All posts by admin

Business Wire India

Anandana – The Coca-Cola India Foundation’s water stewardship initiative, Project Jaldhara, has been recognised with two prestigious awards for its contribution towards strengthening community water access and water management in rural Maharashtra. The project has been awarded at the Global CSR & Sustainability Awards 2026 by Brand Honchos as “Most Impactful CSR Initiative in Water Stewardship 2026”, and recognised under WASH category at the 12^th Greentech CSR India Awards 2026 by Greentech Foundation. These recognitions reinforce The Coca-Cola India Foundation’s continued commitment towards enabling community-led water solutions in water-stressed regions.

Implemented in partnership with S M Sehgal Foundation, Project Jaldhara focuses on addressing local water challenges across 10 villages in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, including Sillod and Phulambri blocks, through a combination of community-level drinking water solutions and watershed interventions. The initiative has helped create significant water storage capacity through groundwater recharge structures, including check dams, recharge shafts, farm ponds, and bunding interventions, while also improving access to safe drinking water through 10 community-level RO units and water ATMs benefiting over 20,000 residents in the region. This has further improved local water availability for household, agricultural, and livestock needs. The project’s focus on community participation, ownership, and long-term resilience has emerged as a key driver behind its continued recognition across national platforms.

Speaking on the recognition, Devyani Rana, Vice President – Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, said, “Water stewardship remains a key focus area for us, especially in regions where communities continue to face water stress. Through Project Jaldhara, and together with partners and local communities, we are working to strengthen access to water through solutions that are practical, community-driven, and designed for long-term resilience. We are encouraged to see these efforts being recognised across platforms that celebrate meaningful community impact and development.”

Anjali Makhija, Trustee and CEO, S M Sehgal Foundation, shared, “These honours reflect the positive difference Project Jaldhara is creating for communities facing water stress in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. With the support of Anandana – The Coca-Cola India Foundation, we are helping communities build more reliable access to water through solutions such as Water ATMs, check dams, and recharge wells. Together, these interventions are helping strengthen long-term water security and community resilience.”

Project Jaldhara has also previously received recognition under the Community Development category at the Frost & Sullivan Project Evaluation & Recognition Program (PERP) 2025 for its integrated approach towards strengthening community water access and local water security, further underscoring the initiative’s growing impact across water-stressed communities.

These recognitions strengthen The Coca-Cola India Foundation’s commitment towards supporting community-focused water positive initiatives across vulnerable regions.

Business Wire India

• RAIGDRG™© + Defensible AI Counter™ — a deterministic runtime substrate that turns AI Governance from policy promise into examiner-ready, signed, offline-verifiable evidence.

• Built for Governments and Regulators, Public and Private Enterprise, Education Institutions, and Consulting and IT Partners across India, the Gulf, the European Union and the United States.

 

SMMARUN Management Consortium Associates LLP (LLPIN: ACT-2625), headquartered in Gurugram, today announced a global strategic partnership with ByteVerity, a runtime AI compliance platform with 121 patents filed. Branded RAIGDRG™© + Defensible AI Counter™, the partnership unites SMMARUN’s Responsible AI Governance and Digital Risk Governance consulting and Masterclass franchise with ByteVerity’s deterministic spine — designed, engineered and proven in India, and built to serve every regulated buyer of AI, anywhere in the world.

 

The here and now fact is that AI is moving faster than the governance that holds it accountable. The Stanford HAI 2025 AI Index recorded 233 AI-related incidents in 2024 — a 56.4% increase year-on-year. The EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689, Article 99) carries fines of up to €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover, with high-risk obligations from 2 August 2026. India’s DPDP Rules 2025 (MeitY, Gazette G.S.R. 846(E), notified 13 November 2025) layer penalties of up to ₹250 crore. RBI FREE-AI (13 August 2025) and MeitY’s India AI Governance Guidelines (5 November 2025) extend the perimeter to every regulated Indian entity. Across SMMARUN’s enterprise sample, 88% of organisations have adopted AI; only 23% can defend that adoption to a regulator.

 

We are bridging the gap between AI Promise and Reality, ‘Policy to Practice’, by providing ‘Defensible AI’, A Deterministic Substrate Under a Three-Pillar Practice. SMMARUN’s three pillars — (1) AI Governance, Fairness & Risk Management; (2) Masterclass in AI Governance; (3) AI-Driven Platform & Solutions — now carry a deterministic spine. ByteVerity sits under Pillar 3 and gives Pillars 1 and 2 something measurable to deliver against. ByteVerity’s Five Planes — Kernel, Compositor, Governor, Sovereign, Vault — map directly onto the Puneet Mohan 5P Model FrameWorkx™ (Predict, Prepare, Propose, Plan, Prevent) within the 4A InDoctrine™©. The result is not another policy document; it is signed, append-only, offline-verifiable evidence that a regulator, an internal auditor or an examiner can replay.

