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OPay is pleased to share that James (“Jim”) Perry has joined us as our Chief Financial Officer, effective December 1.

In this role, Jim will lead OPay’s financial strategy, capital planning, and investor relations as we continue to scale our fintech ecosystem across Africa and expand globally. He will work closely with our founder and Chairman, James Zhou, and our broader leadership team.

Jim brings nearly 30 years of industry experience, having worked across New York, London, Palo Alto, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He spent 28 years at Citigroup, including the past 15 years in Asia as Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Technology Investment Banking, and completed a short stint as CFO of Zilingo.

Over his career, he helped companies raise approximately US$180 billion in equity and debt capital and advised on more than US$80 billion in M&A transactions. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business from The Pennsylvania State University.

“I’m excited to join OPay at such a pivotal stage of its growth,” said Jim. “OPay is building one of the most important fintech platforms in emerging markets, and I look forward to working with the team to help shape our next chapter.”  

We’re delighted to welcome Jim to OPay.

Stan Ventures is celebrating over 15 years of search excellence in the digital marketing realm. Founded in 2009, Stan Ventures has grown from a solo laptop side hustle into an Indo-American white-label SEO and link-building partner for small and medium agencies.

Led by Prady Kumaar, Stan Ventures is built on a model that merges U.S.-based client experience with India’s technical capabilities, allowing agencies to offer SEO fulfillment services under their own brands without expanding their internal teams. Over the years, Stan Ventures has defined its position as a practical solution for digital, creative, and social media agencies seeking reliable white-label, SEO, and link-building fulfillments.

The company was born out of Kumaar’s early passion for blogging. “I was just writing articles and getting published for small remuneration,” he recalls. “After some time, I understood I could make blogging into a full-time business.” Venturing deeper into the realm of writing and publishing, he began to recognize the true value of backlinks and their influence on organic rankings.

“Backlinks became the next big thing. I understood they could support brands that wanted their products or websites ranked for competitive keywords,” he says. Stan Ventures was born from this very insight, which began by supporting brands and agencies through a growing network of blogs and outreach relationships.

Based in Illinois and Bangalore, India, the company today offers a full suite of white-label AI-SEO solutions, brand mentions, and blogger outreach, with core services that include link building, business optimization, LLM optimization, high-quality backlinks for both standard search engines and LLM-driven environments, and AI-SEO support.

Kumaar emphasizes that a key differentiator of the company lies in the Indo-American structure. “The technical outreach and SEO fulfillment teams operate from India, while client services and account support are led from the U.S.,” he says. “This inclusivity has allowed us to maintain competitive pricing and transparency, without added overhead costs.”

According to him, Stan Ventures’ business model is built to support agencies of various sizes, particularly those generating between $10 million and $50 million in revenue, as well as smaller digital marketing teams and freelancers seeking scalable SEO fulfillment.

“Today, the SEO landscape is shifting toward generative engines and intent-based results. It’s not a number game anymore, but rather about intent,” Kumaar emphasizes. This belief informs Stan Ventures’ approach, where emerging AI-driven search behavior stands as one of its main areas of focus.

“Generative engines will pre-decide outcomes, so brands need strong content and backlinks from authority websites,” he says. This alignment, Kumaar explains, could signal to LLMs that a brand delivers meaningful value to its audience, strengthening its presence in AI-driven search experiences.

Stan Ventures is committed to individualized service, where each client relationship begins with understanding the reason behind their outreach, whether they prioritize pricing and speed efficiency or premium link quality. “There is no one-size-fits-all,” Kumaar says. “The only way to maintain relationships is through a tailored, hyper-personalized approach. Every client comes with their own goals, and we want to fulfill that with transparency and care.”

As Stan Ventures celebrates over 15 years, its goals for the future lie in expanding its Indo-American team presence and strengthening its position in the LLM-SEO and link-building market. Through it all, Kumaar’s vision is laser-focused on inimitability. “We want to become the number one Indo-American white-label LLM-SEO and link-building agency,” he says. And in that pursuit, Stan Ventures continues its mission to be at the forefront of SEO fulfillment, helping businesses scale confidently in a changing digital landscape.

About Stan Ventures

Prady Kumaar is an entrepreneur who journeyed from being a college student and passionate blogger to becoming the founder of multiple digital marketing agencies. Discovering his innate entrepreneurial spirit, he founded his primary venture, Stan Ventures, in 2010. Today, Stan Ventures offers white-label SEO and link-building services to help businesses accelerate their brands. For more information, visit www.stanventures.com.

Media Contact

Prady Kumaar
pkumaar@stanventures.com

Let’s face it, any devoted pet parent knows their camera roll is at least 50% furry faces. But what actually happens to all those great photos? Mixtiles has created a surprisingly fun answer.

Using advanced AI, a single pet photo can be turned into a series of imaginative bath-time scenes: your cat reclining with cucumber slices over their eyes or your dog wrapped in a towel turban enjoying a spa moment.

Anyone who has ever tried giving their pet a bath understands exactly why these images make people smile. They feel personal, they spark conversation, and they add instant character to a room. They also solve the ongoing question of what to hang in a bathroom with something both stylish and adorable.

Inspired by a popular TikTok trend, Mixtiles built a seamless experience that makes it simple for anyone to turn their pet’s photo into memorable bathroom art. The company continues to develop new AI-powered pet concepts on Mixtiles.com, offering fresh ways for people to turn everyday snapshots into design pieces filled with personality.

About Mixtiles

Mixtiles was founded in 2016 by Eytan Levit and David Katz, with a mission to remove friction from life’s simple pleasures through exceptional design. The company’s philosophy is to use cutting-edge technology like AI, AR, and IoT not for its own sake, but to make homes more joyful and effortless.

Products

• Mixtiles Photos — Mixtiles transforms digital photos into lightweight, peel and stick photo tiles that mount to walls (over 95 million tiles sold globally).
• Easyplant — Self-watering plants in ceramic pots that you fill once a month, and they can help your plants live up to six times as long.
• Oasis — Smart lighting that follows your circadian rhythm, wakes you gently, and winds you down naturally.

The Product: AI Pet Templates

AI Pet templates is Mixtiles' newest innovation, a playful, surprisingly human application of artificial intelligence. Upload a single photo of your dog or cat, and within minutes, receive a fully AI-generated gallery wall showing your pet enjoying a spa day. Each image is transformed into a Mixtiles frame ready to hang with a simple peel and stick.

The product launched with bath time templates and has since expanded to include kitchen, bedroom, and other room-specific scenarios. Pet parents can mix and match different scenes or create galleries featuring multiple pets.

Why AI Pet Templates Is Genius

Innovation with Purpose: While most AI focuses on efficiency, Mixtiles is about celebrating relationships. It asks a different question: how can AI deepen the bonds we already cherish? Your camera roll is probably already full of pet photos— now those moments can become personalized art that makes you smile every day.

Solves an Overlooked Problem: Bathrooms are notoriously hard to decorate. If the space feels too formal, it comes off as stiff and unwelcoming. But family photos can feel a little too intimate for guests. Pet spa portraits are the perfect solution — they’re whimsical, personal, funny, and they instantly start conversations.

Creates the Impossible: Try photographing your dog with cucumbers on their eyes — it’s not going to happen. AI makes it possible to create moments of pure delight that reality simply won’t cooperate with.

Instant Gallery Wall: You can go from upload to gallery wall in just minutes. A single photo can become a full gallery wall that tells a complete visual story. It’s the perfect intersection of convenience and creativity — low effort, high reward.

Beyond Bathrooms: Now includes kitchen, bedroom, and other room scenarios. Mix and match multiple pets and templates for endless creativity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does it work?

Upload one photo of your pet, and AI Pet generates 4 to 6 high-quality portraits in different styles and compositions  all based on your pet’s real features.

Why only one photo?

Our AI is trained to understand pets’ shapes, colors, and facial structures from a single image, so you get great results without needing multiple angles.

Do the images come out print-ready?

Yes. All generated images are produced in high resolution and optimized for printing on Mixtiles.

Can I order Mixtiles directly from the results?

Absolutely. After choosing your favorite portrait, you can order it printed as Mixtiles immediately.

What kinds of pets does it work with?

Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, reptiles — and pretty much any pet.

How long does it take?

Results are typically ready in under a minute.

Do I need a perfect photo?

No. Even simple or imperfect photos usually work well — the AI enhances clarity and detail.

Is it safe?

