CHICAGO, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Four of Ireland's most powerful young kickers will compete for the title of Ireland's Kicking King on Saturday, November 7, at halftime of the Northwestern-Iowa game at the new Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. Ireland's Kicking King: The Road to Ryan Field is a nationwide search for the island's best untapped kicking talent, open to athletes ages 16 to 24, most of whom have never kicked an American football. The final puts all four in front of an American football audience, giving them visibility as they pursue a path to play in the United States. FM, a leader in commercial property insurance, has been named the presenting partner of the competition.

PHOTO ASSETS BY TYLER WHITE, LEADER KICKING

The competition builds on a growing record of Irish kickers in American football. Athletes from Leader Kicking have earned more than $3 million in college scholarships, and more than 20 are active in Division I and the NFL. Leader Kicking alumnus Charlie Smyth made a 56-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints on his first NFL attempt last November, a record distance for an Irish-born player.

This year, Ryan Sports Ventures, the sports investment arm of the Ryan family, the lead donor for Ryan Field, and a minority owner of the Chicago Bears and AFC Bournemouth, has partnered with Leader Kicking to build a program to raise awareness of elite kicking talent being developed in Ireland. The program includes the final at Ryan Field, a feature documentary, and a University of Notre Dame study of the biomechanics of kicking.

The road to the final began in August, when more than 1,000 athletes attended ten free tryouts across Ireland. The top 20 kicked at halftime of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between TCU and North Carolina on August 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where Patrick Gaynor made a 61-yard kick. From there, the top 10 kickers have been part of an elite training group in Dublin and will travel to Chicago, where Ireland's Kicking King will be crowned on Ryan Field, the new $875 million home of Northwestern football that opened on October 2, 2026.

Led by presenting partner FM, Ireland's Kicking King is also sponsored by Meta, Amazon Web Services, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"At FM, we believe that hard work, resilience and a commitment to constant progress can help people accomplish big things," said Randy Hodge, chief operating officer of FM. "We're proud to support this competition and celebrate the dedication these athletes have shown on their journey to Ryan Field."

FM is an Official Partner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the title sponsor of the FM Championship on the LPGA Tour. It is a principal partner for the men's and women's Boston Common Golf teams, part of TGL presented by SoFi. FM also sponsors athletes including professional golfer and Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, a native of County Down in Northern Ireland, and two LPGA Tour stars Lottie Woad and Megan Khang.

The Ryan family backs the competition to widen access to education for young Irish athletes through college scholarships. The family also invests in sports technology through Ryan Sports Ventures and has put its portfolio and sports network behind Ireland's Kicking King to expand the program's reach. To support the program, Ryan Sports Ventures brought in performance technology: Playermaker foot-mounted sensors and Trackman radar tracked each athlete and every ball's flight, and kickers wore Oakley Meta glasses that captured first-person footage on the field at Aviva Stadium. That data feeds the Notre Dame study, the first large dataset on how kicking talent is identified and developed.

"Ireland's Kicking King gives young Irish athletes a real path to a college education in the United States," said Rob Ryan, managing partner of Ryan Sports Ventures. "More than 32 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, and we are proud to be among them. Thanks to our partners at FM, on November 7, four Irish kickers will be showcased in front of an American football audience to show what they can do."

Brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader founded Leader Kicking, and Tadhg Leader previously served as the NFL's kicking and punting coach for the International Player Pathway. The academy's athletes have held NFL positions with the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, and Atlanta Falcons. Smyth, a teacher and Gaelic football goalkeeper from Mayobridge, had taken up American football about two years before his record kick on Nov. 30, 2025.

"Every kicker who walks out at Ryan Field started at a free tryout on a pitch somewhere in Ireland," said Tadhg Leader, Founder of Leader Kicking. "A few months ago, most of them had never kicked an American football. On November 7, their families, their communities, and all of Ireland will be behind them. FM understands better than anyone that performance under pressure is decided long before the moment arrives, by the commitment to continuous improvement and lasting progress. That's how they protect their clients, and it's how these athletes have earned their place. We're delighted to have them on board. The talent was always here; it just needed a road to follow, and all roads lead to Ryan Field."

A feature documentary follows the competition from the tryouts to Aviva Stadium to Ryan Field. Storyman Studio, whose team has been nominated for an Emmy, is producing it, with distribution led by Peter Hutton. Sky Sports will carry the film in the U.K., and DAZN will carry it internationally. U.S. and Irish distribution is being finalized and will be announced in the coming weeks.

About Leader Kicking:

Leader Kicking recruits and trains kicking talent from Ireland for American football. Founded by brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader, the academy has helped its athletes earn more than $3 million in college scholarships and has more than 20 athletes active in Division I and the NFL. For more information, visit leaderkicking.com.

