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DFI Retail Group to Announce 2026 Half Year Financial Results and Host Analyst Presentation Live Webcast

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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited will announce its 2026 Half Year Results after market close on 28 July 2026, followed by an analyst presentation live webcast on 29 July 2026.

Date: 29 July 2026 (Wednesday)
Time: 09:30am – 10:30am (Hong Kong Time)
Presented by: Scott Price, Group Chief Executive, and

Tom van der Lee, Group Chief Financial Officer

Kindly RSVP by completing the form on or before Wednesday, 22 July 2026.

To avoid delays, we encourage participants to log in ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. A replay of the presentation will be available via webcast on DFI Retail Group’s website.

Should you have any queries, please email us at DFIComms@DFIretailgroup.com.

Hashtag: #DFIRetailGroup #Mannings #Guardian #7-Eleven #Wellcome #MarketPlace #IKEA #yuu

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About DFI Retail Group

DFI Retail Group is a leading Asian retailer driven by its purpose to ‘Sustainably Serve Asia for Generations with Everyday Moments’. As at 31 December 2025, the Group and its associates operated 7,580 outlets and employed more than 79,000 people across 12 markets.

The Group is committed to delivering quality, value and service to consumers across the region through trusted brands, strong local market positions, and a broad retail ecosystem supported by extensive store networks, digital capabilities and efficient supply chains.

DFI Retail Group and its associates operate a portfolio of well-known brands across five key divisions: health and beauty, convenience, food, home furnishings and restaurants.

Farmmi, Inc. Announces Pricing of $3.0 Million Underwritten Public Offering

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LISHUI, China, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Farmmi, Inc. (NASDAQ: FAMI) (the “Company”), an agriculture products supplier in China and a logistics and supply chain services provider in the United States, today announced the pricing of a firm commitment underwritten public offering with gross proceeds to the Company expected to be approximately $3.0 million, before deducting underwriting fees and other offering expenses payable by the Company.

The offering consists of the sale of 12,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (each, an “Ordinary Share”) and/or pre-funded warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares (each, a “Pre-Funded Warrant”). The public offering price per share is $0.25 (or $0.24999 for each Pre-Funded Warrant, which is equal to the offering price per Ordinary Share sold in the offering minus an exercise price of $0.00001 per Pre-Funded Warrant). The Pre-Funded Warrants are immediately exercisable and may be exercised at any time until exercised in full.

Aggregate gross proceeds to the Company are expected to be approximately $3.0 million. The transaction is expected to close on or about June 30, 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering, together with its existing cash, for general corporate purposes and working capital.

Solely to cover over-allotments, if any, the Company has granted Aegis Capital Corp. a 45-day option to purchase additional Ordinary Shares of up to 15.0% of the number of Ordinary Shares sold in the offering. The purchase price to be paid per additional Ordinary Share will be equal to the public offering price of one Ordinary Share, less the underwriting discount.

Aegis Capital Corp. is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering. Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. is acting as U.S. counsel to the Company. Lucosky Brookman LLP is acting as U.S. counsel to Aegis Capital Corp.

The offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (No. 333-280348) previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and declared effective by the SEC on June 27, 2024. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the proposed offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, by contacting Aegis Capital Corp., Attention: Syndicate Department, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 27th floor, New York, NY 10105, by email at syndicate@aegiscap.com, or by telephone at +1 (212) 813-1010.

Interested parties should read in their entirety the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the other documents that the Company has filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference in such prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, which provide more information about the Company and such offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Farmmi, Inc.

Established in 1998, Farmmi Inc. (Nasdaq: FAMI) is an agricultural products supplier, processor and retailer of edible mushrooms like Shiitake and Mu Er, as well as other agricultural products. Farmmi sells its products through the established distribution channels. The Company also provides logistics and supply chain services in the United States. For further information about the Company, please visit: https://www.farmmi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The foregoing material may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, including without limitation statements regarding the Company’s product development and business prospects, and can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “project,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “should,” “continue” or the negative versions of those words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future actions or performance. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and its current plans or expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect current plans. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ significantly from those anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended, or planned. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. Except as required by applicable law, including the security laws of the United States, the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.

