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NYSE Content Update: ICE Chat Connects with Crypto Platform Kraken to Up Access

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NYSE issues a pre-market daily advisory direct from the trading floor.

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today’s NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins. 

 

ICE Chat can directly reach Kraken’s OTC desk.

Kristen Scholer delivers the pre-market update on February 18th

  • Equities are fractionally higher in extended trading hours Wednesday morning as Wall Street awaits January FOMC minutes at 2 p.m. Eastern.
  • Intercontinental Exchange’s (NYSE: ICE) ICE Chat integrates with cryptocurrency platform Kraken to expand institutional OTC communication.
  • Shares of quantum company Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ) rose 14% to close at $15.59 in their NYSE trading debut on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
  • Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) marks 100 straight years of paying a quarterly cash dividend to its shareholders.

Opening Bell
Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ) celebrates its listing on the New York Stock Exchange

Closing Bell
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) celebrates 100 years of dividend payouts

For market insights, IPO activity, and today’s opening bell, download the NYSE TV App: TV.NYSE.com

USA TODAY Chairman Mike Reed rings the NYSE bell.
USA TODAY Chairman Mike Reed rings the NYSE bell.

 

Video – https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2915989/NYSE_Feb_18_Market_Update.mp4

 

Frost & Sullivan: Fraikin Receives the 2025 European Commercial Vehicle Rental and Leasing Market Leadership Recognition for Excellence in Full-Service Fleet Management

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Frost & Sullivan recognizes Fraikin for its market leadership in AI-driven telematics, fleet management, and a full-service model that maximizes vehicle uptime and customer value.

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Fraikin has been honored with the 2025 European Market Leadership Recognition in the commercial vehicle rental and leasing sector for its outstanding achievements in growth strategy execution, digitalization, sustainability, and customer experience excellence. This recognition highlights Fraikin’s consistent leadership in driving measurable outcomes, strengthening its market position, and delivering customer-centric innovation in an evolving competitive landscape.

Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. Fraikin excelled in both, demonstrating its ability to align strategic initiatives with market demand while executing them with efficiency, consistency, and scale.

Guided by a long-term growth strategy focused on improving fleet availability, cost control and operational continuity for customers, Fraikin has shown its ability to adapt and lead in a rapidly evolving mobility landscape. The company’s strategic agility and sustained investment in digitalization, decarbonization, and strategic expansion have enabled it to scale effectively across Europe while reinforcing its leadership in full-service commercial vehicle fleet management.

Innovation remains central to Fraikin’s approach. With more than 80 years of expertise, the company provides multibrand vehicles and tailored mobility solutions across diverse industries, including logistics, retail, construction, healthcare, and waste management. “The partnership with Samsara will equip vehicles with AI dashcams and environmental monitors, providing a massive influx of real-time operational data that is crucial for optimizing performance and supporting its upcoming eMobility Service Provider services,” said Nithish Murali, Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

At the core of its digital transformation is the NeXa mobility platform, an AI-powered fleet management tool that centralizes data across vehicle types and brands, delivering real-time visibility, improved operational efficiency, and enhanced vehicle uptime. Fraikin is also leveraging advanced, AI-driven telematics and data-driven insights toreinforcing its ability to support customers with reliable and scalable fleet operations.

Fraikin operates mission-critical fleets that keep essential supply chains running every day across Europe. Through its highly consultative full-service leasing model, the company integrates vehicle selection, body construction, financing, compliance, and fleet management into a single, predictable contract. Supported by a best-in-class service network and its “You Drive, We Care” philosophy, Fraikin absorbs operational complexity so customers can focus on their core business, ensuring reliability, flexibility, and continuity throughout the vehicle lifecycle.