About Ryan Sports Ventures:

Ryan Sports Ventures is the sports investment arm of the Ryan family. It invests and operates across sports properties, technology, and media, and the family's holdings include minority ownership of the Chicago Bears and AFC Bournemouth. For more information, visit ryansports.com.

About FM:

Established nearly two centuries ago, FM is a leading mutual insurance company whose capital, scientific research capability and engineering expertise are solely dedicated to property risk management and the resilience of its policyholder-owners. These owners, who share the belief that the majority of property loss is preventable, represent many of the world's largest organizations, including one of every four Fortune 500 companies. They work with FM to better understand the hazards that can impact their business continuity to make cost-effective risk management decisions, combining property loss prevention with insurance protection.

Follow FM on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Visit our newsroom for updates on FM, and listen to our podcast, Sound Policy, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Media Contact:

Lauren Renschler

William Raymond Communications

[email protected]

310-463-0863

Brian Amaral

FM

[email protected]

+1 (315) 854-2675

SOURCE Leader Kicking; FM

Share this article

INDOCHINO takes its story to the street with "This Just In," a newspaper inspired Black Friday campaign set in the city, with up to 40% off made-to-measure suits

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- INDOCHINO, the made-to-measure menswear brand with showrooms across the United States and Canada, today announced "This Just In," a newspaper inspired Black Friday campaign set in the city. The campaign goes live October 28 in showrooms and at indochino.com, with made-to-measure suits up to 40% off. Exclusions apply.

Key facts

- Campaign: "This Just In," Read All About It: Black Friday's Here at INDOCHINO

- Campaign period: October 28 through December 7, 2026

- Where: More than 55 INDOCHINO showrooms across the United States and Canada, and at indochino.com

- Offer: Buy More, Save More on made-to-measure suits, 30% off one, 35% off two, 40% off three or more

- Offers stay the same through December 7

The campaign treats the season like breaking news. Oversized newsprint headlines, city streets and front-page layouts carry one message to every client who passes a window, a poster or a screen: Black Friday's here at INDOCHINO. In showrooms, windows become front pages of their own, carrying a masthead, "The INDOCHINO Edition," and the same story runs across email, social, paid media, out of home and direct mail.

It is the next chapter of a story INDOCHINO has been telling all season. After months spent showing clients how to hold a room, the brand steps outside, into the city, where the headlines are.

"At INDOCHINO, Black Friday is a front-page story: up to 40% off made-to-measure suits, and the offers stay the same from October 28 through December 7," said Drew Green, President & CEO of INDOCHINO. "We spent the fall teaching people how to hold a room, and this season we wanted the whole city to hear about it."

Showrooms are where the story lands. Style Guides in every showroom are ready to help clients find their fit and put together the wardrobe that works for them.

The offer

Studio suits start at $399 USD / $499 CAD and sit outside the offers. At the center of the campaign is a Buy More, Save More offer on suits: 30% off one suit, 35% off two and 40% off three or more. Around it, the offer runs across the wardrobe:

- Shirts: 20% off one, 30% off three and 35% off five or more

- Clearance: up to 60% off

- In-showroom only: ready to wear suits are 30% off, cable knitwear and select accessories are 50% off and clients can choose one free accessory from a curated assortment with the purchase of any suit

The offers hold steady from October 28 through Cyber Monday and until the campaign closes on December 7, so there is room to plan a visit rather than race a countdown. Appointment times and favorite fabrics go quickly, and clients are encouraged to book a showroom appointment or start an order online now. Exclusions apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "This Just In"? 

"This Just In" is INDOCHINO's 2026 Black Friday campaign. Set in the city and styled as breaking news, it carries one headline, "Read All About It: Black Friday's Here at INDOCHINO," across showroom windows, signage and every channel. 

When does the campaign run? 

October 28 through December 7, 2026, across more than 55 showrooms throughout the United States and Canada, and online at indochino.com. 

What is the main Black Friday offer? 

Buy More, Save More on suits: 30% off one suit, 35% off two suits and 40% off three or more suits. 

What other offers are included? 

Online and in showrooms, shirts are 20% off one, 30% off three and 35% off five or more. Outerwear, blazers, and pants are 30% off, and clearance is up to 60% off. In showrooms only, ready to wear suits are 30% off, cable knitwear and select accessories are 50% off, and clients can choose one free accessory from a curated assortment with the purchase of any suit. 

Does the offer change on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? 

No. The offers stay the same from October 28 through December 7. 

Which Black Friday offers are available online? 

The Buy More, Save More suit offer, shirts, outerwear, blazers, pants and clearance are available online at indochino.com and in showrooms. Ready to wear suits, cable knitwear, select accessories and the free accessory are available in showrooms only. 

What is excluded? 