For more information, please contact:

Farmmi, Inc.
Investor Relations
Tel: +86-0578-82612876
ir@farmmi.com

XPENG Unveils X-Mind: Empowering Autonomous Driving with a “Future-Foresight” Brain

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GUANGZHOU, China, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XPENG (NYSE: XPEV, HKEX: 9868), a leading China-based high-tech company, shared insights at the CVPR 2026 Workshop on Foundation Model Deployment for Embodied Intelligence. Xianming Liu, Head of XPENG Group’s General Intelligence Center, unveiled XPENG’s World Model roadmap, highlighting proactive reasoning, controllable generation, and long-horizon forecasting as key capabilities for next-generation autonomous driving.

Following X-World, X-Foresight, and X-Cache, XPENG introduced X-Mind, a Predictive World Model framework that enables vehicles to simulate future scenarios before making decisions. Through a Visual Chain-of-Thought (Visual CoT), X-Mind allows autonomous systems to reason proactively, improving safety and delivering more human-like driving performance.

Unlike traditional perception-to-action systems that react to current conditions, X-Mind enables vehicles to anticipate future traffic changes through internal simulation. Its three core technologies include:

Thought Sketch, which creates an efficient cognitive representation combining Bird’s-Eye-View (BEV) layouts and driving priors, preserving key elements such as road structures, obstacles, traffic lights, and navigation intentions while reducing computational complexity.

Recurrent Block Diffusion (RBD), which enables high-quality future scene generation within a single forward pass, overcoming latency challenges of conventional diffusion methods and balancing advanced reasoning with real-time deployment.

Visual CoT visualization, which reveals how the model predicts obstacle movements, lane connectivity, and future traffic conditions before generating driving decisions, improving transparency and system validation.

Trained on hundreds of millions of real-world driving data frames, X-Mind demonstrates improved trajectory prediction accuracy, enhanced performance in complex long-tail scenarios, and ultra-low inference latency suitable for automotive-grade chips.

Together with X-World and X-Foresight, X-Mind completes XPENG’s Physical AI foundational model roadmap, enabling vehicles to understand not only how to act, but how the world evolves after each action.

About XPENG

Founded in 2014, XPENG is a leading Chinese AI-driven mobility company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets Smart EVs. XPENG aims to become a global leader in AI mobility and drive the Smart EV revolution through cutting-edge technology.

XPENG develops its full-stack ADAS technology, intelligent in-car operating system, and core vehicle systems including powertrain and EEA in-house. Headquartered in Guangzhou, XPENG operates offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and Amsterdam. Its Smart EVs are primarily manufactured in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

XPENG is listed on NYSE (XPEV) and HKEX (9868).

For more information: https://www.xpeng.com/

Contacts:
XPENG PR Department
Email: pr@xiaopeng.com

Kai Tak Sports Park Claims Top Honour

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Quality Building Award 2026 Winners Announced with Strong GBA and International Participation


HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – The winners of the Quality Building Award 2026 (QBA 2026) were announced and presented at a ceremony held last Friday (26 June) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event brought together industry leaders, representatives of professional institutions, and project teams to celebrate the outstanding achievements of building projects from Hong Kong and beyond. Ms Bernadette Linn, JP, Secretary for Development, Development Bureau, HKSARG graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour. Kai Tak Sports Park received two awards, including the highest honor – the “Quality Excellence Award” – and the “Quality Building Award” in the Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Government, Institution or Community) category.

Ms Chang Yuk Kam, Patricia, Chairlady of the Quality Building Award 2026 Organizing Committee, expressed gratitude to Ms Bernadette Linn, JP, Secretary for Development, Development Bureau, HKSARG and Mr Ho Chun Hung, JP, Director of Buildings,HKSARGwho served as Chairman of the Jury Panel, and also congratulated all the award winners. Ms Chang said: “Hong Kong is now proactively integrating into the national development strategy and fully participating in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The construction industry is embracing unprecedented opportunities. The Quality Building Award is also keeping pace with the times, actively breaking down geographical boundaries and vigorously promoting cooperation and project exchanges among the construction sectors in the Greater Bay Area and beyond. We hope that outstanding construction practices and cutting-edge technologies from different regions can be shared and complement each other, and that we can jointly build a vibrant and sustainable cross-regional architectural ecosystem, while seizing opportunities together and pursuing shared development.”

