Helios launches with customers Amgen, BMW Group, JPMorganChase, and SoftBank Corp.

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Quantinuum, the world leader in quantum computing, today announced the launch of Helios, the world’s most accurate general-purpose commercial quantum computer, designed to accelerate quantum computing adoption by enterprises. With the highest fidelity^† of any commercial system and a first-of-its-kind real-time control engine, Helios enables developers to program a quantum computer in much the same way they program heterogeneous classical computers. A new, modern Python-based programming language called Guppy allows developers to seamlessly combine hybrid compute capabilities — quantum and classical — in a single program. Helios is now available to customers through Quantinuum’s cloud service and on-premise offering.

“The next computing inflection point starts today,” said Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President & CEO of Quantinuum. “For the first time enterprises can access a highly accurate general purpose quantum computer to drive real world impact, transforming how industries innovate – from drug discovery to finance to advanced materials.”

Helios unlocks the ability to enhance GenAI models with quantum generated data, thereby unlocking AI’s full potential in areas such as data analysis, material design, and quantum chemistry. To accelerate GenQAI, Quantinuum is expanding its partnership with NVIDIA, integrating NVIDIA GB200 with Helios via NVIDIA NVQLink to create applications for targeted end markets. In addition, Quantinuum will switch to NVIDIA accelerated computing for Helios and future systems, using Quantinuum Guppy alongside the NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform to perform real-time error correction critical to its roadmap.

Quantinuum announced a growing community of early users and collaborators, including leaders in life sciences, materials, and energy sectors:

• Amgen: an investor and research collaborator, exploring hybrid quantum-machine learning to advance data-driven discovery in biologics.
• BlueQubit: AI image recognition using real-world driving video data.
• BMW Group: advancing sustainable mobility through materials research on fuel cell catalysts.
• JPMorganChase: researching potential capabilities for advanced financial analytics.
• SoftBank Corp.: exploring organic materials for next-gen batteries, optical switches, and solar cells.

Today, Quantinuum also signed a strategic partnership agreement with Singapore’s National Quantum Office (NQO) and National Quantum Computing Hub (NQCH) that includes access to Helios in country to accelerate commercial applications of quantum computing in the areas of computational biology and bioinformatics, financial modeling and optimization, advanced materials and chemistry, and combinatorial optimization. To support this strategic partnership, Quantinuum is establishing a world-class R&D and Operations Centre in Singapore.

Finally, as part of its strategy to expand the commercial reach of quantum computing, Quantinuum is introducing two new ecosystem programs. Q-Net, a new user group, will serve as a forum for customer feedback and collaboration, while a new startup partner program will invite developers to build and scale third party applications on Helios.  

A blog post with more details on Helios can be read here. Visual assets and scientific papers can be downloaded here.

^† Fidelity: In quantum computing, fidelity is a metric that determines the accuracy of system’s computation. The lower a system’s error rate, the higher its fidelity. Helios has the highest fidelities ever released to the market. Its key performance specifications are outlined below:

• Physical qubits (PQ): 98 PQ at 99.921% 2-qubit gate fidelity, and 99.9975% 1-qubit gate fidelity.
• Logical qubits (LQ):
  • 94 LQ (error detected) globally entangled with better than physical performance;
  • 50 LQ (error detected) with better than physical performance in a magnetism simulation; and
  • 48 LQ (error corrected) with better than physical performance (99.99% state prep and measurement fidelity).

About Quantinuum  

Quantinuum is the world leader in quantum computing. The company’s quantum systems deliver the highest performance across all industry benchmarks. Quantinuum’s over 630 employees, including 370+ scientists and engineers, across the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, are driving the quantum computing revolution. For more information, please visit www.quantinuum.com.

Quantinuum Helios, Powered by Honeywell, reflects that the Helios ion trap was manufactured by Honeywell. The Honeywell trademark is used under license from Honeywell International, Inc. Honeywell makes no representations or warranties with respect to this service.

KARLSKOGA, Sweden, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cell Impact and thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering have entered a Strategic Cooperation Agreement for Joint Market Success in the Field of Hydrogen. The agreement includes a shared ambition to carry out joint marketing activities as well as technical development of flow plates and manufacturing processes for fuel cells and electrolyzers.