The Studio collection, also known as Studio Hexham and priced at $399 USD / $499 CAD, is excluded from all Buy More, Save More offers. The Black Label collection and FW26 accessories are also excluded from all offers, and clearance product is excluded from the Buy More, Save More suit tiers. 

Do clients need an appointment to shop in a showroom? 

Appointments are recommended. Appointment times and popular fabrics go quickly, and Style Guides in every showroom can help clients find their fit. 

Where can I find an INDOCHINO showroom?

INDOCHINO showrooms across the United States and Canada are listed at indochino.com/showrooms.

Who can I contact with questions about this announcement? 

For PR and partnership inquiries, contact [email protected]. 

About INDOCHINO

Founded in 2007, INDOCHINO is a global leader in made-to-measure apparel, operating a growing network of showrooms across the United States and Canada alongside a robust e-commerce platform. The company delivers custom suits and apparel crafted to precise measurements, combining personalized service, accessible pricing, and scalable operations to modernize the tailoring industry.

For more information, visit www.indochino.com and follow INDOCHINO's social media channels.

SOURCE Indochino Apparel Inc.

Share this article

Global Health Forum Brings Cross-Industry Experts Together to Advance Trust-Centric Digital Care

Experts in healthcare, technology, life sciences and public health will examine AI governance, interoperable data, precision medicine and clinical deployment.

TAIPEI, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 Global Health and Welfare Forum will convene 43 speakers and moderators from 11 markets on Oct. 19â20 to explore "The Future of Global Care: Achieving Trust-Centric Digital Health." The program focuses on how artificial intelligence, interoperable health data, precision medicine and next-generation care models can move from research to practical use across hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical-device companies and care networks.

Rather than treating AI as a standalone technology story, the forum brings together experts who work across the healthcare value chain. Karen DeSalvo, M.D., former chief health officer at Google and professor at Tulane University School of Medicine, will examine how AI governance can be translated into platforms and operating models. Allen Hsiao, M.D., chief health information officer at Yale New Haven Health, will address digital maturity and AI transformation inside a major health system. John Gillman, who leads strategic health initiatives for Google in Asia Pacific, will discuss FHIR-based interoperability and population-health infrastructure.

The program also highlights commercial and translational expertise. Andrea Cavalli, director of CECAM at EPFL, will connect genomics, computational methods and drug discovery. Nick Watts, director of the Centre for Sustainable Medicine at the National University of Singapore, will explore AI applications in healthcare decarbonization. Long Phi Le, M.D., deputy director of the AI Research Institute at Mass General Brigham, will discuss patient foundation models. Austin L. Chiang, M.D., chief medical officer for endoscopy at Medtronic, will examine how large language models and computer vision are entering the operating room. Yu Shyr, Ph.D., chair of biostatistics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Joshua K. Lin, executive director of an integrated healthcare data research center at Mass General Brigham, will focus on real-world evidence, electronic health records and claims data for precision care.

The forum will also address community care, health informatics, medical imaging, surgical robotics, remote care and responsible algorithms, with contributions from leaders at the Task Force for Global Health, Duke University, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Sydney and other institutions.

Taiwan is one of the world's important semiconductor and ICT ecosystems. Technology companies, healthcare services and whole-person care sectors are introducing high-performance computing, AI accelerators and data platforms into medical research, clinical workflows and care services. IEK Consulting of the Industrial Technology Research Institute indicates that Taiwan's digital healthcare revenue was approximately NT$50.2 billion in 2022, representing a 10.1% year-over-year increase, with applications covering prevention, diagnosis, treatment, telehealth and hospital information systems. A 2023 survey by the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) of the Institute for Information Industry also showed that more than half of domestic smart healthcare companies intended to continue investing in smart healthcare product research and development. Among them, 57% of companies expected to increase their R&D headcount, while 65% planned to increase their investment in R&D costs. The above domestic industry data indicate that Taiwan's smart healthcare and medical AI are gradually advancing from technology research and development toward productization, clinical applications and implementation in care services.

Event information

- Event: 2026 Global Health and Welfare Forum

- Dates: Oct. 19â20, 2026

- Theme: The Future of Global Care: Achieving Trust-Centric Digital Health

- More information: https://www.ghwftw.org/

SOURCE Global Health and Welfare Forum

Share this article

Designation recognizes the potential of Neurapheresis to offer advantages over existing treatment options following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH)

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharaoh Neuro, Inc., (https://pharaohneuro.com), a medical device company developing innovative solutions for neurocritical care, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) to its Neurapheresis⢠Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Management System for the accelerated removal of blood and blood- breakdown products from the CSF of patients following aSAH.

Pharaoh Neuro is also participating in the Total Product Lifecycle Advisory Program (TAP) Pilot. BDD and TAP provide the opportunity for more frequent, interactive engagement with FDA and streamlined review as the company advances the Neurapheresis System toward potential marketing authorization.