Frost & Sullivan commends Fraikin for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and market responsiveness. The company’s vision, innovation pipeline, and customer-first culture are shaping the future of the European commercial vehicle rental and leasing market and delivering tangible results at scale. “This recognition confirms the strength of Fraikin’s full-service model and our ability to deliver concrete operational value to our customers. By combining operational expertise, data and digital platforms like neXa, we help our customers improve vehicle availability, control costs and secure business continuity across Europe.” said Yves Pétin, President & CEO at Fraikin.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Market Leadership Recognition to a company that demonstrates outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in market share, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. It recognizes forward-thinking organizations that are reshaping their industries through innovation and growth excellence.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Recognition

Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Recognitions honor companies across regional and global markets that exhibit exceptional achievement and consistent excellence in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer experience, and strategic product development. Each recognition is the result of a rigorous analytical process in which Frost & Sullivan industry experts benchmark performance through comprehensive interviews, deep-dive analysis, and extensive secondary research. The goal is to identify true best-in-class organizations that are driving transformative growth and setting new industry standards.
Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact

Camila Tinajero
E: camila.tinajero@frost.com 

About Fraikin

Fraikin Group is the European leader in full-service operating lease and fleet management, and a major player in short- and medium-term rental. Operating in 10 countries with a fleet of more than 60,000 vehicles, Fraikin supports customers with tailored mobility solutions designed to secure operations, optimize total cost of ownership and support fleet decarbonization.
www.fraikin.com 

Contact Fraikin
Caroline Kroplewski, Chief of Staff, Fraikin Group
Caroline.kroplewski@fraikin.com

Tata Communications Unveils Bold, New Corporate Brand Identity: ‘Together, limitless’

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The new identity is deliberately purpose-led — aligning employee experience, customer engagement and commercial strategy under a single, unified narrative

MUMBAI, India, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tata Communications, a leading global communications technology player serving 300 of the Fortune 500, today unveiled ‘Together, limitless’, a new brand identity and global positioning, marking another defining moment in its 24-year journey. This is a strategic milestone designed to enhance differentiated competitiveness, underscore long-term momentum, and anchor the company’s leadership in the new intelligent age.

‘Together, limitless’ expresses the company’s belief that the greatest progress is achieved when expertise, platforms and partnerships come together to create outcomes that extend beyond traditional boundaries.

“Our customers trust us because of the deep expertise we bring and the commitment with which our people deliver every day,” said A.S. Lakshminarayanan, MD & CEO, Tata Communications. “That passion defines who we are. Today, we are evolving into a more integrated, future-ready company. ‘Together, limitless’ reflects this new Tata Communications — grounded in trust, driven by transformation, and focused on enabling our customers to achieve more than ever before.”

The new positioning comes at a time when enterprises are fundamentally rearchitecting how they operate in increasingly complex hyperconnected ecosystems, while navigating rising expectations around speed, resilience, security and accountability. For Tata Communications this mirrors its own transformation: expanding global presence, deeper customer partnerships and a sharper focus on long-term value creation.

“Over the years, our relevance to customers has grown alongside their ambitions,” Lakshminarayanan said. “We have now entered a new phase of transformation — strengthening our capabilities across products, sales and marketing, and operations. Our Digital Fabric is helping organisations simplify complexity and accelerate innovation. Our new brand promise reflects our ambition to play a bigger role in our customers’ growth journeys.”

At its core, ‘Together, limitless’ defines how Tata Communications works with customers, partners and shareholders. Enterprises today operate in an environment of growing complexity — with expanding technology stacks, accelerating innovation cycles and rising expectations around resilience, security and speed. Through extensive customer listening, Tata Communications identified a defining tension: too much noise in the technology landscape and a growing need for clarity, integration and trusted partnership.

“‘Together, limitless’ isn’t just a tagline — we are finally putting to words what we have believed in and how we have worked for years,” shared Sumeet Walia, Executive Vice President & Chief Business Officer, Tata Communications. “Our customers come to us with ambition: to grow faster, operate smarter and compete globally. They’re looking for clarity, confidence and partners they can trust. ‘Together, limitless’ is our commitment to work side by side with our customers, combining our platforms, expertise and people with their vision, refusing to accept limits on what’s possible.”

The launch also brings Tata Communications’ first television and digital brand campaign, developed in partnership with McCann. The creative mirrors the modern technology environment — busy, noisy, and crowded — before revealing the calm, clarity and momentum that come from thoughtful orchestration.

