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LEOTEK and 1NCE Accelerate Global Deployment of AI-Powered Smart Lighting Infrastructure

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LEOTEK, a global provider of intelligent traffic and lighting infrastructure, announced a collaboration with 1NCE, global IoT software and connectivity company, and SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”), 1NCE’s exclusive sales partner in APAC, to accelerate worldwide deployment of its LEOLink Intelligent Lighting System (ILS). By integrating AI-driven infrastructure management, global IoT connectivity and scalable smart lighting networks, the partnership aims to help cities modernize street lighting infrastructure while improving safety, energy efficiency and operational visibility.

Photo (from left to right) Masato Nakabayashi, Director of IoT Global Promotion Dept., SoftBank Corp.; Torrent Chin, President & Chief Sustainability Officer, LEOTEK; Hitoshi Ono, Senior Vice President of 1NCE
Photo (from left to right) Masato Nakabayashi, Director of IoT Global Promotion Dept., SoftBank Corp.; Torrent Chin, President & Chief Sustainability Officer, LEOTEK; Hitoshi Ono, Senior Vice President of 1NCE

The joint solution combines LEOTEK’s AI- powered roadway and lighting infrastructure platform with the global IoT software and connectivity provided by 1NCE. Together, the partners aim to deliver an intelligent lighting platform that allows cities to remotely monitor lighting assets, optimize maintenance operations and improve long-term infrastructure resilience.

Torrent Chin, President and Chief Sustainability Officer of LEOTEK, said the collaboration reflects the growing need for data-driven infrastructure management in modern cities. “The future of urban infrastructure depends on real-time connectivity and intelligent system management,” Chin said. “By working with 1NCE and SoftBank, we aim to accelerate the global deployment of intelligent lighting networks that enhance urban safety, operational efficiency and energy performance.”

The integrated architecture has already been deployed across multiple infrastructure projects in the United States and the Americas. In Bath, Maine, the intelligent lighting network supports municipal initiatives to improve nighttime road safety and optimize energy use. In the Boston metropolitan area, the system demonstrates its capability to support high-density urban lighting networks while enabling centralized monitoring and infrastructure analytics. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, traditional street lighting infrastructure has been upgraded into a remotely managed intelligent system that provides real-time operational visibility and predictive maintenance capabilities.

Additional deployments include projects in Syracuse, New York, as well as infrastructure modernization initiatives with DTE Energy in Michigan. The solution has also expanded to smart city initiatives in San Francisco and deployments in Mexico and several cities across Latin America. Through AI-based monitoring and equipment diagnostics, operational data can be transmitted in real time through the 1NCE global IoT software and connectivity, enabling centralized infrastructure management and improved asset visibility.

The collaboration was highlighted during Smart City Expo Taipei, where SoftBank and 1NCE demonstrated the integrated architecture of LEOTEK’s LEOLink Intelligent Lighting System and its ability to connect intelligent devices, global IoT connectivity and AI-based infrastructure management.

LEOLink Intelligent Lighting System
LEOLink Intelligent Lighting System

 

LEOLink Intelligent Lighting System deployed in Syracuse, New York.
LEOLink Intelligent Lighting System deployed in Syracuse, New York.

About LEOTEK
LEOTEK is a global provider of intelligent traffic and sustainable lighting infrastructure, with headquarters in Silicon Valley and Taipei. Since its founding in 1992, LEOTEK solutions have been deployed in more than 30 countries and over 300 cities worldwide, supporting smart mobility, intelligent lighting networks and AI-powered infrastructure management. The company focuses on developing intelligent sustainable infrastructure solutions that help cities improve safety, efficiency and environmental performance.

For more information, please visit: leotek.com | linkedin.com/company/leotek-electronics-usa-corp/

About 1NCE
1NCE delivers the fundamental software and connectivity platform for customers to create and manage the world’s best intelligent products. The software platform enables customers to easily, securely and reliably collect device data across 170+ countries, and turn it into actionable intelligence.

Learn more: www.1NCE.com and follow on FacebookLinkedIn and X.

Brandwatch Report Finds Only 25% of Marketers Truly Understand Their Audiences

Despite unprecedented access to data, most marketers still struggle to translate signals into insight.

BRIGHTON, United Kingdom, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Brandwatch, a Cision company and a global leader in social intelligence and social media management, today released The Marketer of 2026, a new report revealing a growing insight gap in modern marketing.

Despite unprecedented access to data, only 25% of marketers say they understand their audiences “very well,” highlighting the growing challenge of translating fragmented signals into meaningful insight.