"The Breakthrough Device Designation is a significant milestone for Pharaoh Neuro," said Amaza Reitmeier, Chief Executive Officer. "It validates our belief that Neurapheresis offers significant advantages over existing approved or cleared alternatives. We look forward to working closely with the agency to bring this technology to patients as quickly as possible."

Addressing an Unmet Need in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a form of hemorrhagic stroke affecting approximately 30,000 people in the United States each year1. It strikes a relatively young population2, and the consequences are lasting: roughly one in four survivors does not return to functional independence, and an estimated two-thirds are unable to return to their previous employment3.

After the aneurysm is secured, current standard of care relies on passive, open-loop drainage systems to manage CSF pressure while blood gradually clears from the CSF. No cleared or approved device is currently available to actively remove blood and blood-breakdown products from the CSF.

A Closed-Loop Approach to CSF Management

The Neurapheresis System represents a novel approach: a closed-loop, external, automated CSF management platform designed to aspirate, filter and return a patient's CSF, removing blood and blood-breakdown products without introducing replacement fluids. The safety and feasibility of the investigational system were evaluated in the PILLAR-XT4 clinical trial, published in Neurocritical Care.

"Significant clinical challenges remain in caring for patients following aSAH," said Spiros L. Blackburn, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery in the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and lead investigator of the PILLAR-XT study. "In PILLAR-XT, we demonstrated that active filtration accelerates removal of blood and its breakdown products from CSF. These patients have very few new options, and Breakthrough Device Designation is a promising step toward making Neurapheresis available for them."

"Breakthrough Device Designation is an important recognition of the clinical need we set out to address," said Nandan Lad, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Pharaoh Neuro and inventor of the Neurapheresis System. "We remain committed to a rigorous, evidence-based path forward with FDA as we work to bring an active approach to CSF management to patients and clinicians."

References

1 Xia C, Hoffman H, Anikpezie N, Philip K, Wee C, Choudhry R, Albright KC, Masoud H, Beutler T, Schmidt E, Gould G, Patel SD, Akano EO, Morris N, Chaturvedi S, Aneni E, Lamikanra O, Chin L, Latorre JG, Otite FO. Trends in the Incidence of Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhages in the United States, 2007-2017. Neurology. 2023 Jan 10;100(2):e123-e132.

2 Sabra, A., Philip, K., Levin-Carrion, Y., Ha, C. J., Sahoo, A., Huynh, T., Landzberg, D., Singla, A., Liu, J. K., Atchaneeyasakuul, K., Khandelwal, P., & Otite, F. O. (2026). Medical Complications After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Analysis of Trends in US Admissions from 2006 to 2022. Neurocritical Care, 44(3), 1025-1035.

3 Stokum JA, Cannarsa GJ, Wessell AP, Shea P, Wenger N, Simard JM. When the Blood Hits Your Brain: The Neurotoxicity of Extravasated Blood. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 12;22(10):5132..

4 Blackburn SL, Babi MA, Grande AW, Choudhri OA, Hauck EF, Kellner CP, Giordano MC, Lad SP, McCabe AR. Prospective Trial of Cerebrospinal Fluid Filtration After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage via Lumbar Catheter Extension (PILLAR-XT). Neurocrit Care. 2025;43:934â946

About Pharaoh Neuro

Pharaoh Neuro, Inc. is a Minneapolis-based medical device company developing novel technologies that give physicians and the patients they treat improved options during the most critical moments in neurointerventional care. The company combines decades of medical device and neurosurgical expertise with an aspiration to protect the brain.

For more information, visit https://pharaohneuro.com

About the FDA Breakthrough Devices Program

The Breakthrough Devices Program is a voluntary FDA program for medical devices that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions. To be eligible, a device must also meet at least one additional criterion: it represents a breakthrough technology, no approved or cleared alternatives exist, it offers significant advantages over existing approved or cleared alternatives, or its availability is in the best interest of patients. Designation is not an approval or clearance and does not authorize commercial sale in the U.S.

Important Safety and Regulatory Information

The Neurapheresis System is an investigational device, limited to investigational use under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE). It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). BDD does not change the investigational status of the device.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

(612) 900-2099

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to, among other things, the anticipated development and regulatory pathway for the Neurapheresis⢠CSF Management System. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks related to the development, regulatory review, and commercialization of medical devices. Pharaoh Neuro undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Pharaoh Neuro

Share this article

Teen Car Insurance for Only $153/mo, Quote.com Reports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Quote.com recently published a report on teen car insurance rates. Geico offers the best average premiums for young drivers at $153 a month.

Teen drivers have higher driving risks than any other age group and pay the highest rates because of it. However, with discounts and experience, teens can expect rates to decrease.