The cooperation between Cell Impact and thyssenkrupp Automotion Engineering is based upon Cell Impact Forming™ – a patented dry forming method using high kinetic energy to shape complex patterns in ultra-thin metal. By precisely controlling the impact velocity, it enables exceptional channel accuracy and thickness uniformity—ideal for flow plates in fuel cells and electrolyzers.

thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering is a business unit of the automotive segment of the industrial group thyssenkrupp. With a focus on drive and battery assembly systems – particularly for electric mobility – the company offers high-quality, innovative automation solutions for series production. Around 1,100 employees work for Automation Engineering across ten countries on three continents.

“They have extensive experience in automation and industrialization, and are simply a highly suitable partner for us. Based on Cell Impact Forming™, our unique and patented forming technology, we can scale the business together with thyssenkrupp by developing, marketing, and supplying cost-effective and high-quality flow plates to customers worldwide,” says Daniel Vallin, CEO of Cell Impact.

During several years, Cell Impact has been developing forming technology and other process steps to enable industrial-scale production of flow plates once market demand is established.

The company has already manufactured and delivered several million flow plates to customers in Asia, North America, and Europe.

The cooperation agreement builds on a Letter of Intent (LOI) that the parties agreed upon in July 2025.

For more information, please contact:
Daniel Vallin
CEO and IR contact, Cell Impact AB (publ)
+46730686620 or daniel.vallin@cellimpact.com

About Cell Impact
Cell Impact AB (publ) is a global supplier of advanced flow plates to fuel cell and electrolyzer manufacturers. The company has developed and patented a unique method for high velocity forming, Cell Impact Forming™ which is significantly more scalable and cost-efficient compared to conventional forming methods. Cell Impact Forming is an environmentally friendly forming technology that consumes no water and very little electrical power.

The Cell Impact share is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market and FNCA Sweden AB is the company’s Certified Advisor (CA).

~ A global call to action urging world leaders to place farmers at the heart of climate strategies

Microsite: Meet 20 farmers from around the world leading climate action in agriculture
DVC: Watch the campaign video

LONDON, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — UPL, a global leader in sustainable agricultural solutions, today announced the launch of its global campaign ‘#AFarmerCan – The hero you don’t know you need’, ahead of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place from 10-21 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. The campaign celebrates farmers as climate heroes and calls on world leaders to recognize their pivotal role in building climate resilience.

UPL honours farmers leading climate action across the world with #AFarmerCan campaign

With a presence in over 140 countries, UPL works closely with smallholder farmers and large-scale commercial growers, empowering them with sustainable agricultural solutions that drive climate action and food security. Drawing on this experience, UPL has curated 20 inspiring farmer stories from around the world, showcasing how agriculture can advance greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, energy security, water conservation, soil health regeneration, and biodiversity protection – the five pillars guiding UPL’s engagement at COP30.

UPL’s #AFarmerCan campaign makes a compelling appeal: Policy must stand with farmers. Consumers must recognize and celebrate their strength, resilience, and innovation.

As part of its campaign advocacy, UPL is proposing a four-pillar incentive framework to strengthen farmer resilience:

• Pay: Reward farmers for adopting climate-smart practices.
• Protect: Offer farmer subsidies and insurance to guard against risks.
• Procure: Strengthen farmer access to public markets for certified sustainable produce.
• Promote: Scale digital tools, soil health data, and knowledge training for farmers.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Jai Shroff, Chairman & Group CEO, UPL, said: “With #AFarmerCan, we are amplifying a simple but urgent message: the future of climate resilience begins in the fields. Farmers are already leading the way – innovating, adapting, and regenerating. Yet their contributions remain under-recognized in global climate discourse. This campaign is our call to policymakers, institutions, and consumers to stand with farmers, empower them, and make them central to climate action.”

UPL is amplifying its message through a global 360° campaign across Brazil and key markets, blending high-impact outdoor branding with immersive digital engagement. In Belém, the campaign spans airport signage, 1,000+ branded taxis, and 200 buses featuring QR codes that unlock powerful first-hand stories from farmers. Complementing this are targeted digital campaigns, social media activations, and an evocative film showcasing farmers as climate heroes. The initiative also includes eco-friendly merchandise — T-shirts, tote bags, and water bottles.

UPL will be present in COP30’s Blue Zone — the official area organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for formal negotiations and national pavilions — serving carbon-smart coffee from Brazil’s Mió brand. By serving coffee that captures more CO₂ than it emits, UPL will offer delegates a tangible experience of how climate-smart farming can accelerate progress toward global climate goals. As part of this sponsorship, UPL has also secured rights to use the conference’s official branding.