For over two decades, the Quality Building Award has remained committed to its founding principles of recognizing excellence, driving innovation, and promoting inclusion, while witnessing the continuous evolution and growth of Hong Kong’s building industry and that of the wider region. Notably, this year’s Award significantly relaxed the entry requirements for the “Building Outside GBA (include International)” and “Building in GBA (Not include Hong Kong)” categories, with participating teams no longer required to include a Hong Kong-registered company. This move has successfully attracted a number of high-quality non-local projects, including outstanding entries from Egypt and Shanghai, fully demonstrating Hong Kong’s unique advantage of being of enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world, and further consolidating its status as a regional building hub.

The award-winning projects from past editions have covered a diverse spectrum of areas, including residential, non-residential, government and institutional buildings, renovation and revitalization projects, temporary structures, and cross-regional developments, showcasing the multifaceted value of architecture. This year’s winning projects not only combine aesthetic design with functional excellence, but also actively respond to the industry’s prevailing trends in green and low-carbon practices, as well as smart construction and management. They embody the core mission of driving urban development and enhancing the quality of living environments.

Ms Bernadette Linn, JP, Secretary for Development, Development Bureau, HKSARG, said: “The Quality Building Award has long been regarded as the ‘Oscar of the construction industry’. Over the past two decades, it has recognised numerous outstanding projects demonstrating excellence in design, construction, teamwork and sustainable development. This year’s Award is closely aligned with the policy direction of enhancing green development momentum under the National 15th Five-Year Plan. It reflects Hong Kong’s firm commitment to advancing high-quality sustainable development, and supports the national dual carbon goals as well as the broader green and low-carbon development strategy.”

The Quality Building Award 2026 featured eight award categories. Following months of rigorous evaluation by a 17-member judging panel comprising industry leaders, Kai Tak Sports Park stood out. With its “park-within-a-stadium” concept, it transformed the former airport site into an iconic landmark integrating sports, entertainment, community, and commercial functions. The design seamlessly blends aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability, which particularly embodies this year’s theme: “Smartly We Build | Sustainably We Thrive | Inclusively We Lead.” It was therefore honored with the highest award of the ceremony, the “Quality Excellence Award,” as well as the “Grand Award” in the category of “Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Government, Institution or Community).”

This year, the Organizing Committee also presented two special awards: the “Innovative Project Award” and the “Sustainable Development Award”, which were awarded to Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development: Building 11and Kai Tak District Cooling Plant No. 3 respectively. Among them, Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development: Building 11 also received the “Grand Award” in the Hong Kong Residential (Single Building) category, while Kai Tak District Cooling Plant No. 3 also received the “Merit Award” in the Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Government, Institution or Community) category.

Projects in the Hong Kong Residential (Multiple Buildings) category also performed exceptionally well, with NOVO LAND receiving the “Grand Award”. In the Hong Kong Building (Renovation / Revitalization) category, both Lo Pan Spirit Inheritance: Conservation of Lo Pan Temple and the Expansion of the Legislative Council Complex received the “Grand Award”. Meanwhile, W.I.S.E. Complex received the “Grand Award” in the Temporary Building category.

To bring together professional expertise from the Greater Bay Area and beyond, this year’s Award has specially revised the entry requirements for the categories of “Building Outside GBA (include International)” and “Building in GBA (Not include Hong Kong)”, breaking geographical boundaries and broadening the international exchange landscape of Hong Kong’s construction industry. The “Grand Award” in the “Building Outside GBA (include International)” category was presented to Arbour and The Iconic Tower, New Capital CBD, Egypt; while the “Grand Award” in the “Building in GBA (Not include Hong Kong)” category was presented to China Overseas Headquarters and Marisfrolg Industrial Park.

Mr Ho Chun Hung, JP, Director of Buildings, HKSARG who served as Chairman of the Jury Panel, said: “The pursuit of quality buildings, together with the creation of a sustainable and inclusive built environment, has long been a shared mission of the construction industry. Through recognising outstanding projects and exceptional professional teams, we aim to drive the industry forward, promoting the adoption of smart technologies, green and sustainable practices, and inclusive, people-oriented collaboration. Together, we can build a safer, higher-quality, and more liveable environment for all.”

The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) will serve as the Chairing Organization of the next Quality Building Award. The Award will continue to serve as an outstanding platform for industry exchange, recognizing outstanding projects and actively driving innovation and transformation within the construction sector. By working hand in hand with stakeholders across all sectors, Quality Building Award aims to build a higher-quality and more sustainable urban environment together.