 

Three Buy-Tomorrow Engagements. The partnership goes to market with three productised offers:

 

1. 90-Day AI-Governance Readiness with Deterministic Spine — a fixed-scope sprint that stands up an AI Governance Operating Model, board-approved policy, Policy Packs and the ByteVerity runtime kernel against DPDPA 2023, RBI FREE-AI, MeitY’s India AI Governance Guidelines, IRDAI and SEBI — with global cross-walks to NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, EU AI Act, SR 11-7 and 21 CFR Part 11.

 

2. Sovereign Data & National-Boundary IP Unlock — a Sovereign-plane deployment that locks data residency, model lineage and IP attribution inside national boundaries — purpose-built for Governments, Public Sector Enterprises, regulated private operators and the wider Indian and international technology ecosystem that needs provable digital sovereignty as the precondition for trustworthy AI.

 

3. Examiner-Ready Evidence Compression for SR 11-7 / 21 CFR Part 11 — a Vault-and-Governor stack that compresses SR 11-7 model risk documentation, 21 CFR Part 11 audit trails, ICH E6(R3) GCP records and CDSCO/ICMR submissions into signed bundles that survive offline verification — designed for banks, insurers, life-sciences operators and any examiner-facing function in any jurisdiction.

 

Built for Six Buyer Constituencies. RAIGDRG™© + Defensible AI Counter™ is engineered for six buyer constituencies: Governments and Regulators (RBI, MeitY, SEBI, IRDAI, the EU AI Office, SAMA, CBUAE and counterparts); Public Sector Enterprise; Private Enterprise across BFSI, Healthcare, Insurance and Life Sciences; Education Institutions — including IIT and IIM faculties partnering on Masterclass cohorts and joint research; Consulting and IT Partners working alongside SMMARUN’s platform-partner network; and the global Indian-led delivery ecosystem, including Global Capability Centres. One substrate. Six buyers. One signed page of evidence.

 

Global. Made in India. The partnership crystallises a doctrine that has been quietly building: that the world’s most rigorous AI governance fabric can be designed, built and proven in India — and then exported as Best-In-Class engineering to global regulators, global enterprises and global auditors. Global. Made in India. Governable everywhere.

 

 QUOTES

 

1. Arjun Malhotra | Chairman, SMMARUN Global Advisory Board | Co-founder, HCL Group

“In 1976, the question was whether Indians could build computers. In 2026, the question is whether Indians can build the governance fabric that makes the world’s AI trustworthy. SMMARUN and ByteVerity, together, give that question an Indian answer — humble in tone, world-class in engineering, and Best-In-Class in defensibility. Global. Made in India.”

 

2. Ravi Balwada | Advisor & Board Member, ByteVerity

“With 121 patents filed across the sidecar, signing kernel, contract layer and Policy Pack catalogue, ByteVerity was built to be the deterministic spine of Responsible AI. SMMARUN brings the consulting depth, the Masterclass pedagogy and the regulator-grade frameworks; we bring the substrate that makes all of it measurable. Together, we are not selling another platform — we are giving CIOs, CROs, Chief AI Officers, regulators and auditors a Defensible AI Counter™ they can put in front of any examiner, anywhere.”

 

3. Preeti Mohan | Co-founder & Chief Responsible AI Governance, SMMARUN

“Responsible AI cannot live only in slide decks and steering committees. It has to live in the runtime, in the evidence and in the everyday decisions of the people who build and operate these systems. With ByteVerity under our third pillar, SMMARUN can finally deliver Responsible AI Governance, Fairness and Risk Compliance as a measurable outcome — not an aspiration. Our 90-Day Readiness sprint, our Masterclass and our Sovereign Data offer are all now anchored to signed, replayable proof.”

 

4. Mohit Mahajan | Founder & CEO, ByteVerity

“Prompts alone have never stopped a model from misbehaving in production. ByteVerity’s model agnostic substrate — Kernel, Compositor, Governor, Sovereign, Vault — was engineered so that every consequential AI action across any model operate within the organisational and team guardrails and carries a signed, tamper-proof, offline-verifiable receipt. Bringing this together with SMMARUN’s RAIGDRG™© practice and the Puneet Mohan 5P Model FrameWorkx™ closes the loop the industry has tolerated for too long: the gap between what companies write in their prompts and policies and what their models actually do at 3:47 a.m. on a Tuesday.”