“Companies today don’t need more technology — they need better integration,” said Stephen Meade, Executive Vice President — Corporate and B2B, McCann. “This campaign reinforces Tata Communications as the partner that brings clarity to complexity, helping enterprises realise technology’s true promise.”

To watch the Brand Film, visit our website https://www.tatacommunications.com/ 

About Tata Communications

A part of the Tata Group, Tata Communications (NSE: TATACOMM) (BSE: 500483) is a global digital ecosystem enabler powering today’s fast-growing digital economy in more than 190 countries and territories. Leading with trust, it enables digital transformation of enterprises globally with collaboration and connected solutions, core and next gen connectivity, cloud hosting and security solutions and media services. 300 of the Fortune 500 companies are its customers and the company connects businesses to 80% of the world’s cloud giants. For more information, please visit www.tatacommunications.com

Forward-looking and cautionary statements

Certain words and statements in this release concerning Tata Communications and its prospects, and other statements, including those relating to Tata Communications’ expected financial position, business strategy, the future development of Tata Communications’ operations, and the general economy in India, are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including financial, regulatory and environmental, as well as those relating to industry growth and trend projections, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Tata Communications, or industry results, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, among others, failure to increase the volume of traffic on Tata Communications’ network; failure to develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; failure to successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services, including voice transmission services; failure to stabilize or reduce the rate of price compression on certain of the company’s communications services; failure to integrate strategic acquisitions and changes in government policies or regulations of India and, in particular, changes relating to the administration of Tata Communications’ industry; and, in general, the economic, business and credit conditions in India. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, many of which are not in Tata Communications’ control, include, but are not limited to, those risk factors discussed in Tata Communications Limited’s Annual Reports.

The Annual Reports of Tata Communications Limited are available at www.tatacommunications.com. Tata Communications is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements.

© 2026 Tata Communications Ltd. All rights reserved.

TATA COMMUNICATIONS and TATA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tata Sons Private Limited in India and certain countries.

TOGETHER LIMITLESS is a trademark of Tata Communications in certain countries.

 

48 Nations, One Arena: How Dubai United the World in Elite Tactical Showdown

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DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The UAE SWAT Challenge 2026 has wrapped up its 7th edition in spectacular fashion, once again proving why it is regarded as the world’s largest gathering of elite tactical police units.

48 Nations Joined UAE SWAT Challenge 2026
48 Nations Joined UAE SWAT Challenge 2026

Hosted by Dubai Police, the event brought together 109 teams from 48 countries, transforming Dubai into a global hub for specialised forces and security professionals.

Kazakhstan Dominates 

After days of high intensity and demanding tactical challenges, Team Kazakhstan C claimed the overall title with 536 points. Kazakhstan A followed in second place with 515 points, while China Police C secured third with 493 points.

A Guinness World Record

For the second consecutive year, Dubai Police earned a Guinness World Record for hosting the highest number of countries participating in a specialised tactical competition, with 48 nations represented in this edition.

Rising Female Tactical Power

Eight all women teams and two mixed teams took part in this year’s challenge, underscoring the expanding role of women in elite tactical operations. Their participation highlights a global shift towards greater inclusion in specialised policing roles traditionally dominated by men.

International Recognition

Robert Raines, US Consul General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, praised the organisation and noted the steady growth of the challenge, highlighting the participation of four American teams.

Carolin Konther Lopez, Ambassador of Paraguay to the UAE, described the event as exceptionally organised and said her country’s first participation reflects its commitment to strengthening international security cooperation.

A representative of Mongolia’s Special Protection Agency called the challenge an outstanding platform to test operational readiness and exchange expertise with leading special units worldwide.

A Truly Global Stage

Bolivia made its debut with two specialised teams as it celebrates 200 years since the founding of its police force. The competition also featured eight women teams and two mixed teams, underscoring the growing global role of women in tactical operations.

Panama joined for the first time with a maritime airborne unit, adding further diversity to a competition that offered total prize money of 260,000 US dollars.

