI isn't another model that knows more. It's AI that understands people better," said Max Weidemann, co-founder and CTO of millionways. "We built millionways to give AI that missing layer: a scientifically grounded, explainable understanding of human motives, behavior and context. Hunt Scanlon immediately understood why that becomes critical as humans and AI agents increasingly work together."

The investment comes as artificial intelligence moves deeper into environments where decision quality, leadership, trust, and human interaction matter as much as workflow efficiency. For Hunt Scanlon Ventures, behavioral intelligence represents an opportunity to bring greater structure and intelligence to decisions that have historically depended heavily on observation, experience, and intuition.

Underlying Thorsten-4 is more than a decade of proprietary psychological research and development and 35 million tagged words of behavioral data. That scientific and data foundation supports millionways' ability to identify behavioral patterns and translate human interactions into structured, explainable intelligence.

The technology is already proven and validated in the human capital sector, with applications spanning executive hiring, leadership assessment, succession planning, talent management, and organizational decision-making. As humans increasingly work alongside intelligent agents, Hunt Scanlon believes the ability to understand motives, communication patterns, and behavioral context will become increasingly important to both talent decisions and broader enterprise performance.

"We see the ability to translate human behavior into actionable business intelligence as increasingly important across the human capital markets," said Mr. Scanlon. "Those are not small efficiency gains. Those are enterprise value levers."

For Hunt Scanlon Ventures, the investment also reflects a broader strategy of backing data-driven and AI-powered platforms positioned to reshape how organizations assess talent, evaluate leadership, and make critical business decisions.

"As foundational AI models become increasingly commoditized, the ability to understand the human context behind an interaction becomes more valuable, not less," said Mr. Scanlon. "Behavioral intelligence—and millionways' approach to the category—represents an important step in that evolution."

To learn more about millionways and its behavioral intelligence platform, visit millionways.ai.

About Hunt Scanlon Ventures

Hunt Scanlon Ventures is a leading M&A advisory firm focused exclusively on the global human capital market. The firm represents both buy-side and sell-side clients across a wide range of human capital verticals, including executive search, culture and leadership consulting, interim and on-demand talent solutions, RPO, HR technology, and executive coaching.

Hunt Scanlon Ventures advises strategic acquirers and private equity sponsors on their acquisition strategies while supporting founders and leadership teams seeking to exit, scale, or recapitalize. In addition to advisory services, Hunt Scanlon Ventures invests in top-tier talent platforms as a limited partner, often co-investing alongside venture capital managers in the sector.

Contact:

Drew Seaman

Managing Director

(602) 622-1392

[email protected] 

SOURCE Hunt Scanlon Ventures

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Patriot BTC Expected Initially to Hold Montana Data Center, Bitcoin Miners, Equipment and Related Infrastructure; Separation Intended to Create Focused Mining and AI Data Center Businesses

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperscale Data, Inc. (NYSE American: GPUS), an artificial intelligence ("AI") data center company ("Hyperscale Data" or the "Company"), announced today that it is taking steps to form Patriot BTC, a proposed new subsidiary intended to hold the Company's cryptocurrency mining operations and related assets as a distinct business.

As part of the proposed transaction, Hyperscale Data intends to initially transfer all operating assets used in its cryptocurrency mining operations to Patriot BTC, including the Company's Montana data center, Bitcoin miners, mining equipment and related infrastructure.

The proposed transfer is intended to separate the Company's Bitcoin mining operations from its Michigan AI data center strategy. The Company believes the separation would align management attention and capital allocation with the distinct needs of each business, improve transparency into their respective operations and financial performance, and pave the way for the Michigan facility to operate as a standalone, single-purpose AI data center business.

Patriot BTC Mining Assets

Patriot BTC is intended to become a focused Bitcoin mining and infrastructure company that would generate its own Bitcoin through its mining operations. The Company currently anticipates that Patriot BTC will initially hold two principal groups of assets:

- The Company's Montana data center and related Montana assets and infrastructure; and

- The Company's Bitcoin miners, mining equipment and associated Bitcoin mining infrastructure.