 

Business Wire India

While global real estate capital recalibrates, Abbas Sajwani is accelerating.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260519804834/en/

 

 

 

The 26-year-old Founder and CEO of AHS Properties – recently recognised by Forbes as the youngest Arab billionaire and the youngest billionaire globally in real estate, with a net worth of $1.9 billion – is building one of the fastest-scaling development platforms in Dubai.

 

Since launching in 2021, AHS Properties has expanded from ultra-luxury villa redevelopments into a multi-billion-dollar portfolio spanning waterfront residential, Grade-A commercial, and large-scale mixed-use developments across Dubai’s most strategic corridors.

 

 

Its commercial flagship, AHS Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road, sold out during construction, while its broader pipeline is projected to reach AED 50 billion by year-end.

 

 

This growth is underpinned by a strategy that runs counter to broader market caution.

 

 

“The real risk in this market isn’t volatility, it’s waiting,” Sajwani said. “By the time conviction feels obvious, the opportunity is already priced in.”

 

 

At a time when segments of global capital have moved to the sidelines amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, AHS Properties has continued to deploy, advancing strategic land acquisitions and launching new developments aligned with long-term demand.

 

 

Sajwani’s thesis is structural, not cyclical.

 

 

He believes Dubai is undergoing a permanent repositioning, from a discretionary luxury destination to a core hub for global capital, driven by sustained inflows of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, founders, and family offices.

 

 

“This isn’t about short-term demand,” he said. “It’s about where capital is choosing to live.”

 

 

That perspective is informed by early experience in financial markets. Beginning equity trading at 14, Sajwani developed a disciplined, long-term approach to capital allocation, one now applied at scale across real estate.

 

 

As global investors reassess geographic exposure, AHS Properties is emerging as a high-conviction operator, building not around market sentiment, but ahead of it.

 

 

For further media information visit: https://ahsproperties.com/abbas-sajwani/

 

 

About AHS Properties, please visit: https://ahsproperties.com/

 

 

Source: AETOSWire

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260519804834/en/

 

Business Wire India

Amarandhar Reddy Kotha, Managing Director at Datacipher Limited (BSE 530915) an IT Services organisation, has been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.

 

Amarandhar Reddy Kotha was selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.

 

As a member of the Council, Amarandhar Reddy Kotha has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected leaders in a private forum. Amarandhar will also have the opportunity to share his expert insights in original articles and contribute to published Expert Panels alongside other experts on Forbes.com.

 

Finally, Amarandhar Kotha will benefit from exclusive access to membership-branded marketing collateral, high-touch support from the Forbes Councils member concierge team, and complimentary membership in EXEC—the luxury hotel, travel, lifestyle, and business benefits program.

 

“I’m so honored for this incredible opportunity to be a part of an accomplished business leadership community. This is a recognition and honor to the amazing team at Datacipher Limited, who enjoy working with complex networking projects. Looking forward to share our expertise and learn from the Forbes Business Council,” Amarandhar Reddy Kotha, Managing Director and founder of Datacipher Limited (BSE 530915).

 

Business Wire India

Audiencerate Ltd, one of the few globally certified Google Customer Match Upload Partners and a Microsoft IP Co-sell certified partner with MACC eligibility, today announced the appointment of Riccardo Fabbri as Chief Technology Officer. The appointment marks a phase of dual expansion: the Audiencerate–Postel–Microsoft platform for Italian SMEs, and the Data platform integrated with Google DV360 for Agencies and Data Providers — both evolving toward a model that natively leverages first-party and third-party data through AI and machine learning.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260519344995/en/

 

 

 

A profile built on twenty years of digital transformation

 

Fabbri brings to Audiencerate over two decades of experience in software development and cloud architectures. Co-founder in 2004 of Nohup, a digital consultancy in cloud-native development, he led the company to Financial Times recognition among Europe’s leading firms in the sector for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). In August 2021 Nohup was acquired by the Havas Group, bringing its 30 professionals across Milan, Turin, and Udine into Havas CX. The distinctive trait of Fabbri’s path is engineering rigor, attention to privacy, and deep knowledge of media operational workflows — an essential asset within the European framework of AI Act, GDPR, and the Italian Consumer Code.