Advancing Readiness and Cooperation

The UAE SWAT Challenge aims to strengthen international security cooperation, enhance tactical skills and promote the exchange of best practices among specialised units worldwide. It provides a real world environment that sharpens field performance, builds mental resilience and reinforces teamwork.

Contact

UAE SWAT Challenge Media Centre
swatmedia@dubaipolice.gov.ae
+97146996224

WiMi Studies Hybrid Quantum-Classical Inception Neural Network Model for Image Classification

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BEIJING, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (NASDAQ: WiMi) (“WiMi” or the “Company”), a leading global Hologram Augmented Reality (“AR”) Technology provider, proposed a brand-new technological innovation—a hybrid quantum-classical Inception neural network model for image classification. This is a brand-new hybrid architecture that naturally integrates quantum computing with classical deep learning through Inception-style parallel feature channels, achieving triple improvements in performance, efficiency, and robustness. The core goal of this technology is to utilize the high-dimensional feature expression capability of quantum computing to solve the expressiveness bottleneck of image classification models, while enhancing engineering implementability through classical network structures, and building a research path regarding the relationship between quantum expressiveness, quantum entanglement degree, and model performance, laying the foundation for future hybrid quantum AI research.

Past quantum neural network research has mostly focused on constructing some kind of variational quantum circuit and attempting to embed it into traditional neural network structures. Although this method can achieve improvements in small-scale tasks, overall performance growth is slow and has not fully tapped the potential of quantum computing. For this reason, the WiMi research team realized that to allow quantum computing to play a true role in image classification, its parallel structure must be redesigned, especially needing to break through the structural limitations of single-path quantum networks.

The core idea of the Inception structure is to allow multiple sub-networks with different receptive fields and expression methods to extract features in parallel and then complete multi-scale fusion through concatenation. By re-examining the quantum-classical hybrid network through this idea, WiMi proposed three parallel feature paths:

Quantum feature extraction path: utilizing the multi-dimensional Hilbert space of quantum circuits to perform quantum encoding on local regions of images, and then extracting complex features through parameterized quantum gates and entanglement structures.

Classical feature extraction path: using efficient convolution and lightweight feature extraction units to enhance model stability and macroscopic structure recognition capabilities.

Hybrid quantum-classical path: taking the output of classical convolutional layers as input to quantum circuits, allowing classical features to be mapped into quantum space to obtain higher-order nonlinear expressive capabilities.

The three paths together constitute the parallel Inception module, and then the outputs are concatenated into the final feature tensor to enter the subsequent classifier.

Such a design not only enables the model to simultaneously possess three major advantages—quantum high-dimensional expression, classical strong stability, and cross-domain feature fusion—but also thoroughly solves the industry pain point of training difficulties caused by excessively deep circuits in pure quantum networks. The quantum part does not need to construct extremely deep circuits but instead achieves more expressive space in shallow layers through parallel structures, fundamentally improving model trainability and scalability.

The key to building a hybrid quantum-classical Inception network lies in how to effectively map image data to quantum circuits. WiMi adopted an encoding strategy based on parameterized rotation gates, mapping image blocks to multi-qubit rotation angles so that they can represent complete local features in the quantum state space. Subsequently, the team designed controlled rotation gates, entanglement structures, and depth-adapted quantum circuits to enable quantum states to achieve the highest possible expressiveness in limited depth.

The design of the quantum path follows the principles of shallow circuits, high entanglement, and strong expression. By introducing multiple sets of entanglement constructions, quantum states can rapidly diffuse between different layers and generate higher-order feature combinations. The structural selection of quantum circuits is no longer based on manual guessing but on systematic research into the relationships between expressiveness, entanglement degree, and training stability, thereby constructing the circuit topology most suitable for image classification.

The classical path adopts lightweight convolutional networks to maintain good generalization ability and training efficiency. In the hybrid path, WiMi embeds features extracted by classical convolutions into new quantum circuits for secondary enhancement, enabling the model to possess the capability of first classical understanding followed by quantum enhancement.