Yes. Your photo is used solely for generating your AI Pet results and handled according to Mixtiles’ privacy and security standards.

About Getfluence

Getfluence is a global marketplace dedicated to sponsored content campaigns. We connect brands and agencies with the most influential digital media, to increase your visibility and awareness. For more information, visit getfluence.com.

Media Contact

Stephane Baron
stephane.baron@getfluence.com

Businesses and consumers face rising expectations for speed, transparency and tailored digital experiences. To help them navigate this shift, StartupMafia has identified ten companies offering solutions that address real operational and behavioral challenges.

10101.art

10101.art opens the door to high-value cultural assets by making shared ownership of fine art accessible through a Web3-enabled ecosystem. It bridges traditional art-market stability with blockchain transparency, helping businesses diversify assets and engage new audiences through fractionalized art ownership.

The platform distinguishes itself with a full-stack approach that combines blockchain infrastructure, legal frameworks, and exclusive global art events. Its model turns fine art into a liquid, shareable, and dynamic asset class.

Galaxy4Games

Galaxy4Games develops gaming experiences for publishers, startups, and global brands, covering everything from casual mobile games to large-scale MMORPGs. Its modular development system and LiveOps capabilities allow clients to accelerate production and introduce new titles faster.

The company stands out for its engineering-driven framework that reduces costs and enables scalable deployment. Its reusable game application templates support consistent quality and adaptability in a rapidly evolving gaming market.

EssayPro

EssayPro, an essay writing service from the United States, provides a marketplace for custom academic writing, connecting students with vetted writers for essays, research papers, dissertations, and admission documents. It integrates plagiarism checks, AI detection, and milestone-based payments to ensure transparency and academic integrity.

The service stands out for its large pool of verified writers, 24/7 support, and free study tools, including citation generators and AI-powered helpers. With more than 1.5 million users, it offers fast turnaround times and a structured, user-driven workflow.

Romantic AI

Romantic AI provides an AI-powered platform for creating personalized digital companions, including virtual partners, anime characters, or emotional conversation partners. The app helps users design avatars with tailored aesthetics and personality traits for emotional engagement or supportive interaction.

What differentiates Romantic AI is its focus on realism and interactivity. Users can craft nuanced personalities and choose between various visual styles without relying on preset templates, enabling more authentic and intimate virtual companionship.

PDFGate

PDFGate delivers a PDF automation platform for businesses seeking to generate, convert, and manage documents through API-driven workflows. It supports tasks such as HTML-to-PDF conversion, form generation, watermarking, data extraction, and document security.

Its simplicity and developer-oriented design set it apart. PDFGate enables companies to add reliable document automation without operating dedicated infrastructure, making it a practical tool for creating invoices, contracts, reports, and other business documents at scale.

SMSFAST

SMSFAST offers temporary virtual phone numbers that help users receive SMS verification codes online from more than 190 countries. It enables secure account activation on websites and apps without revealing personal phone numbers.

The platform stands out by replicating the functionality of real SIM-based numbers while providing full digital accessibility. Its wide geographic coverage and instant SMS delivery make it useful for privacy-focused users and businesses managing multi-account operations.

BookingAuto

BookingAuto is a global car-rental comparison service that allows travelers to search and book vehicles from major providers across 186 countries. It offers transparent pricing, free cancellation, and continuous rate monitoring by in-house analysts.

Its competitive advantage comes from pairing worldwide coverage with strong customer support and detailed market oversight. By aggregating offers from major brands and regional providers, BookingAuto gives travelers reliable options at favorable prices.

Itinerary Expert

Itinerary Expert specializes in crafting personalized travel routes based on individual preferences. It handles full trip planning, including itineraries, hotel choices, car rentals, attractions, and family-friendly activities, delivered as a comprehensive PDF guide.

Its main distinction lies in hands-on support throughout the journey. Continuous WhatsApp communication ensures travelers receive real-time assistance, enabling a smoother and more enjoyable experience without the burden of planning.

Prix Carburant

Prix Carburant tracks and compares fuel prices across France and Europe, providing motorists and fleet managers with real-time insights into fuel costs and market trends. Its platform aggregates official station data, offering interactive maps, statistics, and analytics.

Its distinguishing feature is its broad thematic coverage and user-centered design. In addition to price comparisons, it provides trend charts, editorial analyses, and custom alerts, helping users make informed mobility decisions amid fluctuating energy markets.

Elips News

Elips News is a Turkish-language digital media outlet offering impartial reporting on national and global developments. It covers politics, current affairs, economics, technology, and culture, supported by an independent editorial team and a digital broadcast channel, Elips TV.

The platform stands out for its commitment to ethical journalism and high-quality reporting. Its combination of news coverage, interviews, and in-depth programs positions it as a trustworthy source for audiences seeking accurate information.

These companies reflect the direction businesses are taking in 2025: adopting automation, prioritizing user control, and seeking transparency across products and services. Their approaches illustrate how technology and consumer behavior continue to converge. Together, they outline a roadmap for the next stage of digital, operational, and market adaptation.

About StartupMafia

StartupMafia is a business media and research platform that tracks emerging companies, technologies, and market trends worldwide. It provides curated insights to help businesses and investors identify relevant solutions in a changing global economy. For more information, visit startupmafia.eu.

Media Contact

StartupMafia.eu Press Department
press@startupmafia.eu

iNGENū CRO, a global contract research organization, has set out the main operational factors it says enable sponsors to run clinical trials at lower cost while meeting international regulatory standards.

The company said the approach combines the use of cost-efficient global trial locations, access to government R&D incentive programs and the adoption of modern trial technologies intended to streamline monitoring and data collection.

Global Trial Locations

iNGENū CRO conducts trials in jurisdictions that adhere to ICH-GCP requirements, with data accepted by major regulators including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

These markets offer established ethics review processes, experienced investigators and lower overhead than traditional U.S. and European trial centres, the company said.

Government Incentives

Several of the regions in which the company operates provide R&D tax incentives or grant schemes that can offset clinical development costs. These programs reduce net expenditure for sponsors without adding regulatory complexity, by virtue of a Government bursary.

Decentralized Clinical Trial Design and Technology

The company also uses decentralized clinical trial (DCT) models to reduce reliance on physical sites, enabling remote data capture and patient engagement.

Risk-Based Monitoring (RBM) frameworks are applied to focus oversight on areas of higher operational risk, reducing the need for extensive on-site verification.

iNGENū CRO said its integrated digital platforms support protocol management, data capture and compliance oversight.

“Our objective is to provide an efficient clinical trial model that maintains scientific and regulatory standards while reducing unnecessary cost,” said Dr. Sud Agarwal, chief executive officer of iNGENū CRO. “By combining global site strategy, modern monitoring methods and government incentives, sponsors can run trials more efficiently.”

Media Contact

Amanda DeVito
press@ingenuCRO.com

Crypto exchange BitGW said it plans to launch a peer-to-peer payments app in 2026, enabling users to send and receive funds — in both cryptocurrencies and fiat currency. The rollout will begin in a small number of pilot countries before expanding to a second group of around 80 markets by the end of 2030, with global availability planned in subsequent phases as part of the company’s broader push beyond its core trading business.

The move signals BitGW’s push into the fast-growing digital payments market and puts it in potential competition with PayPal, Revolut and CashApp, which have been expanding their presence in crypto-enabled money transfers.

Context

The company already supports off-chain internal transfers in the BitGW app, allowing users to move funds instantly using a recipient’s UID. In addition, BitGW has integrated with a range of regulated third-party on-ramp and off-ramp providers — including Mercuryo and FinchPay — giving users the ability to convert between fiat and crypto assets within minutes.

The BitGW payment app will extend these capabilities, and users will have a dedicated account that supports both fiat money and more than a hundred cryptocurrencies, allowing instant transfers between users without blockchain fees or reliance on external banking infrastructure.

Key Quote

“We believe the future of global money movement lies in the combination of crypto rails and modern payment technology. At BitGW, users will be able to transfer value across borders in seconds, whether they choose to send stablecoins, local currencies or major cryptocurrencies. This is a natural extension of the infrastructure we have built for BitGW exchange users,” said Marcellino Payet, a spokesperson for BitGW.

About BitGW

At BitGW, users will be able to transfer value across borders in seconds, whether they choose to send stablecoins, local currencies or major cryptocurrencies. For more information, visit www.bitgw.com.

