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Planned Dismantling of Ocean Observational System is Devastating Blow to Science, American Economy and Disaster Readiness

Neel Achary 0 Comment

WASHINGTON [June 3, 2026] – The Trump administration has announced that it plans to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a deep-ocean observation system that provides essential data to monitor coastal environments, marine ecosystems and powerful currents that shape the world’s climate. The move comes on the brink of what is expected to be one of the worst El Niño cycles in a century, which will require careful monitoring of ocean conditions to understand implications for marine wildlife, fisheries and coastal communities.

Chris Robbins, Ocean Conservancy’s associate director of scientific initiatives said “Walking away from a $368-million investment in a state-of-the-art system, a feat of engineering already paid for by the American people, is absolutely myopic. This system is a vital scientific asset that quietly protects American lives, communities and the economy through unfettered access to world-class scientific data. Its loss would create an irreparable blind spot for our country in predicting earthquakes, fishery health, storm forecasting, coastal flooding and more. It just doesn’t make sense.”

business

Over a Million Indian Farmers Moving to Natural Farming: APCNF Wins the 2026 Food Planet Prize

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Business Wire India

Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) has been awarded the 2026 Food Planet Prize—the world’s largest environmental award—for its role in leading one of the most ambitious transitions to agroecology ever undertaken. The prize, worth $1.5m, was presented in Båstad, Sweden, on June 2.

The Curt Bergfors Foundation has announced Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) as the winner of the 2026 Food Planet Prize, the world’s largest environmental award. All other finalists—Conscious Kitchen (US), NoPalm Ingredients (NL), and Savanna Institute (US)—received $150,000 in recognition of their work.

What APCNF does and why it matters for food systems transformation

Over the past ten years, 1.8 million farmers in southern India have joined what is now one of the world’s largest transitions to natural agriculture—and the numbers keep growing. Launched by the government of Andhra Pradesh, APCNF works through women’s collectives and a network of over 10,000 farmer trainers to help smallholders abandon synthetic inputs in favor of natural farming practices rooted in soil science and traditional knowledge. Year-round cover cropping and pre-monsoon dry sowing are among the methods being adopted across more than 8,000 villages.

What the prize will unlock

Winning the Prize will let APCNF go even further:

In awarding the Food Planet Prize 2026 to APCNF, Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, co-chair of the Food Planet Prize jury commented:

 

“APCNF demonstrates how nature-positive farming can be implemented across entire communities and regions, providing a scalable pathway for millions of farmers while simultaneously improving livelihoods, resilience, and environmental outcomes.

 

While transforming the way food is produced, APCNF has realised measurable reductions in dependence on synthetic agricultural inputs and enhanced resilience to climate shocks, droughts, and economic volatility. Essentially, APCNF shows how the future of agriculture can be built by working with nature rather than against it.”

 

In response to the award, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri. N. Chandrababu Naidu thanked the Jury of the Food Planet Prize team for recognising the 1.8 million-strong APCNF, the world’s largest Natural Farming Programme. “I am delighted that it is a ‘First’ for India. We assure everyone that Andhra Pradesh will not rest here. We would like to make Andhra Pradesh a 100% natural Andhra Pradesh by 2047. Restoring our resources, rejuvenating our farmlands, strengthening farmers’ wellbeing and healing the planet. We would like to support seeding natural farming in other States and outside. Congratulations to our team, farmers and women in this movement.”

 

The Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture Co-Operation, Marketing, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development & Fisheries, Sri Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, extended his wishes on conferring the award for the APCNF program. “I congratulate APCNF, our 1.8 million farmers, our community resource persons and our women SHGs. Congratulations to RySS and the Agriculture Department for winning the Food Planet Prize 2026. A landmark recognition for Andhra Pradesh and India’s agricultural transformation. Thanks to natural farming, A.P’s 1.8 million farmers are reducing input costs and raising net incomes right from the first Year. Over 10,000 Community Resource Persons, 60% of them women, are driving farmer-to-farmer learning across the state. We are proud that 22 Indian states and two countries, Zambia and Sri Lanka, are actively replicating this model.”

 

Women’s self-help groups played a pivotal role in scaling up the Natural Farming in Andhra Pradesh. D. Chamundeshwari, a smallholder farmer from Vemuru Village, expressed happiness at the global recognition of their efforts. “At a time when farming communities are facing mounting climate and livelihood challenges, the transition to natural farming gave good results thanks to knowledge and skills acquired under the program.”

 

Sri. Budithi Rajasekhar, IAS (Retd.), Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh (Agriculture, Sericulture, Cooperation & Marketing), extended his wishes to the larger farming community of Andhra Pradesh. “I am elated to witness APCNF winning the Food Planet Prize 2026 from Curt Bergfors Foundation. This recognition reflects what becomes possible when government policy, community institutions, and scientific knowledge align behind a common vision. The Government of Andhra Pradesh made a policy choice, 10 years ago to treat natural farming as a state-wide agricultural transformation, backed by Community Resource Persons in every village and the organisational strength of our Women’s Self Help Groups. AP would march to be a 100% NF Andhra Pradesh soon.”