QBA 2026 Awardees (in alphabetical order):
Quality Excellence Award
Kai Tak Sports Park
Innovative Project Award
Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development: Building 11
Sustainable Development Award
Kai Tak District Cooling Plant No. 3
Hong Kong Residential (Single Building) Award Type
Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development: Building 11 Grand
ECHO House Merit
Parkwood Merit
Belgravia Place I Finalist
JARDINI Finalist
One Central Place Finalist
Hong Kong Residential (Multiple Buildings) Award Type
NOVO LAND Grand
Casa Sierra Merit
Victoria Voyage Merit
Baker Circle Finalist
THE PAVILIA FOREST Finalist
Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Government, Institution or Community) Award Type
Kai Tak Sports Park Grand
Kai Tak District Cooling Plant No. 3 Merit
Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool Complex Merit
Hospital Authority Supporting Services Centre Finalist
Kwai Chung Hospital Finalist
The Pentecostal Holiness Church Wing Kwong Junior School Finalist
Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Non-Government, Institution or Community) Award Type
98 How Ming Street Merit
One Causeway Bay Merit
Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development : Building 8 & Building 9 Finalist
Hong Kong Building (Renovation / Revitalization) Award Type
Lo Pan Spirit Inheritance: Conservation of Lo Pan Temple Grand
Expansion of the Legislative Council Complex Grand
Conversion of the Old Wan Chai Police Station into the Headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation Merit
Tai Po Civic Centre Merit
Hong Kong Temporary Building Award Type
W.I.S.E. Complex Grand
Hip³ MiC Collaboration Centre Merit
Light Public Housing at Olympic Avenue, Kai Tak (Phase 1) Merit
Light Public Housing – Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok Merit
Light Public Housing – Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long Finalist
Building Outside GBA (include International) Award Type
Arbour Grand
The Iconic Tower, New Capital CBD, Egypt Grand
Building in GBA (Not include Hong Kong) Award Type
China Overseas Headquarters Grand
Marisfrolg Industrial Park Grand
China State Construction Science and Technology Innovation Building Merit
Guangzhou Respiratory Center Merit

Photos of the Award Presentation Ceremony can be downloaded from the following link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WuprPeClXBBB6rr4iaWqR6qvsVheeGl7?usp=drive_link

For more information about the Quality Building Award, please visit:
Official Website: www.qba.com.hk; Facebook: QBAHK; LinkedIn: QBAHK;
Weibo: 優質建築大獎; WeChat Official Account: 優質建築大獎

Hashtag: #QualityBuildingAward2026

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Quality Building Award

The Quality Building Award (QBA) is a biennial award that recognizes buildings of outstanding quality and those that demonstrate outstanding teamwork. The provision of quality buildings is an essential ingredient of a prosperous and modern society, and the Quality Building Award aims to promote a collective commitment by the building industry to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and competitiveness.

The theme of QBA 2026 is “Smartly We Build | Sustainably We Thrive | Inclusively We Lead”, which aimed at recognizing the adoption of smart, sustainable, and inclusive solutions, driving innovation and eco-friendly practices to foster collective progress and ensure a thriving, sustainable future. As always, the QBA 2026 will continue to recognize outstanding contributions to society and drive the ongoing advancement of construction industry.

The Quality Building Award 2026 is jointly organized by ten leading professional institutions in Hong Kong, including (listed in alphabetical order)：
The Hong Kong Institute of Housing (Charing Organization of QBA 2026)
BEAM Society Limited
The Hong Kong Construction Association
The Hong Kong Institute of Architects
The Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers
The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors
Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency
International Facility Management Association Hong Kong Chapter
The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong

MAXHUB Brings Smart Classroom to Nepal’s Top University

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KATHMANDU, Nepal, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On May 21, 2026, the unveiling ceremony of the Smart Classroom was held at Tribhuvan University (TU) in Nepal. The Smart Classroom at Tribhuvan University was coordinated and driven by International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI), with academic support from Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and sponsorship from Chinese education technology enterprise MAXHUB. It is the second Smart Classroom sponsored by MAXHUB.