 

 

The AI-driven leap for SMEs and Agencies

 

 

Under Fabbri’s leadership, Audiencerate will accelerate on two parallel tracks. On the SME front, AI and machine learning enable continuous model learning, predictive modeling (propensity scoring, lookalike, CLV) and self-optimization of budget and bid management. On the agency front, advertisers’ first-party data serves as seed for lookalike and propensity models enriched with third-party signals: an audience that combines 1P relevance with 3P scale, compliant with privacy and cookie ecosystem evolution.

 

 

Statements

 

 

“Riccardo’s entry is the missing piece,” said Gianluca Leotta, President of Audiencerate. “A technologist-entrepreneur who took Nohup to a European exit, lived inside the international media agency world, and knows the technical grammar of our trajectory exactly. It is a long-term choice, consistent with the patrimonial and industrial vision we have always had for this project.”

 

 

“Audiencerate has built over the years a unique technological asset: a Data Provider position native to both Google and Microsoft ecosystems, with certifications and partnerships that very few companies can claim,” said Riccardo Fabbri. “The project is both challenging and exciting. On one side, bringing this infrastructure to millions of Italian SMEs through Postel and Microsoft. On the other, evolving the DV360 offering by drawing on twenty years alongside media agencies: trading desks need models that intelligently fuse first-party and third-party data, while pursuing the automation and scale needed to recover margins the market no longer recognizes as it once did. This is the kind of engineering challenge that resonates with my path as a founder and entrepreneur.”

 

 

About Audiencerate

 

 

Audiencerate Ltd, headquartered in London with offices in Italy and the United States, specializes in data activation, audience intelligence, and AI-driven marketing. Google Customer Match Upload Partner (December 2025), Google Data Provider since 2012, Microsoft IP Co-sell Eligible / MACC Eligible. NEXI is the company’s flagship enterprise client in Italy.

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260519344995/en/

 

Business Wire India

I Squared Capital (“I Squared”), a leading global infrastructure investment manager, today announced the launch of Cube Grid, a new power transmission platform targeting India’s rapidly expanding electricity grid. I Squared expects to deploy up to USD $1 billion of equity capital into Cube Grid to acquire and build a scaled portfolio of high-quality transmission assets across India.

 

Consistent with I Squared’s platform-building approach, Cube Grid has signed definitive agreements for seed assets totaling more than 1,450 circuit kilometers (ckm) of transmission lines. These projects are being developed in partnership with Dineshchandra Group (Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Private Limited or “DRAIPL”), an established infrastructure developer with over five decades of experience delivering large-scale projects across India, Australia, West Asia, and Africa.

 

 

We anticipate India’s power transmission sector to enter a phase of unprecedented growth, driven by strong policy support and the rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity. The Government of India has outlined an ambitious roadmap to modernize and expand the national grid, requiring an estimated USD $120 billion of capital expenditure over the next five to seven years to integrate new generation capacity and meet rising demand. We believe that this has potential of creating a significant pipeline of transmission projects across the country – compelling opportunities for both greenfield development and the acquisition of operating assets.

 

 

Harsh Agrawal, Senior Partner at I Squared Capital, said: “India is one of the fastest-growing major economies and a highly attractive infrastructure market. I Squared has been an investor in India for over a decade and has seen first-hand the rapid expansion of power generation, particularly renewables. We believe this creates a multi-decade opportunity to acquire and build critical grid assets that enable economic growth, enhance energy security, and accelerate the energy transition. DRAIPL has a proven track record from our work together on Cube Highways, another I Squared portfolio company in India. Extending this relationship to the transmission sector gives Cube Grid a strong execution partner.”

 

 

Hardik Agrawal, Director at Dineshchandra Group, said: “India’s transmission sector is at an inflection point as the country accelerates renewable integration and grid expansion. We are pleased to partner with I Squared and Cube Grid in developing this sector. Having witnessed I Squared’s long-term, platform-oriented approach, we believe this partnership combines financial discipline and operational focus with strong execution capabilities to build high-quality transmission infrastructure and contribute to an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat.”

 

 

Over the past decade, I Squared has committed more than USD $4 billion to Indian infrastructure, owning, building and operating a portfolio of six companies providing essential services to millions of people across the country. The partnership with DRAIPL combines I Squared’s global investment expertise and platform-building experience with DRAIPL’s local execution capabilities and regional market knowledge.

 

 

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

 

 

About I Squared Capital

 

 

I Squared Capital is a leading independent global infrastructure investor dedicated to the mid-market, managing $55 billion in assets. Founded in 2012, I Squared has evolved into one of the most diverse infrastructure investors in the world, with investments across power & utilities; transportation & logistics; digital infrastructure; environmental infrastructure; and social infrastructure, providing essential services to millions of people worldwide. Today, the portfolio includes over 100 companies operating in more than 70 countries. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has offices in Abu Dhabi, London, Munich, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei. Learn more at www.isquaredcapital.com.