Top 10 Insurance Companies for Teens

Geico has the lowest average rates, but several companies offer competitive rates. The following are the top 10 companies for teen drivers and their average monthly premiums:

- Geico â $153

- State Farm â $178

- Auto Owners â $223

- Nationwide â $229

- American Family â $253

- Allstate â $318

- Farmers â $387

- Liberty Mutual â $398

- Progressive â $400

- Travelers â $443

Even though Travelers' rates are almost triple Geico's, these are averages, and individual quotes may be much closer. Melanie Musson, a nationally recognized car insurance expert with Quote.com, reminds readers, "Car insurance quotes are highly individualized. Averages provide a rough idea, but personalized quotes are accurate."

Discounts for Teen Drivers

Even though car insurance rates are expensive, discounts can help them become more affordable. State Farm offers up to a 35% discount for good students, and Liberty Mutual offers up to a 25% discount for students away at school.

All 10 companies listed above offer a good student discount. These discounts are typically reserved for high school and college students who earn a 3.0 grade point average.

Each of the 10 companies also offers an away-at-school discount. It's available for students who leave their car at home and attend college at least 100 miles away.

Rate Variances for Teen Drivers

Rates are higher for full coverage insurance than liability-only coverage. In the 10 companies Quote.com compared, full coverage rates were more than double liability rates at each company.

Teen females pay less for coverage than teen males. Young male drivers are more likely to be involved in a crash than young female drivers. In most states, teenage males pay significantly more than teenage females.

Driving records also impact premiums. If a new driver gets into an accident, gets a ticket, or is convicted of a DUI, their premiums can increase significantly.

Read Quote.com's entire report here: Cheap Auto Insurance for Teens.

SOURCE Quote.com

Share this article

Amity Ventures led the seed round for the advanced materials platform, with participation by Human Capital, Anti Fund, and Powerset

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- American Advanced Materials (AAM) today announced $12.5 million in seed funding led by Amity Ventures, with participation by Human Capital, Anti Fund, and Powerset. The company is developing an AI-native manufacturing platform for the advanced materials that underpin AI, energy, and defense, starting with titanium sponge. AAM will use the funding to grow its team and advance the front-end engineering and design of its manufacturing projects. The company plans to raise project financing to build and operate the integrated commercial facility. AAM's founding team members have previously designed, built, and operated the world's largest and most advanced titanium sponge and zirconium plants, both in the United States and abroad. They are joined by veterans of Tesla, ATI, TIMET, and Westinghouse.

Titanium sponge is the metal used by melters and alloy makers to manufacture America's most important aerospace and defense programs. The United States is home to some of the world's largest titanium melting operations, yet has produced no sponge since 2020. Meanwhile, titanium sponge imports hit a record 44,000 metric tons in 2025, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Industry experts project domestic demand to reach 60,000 metric tons over the coming 18 months, leaving America's industrial base fully exposed to foreign supply chains that are fragile, unreliable, and capacity constrained. AAM is supporting the most strategic interests of America and allies by restoring the critical midstream process manufacturing layer that sits between upstream mineral mining and downstream end-product fabrication.

"America has the feedstock, energy, and expertise to lead in manufacturing these materials again," said Alex Liegl, co-founder and CEO of AAM. "We aspire to build a next-generation DuPont, with globally competitive quality and cost as the starting point. Our goal is to make advanced materials abundant again so that their supply no longer limits what we can build."

AAM's first facility is designed with a vertically-integrated approach around the commercially proven Kroll process, drawing on the team's direct experience building and operating large-scale titanium sponge plants. It is the first step toward an integrated manufacturing platform for titanium group materials that can add related materials using shared feedstock, infrastructure, and process expertise.

In addition, AAM is developing zirconium oxychloride (ZOC), the key precursor for all zirconium and hafnium materials used in nuclear fuel, gas turbines, rockets, and AI chips. Today, America fully relies on Chinese imports of ZOC. Over time, AAM intends to extend this model to offer America and its allies an advanced materials platform that manufactures the building blocks for all of their most important strategic interests.

AAM has signed offtake letters of intent for its future production of titanium sponge and zirconium oxychloride materials worth over $1 billion. Its prospective customers include domestic melters and alloy makers that supply the aerospace, AI infrastructure, defense, and energy sectors.

"We're combining decades of process knowledge with modern engineering, AI, and robotics automation," said Diego Represas, co-founder, President, and Chief Technology Officer of AAM. "America doesn't need to wait for new technologies to lead the world in production cost, quality, and volume. What it needs is to build quickly. For AAM, the factory is the product. We design the plant, its software, and its operations as one system to carry what we learn into every future facility we build."