Unveiling Ceremony of the Smart Classroom Held at Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Unveiling Ceremony of the Smart Classroom Held at Tribhuvan University, Nepal

The launch ceremony was attended by Mr. ZHOU Pan, Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nepal; Prof. Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya, Vice-Chancellor of Tribhuvan University; Dr. Kedar Prasad Acharya, Secretary of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Nepal; Prof. Dr. Mahananda Chalise, Registrar of Tribhuvan University; Prof. Bed Raj Acharya, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Tribhuvan University; Prof. Binod Prasad Dhakal, Vice-Chancellor of Lumbini Technological University; and Prof. Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki, Coordinator of the IIOE Nepal National Centre, among other distinguished guests. Ms. BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, delivered remarks on behalf of the UNESCO-ICHEI, and Mr. LI Hao, Regional Director for Southeast Asia and South Asia at MAXHUB, delivered the keynote address.

Unveiling Ceremony of the Smart Classroom Held at Tribhuvan University, Nepal
This unveiling ceremony marks a pivotal milestone in the UNESCO-ICHEI Smart Classroom project’s journey in Nepal. In September 2024, the UNESCO-ICHEI Smart Classroom project team and MAXHUB engineers traveled to Nepal—known as the “Land of Mountains”—and, despite challenges including frequent power outages during the rainy season and difficult transportation conditions, worked closely with Tribhuvan University to complete the hardware installation and deliver initial teacher training within just seven days. On the morning of 19 May 2026, the UNESCO-ICHEI and MAXHUB teams returned to Tribhuvan University for a second round of Smart Classroom training. The training was designed to familiarise a broader group of local faculty and students with the operation and day-to-day maintenance of the Smart Classroom. After more than a year of localized trials, instructional refinement, and continuous capacity-building, the Smart Classroom—”grown” from the foothills of the Himalayas—has now been officially inaugurated as a key venue for teacher training and learning services in the region.

Smart Classroom Training Session
The Smart Classroom is equipped with interactive touchscreens, a lecture recording and broadcasting system, and a built-in Learning Management System (LMS), enabling hybrid online-offline teaching and learning with data analytics capabilities. Following its inauguration, the classroom will serve four core functions: supporting teaching and learning activities within Tribhuvan University; facilitating the implementation of the IIOE Micro-Certification Programme in Nepal; conducting digital capacity-building training for teachers; and extending outreach to partner institutions across Nepal and the broader South Asian region.

In her address, Ms. BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, noted that the Smart Classroom is “not merely a classroom, but an action platform.” She noted that, on May 20, the 2026 Leadership Policy Dialogue in South Asia was held at Tribhuvan University, during which the IIOE Nepal National Centre was officially unveiled. The launch of the Smart Classroom would provide a powerful implementation engine for the IIOE Nepal National Centre, accelerating the digital transformation of higher education in Nepal.

In his remarks, Mr. LI Hao, Regional Director for Southeast Asia and South Asia at MAXHUB, said that for MAXHUB, education “is never just a business.” Where the traditional blackboard once confined teachers and students to “receiving information through a single sensory channel,” he noted, MAXHUB’s donated Smart Classrooms in Nepal now allow both to engage in learning through interactive touchscreens, video playback, and online classes. Through its recording and AI analytics capabilities, the Smart Classroom enables students in remote regions to access quality educational resources — echoing the global consensus on educational equity.

In the future, UNESCO-ICHEI will continue to work with MAXHUB and other partners to provide technical support, system upgrades, and capacity-building programmes, while collaborating with government agencies, universities, and industry partners to collectively advance the digital transformation of higher education in Nepal and across South Asia.

About MAXHUB
Founded in 2017, MAXHUB is a trusted solution provider in integrated commercial display and unified communications. MAXHUB holds the position of World’s No.1 in both collaboration boards and all-in-one LED displays according to Futuresource and TrendForce. With a presence in over 140 countries and regions, local teams in 22 countries, and 8 global subsidiaries, MAXHUB delivers innovative solutions that transform how organizations collaborate and communicate worldwide.

About UNESCO-ICHEI
The International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI), based in Shenzhen, China, was established through cooperation between UNESCO and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government. Approved by the 38th session of the UNESCO General Conference on November 13, 2015, and officially inaugurated on June 8, 2016, UNESCO-ICHEI operates as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre focused on higher education.

