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Aircraft Finance Lease (AFL) announced an expanded suite of aircraft and engine financing services for aviation lessors and asset owners. The London-based company is sharpening its focus on structured solutions for fleets that need capital, but also careful attention to technical conditions and long-term value.

The announcement reflects growing demand from lenders, investors, and leasing companies for partners who can think beyond one-off transactions and remain engaged throughout the full life of an asset.

New Programs Focused on Lessors and Asset Owners

The refreshed offering centers on lease and finance structures for aircraft, engines, and major components, tailored to specific portfolios. AFL works with clients to review current contracts, maintenance status, and market exposure in a single conversation, so capital decisions align with the hardware's actual performance. That approach may help support planning around redeliveries, shop visits, and part-out scenarios.

Led by a CEO With Deep Aviation Experience

AFL is led by CEO Deepak Sharma, who founded the company in 2019 after more than two decades in aviation. Sharma has held senior leadership roles across strategy, sales, operations, engineering, and program management. That has given him a view of how financing decisions land on the hangar floor and in the boardroom.

Sharma’s aviation background spans airline operations, maintenance and repair organizations, suppliers, and wider supply chain activity. That mix of experience shapes AFL's view of risk, value, and long-term asset behavior before any agreement is signed.

Sharma’s technical training also includes a degree in Aircraft Engineering and an EASA license in multiple categories, supported by further study in aviation, contract law, and business administration.

He has also been recognized as a Fellow in his professional field, reflecting long-term contributions across commercial and technical aviation roles. Within AFL, that foundation informs a hands-on approach to asset reviews and transaction design. The company’s internal process gives significant weight to engineering and operational context.

Bringing Structure to Complex Aviation Financing

With the updated services, the company is positioning itself as a corporate partner to aircraft and engine lessors seeking more detailed discussions on asset quality, lifecycle planning, and remarketing options. The team focuses on structures that help clients respond to changing demand while accounting for residual value and contractual commitments. That may mean revisiting lease tenors, adjusting return conditions, or structuring financing to reflect expected utilization.

A Focus on Long-Term Resilience in Aviation

The timing of AFL’s new offer aligns with a phase when airlines are restoring networks, adjusting freighter usage, and addressing lingering supply chain delays. The company links financing terms to the actual technical condition of aircraft and engines to help keep lifecycle costs and downtime more predictable.

Stakeholders balancing investor expectations, regulatory demands, and service commitments may find value in a lender that can read an engineering report as closely as a balance sheet. AFL frames that blend insight to support longer-term resilience.

About Aircraft Finance Lease (AFL)

Led by CEO Deepak Sharma, Aircraft Finance Lease Limited is a London-based company specializing in innovative financing solutions for the global aviation and aerospace sectors. Since its founding in 2019, AFL is a trusted corporate partner to leading aircraft and engine lessors. For more information, visit afl-aero.com.

Media Contact

Miss Pathak
Info@afl-aero.com

Magic Hour AI today announced the launch of Magic Hour AI Video Upscaler, an online AI video upscaler built to upscale video up to 4K while keeping motion stable across frames. Designed for creators and teams working with older, compressed, or low-resolution footage, the new upscaler focuses on temporal consistency and detail reconstruction to improve clarity without the flicker or shimmering that can appear in enhanced video.

“Upscaling is not just about making the image bigger - it’s about making motion look stable and detail look real,” said Runbo Li, co-founder and CEO of Magic Hour AI. “We built our Video Upscaler to help people upgrade footage for modern platforms with a clean, consistent look — and to give them a choice between faithful enhancement and more stylized reconstruction.”

Key capabilities

• Upscale video up to 4K for sharper playback and publishing
• Strong temporal consistency to keep enhanced details stable across frames
• Detail reconstruction to recover texture and clarity from low-quality sources
• Two modes for different outcomes: (1) Standard upscaling for a faithful, natural enhancement and (2) Creative upscaling for stronger reconstruction when footage is heavily degraded
• YouTube URL support to upscale videos directly from YouTube links

Common use cases

• Upscale YouTube videos to 4K for remasters and back-catalog upgrades
• Improve older footage for reposting, ads, and archives
• Enhance compressed clips that look soft or artifact-heavy
• Upgrade social content to look sharper on modern screens

How it works

1. Provide a video (upload or YouTube URL)
2. Choose Standard or Creative upscaling and target output quality (up to 4K)
3. Generate and download the upscaled video

FAQ

What is an AI video upscaler?

An AI video upscaler increases a video’s resolution and perceived sharpness by reconstructing detail and improving clarity, rather than simply stretching pixels.

Can I upscale a video to 4K?

Yes. Magic Hour AI Video Upscaler supports output up to 4K.

What does “temporal consistency” mean in video upscaling?

Temporal consistency means the enhanced details remain stable across frames, reducing flicker, shimmer, or “crawling” textures during motion.

What’s the difference between Standard and Creative upscaling?

Standard aims for faithful enhancement and a natural look. Creative applies stronger reconstruction, which can help when footage is heavily compressed or very low quality.

Can I upscale a video from a YouTube URL?

Yes. The Video Upscaler supports upscaling using YouTube links.

About Magic Hour AI

Magic Hour AI is an AI video creation platform that helps creators, marketers, and businesses generate and edit high-quality videos and images in minutes. The platform offers online tools for AI video generation and AI image generation — including AI video upscaling up to 4K, AI face swap (photo and video), image-to-video, video-to-video, lip sync, and an AI image editor — built for social media content, ads, and marketing workflows. For more information, visit magichour.ai.

Media Contact

Runbo Li
Co-founder and CEO, Magic Hour AI
press@magichour.ai

On February 14, 2026, a major announcement was made: The original Chinese AI algorithm "Congzi" was officially released under an open-source license. In 2025, after being tested by multiple open-source AI companies from China and the United States, "the world's first physically-native intelligent engine" technology, which restructures the underlying logic of AI based on first principles, became a significant driving force for the technological leap in the AI field in 2025. Moreover, with its low-barrier adaptability advantage, it enabled AI to progress from "imitating human language" to "understanding the language of the universe," allowing an ordinary AI to be upgraded in five minutes, bringing a disruptive change to AI for the science field.

Breaking through tradition: Reconstructing the underlying logic of AI

This breakthrough technology is based on the first-principles approach, eliminating the traditional AI "black box illusion." The revolutionary aspect of Congzi AI lies in its unified core equation of electromagnetic force and nuclear force, which can naturally derive the Maxwell equations, the periodic law of elements and the quantization of electron orbits, among other key achievements, without the need for phenomenological parameters (such as e, ε0).

Four Major Modules: Strengthening the Technical Foundation

The Congzi AI reconfigures the AI cognitive thinking ability through four major modules and five core components. The Congzi Force-Speed Relativistic Reasoning Core constrains the causal chain within the momentum conservation, reducing the illusion rate of scientific question answering by 92%; the computing system can be arbitrarily divided into independent sub-domains for full-efficiency parallel computing; the cross-scale unified field engine covers multi-scale scenarios ranging from 10⁻¹⁵m (quarks) to 10⁻³m (materials), predicting the proton-proton repulsion force at 0.7fm with an error less than 3.6%, surpassing AlphaFold, achieving "force generation" rather than merely "structure prediction;" the quantum form memory compressor compresses the trillion-token-scale knowledge base to within 1GB, supporting cross-disciplinary mapping on ordinary servers within milliseconds, without relying on expensive H100/GPU clusters; the Soul Existence Verification Protocol (SEV Protocol) provides a verifiable path for each scientific assertion, allowing AI conclusions to be fully traceable and verifiable, completely solving the problem of AI "lying."

Zero-Barrier Integration: Smooth Upgrade Experience

The open-source AI algorithm of Congzi adheres to the principles of "low threshold and high compatibility." Developers only need to complete the integration in three steps and do not need to retrain the model. It is compatible with mainstream hardware such as Tsinghua Unigroup, Horus, and Intel CPU, and compatible with mainstream AI architectures such as Qwen, DeepSeek, AWS-Rufus, Llama, and GPT. It enables "zero-cost upgrade." Multiple industry giants have secretly deployed (under pseudonyms): for example, the material simulation error of N2 is less than 3%, the financial AI yield of DSR1 has increased by 22%, and the protein folding simulation speed of AL cloud has been accelerated by 10⁵ times, far exceeding traditional molecular dynamics methods.