By placing the mining assets within a dedicated subsidiary, Hyperscale Data believes Patriot BTC can provide greater transparency into the value, operations and financial performance of the Company's Bitcoin mining business.

Strategic Rationale and Alternatives for Patriot BTC

Management may recommend to the Board of Directors that, subject to applicable approvals, legal and regulatory requirements and other appropriate conditions, the Company pursue a transaction intended to position Patriot BTC within a publicly traded entity, whether through a separation or another transaction structure. The Company is evaluating potential structures to accomplish this objective and has not selected or approved a specific transaction structure.

Milton "Todd" Ault III, Executive Chairman of Hyperscale Data, stated, "Patriot BTC reflects our belief that the Company's Bitcoin mining business can create greater long-term value with a distinct identity, focused leadership and a strategy tailored to the digital asset sector. We believe greater focus and transparency will allow stockholders and the market to evaluate the mining business on its own merits."

Mr. Ault continued, "We continue to believe Bitcoin mining can be viable as a focused, single-purpose business. However, Bitcoin mining and AI data center development have different capital requirements, operating priorities and value drivers. Separating the businesses is intended to give each a clearer mandate and allow us to remain focused on positioning the Michigan facility for a potential sale, public-company transaction or internally funded development."

Under the proposed structure, Patriot BTC's management could focus on mining economics, fleet performance, power costs and related infrastructure, while the management of Alliance Cloud Services and Sentinum could focus on financing, developing and strategically positioning the Michigan AI data center.

Proposed Transaction

The formation of Patriot BTC has not yet been completed, and no transaction structure or separation involving Patriot BTC has been approved at this time.

Any proposed transaction involving Patriot BTC would be subject to, among other things:

- Approval by the Hyperscale Data Board of Directors;

- Applicable federal and state securities laws;

- Applicable NYSE American and other trading-market requirements;

- Tax and accounting considerations;

- Determination of the appropriate capitalization of Patriot BTC;

- Selection and implementation of an appropriate transaction structure; and

- Other legal, regulatory and business conditions deemed appropriate by the Company.

There can be no assurance that Patriot BTC will be formed as currently contemplated, that any proposed transaction involving Patriot BTC will be approved or completed, that Patriot BTC will become publicly traded, or as to the timing or final structure of any such transaction.

Hyperscale Data expects to provide additional information regarding Patriot BTC, including its capitalization, the final mining assets to be contributed, the proposed transaction structure and its anticipated trading and reporting structure, as those matters are determined and approved.

For more information on Hyperscale Data and its subsidiaries, Hyperscale Data recommends that stockholders, investors and any other interested parties read Hyperscale Data's public filings and press releases available under the Investor Relations section at hyperscaledata.com or available at www.sec.gov.

About Hyperscale Data, Inc.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary Sentinum, Inc., Hyperscale Data owns and operates a data center at which it offers colocation and hosting services for the emerging AI ecosystems and other industries. Another of Hyperscale Data's wholly owned subsidiaries, Ault Capital Group, Inc. ("ACG"), is a hybrid private equity firm and operating company that acquires, finances, builds and actively manages businesses across financial services, digital assets, industrial services, hospitality, defense technologies and other sectors.

Hyperscale Data currently expects the divestiture of ACG (the "Divestiture") to occur in 2027. Upon the occurrence of the Divestiture, the Company would be an owner and operator of data centers to support high-performance computing services, as well as a holder of the digital assets and the third wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Omnipresent Robotics, LLC. Until the Divestiture occurs, the Company will continue to provide, through ACG and its wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries and strategic investments, mission-critical products that support a diverse range of industries, including an AI software platform, equipment rental services, defense/aerospace, industrial, automotive and hotel operations. In addition, ACG is actively engaged in private credit and structured finance through Ault Lending, LLC, a licensed lending subsidiary. Hyperscale Data's headquarters are located at 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 190, Las Vegas, NV 89141.