"The opportunity in advanced materials isn't simply to invent a new process. It's to rebuild the industrial capacity that America has lost," said Patrick Yang, Co-Founder and General Partner at Amity Ventures, which manages more than $2 billion in assets. "Alex and Diego have brought together the rare team, technical ambition, and urgency required to do that, starting with titanium sponge. We believe AAM has the potential to become a cornerstone of the next generation of American reindustrialization."

Liegl and Represas founded AAM in 2025 after years of considering solutions to the same problem: demand for AI, energy, and defense kept climbing, while the supply of the advanced materials required by America and its allies stayed flat or entirely vanished. Liegl previously founded Tenet Energy, a nationwide fintech platform for electric vehicles and home electrification backed by Human Capital, and Layer1, a renewable-energy bitcoin mining company backed by Peter Thiel. Represas, an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, previously founded Able AI, an AI data platform backed by Human Capital and Canapi Ventures, that was acquired by Moody's Corp. The two met as freshmen at Stanford University.

About American Advanced Materials

American Advanced Materials (AAM) is an AI-native advanced materials platform that manufactures the building blocks for AI, energy, and defense Our mission is to restore American leadership in the materials that underpin our most important strategic interests. Founded in 2025 and based in Mountain View, California and New York City, New York, AAM brings together America's top industry experts, industrial engineers, and AI talent to enable globally competitive production in the United States. Titanium sponge is its first commercial project, followed by zirconium oxychloride. Learn more at www.americanadvanced.com.

Media contact

Garrett Marquis | Throughline Global Advisors

[email protected]

SOURCE American Advanced Materials

Share this article

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Industrial Growth Partners ("IGP") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell AdvancedPCB Holdings, LLC ("AdvancedPCB" or the "Company") to Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH). The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in the United States and customary closing conditions.

Headquartered in Aurora, CO, AdvancedPCB is a leading independent North American provider of high-reliability printed circuit board ("PCB") solutions for mission-critical applications. Founded in 1977, the Company offers a wide array of PCB technologies for customers across the defense, aerospace and industrial markets from its six facilities in the United States.

IGP, together with members of the management team and certain outside co-investors, acquired AdvancedPCB in October 2021. Since that time, IGP worked with management to grow the Company, both organically and through a number of acquisitions, strengthen the Company's commercial and operational capabilities, and deepen its exposure to high-reliability end markets. Key initiatives included enhancing program management, expanding technical sales and engineering resources, and investing in manufacturing capacity, automation, and assembly capabilities. As a result, AdvancedPCB's performance improved significantly.

Greg Halvorson, CEO of AdvancedPCB, commented: "IGP has been an exceptional partner to AdvancedPCB, and their support and long-term perspective were critical as we created an integrated company serving our customers under a single brand. Their continued support has allowed us to invest in equipment, technology, and people at a time of growing demand from the aerospace & defense primes and emerging defense technology companies we serve. None of that progress would have been possible without our employees, and I want to thank them for their dedication. We look forward to building on this momentum as part of Amphenol."

Eric Heglie, Managing Partner at IGP, added: "AdvancedPCB's technical depth and capabilities in complex PCBs for mission-critical applications made it a compelling investment for IGP from the start. Through several add-on acquisitions, together with sustained investment in people, capacity, and technology, AdvancedPCB has become a leading independent PCB provider with a differentiated position in defense electronics. We are grateful to Greg and the entire AdvancedPCB team for the momentum they have created. Amphenol's reach across electronics and interconnect markets makes it well positioned to support AdvancedPCB's growth, and we wish the Company continued success."

Industrial Growth Partners, founded in 1997, is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $3.4 billion of equity capital raised since inception. The firm invests exclusively in middle-market companies in the industrial sector in partnership with management teams.

SOURCE Industrial Growth Partners

Share this article

Plato gives AI developers a repeatable way to train and test models on the tools, decisions, and constraints that shape real work

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Plato, a company building simulated workplaces where AI can learn to do real jobs, today announced a $16 million Series A funding round led by Nava Ventures, with participation from Gradient Ventures, Transpose Platform, and Microsoft AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman. Freddie Martignetti, founder of Nava Ventures, joins the board. The round brings Plato's total funding to $19 million, following a seed round led by Gradient Ventures.

As AI moves from answering questions to taking action, it needs practice using software, responding to changing circumstances, and completing multistep tasks. Plato gives AI labs realistic, repeatable environments where models can learn from feedback before operating in live systems.

"Mastering real complex work comes from experience doing those tasks," said Robert Farlow, co-founder and CEO of Plato. "We're building simulations that capture the tools, decisions, and unexpected situations those tasks involve, so AI models can gain experience in safe, contained environments before developers put them to work."

For AI labs, training models directly in live software can carry real consequences: A model learning to place an order could spend actual money, while one practicing an administrative task could alter real records. Plato recreates these workflows in simulations that can be reset and reused, giving labs a place to train and test models without affecting live operations.