Media Contact

Marcellino Payet
support@bitgw.com

When Ukrainian software company Railsware launched Coupler.io in March 2020, it solved a single problem: importing Airtable data into Google Sheets. Five years later, that GSheets add-on supporting five sources has evolved into a data integration platform connecting over 400 business applications for over 200k users.

What Coupler.io Does

Coupler.io is a no-code data integration and AI analytics platform that automates the flow of business data. It eliminates manual data exports by automatically pulling information from marketing, finance, sales, and other tools, then delivering it to spreadsheets, data warehouses, business intelligence tools, or AI integrations.

Users connect their business applications, configure which data to import, and set automated refresh schedules ranging from monthly updates to every 15 minutes. The data integration platform requires no coding or technical expertise.

How Data Integration Platform Works

Coupler.io operates on a three-step process: connecting data sources, transforming the data, and delivering it to destinations. Users set up each step through a web interface without writing code.

Data Sources

Coupler.io supports more than 400 data connectors organized across business categories. 

Marketing sources include:

• Advertising platforms (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Bing Ads)
• Web analytics (Google Analytics 4, Piwik Pro, Plausible)
• Social media management (Facebook Page Insights, Instagram Insights, YouTube)

Finance sources cover:

• Accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, Recurly)
• Payment platforms (Stripe, Square, Chargebee)

Sales and CRM sources include:

• CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM)

E-commerce platforms enable:

• Store performance tracking (Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace)

Operations sources span:

• Project management (Asana, ClickUp, Jira)
• Time tracking (Clockify, Harvest, Toggl)
• Productivity tools (Google Calendar, Slack, Trello)

And many more. The data integration platform expanded its source library fivefold in 2025, growing from 78 sources in early summer to over 400 by autumn. 

Data Transformation

Users can preview, filter, blend, and perform calculations on data before transferring it to destinations through Coupler.io's transformation module. The module allows users to manage columns, apply filters, create formula-based calculations, and join data from multiple sources without coding. In November 2024, the data integration platform added data aggregation capabilities. This enabled users to summarize data using operations such as sum, average, count, minimum, and maximum.

The data transformation features eliminate the need for intermediate spreadsheet processing. Marketing teams can blend Facebook Ads data with Google Analytics. In contrast, finance teams combine revenue from multiple accounting sources before visualization — tasks that typically require SQL knowledge or data engineering expertise.

Destinations

Coupler.io, as one of the leading data integration platforms, enables scheduled data refresh and automated delivery into multiple destination categories:

• Spreadsheet applications — Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel for accessible data analysis and sharing
• Data warehouses — Google BigQuery, PostgreSQL, and Amazon Redshift for scalable data storage
• Business intelligence tools — Looker Studio, Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik for advanced visualization
• Other destinations — CSV, JSON, and monday.com for flexible data export options
• In 2025, Coupler.io has enhanced its destination list with AI tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Cursor. 

Key Benefits You Get with Coupler.io

Beyond basic data integration, Coupler.io offers pre-built solutions and automation capabilities that accelerate reporting and reduce the need for technical expertise.

Reporting Automation

With the Coupler.io ETL tool, users can schedule a refresh that automatically updates data at predetermined intervals, including monthly, daily, hourly, every 30 minutes, or as frequently as every 15 minutes. Users can specify day of the week, time, and timezone for automated updates.

Webhook automation enables event-driven data flows and integration with external systems. Incoming webhooks trigger data flow execution through POST requests, while outgoing webhooks notify external systems when data flows complete. The platform integrates with popular automation tools like Zapier and Make (formerly Integromat) through webhook connections.

AI-Powered Features

In June 2025, Coupler.io introduced an AI Insights feature that uses large language models to generate natural-language summaries of trends, anomalies and KPI dynamics in automated dashboards. The platform also supports integrations with AI systems to connect business data directly to tools like ChatGPT and Claude for natural language querying and analysis.

Dashboard and Data Set Templates 

Over 160 pre-built dashboard templates for Looker Studio, Google Sheets, and Power BI are available for all users. There are predesigned solutions that cover use cases in marketing, sales, social media, finance, and e-commerce. In October 2024, the data integration platform launched built-in Coupler.io Dashboards. These are native templates to visualize data directly within the UI without requiring third-party business intelligence tools.

Coupler.io also provides data set templates — pre-configured combinations of data sources, transformations, and key metrics designed by professional data analysts. These templates handle the complexity of blending raw data, selecting relevant metrics, and performing calculations automatically. Marketing templates aggregate PPC metrics by week or month from platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Finance templates like "QuickBooks P&L Detail This/Last Month" extract key profit and loss metrics for specific time periods.

Users connect their data sources to templates and receive functional dashboards in minutes rather than building visualizations from scratch.

Who Uses the No-Code Data Integration Platform

Coupler.io targets non-technical business users who need to consolidate data from multiple sources without relying on data engineers or IT support. The platform serves professionals across marketing, finance, sales, e-commerce, and agency environments.

Data and marketing analysts use Coupler.io to build enterprise-grade dashboards and automate complex reporting workflows. For example, ULTRA\OPS, a digital consultancy and Coupler.io partner, cut reporting build time by 90% for their client by automating data flows from a custom Airtable app into Looker Studio. The team built live dashboards with deep insights in a single day without coding, avoiding expensive custom API development.

Business owners rely on Coupler.io to make data-driven decisions across their organizations. Consider Fable, which saved over $60,000 annually on data analytics by building automated data pipelines that bring together essential business data. The extensive Power BI dashboards help both managers and frontline employees find needed data within seconds, speeding up decision-making and making data more transparent and accessible.

Marketing professionals can benefit from Coupler.io for campaign management, SEO tracking, and cross-channel reporting. A case in point is United Way Northwest Indiana, which reduced reporting time by 80 hours per month through automated data integration from advertising platforms, Google Analytics 4, and Google Search Console. The solution saved $20,000 annually on manual labor while enabling upwards of $50,000 in additional donations through real-time campaign optimization.

Finance and accounting departments use Coupler.io data connectors for financial reporting, revenue tracking, and billing automation. Consider Project Alfred, an Australian accounting firm that saved 20–40 hours monthly by unifying data from Xero and HubSpot. The firm now creates accurate scenario-based cash flow forecasts with 12–24 months of visibility without technical complexity.

Agencies use ETL pipelines by Coupler.io for client reporting automation and multi-account management. Take SellThru, a leading digital marketing agency that reduced dashboard setup time from 2 weeks to 2–3 days while achieving over 95% tracking reliability. The automation saves at least one hour per day on manual data mapping across multiple client accounts.

Sales teams use Coupler.io for pipeline optimization and CRM performance monitoring. For example, Kolus.io reduced manual data export time from 5 hours per week to zero through automated Pipedrive reporting, enabling real-time dashboards and consistent identification of 3–5 new upsell opportunities monthly.

E-commerce businesses turn to the data integration and analytics platform for store performance tracking and inventory management. For instance, Habitium streamlined data management across more than 200 distributors and over 400,000 products, improving profit margins by 5%, increasing sales by 11%, and reducing manual labor from 50 to 10 hours per month.

Coupler.io differentiates by focusing on non-technical business users rather than data engineers, offering pre-built templates and simplified workflows instead of requiring SQL knowledge or technical configuration.

Business Model and Services

The data integration platform operates on a freemium subscription model with a free plan and paid subscription tiers. In 2025, the company transitioned to account-based pricing, where users pay for connected data source accounts rather than individual data connections or flows. The pricing structure scales based on the number of connected accounts, with no limits on data sources on paid plans.

All Coupler.io data connectors use the cloud-based service on Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud infrastructure with SOC 2 Type II certification. The platform complies with GDPR, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) requirements for regulated entities.

About Coupler.io

Coupler.io is a no-code data integration and AI analytics platform that automates collecting and routing business data across cloud apps. It connects marketing, sales, finance, and productivity services with scheduled refreshes sent to Google Sheets, BigQuery, Looker Studio, Power BI and Excel. In 2025, the platform added integrations with several AI systems, enabling automated analysis and natural-language querying. To learn more, visit, www.coupler.io.

Media Contact

Ivan Burban
Head of Marketing, Coupler.io
ivan.burban@railsware.com

viggoVet, the veterinary AI company built by veterinary-business founders and domain experts, has announced the relocation of its global headquarters to San Francisco. The move positions the company at the heart of the global technology ecosystem as it introduces VetEvince, the world’s first evidence-based veterinary AI, which debuted at the London Vet Show 2025 on November 20 and 21 at ExCeL London.