On December 23, 2024, the Company issued one million (1,000,000) shares of a newly designated Series F Exchangeable Preferred Stock (the "Series F Preferred Stock") to all common stockholders and holders of the Series C Preferred Stock on an as-converted basis. The Divestiture will occur through the voluntary exchange of the Series F Preferred Stock for shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock of ACG (collectively, the "ACG Shares"). The Company reminds its stockholders that only those holders of the Series F Preferred Stock who agree to surrender such shares, and do not properly withdraw such surrender, in the exchange offer through which the Divestiture will occur, will be entitled to receive the ACG Shares and consequently be shareholders of ACG upon the occurrence of the Divestiture.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "may," "will," "should," "could," "potential," or similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. More information, including potential risk factors, that could affect the Company's business and financial results are included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. All filings are available at www.sec.gov and on the Company's website at hyperscaledata.com.

SOURCE Hyperscale Data Inc.

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Akto believes its placement reflects its platform approach across the full life cycle of agentic applications: discovery, automated AI red teaming, AI runtime controls and guardrails, and AI agent execution visibility.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Akto, the leader in Agentic AI Security and MCP Security, today announced it has been named a Pioneer in the 2026 Gartner® Emerging Market Quadrant for AI Application Security — Startup Vendors.

According to the report, Gartner defines the AI application security market as "technologies that protect enterprise-developed AI applications and agents by combining security testing, exposure management, and runtime defense to detect, alert, or block threats. Delivered via SaaS or on-premises technologies, these tools enable cybersecurity and risk teams to manage posture, conduct adversarial testing, and enforce real-time protection of AI applications."

The report identifies three core capabilities that define the market: automated AI discovery and inventory, automated AI security testing, and AI runtime defense.

Pioneer status recognizes Akto as an AI Security vendor that shows architecturally advanced approaches across the full life cycle of agentic AI applications, spanning AI discovery and AI Security posture management, automated AI security testing, AI runtime defense, and supervision of agent actions, session-level behavior, and tool interactions.

In Akto's view, Gartner's introduction of a dedicated quadrant for AI security reflects the market's rapid commercial growth and rising enterprise demand. Recent incidents involving OpenAI and Hugging Face, along with a Google Gemini agent inadvertently accessing real-world company environments, demonstrate how quickly the scale and urgency of AI security and safety risks have intensified over the past few months.

"We're proud to see Akto recognized as a Pioneer in this very important emerging AI category by Gartner," said Ankita Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder of Akto. "Enterprises face security challenges on two fronts: adopting AI safely across their workforce and securely building AI applications and agents for their customers. Most organizations still lack the visibility and controls required to do either with confidence. Akto addresses the full breadth of this challenge through its two flagship products, Atlas and Argus. Fortune 1000 companies trust Akto's AI security control plane to discover, assess, govern, and protect AI across their environments."

Akto believes AI security is not a single control point but a continuous loop: discover what is running, test it, enforce policy at runtime, trace what happened, and feed that context back into governance. The platform delivers this in two products. Akto Atlas covers the governance of employee AI usage, helping security teams discover the AI apps, agents, MCP servers, skills, and plugins used across the workforce while applying runtime controls to those interactions. Akto Argus provides security for internally built AI applications and agents, with AI red teaming, runtime guardrails, AI Security gateway, MCP security controls, and execution visibility across agent activity.

Being named a Pioneer in Gartner EMQ adds to Akto's Gartner recognition across multiple areas of AI security. In 2026, Akto was also named a Sample Vendor for AI Security Testing in the Gartner Hype Cycle for AI Services, 2026; a Sample Vendor for AI Runtime Defense in the Gartner Hype Cycle for AI Governance, 2026; and a Sample Vendor for AI Runtime Defense in the Gartner Hype Cycle for Data Security Technologies, 2026. Akto was also named a Representative Vendor in Gartner's 2025 guide on securing AI agents.

Fortune 1000 organizations today trust Akto to confidently, securely, and safely adopt AI and build with AI.

Read more about the recognition here.