 

“APCNF is honoured to receive the 2026 Food Planet Prize on behalf of 1.8 million farm families, 700,000 farmworker families, and the 340,000 women’s self-help groups driving this transformation. We accept this Award for farmers across India who are showing the world a climate-resilient, nature-positive pathway, and we thank the scientists. A special thanks to Honourable Chief Minister Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu, whose vision made it possible. This recognition strengthens our resolve to scale natural farming to all 6 million farmers of Andhra Pradesh,” says Sri. T. Vijay Kumar, IAS (Retd.) – Executive Vice Chairman, Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, Advisor to Government, Agriculture & Cooperation Department.

 

technology

ICBA Statement on Executive Order on Promoting AI Innovation and Security

Neel Achary 0 Comment

Washington, D.C. (June 2, 2026) — Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on today’s executive order on promoting advanced artificial intelligence innovation and security.

“ICBA and the nation’s community bankers thank the administration for expressly recognizing community banks as a critical infrastructure component and adopting elements of our joint AI action plan in directing federal agencies to secure their systems and to promote access to AI security tools.

“The president’s explicit inclusion of community banks in today’s executive order directly aligns with ICBA’s ongoing advocacy for equitable access to federal AI security resources and coordination. It reflects the priorities we have advanced in meetings with the administration and in our action plan, particularly our calls for adopting effective AI-driven cybersecurity, modernizing security operations, building an AI-ready workforce, and establishing a voluntary clearinghouse in collaboration with the AI industry and critical infrastructure operators to facilities AI cyber readiness and response.

“Today’s executive order is an important demonstration of how the community bank voice is being heard on behalf of the local communities we serve. ICBA looks forward to continuing to work with the administration toward a secure and AI-ready America.”

 

business

Ecobank Group Launches World First Nature Bond Mobilising Global Capital to Protect Africa’s Natural Ecosystems

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LOMÉ, Togo, June 2, 2026/ – Ecobank Group (www.Ecobank.com) has launched the world’s first ICMA commercial bank-issued Nature Bond on the London Stock Exchange, creating a new route for international and African capital to protect Africa’s biodiversity. Moody’s awarded the transaction its highest possible sustainability quality score, SQS1 Excellent. The bond will support African farmers, sustainable agriculture businesses and water systems, protecting some of the planet’s most important ecosystems.

Impact on the ground in Africa

Africa is home to some of the world’s most important natural capital, including arable land, tropical forests, freshwater systems and biodiversity across hundreds of millions of hectares. But, until now, private nature capital has not flowed to Africa at the scale the continent’s ecological significance warrants in global ecological resilience. Despite hosting 25% of global biodiversity, Africa receives less than 3% of nature finance.

Ecobank Group Launches World First Nature Bond Mobilising Global Capital to Protect Africa’s Natural Ecosystems

 

Ecobank’s Nature Bond is a direct response to this gap. It will support smallholder farmers adopting sustainable agricultural practices, agri-processors with verified deforestation-free supply chains, and water infrastructure protecting freshwater ecosystems relied upon by millions of people. Unlike many conservation-focused financing vehicles, Ecobank’s Nature Bond channels capital directly through Africa’s real economy — financing businesses and communities whose day-to-day activities shape environmental outcomes at scale.

The investments will be made in 24 markets, with significant deployment in biodiversity-priority countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Importantly, 81% of the eligible lending pool is allocated to countries where agricultural land-use change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, helping direct capital to the areas where it can have the greatest environmental impact.

The framework also incorporates independent monitoring and verification mechanisms, including deforestation screening and supply chain traceability requirements, helping ensure that financed activities deliver measurable nature-positive outcomes. Every eligible loan carries seven independently verified sustainability conditions.

The launch of this bond also comes as governments and investors worldwide face mounting pressure to mobilise private capital for biodiversity protection and sustainable land use.

What is a Nature Bond?

A Nature Bond, under the ICMA secondary designation, requires proceeds to actively contribute to nature-positive outcomes, including transforming economic activities to reduce the drivers of nature loss at scale.

The Nature Bond was designed to reach those that conservation-focused instruments were not designed to serve – farmers, agri-processors and water operators whose daily activities collectively determine ecosystem outcomes.

While green bonds typically finance a broad range of environmental objectives, the Nature Bond designation focuses the use of proceeds specifically on nature-related outcomes, including biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, land use and water infrastructure.