 

 

Disclaimers

 

 

This document does not constitute advice or a recommendation or offer to sell or a solicitation to deal in any security or financial product. It is provided for information purposes only. Investing involves risk; loss of principal is possible. Specific investments described herein do not represent all investment decisions made by ISQ. The reader should not assume that investment decisions identified and discussed were or will be profitable. Specific investment advice references provided herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily representative of investments that will be made in the future.

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520821733/en/

 

Business Wire India

Marquee Brands, the premier global brand management company and leading brand accelerator, today announced a definitive agreement for a majority interest in Roberto Cavalli, through a strategic partnership with DAMAC Group, the leading Dubai-based global conglomerate and luxury real estate developer. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, after which DAMAC Group will remain a significant shareholder. Founded in Florence in 1970, Roberto Cavalli the iconic luxury house celebrated for its avant-garde design and distinct Italian craftsmanship joins Marquee Brands’ portfolio of timeless global brands, including Martha Stewart, Laura Ashley, Sur La Table, BCBGMAXAZRIA and Stance. The addition of Roberto Cavalli further strengthens Marquee Brands’ position as a leader in the luxury and lifestyle sectors, bringing total portfolio-wide retail sales to approximately US$5 billion.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520070705/en/

 

 

 

“Roberto Cavalli stands as one of luxury’s defining Italian houses, with a bold creative identity and enduring brand ethos,” said Heath Golden, CEO, Marquee Brands. “We see extraordinary potential to build on that foundation through thoughtful brand stewardship and strategic expansion. In partnership with DAMAC, a leader in luxury real estate, we will continue to elevate the Roberto Cavalli experience worldwide.”

 

Hussain Sajwani, Founder of DAMAC Group, said: “Roberto Cavalli is one of the most distinctive luxury brands in the world. After several years of solidifying the brand’s foundation, we set out to find a strategic partner with the skillset to take the brand to the next level. We are confident Marquee Brands is the right partner to do so. Given our love for the brand and meaningful ongoing shareholdings, we look forward to supporting Marquee Brands’ efforts, by among other things, continuing to expand the Roberto Cavalli lifestyle through branded residences and hospitality projects in premier global destinations, an area that remains fully owned and operated by DAMAC. This collaboration marks an exciting new era for the brand. We look forward to its significant future expansion.”

 

 

Marquee Brands, owned by funds managed by Neuberger, a global investment management firm, continues to scale its global platform by acquiring heritage brands with deep consumer resonance. Roberto Cavalli marks the twenty-second brand in Marquee Brands’ portfolio.

 

 

“Marquee Brands has established a proven, capital‑efficient business model for driving growth through disciplined brand management, strategic partnerships and a long-term investment horizon,” said Zachary Sigel, Managing Director at Neuberger and Co-Founder of Marquee Brands. “The acquisition of Roberto Cavalli reinforces Neuberger’s confidence in the platform and its ability to continue to create value for investors.”

 

 

The partnership between Marquee Brands and DAMAC expands the global reach of the Roberto Cavalli brand, bringing together their complementary strengths and shared commitment to elevating the legendary Italian maison. Marquee Brands will accelerate Roberto Cavalli’s growth by introducing new categories, services and experiential touchpoints across Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

 

 

DAMAC will continue to scale the brand’s presence through Roberto Cavalli-branded residences and hospitality projects across key global markets, reinforcing the brand’s luxury position and desirability. The partnership creates a powerful platform that unites Marquee Brands’ expertise in global brand development with DAMAC’s leadership in luxury real estate and hospitality, unlocking significant new opportunities for the future of Roberto Cavalli.

 

 

As part of the transaction, Marquee Brands announces Milan-based partner The Level Group (TLG) as its core operating partner. TLG will lead the development, manufacturing and distribution of the brand’s women’s and men’s collections, ensuring a unified and elevated product vision across key markets. In addition, TLG will assume responsibility for retail and e‑commerce operations and wholesale distribution in Europe and the United States, strengthening Roberto Cavalli’s direct-to-consumer presence and global retail strategy.

 

 

RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor and Greenberg Traurig acted as legal advisor to Marquee Brands. BDA Partners served as financial advisor to DAMAC Properties.

