Groton, Conn. – September 30, 2026 -- Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Inc. has closed a $9.5 million Series B financing round to advance Phase 2 development of AST-004, its cerebroprotective therapy for concussion, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke. The round brings total capital raised by the clinical-stage biotech, including grants, to $40 million.

Singapore – – September 30, 2026 -- Kenon Holdings Ltd. has agreed to acquire a 25% equity interest in Vicinity District Energy for approximately $450 million, as part of a broader transaction valuing the company at $2.92 billion.

Los Angeles – – September 30, 2026 -- Media artist Refik Anadol has installed 84 synchronized Epson EB-PQ2220B 4K laser projectors to power Gallery A of DATALAND, the world's first Museum of AI Arts, which opened in Los Angeles in June 2026.

Point Pleasant, N.J. – September 30, 2026 -- Paladone WeCool has appointed Matthew Lauderbach as Product Development Director, bringing more than 25 years of toy design experience to the company's US operations.

Lauderbach brings leadership experience from Fisher-Price, Spin Master and Just Play

Lauderbach's career spans leadership roles at Fisher-Price, Spin Master, Skip Hop and Just Play, with expertise covering concept creation, design management, engineering and commercialization.

United States – – September 30, 2026 -- Smart Shooter has secured a new contract from the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401) under a framework valued at up to $150 million for future delivery orders, expanding the company's footprint in the U.S. counter-drone market.

Redmond, Wash. – September 30, 2026 -- Halfpricesoft.com has added mid-year payroll accommodation features to its ezPaycheck software, allowing accountants and small businesses to move payroll in-house at any point in the calendar year without losing historical data.

London – – September 30, 2026 -- Norge Mining Limited has entered a strategic partnership with GEM Global Yield LLC SCS, part of the $3.4 billion alternative investment group Global Emerging Markets, securing a share subscription facility of up to $125 million that activates only once the company completes a public listing.

New York and Bath, England – – September 30, 2026 -- A joint research study by Dynamic Infrastructure and the University of Bath has found that leading frontier vision-language models do not yet deliver the robustness needed for real-world infrastructure inspection, even as more specialised AI approaches perform substantially better on the same task.

Los Angeles – September 30, 2026 -- California's economy expanded at an annualized 3.7% rate in the first quarter of 2026, nearly double the 2.1% national growth rate, even as the state's unemployment rate climbed to 5.1% in August, the highest of any U.S. state, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast's September 2026 outlook.

Singapore – September 30, 2026 -- SWI Capital Holding Ltd. (Euronext Amsterdam: SWICH) reported €4.4 billion in total assets and €2.3 billion in Adjusted NAV for the six months ended June 30, 2026, a 53% increase from December 31, 2025, as the group accelerates its pivot from a diversified holding company into a global AI infrastructure and compute platform.