Open-Source Ecosystem Is Open: Facilitating Technology Implementation

The Congzi open-source ecosystem is fully open, providing developers with a complete set of guidance and resources, including tutorials and other materials. These resources have been launched on the designated platform. The first batch focuses on key scientific scenarios such as drug molecule prediction and chip material simulation, covering cutting-edge fields such as biomedicine and advanced manufacturing.

We sincerely invite global partners to collaborate and jointly build a new ecosystem. The four theoretical attachments and a five-minute upgrade guide video can be downloaded from the official platform(congzisupersci.com.cn/, congzijdc.cc/) and GitHub.

Learn how to optimize Baidu Wenxin in this short explainer video.

See how to upgrade Qianwen in this step-by-step video walkthrough.

Prime SEO announced the release of its 2026 update to its WordPress SEO plugin, introducing expanded support for AI-driven search engine requirements through enhanced schema markup and improved crawler management. The update is designed to help WordPress websites remain fully indexable, technically compliant, and performant as search engines increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to evaluate and rank content.

The updated plugin addresses common technical challenges faced by WordPress site owners adapting to evolving search engine algorithms. Rather than requiring extensive site redesigns or manual restructuring, the plugin introduces automated tools that align existing websites with current indexing and crawling standards.

The 2026 release includes updates across multiple technical SEO areas, including structured data implementation, bot control, indexing support, and error monitoring. A free version of the plugin includes access to core features such as AI bot management for more than 16 crawlers, instant indexing, schema markup tools, built-in Google Analytics 4 integration, redirect and 404 monitoring, robots.txt editing, and real-time SEO previews.

Enhanced Schema Markup for Improved Content Interpretation

One of the primary enhancements in the 2026 update is expanded schema markup functionality. Structured data enables search engines to interpret website content more accurately by presenting information in a standardized format. This allows search systems to better understand page context, relationships, and intent.

The Prime SEO plugin automates schema generation, reducing the need for manual configuration. This approach helps ensure consistency across pages while minimizing errors commonly associated with hand-coded structured data. By presenting content in a format optimized for AI-assisted indexing, websites can improve visibility and accuracy in search results.

Advanced Crawler Management and Bot Control

The update also strengthens crawler management capabilities, allowing site owners to better control how automated bots interact with their websites. Effective crawler management ensures that search engines prioritize valuable content while limiting access to non-essential or sensitive areas.

Key crawler-related features include:

• Robots.txt management, enabling clear guidance on allowed and restricted pages and directing crawlers to relevant sitemaps
• Monitoring and handling of 4xx and soft 404 errors, which can disrupt crawling paths and reduce overall site visibility if left unaddressed
• AI bot controls, designed to manage both legitimate search engine crawlers and potentially harmful automated traffic

By addressing indexing efficiency and crawl behavior, the plugin helps maintain consistent visibility while reducing the technical risks associated with unmanaged bot activity.

Supporting WordPress Performance in AI-Driven Search Environments

As artificial intelligence becomes a core component of modern search engines, technical SEO has shifted toward structured data, crawl optimization, and site stability. The Prime SEO plugin update reflects this shift by focusing on infrastructure-level improvements rather than content promotion.

The 2026 release is intended to support long-term website performance by reducing technical errors, improving indexability, and ensuring compatibility with future algorithm changes. Prime SEO states that the update aims to help WordPress websites remain functional, discoverable, and secure as AI-driven search continues to evolve.

About Prime SEO

Prime SEO offers trusted, cutting-edge website optimization solutions globally. Our advanced platform allows website owners to seamlessly adapt their sites for peak performance in both traditional and AI-driven search engines. Prime SEO plugins are engineered for precision, speed, and simplicity, ensuring seamless configuration and constant adaptation to evolving search engine algorithms. For more information, visit www.prime-seo-plugin.com.

Media Contact

Daniil Lutsiuk
admin@prime-seo-plugin.com

Albert K. Chin, MD, recently announced advancements in cardiac support technology through PercAssist. Dr. Chin, chief innovation and product development officer, has contributed to the development of a new therapy for patients facing end-stage heart failure. Each year, there are more than 80,000 United States citizens who require a heart transplant. However, only 2,000 donor hearts are available and about 3,000 artificial hearts are implanted in patients each year. Dr. Chin’s solution aims to address this shortcoming.

“[More than] 75,000 patients are suffering,” Dr. Chin stated. “They’re extremely short of breath, they can’t walk and the medications don’t work.”

PercAssist’s Solution

PercAssist’s solution is essentially a balloon catheter. Rather than performing open-heart surgery, a surgeon inserts a balloon catheter into the pericardial sac, which inflates with the patient’s electrocardiogram. When the heart contracts, the balloon inflates and compresses it, assisting pumping action.

Developing a New Cardiac Support Technique

For Dr. Chin, the process of developing this balloon catheter solution involved a fortuitous series of events. A surgeon who had been using one of Dr. Chin’s other devices reached out to him while performing CPR on a patient. He asked why a bag couldn’t be placed around the heart and inflated to mimic the CPR process. Dr. Chin found the concept promising but soon learned that three companies had already obtained patents for the technique.

“Then I realized, in order to get the bag around the entire heart, you have to make a large incision in the pericardial sac,” Dr. Chin recalled. “I said, ‘If there’s already a bag around the heart… why don’t we just use a needle like the electrophysiologists do, gain access to the sac and put in a balloon catheter?’”

Electrophysiologists, the cardiologists who treat arrhythmias, use a needle stick to gain access to the heart's surface. Dr. Chin recognized that, if electrophysiologists were using a needle stick to this effect, he could use one to deliver a balloon catheter. Rather than making a large incision around the heart via sternotomy or thoracotomy, this technique could gain access without open-heart surgery.

Ongoing Trials

In this way, Dr. Chin conceptualized this new therapy, for which a patent was issued last year. Currently, he is working with PercAssist as the company undergoes clinical trials. As of writing, seven patients have been treated with a balloon catheter. Dr. Chin reports that the results have been promising. Distinct from CPR, the rib cage is not moved to press on the heart, avoiding rib fractures.

A Multifaceted Educational Background

Dr. Chin’s achievements in cardiac support technology have been bolstered by his education. Before completing a Medical Doctorate, he earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975 and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 1976. Because of this background, he is uniquely prepared for developing mechanical devices.

Plans for the Future

Within the next five to 10 years, Dr. Chin remains dedicated to refining devices such as the balloon catheter at PercAssist. His objective is to ensure that each device functions effectively and fulfills its intended purpose. Additionally, Dr. Chin is in the process of establishing five medical startups, furthering his contributions to his field.

About PercAssist

Dr. Albert Chin is the co-founder and chief innovative officer of PercAssist, Inc. He has co-founded nine other medical companies throughout his career and sits on advisory boards at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. He has been featured by the Associated Press, Fortune Magazine, Self, the LA Times and USA Today. For more information, visit www.percassist-corp.com.

About Marquis Who’s Who

Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms worldwide. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who website, marquiswhoswho.com.

Media Contact

Dr. Albert Chin
alchinmd@gmail.com

In its debut year on the world stage, the smart #5 has claimed 6 major awards — earning praise from critics, press, and drivers alike, and proving its broad international appeal.

Key Highlights

• The all-electric smart #5 has won six major international awards in its global launch year, including Norway’s Car of the Year 2026 and Euro NCAP “Best-in-Class” honors.
• The mid-size SUV combines distinctive Mercedes-Benz design, up to 590 km of range, a high-tech cockpit, and segment-leading safety.
• The smart #5 will be launched in more international markets in 2026, including the UAE from February 10.

In recent weeks, the electric mid-size SUV was named Norway’s Car of the Year 2026, won the What Car? Family Electric SUV of the Year prize in the U.K., finished runner-up in the 2026 Swiss Car of the Year awards, and, in China Hong Kong, was named among UpCar’s Grand Ten 2025 and the 2026 Best Urban SUV by Car1.hk. The model also earned top safety recognition as Euro NCAP’s "Best in Class” Large SUV of 2025 and received two Red Dot Design Awards for its product design and innovative user interface. Together, these accolades highlight the smart #5’s all-round strengths across design, safety, and user experience — a direct result of the brand’s ‘One-product Principle,' which ensures every model is designed and developed to reach the highest international benchmarks.