 

MAXHUB Participates in 2026 Leadership Policy Dialogue in South Asia: Charting Responsible and Innovative AI Integration in Higher Education

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KATHMANDU, Nepal, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — MAXHUB, a global leader in integrated display and collaboration solutions, today demonstrated its latest education technologies to university leaders from across South Asia at the “2026 Leadership Policy Dialogue in South Asia: Charting Responsible and Innovative AI Integration in Higher Education.”

MAXHUB Participates in 2026 Leadership Policy Dialogue in South Asia
MAXHUB Participates in 2026 Leadership Policy Dialogue in South Asia

Jointly hosted by the UNESCO Kathmandu Office, Tribhuvan University, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI), the meeting drew approximately 120 representatives attending in person and over 100 participants joining online from South Asia and beyond. Government officials, higher education leaders, industry experts, and representatives from international organisations attended from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan and other South Asian countries, as well as China, France and other countries. Among them were 13 university presidents and 26 deans from institutions including Tribhuvan University of Nepal, the University of Dhaka of Bangladesh, the University of Colombo of Sri Lanka, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore of Pakistan, the Maldives National University, and the Royal University of Bhutan.

Li Hao of MAXHUB presented the company’s vision for technology-enabled education transformation during the conference. He noted that South Asia is home to approximately 50,000 higher education institutions and over 42 million enrolled students, making it the world’s second-largest region in terms of higher education enrolment.

MAXHUB also demonstrated its portable capture system on site, designed to help institutions deliver high-quality educational content with flexibility. The system addresses infrastructure constraints common among schools in the region, enabling both live streaming and recorded content distribution.

Throughout the event, MAXHUB representatives engaged with higher education leaders to understand regional needs and explore potential collaboration opportunities. The company emphasized its commitment to supporting the region’s digital transformation through practical technology solutions.

The meeting centred on the digital transformation of South Asian higher education and pathways for the responsible integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education ecosystems. The event also featured the official launch of the IIOE Nepal National Centre.

About MAXHUB

Founded in 2017, MAXHUB is a trusted solution provider in integrated commercial display and unified communications. MAXHUB holds the position of World’s No.1 in both collaboration boards and all-in-one LED displays according to Futuresource and TrendForce. With a presence in over 140 countries and regions, local teams in 22 countries, and 8 global subsidiaries, MAXHUB delivers innovative solutions that transform how organizations collaborate and communicate worldwide.

About UNESCO-ICHEI

The International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI), based in Shenzhen, China, was established through cooperation between UNESCO and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government. Approved by the 38th session of the UNESCO General Conference on November 13, 2015, and officially inaugurated on June 8, 2016, UNESCO-ICHEI operates as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre focused on higher education.

X Square Robot Secures Four Consecutive Financing Rounds, Surpasses US$2.8 Billion Valuation in Push for Physical AI Foundation Models

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New funding supports development of embodied AI foundation models, commercial deployments and integrated robotics infrastructure, only embodied AI company backed by all four major Chinese internet technology leaders

SHENZHEN, China, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — X Square Robot, an embodied AI company developing general-purpose embodied intelligence robots and foundation models for real-world environments, today announced the closing of four consecutive financing rounds culminating in a Series C, bringing its valuation to over US$2.8 billion (RMB 20 billion) and positioning the company among China’s highest-valued embodied AI startups.

X Square Robot performing household tasks in a home environment
X Square Robot performing household tasks in a home environment

The financing brings together a diverse group of strategic and financial investors, including leading technology companies, industrial partners and venture capital firms. IDG participated in the Series C round, while HongShan and Xiaomi have backed the company in multiple previous rounds. Combined with earlier lead investments from Meituan, Alibaba, ByteDance and Xiaomi, X Square Robot has become the only embodied AI company in China to secure lead-round backing at different stages from four of the country’s leading technology companies.

“Since day one, X Square Robot has focused on in-house development of foundation models, pursuing a challenging but necessary path,” said Wang Qian, founder and CEO of X Square Robot. “Today, our investments in embodied AI models, scalable, model-driven high-quality data pipeline system and real-world deployment are beginning to deliver clear results.”

The company said it will use the funding to further invest in core technologies and foundational research in embodied intelligence, advancing toward general-purpose embodied AI that bridges the physical world and ultimately serves humanity.