The entire Inception module provides the classifier with a richer, more three-dimensional, multi-scale feature expression space by concatenating and fusing features from the three paths. Among them, quantum features serve as high-order expression supplements, classical features are responsible for stable backbone expression, and the hybrid path acts as a bridge to naturally fuse the two.

Through extensive experimental validation, the WiMi research team discovered that the hybrid quantum-classical Inception structure has multiple outstanding advantages. The quantum path can capture highly complex texture variations and subtle patterns in images, the classical path ensures overall stability and robustness, and the hybrid path enables the model to possess cross-domain expressive capabilities. When combined, the model’s performance in image classification tasks surpasses that of ordinary convolutional networks and single-path quantum networks, with particularly significant performance in scenarios with small data scales and subtle category differences. In addition, the high-dimensional nature of quantum circuits allows the model to achieve strong expressive power with fewer parameters, thereby realizing the dual advantages of high performance + low parameter count.

WiMi’s hybrid quantum-classical Inception neural network is not merely a structural innovation; it represents a future trend: quantum computing will no longer exist as an independent model but will gradually become one of the foundational capabilities of deep learning. By deeply fusing quantum circuits with classical networks in terms of feature domains, information flows, and spatial structures, this model demonstrates a possible operation mode for future intelligent perception systems—quantum and classical parallel collaboration, processing features of different levels and natures in the most appropriate way. In the future, WiMi will continue to explore deeper hybrid structures, more complex quantum feature encoding methods, and deployment methods oriented toward real quantum hardware, promoting hybrid quantum artificial intelligence toward practical applications.

About WiMi Hologram Cloud

WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (NASDAQ: WiMi) focuses on holographic cloud services, primarily concentrating on professional fields such as in-vehicle AR holographic HUD, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR, head-mounted light field holographic devices, holographic semiconductors, holographic cloud software, holographic car navigation, metaverse holographic AR/VR devices, and metaverse holographic cloud software. It covers multiple aspects of holographic AR technologies, including in-vehicle holographic AR technology, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR technology, holographic vision semiconductor technology, holographic software development, holographic AR virtual advertising technology, holographic AR virtual entertainment technology, holographic ARSDK payment, interactive holographic virtual communication, metaverse holographic AR technology, and metaverse virtual cloud services. WiMi is a comprehensive holographic cloud technology solution provider. For more information, please visit http://ir.wimiar.com.

Translation Disclaimer

The original version of this announcement is the officially authorized and only legally binding version. If there are any inconsistencies or differences in meaning between the Chinese translation and the original version, the original version shall prevail. WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. and related institutions and individuals make no guarantees regarding the translated version and assume no responsibility for any direct or indirect losses caused by translation inaccuracies.

FDA Grants Breakthrough Device Designation to Two Rapid Tests Targeting Critical Drug-Resistant Pathogens

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SANTA MARIA, Calif. and GUIPRY, France, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In a major step forward against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), NG Biotech, in partnership with Hardy Diagnostics, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Device Designations to two rapid diagnostic assays: NG-TEST® Candida auris and NG-TEST® Acineto-5®. The designation recognizes technologies with the potential to address life-threatening conditions and significant unmet medical needs.

Both tests target pathogens classified as critical priorities by the World Health Organization (WHO). Candida auris, listed in the WHO Fungal Priority Pathogens List (2022), is a multidrug-resistant yeast responsible for hospital outbreaks worldwide. It is often difficult to detect and associated with high mortality. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), included in the WHO Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (2024), is among the most dangerous hospital-acquired bacteria due to its resistance profile and rapid transmission in healthcare settings.

NG-TEST® Candida auris is the first rapid lateral flow immunoassay specifically designed to identify C. auris from cultured samples in 15 minutes. Published data demonstrate 100% concordance with reference methods across diverse isolates, supporting its role in outbreak investigation and infection control.

NG-TEST® Acineto-5® detects and differentiates five major carbapenemase families—OXA-23-like, OXA-24/143-like, OXA-58-like, VIM, and NDM—directly from Acinetobacter samples, also delivering results within 15 minutes. The PCR-free assay is designed for ease of use, without specialized equipment.