Plato works with domain experts to recreate the tools, situations, and expectations that shape jobs in customer support, people operations, finance, accounting, and healthcare administration. AI labs use these environments for reinforcement learning, a process in which models attempt tasks and receive feedback that helps them improve. Plato is developing richer simulations involving longer sequences of work and interactions with simulated people.

Plato evaluates both the outcome and how a model reaches it. Completing a purchase, for example, should not count as success if the model exceeds the budget. Its evaluations also examine whether models exploit weaknesses in a simulation to earn a high score.

"The feedback a model receives shapes what it learns," said Pranav Putta, co-founder and CTO of Plato. "We build evaluations that reflect what the job actually requires, so developers can distinguish a high score from work done correctly. That means checking whether a model followed instructions, respected constraints, and completed the task."

Farlow and Putta bring firsthand experience building systems for AI training. Farlow built an annotation platform at Yutori to support training computer-use models. Putta's background includes research in computer vision, robotics, and reinforcement learning, as well as work training computer-use models at MultiOn.

"Robert and Pranav are deeply talented researchers and developers from Waterloo and Georgia Tech. They have developed a unique way to create high fidelity environments at scale, which is what initially drew us to the company," said Freddie Martignetti, Founder of Nava Ventures. "However, we quickly learned that Plato is really a data lab, working on the frontier of the field to support the world's best model development. We believe the work that Plato is doing is critical to unlocking the potential of AI at the enterprise level"

Plato will use the funding to expand its library of real-world work experience, paying professionals to recreate their jobs in simulated environments and deploying AI agents on real tasks to collect additional experience.

For more information, visit plato.so.

About Plato

Plato builds working simulations of real jobs and tasks for AI training and evaluation. Its environments combine realistic tools, situations, and task requirements so AI labs can train models on complex work and assess their performance in contained settings. Founded by Robert Farlow and Pranav Putta, Plato brings firsthand model-training experience and domain expertise to the challenge of making AI useful in the real world.

Founded in 2025 and based in San Francisco, Plato has raised $19 million in total funding. Investors include Nava Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Transpose Platform, and Microsoft AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman.

Dacyl Armendariz

[email protected] 

SOURCE Plato Technologies, Inc.

Share this article

Tata Communications to Build India's AI Super Highway

Planned USD 400 - 450 million investment to create 10,000 km of AI-ready connectivity infrastructure linking India's key data center and AI hubs

NEW DELHI, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Communications, a leading global communications technology player, today announced strategic investments of close to USD 450 million to build an AI super highway in India - a high-speed, low-latency network fabric connecting India's key AI data-centre corridors. The company will build around 10,000 kilometers of the new long-haul fiber across India, creating one of the country's largest AI-ready connectivity network. Integrated with Tata Communications' global network backbone, the AI super highway will provide customers with a seamless, end-to-end connectivity fabric, supporting the performance, resilience and scale required for next-generation AI workloads.

India's data centre industry is poised for significant growth in the near future, driven by accelerating cloud adoption, AI deployment, increasing data localisation requirements, and growing enterprise demand for resilient, high-capacity digital infrastructure. As data centre capacity expands rapidly across the country, connectivity is becoming as critical as compute power and energy availability in enabling the next generation of digital services.

Rupesh Chokshi, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Executive Vice President & Global Business Head â Network Services, Tata Communications, said, "The AI economy needs more than compute. It needs a network built for speed, scale and resilience. Tata Communications has long played a foundational role in enabling India's digital economy, and our AI Network Fabric builds on that legacy. Our AI Network Fabric will give our global customers the ultra-low-latency, high-capacity and resilient connectivity they need to scale AI with confidence. By connecting India's AI and data center hubs to the world, we are enabling our customers to grow and helping fuel India's next chapter of economic growth."

The investment aims to strengthen India's emergence as a global AI and cloud connectivity gateway, intending to meet the unprecedented demand from hyperscale and neocloud providers, AI workloads, digital-native businesses, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), enterprises and emerging cloud platforms. It will enable global hyperscalers, digital platforms and multinational enterprises to scale their operations in India with confidence as the country enters its next phase of digital transformation.

The first phase of the program will focus on the Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad-Chennai corridor, one of India's most important AI and hyperscale growth routes. Subsequent phases will expand connectivity into emerging East Coast and Western India data centre ecosystems, including Vizag, Bhubaneswar, Jamnagar, GIFT City and other strategic locations. By linking the key AI corridors and data centre clusters with international cable landing stations, Tata Communications will enable seamless connectivity between India and major global AI hubs across, positioning India as a strategic gateway in the global digital infrastructure landscape.

In parallel, Tata Communications will continue to support existing enterprise and data centre connectivity requirements by scaling its current National Long Distance and metro network footprint, ensuring continued support for current growth while building capacity for future demand.