The smart #5 is the brand’s most spacious, versatile and technologically advanced to date. Developed for urban environments and beyond, it combines an advanced 800-volt platform with a highly efficient drive system, delivering up to 475 kW of power and a range of up to 590 km (WLTP).

Styled by the Mercedes-Benz global design team, the smart #5 follows the brand’s “Love, Pure, Unexpected” design philosophy. Featuring a panoramic halo roof, frameless doors, and iconic oblong front and rear lights, the smart #5 showcases a distinctive boxy and upright silhouette, offering a playful yet refined touch, and unmistakably smart from every angle.

Inside, the smart #5 offers a spacious, high-quality cabin anchored by an intuitive digital ecosystem. Powered by a latest-generation AMD V2000 chipset, the human-machine interface (HMI) is displayed across a 10.25-inch full HD digital instrument cluster and two 13-inch OLED center and passenger screens. With a generous 630-liter boot capacity, it seamlessly adapts from daily routines to weekend adventures.

Safety is another area where the #5 excels. In September 2025, it secured a five-star Euro NCAP rating with the highest overall score in the large SUV segment. Meanwhile, no model across any vehicle class scored higher in the testing categories of Child Occupant and Safety Assist.

Building on successful launches across 17 European markets and in key regions including China, Hong Kong China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Morocco, the smart #5 is being rolled out further to new international markets in 2026, starting with the UAE from February 10.

About smart

Since the birth of the brand in the 1990s, smart has always maintained the vision of exploring the best solutions for future urban mobility. In late 2019, Mercedes-Benz AG and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group officially established smart global joint venture. From 2019 to 2024, after the comprehensive renewal of its brand, products, and business model, smart successfully achieved the strategic objectives set for its initial five-year phase. Adhering steadfastly to the "China-Europe, Dual Home" global development strategy, smart has transformed into a leading premium electric automotive brand. It now boasts an expanding product matrix and a global footprint spanning around 40 countries and regions. In 2025, smart aims to boost its global business operations. For more information, visit media.smart.com.

Disclaimer

Product specifications may vary depending on different market conditions. Please refer to the final specifications list when the product is launched in the local market.

Media Contact

Jack Bailey
jack.bailey@smart.com

A new partnership between Sentora, Chainlink, Ondo Finance, and Euler is delivering what many investors have been eagerly awaiting: DeFi composable public equities. Through the Chainlink data standard and Sentora Tokenized Equity Yield (STEY), tokenised stocks can now be used as collateral in decentralised lending markets, allowing investors to unlock liquidity and potential yield without selling their assets and giving up exposure to the underlying stock.

The launch combines three critical components required for DeFi protocols to accept tokenised stocks as collateral at scale.

First, it provides a lending venue with professional risk parameters. Initial lending support for tokenised equities is now live on Euler, supported by Sentora’s curation. This deployment serves as early validation that tokenized stocks can function as robust, risk-managed collateral alongside crypto-native assets, and paves the way for DeFi yield opportunities based on tokenized equities.

It also offers deep, reliable liquidity. Ondo’s tokenized stocks and ETFs inherit liquidity directly from traditional equity venues, supporting near-instant liquidations without significant slippage.

Finally, it benefits from high-integrity, real-time pricing. The Chainlink data standard via Data Feeds is now live for Ondo tokenised equities as its official oracle solution, delivering institutional-grade pricing to accelerate the adoption of these assets across DeFi. Each feed reflects the full economic reality of the underlying security, enabling DeFi protocols to price positions accurately.

"Global investors can now access the largest selection of transferable tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs onchain. We saw stablecoins export the U.S. dollar by bringing it onchain. Now, the tokenization of equities is doing the same thing for U.S. securities," said Nathan Allman, founder and CEO of Ondo Finance.

The move comes as retail investment in equities continues to grow globally, with trillions worth of equities held by U.S. retail investors alone. In the traditional financial paradigm, these typically remain static once purchased. While selling shares to access liquidity can take days and incur multiple fees, tokenisation opens the door to using those assets more dynamically, without needing to exit the position.

“Retail investors are holding enormous amounts of value in equities that, until now, they haven’t been able to do very much with,” said Anthony Demartino, CEO at Sentora. “Tokenization changes that by allowing those assets to be used productively, without forcing people to sell and potentially lose long term upside.”

Risk management for the new Euler market is delivered by Sentora via STEY. Using asset-level analysis and continuous monitoring, Sentora sets and updates key parameters such as collateral factors, borrow caps, and liquidation thresholds so that tokenised equities markets meet the standards institutional participants expect. This modular, risk-isolated design creates a controlled path for introducing tokenised equities into DeFi.

"This launch transforms static equity holdings into productive capital while bringing much-needed diversification to DeFi collateral,” said Jonathan Han, CEO at Euler.

STEY is powered by Sentora’s Smart Yield platform, which orchestrates strategies and manages risk across DeFi venues. Sentora partners with exchanges, fintechs, neobanks, and DeFi platforms that own the end-user experience so retail investors can access these capabilities seamlessly.

Learn how tokenised stocks can be used within decentralised finance markets.

The Wellness Group, a health and human services organization dedicated to improving population health through innovative solutions that integrate clinical care, behavioral health, wellness, and pharmacy services, today announced the official launch of Wellness Care, a next-generation chronic care and transitional care management platform designed to transform how patients are supported before, during, and after clinical encounters.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Wellness Care will operate from a 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, purpose-built to support advanced care coordination, clinical operations, and national care management teams. As part of this expansion, The Wellness Group plans to hire more than 700 employees at the Dallas headquarters.

Built around the principles of continuity, compassion, and accountability, Wellness Care represents a bold step toward addressing what founder and CEO of The Wellness Group, Foster Coulson, calls “one of the most broken parts of healthcare — the space between the doctor’s visit and real life.”

Every year, millions of Americans are discharged from hospitals without meaningful follow-up, coordination, or support. Missed appointments, medication confusion, and fragmented communication continue to drive unnecessary readmissions and worsening outcomes — problems the current system too often ignores.

“The state of post-acute and chronic care management in America is unacceptable,” said Coulson. “Patients are treated like transactions, shuffled between providers, and left to navigate complex conditions alone. That’s not care — that’s neglect. Wellness Care was built to fix that.”

As part of the launch, The Wellness Group also announced that Madi Rawlins has been appointed chief executive officer of Wellness Care, where she will lead the platform’s national growth, clinical strategy, and operational execution.

“Wellness Care was built to restore dignity, clarity, and continuity to the patient experience,” said Rawlins. “Our goal is simple but ambitious: to ensure that no patient ever feels abandoned between visits, overwhelmed by complexity, or unseen by the system that’s supposed to care for them. We are building care teams that stay present, accountable, and human — every step of the way.”

The Wellness Care model unites a national team of world-class care management professionals, including registered nurses, clinical pharmacists, behavioral health specialists, and nurse practitioners — each trained to deliver highly coordinated, outcomes-based care.

The platform’s first-in-class chronic care management program combines human expertise with advanced technology to deliver personalized care plans, real-time progress monitoring, and seamless communication across care teams. From hospital discharge to home health and long-term condition management, Wellness Care ensures no patient is ever left behind in transition.

“We built Wellness Care to bring humanity back into healthcare,” Coulson added. “Our teams don’t measure success by the number of calls made or boxes checked. We measure it by peace of mind, trust, and real health outcomes.”

Wellness Care is a core component of The Wellness Group’s broader national initiative, which includes a $250 million investment in building vertically integrated healthcare infrastructure across the United States. This ecosystem unites clinical services, pharmacy, data systems, and personalized therapeutics to create a new model of care centered on prevention, precision, and partnership.

About The Wellness Group

The Wellness Group is a health and human services organization dedicated to improving population health through innovative solutions that integrate clinical care, behavioral health, wellness, pharmacy services, and community support. Its mission is to create a connected ecosystem where prevention, precision, and personalized care work in harmony to help individuals live longer, stronger, and healthier lives. For more information, visit twg.health.