The transaction

The USD 450 million bond was priced following strong investor demand with the final orderbook exceeding USD 1.36 billion – 3.9x the original target size. The strength of demand enabled Ecobank to increase the transaction by USD 100 million and tighten pricing by 50 basis points.

The transaction attracted support from both international and African investors, demonstrating Ecobank’s unique ability to mobilise capital across global and African markets.

For the first time, international and African capital markets have a credible, scalable mechanism for financing the protection of African natural capital through the communities who depend on it.

Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Office, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, commented:

“This transaction is a defining moment for African sustainable finance. Investors did not just support this bond. They demanded more of it, allowing us to increase the size and tighten pricing.

We are not a bank that simply labels bonds. We have spent four years building the systems, governance and accountability needed to make nature finance credible and scalable in Africa.

This bond is ultimately about the farmers, cooperatives and communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”

Rachael Antwi, Group Head of Sustainability and ESRM, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, added:

“Nature finance will only scale in Africa if it is practical, measurable and connected to the real economy. This bond is designed to do that by linking international capital to eligible lending for sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure across 24 countries. It reflects the systems and standards Ecobank has built to ensure nature finance supports both environmental resilience and the communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
technology

ITS America Conference & Expo Reveals Record 2026 Detroit Program

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DETROIT, Mich. (June 2, 2026) — ITS America Conference & Expo, organized in partnership by RX Global and ITS America, has released its full program for the 2026 annual event, scheduled June 9-12 at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan, bringing together more than 3,000 transportation leaders from 23 countries, regions and territories to advance safer, smarter and more connected transportation systems.

The four-day expo, themed “Empowering Innovation,” features more than 100 conference sessions, plenary presentations led by industry visionaries, and state DOT roundtable discussions that give transportation leaders a platform to exchange strategies and share lessons from the field. Sessions cover topics ranging from connected vehicle deployment and AI-driven traffic management to accessible transportation and smart infrastructure. The exhibit hall, open June 10-12, will welcome close to 200 exhibitors and sponsors showcasing the latest advances in traffic management, autonomous mobility, connected vehicle systems and smart infrastructure.

New this year, the Cybersecurity & Data Zone brings together 10 exhibitors highlighting innovative solutions that protect connected vehicles and secure smart infrastructure as transportation networks become more digital and automated. Palo Alto Networks, one of the zone’s featured exhibitors, will present its AI-driven cybersecurity platforms designed to protect connected transportation infrastructure from evolving threats. The new StartUp Zone gives emerging companies a dedicated platform to introduce breakthrough technologies directly to decision-makers and procurement leaders. Start-up companies including Mobito, Neuweb, Inex.net, ASX, ViaSight and Intreelligent will bring a stronger presence to the show floor, representing the next generation of transportation innovation. Exhibiting alongside the industry’s most established players, these rising companies gain direct access to the agencies, investors and partners capable of moving their technologies from concept to real-world deployment.

“The ITS America Conference & Expo is where our industry comes to move forward, together,” said Laura Chace, President and CEO, ITS America. “The pace of change in transportation technology demands that leaders gather each year to share what works and build the relationships that drive real-world deployment. Detroit is the right city for this conversation, and the 2026 program reflects the depth, urgency and opportunity that defines this moment in mobility.”

This year’s event features a record number of outdoor demonstrations, sponsored by Integral Blue and located directly outside Huntington Place, offering five immersive experiences that bring intelligent transportation to life across Detroit. The I-94 Freeway Experience shows how V2X communication and cloud-based systems make high-speed travel safer and more efficient in real time, while the M-1 Intelligent Woodward Experience puts connected intersections and advanced sensors to work along Detroit’s iconic Woodward Avenue, demonstrating how vehicles, pedestrians and infrastructure communicate to improve urban safety and traffic flow.

On Thursday, June 11, Emergency Response Tech & Demo Day, brought to you by GFT Infrastructure Inc. and Michigan DOT sponsored by Skydio, connects the worlds of ITS and emergency response through live demonstrations featuring infrastructure-based V2X communications for incident scene warnings, drone delivery integration for emergency operations and a close-up look at an autonomous freight vehicle from TORC. Three Tech Tours, available on Tuesday, June 9, take small groups to active ITS facilities across the region, including a behind-the-scenes visit to Integral Blue’s Auburn Hills operations center where attendees witness live demonstrations of ITS equipment integration, V2X applications and network incident response that keep Michigan’s transportation systems running.

The Transportation Hub, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks and located on the exhibit hall floor, serves as the event’s destination for learning and networking. Attendees can join expert-led fireside chats, watch a live recording of the Transportation Channel Podcast and receive a complimentary professional headshot, all while connecting with peers and industry leaders shaping the future of transportation. The Future Leaders Program, sponsored by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), connects students and young professionals with industry pioneers through essay competitions, hands-on workshops, campfire-style career development sessions and direct mentorship from transportation leaders.