Based on a survey of 1,028 marketing professionals and an analysis of 750,000 online industry conversations, the report explores how the role of the marketer is evolving, shifting from campaign execution toward decoding audience behavior and informing strategic decisions.

As customer journeys fragment across social platforms, search engines, and AI-driven discovery tools, marketers face mounting pressure to move beyond collecting data and instead turn signals into clear insight and action.

“The Marketer of 2026 shows a profession shifting from campaign execution to signal interpretation,” said Amy Jones, Chief Marketing Officer at Cision. “The real competitive edge won’t come from collecting more data, it will come from how marketers translate fragmented signals into insight and action.”

Marketers’ biggest challenge: Understanding audiences

Despite the volume of data available across channels, predicting behavior, interpreting cultural shifts, and uncovering the “why” behind audience decisions remain the hardest problems to solve. Among the top challenges marketers cite:

  • Predicting future needs or behaviors (60%)
  • Understanding changing behaviors (48%)
  • Turning data into actionable insights (46%)
  • Understanding the “why” behind audience decisions (40%)
  • Integrating data from multiple sources (40%)

The result is a widening insight gap: Brands know more about what people do than ever before, but still struggle to explain why they do it – and how to act on that knowledge at speed.

Platforms that unify consumer conversations and audience signals are increasingly critical for marketing teams looking to close this insight gap and move from reactive reporting to proactive strategy.

AI raises the bar, but doesn’t replace judgment

AI and automation are now central to the marketer’s toolkit. The report found:

  • 84% of marketers said AI and automation are the most important skills to master
  • 81% said AI tools are the most essential technology in the marketing stack.
  • 79% said they’re spending more time on managing AI and automation workflows

While AI is helping teams move faster and automate repetitive tasks, marketers are acutely aware of the need to balance efficiency with human judgment, creativity, and cultural awareness.

As AI-generated content becomes more common, marketers increasingly recognize that technology alone won’t differentiate brands.

“AI won’t replace marketers, it will expose the ones who don’t lead with strategy,” Jones said. “The winners will use AI to accelerate execution and then double down on what humans do best: judgement, creativity, and direction.”

Fragmented journeys demand integrated insight

The report also highlights just how splintered the customer journey has become. Audiences now move fluidly across touchpoints and have become increasingly fluent in marketing tactics.

This fragmentation puts added pressure on marketers to connect data across channels and eliminate reporting silos.

Integrated consumer intelligence platforms are emerging as a key lever for helping teams unify audience data, identify patterns across touchpoints (including search, social, and traditional media), and transform fragmented signals into strategic insight.

Traditional marketing activities take a back seat

Across the findings, one theme is clear: the marketer of 2026 is defined less by how many campaigns they ship and more by how well they can connect outputs to outcomes.

Many respondents report spending less time on traditional activities like advertising and email marketing in order to prioritize managing AI workflows (79%) and data analysis (51%).

Rather than abandoning traditional channels, marketers are reallocating their time toward understanding audiences more deeply, and proving the business impact of their work.

A roadmap for 2026

In addition to an in-depth analysis of the findings, including a spotlight on the skills and tools critical to success in the coming year, the report also clearly outlines how marketers can apply these findings to their own strategies. The report breaks guidance down by career stage:

  • Encouraging junior marketers to build “audience literacy;”
  • Mid-level marketers to focus on interpretation and cross-channel fluency; and
  • Leaders to prioritize time, tools, and training that support insight generation rather than more activity for its own sake.

“In 2026, the strongest marketers are combining technical fluency with cultural and customer awareness,” Jones said. “The teams that succeed will be the ones who can connect fragmented signals, surface real audience insight, and act on it with confidence.”

Methodology

Brandwatch surveyed 1,028 marketing professionals regarding the social and professional landscape of 2026. This primary research was combined with an analysis of 750,000 online conversations about marketing between January 1, 2025, and January 31, 2026, using Brandwatch Consumer Research.

Download the full “Marketer of 2026” report

About Brandwatch

Brandwatch is the leading social media management and consumer intelligence suite, empowering brands to see and be seen, understand and be understood, by the audiences that matter most. Trusted by half of the Forbes 100, Brandwatch equips the world’s most innovative companies with AI-powered insights and tools to seize opportunities, strengthen engagement and accelerate growth.

Our comprehensive suite spans consumer intelligence, influencer marketing, and social media management, enabling brands and agencies to execute data-driven strategies at scale.