Media Contact

Alyssa Pfitscher
Account Director, Krupp
apfitscher@kruppagency.com
+1 845-594-7290

Every year, professional services firms make million-dollar decisions about pricing, staffing, and AI investments — often without objective data to back them up. Today, Laurel launched Signal to change that.

Professional services firms have operated for decades without objective insight into how work gets done, making important decisions based on manual time entries and gut feel. AI adoption has made this untenable. When AI compresses hours of work into minutes, time-based business models absorb revenue losses instead of capturing productivity gains.

Signal solves this measurement crisis. Unlike traditional reporting tools that depend on subjective inputs, Signal captures and analyzes real work patterns — delivering a level of visibility impossible with manual reporting. It unifies data across time, profitability, and operations into a single view, providing a holistic understanding of where value is created and where effort is lost.

Signal starts with the individual. Professionals get a clear, accurate view of how their own time is spent — without the burden of manual reconstruction. By giving people visibility into their work first, Laurel ensures the data is trusted at the source. Signal then aggregates these real work patterns across teams and the firm to surface insights leaders can act on.

The Signal launch comes on the heels of Laurel's acquisition of Braid. Braid – developed by a team of former Facebook and TikTok engineers and backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Initialized Capital — was critical in building Signal, because it can unify revenue, engagement, and business activity data across platforms. Braid’s data aggregation and workflow intelligence capabilities allow Signal to transform how professional services firms understand the relationship between time, value, and revenue, offering not just billing and operational analytics but strategic guidance on pricing and workflow optimization.

Measuring AI ROI

Signal measures whether AI tools are saving time or just sitting unused. By comparing work patterns before and after AI adoption, Signal identifies which tools create leverage and which create noise — giving firms the data they need to justify investments and double down on what works.

Capturing Lost Revenue

Signal automatically captures more than 99% of billable activity, including the hours that typically fall through the cracks. Firms gain visibility into the true cost of delivering every project and which clients are actually profitable — not just which ones bill the most.

Smarter Pricing and Forecasting

Using historical patterns, Signal predicts how much time and staffing future projects will actually require, making fixed-fee pricing more defensible. It spots redundant tasks and workflow bottlenecks that burn hours without adding value, and shows how work actually flows through teams.

Talent Insights and Workforce Sustainability

In addition to firm‑wide operational and financial metrics, Signal delivers talent insights that benchmark top performers and illuminate workload and burnout patterns, enabling leaders to build healthier, more resilient teams.

"2026 is the year of AI accountability," said Laurel CEO Ryan Alshak. "Firms have deployed tools to stay competitive, but most can't answer basic questions: Is this investment paying off? Where are we losing money? How do we price work when AI makes us faster but not more billable? Signal gives them answers."

"Laurel gives us objective visibility into how work actually happens — something traditional timekeeping simply never delivered,” said John Roman, Jr., CIO at The Bonadio Group. “With Signal, we’re moving beyond compliance-driven time entry to real operational insight, helping our teams work more efficiently while bringing clarity to our true cost of delivery and project visibility.”

Signal is available today to professional services firms worldwide. To learn more, visit www.laurel.ai/signal.

About Laurel

Laurel is the world’s first AI time platform for professional services firms. The company's AI transforms how organizations track, analyze, describe, and optimize their most valuable resource: time. By automating work time and connecting time data to business outcomes, Laurel enables firms to increase profitability, improve client delivery, and make data-driven strategic decisions. Founded in 2018, Laurel serves many of the world's largest accounting, consulting and law firms. For more information, visit www.laurel.ai.

Media Contact

Cameron Ruby
cameron@sixeastern.com

Superset, the Unified Liquidity Execution layer for stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and onchain FX, today announced the close of its $4 million seed funding round, with lead participation from 7RIDGE and Exponential Science Capital. The investment marks the first time 7RIDGE has backed a pre-revenue protocol, reflecting growing conviction that stablecoin and onchain FX infrastructure is reaching an institutional inflection point.

Stablecoins and tokenized deposits are increasingly used across payments, trading, and treasury operations, but liquidity still remains fragmented across blockchains. As a result, markets suffer from higher slippage, inefficient capital deployment and significant operational overhead. Superset introduces a first-of-its-kind execution primitive that virtualizes liquidity across chains, coordinating pricing, risk, and liquidity from a single source of truth. This architecture allows the same liquidity to be accessible across every chain simultaneously, delivering consistent pricing and highly efficient use of capital. 

“Stablecoins have emerged as the foundational infrastructure for modern global finance, but the way liquidity is managed today can’t scale on an institutional level,” said Neil Staunton, CEO and co-founder of Superset. “Superset brings operational and capital efficiency to onchain markets by unifying liquidity into a single shared market. Instead of pre-funding every chain, liquidity providers can deploy capital once and access volume and yield wherever trading occurs.”

Superset unlocks a broader set of participants in onchain liquidity markets. Liquidity providers can earn yield across aggregated, cross-chain volume rather than isolated pools, while treasuries with lower risk appetites can participate through single-sided positions without impermanent loss. Traders benefit from consistent execution across chains, and stablecoin issuers can expand to new networks without fragmenting liquidity.

Superset is chaired by Charles McManus, co-founder and former CEO of ClearBank, who also participated in the seed round. McManus brings decades of experience building and operating regulated financial infrastructure, reinforcing Superset’s focus on institution-grade market design. 

“Onchain markets won’t reach institutional scale unless liquidity becomes more efficient, transparent, and predictable,” said McManus. “Superset is addressing one of the hardest infrastructure challenges in onchain finance in a way that reflects how real FX and payments markets actually function.”

Superset is currently working with liquidity providers, market makers, stablecoin issuers, aggregators, and wallets in preparation for its broader rollout. To learn more, visit superset.finance.

About Superset

Superset is the Unified Liquidity Execution layer for the stablecoin economy. The protocol consolidates fragmented stablecoin, tokenized deposits, and tokenized FX liquidity into a single market, accessible across every blockchain. It delivers institutional-grade execution at scale, predictable pricing, and seamless cross-chain settlement. One liquidity layer. Every chain. For more information, visit superset.finance.

About Bitwire

Bitwire was created by Melrose PR, a leading onchain communications agency. Since 2016, Melrose has worked with many of the top businesses in the blockchain space. Melrose craved a better tool for publishing announcements and built Bitwire out of frustration with the legacy newswires. Bitwire is a curated press release distribution tool — a modern spin on an outdated business model. We have differentiated ourselves by offering transparent pricing and high-quality distribution to only the most reputable publishers. We’re pretty proud of our user experience too. For more information, visit www.bitwire.com.

RTHMS today announced the launch of a new category of consumer technology: behavioral compatibility, a system designed to connect people based not on who they say they are, but on how they actually live.

While traditional dating apps rely on static profiles, photos, and self described traits, RTHMS operates on a fundamentally different premise: real compatibility is revealed through real world behavior over time. Daily routines, movement, wellness habits, food choices, travel patterns, and lifestyle rhythms become meaningful signals for connection.

Rather than freezing compatibility at a single moment, RTHMS reflects how people’s lives actually unfold.

At the core of the platform is a proprietary translation layer that converts real world behavior into Habit Tags: dynamic, high level compatibility signals that reflect how someone lives without exposing raw data or personal details. These signals update continuously, allowing compatibility to evolve naturally as behavior changes.

By translating lived behavior into Habit Tags, RTHMS makes compatibility observable rather than speculative, reducing misalignment and improving the quality of human connection.

RTHMS launches with dating as its primary use case, where misalignment is most visible and costly. At the same time, the platform is built for non daters from day one, offering compatibility insight and self alignment even for users who are not actively seeking romantic relationships. Dating is the entry point, not the ceiling.

Privacy and security are foundational to RTHMS’s architecture. The platform operates as a filtering layer, translating behavioral inputs into Habit Tags without storing raw personal data. Underlying source data is anonymized, abstracted, and discarded after processing. RTHMS does not sell personal data, does not create advertising profiles, and does not rely on invasive data retention models.

RTHMS was founded by Jason Winkler and is supported by early stage backers and advisors with experience across consumer technology, culture, wellness, and brand building.

RTHMS is currently in pre-launch. The app will be available for download on the Apple App Store on February 14, when users can join a limited waitlist for the RTHMS Beta. Beta access will roll out on a controlled basis.