“From the plenary stage to the exhibit floor to the streets of Detroit, attendees will see, experience and discuss the technologies reshaping how people and goods move across our communities,” said Jaime McAuley, Event Vice President, ITS America Events. “Every session, demonstration and Tech Tour is designed to give attendees practical knowledge and new perspectives they can bring home and put to work immediately. This is where the industry comes to learn what is next and how to get there.”

The conference draws architects, engineers, public agency officials, state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, investors and mobility innovators, representing a 50-50 split between the public and private sectors. Registration is open now at  itsamericaevents.com.

business

SAP Labs India Unveils 2026 Startup Studio Cohort Focused on Enterprise AI and Deep-Tech Innovation

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Business Wire India

SAP Labs India today announced the launch of SAP Startup Studio Cohort 2026, marking a decade of its flagship open innovation accelerator program focused on enabling startups to co-innovate, build enterprise-ready solutions, and scale through SAP’s global ecosystem. The six-month accelerator brings together high-potential startups across enterprise AI, agentic systems, quantum-safe security, robotics, cloud infrastructure, industrial intelligence, and sustainable manufacturing, with a strong focus on helping startups ‘build with SAP’ through deep collaboration with SAP’s product and engineering teams. Designed for early and growth-stage startups, the program provides access to SAP leaders, enterprise customers, partners, and global commercialization opportunities. The startups shortlisted for SAP Startup Studio Cohort 2026 include ANSCER Robotics, Oorja, Vizionsys Technologies, Astrikos, Drishya AI, Endee Labs, Grevoro, Quanfluence, QNu Labs, FUSKI AI, Ardent, Neoflo, SaarthiOS, Perceptory AI Labs, SecuAI, and Pulse Energy.

The cohort was selected through a multi-stage evaluation process including pitch sessions with SAP leaders and domain experts, focusing on enterprise relevance, innovation depth, scalability, and co-building potential within SAP’s ecosystem.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindhu Gangadharan, MD, SAP Labs India and President, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, said, “At SAP, we believe meaningful innovation is driven through strong ecosystems, deep collaboration, and the ability to co-create with startups addressing real business and industry challenges. As we mark a decade of SAP Startup Studio, we are proud to continue fostering a platform that enables startups to work closely with SAP’s product, engineering, customer, and partner ecosystem to build scalable, enterprise-ready innovations for global customers.

The 2026 cohort brings together startups working across areas such as enterprise AI, agentic systems, robotics, industrial intelligence, energy innovation, and quantum-safe security — technologies that are expected to play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of enterprises and industries worldwide. We look forward to supporting these startups through mentorship, collaboration, and access to SAP’s global innovation ecosystem.”

SAP Startup Studio is designed to provide startups with a structured innovation journey spanning co-creation, validation, commercialization, and scale. Through the program, startups gain access to SAP leadership, domain experts, enterprise customers, and SAP’s global partner ecosystem, along with opportunities for go-to-market collaboration and enterprise adoption.

The key focus areas for the 2026 Cohort include enterprise AI and agentic systems, quantum computing and secure enterprise technologies, cloud and platform innovation, industry transformation, and emerging technologies such as robotics, distributed cloud, and enterprise automation. Through Startup Studio, SAP continues to strengthen India’s position as a global innovation hub while enabling startups to scale enterprise impact through collaboration and co-creation. In the past, QpiAI, Cloudworx, Yellow.ai, Skillate, AgriPilot.ai, MedySeva, Intelekt AI, Prodoc AI, and Avysh, amongst many others, were part of the SAP Startup Studio cohort.

The program also reinforces SAP’s role as an ecosystem orchestrator, bringing together startups, SAP product teams, customers, and partners into a unified innovation platform that enables a continuous co-creation, validation, commercialization, and scale loop to drive the next wave of enterprise transformation globally.

 

business

Perpetuals Reports $4.5 Billion in UpsideOnly Volume and Signs Exchange Agreement With Datavault AI for Tokenized Commodities

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Business Wire India

 

  • UpsideOnly draws more than 30,000 active users from 185 countries in its first two weeks
  • Perpetuals signs exchange agreement with Datavault AI, bringing tokenized gold, copper, geothermal energy, and critical minerals to 24/7 regulated global trading

 

Perpetuals.com Ltd (Nasdaq: PDC) today reported strong early results for its breakout UpsideOnly trading and market prediction platform and announced an agreement with Datavault AI Inc. (Nasdaq: DVLT) to list tokenized real-world commodity assets on the Perpetuals platform.

 

In its first two weeks, traders flocked to the UpsideOnly platform, attracting more than 30,000 active users, generating $4.5 billion in cumulative platform volume across 186,000 fills and 25 instruments. Reflecting the widespread demand for a risk-free product, users came from 185 different countries. Surprisingly, gold was the top instrument with $1.4 billion in volume, outpacing bitcoin at $1.2 billion with precious metals accounting for roughly 35 percent of total platform activity.