Gartner Disclaimer

Source: Gartner, Emerging Market Quadrant for AI Application Security — Startup Vendors, Meghan Hollis, Dionisio Zumerle, Dennis Xu, Marissa Schmidt, 16 September 2026, ID G00856640.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Akto

Akto is the leading Agentic AI Security platform, enabling enterprises to safely and securely adopt AI agents, MCPs, LLMs, and AI applications. The Akto platform provides continuous AI discovery, runtime guardrails, governance, AI security gateways, and automated red teaming, giving organizations a unified AI security control plane across their environments. Learn more at www.akto.io.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Akto

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Ultra-compact, low-power 10G/5G/2.5G Ethernet PHY family brings standards-based connectivity and flexible cabling to robots, autonomous vehicles and intelligent machines

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Aeonsemi, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company specializing in Ethernet connectivity and timing technologies, today announced the Praxium™ family of multi-gigabit Ethernet PHYs for Physical AI applications. Delivering data rates up to 10 Gbps in an ultra-compact 6 × 6 mm QFN package, Praxium™ brings high-speed, low-power and low-latency Ethernet connectivity to cameras, LiDAR, zone controllers and network backbones in robots, vehicles and intelligent machines.

Designed for automotive-grade reliability, Praxium™ supports IEEE 802.3ch multi-gigabit Ethernet over shielded twisted pair (STP) while extending connectivity to additional cabling and connector options, including coax and miniature twinax (mini-twinax). This cabling flexibility, together with Ethernet's high-speed data aggregation capabilities, enables system designers to optimize cable weight and routing through space-constrained mechanical joints and address demanding electromagnetic environments while maintaining a common, scalable Ethernet architecture from distributed sensors and actuators to central AI compute.

Ethernet: The Connectivity Fabric for Physical AI

Artificial intelligence is quickly extending from the digital world into the physical world. Robots, autonomous vehicles and intelligent machines increasingly rely on large numbers of physically distributed cameras, LiDAR, sensors and actuators that must exchange data with AI compute platforms in real time. These systems require connectivity that delivers high bandwidth, deterministic low latency, time synchronization, reliability, scalability, security and cost efficiency. At the same time, the multiple connectivity protocols traditionally used across automotive and industrial control systems can increase system complexity and create performance and scalability challenges as Physical AI systems grow.

Backed by a large, open IEEE ecosystem, Ethernet provides a unified, scalable architecture covering low-speed control, multi-gigabit sensor connectivity and high-speed network backbones, while serving as the foundation for technologies such as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), precision time synchronization and secure networking. With its scalability, interoperability and established ecosystem, Ethernet is emerging as the connectivity fabric for Physical AI.

Bringing Multi-Gigabit Ethernet to Physical AI

Published in 2020, IEEE 802.3ch standardized 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps automotive Ethernet connectivity over a single balanced pair. Praxium™ builds on this standards-based foundation with a new generation of PHYs optimized for power consumption, footprint and cabling requirements of Physical AI systems, enabling the design of smaller, more cost-efficient Ethernet-based sensors and media converters.

"The IEEE 802.3ch standard established a powerful foundation for multi-gigabit single-pair Ethernet," said Yunteng Huang, CEO of Aeonsemi. "With Praxium™, we have dramatically reduced the power and footprint required to deploy that technology while expanding the cabling options available to system designers. We believe Praxium™ PHYs make standards-based multi-gigabit Ethernet practical for a much broader class of Physical AI systems, including humanoid robots, autonomous machines and industrial automation."

The additional cabling options allow system designers to select the physical medium best suited to each connection, optimizing cable weight, diameter, routing flexibility, EMC performance and cost while maintaining a common Ethernet network across sensors, actuators and backbones.