Founded in 2023, X Square Robot develops end-to-end embodied AI systems that combine foundation models, robotics hardware and proprietary data pipeline system. Rather than relying on traditional rule-based automation, the company’s approach enables robots to adapt to changing environments and generalize across a wide range of tasks.

Building a Full-Stack Embodied AI System

X Square Robot is building a full-stack embodied AI system that combines foundation models, robotics hardware, proprietary model-driven high-quality data pipeline system and real-world deployment. At its core is a general-purpose embodied AI model designed to enable robots to perceive, reason and act in complex physical environments.

In April 2026, the company introduced WALL-B, an embodied AI foundation model built on its World Unified Model architecture. Unlike modular VLA approaches that connect separate vision, language and action components, WALL-B trains perception, language, action and physical prediction within a unified network, enabling stronger multimodal understanding, spatial reasoning and continual learning from real-world interactions.

The company has also open-sourced WALL-OSS-0.5 and WALL-WM, extending its unified approach to robot manipulation and world modeling. WALL-OSS-0.5 achieved over 80% autonomous completion on four of 17 real-robot tasks without post-training, while WALL-WM introduces event-level prediction by aligning language, vision and action data around meaningful events, enabling stronger cross-modal learning and physical-world prediction across reasoning, manipulation and generalization tasks.

To accelerate model development, X Square Robot has built a scalable, model-driven data pipeline spanning automated data collection, cleaning, annotation, quality control and augmentation. Combined with real-world deployment, the system enables rapid model iteration while creating high-quality datasets for complex and long-tail scenarios.

Real-World Deployments Already Underway

X Square Robot is deploying its model and hardware stack across household, industrial, and logistics scenarios. Among these, household settings represent one of the most complex and important testbeds for real-world deployment.

In this area, the company has partnered with 58.com to launch an AI-powered cleaning service in Shenzhen and Beijing, where robots work alongside human cleaners in real residential environments. Since May, X Square Robot has also launched the “X Family Member Program,” where robots live with users’ families for up to one month as household companions, responding to a broader range of everyday needs. Together, these initiatives bring embodied robots beyond staged demos and into real homes and everyday life.

X Square Robot in real-world deployment at a nursing home
X Square Robot in real-world deployment at a nursing home

The company believes these real-world deployments create a continuous feedback loop in which operational data improves model performance, helping accelerate progress toward general-purpose embodied intelligence.

“As AI moves beyond digital experiences into the physical world, progress will depend on close integration between models, data and robotics,” Wang said. “We’re building that foundation so embodied AI can become part of everyday life.”

To learn more, visit https://x2robot.com/en.

About X Square Robot

X Square Robot develops general-purpose embodied intelligence robots with high-precision manipulation capabilities. The company is building foundation models for the physical world, integrating models, robotic hardware and scalable, model-driven high-quality data pipeline system. Its robots are designed to perceive, reason and act across long-horizon tasks in home and everyday environments, research and education, logistics and warehousing, and industrial operations.

Afogreen Build Highlights Growing Adoption of Building Performance Modelling in Australia’s Sustainability-Driven Construction Sector

By
Advertorial Desk
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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As sustainability requirements and operational performance expectations evolve, building performance modelling is becoming increasingly important across Australia’s construction sector. Afogreen Build, an Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) consultancy, has observed growing demand for integrated modelling approaches that help architects and building owners evaluate factors like energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and sustainability outcomes.

Afogreen Build

Building Performance Modelling as a Strategic Tool
Integrated modelling uses computer-based simulations to predict how a building will perform even before it is constructed. By analysing factors such as energy consumption, indoor comfort, daylight access, airflow, and operational efficiency, it helps project teams understand how design decisions may affect a building’s long-term performance.

Traditionally, this approach has been used to support compliance with building regulations and sustainability certification frameworks. However, its role is expanding as project teams increasingly seek data-driven insights during the design process.

One factor contributing to this trend is the growing focus on measurable operational outcomes. Frameworks such as NABERS Commitment Agreements and Section J Performance Solutions require project teams to demonstrate expected building performance before construction begins. As a result, modelling is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for evaluating whether design targets can realistically be achieved.

The approach is already widely adopted across Australia’s construction sector. Research indicates that approximately 90% of new residential developments and 85% of non-office commercial projects now incorporate building performance modelling. At the same time, around 53% of standard projects and 49% of premium projects are using modelling primarily for compliance-based assessments.