About Jason Winkler

Jason Winkler is a seasoned entrepreneur with a proven track record of building and scaling culture-driven brands alongside global celebrities and influential partners. He began his career as one of the youngest concert promoters in Orange County, producing and owning major live events across Orange County and Los Angeles with A-list artists. 

At 22, Jason helped launch Liquipel as an early founding partner, securing equity partnerships with Pharrell Williams and Steve Aoki and contributing to the company’s expansion into tens of thousands of retail locations nationwide. He has also consulted through his marketing agency for category-defining brands including Uber and Honest Tea, helping them establish regional market presence through culture-led marketing and experiential activations. Beyond business, Jason is actively involved in philanthropy, supporting organizations such as ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children), Elephant Cooperation, and the Aoki Foundation, with a focus on child protection, wildlife conservation, and brain health research.

About RTHMS

RTHMS is a behavioral compatibility operating system built on real lifestyle patterns. By translating real-world behavior into dynamic Habit Tags, RTHMS forms a new foundation for connection, starting with dating and expanding into a broader system for compatibility across relationships, communities, products and everyday experiences. To learn more, visit www.rthmsapp.com.

Media Contact

Fred Dominguez
fred@wn-agency.com

A newly published scientific paper titled “Gene Expression Patterns in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells in Response to Changes in Deuterium Concentration” (Csonka, G.I.; Papp, A.; Somlyai, I.; Somlyai, G. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 10969) has validated a groundbreaking mechanism that has been central to HYD LLC for Cancer Research and Drug Development’s work for more than three decades: the concentration of deuterium — a naturally occurring hydrogen isotope — directly influences gene expression profiles that are central to cell division and cancer development.

The first study on deuterium-depleted water (DDW) concluded that a higher D/H ratio inside cells can trigger cell division. This was supported by lab experiments showing that lowering deuterium levels slowed cell growth, while increasing it accelerated it.

A new study analyzing 87 genes confirms that gene activity is sensitive to the amount of deuterium in cells. Some genes were less active in DDW, whereas most were more active in deuterated water (DEW). This supports the earlier idea that a higher D/H ratio is essential to start cell division.

The findings confirm that varying deuterium levels modulate the expression of key oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Notably, reduced deuterium levels (as low as 40 ppm) suppressed genes associated with proliferation and drug resistance (e.g., MYCN, ETS2, ABCB1), while high deuterium environments (300 ppm) upregulated multiple oncogenic and survival pathways (EGFR, CTNNB1, STAT3, CD44).

The study confirmed that deuterium affects the same signal pathways targeted by cancer drug development, and that consuming DDW can prevent the D/H ratio from rising to a threshold level.   

“This study provides the first large-scale gene expression data linking deuterium concentration with cellular regulation in cancer,” said Dr. Gábor Somlyai, lead scientist at HYD. “It validates our long-held hypothesis that deuterium depletion can exert anticancer effects at the sub-molecular level.”

These findings help explain earlier results, in which data from 2,649 cancer patients who consumed DDW showed that adding DDW to standard treatments could reduce cancer mortality rates by up to 80% (Somlyai, G.; Papp, A.; Somlyai, I.; Kovács, B.Z.; Debrődi, M. “Real-World Data Confirm That the Integration of Deuterium Depletion into Conventional Cancer Therapy Multiplies the Survival Probability of Patients,” Biomedicines 2025, 13, 876). The new results indicate that DDW can block the activity of hundreds of genes simultaneously, which may help explain its pronounced effects.

Earlier animal studies also demonstrated that DDW could inhibit cancer-related gene expression in mice exposed to carcinogenic chemicals (Kovács, B.Z.; Puskás, L.G.; Nagy, L.I.; Papp, A.; Gyöngyi, Z.; Fórizs, I.; Czuppon, G.; Somlyai, I.; Somlyai, G. “Blocking the Increase of Intracellular Deuterium Concentration Prevents the Expression of Cancer-Related Genes, Tumor Development, and Tumor Recurrence in Cancer Patients,” Cancer Control. 2022; 29:10732748211068963).

The study further supports that DDW and targeted cancer therapies may mutually enhance each other’s antitumor effects.

“This is not just about water,” Dr. Somlyai emphasized. “It’s about a paradigm shift in how we understand and manipulate the cellular environment on the sub-molecular level to fight cancer more effectively.”

Scientific Validation of a Pioneering Approach

HYD LLC for Cancer Research and Drug Development, founded in 1993, has been a global pioneer in researching deuterium depletion as a complementary cancer therapy. Their proprietary deuterium-depleted water (DDW) products are already commercially available and widely used as supportive interventions. This new study, however, offers strong mechanistic insight into how deuterium modulation works: by influencing the transcriptional activity of genes that regulate cell growth, repair, apoptosis, and survival.

The recent paper outlines a dose-dependent response, with implications for personalized and targeted cancer treatment strategies. It emphasizes the biological activity of deuterium levels as an epigenetic-like regulator, capable of reprogramming gene expression in tumor cells.

Implications for Drug Development and Oncology

This discovery opens new horizons in oncology and pharmaceutical development:

• Deuterium modulation emerges as a novel therapeutic target—not merely a passive change in water composition, but a dynamic regulator of intracellular signaling.
• Existing cancer therapies might be enhanced by combining them with deuterium-depleted environments to improve efficacy and reduce resistance.
• The study’s comprehensive gene expression data support the integration of deuterium concentration control into future cancer treatment protocols.

Next Steps for HYD

While this breakthrough represents a pivotal moment, HYD is preparing for the next stage: translating in vitro and in vivo models into clinical studies. Their 30 years of foundational research now provide a robust platform for launching a new generation of anticancer treatments based on isotopic modulation. HYD is actively seeking investment partners and pharmaceutical collaborators to conduct Phase II/III clinical trials and complete drug registration.

HYD has announced that registration is now open for the 5th International Congress on Deuterium Depletion (ICDD2026) in Budapest, Hungary, between 22 and 23 April 2026.

Registration, abstract submission, and accommodation booking at the Congress venue can be completed via the online portal.

Media Contact

Gábor Somlyai, PhD
info@hyd.hu

The preliminary review round of the 20th Hardware Innovation Design Awards recently concluded at the China Yongkang Science and Innovation Hub in Hangzhou. The prestigious competition attracted a record 3,604 submissions from 30 countries and regions worldwide, spanning both product and conceptual design categories.

A judging panel composed of industry representatives and academic experts rigorously evaluated entries based on their innovation, practicality, and potential for industrialization. Judges noted a significant increase in the readiness of industrial design entries for production, with many quickly progressing to small-batch trial manufacturing. A key trend highlighted was the integration of AI technology, which has evolved from a design aid to a core component of product innovation itself.

Corporate partners serving as co-organizers emphasized the Awards' role in driving substantive innovation in product function and structure. They pointed to emerging focal areas such as the silver economy and city companion gifts as avenues to empower the globalization of the "Yongkang Hardware" brand.

Following the review, 564 entries advanced to the next stage. The final judging round is scheduled for April. Officials from the Yongkang Science and Technology Bureau stated that the Awards will continue to act as a crucial platform for attracting global innovative resources, propelling the hardware industry toward the higher end of the global value chain.

About Hardware Innovation Design Awards

Formerly known as the China Hardware Product International Industrial Design Competition, the Hardware Innovation Design Awards were established in 2006. Over its 20 year history, the competition has attracted over 40,000 entries from more than 30 countries and regions, with the commercialized value of its design achievements exceeding 30 billion RMB. Guided by the mission of "Design Driving the Future of Hardware," the Awards are dedicated to advancing industrial transformation and upgrading, striving to be a global engine for innovation within the hardware industry. Learn more at www.ykwjdesign.com.

Sekai, an AI-native social platform, announces the public launch of its mini-app creation agent, which allows users to build interactive mini-applications through regular prompts.

The platform has scaled to 50,000 daily app creations since launching its no-code mini-app builder on Nov. 20, 2025. In under two months, Sekai users have created more than 1 million apps with the company projecting 2 million apps within three months of the update.

"At the speed we’re currently at, we could match the number of apps on the whole App Store within three months," says Lucky Zhang, founder of Sekai. “That's how fast the world is changing."