 

 

ABOUT ROBERTO CAVALLI

 

 

Founded in 1970, Roberto Cavalli is a leading Italian brand in fashion, accessories and luxury lifestyle. Defined by a glamorous contemporary aesthetic, the brand is the quintessential expression of Italian excellence, craftsmanship and its Mediterranean origins. The Roberto Cavalli portfolio is positioned within the luxury segment and includes the Home, Junior, Eyewear, Perfumes, Watches and Just Cavalli collections. www.robertocavalli.com

 

 

ABOUT MARQUEE BRANDS

 

 

Marquee Brands is the premier accelerator of timeless brands, unlocking value and building global influence. With a focus on driving growth and building sustainable brand equity, we partner with best-in-class manufacturers, operators, retailers, and distributors to scale brands across markets and channels. Marquee Brands’ global portfolio spans three distinct platforms: Home & Culinary, Fashion & Lifestyle, Luxury and Active & Outdoor. The portfolio of brands includes Martha Stewart, Laura Ashley, Sur La Table, Emeril Lagasse, America’s Test Kitchen, BCBGMAXAZRIA, BCBG, Ben Sherman, Bruno Magli, Anti Social Social Club, Totes, Isotoner, Destination Maternity, Motherhood, A Pea in the Pod, Stance, Dakine and Body Glove. For more information visit, www.marqueebrands.com.

 

 

ABOUT NEUBERGER PRIVATE MARKETS

 

 

Neuberger Private Markets is a division of Neuberger and has been an active and successful private markets investor since 1987. Neuberger Private Markets invests across strategies, asset classes, and geographies for a large number of sophisticated and renowned institutions and individuals globally. As of December 31, 2025, Neuberger Private Markets manages over $155 billion of investor commitments across primaries, co-investments, secondaries, private credit, and specialty strategies. Neuberger Private Markets has an experienced and diverse team of over 500 professionals with a global presence in 17 offices globally.

 

 

ABOUT DAMAC GROUP

 

 

DAMAC Group is a global private business conglomerate founded by Hussain Sajwani in 1982. Starting in catering and logistics, it has expanded into diverse industries, including real estate, hospitality, data centers, fashion, and capital markets. DAMAC Properties is the largest private real estate developer in the UAE and the Middle East, and has been at the forefront of the Middle East’s luxury real estate market since 2002, delivering award-winning residential, commercial and leisure properties across the region and internationally, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, the Maldives, Canada, the United States, as well as the United Kingdom. Since then, DAMAC has delivered more than 50,000 homes with over 55,000 more in diverse planning and development phases, joining forces with some of the world’s most eminent fashion and lifestyle brands to create tremendous living experiences, such as Roberto Cavalli and de GRISOGONO. With a consistent vision and momentum, DAMAC is building the next generation of luxury living across the globe. The Group also owns hotel assets under brands such as Radisson, Paramount, and Rotana, with an expanding hospitality portfolio. Beyond real estate, DAMAC is a leader in the data center industry through DAMAC Digital and has acquired luxury brands Roberto Cavalli and de GRISOGONO. Through DAMAC Capital, it invests in future-focused industries like tech, finance, and life sciences. Committed to social impact, the Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation supports education, innovation, and community-driven initiatives. For more information visit, www.damacgroup.com

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520070705/en/

 

Business Wire India

Variational, a protocol for on-chain derivatives trading, has announced a ~$50M Series A raise led by Dragonfly with support from Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, and other strategic investors. The funding coincides with the launch of the protocol’s first Real-World Asset (RWA) markets. This initial rollout allows traders to access perpetuals on select commodities alongside their crypto portfolio, laying the groundwork for Variational to route liquidity directly from traditional markets in the coming months.

 

While the broader crypto industry is attempting to bootstrap RWA liquidity from scratch on isolated Central Limit Order Books (CLOBs), Variational introduces a fundamentally different architecture. Instead of starting new order books from scratch for each new market, Variational aggregates and routes liquidity from both existing traditional and on-chain markets.

 

 

By solving this “cold start” problem, Variational will allow traders to access a massive menu of global assets, from indices and single-name stocks to FX and crypto, all from a single account.

 

 

In January 2025, Variational was released into an invite-only private beta. Since then, the trading platform has processed $200+ billion in trading volume across 50k+ accounts, accumulated over $750 million in open interest, and shared over $7 million in rewards with traders.

 

 

“You can’t rebuild forty years of traditional market depth from scratch on a crypto order book,” said Lucas Schuermann, CEO of Variational. “Traditional finance solved this problem with the brokerage model–we’re bringing that model on-chain, aggregating RWA liquidity from where it already exists rather than waiting for it to migrate.”