Brandwatch is part of the Cision family of brands, alongside CisionOne, Trajaan, and PR Newswire

Media Contact:
Cision Public Relations
CisionPR@cision.com

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou Meets Georgian Prime Minister, Reinforcing Commitment to Compliance-Led Growth and Local Collaboration

DUBAI, UAE, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, today confirmed that its Co-founder and CEO, Ben Zhou, met with Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia, in Tbilisi to discuss the continued development of Georgia’s digital asset ecosystem and the role of responsible innovation in strengthening the country’s financial technology sector.

The meeting highlighted Bybit’s long-term commitment to Georgia as a strategic hub for financial innovation and digital asset services in the region. Both sides exchanged views on regulatory cooperation, fintech innovation, and the opportunities to further develop Georgia’s growing digital economy through collaboration between government and industry.

The meeting was attended by Mariam Kvrivishvili, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Levan Zhorzholiani, Head of Government Administration, and Shota Lomtadze, Co-Founder and CEO of Bybit Georgia.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou Meets Georgian Prime Minister, Reinforcing Commitment to Compliance-Led Growth and Local Collaboration
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou Meets Georgian Prime Minister, Reinforcing Commitment to Compliance-Led Growth and Local Collaboration

Prime Minister Kobakhidze welcomed the presence of leading international fintech companies in Georgia, noting that growing interest from global technology and financial platforms reflects the country’s attractive investment environment and its expanding opportunities in digital innovation and financial services. Georgia’s economic momentum was also highlighted, with the country recording an average economic growth rate of 9.3% between 2021 and 2025.

Building a Trusted Digital Asset Ecosystem in Georgia

Since entering the Georgian market, Bybit has pursued a compliance-first approach, building its local presence through close collaboration with regulators and a focus on trusted financial infrastructure.

“Georgia is becoming a model for how crypto companies can embed themselves into a country’s financial fabric,” said Zhou. “We have gone from obtaining our VASP license to launching local payments infrastructure, becoming the largest crypto card issuer in the country, and building partnerships with both global stablecoin leaders and local banking institutions. That’s the kind of deep integration that creates real value for users and for the economy.”

Bybit’s Georgia footprint now spans the full spectrum from trading to payments:

  • VASP License (Q4 2024): Bybit became the first global exchange to secure a Virtual Asset Service Provider license in Georgia, establishing a regulatory foundation for its local operations.
  • Localized Platform (July 2025): Launch of bybitgeorgia.ge, giving Georgian users seamless access to global digital asset services in their local language.
  • PSP License (Q4 2025): Bybit secured a Payment Service Provider license, unlocking the ability to build local fiat payment rails and position the company as a core player in Georgia’s payments ecosystem.
  • Bybit Card — Largest Crypto Card in Georgia (January 2026): The Bybit Card launch made Bybit the biggest crypto card player in the country, bridging digital assets with everyday spending and merchant payments.
  • Banking Collaboration: Bybit is in active discussions to partner with a leading Georgian bank to offer integrated crypto trading services, bringing digital asset access directly to traditional banking customers — a first-of-its-kind model in the region.

Beyond infrastructure, Bybit is committed to becoming a major local supporter of Georgia’s payments modernization. The company continues to work closely with regulators, banking partners, and industry stakeholders to support financial inclusion, digital literacy, and innovation across the country.

“Regulatory clarity and constructive dialogue with policymakers are the foundation,” said Zhou. “But the real measure of success is whether we’re making financial services more accessible, more affordable, and more connected for everyday Georgians. That’s what we’re building toward.”

#Bybit / #CryptoArk 

About Bybit

Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 80 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit is redefining openness in the decentralized world by creating a simpler, open and equal ecosystem for everyone. With a strong focus on Web3, Bybit partners strategically with leading blockchain protocols to provide robust infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools, Bybit bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi, empowering builders, creators, and enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of Web3. Discover the future of decentralized finance at Bybit.com.

For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com
For updates, please follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social Media
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IBM Completes Acquisition of Confluent, Making Real Time Data the Engine of Enterprise AI and Agents

Day-one integrations include IBM watsonx.data, IBM MQ, IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration, and IBM Z

ARMONK, N.Y., March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today completed its acquisition of Confluent, Inc., the data streaming platform that more than 6,500 enterprises, including 40% of the Fortune 500, rely on to power real-time operations. Together, IBM and Confluent deliver a smart data platform that gives every AI model, agent, and automated workflow the real-time, trusted data needed to operate across on-premises and hybrid cloud environments at scale.

IBM Corporation logo.
IBM Corporation logo.