 

 

UpsideOnly is the first trading and market prediction platform where users can’t lose. Traders make predictions across global markets and share in profits when those predictions are validated by Perpetuals’s proprietary AI, without ever putting up their own money.

 

 

Perpetuals also confirmed the company has signed a Mutual Services Agreement with Datavault AI, a real-world asset tokenization company, to list its commodity token programs on the Perpetuals exchange platform, targeting trading on PM MTF Ltd., the EU-licensed Multilateral Trading Facility operated on Perpetuals’s technology. The agreement initially covers the MTB Copper project, with provisions for expansion to additional programs spanning from gold, copper, geothermal energy, U.S. critical minerals, and European iron-nickel resources. These programs carry a combined targeted issuance of more than $328 million.

 

 

“The past two weeks have made clear that Perpetuals is building something that fills a major need in the market. UpsideOnly adoption has exceeded everything we projected, and now closing this Datavault AI agreement demonstrates our velocity,” said Matthew Nicoletti, Chief Strategy Officer and Director of Perpetuals. “We are moving fast and the momentum is real.”

 

 

“Perpetuals has built the regulated infrastructure that physical commodity tokenization needs and has been missing,” said Nathaniel T. Bradley, CEO of Datavault AI. “Partnering with a platform that has already demonstrated this kind of user growth puts our token programs in front of what we believe may be the largest possible audience at exactly the right moment for Datavault AI.”

 

 

About Perpetuals.com Ltd

 

 

Perpetuals.com Ltd (Nasdaq: PDC) is a fintech company developing AI-powered trading products and prediction markets, with a global footprint across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Its mission is to reduce risk through empowering retail users with intuitive, secure, and efficient trading experiences that span the world’s capital markets. UpsideOnly, the company’s flagship consumer product, is the first risk-free trading platform, pairing human market insight with proprietary BayesShield AI so users can share in trading profits without ever risking their own money.

 

 

Perpetuals’s proprietary AI system, BayesShield AI, combines advanced AI and data analysis. The technology is trained on billions of trades, monitors market activity in real time, identifies patterns for trading and risk decisions, and provides multi-asset coverage. The company’s technology is used by the EU-licensed Perpetual Markets Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), PM MTF Ltd., which operates under full MiFID II, MiCA, DORA, and EMIR compliance.

 

 

About Datavault AI

 

 

Datavault AI™ (NASDAQ: DVLT) is leading the way in AI-driven data experiences, valuation, and monetization of assets in the Web 3.0 environment. The Company’s cloud-based platform provides comprehensive solutions with a collaborative focus in its Acoustic Sciences and Data Sciences divisions.

 

 

Datavault AI’s Acoustic Sciences division features WiSA®, ADIO®, and Sumerian® patented technologies and industry-first foundational spatial and multichannel wireless, high-definition sound transmission technologies with intellectual property covering audio timing, synchronization, and multi-channel interference cancellation. The Data Science division leverages the power of Web 3.0 and high-performance computing to provide solutions for experiential data perception, valuation, and secure monetization.

 

 

Datavault AI’s platform serves multiple industries, including high-performance computing software licensing for sports & entertainment, events & venues, biotech, education, fintech, real estate, healthcare, energy, and more. The Information Data Exchange® enables Digital Twins and the licensing of name, image, and likeness by securely attaching physical real-world objects to immutable metadata, fostering responsible AI with integrity. The Company’s technology suite is fully customizable and offers AI- and machine-learning-based automation, third-party integration, detailed analytics and data, marketing automation, and advertising monitoring.

 

 

The Company is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Learn more about Datavault AI at www.dvlt.ai and https://dvlt.ai/insights.

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated profitability to the company and users of UpsideOnly. Words such as “expect,” “will,” “positions,” “advancing,” “projected,” “anticipated,” and other similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements contain such words. These statements reflect Perpetuals’s current view with respect to future events, are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to: the efficacy and accuracy of BayesShield AI, regulatory scrutiny, successful operation of UpsideOnly; user participation in the UpsideOnly platform; market conditions; the ability to realize anticipated benefits of UpsideOnly; the characterization of UpsideOnly under applicable gaming, sweepstakes, securities, and commodity-derivatives laws; patent issuance and enforceability of the BayesShield AI methodology; the company’s ability to raise capital to support the operation of the UpsideOnly platform; risks that the commodity token listing programs may not be completed on the anticipated schedule or at all; risks that the commodity token listing programs may not achieve anticipated trading volumes or liquidity; risks relating to evolving regulatory frameworks in jurisdictions applicable to tokenized commodity assets and digital securities; risks that applicable regulations may limit distribution or trading in certain jurisdictions; changes in market demand, economic, market, or regulatory conditions; and risks detailed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, and contingencies. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the assumptions set out by the company underlying those forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. Individuals are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the company does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Perpetuals.com Ltd has an option agreement to acquire the affiliate company PM MTF Ltd., which will require a change of control approval by CySEC if exercised. Risk-free trading means that no losses from trading losses can occur to users, but does not include risks from other sources, including, but not limited to, the operational risks of the company.