 

 

Variational’s initial “Phase 1” RWA release includes gold, silver, copper, and WTI Crude. This initial rollout is intended to stress-test the protocol’s cross-margin engine and on-chain settlement using aggregated crypto-native liquidity. Once the infrastructure is validated, “Phase 2” will begin routing liquidity directly from TradFi sources, aiming to bring over 100+ new markets on-chain this summer.

 

 

“Order books are fine when you have the liquidity to anchor them. But for the massive universe of RWAs, more often it’s a mistake. Everyone else is trying to suck liquidity through a straw, spending millions on incentives just to end up with thin books and volatile pricing,” said Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly. “Variational’s model sidesteps that entirely, mainlining liquidity from traditional markets directly on-chain. It’s what ‘perps on everything’ requires to work at scale.”

 

 

Variational’s roadmap for 2026 includes listing more RWA markets, further deepening RWA liquidity with additional partnerships, and releasing a trading API. Progress can be followed on Variational’s X Account.

 

 

About Variational

 

 

Variational is a peer-to-peer trading protocol for perpetuals and generalized derivatives that has processed $200B+ in trading volume. Variational powers Omni, a zero-fee trading platform that aggregates liquidity from both on-chain and traditional markets.

 

 

Variational is built by a veteran team with decades of experience from firms like Google, Meta, Virtu, IMC, and Jane Street, and backed by leading investors including Dragonfly, Bain Capital Crypto, and Coinbase Ventures.

 

 

For more information, visit https://variational.io.

 

 

About Dragonfly

 

 

Dragonfly is a $4B crypto-focused global investment firm. Since 2017, Dragonfly has been at the forefront of blockchain and crypto innovation with a long-term oriented, technical, and research-driven approach, having been early backers of some of the most influential protocols and companies in the industry.

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520402312/en/

 

Business Wire India

TestMu AI (formerly LambdaTest), the world’s first full-stack Agentic AI Quality Engineering platform, today announced two major enhancements to its Real Device Cloud: expanded support for Playwright automation across multiple programming languages and the introduction of Audio Injection and Live Audio Input capabilities for real iOS devices.

 

These updates address a growing need for testing modern applications that are not only cross-platform but also increasingly multimodal, involving voice, audio, and real-time user interactions.

 

 

With the latest release, TestMu AI now supports running Playwright tests on real devices using Java, Python, and C# in addition to existing capabilities. This allows enterprise teams to adopt Playwright within their preferred language ecosystems without being restricted to JavaScript-based workflows.

 

 

As Playwright adoption continues to grow across engineering teams, this enhancement enables seamless integration of real device testing into existing automation pipelines, improving coverage and reliability across mobile environments.

 

 

In addition, TestMu AI has also introduced Audio Injection and Live Audio Input for real android and iOS devices, enabling teams to simulate and validate microphone-based interactions directly during test execution. This capability allows testers to inject pre-recorded audio or stream live input into devices, making it possible to automate testing for use cases such as KYC voice verification, speech-to-text, in-app audio recording, conferencing workflows, and audio-driven user journeys.

 

 

“Applications today are no longer just visual; they are interactive, voice-enabled, and context-driven,” said Mudit Singh, Co-Founder and Head of Growth at TestMu AI. “Testing these experiences requires infrastructure that can replicate real-world conditions. With multi-language Playwright support and audio testing on real iOS devices, we’re enabling teams to validate more realistic user scenarios without relying on manual intervention.”

 

 

Key enhancements include the ability to run Playwright automation on real devices across Java, Python, and C#, allowing teams to integrate testing seamlessly into diverse technology stacks. Tests are executed on actual mobile devices, ensuring accurate validation of real-world scenarios and behavior. The platform also introduces audio injection for iOS devices, enabling the use of pre-recorded inputs for consistent, repeatable test scenarios, alongside live audio streaming for dynamic, real-time validation. Together, these capabilities extend testing coverage to voice-driven experiences such as speech-to-text systems, authentication workflows, virtual assistants, and other audio-based interactions.

 

 

These enhancements further strengthen TestMu AI’s Real Device Cloud by enabling teams to move beyond traditional UI validation and test increasingly complex, real-world user experiences at scale.

 

 

About TestMu AI (Formerly LambdaTest)

 

 

TestMu AI is the world’s first Agentic AI-native Quality Engineering platform, designed to enable organizations to automate and scale testing with intelligence at its core. By combining autonomous capabilities with seamless integration across modern development workflows, TestMu AI empowers teams to deliver faster, more reliable, and secure software in an AI-first world.