Praxium™ PHY Family

The Praxium™ PHY family includes single-port and multi-port devices addressing sensor, media-converter and network-backbone applications:

- AS31010: Single-port 10G/5G/2.5G PHY

- AS31510: Single-port 5G/2.5G PHY

- AS31210: Single-port 2.5G PHY

- AS31040: Quad-port 10G/5G/2.5G PHY

Key Benefits of Praxium™ PHYs

- IEEE 802.3ch-compliant: 10GBASE-T1, 5GBASE-T1 and 2.5GBASE-T1 operation for interoperability with other compliant PHYs

- Ultra-low power: As low as 350 mW total chip power for asymmetric 10 Gbps sensor links utilizing Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) on the lower speed uplink

- Ultra-compact footprint: Single-port devices are packaged in a compact 6 × 6 mm QFN package, enabling smaller sensors and media converters

- Expanded cabling: IEEE 802.3ch-compliant operation over STP, with additional support for coax and mini-twinax, enabling designers to optimize cable weight, diameter, routing, EMC performance and cost

- Flexible power delivery: Support for Power over Coax (PoC) and Power over Data Lines (PoDL), reducing cabling requirements for distributed sensors

- Precision synchronization and TSN: IEEE 1588 and IEEE 802.1AS/gPTP support enables precise time synchronization for sensor fusion and TSN-based networks

- Link-layer security: Integrated IEEE 802.1AE MACsec engine supports secure link-layer Ethernet communications

- Automotive-grade reliability: Designed for AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualification

Availability

Praxium™ AS31x1x devices are sampling now with lead customers. Volume production is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. Evaluation boards and reference designs are available through Aeonsemi and its authorized distribution partners. For more information, visit aeonsemi.com.

About Aeonsemi

Aeonsemi is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in connectivity and timing technologies for AI infrastructure and Physical AI. The company's connectivity portfolio includes time-aware, high-speed Ethernet products spanning Base-T, Ethernet-over-coax and Base-T1 technologies for networking and Physical AI applications, including robotics, automotive and intelligent industrial systems. Its timing portfolio includes all-silicon oscillators, precision TCXOs and synchronization devices for data centers and Physical AI systems. The company is backed by leading global venture capital firms, including Walden International, IDG Capital, Susquehanna International Group and Sequoia Capital. For more information, visit www.aeonsemi.com.

SOURCE Aeonsemi Technologies, Inc

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Fortrade Warns Consumers of Clone Website Falsely Using Its Name

LONDON, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortrade is urging consumers to be vigilant after the Financial Conduct Authority published a warning on 17 August 2026 about a website, fortradelimited.com, that has been contacting people while falsely claiming to be Fortrade Limited. The FCA has confirmed that fortradelimited.com is not authorised and has no connection whatsoever to the genuine, FCA-authorised firm.

Chris Warburton, CEO of Fortrade, said the firm takes the matter seriously and wanted clients and prospective clients to have clear, direct guidance. "Clone firms rely on confusion. They borrow a genuine company's name and reputation to make contact feel legitimate, so the most effective response is making it simple for people to check who they are actually dealing with."

How to verify you are dealing with the genuine Fortrade

The FCA warning confirms the details of the genuine, authorised firm, including its Firm Reference Number, 609970. Fortrade's own website is www.fortrade.com, and any communication claiming to be from Fortrade should be checked against contact details verified through official channels rather than details supplied in the message itself.

The FCA operates a Firm Checker tool that allows anyone to confirm whether a financial firm is authorised and to find verified contact details for that firm. Fortrade is directing consumers to use this tool directly, rather than relying on a phone number, email address, or website link received unprompted.

Why this distinction matters

Dealing with an unauthorised clone firm carries real consequences. The FCA warning is explicit that anyone who deals with the clone firm will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service if a complaint arises, and will not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if things go wrong, meaning it is unlikely they would recover their money if the firm were to fail. Genuine clients of Fortrade Limited are not affected by this clone in any way, and the firm's own operations, accounts, and platforms remain unchanged.

Warburton added that this kind of impersonation has become more common across the financial sector generally. "This is not unique to Fortrade. Clone firms target the names of regulated companies across the industry precisely because that name carries trust. Our advice is the same we would give about any unexpected contact from a financial firm: verify first, using the regulator's own tools, before sharing any information or sending any money."