 

 

We may use blog posts on our website as well as our social media accounts, including our accounts on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook, to disclose material information about the company from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

business

How Fit Analytics Innovation Reclaimed its Independence to Build the Future of AI Commerce

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Business Wire India

With today’s launch of the AI Shopping Assistant, Fit Analytics Innovation moves beyond the AI-hype-cycle to deliver the conversational guidance modern apparel shoppers crave.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260602315868/en/

 

 

AI Shopping Assistant - Fit Analytics Innovation

AI Shopping Assistant – Fit Analytics Innovation

 

Two years ago, Fit Analytics Innovation did the unthinkable: they bought themselves back. Following a high-profile acquisition by Snap Inc., the management team recovered the award-winning Fit Finder and secured sixteen years of expertise and data insights. That bet on independence has culminated in the launch of the AI Shopping Assistant, the latest module available as part of their expanded product suite.

 

Delivering Performance Over P.R.

 

 

Unlike “overnight” AI startups rushing for market share, Fit Analytics has utilized its independence to prioritize depth over hype. The resulting AI Shopping Assistant is a native evolution of the company’s size and fit technologies, which include the size advisor Fit Finder, at-a-glance size guidance Fit Cues, and robust data portal.

 

 

Recent tests of the product suite modules with various large European retailers demonstrate:

 

 

  • 42.5% increase in net revenue per visitor
  • 3% drop in size-related return rates for apparel
  • 15% reduction in return rate for shoes

 

 

“We don’t just throw an LLM on top of a database,” says Dr. Christoph Sawade, CTO. “The real value comes from the engines behind it that actually understand size, fit, and style. Two decades of building that structured mapping is what shapes our data, and what our recommendation engines compound. The result is an assistant that doesn’t hallucinate about fit and holds up on the heaviest traffic days of the year.”

 

Human Need vs. Ad-Play

 

 

The agentic AI push in retail is turning shopping into an ad auction, where brands pay to show up and shoppers see what paid to be there—not what fits.

 

 

“We’re making a bet that in three years online shopping will be unrecognizable,” says Mar Mercadé, CEO. “AI will drive that change; but the industry is moving in the wrong direction. Today it’s all arbitrage, paid discovery, and direct buy buttons that bypass relevance entirely. Our algorithm encodes relevance and maximum match accuracy from the ground up, so the first product you see is the right one.”

 

 

Fit Analytics is positioning its AI Shopping Assistant as a direct challenge to the “Google Shopping” model. While legacy players focus on “pay-to-play” keyword bidding, Fit Analytics uses its 16 years of industry wisdom to create human experiences that lead to more meaningful purchases and fewer returns.

 

 

Sovereign Intelligence in Action

 

 

By reclaiming independence, the team bypassed corporate red tape to build a concierge that acts as a deep-learning engine, understanding the “why” behind two decades of global returns.

 

 

“If the AI revolution just results in ‘more ads but make it AI,’ we’ve failed,” says Mercadé. “We’ve got what it takes to ensure that the perfect match is a real-world reality. We have the performance data to prove it works.”

 

 

The AI Shopping Assistant will be live for retailers in June.

 

 

 

 

 

business

AD Ports Group Acquires CLI, Brazil’s Leading Agri-Bulk Port Terminal Operator, for over AED 3 Billion

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São Paulo, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi, UAE – 2nd June 2026: AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS), a leading global enabler of trade, industry, and logistics solutions, today acquired Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura (CLI), Brazil’s leading independent agri-bulk port terminal operator, entering the South American market with a strategically major expansion transaction.

São Paulo-based CLI operates two of Brazil’s most important agri-bulk export terminals under long-term concessions: CLI Sul, Brazil’s leading sugar export terminal and key export terminal for corn and soybeans, located in the Port of Santos; and CLI Norte, another key grains gateway at the Port of Itaqui, which is part of the Brazilian ‘Arc of the North’, an essential geographical region encompassing the Amazon basin that is a pivotal logistics hub and significant emerging corridor for agriculture exports.

In 2025, ports and terminals in northern Brazil recorded the fastest growth in the country, reinforcing the strategic role of the “Arc of the North’ corridor in reshaping the nation’s logistics map.

AD Ports Group Acquires CLI, Brazil’s Leading Agri-Bulk Port Terminal Operator, for over AED 3 Billion

The two terminals play a key role in connecting the producing regions of Brazil, the world’s leading sugar exporter and one of the largest grain exporters, to the world.