 

 

For more information, visit https://www.testmuai.com/

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520627664/en/

 

Business Wire India

Twilio (NYSE: TWLO), the infrastructure for customer engagement in the AI era, today announced it has been recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) for the fourth consecutive year.¹ Twilio also received the highest placement in Ability to Execute.²

 

Twilio delivers trusted communications and data-driven engagement for hundreds of thousands of customer accounts worldwide. Companies such as Best Buy, Netflix, All Nippon Airways (ANA), and CLEAR rely on Twilio to build personalized, scalable experiences for their customers. To us, this recognition reflects Twilio’s continued investment in unifying communications, real-time data, and AI into a single, developer-friendly platform – built to power the contextual customer experiences that today’s businesses demand.

 

 

Twilio believes this recognition builds on Twilio’s broader positioning as the infrastructure layer at the center of the CPaaS, CCaaS, CDP, and AI convergence. In late 2025, Gartner also named Twilio the company to beat for AI CPaaS.³ Together, we believe these recognitions affirm Twilio’s place as the platform that enterprises and developers turn to as AI reshapes how businesses engage with their customers.

 

 

This recognition comes as Twilio continues to expand its platform, with recent innovations including:

 

 

• Voice AI and Conversation Relay: Enables developers to build sophisticated, natural-language voice agents using their preferred LLM, with real-time streaming, PCI-compliant voice workflows, native integration of real-time speech-to-text models, and programmatic access to latency and quality analytics.
• Agentic Platform Capabilities: Twilio’s Agent Connect, Conversation Orchestrator, and Conversation Memory capabilities enable businesses to connect their existing AI agents to Twilio’s Voice and Messaging channels and deploy them across customer touchpoints- ensuring every conversation is persistent, contextual, and actionable. Conversation Intelligence extends this further with generative AI language operators that turn live conversations into actionable, real-time intelligence that enhances human agents and triggers immediate actions like automated workflows across voice and messaging channels.
• Twilio Console: A completely redesigned console serves as a centralized command center for customers, featuring Twilio Workbench for developer productivity and an integrated AI assistant, making it easier to explore and manage Twilio products in one place.

 

 

“Twilio believes it created the CPaaS category, and four consecutive years as a Leader reflects how much we’ve continued to shape it. What started as APIs for SMS and voice has evolved into a full platform for continuous, contextual customer engagement,” said Kathryn Murphy, SVP of Product at Twilio. “As we enter the agentic era, we’re doing what we’ve always done: building the infrastructure businesses need to have real conversations with their customers, whether those conversations are powered by humans or AI.”

 

The 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CPaaS is available as a complimentary download, here.

 

 

Gartner Disclaimer

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

Source: Gartner®, Magic QuadrantTM for Communications Platform as a Service, Lisa Unden-Farboud, Pankil Sheth, Ajit Patankar, May 18, 2026

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Twilio’s commitment to building infrastructure for the agentic era; expectations regarding our platform and solutions; and future investment in and availability of new products.

 

 

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events, the outcome of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including those more fully described in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

Forward-looking statements represent our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

 

 

About Twilio

 

 

Twilio (NYSE: TWLO) is the infrastructure for customer engagement in the AI era. By combining global communications, memory, and AI orchestration with identity, governance, and observability, Twilio enables businesses to deliver continuous, contextual, personal, and secure conversations across every channel and participant – human or AI.

 

 

Across 180+ countries, hundreds of thousands of the most innovative companies – from the Fortune 500 to startups – and millions of developers, rely on Twilio’s global platform across messaging, voice, email, and beyond, to power trusted customer experiences that drive real results. For more information about Twilio visit www.twilio.com.

 

 

____________________

1 Gartner®, Magic QuadrantTM for Communications Platform as a Service, Lisa Unden-Farboud, Ajit Patankar, Brian Doherty, Daniel O’Connell, September 18, 2023 Gartner®, Magic QuadrantTM for Communications Platform as a Service, Lisa Unden-Farboud, Ajit Patankar, Pankil Sheth, Brian Doherty, June 24, 2024   Gartner®, Magic QuadrantTM for Communications Platform as a Service, Lisa Unden-Farboud, Manoj Bhatia, Pankil Sheth, Ajit Patankar, July 21, 2025   2 Gartner®, Magic QuadrantTM for Communications Platform as a Service, Lisa Unden-Farboud, Pankil Sheth, Ajit Patankar, May 18, 2026   3 Gartner®, AI Vendor Race: Twilio Is the Company to Beat for CPaaS AI, Ajit Patankar, Lisa Unden-Farboud, December 8, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520338345/en/