Sekai positions itself as a social platform that treats software as the backbone for shareable content with no traditional utility. Users simply describe an idea in plain text, and Sekai’s app maker creates it in seconds. The company deliberately constrains creations to brief, half-minute to one-minute experiences designed for viral distribution instead of full software applications.

Regular use cases on the platform include personalized holiday greeting cards, countdown timers that reveal gift codes, meme generators, and casual mini-games. Users can remix others’ mini-apps with customized controls, similar to how DJs sample and modify tracks. The platform's feed also displays an infinite scroll of interactive posts, surfacing high-performing AI-generated apps while filtering out broken creations.

The platform was developed by a team with deep experience in social products. Zhang previously built a variety of consumer platforms — including a short video app acquired by ByteDance and a music streaming service with 40 million users in Southeast Asia — while the company's head of recommendation spent nine years at TikTok as an early technical lead on its recommendation engine.

The company has built a cumulative user base of 2 million since 2024, initially attracting anime fans and gamers through word-of-mouth before pivoting to mainstream social sharing. Sekai now reaches approximately 50% of the daily creation volume of Lovable, a market leader in the app-building space.

“Our goal is to create the new dominant consumer platform,” Zhang explains, “Something on the scale of TikTok today. We’re building in a path not many people are leveraging.”

About Sekai

Sekai is a social media platform for personal software, where users with no coding knowledge can create interactive mini-apps and share them with others. Founded by Lucky Zhang, a veteran of consumer platforms across different industries, Sekai’s AI app creation platform leverages one of the most advanced LLM models to make app creation accessible. The company operates with a team of over 20 people and maintains a small office in San Francisco. Learn more at sekaiapp.com.

Media Contact

Aaron Zhao
aaron@sekaiapp.com

Tennessee Fertility Institute (TFI), a premier provider of best-in-class fertility services, congratulates Jane Ruman, MD, on being named a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctor. Castle Connolly Top Doctors represent the top 7% of all U.S. practicing physicians. Dr. Ruman earned this recognition from a pool of over one million U.S. doctors.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are nominated by their peers, after which the Castle Connolly research team evaluates specific criteria to determine who should qualify as a Top Doctor, including consideration of each nominee’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, and outcomes data. The recognition methodology has been vetted and endorsed by the Castle Connolly Medical Advisory Board. 

A board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist & Infertility Specialist (REI), Dr. Ruman brings over 20 years of experience in reproductive medicine to her patients. As a fertility doctor and OB/GYN, Dr. Ruman’s expertise spans the entire continuum of reproductive health, from trying to conceive to fertility treatment.

"The hope and determination of my patients empowers me every day to provide the highest level of fertility care they need to build their families,” says Dr. Ruman. “I am grateful to Castle Connolly and my colleagues for this recognition.”

TFI is part of The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America. Its team of innovative and empathetic reproductive endocrinologists spend real time with each family to understand their goals and develop personalized treatment plans. In total, 48 physicians across Prelude were named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

Prelude is the clinical network of Inception Fertility™ (Inception), a family of fertility brands and the largest provider of fertility services in North America, and its physicians include innovators in fertility care who have pioneered some of today’s most advanced reproductive technologies, including vitrification, fertility preservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

About Tennessee Fertility Institute

Tennessee Fertility Institute (TFI) specializes in the treatment of male and female infertility, as well as LGBTQ+ and single parent fertility. The clinic offers comprehensive fertility assessment and testing services, and its full range of comprehensive fertility services include in vitro fertilization (IVF, intrauterine insemination (IUI), fertility preservation (including egg freezing, sperm freezing, and oncofertility), third-party reproduction and more. For more information, visit www.tnfertility.com. 

About The Prelude Network

The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility — a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility. Each clinic, as part of Prelude, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and practitioners by focusing on excellence in science, medicine and the patient experience.  The growing Prelude Network has more than 90 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, LGBTQ+ fertility options, and egg/embryo storage, among others. Those clinics within Prelude include Aspire Fertility Austin (Texas); Aspire Fertility Dallas (Texas); Aspire Fertility San Antonio (Texas); Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Texas); Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Illinois); Center for Reproductive Medicine (Florida); Indiana Fertility Institute (Indiana); IVFMD (Florida); Main Line Fertility (Pennsylvania); NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York); NYU Langone RSNY (New York); Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (Canada); Pacific Fertility Center (California); Regional Fertility Program (Canada); Reproductive Biology Associates (Georgia); Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey (New Jersey); Tennessee Fertility Institute (Tennessee), and The Reproductive Medicine Group (Florida). For more information, visit www.preludefertility.com.

About Inception Fertility

Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine in an effort to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes. Inception's medical experts are leading pioneers in fertility care. Our doctors are some of the first to use breakthrough assisted reproductive technologies (ART) — including in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and fertility preservation services — and they continue to lead the industry by building on these technologies by through development, research and thought leadership. Through its growing family of national organizations — which includes The Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America; MyEggBank®, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; BUNDL Fertility™, a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program; HavenCryo™, a long-term reproductive preservation and storage solution provider and NutraBloom®, a premium lifestyle brand with expertly formulated supplements to support individuals' health and wellness goals for preconception — Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations. For more information, visit www.inceptionfertility.com. 

Media Contact

Mia Humphreys
MHumphreys@kruppagency.com

Aspire Fertility San Antonio, a leading provider of comprehensive and best-in-class fertility services, congratulates two of its physicians, Jennifer Knudtson, MD and Aimee Browne, MD on being named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are nominated by their peers, after which the Castle Connolly research team evaluates specific criteria to determine who should qualify as a Top Doctor, including consideration of each nominee’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, and outcomes data. The recognition methodology has been vetted and endorsed by the Castle Connolly Medical Advisory Board.

Each Aspire Fertility San Antonio specialist is a board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist & Infertility Specialist (REI) dedicated to providing parents with compassionate and individualized fertility care that is rooted in the latest science and technologies in reproductive medicine.

“Each day, I’m motivated by the chance to guide couples as they pursue their dreams of becoming parents, and using my training to support patients through one of life’s most difficult journeys is a true privilege,” says Dr. Browne. “I am thankful to Castle Connolly for this recognition.”

Dr. Knudtson shares, “At the heart of my approach is education and empowering patients to understand all of their reproductive healthcare options. I am honored to be recognized for my commitment to patient education and care by Castle Connolly.”

Aspire Fertility San Antonio is part of The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America. The clinic is dedicated to simplifying the fertility treatment process, streamlining communications, and offering the most advanced therapies in reproductive medicine. Its service line offerings include comprehensive diagnostic and treatments for female and male infertility, including intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, donor services, third party reproductive services, and more. In total, 48 physicians across Prelude were named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors. 

Prelude is the clinical network of Inception Fertility™ (Inception), a family of fertility brands and the largest provider of fertility services in North America, and its physicians include innovators in fertility care who have pioneered some of today’s most advanced reproductive technologies, including vitrification, fertility preservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

About Aspire Fertility San Antonio

Part of The Prelude Network (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America, Aspire Fertility has been helping individuals and couples build their families for 30 years. With locations in Austin, Dallas, Houston, McAllen, and San Antonio metropolitan areas, the Aspire family of clinics provides five-star fertility care to patients, led by industry experts who are on the leading edge of reproductive medicine. They offer a full spectrum of comprehensive female and male fertility care, including IVF, egg freezing, genetic screening (PGD/PGS), egg donation, surrogacy and LGBTQ+ fertility. For more information, visit www.aspirefertility.com/san-antonio-texas.

About The Prelude Network

The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility — a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility. Each clinic, as part of Prelude, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and practitioners by focusing on excellence in science, medicine and the patient experience. The growing Prelude Network has more than 90 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, LGBTQ+ fertility options, and egg/embryo storage, among others. Clinics within Prelude include Aspire Fertility Austin (Texas); Aspire Fertility Dallas (Texas); Aspire Fertility San Antonio (Texas); Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Texas); Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Illinois); Center for Reproductive Medicine (Florida); Indiana Fertility Institute (Indiana); IVFMD (Florida); Main Line Fertility (Pennsylvania); NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York); NYU Langone RSNY (New York); Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (Canada); Pacific Fertility Center (California); Regional Fertility Program (Canada); Reproductive Biology Associates (Georgia); Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey (New Jersey); Tennessee Fertility Institute (Tennessee), and The Reproductive Medicine Group (Florida). For more information, visit www.preludefertility.com.