AD Ports Group agreed to acquire CLI from joint owners Macquarie Asset Management, and IG4 Capital. CLI owns 100% of CLI Norte, which operates a terminal at the Port of Itaqui, and 80% of CLI Sul, which operates a terminal at the Port of Santos.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second half of the year subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and antitrust approval, was conducted at an enterprise value of AED 3.1 billion (USD 835 million).

It has also been agreed that CLI’s existing senior management team will remain in place to continue running the company.

The CLI acquisition represents a transformative step for AD Ports Group, positioning it as one of South America’s leading independent agri-bulk terminal operators, with strategic access to a vast new number of opportunities for the Group’s associated businesses of maritime and shipping, logistics, economic cities, and digital services.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director & Group CEO of AD Ports Group, said: “The purchase of CLI is a game changer for AD Ports Group. The transaction extends our Group’s international reach for the first time into Latin America, and deepens our growing agrifoods activities, one of our core verticals. Under the wise guidance of our leadership in the United Arab Emirates, AD Ports Group is committed to enabling trade in one of the world’s most-important, fastest-growing agricultural commodities markets, which will not only benefit the Group’s global clients, including those in Brazil, but also strengthen the AD Ports Group global network.”

Brazil supports AD Ports Group’s geographic expansion as well as the Group’s plan to develop a major new East-West trade spoke linking South America’s largest economy to the Indian Subcontinent, East Africa and Southeast Asia. The UAE is in advanced negotiations with Mercosur, the South American trading bloc that includes Brazil, to establish a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Emirati investments in Brazil are estimated to be approximately USD 5 billion in total, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two countries maintain a highly active strategic partnership, having signed a Double Taxation Agreement and eliminated various tax and investment barriers to boost bilateral business.

Fernando Lohmann, Head of Macquarie Asset Management in Brazil, said: “Brazil’s agricultural export sector continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience, reinforcing the country’s position as one of the world’s leading suppliers of agricultural commodities. As a long-term investor in the country, Macquarie remains committed to acting as a responsible custodian of essential infrastructure assets that help drive economic development, improve connectivity and support Brazil’s role in global trade and we believe AD Ports Group is ideally positioned to support CLI’s next phase of growth.”

Paulo Todescan L. Mattos, Co-Founder, Managing Partner, and CEO of IG4 Capital, said: Since becoming shareholders in CLI, our focus has been on strengthening the company’s operational capabilities, expanding its strategic footprint, and positioning the platform to capture the long-term growth of Brazil’s agri-bulk export sector. We believe AD Ports Group is the right strategic owner to build on this foundation, bringing global trade expertise, infrastructure capabilities, and a long-term vision that will support CLI’s continued growth and development.”

The purchase of CLI gives AD Ports Group an entry point into Latin America, and a platform for further regional expansion. Moreover, the agrifood sector is a priority vertical in the Group’s intelligent internationalisation expansion strategy, with several key investments made in that space recently.

In December 2025, the Group’s Karachi Gateway Multipurpose Terminal Ltd. (KGTML) and the Pakistan unit of global merchant and agricultural goods processor Louis Dreyfus Company signed a long-term agreement to develop a clean bulk handling and storage facility for agricultural goods at Karachi Port. In January 2025, the Group agreed to invest about USD 30 million in the greenfield Sarzha Grain Terminal on the Caspian Sea at Kuryk Port in Kazakhstan and earlier this year, the Group secured a 30-year concession to operate the Aqaba multipurpose port in Jordan, which is a key player in agri-bulk in the Middle East with over 3 million tonnes of grains handled annually. Moreover, Noatum Ports’ Spanish operations are already significantly involved in agri-bulk with the Tarragona and Sagunto terminals handling around 2 million tonnes of grain imports annually and with an additional investment of AED 90 million (EUR 21 million) announced recently for modernising existing facilities at the Tarragona terminal.

In 2025, CLI handled a combined 17 million tonnes of agri-bulk cargo and delivered a revenue of AED 654 million (USD 178 million), generating an EBITDA of AED 360 million (USD 98 million).

CLI operates one of Brazil’s few large-scale, agri-bulk port platforms, strategically located along export corridors and ports. The ports of Santos and Itaqui are structurally constrained, particularly in Santos, where limited expansion capacity and chronic congestion are expected to underpin long-term utilisation and pricing resilience.

Long-term demand for the Group’s Brazilian terminals is also supported by Brazil’s global leadership and the strategic importance of the country’s grain and sugar exports. Brazil is the world’s largest sugar exporters, accounting for 40-50% of total global sugar exports, according to industry figures, and a leader in soybeans, coffee, and corn.