The headquarters transition marks a strategic expansion into the U.S. market, one of the fastest-growing regions for veterinary technology and innovation. Founded by Michael Gerges, viggoVet’s mission is to build AI systems rooted in authenticity, scientific rigor, and domain expertise. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, VetEvince has been created “by vets, for vets,” representing a lean, expert-driven business model designed around real-world veterinary practice rather than consumer-scale data approaches.

“VetEvince is the vet AI assistant grounded in evidence-based veterinary medicine, developed by veterinarians and data scientists who understand the realities of clinical decision-making,” said Gerges. “Our goal is not to replace veterinary judgment, but to reinforce it with trusted references, data lineage, and clinical context that support informed care.”

The evidence-based model is viggoVet’s defining advantage. VetEvince has been trained on peer-reviewed veterinary literature, clinical studies, and practice-level data to ensure each AI-generated recommendation includes verifiable sources. This transparency separates VetEvince from the black box models often found in consumer AI — placing trust, safety, and accountability at the core of every response.

Built within viggoVet’s integrated cloud platform, which already supports clinic management and business intelligence tools, VetEvince serves as a dedicated clinical AI module. Its design allows for seamless workflow integration, helping veterinary teams gain rapid, referenced insights while maintaining data privacy and security. The platform operates in encrypted, clinic-specific environments ensuring that sensitive data remains private and is never used to train external systems.

At the London Vet Show, viggoVet showcased VetEvince through live demonstrations that highlight how its evidence-based approach transforms the way clinical teams interact with AI. The company will also provide visuals and interface screenshots from VetEvince, showing how each answer is backed by scientific citations and reference trails that reflect the platform’s transparent, data-driven framework.

Gerges added, “This launch represents a proof point that deep domain expertise can outperform brute-force scale. By building AI with veterinary professionals from the ground up, we’re demonstrating a sustainable and efficient model for innovation that prioritizes accuracy, trust, and care quality.”

With operations in the U.S., viggoVet plans to expand its reach across other regions partnering with veterinary practices that value scientific integrity and efficiency. Through VetEvince, the company aims to redefine how veterinarians apply AI in daily clinical settings, anchored by evidence, shaped by experts, and built for global impact.

For further information, visit viggo.vet.

About viggoVet

viggoVet is a Swiss-founded veterinary technology company now headquartered in San Francisco, California. Built by veterinarians and business founders with deep domain expertise, viggoVet develops evidence-based AI solutions designed to enhance clinical decision-making and operational efficiency in veterinary practice. Its flagship innovation, VetEvince, is the world’s first evidence-based veterinary AI, a system that provides referenced, transparent, and trustworthy insights rooted in veterinary science. Combining Swiss precision, U.S. innovation, and a “by vets, for vets” philosophy, viggoVet is redefining how artificial intelligence serves animal health professionals worldwide. For more information, visit viggo.vet.

Media Contact

Michael Gerges
michael@viggo.vet

Quanta, the accounting platform built to keep startup finances continuously accurate, today announced its $15 million Series A led by Accel, with participation from Operator Collective, Naval Ravikant, Designer Fund, Basecase, and operators including Akshay Kothari (Notion), Claire Hughes Johnson (Stripe), and Huey Lin (Affirm). The funding coincides with the launch of Prism, the new AI-powered reporting layer of the Quanta Platform, and a key step toward the company’s goal of creating a continuously closing, explainable system of record for modern finance.

Every early finance lead knows the operational reality: even with modern tools, much of the work still happens manually. Small finance teams routinely spend hours each week validating transactions, rebuilding reports, and reconciling inconsistencies across systems — a problem reflected across the industry, where 79% of finance leaders say their teams are swamped with manual tasks. Most accounting platforms still lag behind the business weeks; FP&A dashboards depend on inconsistent or delayed data; and outsourced bookkeeping services often return books with limited context behind the numbers. The result is a familiar one: models that break often, ARR reports that diverge from the accounting, and decisions made on stale or incomplete information.

Quanta addresses this by rebuilding the accounting foundation itself. The company is the only system of record that performs the accounting internally — combining automation with a dedicated accounting team to classify, reconcile, and ensure the accuracy of every transaction. This blended model ensures that every number is both current and trustworthy, giving finance teams a materially accurate base to operate from throughout the month, not just at close.

Finance leaders say that foundation has changed how they work. “The efficiency gains since partnering with Quanta have been remarkable. We’ve cut our close time by 85%, and the fact that the data stays accurate and traceable means we’re not constantly fixing discrepancies or rebuilding reports,” said Chris Burgner, head of finance at Equals, “When you can see the context behind the numbers, it’s much easier to trust what you’re looking at, understand what changed and why, and explain it to the rest of the business.”

“Our belief is simple: finance teams deserve a system that keeps up with the business,” said Helen Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Quanta. “By handling the accounting ourselves, with automation for speed and experts for quality, we’re able to give teams a foundation they can trust. When the accounting is already correct, everything else becomes faster and more dependable. That’s what makes Prism possible. It reasons through that data to answer questions directly and show the steps behind each answer.”

It does this through an agentic AI layer that can reason through the data and answer questions directly. Prism gives teams the ability to explore their verified data instantly and understand how each report is constructed. Unlike tools that rely on fragmented or delayed inputs, Prism provides sourced, auditable results that show their work. Teams can ask questions such as “What’s our margin by product?” “How did LLM API costs change last quarter?” or “What is churn by segment?” and receive structured, defensible answers tied directly to the underlying books. Prism turns reporting from a static export into an explainable layer of intelligence.

“AI is only as good as the data behind it,” said Amit Kumar, partner at Accel. “Quanta’s approach is powerful because they rebuilt the accounting foundation first. Prism sits on top of clean, continuously maintained data, giving finance teams answers they can trust — not black-box guesses.”

Unlike tools that sit on top of legacy general ledgers or outsourced bookkeeping, Quanta unifies accounting, accuracy, and understanding in one continuously reconciling environment. The platform performs the accounting. The team ensures every exception is resolved. And Prism makes the results instantly interpretable. Together, they bring finance closer to a live, fully traceable state, where every number is sourced, connected, and able to explain itself.

With this Series A, Quanta plans to deepen this foundation — investing in its accounting engine, expanding its expert services team, and accelerating development of Prism’s intelligence layer. The company is advancing toward a world where the books stay continuously accurate, and finance teams can operate on live, explainable data.

About Quanta

Quanta is an AI-powered finance platform that combines an automated accounting engine with an in-house accounting team. The platform ingests financial activity from banks, payroll, revenue, and spend systems and keeps the books continuously reconciled and up-to-date. Companies use Quanta to maintain accurate books throughout the month, shorten their close, and operate with live data they can trust. Quanta is backed by Accel, Operator Collective, Naval Ravikant, Designer Fund, Basecase, and more. Learn more at www.usequanta.com.

Media Contact

Lindsey Pendleton
lindsey@usequanta.com

Turnkey, the policy-based signing and key management platform for Web3 developers, today announced a new integration with Yield.xyz, the unified API for accessing onchain yield opportunities across more than 75 networks. The partnership enables teams to embed over 1,700 standardized staking, lending, and DeFi yields directly into their applications while maintaining full control over private keys and transaction execution.

This integration streamlines how developers discover, enter, and manage yield positions. Yield.xyz provides standardized, ready-to-sign transactions across staking and DeFi, while Turnkey ensures all actions are executed under the developer’s own policy-controlled keys. Together, the stack delivers a secure, self-custodial yield experience that teams can implement easily with minimal engineering overhead.

A Unified Path to Onchain Yield

Yield products have historically been difficult to integrate. Teams needed to build and maintain dozens of protocol adapters, handle vault logic, and support continuous contract updates. Yield.xyz removes this overhead with a single API that offers:

• Access to over 1,700 yield opportunities from Lido, Aave, Spark, Morpho, Curve, and more.
• Standardized deposits, withdrawals, and flows through ready-to-sign transactions.
• Native balance and rewards tracking across all user positions.
• Optimized Allocator Vaults (OAVs) that automate compounding, token off-ramping, and fee logic.

Developers can start with public OAVs or collaborate with Yield.xyz to deploy custom strategies and branded vaults, all monetizable via flexible revenue-sharing models.