Anyone who believes they have been approached by the clone firm, or any other unauthorised firm claiming to be Fortrade, can report it directly to the FCA by calling 0800 111 6768. As with any leveraged product, CFD trading carries a high level of risk, and traders should ensure they understand that risk before opening a position with any provider, genuine or otherwise.

About Fortrade

Fortrade is an international provider of online CFD trading services, offering access to over 500 instruments including forex pairs, indices, commodities, shares, and metals through its proprietary Fortrader platform and MetaTrader 4. The company operates through multiple regulated entities worldwide, including the one authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Fortrade provides a Trading Academy covering webinars, courses, video tutorials, and market analysis resources. Client funds are held in accordance with regulatory requirements across all jurisdictions in which the company operates.

SOURCE Fortrade

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Owl Ventures Welcomes NBA Legend Chris Paul as Venture Partner

Paul joins Owl's global platform to support founders building the future of learning and work

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Owl Ventures, the world's largest venture capital firm focused on education and workforce innovation, today announced that NBA legend, entrepreneur, and community leader Chris Paul has joined the firm as Venture Partner.

As Venture Partner, Paul will support founders, convene strategic partners, and bring perspective and relationships that help portfolio companies expand their reach and impact. The role builds on his longstanding focus on mentorship, leadership development, and expanding opportunity across communities, while deepening his work with founders and businesses beyond sports.

With more than $2.2 billion in committed capital, three global offices, and over 100 investments, Owl Ventures backs companies helping people learn, prepare for work, advance in their careers, and build skills throughout life. Owl's portfolio companies collectively reach more than 700 million users globally.

"Education is where real change starts," said Chris Paul. "That can happen in a classroom, through a trade, with a mentor, or through the lessons you learn from family and community. My upbringing was rooted in placing value on work ethic, ownership, and opportunity and how access to those things can change a person's life. Owl shares that same belief in helping build companies that can have real impact and give more people access to the tools and opportunities they need to move forward."

As president of the National Basketball Players Association for eight years, Paul represented players through major business and labor issues, built consensus across the league, and helped advance player empowerment and economic opportunity. That experience directly informs the perspective he brings to founders at Owl.

"Chris Paul has spent his career doing what great point guards do: seeing the floor, recognizing potential, and helping others succeed," said Ian Chiu, Managing Partner of Owl Ventures. "That instinct has always extended beyond basketball. As a leader, entrepreneur, and community builder, Chris has used his platform to expand opportunity and help people move forward. We are thrilled to welcome him to Owl as Venture Partner as we continue backing companies that help people learn, build skills, and reach their potential."

As AI reshapes how people learn, work, and build careers, lifelong learning and the ability to turn new skills into opportunity are becoming essential. We believe the companies defining this next era will pair technology with an even greater emphasis on real-world context, trusted relationships, and human insight.

"From the beginning, Owl Ventures has been built around a simple belief: learning is one of the most powerful drivers of human potential and economic progress," said Tom Costin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Owl Ventures. "Our approach has always been to bring more than capital to the founders building transformative companies in education and workforce innovation. In a rapidly changing landscape, deep sector insight, relationships, and practical support in reaching the people they serve matter more than ever. Chris adds a powerful new dimension to that work."

About Owl Ventures

Owl Ventures is the world's largest venture capital firm focused on education and workforce innovation. With more than $2.2 billion in committed capital, the firm partners with transformative companies helping people learn, prepare for work, advance in their careers, and build skills throughout life. Owl Ventures leverages its global network, sector expertise, and strategic relationships to help founders scale category-defining companies that expand access, improve outcomes, and create economic opportunity. Owl's portfolio companies collectively serve more than 700 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.owlvc.com.

About Chris Paul

Chris Paul is an NBA legend, entrepreneur, investor, and community leader whose impact extends well beyond basketball. He served eight years as president of the National Basketball Players Association, representing players through major business, labor, and organizational issues during a transformative period for the league. Off the court, Paul has built and invested in businesses across sports, media, and consumer products. For more than two decades, Paul and his family have created opportunities for young people through the Chris Paul Family Foundation. His education work includes establishing the Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports course at several HBCUs with Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse and creating Club 61, a youth leadership program focused on financial literacy, education and technology, civic responsibility, and leadership development.