As enterprises move from AI experimentation to production, the critical barrier to success is the data — clean, governed, continuously refreshed —and delivered at the speed and scale AI demands. Yet in most enterprises today, data remains siloed across systems and environments, arriving hours or days after it is generated. Together IBM and Confluent provide the fabric through which AI agents can access the information they need, with the controls, governance, and real-time velocity to put information to work safely and at scale.

IDC estimates that more than one billion new logical applications will emerge by 2028 [1], driven by a new generation of AI that will only deliver value if the data behind it is live, trusted, and continuously flowing. That scale of demand requires a new kind of data foundation, and IBM and Confluent address that challenge directly, giving enterprises a single, governed platform where AI models and agents can operate with context, in real time, across every environment.

“Transactions happen in milliseconds, and AI decisions need to happen just as fast. With Confluent, we are giving clients the ability to move trusted data continuously across their entire operation so their AI models and agents can act on what is happening right now, not on data that is hours old,” said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, IBM Software and Chief Commercial Officer. “Together, IBM and Confluent give enterprises the foundation for a new operating model – one where AI runs on live data, drives decisions in real time, and delivers value at scale.”

Built on Apache Kafka®, the standard for data streaming, Confluent is already embedded in the operational fabric of the world’s largest enterprises, with a customer base that spans industries from financial services and healthcare to manufacturing and retail.

  • Michelin relies on Confluent to manage real-time inventory across a supply chain spanning 170 countries — achieving 35% cost savings without sacrificing visibility or control [2].
  • L’Oréal uses Confluent to stream real-time product and inventory updates across internal systems and third-party applications, helping the company respond faster to changing consumer demand [3].
  • BMW Group streams IoT data from 30+ production sites and its global sales network in real time, connecting factory floor systems and cloud applications across the organization [4].
  • Ticketmaster streams ticket inventory, sales, and customer activity in real time across hundreds of systems, reducing development friction and powering machine learning at scale [5].

“Since our founding, Confluent’s mission has been to set the world’s data in motion, making data streaming as foundational to the enterprise as the database. Joining IBM allows us to accelerate that mission at a much greater scale,” said Jay Kreps, CEO and Co-founder of Confluent. “IBM’s global reach and deep enterprise relationships will help us go further, faster. As enterprises move from experimenting with AI to running their business on it, helping data flow continuously across the business has never mattered more. I’m excited to see what we’ll build together.”

IBM and Confluent Product Synergies
Today’s announcement brings immediate integrations across the IBM portfolio, including:

  • AI-Ready, Real-Time Data. Enterprise AI technologies need current context, not yesterday’s data. Confluent streams live operational events directly into watsonx.data – ensuring every model, agent, and workflow runs on continuously updated enterprise data, with lineage, policy enforcement, and quality controls included.
  • Activate the modernized mainframe in the AI era. The most critical business transactions in the world have long run on IBM Z. With IBM Z and Confluent, organizations can identify and drive real-time events at the transaction source as well as stream transactional data directly for real-time analytics, automation, and AI workflows. This enables mission-critical transaction processing to integrate tightly with the rest of the business in real-time, at enterprise scale.
  • Event-Driven Automation Across Hybrid Environments. IBM MQ and IBM webMethods Hybrid Integration form the foundation of enterprise event-driven automation, combining trusted transactional messaging with modern integration and orchestration across hybrid environments. Confluent extends this platform with high-scale event streaming, enabling applications, APIs, and AI agents to sense and act on business events in real time. 

With Confluent, IBM Consulting and IBM partners, will help clients build the data foundation their AI needs — live, governed, and continuously flowing across every system and environment.

“The shift from AI experimentation to production deployment has exposed a critical gap in enterprise data architecture: the inability to deliver trusted, real-time data to the systems that need it most. AI agents and automated workflows don’t operate on historical data; they require live operational signals, continuously flowing across the enterprise as events occur,” said Sanjeev Mohan, Principal Analyst, SanjMo. “IBM has made significant progress assembling a portfolio that addresses both sides of this equation: governance and infrastructure for data at rest, and a platform for data in motion. For enterprises whose architecture and priorities align with this approach, it is a compelling stack worth evaluating.”

Under the terms of the agreement, IBM has acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Confluent for $31 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately $11 billion.