The purchase of CLI is AD Ports Group’s largest acquisition to date following the Group’s AED 2.65 billion (USD 720 million) purchase of Spain’s Noatum in 2023, and its AED 1.9 billion (USD 510 million) purchase of a 51% stake in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) in early 2024.

For the transaction, AD Ports Group was advised by BTG Pactual, while IG4 and Macquarie Asset Management were advised by Citi.

business

Kinaxis Introduces Forward Deployed Engineering to Help Enterprises Turn Decisions into Outcomes

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Business Wire India

Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX:KXS), a global leader in supply chain planning and orchestration, today introduced Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE), a new engagement model designed to help enterprises operationalize AI and translate decisions into measurable business outcomes. FDE reflects the broader Kinaxis vision for operational orchestration, an approach that coordinates signals, decisions, actions and learnings across the business fast enough to change outcomes.

 

The opening keynote at Kinexions, the company’s global customer conference, delivered by CEO Razat Gaurav will be livestreamed globally on June 2 @ 11:30 am EST via LinkedIn Live.

 

 

This approach combines a unified data foundation with semantic intelligence that understands the relationships, dependencies, and trade-offs that shape enterprise operations. Together, these capabilities help organizations move beyond isolated decision-making to coordinated execution, connecting data, systems, teams, and actions across the enterprise.

 

 

Traditional planning operating models were built around isolated functions, fragmented decisions, and disconnected workflows. Concurrent planning introduced new principles of synchronized, cross-functional decision-making across supply chain planning processes. Operational orchestration extends those principles across enterprise operations, connecting planning, decision-making, and execution both within and beyond the supply chain to create adaptive organizations that continuously align, respond, and improve.

 

 

“The challenge companies face is no longer simply making better decisions faster, it’s ensuring those decisions drive real outcomes,” said Razat Gaurav, Chief Executive Officer, Kinaxis. “A supply chain decision only matters when it changes what the business can do. The next shift is ensuring decisions translate into coordinated action across the business. That only happens when AI is grounded in the physics of enterprise operations, understanding the constraints, dependencies, and trade-offs that define how work gets done. With that context, organizations can move from isolated decisions to continuous execution at scale.”

 

 

As organizations face increasing volatility, interdependencies, and scale, the challenge is no longer simply making better decisions. It is ensuring those decisions propagate across systems and processes in ways that reflect real-world constraints and deliver meaningful results. Kinaxis believes these same conditions now create the opportunity for AI to generate value, but only when it is grounded in the physics of enterprise operations.

 

 

Kinaxis addresses this challenge with composable, extensible capabilities across its platform. Kinaxis is embedding agentic AI directly into operational workflows, enabling new ways of working where teams collaborate with AI to continuously sense, reason, decide, and act within the context of the business. Built on a mature supply chain planning foundation, Kinaxis helps organizations move beyond isolated copilot toward coordinated, scalable execution grounded in their data, constraints, and operating realities.

 

 

To support this shift, Kinaxis is expanding beyond traditional software delivery into a model built on interoperable, composable building blocks. These capabilities, spanning data, semantic intelligence, decisioning, AI, and orchestration, can be assembled within Maestro to enhance planning or applied through the FDE motion to support broader operational orchestration across systems, workflows, and enterprise processes.

 

 

This shifts the engagement model:

 

 

  • From features to outcomes, focusing on business impact rather than predefined requirements
  • From project to product, building solutions that can scale and continuously improve
  • From go-live to ownership, prioritizing sustained adoption and long-term value

 

Over time, the initial solutions developed through the FDE engagement establish the operational and intelligence foundation for enterprise AI within the customer’s environment. Built on real business context, data, workflows, and decision flows, this foundation enables customers and partners to continuously extend and scale additional agentic capabilities over time.

 

The result is a more mature operating model where humans and AI agents work seamlessly together across enterprise processes, coordinating decisions, actions, and execution across the flows of materials, resources, and operations that drive the business.

 

 

FDE will be available through Kinaxis account teams for selected customer engagements beginning at Kinexions. Kinaxis also announced a customer and partner hackathon focused on accelerating the development of AI-driven solutions aligned to real-world business challenges.

 

 

About Kinaxis

 

 

Kinaxis is a leader in modern supply chain planning and orchestration, powering complex global supply chains, and supporting the people who manage them. Our powerful, AI-infused supply chain orchestration platform, Maestro, combines proprietary technologies and techniques that provide full transparency and agility across the entire supply chain — from multi-year strategic planning to last-mile delivery. We are trusted by renowned global brands to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

 

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements relating to the availability, functionality and expected benefits of Kinaxis’ Forward Deployed Engineering model and the Maestro platform, and anticipated customer outcomes. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties are described in Kinaxis’ filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, available on SEDAR+. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release and, except as required by law, Kinaxis undertakes no obligation to update such information.

 

 

Source: Kinaxis Inc.