SOURCE Tata Communications

Share this article

Ibis Emerges from Stealth with $250 Million FalconX Credit Facility to Build Institutional Credit Rails for Frontier Markets

New onchain credit platform backed by an extensive network of investors will initially provide structured credit to crypto trading firms, with plans to expand into other emerging tech markets.

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ibis, an onchain credit platform built to expand institutional access to credit across frontier markets, today announced its emergence from stealth, highlighted by a $250 million Credit Facility with FalconX. The company also unveiled the closing of its pre-seed round, led by FalconX and other notable investors and industry executives across digital assets, institutional credit, capital markets, and financial infrastructure. Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., will serve as a custody, banking, and design partner, while Innovating Capital will provide additional expertise in credit, transaction structuring, and strategic development.

Ibis originates, tokenizes, risk-manages, and services structured credit facilities, connecting institutional capital providers with companies looking to access new sources of scalable credit. The company was founded to address a structural gap in frontier-market credit, as traditional lending infrastructure often isn't designed for emerging industries with complex risk profiles and rapidly evolving collateral. Ibis is building the infrastructure to underwrite, structure, and manage these opportunities at institutional scale, starting with digital asset markets.

"Frontier markets are developing faster than the financial infrastructure built to support them. Today, many high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals are underserved, not because they lack creditworthiness, but because traditional underwriters refuse to innovate," said Cooper Emmons, Founder and CEO of Ibis. "Our goal is to build a credit platform that can evolve alongside these markets, bringing a more sophisticated approach to how emerging businesses are evaluated, financed, and managed as they scale, and offering those opportunities to a broader audience. We identified the need across institutions within the crypto & prediction markets vertical as our starting point, but the underlying need extends well beyond digital assets."

"Access to reliable, institutional-grade credit is an important part of the continued maturation of digital assets," said Joshua Lim, Co-Head of Global Markets at FalconX. "Ibis is building infrastructure to help bridge the gap between institutional capital allocators and a new generation of onchain market participants. As the digital asset market and other onchain asset classes continue to evolve, scalable credit infrastructure will be increasingly important to supporting sustainable growth."

Ibis' pre-seed round includes FalconX, Anchorage Digital, and Innovating Capital, and executives from Erebor, Revolut, Injective Foundation, Agora, Selini, Superstate, Flowdesk, Blockchain.com, DV Chain, Pyth, Colter Lewis, and GenCap Management, among others.

The initial focus on firms within crypto capital markets represents Ibis' entry point into a significantly broader opportunity. As frontier industries mature, Ibis plans to extend its infrastructure to additional asset managers across emerging market segments, including GPUs, robotics, and venture capital, while expanding its network of institutional lenders and capital providers.

Investor Quotes

Nathan McCauley, CEO and Co-Founder, Anchorage Digital

"Credit is one of the last pieces of institutional infrastructure that digital asset markets are still building. Ibis is taking a disciplined approach: structured facilities, real underwriting, and collateral held in regulated custody at Anchorage Digital Bank. That combination is what lets institutional capital participate with confidence, and it's why we're backing the team as both a partner and an investor."

Roshun Patel, Head of Credit, Alternatives at Erebor

"Frontier markets need access to credit, and the gap has been wide for far too long. In lending, structure matters, and Ibis has built one designed to scale. I'm excited to support their vision."

Jordi Alexander, CEO, Selini

"Digital asset trading firms have long been underserved by traditional lenders, not for lack of performance, but for lack of infrastructure. We are looking forward to Ibis bringing institutional-grade credit to the businesses powering digital asset markets and opening new opportunities for investors."

Shiliang Tang, Managing Partner, Monarq Asset Management 

"The businesses driving frontier markets, like digital asset trading firms, are real, highly profitable, and maturing fast, but the credit markets haven't caught up to them. Ibis is closing that gap with a platform built to underwrite these companies on their fundamentals, and I'm excited to back them as they do."

Anthony Georgiades, General Partner, Innovating Capital

"Working with Ibis, we saw an opportunity to bring the discipline of private credit to businesses that traditional lenders have struggled to serve. That means understanding each borrower's business, structuring facilities around its risks, and giving capital providers the downside protections and transparency they expect. We're excited to bring our experience in credit and transaction structuring to Ibis as it builds the infrastructure to deliver that approach at scale."

About Ibis

Ibis is an onchain credit platform that originates, tokenizes, risk-manages, and services structured credit facilities for frontier markets that lack access to institutional capital. Ibis launched with a $250 million Credit Facility from FalconX, providing institutional credit capacity for eligible crypto trading firms. Starting with crypto trading firms, Ibis is building infrastructure to connect institutional lenders with borrowers across emerging categories of the global economy.

Media Contacts

M Group Strategic Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Ibis

Share this article