“These breakthrough designations validate both the technology behind our assays and the real-world need they address,” said Milovan Stankov-Pugès, CEO, NG Biotech.

“The designation underscores the growing urgency around rapid detection of multidrug-resistant organisms that pose serious risks in healthcare settings,” said Andre Hsiung, Chief Scientific Officer of Hardy Diagnostics.

Developed and manufactured in France by NG Biotech, the assays are distributed exclusively in the United States by Hardy Diagnostics. They are currently available for Research Use Only while FDA review continues.

By accelerating detection of high-risk pathogens, these breakthrough-designated tests aim to strengthen surveillance, guide infection control decisions, and support global efforts to fight antimicrobial resistance.

Learn more about NG Biotech
Learn more about Hardy Diagnostics

Media & Contact Information

NG BIOTECH
Atelier Relais Le Tremplin
Parc d’Activités de Courbouton, Secteur 1
35480 Guipry, France
+33 (0)2 23 30 17 83

Ms. Pauline Cognet
p.cognet@ngbiotech.com
www.ngbiotech.com

HARDY DIAGNOSTICS
1430 West McCoy Lane
Santa Maria, CA 93455, USA
(805) 346-2766 ext. 5598
Ms. Megan Maloney Roesner
RoesnerM@hardydiagnostics.com
www.HardyDiagnostics.com

 

Image of NG-TEST® Candida auris and NG-TEST® Acineto-5® LFA Cassettes
Image of NG-TEST® Candida auris and NG-TEST® Acineto-5® LFA Cassettes

HUMAIN Backs xAI with $3 Billion Series E Investment Ahead of Historic SpaceX Merger

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  • HUMAIN invested $3 billion in xAI’s Series E round just prior to its acquisition by SpaceX, positioning itself at a pivotal moment of platform-scale expansion and integration
  • As a result of the transaction, HUMAIN became a significant minority shareholder, with its xAI holdings converted into SpaceX shares
  • The investment builds on HUMAIN and xAI’s 500MW AI infrastructure partnership in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing HUMAIN’s role as both a strategic development partner and a leading global investor in frontier AI technologies

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HUMAIN, a PIF company delivering full-stack artificial intelligence capabilities globally, today announced a $3 billion strategic investment in xAI as part of the company’s Series E financing round. The transaction represents a significant, end-to-end capital deployment for HUMAIN, reflecting continued momentum in its long-term investment strategy focused on category-defining technology platforms.

 

HUMAIN Backs xAI with $3 Billion Series E Investment Ahead of Historic SpaceX Merger
HUMAIN Backs xAI with $3 Billion Series E Investment Ahead of Historic SpaceX Merger

 

The investment comes at a highly compelling inflection point for xAI, preceding its acquisition by SpaceX in early February. The combination of xAI’s advanced artificial intelligence capabilities with SpaceX’s scale, infrastructure, and mission-driven engineering creates a uniquely positioned platform for accelerated growth, deep technological integration, and long-term value creation.

As a result of the Series E transaction, HUMAIN became a significant minority shareholder in xAI, with its holdings subsequently converted into shares in SpaceX. The transaction creates a solid platform for HUMAIN’s exposure to long-term equity upside, reflecting participation in xAI’s final financing round ahead of the merger.

“This investment reflects HUMAIN’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN. “xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”

HUMAIN’s participation in the Series E round reinforces its role as a scaled, long-term strategic investor capable of supporting companies across multiple stages of growth, while delivering full-stack AI capabilities across four core areas: next-generation data centers; high-performance infrastructure and cloud platforms; advanced AI models; and transformative AI solutions.

The investment builds on the large-scale partnership announced in November 2025 at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, under which HUMAIN and xAI committed to jointly develop more than 500MW of next-generation AI data center and compute infrastructure and to deploy xAI’s Grok models in Saudi Arabia. Together, these initiatives deepen long-term alignment and extend HUMAIN’s role from strategic partner to leading global shareholder in xAI.