Self-Custodial Execution with Turnkey

With this integration, every yield action constructed by Yield.xyz is signed and executed by Turnkey under the developer’s own policy-controlled keys. This model preserves full sovereignty while enabling production-grade automation.

Turnkey’s infrastructure gives builders:

• Transaction-level permissioning and enforcement
• Secure execution without exposing private key material
• A seamless path to embed staking and DeFi yields into wallets, apps, and financial products

"Integrating Yield.xyz enables our developers to offer secure, self-custodial yield access without taking on additional operational or smart-contract overhead. It reflects our commitment to giving builders more control over how they manage keys and execute onchain actions," said Bryce Ferguson, CEO at Turnkey.

By combining Turnkey’s execution layer with Yield.xyz’s unified yield discovery and transaction flow, developers can now deploy fully self-custodial yield products in a matter of days, not months.

Faster Launches, Less Maintenance

Bringing yield into applications typically requires months of contract work, protocol adapters, and audits. With Turnkey and Yield.xyz, developers can ship a complete yield experience in a fraction of the time.

Teams gain:

• A single integration surface for yield across all major networks
• Automated, standardized flows instead of one-off protocol maintenance
• Clear monetization pathways through OAVs and validator-level revenue sharing
• Full execution control through policy-based signing

Start Building Today

Documentation for both platforms is available now:

• Turnkey Integration Guide
• Yield.xyz Developer Docs

Developers can begin integrating immediately and deliver onchain yield experiences backed by standardized flows, enterprise-grade signing, and full self custody.

About Yield.xyz

Yield.xyz is the leading unified yield infrastructure powering the next generation of fintech and Web3 finance. Through a single API, it enables wallets, neobanks, and fintech platforms to integrate onchain yield from staking, lending, and restaking protocols across more than 75 networks. Trusted by leaders including Ledger, Tangem, Zerion, Utila, and Deblock, Yield.xyz abstracts away blockchain complexity — delivering seamless, compliant, and revenue-driving yield experiences to millions of users worldwide. To learn more, visit yield.xyz.

About Turnkey

Turnkey provides secure, developer-first infrastructure for onchain applications. Teams use Turnkey to orchestrate wallets, automate transaction flows, and manage secure signing at scale, without maintaining their own key infrastructure. Its programmable MPC architecture powers everything from smart accounts to automated agents, enabling developers to ship secure, production-grade crypto experiences fast. For more information, visit www.turnkey.com.

Media Contact

Apurv Mishra
apurv@yield.xyz

Winity Life, a lifestyle platform built for individuals who live, work, and transact across borders, has launched its inaugural Visa® product — The Winity Exclusive Card — together with its mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Designed for users who operate across both traditional finance and digital assets, the Winity App enables members to deposit supported cryptocurrencies — including USDT, USDC, WCO, ETH, BNB, and TRX — and spend in USD at merchants and ATMs that accept Visa, subject to local availability and applicable conditions.

This is achieved by allowing members to deposit digital assets and spend USD on the same Winity platform. Winity Life seeks to offer greater financial control, reduced exposure to unexpected FX charges, and a streamlined, international spending experience.

The launch comes at a time when digital payments have scaled to multitrillion-dollar annual volumes, and a majority of adults worldwide now rely on mobile and wallet-based solutions for everyday transactions and cross-border commerce. Against this accelerating shift, Winity Life positions itself as a bridge between rapidly expanding digital payment behaviors and the stability of established card networks-delivering app-based control, platform-wide usability, and an integrated loyalty experience.

“With the exclusive card, Winity Life is not just issuing another card — it is building a lifestyle platform for people whose money, work, and travel already cross borders every day,” said Anish Jain, founder and CEO of Winity Life. “Our goal is to make it simple for members to move value from digital assets into real-world experiences, with clear pricing, meaningful rewards, and always-on support.”

Key Platform Highlights

• USD-denominated balance: Offers a USD-centric experience to help users manage spending.
• Digital access: Virtual cards may be issued after approval, subject to verification and system availability. Physical cards may be used at participating POS terminals and ATMs, subject to applicable limits.
• Seamless wallet integration: Google Pay is supported for digital payments.
• Cross-border usage: Spend and withdraw cash at merchants and ATMs worldwide where Visa is accepted, subject to local availability and transaction conditions.
• Winity Loyalty: Earn Winity Points on every purchase, redeemable for selected travel, curated experiences, and more, in accordance with program terms.

Supporting a Connected Lifestyle

Winity Life is designed as an always-on lifestyle ecosystem, supported by 24/7 assistance via WhatsApp and premium Member Services. Through the Winity Life App, members can manage both digital and traditional assets, access privileges through the Winity Loyalty program, and benefit from a cohesive experience built for borderless living and digital-first financial habits.

How to Get Started

The Winity Life app is now available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Users can complete verification, select their preferred card, and-once approved- gain access to a virtual card for secure, USD-denominated payments at supported locations.

Looking Ahead

Following this debut, Winity Life will soon introduce the Winity Executive Card, a premium metal card crafted for users who seek elevated design and enhanced privileges. Members can apply for the Executive Card via the Winity Life website. Download now the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

About Winity Life

Winity Life is a global platform that merges traditional and digital payments into one seamless ecosystem. Built for borderless living, it enables members to manage digital assets, hold a USD balance, and spend instantly via the Winity Card. Featuring Winity Loyalty rewards, 24/7 AI support, and a secure app, Winity Life offers the financial flexibility to navigate the global economy. For more information, visit winity.life.

Disclaimer

Cards are issued in Hong Kong and available globally wherever Visa® is accepted. Availability of the cards may vary by jurisdiction and region. Visa® is a registered trademark of Visa® International Service Association. Google Pay™ is trademarks of its respective owner. Visit winity.life for full terms and disclosures.

Media Contact

Arijit Das
marketing@winity.life

The University of Maryland, Baltimore and Axis Research & Technologies have announced a groundbreaking joint venture to establish the nation’s first AI-powered Smart Surgical Performance Center. The new Smart Surgical Performance Center — powered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Axis — will set a new national standard for innovation in surgical training, performance, and patient care.

This 36,000-square-foot facility will unite the University of Maryland’s two centuries of leadership in medical education with Axis’s national expertise in surgical training and innovation to create a novel ecosystem for education, performance optimization, research, and discovery. The Smart Surgical Performance Center will be powered by OMNIMED SmartOR™, an AI-enabled platform that integrates real-time data and performance analytics into surgical environments.

The new center represents a new model for the future of surgical education and innovation. Purpose-built to blend the strengths of academic medicine with industry collaboration, the facility will integrate cadaveric and model training, immersive simulation suites, and OMNIMED SmartOR, an AI-powered telemetry platform that captures and analyzes data across classroom, simulation, and operating-room environments.

This combination creates a next-generation ecosystem where education, research, and technology converge, giving students, clinicians, and engineers unparalleled insights and opportunities to advance the practice of surgery and patient care.

Building on a Legacy of Innovation

The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807. Its first building, Davidge Hall, was built in 1812 and remains the oldest continuously operating medical education facility in the Western Hemisphere. Established by pioneering physicians who advanced anatomical understanding as foundational to patient care (at a time when this idea was controversial), Davidge Hall helped establish the early standards of medical education in America and around the world.

The standard continues today as nearly all medical schools include human anatomy courses in the first year. This same foundational spirit unites and guides the University of Maryland, Baltimore and its partnership with Axis, marking the next evolution in anatomical education and surgical performance.

“Through the lens of advancing clinical patient care, University of Maryland Faculty Physicians have led medical innovation through novel discoveries and state-of-the-art education,” said William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair of Radiation Oncology and President of UM Faculty Physicians. “Our partnerships with cutting-edge biotech leaders such as Axis, and the incorporation of AI, will only accelerate the pace of our contributions into the next century of medicine.”

Adding to that, Graeme F. Woodworth, MD, Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, emphasized the transformative nature of the collaboration:

“This partnership represents the convergence of surgical expertise, advanced computation, and intelligent systems that will shape the future of surgical education and innovation. Together, we’re creating a data-driven environment that allows us to measure, refine, and elevate surgical performance, benefiting both clinicians and the patients they serve.”

Axis’s National Network and Industry Partners

Axis Research & Technologies currently operates advanced training and research facilities in Irvine, California; Columbia (Baltimore), Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; and Houston, Texas. Each location is designed to accommodate complex surgical education, cadaveric research, device development, and live broadcast collaboration.