About Inception Fertility

Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine in an effort to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes. Inception's medical experts are leading pioneers in fertility care. Our doctors are some of the first to use breakthrough assisted reproductive technologies (ART) — including in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and fertility preservation services — and they continue to lead the industry by building on these technologies by through development, research and thought leadership. Through its growing family of national organizations — which includes The Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America; MyEggBank®, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; BUNDL Fertility™, a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program; HavenCryo™, a long-term reproductive preservation and storage solution provider and NutraBloom®, a premium lifestyle brand with expertly formulated supplements to support individuals' health and wellness goals for preconception — Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations. For more information, visit www.inceptionfertility.com.

Media Contact

Mia Humphreys
MHumphreys@kruppagency.com

The Reproductive Medicine Group (RMG), a premier provider of best-in-class fertility services, congratulates four doctors on being named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.  

Castle Connolly Top Doctors represent the top 7% of all U.S. practicing physicians. Those with RMG who were named as Top Docs include Betsy McCormick, MD; Samuel Tarantino, Jr., MD; Sandy Goodman, MD; and Timothy Yeko, MD. These physicians earned this recognition from a pool of over one million U.S. doctors.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are nominated by their peers, after which the Castle Connolly research team evaluates specific criteria to determine who should qualify as a Top Doctor, including consideration of each nominee’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, and outcomes data. The recognition methodology has been vetted and endorsed by the Castle Connolly Medical Advisory Board. 

As board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologists & Infertility Specialists (REI), each of RMG’s physicians are dedicated to providing patients with compassionate and individualized fertility care that is rooted in the latest science and technologies in reproductive medicine. The clinic is part of The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America. Its team of innovative and empathetic reproductive endocrinologists spend real time with each family to understand their goals and develop personalized treatment plans. In total, 48 physicians across Prelude were named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

“On behalf of my colleagues, we want to express our gratitude to our peers for nominating us for this incredible distinction and to Castle Connolly for recognizing the work we do on behalf of our patients,” says Dr. Goodman. “It is an honor to serve our patients and provide them with the highest level of reproductive care.”

RMG is part of The Prelude Network (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America, and has been providing leading edge reproductive healthcare services to aspiring parents for 40 years. The clinic is guided by the highest ethical standards, providing patients with the best quality, individualized, compassionate fertility clinic care. 

Prelude is the clinical network of Inception Fertility™ (Inception), a family of fertility brands and the largest provider of fertility services in North America, and its physicians include innovators in fertility care who have pioneered some of today’s most advanced reproductive technologies, including vitrification, fertility preservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

About The Reproductive Medicine Group

The Reproductive Medicine Group is a patient-focused fertility clinic in the Greater Tampa Bay area, with five fertility clinics in North Tampa, South Tampa, Brandon, Clearwater, and Wesley Chapel, Florida. The clinic’s fertility specialists comprise the largest team of reproductive endocrinologists in the Tampa Bay area. For more information, visit www.floridafertility.com.

About The Prelude Network

The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility — a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility. Each clinic, as part of Prelude, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and practitioners by focusing on excellence in science, medicine and the patient experience. The growing Prelude Network has more than 90 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, LGBTQ+ fertility options, and egg/embryo storage, among others. Clinics within Prelude include Aspire Fertility Austin (Texas); Aspire Fertility Dallas (Texas); Aspire Fertility San Antonio (Texas); Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Texas); Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Illinois); Center for Reproductive Medicine (Florida); Indiana Fertility Institute (Indiana); IVFMD (Florida); Main Line Fertility (Pennsylvania); NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York); NYU Langone RSNY (New York); Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (Canada); Pacific Fertility Center (California); Regional Fertility Program (Canada); Reproductive Biology Associates (Georgia); Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey (New Jersey); Tennessee Fertility Institute (Tennessee), and The Reproductive Medicine Group (Florida). For more information, visit www.preludefertility.com.

About Inception Fertility

Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine in an effort to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes. Inception's medical experts are leading pioneers in fertility care. Our doctors are some of the first to use breakthrough assisted reproductive technologies (ART) — including in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and fertility preservation services — and they continue to lead the industry by building on these technologies by through development, research and thought leadership. Through its growing family of national organizations — which includes The Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America; MyEggBank®, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; BUNDL Fertility™, a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program; HavenCryo™, a long-term reproductive preservation and storage solution provider and NutraBloom®, a premium lifestyle brand with expertly formulated supplements to support individuals' health and wellness goals for preconception — Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations. For more information, visit www.inceptionfertility.com.

Media Contact

Mia Humphreys
MHumphreys@kruppagency.com

Reproductive Biology Associates (RBA), a premier provider of best-in-class fertility services, congratulates four doctors on being named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.  

Castle Connolly Top Doctors represent the top 7% of all U.S. practicing physicians. Those with RBA who were named as Top Docs include Andrew Toledo, MD; Daniel Shapiro, MD; Jessica Rubin, MD; Michael Witt, MD; and Monica Best, MD. These physicians earned this recognition from a pool of over one million U.S. doctors.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are nominated by their peers, after which the Castle Connolly research team evaluates specific criteria to determine who should qualify as a Top Doctor, including consideration of each nominee’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, and outcomes data. The recognition methodology has been vetted and endorsed by the Castle Connolly Medical Advisory Board. 

As board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologists and Infertility Specialists (REI), each of RBA’s physicians are dedicated to providing patients with compassionate and individualized fertility care that is rooted in the latest science and technologies in reproductive medicine. The clinic is part of The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America. Its team of innovative and empathetic specialists spend real time with each family to understand their goals and develop personalized treatment plans. In total, 48 physicians across Prelude were named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

“We are proud of RBA’s continued leadership in reproductive medicine and dedication to patient care,” says Dr. Andrew Toledo. “Thank you to Castle Connolly for recognizing our team as Top Doctors once again.”

Part of The Prelude Network (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America, RBA is considered one of Atlanta's top medical practices and a cornerstone in fertility treatment since 1983. The practice has contributed to over 35,000 journeys to parenthood and has led the way in groundbreaking achievements. 

Prelude is the clinical network of Inception Fertility™ (Inception), a family of fertility brands and the largest provider of fertility services in North America, and its physicians include innovators in fertility care who have pioneered some of today’s most advanced reproductive technologies, including vitrification, fertility preservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

About Reproductive Biology Associates

Part of The Prelude Network (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America, Reproductive Biology Associates (RBA) is the oldest continuously operating full-service private fertility treatment center in the United States. Since its establishment in 1983, the center’s mission has focused on the development, improvement, and application of clinical and applied sciences to improve fertility care, with its RBA team being responsible for several notable firsts in reproductive medicine. For more information, visit www.rbafertility.com.

About The Prelude Network

The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility — a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility. Each clinic, as part of Prelude, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and practitioners by focusing on excellence in science, medicine and the patient experience. The growing Prelude Network has more than 90 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, LGBTQ+ fertility options, and egg/embryo storage, among others. Those clinics within Prelude include Aspire Fertility Austin (Texas); Aspire Fertility Dallas (Texas); Aspire Fertility San Antonio (Texas); Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Texas); Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Illinois); Center for Reproductive Medicine (Florida); Indiana Fertility Institute (Indiana); IVFMD (Florida); Main Line Fertility (Pennsylvania); NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York); NYU Langone RSNY (New York); Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (Canada); Pacific Fertility Center (California); Regional Fertility Program (Canada); Reproductive Biology Associates (Georgia); Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey (New Jersey); Tennessee Fertility Institute (Tennessee), and The Reproductive Medicine Group (Florida). For more information, visit www.preludefertility.com.

About Inception Fertility

Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine in an effort to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes. Inception's medical experts are leading pioneers in fertility care. Our doctors are some of the first to use breakthrough assisted reproductive technologies (ART) — including in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and fertility preservation services – and they continue to lead the industry by building on these technologies by through development, research and thought leadership. Through its growing family of national organizations — which includes The Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America; MyEggBank®, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; BUNDL Fertility™, a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program; HavenCryo™, a long-term reproductive preservation and storage solution provider and NutraBloom®, a premium lifestyle brand with expertly formulated supplements to support individuals' health and wellness goals for preconception — Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations. For more information, visit www.inceptionfertility.com.