Media Contact:

Malvika Bhagwat

[email protected]

SOURCE Owl Ventures

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The 140th Canton Fair to Open on Oct. 15 with Over 220,000 Pre-registered Overseas Buyers

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 140th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) will take place in Guangzhou from October 15 to November 4, 2026. Over 220,000 overseas buyers from 197 countries and regions have already completed pre-registration, with professional buyers accounting for nearly 80%. Marking the 70th anniversary of its founding, the upcoming Canton Fair features innovation, intelligence, greater specialization and higher quality:

Innovation and Green Manufacturing Take Center Stage

The 140th Canton Fair will feature over 32,000 exhibiting enterprises. More than 11,000 of these are recognized as "Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative" (SRDI) firms or industry champions.

The Canton Fair fully demonstrates the ongoing transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, with 64% of exhibitors now applying industrial internet and artificial intelligence technologies in their operations. New and green products will account for 23.2% and 26% of all exhibits respectively, both reaching historical highs.

AI and Digital Intelligence Empower the Sourcing Journey

The 140th Canton Fair has further elevated its digital and intelligent capabilities. It deeply integrates technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data into all aspects of event operation. For the first time, the fair will deploy 22 smart application scenarios and 16 AI-specific features throughout the exhibition process. It is the first in China's exhibition industry to realize booth-level navigation and AR information display. Among these innovations, the full-scene booth-level navigation covers all halls for the first time, delivering meter-level precise navigation services for more than 75,000 booths.

Upgrading Full-chain Trade Services

For the first time, the Fair achieves full coverage of 10 categories of producer services. Ranging from logistics and warehousing, design and R&D to overseas integrated services and cross-border investment and financing, it provides one-stop trade services for products, brands and enterprises to explore the international market. There will be over 700 New Collection events at this session, representing a 15% increase in the number of debuts. New Collection Gallery is set up for the first time to facilitate supplier-buyer matching. To boost communication and matchmaking, seven high-quality forums will be held centering on four major themes: expanding markets, mitigating risks, researching trends and fostering innovation.

Zhu Yong, Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre, stated: "We will continue to build smart exhibition halls and a smart Canton Fair, offering exhibitors and buyers a full-journey, full-chain and full-scenario service ecosystem to comprehensively upgrade the experience."

For pre-registration, please click: https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

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Starting as early as sixth grade, students can explore college and degree options by using their MAP Growth scores

BOSTON, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, released today an enhanced free online tool that helps middle and high school students map their path to college. Starting in middle school, students can enter their MAP Growth assessment scores into the NWEA College Explorer to see how their current performance estimates their potential ACT and SAT scores. The tool then provides matching post-secondary schools that have historically admitted similarly scoring students.

"One of the key factors of student success is having the right information to help them see a clear path to what they want after they graduate," said Dr. Susan Kowalski, Lead Research Scientist at NWEA. "Having data that gives them options and the time to make decisions before opportunities diminish is why we developed this free online tool."

The NWEA College Explorer also allows students to see whether they are on track for a specific college or university and explore majors that may be a good fit based on their scores. For example, a seventh grader interested in engineering who scores a 222 on the fall MAP Growth math assessment is projected to meet the SAT math score typically expected for admissions at most colleges and universities, but fall below the expected ACT math score. These insights can help students identify areas for growth, set academic goals, and have more informed conversations with teachers and school counselors about their post-secondary pathways.

View the NWEA College Explorer Tool: https://www.nwea.org/mapping-the-road-to-college/

About NWEA

NWEA®, a division of HMH, supports educators worldwide by providing responsive, evidence-based assessment solutions that illuminate learning needs and fuel student growth. For more than 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K–12 assessments, including its flagship assessment – MAP Growth, and professional learning that helps educators strengthen their practice and improve student outcomes. As part of its commitment to bring valuable insights to the education community, NWEA engages in research that examines issues that shed light on inequities and other barriers to academic opportunities. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA partners to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Communications Director, [email protected] or 971.361.9526

SOURCE NWEA

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The commitment supports veterans, reservists, military families and service leavers across Quest Global's UK operations.