Looking ahead, HUMAIN’s strategy includes the pursuit of additional investments across artificial intelligence, frontier technologies, and critical infrastructure.

About HUMAIN

HUMAIN, a PIF company, is a global artificial intelligence company delivering full-stack AI capabilities across four core areas: next-generation data centers; hyper-performance infrastructure and cloud platforms; advanced AI models, including some of the world’s most advanced Arabic large language models developed in the Arab world; and transformative AI solutions that combine deep sector insight with real-world execution.

HUMAIN’s end-to-end model serves both public and private sector organizations, unlocking value across industries, driving digital transformation, and strengthening capabilities through human–AI collaboration. With a growing portfolio of sector-specific AI products and a core mission focused on intellectual property development and global talent leadership, HUMAIN is engineered for international competitiveness and technological excellence.

Forward-Looking Statement:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions. Actual results may differ materially due to various risks and uncertainties. HUMAIN undertakes no obligation to update these statements.

 

 

Media Inquiries:
For further details about HUMAIN, please visit humain.com.
For Media inquiries, please contact:
Hana Nemec, Head of Communications & PR
pr@humain.com
Follow HUMAIN on: X | LinkedIn

Milo Crosses $100 Million Crypto Mortgage Milestone, Closes Record $12 Million Transaction

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Milo continues to lead crypto lending, supporting digital asset holders with flexible financing options for home purchases and beyond.

MIAMI, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Milo, a financial technology company and pioneer in crypto lending, today announced it has originated over $100 million in crypto mortgages, representing significant growth in institutional and high net worth adoption of digital asset based financing. The milestone includes the company’s largest single transaction to date, a $12 million crypto mortgage.

With a perfect track record of zero margin calls across its mortgage portfolio and competitive interest rates averaging around 7%, Milo has demonstrated that crypto mortgages can deliver both stability and value at scale. The company’s AI-enhanced underwriting, servicing, and real-time collateral monitoring allow Milo to move faster and assess risk more precisely than traditional lenders, a key advantage in the fast-moving digital asset market.

“Crossing $100 million in originations demonstrates the maturity and stability of our lending infrastructure,” said Josip Rupena, CEO and founder of Milo. “We’ve moved beyond proving the concept. Now we’re proving the execution. We’re seeing demand across both high net-worth individuals and institutions who recognize crypto as legitimate collateral. Clients are buying homes with their Bitcoin and others are cashing out home equity to buy more Bitcoin.”

Milo offers up to 100% financing on home purchases, with loan amounts up to $25 million, eliminating the need for cash down payments and avoiding costly taxable events. By pledging Bitcoin or Ethereum as collateral, clients can diversify into real estate while retaining exposure to potential crypto appreciation. For clients who prefer maximum control, Milo also offers a self-custody crypto mortgage option that allows borrowers to maintain possession of their Bitcoin while still qualifying for financing. Client assets in the traditional crypto mortgage are safeguarded through industry-leading custodians Coinbase and BitGo, and Milo operates as a SOC 2 audited licensed lender under stringent regulatory oversight.

“Milo’s product is a game changer in Bitcoin lending and unlocks real world use cases for so many bitcoiners,” said Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and early Bitcoin pioneer. “While Bitcoin continues to appreciate, buyers are able to build equity in real estate and don’t have to sell their long term conviction, Bitcoin.”

In addition to crypto mortgages, Milo’s crypto loan product has also seen explosive growth, with the loan book quadrupling in 2025. Offering industry-leading rates starting at 8.25%, clients have leveraged these flexible loans for diverse needs including purchasing more Bitcoin, acquiring land, funding home improvements, and business investments.

About Milo

Milo is a leading crypto lender and creator of the crypto mortgage. The company combines AI-driven technology with institutional-grade custody to offer crypto mortgages and crypto loans backed by Bitcoin and Ethereum. Milo is a regulated and audited licensed lender serving clients nationwide. For more information, visit milo.io.

CONTACT: Kirstin Robison, Pitch Public Relations, krobison@pitchpublicrelations.com

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