“Modelling is increasingly viewed not just as a compliance requirement, but as a practical tool for evaluating whether design targets can realistically be achieved,” shared Erika Yuniarti, Managing Director of Afogreen Build.

Integrated Modelling Provides a Broader View of Building Performance
Many project teams are also moving beyond assessments that focus on a single performance metric.

Integrated modelling evaluates multiple aspects of building performance together, including:

  • Energy use
  • Thermal comfort
  • Daylight access
  • Ventilation
  • Occupant experience

This approach allows stakeholders to better understand how different building systems and design decisions interact with one another.

By identifying potential issues earlier in the design process, project teams can make more informed decisions before significant design resources are committed. This can help reduce design revisions, improve overall efficiency, and provide greater confidence that performance objectives can be achieved once the building is operational.

Applications Across Multiple Sectors
The growing adoption of building performance modelling can be seen across a variety of project types. Recent projects undertaken by Afogreen Build highlight how simulation-based assessments are helping project teams evaluate performance, improve design outcomes, and support sustainability objectives.

a. Large-Scale Hotel Development
One project involved the transformation of a former police station site into a two-tower hotel complex with a gross floor area of approximately 25,000 sqm. The development combines a 131-room boutique luxury lifestyle hotel with a 451-room budget-friendly hotel, creating a diverse hospitality offering designed to serve different traveller segments.

To support both guest comfort and sustainability objectives, Afogreen Build conducted integrated daylight, glare, and energy modelling throughout the project. Daylight simulations showed that approximately 94% of guest rooms met daylight performance requirements, while glare assessments helped optimise visual comfort within occupied spaces.

Energy modelling indicated an overall reduction in energy consumption of 30.2% compared to baseline building performance. The analysis also identified key areas of energy use, providing valuable insights that can support future operational and system optimisation efforts.

b. Train Station Project
For a train station project, Afogreen Build adopted an integrated modelling approach to evaluate factors such as daylight access, thermal comfort, glare, and natural ventilation across key passenger areas, including the concourse and platforms.

The simulations helped project stakeholders better understand how environmental conditions would affect the passenger experience throughout the day. Findings from the study informed façade design strategies, balancing natural daylight with measures to reduce excessive glare and solar heat gain in occupied spaces.

The assessments also identified opportunities to improve thermal comfort and air movement within the station, supporting a more comfortable environment for commuters while maintaining energy-efficient design principles.

c. High-Performance Data Centre
Afogreen Build also applied building performance modelling to a 50 MW data centre project, where energy efficiency was a key design consideration.

The study evaluated the interaction between IT equipment, cooling systems, power distribution infrastructure, and other supporting building systems. By analysing how these components work together under operational conditions, the project team was able to gain a clearer understanding of the facility’s overall energy performance and identify opportunities for optimisation.

The modelling contributed to an optimised Category 2 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) range of 1.19 to 1.31, reflecting a highly efficient approach to managing energy consumption within a large-scale, energy-intensive facility.

Together, these projects demonstrate how building performance modelling can be applied across diverse sectors, each with its own operational requirements and performance priorities.

The Future of Performance-Driven Design
As sustainability frameworks and performance expectations continue to evolve, Afogreen Build expects modelling to become an increasingly important part of project planning and design across a wide range of sectors.

“There is increasing emphasis on understanding how buildings are likely to perform before they are built, rather than waiting until they are operational to identify challenges,” said Ms. Erika. “The ability to evaluate performance early in the design process is becoming increasingly valuable as projects face more complex sustainability and operational requirements. The team should work closely with project stakeholders to establish realistic assumptions and evaluate likely performance outcomes from the outset. This process helps reduce unnecessary design iterations, improve modelling efficiency, and increase the likelihood of achieving targeted performance objectives. By integrating performance considerations earlier in the design process, project teams are better positioned to deliver buildings that meet both compliance requirements and long-term operational goals.”

For more information about building performance modelling and sustainability consulting services, visit Afogreen Build’s website.
Hashtag: #AfogreenBuild

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Afogreen Build

Afogreen Build is a in Australia specialising in sustainability advisory, environmental simulations, and performance modelling. Its services include , daylight analysis, thermal comfort assessments, CFD modelling, and green building certification consulting for projects across the Asia-Pacific region. The company supports project teams in designing buildings that prioritise energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and long-term.

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