UPL will showcase its Agrosphere at the AgriZone, an exhibition space organized by Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) where UPL will host expert panels and debates based on the five pillars that guide UPL’s engagement at COP30. UPL will also participate in the Planeta Campo Forum and present a low methane rice case study from India.

Through ‘#AFarmerCan’, UPL reaffirms its commitment to shaping a global movement that celebrates farmers as climate heroes and stewards of a healthier planet.

UPL is a global leader in biosolutions and agricultural solutions, operating in over 140 countries with 43 manufacturing sites, 57 R&D facilities, and a portfolio of 15,000+ registered products worldwide.

About UPL Group

UPL Ltd. (NSE: UPL) (BSE: 512070) (LSE GDR: UPLL) is a global provider of sustainable agricultural products and solutions that cover the entire agrifood value chain. With annual revenue exceeding $5 bn, UPL Ltd. is one of the largest agriculture companies worldwide, serving growers in more than 140 countries. UPL Ltd. comprises of four pure-play platforms that include UPL Corporation Ltd. (UPL Corp); UPL Sustainable Agriculture Solutions Ltd. (UPL SAS); Advanta Enterprises Ltd; and Superform Chemistries Ltd. Together, these platforms are dedicated to Reimagining Sustainability and driving progress in the world. For more information, please visit www.upl-ltd.com.

New RECMA Diagnostics Report Reveals OMD “Remains More than Ever the Leader”

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In the latest edition of the Network Diagnostics report from RECMA (Research Company Evaluating the Media Agency Industry), Omnicom Media Group agency OMD has been named the best performing global media network overall, marking the tenth consecutive edition in which OMD has topped the Diagnostics report.

Widely considered the most comprehensive report for analyzing media agency performance, the bi-annual RECMA Diagnostics report is based on the evaluation of approximately 700 agencies in 45 markets. Utilizing 19 KPIs to evaluate vitality and structure, the report offers an assessment index that goes beyond typical quantitative metrics such as new business wins or billings volume alone to also consider criteria such as client portfolio and relationship stability; digital, data & content resources; and homogeneity across geographies. Participating agencies are ranked both numerically by “quali-points” and by the following profiles: Dominant, High Profile, Very Good Profile, Good Profile, and Average Profile.

Pointing out the consistency of OMD’s performance, RECMA notes that the agency reached “its best performance” and remains “more than ever the leader” with a “significant lead” over its nearest competitors. Looking at the combined points earned across all 19 Diagnostic KPIs, OMD’s score indexes from 15% to 41% higher than the other agencies in the top 10.

The Dominant Leader
Additionally, OMD earned more Dominant rankings – the highest profile an agency can achieve – than any other agency. To earn this level, an agency must demonstrate consistency in its results and significantly outperform its competitors across the criteria that make up the diagnostic evaluation. In this edition of the report, only 52 agencies out of the 700 evaluated earned the dominant designation, with OMD standing out as the sole agency with designations in the double digits.

Concurrently, RECMA reported that OMD “naturally stands out as the most balanced agency” in terms of the consistency of its performance across the 45 markets studied, ranking Dominant or High Profile in 64% of all markets.

Commenting on OMD’s performance, CEO George Manas said, “We’re in a moment of marketing transformation unlike anything we’ve seen in decades. As the world’s largest media agency, OMD has not only the ambition but the responsibility to lead our clients and the industry through change: creating what’s next, together. This latest RECMA report reaffirms that OMD’s exceptional talent — powered by Omni, Omnicom’s advanced intelligence platform — is delivering on that responsibility in a way no other network can, enabling our clients, our people, and our industry to thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”

The RECMA Network Diagnostics Report marks the latest in a streak of accolades for OMD in 2025, including earning Media Network of the Year honors at Cannes for the second consecutive year; and being named Media Agency of the Year in multiple markets including the US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

In the RECMA 2024 Overall Activity Volume (OAV) analysis that tracks billings volume for more than 800 agencies across 54 markets (published in July 2025), OMD was once again ranked #1 by volume, with close to $USD 35.6 billion in total billings – outperforming its nearest competitor by $4.4 billion – and YoY growth of +9.5 %.