Axis works with many of the world’s leading medical device companies and health systems, making the new Smart Surgical Performance Center a destination for innovators who want to collaborate, invest, or establish a presence within this groundbreaking environment. The center represents the next evolution of Axis’s national network, creating the first fully integrated, AI-powered training ecosystem in partnership with a premier academic institution.

“Axis was built to provide platforms where surgeons, educators, and innovators can come together to push healthcare forward,” said Jill Goodwin, CEO of Axis Research & Technologies. “Partnering with the University of Maryland allows us to expand that vision into a connected, data-rich training ecosystem that will shape the future of surgery.”

About Axis Research & Technologies

Axis Research & Technologies operates a national network of advanced facilities supporting surgical training, cadaver-based research, and healthcare innovation. With immersive environments, broadcasting technology, and concierge-level support, Axis serves as a trusted partner to medical device companies, universities, and health systems nationwide. Learn more at www.axisrt.com.

About University of Maryland, Baltimore

Founded in 1807, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is the state’s premier public health, law, and human services university and home to six professional schools and the Graduate School. With more than 7,000 students and 3,100 faculty, UMB drives innovation across medicine, law, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and social work, advancing education, research, clinical care, and public service throughout Maryland and around the world. Learn more at www.umaryland.edu.

Media Contact

Arthur Sesnovich
art@opendoor-consulting.com

Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development and Chairman of the Board of the National Center for the Non-Profit Sector (NCNP), Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, inaugurated the International Non-Profit Sector Forum, organized by the NCNP in Riyadh from 3 to 5 December 2025. The forum opened with strong participation, bringing together more than 2,000 attendees, including leaders, policymakers, experts, specialists and stakeholders from inside and outside Saudi Arabia, along with 100 speakers from 20 countries.

In his opening remarks, Al-Rajhi said the non-profit sector in Saudi Arabia has expanded by 370%, with the number of organizations rising from 1,700 in 2017 to more than 7,000 in 2025. He pointed to the sector’s long history in the nation, which goes back nearly a century to the first official regulation on charitable donations issued in 1928 during the reign of the founding King Abdulaziz. He noted that Saudi Vision 2030 has been a major catalyst for change in the sector, particularly through the establishment of the NCNP as a unified regulatory body and a key driver of better governance, greater transparency, stronger organizational empowerment and improved effectiveness.

Al-Rajhi highlighted a number of notable achievements in recent years, including an increase in the share of specialized organizations aligned with national development priorities to more than 92%, and the sector’s contribution to GDP reaching around 1.2%, with a target of 5% by 2030.

He added that employment in the non-profit sector has grown to 140,000 people, up from 19,000 in 2017, while the efficiency of developmental spending has exceeded 75%. Volunteerism has also seen a major surge, with the number of volunteers reaching 1.5 million in 2025 and the number of annual volunteering opportunities surpassing 500,000, while beneficiary satisfaction with the sector’s services has climbed above 89%.

At the close of his address, Al-Rajhi thanked the Saudi leadership for its strong support of the non-profit sector, stressing that the forum will help to enhance its impact locally and internationally and to build high-quality partnerships that advance sustainable development.

The International Non-Profit Sector Forum is built around four main themes and features 30 panel discussions, more than 15 workshops, and a platform for launching initiatives and signing agreements, in addition to professional volunteering activities that see the participation of senior officials and dignitaries, all aimed at promoting a culture of volunteerism and supporting the sector’s development goals.

Pantheon Regeneration is pleased to announce a strategic investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund to accelerate and scale development of its ecological restoration projects. Pantheon’s first project, Pocosin Ecological Reserve I, is one of the first commercial peatland restoration projects in the U.S. Peatlands are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems on Earth, making their restoration one of the highest-impact nature-based climate solutions. Pantheon’s approach to peatland restoration is capable of quickly removing CO2 from the atmosphere and delivering significant credit volumes, while regenerating vital wetland ecosystems that have been nature’s unsung climate hero for thousands of years.

Pantheon is a science-led peatland project developer, owner, and operator, collaborating with Duke University to deliver high-quality carbon credits, that achieve meaningful biodiversity and water co-benefits. Microsoft’s investment supports Pantheon’s mission to restore ecosystems at scale and generate high-quality carbon credits that meet the needs of corporate buyers. Pantheon’s interdisciplinary team — spanning ecology, real assets, institutional finance, and commodities — combines scientific rigor with market execution to establish restoration as an investable climate solution.

The investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund accelerates Pantheon’s project pipeline and delivery capacity. Erika Basham, director, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, will join Pantheon’s board of directors as an observer.

“We’re thrilled to support Pantheon Regeneration’s mission to restore ecosystems and remove carbon from the atmosphere,” said Basham. “Their innovative approach aligns with our goal to invest in scalable, science-based solutions that not only remove emissions but also deliver co-benefits such as biodiversity and water impacts. This investment underscores our focus on supporting scalable, high-integrity climate solutions and the innovative teams that deliver them.”

Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund investment in Pantheon builds on the company’s broader carbon removal strategy, which includes nature-based and engineered solutions capable of scaling to meet global climate commitments.

Pantheon CEO Tripp Wall noted the significance of the investment: “Support from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund is a profound game-changer. The Pantheon team has been driven from day one by the enormous potential of our ecosystem restoration work to deliver the type of landscape scale climate solutions the planet needs and the carbon credit quality and volumes the market craves. We are grateful for this recognition of the quality of what we’re doing and know their support will enable us to scale our work.”

About Pantheon Regeneration

Pantheon Regeneration restores degraded landscapes and develops high-integrity nature-based carbon removal projects. With the world facing an environmental polycrisis — CO2, water imbalance, biodiversity loss, and super-pollutants — Pantheon builds restoration solutions designed to deliver ecosystem-level impact beyond carbon. Investors include AXA IM Alts, Rodale Institute, the Grantham Foundation, Trailhead Capital, and McDonald Pelz. For more information, visit pantheonregen.com.

The newly launched Firelight Protocol introduces staking rewards for XRP through a novel on-chain economic security primitive designed to protect DeFi assets from exploits.

Enabling New Use Cases for XRP

XRP, while being one of the largest crypto assets by market cap, does not have any native staking or yield opportunities. Firelight aims to add a new layer of value for XRP by providing a staking layer that utilizes the staked XRP for providing on-chain cover. This cover can be contracted by DeFi protocols in order to safeguard asset value in case of hacks and exploits. 

Bridging the Gap to Institutional-Grade DeFi

DeFi has just come through one of its strongest growth periods ever, surpassing $170 billion in TVL (total value locked) in October, driven largely by institutional demand. At the same time, more than $1 billion is lost to DeFi exploits every year, and recent high-profile incidents like the Balancer exploit have sharpened concerns around asset safety. In traditional finance, insurance is embedded into every market, but DeFi still largely lacks this critical layer of protection, creating a major bottleneck for the next wave of institutional adoption. Firelight is designed to close this gap by providing robust DeFi cover, and the real, growing demand for this protection will help drive value back to XRP holders.

Security-First Approach

Firelight, incubated by Sentora and backed by Flare, utilizes Flare’s FAssets to bring XRP into the protocol. Unlike many generic bridges, FAssets is fully decentralized, and extensively audited, providing a robust on/off-ramp for XRP into DeFi.

At launch, Firelight has completed three audits — one by OpenZeppelin and one by Coinspect and a bug bounty program supported by Immunifi to help ensure maximum protocol security.

How Firelight Enables XRP to Enter DeFi 

Firelight will launch across two phases. In the launch phase, XRP holders can deposit XRP and receive stXRP, a 1:1 fully backed, ERC-20 compliant liquid vault token.

stXRP serves as a transferable receipt for users’ deposits and can be freely used across the Flare DeFi ecosystem, from swapping on DEXs, to serving as collateral in lending protocols, or contributing to liquidity pools. Participants in the launch vault will also be eligible to earn Firelight Points. 

In Phase 2, staking will back DeFi cover. ensuring a high-impact use-case with real demand to provide rewards for stakers. This will be the sole purpose of the protocol; capital deployed on Firelight will be allocated to this DeFi cover mechanism.

Backed by Industry Leaders

Sentora, as the technical service provider, and Flare Network, as the protocol enabling the creation of FAssets (e.g., FXRP), are the primary contributors to Firelight. Both organizations are backed by Ripple and share a mission to expand XRP’s role in DeFi. Their combined expertise in secure interoperability, protocol design, and network operations provides Firelight with deep technical support and a clear path for long-term ecosystem growth—so XRP holders and developers can build, secure, and scale real-world applications with confidence.