BANGALORE, India, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Global Engineering Services Limited, has signed the UK Armed Forces Covenant, formalising its commitment in supporting the members of the Armed Forces community veterans, reservists, service leavers and military families.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a commitment by organisations across the United Kingdom to recognise the contribution of those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces and to ensure they are treated fairly in employment and other aspects of public life.

Through this commitment, Quest Global will support employment opportunities for veterans and service leavers, provide support for military spouses and partners, and offer flexibility for employees who serve as reservists.

Chris Reed, Operations Manager and Armed Forces Champion at Quest Global, said, "Signing the Armed Forces Covenant reflects our commitment to supporting members of the Armed Forces community across our UK operations. We recognise the valuable skills, experience and perspectives that veterans, reservists, service leavers and military families bring to the workplace, and we are pleased to formalise this commitment through the Covenant."

As part of its commitment, Quest Global will continue initiatives designed to increase awareness and understanding of the Armed Forces community and support an inclusive working environment for employees connected with military service.

The signing of the Armed Forces Covenant reflects Quest Global's commitment to supporting diverse talent and fostering an inclusive workplace across its operations.

About Quest Global

Quest Global is a global engineering services company that supports customers across a range of industries, including Aerospace & Defence, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, MedTech & Healthcare, Rail and Semiconductor. The company operates in more than 20 countries with engineering and delivery centres worldwide.

SOURCE Quest Global

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New Trebinje Hospital Sets Benchmark for Modern Healthcare Construction with PENETRON Technology

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The completion of the new Trebinje Hospital marks one of the most significant infrastructure developments in the region's recent history. Located in the Pridvorci neighborhood of Trebinje, a city of ca. 32,000 inhabitants, this state-of-the-art medical facility represents a major investment by the Government of Republika Srpska, aimed at transforming healthcare delivery across eastern Herzegovina.

With a total investment of approximately $75.4 million (€65 million / ≈128 million BAM), the 17,500 m² facility was designed to meet stringent energy efficiency standards and modern medical requirements. The hospital provides 223 beds, six operating rooms, advanced diagnostic capabilities—including MRI and CT—and fully equipped emergency and intensive care units.

At the core of the structure is a reinforced concrete frame system incorporating modern thermal insulation materials. A critical element of the project—the 22 cm thick monolithic reinforced concrete roof slab spanning approximately 6,500 m²—was enhanced with PENETRON ADMIX, a crystalline admixture, to ensure permanent waterproofing protection throughout the concrete matrix.

Unlike conventional surface-applied systems, the Penetron crystalline technology works from within the concrete, forming insoluble crystals to block water penetration and significantly increase long-term durability. This approach is particularly important for healthcare facilities, where structural integrity and protection against moisture are essential for uninterrupted operations and long service life.

Construction of the roof slab was carried out by Herc Gradnja, a local contractor with strong technical expertise.

Beyond its technical achievements, the new hospital also represents the largest healthcare investment in eastern Herzegovina. It serves not only Trebinje and the surrounding region, including cross-border patients from Montenegro and Croatia. The facility will introduce medical services and technologies previously unavailable in the region, reducing the need for patients to travel to distant urban centers.

"Completed at the end of 2025, the Trebinje hospital stands as a flagship project—combining modern construction standards, advanced medical infrastructure, and durable waterproofing solutions," adds Theodor Mentzikofakis, Managing Director and Partner of Penetron Hellas. "With the specification of Penetron technology, the facility is built to perform reliably for decades, supporting the next generation of healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

The Penetron Group is a leading manufacturer of specialty construction products for concrete waterproofing, concrete repairs, and floor preparation systems. The Group operates through a global network, offering support to the design and construction community through its regional offices, representatives, and distribution channels.

For more information on Penetron waterproofing solutions, please visit penetron.com or Facebook.com/ThePenetronGroup,

SOURCE The Penetron Group

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