ABOUT OMD
OMD, an Omnicom Media Group agency, is the world’s largest media network, with 14,000+ people working across more than 100 countries. At OMD, We Create What’s Next—delivering creative media solutions to drive sustainable growth for the world’s leading brands. Named the best-performing global media network overall by RECMA and Media Network of the Year three out of the past four Cannes Festival of Media events, OMD is a leader in innovation, creativity, and cultural relevance. www.omd.com

Source: RECMA Network Diagnostics 2nd Edition 2025

Source: RECMA Network Diagnostics 2nd Edition 2025

Recognition based on Shopware’s Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute

SCHÖPPINGEN, Germany, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Shopware, a leading open-source digital commerce platform provider, today announced it has been recognized as a Visionary in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Shopware has been included among global providers evaluated by Gartner. The 2025 report assessed 19 digital commerce platforms worldwide.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant positions technology providers based on their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. For organizations assessing B2C and B2B commerce platforms, we feel it offers a structured view of the digital commerce market and key vendor capabilities.

Why this matters for merchants and partners

According to the Gartner definition, Visionaries understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules, but do not yet execute well. In our opinion, Shopware’s open and composable approach, combined with its AI-driven features, advanced integrations, and strong partner ecosystem, enables merchants and agencies to innovate independently, scale efficiently, and grow with flexibility.

“We are proud that Gartner has recognized Shopware as a Visionary in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce,” said Sebastian Hamann, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Shopware. “In our view, this recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to innovation, openness, and empowering businesses to succeed through flexibility and collaboration.”

Access the full report

Read the full 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce report to learn more about the Gartner evaluation and insights. Access the report: https://www.shopware.com/en/gartner-magic-quadrant/

Disclaimer:
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce, Aditya Vasudevan, Ant Duffin, Mike Lowndes, Sandy Shen, Jason Daigler, Penny Gillespie; 3 November 2025. GARTNER and MAGIC QUADRANT are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research or advise users to select only those with the highest ratings. Gartner research reflects the opinions of its research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including merchantability or fitness for purpose. This graphic was published as part of a larger document and should be evaluated in that context. The Gartner document is available upon request from Shopware.

Agora and Akool integrate real-time conversational AI with lifelike streaming avatars to elevate interactive experiences across voice, video, and chat.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Agora, Inc. (NASDAQ: API), the leading platform for real-time engagement and conversational AI, and Akool, a pioneer in AI-driven video and avatar technology, today announced a strategic collaboration to integrate Akool’s streaming avatars into Agora’s conversational AI ecosystem. This partnership enables developers to embed expressive, real-time AI avatars into voice, video, and chat applications, unlocking new possibilities for immersive and humanized interactions.

“Agora’s mission is to enable immersive real-time experiences. By integrating Akool’s avatar technology, we’re elevating what conversational applications can be — voice plus visual presence,” said Tony Wang, Agora’s Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer.

Integration Highlights & Benefits

• Agora’s Conversational AI Engine now supports Akool as a beta avatar provider, enabling the creation of creative, lifelike avatars that are synchronized with speech, facial movements, and gestures.
• Developers using Agora’s APIs can select Akool as their avatar provider and quickly configure avatar settings in their applications.
• This integration enhances user interactions in meetings, livestreams, AI agents, and conversational interfaces, effectively bridging the gap between voice-only and fully visual experiences.
• The collaboration expands Agora’s product offering to include avatar-backed conversational experiences, complemented by Akool’s avatar generation and streaming technologies.

Use Cases & Applications

• Virtual hosts and AI agents that “see and speak” rather than just speak
• Enhanced livestreams and webinars where avatars present or narrate dynamically
• Customer support bots with expressive avatars to increase trust and engagement
• Educational platforms using avatars to deliver more humanized, interactive lessons

“At Akool, we believe that conversations become more powerful when you can both hear and see an expressive presence. Partnering with Agora connects our avatars directly into conversational AI platforms, making it easier for developers to bring these experiences to life,” said Jiajun (Jeff) Lu, CEO of Akool.

The companies will jointly promote this integration through technical demos, developer resources, and marketing campaigns. Both teams plan to iterate on the collaboration, expanding avatar features, language support, and performance optimizations.

This partnership reinforces Agora’s position as a platform that supports cutting-edge conversational experiences, while giving Akool a path to scale its avatar technology across diverse real-time applications.

About Akool
Akool is a full-stack AI video generation platform that empowers creators, educators, and enterprises to produce real-time, expressive avatars and video content. Its technology bridges voice, vision, and AI to deliver lifelike, interactive experiences.