For more information, contact info@firelight.finance.

Unlisted, a groundbreaking digital real estate community focused on the 98% of homes that aren’t for sale — yet, announced that Mike Brombacher, a real estate professional with Compass, has joined the platform as a Local Expert for buyers and homeowners across Houston’s central neighborhoods. He will represent the communities within ZIP codes 77003, 77004, 77005, 77006, 77007, 77008, and 77009.

Unlisted’s technology is designed to open up possibilities for everyone in the real estate ecosystem: buyers, homeowners, and agents alike. Buyers gain new ways to discover homes they love beyond what’s listed on the MLS. Homeowners gain tools to better understand interest in their property and connect with potential buyers. Real estate professionals gain a platform that elevates their expertise and brings more possibilities into view for their clients.

Unlisted uses publicly available data to create a digital property profile for every home in the country. Users can quickly search and organize these homes into curated lists that meet a buyer’s criteria. Even when a home isn’t for sale, buyers can join a Waitlist for the properties they love — creating new touchpoints for connection and giving homeowners insights and options they may not have considered.

Each vetted real estate professional partnering with Unlisted receives an agent profile linked to every home in their ZIP code. Only one agent is selected per ZIP, highlighting their credibility and deep understanding of the local market. As Unlisted continues to expand nationwide, the mission remains the same: to provide buyers, homeowners, and agents with a platform built on connection, expertise, and meaningful insights.

A lifelong Houstonian with deep community roots, Brombacher brings a uniquely personal understanding of the city’s neighborhoods — from West University to the East End to the Med Center. Born and raised in Houston, Mike attended HISD schools, earned his Eagle Scout rank in the local community, and later broadened his global perspective through international business studies and cultural programs in Cuba, Mexico, and around the world. No matter where he traveled, Houston remained home.

Today, he blends his global perspective with a hyperlocal focus, helping clients navigate the neighborhoods he knows intimately. His background extends beyond real estate sales: Mike is active in community service through Amigos de las Américas, Ronald McDonald House Houston, and his role as Vice President of the Parkwood Drive Civic Club. His passion for Houston and for helping others feel at home here guides his approach with every client.

“Houston shaped me, and now I get to help people find their place in it,” said Brombacher. “Unlisted gives buyers and homeowners another way to see what’s possible, whether they’re exploring interest in their home, discovering neighborhoods, or simply wanting more clarity. I’m excited to be a resource for the communities I’ve grown up in and care deeply about.”

“Mike brings a level of local insight, authenticity, and community commitment that strengthens our network in Houston,” said Katie Hill, founder and CEO of Unlisted. “His deep roots and service-driven approach align beautifully with what we’re building at Unlisted. We’re thrilled to welcome him as the Local Expert for these ZIP codes.”

To learn more about Unlisted, visit UnlistedHomes.com. For Unlisted for Agents, visit UnlistedHomes.com/Agents.

To learn more about Mike Brombacher, visit his Unlisted Profile or BrombacherCo.com.

About Unlisted

Unlisted unlocks the potential in homes that aren’t for sale — yet. The company empowers home buyers to join the Waitlist for homes they love that aren’t for sale — in other words, unlisted. At the same time, homeowners collect a Waitlist of interested buyers for whenever the time comes to sell, giving everyone a head start. Unlisted also allows homeowners to control how their home is presented online; they can create a stunning up-to-date property profile that shows off the home’s best features and attracts more interest. With more time and more connection, Unlisted is a more human way to explore real estate that drives better outcomes for all. Selected for TechCrunch’s 2025 Startup Battlefield 200 as one of the top tech startups globally, and backed by HearstLab, Hearst Newspapers, VC414, StageNext Fund, and prominent angel investors, Unlisted gives buyers a competitive edge in today’s challenging housing market. For more information, visit UnlistedHomes.com.

Media Contact

Sophia Jacomet
sophia@unlistedinc.com

CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid, one of the world’s leading crypto payment gateways, has integrated Arbitrum and Base, two of the most advanced Layer 2 blockchains, to bring faster, cheaper, and smoother transactions to its users. The integration adds support for ETH (Ethereum) and USDC (USD Coin) on both networks, giving merchants access to instant payments with dramatically lower fees, all while maintaining Ethereum-level security.

“Adding support for Arbitrum and Base marks an important milestone in our mission to make crypto payments frictionless at scale,” says Aliaksei Tulia, CTO of CoinsPaid. “Arbitrum and Base allow our partners to benefit from instant transactions, lower costs, and seamless scalability — essential for businesses operating in high-volume or global environments. Our goal is to ensure that crypto payments are not only secure but commercially viable and frictionless at scale.”

Layer 2 blockchains are designed as scalability solutions built atop Layer 1 networks like Ethereum. They significantly improve transaction throughput and reduce costs while retaining the underlying security of the Ethereum mainnet. By integrating Arbitrum and Base, CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid takes a strategic step toward faster, cheaper, and more user-friendly crypto payments.

Arbitrum leverages optimistic rollup technology to dramatically increase transaction speed and lower gas fees. This solution ensures scalability without compromising Ethereum’s renowned security or smart contract compatibility. Base is a secure, Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 blockchain that enables faster and more affordable transactions. Designed to make decentralized applications (dApps) more accessible, Base combines Ethereum’s robust foundation with user-friendly scalability.

The integration of Arbitrum and Base brings tangible benefits to CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid merchants:

• Faster settlements: near-instant payment confirmations
• Lower costs: significantly reduced gas fees on ETH and USDC
• Higher scalability for businesses processing large transaction volumes
• Trusted security: Ethereum-level safety with enhanced efficiency

This integration underscores CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid’s ongoing commitment to building a payment infrastructure that bridges traditional and decentralized economies — where performance, trust, and user experience converge.

About CoinsPaid

CoinsPaid is an Estonia-licensed crypto payment provider that offers ready-to-use, tailored solutions for businesses. With over 10 years of experience and a strong track record, the company operates internationally, helping merchants expand into new markets and scale globally. CoinsPaid is fully compliant with KYB/AML regulations and has successfully passed multiple independent cybersecurity audits. For more information, visit coinspaid.com.

To see our disclaimer statement, visit coinspaid.com/disclaimer-statement.

Media Contact

Support Team
info@coinspaid.com

The “Four-Leaf Clover,” which the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) shapes like, once again became the world’s business capital at the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held from November 5 to 10, 2025.

This year, six guest countries of honor — Sweden, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Colombia, Nigeria, Thailand, and Georgia — headlined the event, representing four continents and a shared commitment to open, sustainable growth.

New Sections Foster Innovation and Inclusion

This year’s CIIE featured several first-ever exhibition sections designed to promote innovation and more inclusive participation. A newly established zone for countries in Asia and Africa spotlighted products from nations with diplomatic ties to China, offering preferential access and zero-tariff entry policies that helped small exporters find their first foothold in the world’s second-largest consumer economy.

Augmenting High-Standard Opening Up for Shared

Prosperity

The eighth CIIE welcomed over 4,108 exhibitors from more than 155 countries and regions, covering 430,000 square meters of exhibition space. A total of 67 countries and organizations confirmed participation, including 17 African nations that showcased their distinctive products — soybeans from Nigeria, pineapples from Benin, and coffee from Burundi — highlighting the rich diversity and quality of African goods on display.

Forum insights and global cooperation 

Alongside the expo, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum (HQF) once again convened global thought leaders to deepen cooperation and share insights on openness. The Forum released the World Openness Report 2025 and the latest World Openness Index, providing authoritative analysis on global economic openness and China’s high-level opening-up. For the first time, a Nobel Prize–winning economist led the drafting of a special chapter in the report, and contributions from international organizations broadened its perspective. With the Forum’s theme of “Opening-up for New Opportunities, Collaborating for a Shared Future,” 25 parallel sessions were held, covering topics from revitalizing multilateral cooperation and digital innovation to green development and building a more open economy.

The eighth CIIE concluded successfully, reaffirming its global mission — connecting markets, inspiring innovation, and advancing inclusive growth. Exhibitors and visitors from around the globe gathered in Shanghai and turned opportunities into reality.