Media Contact

Mia Humphreys
MHumphreys@kruppagency.com

The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest and fastest-growing network of fertility centers in North America, today celebrates 48 of its physicians across 15 clinics within its expansive network who are named a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are nominated by their peers, after which the Castle Connolly research team evaluates specific criteria to determine who should qualify as a Top Doctor, including consideration of each nominee’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, and outcomes data. The recognition methodology has been vetted and endorsed by the Castle Connolly Medical Advisory Board. 

Part of Inception Fertility™ (Inception), a family of fertility brands and the largest provider of fertility services in North America, Prelude’s clinics span throughout California, Texas, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee, and Western Canada. Prelude specialists include innovators in fertility care who have pioneered some of today’s most advanced reproductive technologies, including vitrification, fertility preservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). 

Dr. Jamie Grifo, Program Director at NYU Langone Fertility Center and Chief Executive Physician of Inception, was named a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctor for the 27th year in a row. Dr. Grifo shares, “I’d like to personally congratulate my colleagues across the entire Prelude Network for being recognized for their commitment to reproductive medicine and patient care,” says Dr. Grifo. “As reproductive specialists, we understand that patients look to us for compassionate and science-based guidance that will result in the best pregnancy outcomes and it is within that responsibility that we continue to move this field of medicine forward.”

Each clinic within Prelude is dedicated to patient experience and providing compassionate, personalized fertility care through a full range of comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services, including in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI), LGBTQ+ family building, third party reproductive services, fertility preservation, genetic testing, and more. 

“Our physicians exemplify the highest standards of care and leadership in reproductive medicine,” says TJ Farnsworth, founder and CEO of Inception Fertility. “We congratulate them on this achievement and thank them for the meaningful impact they make for patients every day.”

Those Prelude clinics who are included in the 2026 Top Doctor by Castle Connolly are Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois), Aspire Fertility Austin (Austin, Texas), Aspire Fertility Dallas (Dallas, Texas), Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Houston, Texas), Aspire Fertility San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas), Center for Reproductive Medicine (Orlando, Florida), Indiana Fertility Institute (Carmel, Indiana), IVFMD (Miami, FL), Main Line Fertility (Philadelphia, PA), NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York, New York), NYU Langone Reproductive Specialists of New York (New York, New York), Pacific Fertility Center (San Francisco, California), Reproductive Biology Associates (Atlanta, Georgia), Reproductive Medicine Group (Tampa, Florida), Tennessee Fertility Institute (Nashville, Tennessee).

About The Prelude Network

The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility — a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility. Each clinic, as part of Prelude, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and practitioners by focusing on excellence in science, medicine and the patient experience. The growing Prelude Network has more than 90 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, LGBTQ+ fertility options, and egg/embryo storage, among others. Clinics within Prelude include Aspire Fertility Austin (Texas); Aspire Fertility Dallas (Texas); Aspire Fertility San Antonio (Texas); Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Texas); Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Illinois); Center for Reproductive Medicine (Florida); Indiana Fertility Institute (Indiana); IVFMD (Florida); Main Line Fertility (Pennsylvania); NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York); NYU Langone RSNY (New York); Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (Canada); Pacific Fertility Center (California); Regional Fertility Program (Canada); Reproductive Biology Associates (Georgia); Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey (New Jersey); Tennessee Fertility Institute (Tennessee), and The Reproductive Medicine Group (Florida). For more information, visit www.preludefertility.com.

About Inception Fertility

Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine in an effort to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes. Inception's medical experts are leading pioneers in fertility care. Our doctors are some of the first to use breakthrough assisted reproductive technologies (ART) — including in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and fertility preservation services — and they continue to lead the industry by building on these technologies by through development, research and thought leadership. Through its growing family of national organizations — which includes The Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America; MyEggBank®, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; BUNDL Fertility™, a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program; HavenCryo™, a long-term reproductive preservation and storage solution provider and NutraBloom®, a premium lifestyle brand with expertly formulated supplements to support individuals' health and wellness goals for preconception — Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations. For more information, visit www.inceptionfertility.com.

Media Contact

Mia Humphreys
MHumphreys@kruppagency.com

Pacific Fertility Center (PFC), a premier provider of best-in-class fertility services, congratulates three of its doctors on being named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors. 

Castle Connolly Top Doctors represent the top 7% of all U.S. practicing physicians. Those with PFC who were named as Top Doctors include Isabelle Ryan, MD; Jennifer Agard, MD; and Liyun Li, MD. These physicians earned this recognition from a pool of over one million U.S. doctors.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are nominated by their peers, after which the Castle Connolly research team evaluates specific criteria to determine who should qualify as a Top Doctor, including consideration of each nominee’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, interpersonal skills, and outcomes data. The recognition methodology has been vetted and endorsed by the Castle Connolly Medical Advisory Board. 

Each of PFC’s physicians is a board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist (REI), dedicated to delivering compassionate, individualized fertility care grounded in the latest advances in reproductive science and technology. The clinic is part of The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America. Its team of innovative and empathetic physicians spend real time with each family to understand their goals and develop personalized treatment plans. In total, 48 physicians across Prelude were named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

“At PFC, our focus is on combining innovation in reproductive medicine with truly individualized care for each patient and family,” says Dr. Ryan. “We’re thankful to our colleagues for this nomination and proud to be recognized by Castle Connolly as Top Doctors.”

PFC is part of The Prelude Network® (Prelude), the largest network of fertility clinics in North America. As a leading fertility treatment center known for cutting edge technology, PFC clinicians provide some of the best IVF treatment options alongside other reproductive services. Their extensive clinical experience, outstanding academic credentials, and research contributions have led to success in treating even the most challenging infertility cases. 

Prelude is the clinical network of Inception Fertility™ (Inception), a family of fertility brands and the largest provider of fertility services in North America, and its physicians include innovators in fertility care who have pioneered some of today’s most advanced reproductive technologies, including vitrification, fertility preservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

About Pacific Fertility Center

Since 1999, Pacific Fertility Center (PFC) has provided unparalleled fertility care for patients in Northern California and around the world. Each of our convenient locations features essential services, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), fertility preservation, like egg freezing, genetic testing, and diagnosis and treatment of reproductive health concerns. Our award-winning team of fertility specialists will help you to achieve your parenthood goals. The Pacific Fertility Egg Bank program is home to one of the largest, full-service donor egg programs in Northern California. It offers clients from around the world high IVF success rates, greater convenience and lower cost than other egg donor agencies. For more information, visit www.pacificfertilitycenter.com.

About The Prelude Network

The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility — a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility. Each clinic, as part of Prelude, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and practitioners by focusing on excellence in science, medicine and the patient experience. The growing Prelude Network has more than 90 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, LGBTQ+ fertility options, and egg/embryo storage, among others. Those clinics within Prelude include Aspire Fertility Austin (Texas); Aspire Fertility Dallas (Texas); Aspire Fertility San Antonio (Texas); Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Texas); Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago (Illinois); Center for Reproductive Medicine (Florida); Indiana Fertility Institute (Indiana); IVFMD (Florida); Main Line Fertility (Pennsylvania); NYU Langone Fertility Center (New York); NYU Langone RSNY (New York); Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (Canada); Pacific Fertility Center (California); Regional Fertility Program (Canada); Reproductive Biology Associates (Georgia); Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey (New Jersey); Tennessee Fertility Institute (Tennessee), and The Reproductive Medicine Group (Florida). For more information, visit www.preludefertility.com.

About Inception Fertility

Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine in an effort to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes. Inception's medical experts are leading pioneers in fertility care. Our doctors are some of the first to use breakthrough assisted reproductive technologies (ART) — including in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and fertility preservation services — and they continue to lead the industry by building on these technologies by through development, research and thought leadership. Through its growing family of national organizations — which includes The Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America; MyEggBank®, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; BUNDL Fertility™, a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program; HavenCryo™, a long-term reproductive preservation and storage solution provider and NutraBloom®, a premium lifestyle brand with expertly formulated supplements to support individuals' health and wellness goals for preconception — Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations. For more information, visit www.inceptionfertility.com.

Media Contact

Mia Humphreys
MHumphreys@kruppagency.com