About Agora
Agora is the global leader in real-time engagement, providing developers with simple, flexible, and powerful APIs to embed real-time conversational AI, voice, video, interactive live streaming, and chat into their applications and IoT devices. Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, Agora is trusted by over 1,800 leading organizations across the globe to power best-in-class real-time experiences from social media and live shopping to education and telehealth. For more information about Agora (NASDAQ: API), visit: www.agora.io

• One of UK’s leading wealth managers, with offices and clients across the country, finds in new analysis that UK is ‘the most geographically unequal economy in developed world’
• Rathbones calls for decisive action in the Budget to support growth and investment in all regions and warns that high energy costs and poor transport links deter business investment and limit opportunity

LONDON, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Critical under-investment in regions outside of the South-East is a serious drag on the UK’s economic prospects and needs urgent address, according to Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth management groups.

Rathbones says its plan supports investment-led growth.

Publishing its key recommendations for the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Budget, Rathbones calls on the government to reverse years of neglect in regional funding and unleash the potential of the UK economy as a whole. It warns that the UK is, by several measures, the most geographically unequal economy in the developed world.

The firm’s analysis, “Building Prosperity: Five Recommendations for Growth and Investment in the UK” Rathbones highlights how regional inequalities, for instance in infrastructure and energy costs, undermine  the UK’s economic potential. It cites  spending per person on transport, which is 80% higher in London than in the next highest region, Scotland. This means that in each of the nine largest cities outside London, only 40% of people can reach the city centre in 30 minutes by public transport, compared with 67% in comparable European cities.

The Building Prosperity report is based on extensive analysis by Rathbones’ economists and investment research team, as well as insights from clients across the country. It identifies five critical areas for policy action: pensions, business taxation, regional/public investment, wealth taxation, and property/housing market reform. The report argues that only a bold, investment-led approach can break the cycle of weak growth and rising tax pressures that have hampered the UK economy for years.

Key findings on the impact of regional imbalance include:

• Energy costs and competitiveness: UK industrial electricity prices are almost 50% higher than the median among developed economies, with prices four times higher than in the US and one-and-a-half times the European average. This is particularly damaging for energy-intensive sectors outside of London such as manufacturing and data centres, which are vital for the digital economy.
• Infrastructure delays and missed opportunities: The cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 and delays to Northern Powerhouse Rail risk hampering growth in the North. Rathbones calls for renewed commitment to major transport projects outside London and further devolution of decision-making to cities and regions.
• Planning system bottlenecks: The report highlights how the UK’s planning system creates delays and costs, with less than a quarter of major planning decisions made within the statutory 13-week timeline. Rathbones urges the government to pass the Planning and Infrastructure Bill without dilution, to speed up approval and delivery of major projects and ensure adequate funding for the planning system.

Camilla Stowell, CEO Wealth at Rathbones, said: “Our clients are at the heart of building and managing the real-world activity that drives the UK economy. But too many regions are being left behind by underinvestment in transport, energy, and public services. If the government is serious about driving growth, it must prioritise regional investment and infrastructure reform. The evidence is clear: targeted investment can unlock opportunity, create jobs, and support businesses across the country.”

Oliver Jones, Head of Asset Allocation at Rathbones and lead author of the analysis, added: “Regional investment is not just about fairness, it’s about unlocking the UK’s economic potential. Our research shows that holistic infrastructure spending and energy reform can drive growth, create jobs, and support businesses across the country. The government must act now to ensure every region can contribute to and benefit from national prosperity.”

In its analysis, Building Prosperity, Rathbones also calls on the government to:

1. Boost investment through the pension system
2. Reform business taxation
3. Resist further taxes on wealth
4. Reinvigorate the housing market

Notes to Editors

See the full report here.

Please contact press@rathbones.com 

About Rathbones rathbones.com

Rathbones Group Plc (Rathbones) is one of the UK’s leading providers of investment and wealth management services for private clients (individuals and families), charities, trustees, and professional partners. Rathbones’ purpose is to help more people invest their money well, so they can live well.

With roots dating back to 1742, the company has been trusted for generations to manage, preserve and grow its clients’ wealth. Services include discretionary investment management, fund management, tax planning, trust and company management, financial advice and banking services. Rathbones also supports financial advisers deliver positive outcomes for their clients.

Rathbones manages £113.0 billion* of client assets, including £16.3 billion through its asset management arm, Rathbones Asset Management Limited. A FTSE 250 company, Rathbones employs over 3,350 professionals, including around 750 investment professionals in over 20 offices across the UK and the Channel Islands, offering clients high-quality, personalised wealth management services.

*As of September 30, 2025