For more information and updates, please visit the official website of the CIIE: China International Import Expo

About China International Import Expo (CIIE)

Media Contact

Cui Yan
cuiyan@sinoexpo.cc

Micruity, the infrastructure company powering retirement and lifetime income solutions across America’s workplace savings system, today announced it has raised a $20 million Series A investment round. The round was co-led by Rebalance Capital and Nationwide Ventures, with participation from TIAA Ventures, State Street Investment Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Collab Capital, Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), and continued backing from Western & Southern Financial Group, Prudential Financial, Pacific Life, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, and SixThirty Ventures.

Americans are living longer, pensions have disappeared, social security faces long-term strain, so today, more than 100 million people now rely on 401(k)s for retirement income, but these tools are built for saving, not for turning savings into a paycheck. Most retirees end up with a lump sum and little support in making it last.

At the same time, asset managers and insurers have created strong lifetime-income solutions, yet delivering them at scale has come with challenges. In particular, the coordination required across data and operational workflows, the need for clear participant communications that introduce this new type of benefit, and the need for simplifying the value proposition for a broad group of future retirees. The importance of different parts of the value chain –– such as recordkeepers, asset managers, and insurers –– is similarly significant as each brings unique data requirements, system architectures, and operational processes that make seamless participant usability more difficult in an otherwise fragmented industry.

Micruity provides the secure, standardized data infrastructure that connects the industry players and helps make retirement paychecks possible. The platform supports:

• Standardized connectivity across recordkeepers, asset managers, and insurers
• Participant-level income administration and portability
• Scalable support for lifetime income, annuity-enabled TDFs, and Secure 2.0 features

By solving the operational bottlenecks, Micruity enables retirement paychecks for the millions of savers — especially low- and moderate-income workers — who historically haven’t had access to the benefits of these products.

“The retirement system was built for saving, not for generating a paycheck, and that’s the gap we’re closing,” said Trevor Gary, CEO and co-founder of Micruity. “Every American saver deserves income they can rely on, and that requires modern infrastructure. This new funding accelerates our work connecting recordkeepers, asset managers, and insurers so retirement paychecks become the default, not the exception.”

A Market Moving Toward Guaranteed Income

Micruity now integrates with 4 of the top 5 U.S. recordkeepers, covers 50% of the Target Date Fund (TDF) market by share, and has doubled revenue year-over-year. It's also seen 17x growth in usage and 3.5x growth in plans with Micruity-powered retirement income. The company’s rapid expansion reflects a broader transformation in the retirement ecosystem: employers and recordkeepers are moving from an accumulation-only mindset to one centered on delivering predictable, durable income in retirement.

This transition requires deep connectivity across the value chain — something the industry has been challenged to deliver.

“Workers spend decades saving for retirement, but the system still doesn’t provide a clear, reliable way to turn those savings into income,” said Josh Tanenbaum, managing partner at Rebalance Capital. “Micruity is fixing the missing infrastructure that has held the industry back for years. They’re the connective tissue that finally makes lifetime income scalable — and brings true financial security within reach for millions of savers.”

“A dependable retirement paycheck is one of the biggest unmet needs facing American workers,” said Cathy Marasco, vice president of Protected Retirement for Nationwide Retirement Solutions. “As Nationwide works to drive awareness of the powerful role protected retirement solutions can play for retirement savers, Micruity’s infrastructure will help us make them scalable, portable, and accessible across the workplace savings system.”

About Micruity

Micruity is the infrastructure company powering the next generation of retirement income solutions. Through a unified data, connectivity, and administration layer, Micruity enables recordkeepers, asset managers, and insurers to deliver lifetime income, income-enabled TDFs, and Secure 2.0–aligned capabilities at scale. Micruity partners with leading financial institutions to help millions of savers build reliable income throughout retirement. Learn more at micruity.com.

About Rebalance Capital

Rebalance Capital invests in the future of work and wealth — for all. The firm backs Series A and B B2B FinTech and WorkforceTech companies that address the $4 trillion overlooked opportunity of low- and middle-income households and SMBs. Rebalance is a trusted source of innovation to 1-in-4 Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions and 1-in-10 Fortune 100 employers. Learn more at rebalancecap.com.

About Nationwide Ventures

Nationwide Ventures is the venture capital arm of Nationwide, investing in companies that support Nationwide’s mission to deliver leading financial services solutions to protect people, business, and futures with extraordinary care. Nationwide Ventures partners with leading entrepreneurs building technologies to support that mission and vision. Learn more at Nationwide.com and Nationwide.com/ventures.

Media Contact

Trevor Gary
press@micruity.com

Guardrail Technologies, the pioneer behind the first and only all-in-one, enterprise-grade platform built to safeguard businesses from the growing risks of artificial intelligence, today announced three new members of its Advisory Board: Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy, Brigadier Gen. (Ret) J. Ray Davis and Virginia Huth. Roman, Ray and Virginia are esteemed leaders in their respective fields of artificial intelligence, military leadership and federal government administration, and their unique perspectives will empower Guardrail to better serve clients looking to target and reduce AI risk.

“I am honored that Roman, Ray and Virginia have chosen to put their distinguished names on Guardrail’s Advisory Board,” said Guardrail CEO, Todd “TJ” Marlin. “We are building industry leading software focused on AI Privacy, Protection and Controls, and I look forward to leaning on the expertise and counsel of this esteemed group going forward.”

Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy is a tenured faculty member in computer science and engineering. He is the author of many books including “AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable.” Dr. Yampolskiy’s main area of interest is artificial intelligence safety and security, aligning with Guardrail’s mission.

“We are entering a phase of AI development where the risks are no longer theoretical, but very real,” said Yampolskiy. “Guardrail’s approach to practical and enterprise-ready AI safety is an essential step toward responsible deployment. I am honored to be a part of their mission and to lend my expertise to the development of such an important company.”

J. Ray Davis is the Senior Vice President for North America Defense Business Development at Rolls-Royce. Before joining Rolls-Royce, Ray served in the U.S. Army and Army National Guard for more than 34 years providing large-scale strategic and operational leadership, successfully leading combat and garrison formations at multiple levels. He served as an AH-64A/D Apache Pilot deployed in support of Operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn and Spartan Shield. Upon completion of Operation New Dawn, his unit initiated the Army’s AH-64D overwater operations and deck landing qualification program.

“In defense and national security, having trust and control over data is non-negotiable,” said Davis. “Guardrail is bringing that same mindset to AI and allowing organizations to innovate without compromising protection. I’m proud to support a team building technology with this level of discipline and purpose, as I know Guardrail will help organizations continue to set high-standards for effective and controlled use of AI.”

Virginia Huth is the president and founder of Vanalytix LLC, a boutique consulting firm specializing in insights to the federal marketplace and a longtime civil servant who concluded her federal career as General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She spent 28 years in federal service, including 18 years in six different roles as a member of the Senior Executive Service, the highest rank of civilian service. Virginia began her federal career at the White House Office of Management and Budget and later spent 13 years in executive roles at the General Services Administration, including overseeing acquisition policy for $66 billion and 7,200 members of the acquisition workforce and later leading government-wide systems modernization in the Office of Technology Transformation Services. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

“After almost three decades in federal service, I understand the critical need to embrace technology innovation to not only deliver essential services to the American people, but also maintain our competitive advantage against our adversaries. At the same time, with the growth in the power of Artificial Intelligence, it is more crucial than ever that technology innovation be implemented ethically and responsibly, to ensure humans remain in control of critical decision making,” said Huth. “Guardrail is building the tools our Nation needs to modernize federal legacy systems, securely, responsibly and in full alignment with federal missions.” 

Guardrail Technologies is at the vanguard of empowering organizations to harness AI responsibly and effectively — providing solutions to move AI safety and value to the forefront of business AI strategies. The software complements existing technology and AI workflows, enabling algorithmic choice and allowing businesses to use AI tools that meet their unique needs while maintaining full oversight and compliance. Guardrail Technologies works with most major productivity suites and AI models, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, OpenAI and Anthropic. Through its strategic partnership with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Guardrail Technologies offers an independent Trust Layer for organizations globally.

Guardrail Technologies is AI protection you can trust — so you can stay in control.

About Guardrail Technologies

Guardrail Technologies is built on the belief that businesses should never have to take risks with the security, ownership or stewardship of their information in order to harness the power of AI. Guardrail Technologies enables you to choose the best AI model for each purpose, automatically enforce AI policy without stifling innovation, and protects your data so it never leaves your oversight or environment. To learn more, visit guardrail.tech.

Media Contact

Matt Pressberg
matt@pressbergmedia.com