For more information about today’s news, please visit https://www.ibm.com/products/confluent

[1] *Source: IDC, 1 Billion New Logical Applications: More Background, doc #US51953724, April 2024
[2 -5] *Source: Confluent Case Studies & Testimonials
https://www.confluent.io/customers/michelin/
https://www.confluent.io/customers/loreal/
https://www.confluent.io/customers/bmw-group/
https://www.confluent.io/customers/ticketmaster/

About IBM  
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Press Contact
Sarah Benchaita
IBM Software Communications
sarah.benchaita@ibm.com  

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this communication may be characterized as forward-looking under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Forward‑looking statements in this press release may include statements regarding the expected benefits of the transaction, the impact of the transaction on IBM’s and the acquired business’s operations and financial results, and expectations following the completion of the transaction. There can be no assurance that the anticipated benefits of the transaction will be realized. All forward‑looking statements are based on information available to IBM as of the date of this press release. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in IBM’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10‑K and Quarterly Report on Form 10‑Q. IBM undertakes no obligation to update forward‑looking statements, except as required by law.

 

RoboSense Driving Ecosystem Deployment with Global Partners at NVIDIA GTC 2026

SHENZHEN, China, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — RoboSense (HKEX: 2498), an AI-driven robotics technology company, today demonstrated the extensive commercial footprint of its collaboration with NVIDIA at GTC 2026. As a core partner across the NVIDIA Jetson, DRIVE, and Omniverse ecosystems, the company’s advanced digital LiDAR products are now the preferred perception solutions for a massive lineup of strategic partners in the automotive and robotics sectors. This widespread adoption underscores RoboSense’s comprehensive commercialization capabilities and its powerhouse status in bringing Physical AI to market.

Driving the L4 Revolution

NVIDIA announced the expansion of its Robotaxi Ready platform. RoboSense sits at the heart of this expansion, with the platform now aggregating a powerhouse network of mutual partners, including:

  • Global OEMs & Mobility Giants: BYD, Geely, Toyota and Lucid.
  • L4 Autonomous Driving Leaders: Pony.ai, WeRide, and Momenta.

The combination of RoboSense’s digital LiDAR suite—comprising thousand-beam long-range LiDAR and specialized blind-spot LiDAR—integrated with the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor platform, has proven to be the industry’s optimal architecture for next-generation autonomous driving systems. At GTC, WeRide and Pony.ai showcased flagship Robotaxis equipped with this integrated solution, signaling Robosense as an enabler powering the robotaxi shift toward global commercial scale.

Powering Next-Gen Consumer EVs

In the passenger vehicle sector, RoboSense and NVIDIA are ensuring premium smart driving experiences. Key highlights at the GTC include:

  • ZEEKR 8X & 9X: These flagship models utilize the powerful combination of NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor and the RoboSense EM4, providing necessary perception redundancy for high-level autonomous driving, ensuring safety and reliability in complex urban driving scenarios.

Empowering Embodied AI and Robotics

Beyond the road, the synergy extends to the burgeoning field of humanoid and industrial robotics through the NVIDIA Jetson and Omniverse ecosystems. RoboSense’s LiDARs serve as the “eyes” for a new generation of physical AI, with active deployments from partners including:

  • Humanoid & Robotics: Agibot, Unitree, Galbot, Agile Robots, and Neura Robotics.

From automotive to robotics, and from perception to computation, RoboSense is jointing forces with NVIDIA to deliver the technological synergy required to bring Physical AI into daily life.

DeepRoute.ai Presents 40B Vision-Language-Action Foundation Model at NVIDIA GTC 2026, Accelerating Autonomous Driving at Scale

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At NVIDIA GTC 2026, DeepRoute.ai presented a comprehensive introduction to its 40-billion-parameter Vision-Language-Action (VLA) Foundation Model architecture, representing a fundamental breakthrough in autonomous driving development. The model introduces a unified architecture that integrates perception, reasoning, and action, enabling systems not only to drive, but to understand and evaluate their own decision-making in real time.

Photo 1
Photo 1

DeepRoute.ai has already achieved significant commercial success, having delivered its advanced autonomous driving systems across more than 250,000 production vehicles. In October 2025, DeepRoute.ai captured nearly 40% market share among third-party suppliers in the high-level autonomous driving segment for a single month. Building on this momentum and fueled by the continuous evolution of its Foundation Model, the company is targeting deployment of one million vehicles equipped with its advanced driving solutions by the end of 2026.

Breaking the Bottleneck: From Days to Hours

Autonomous driving development has long been hampered by the inefficiencies of traditional “data closed-loop” workflows. In conventional systems, data must be manually collected, reviewed, annotated, and retrained—a process that typically requires more than five days per iteration. Meanwhile, companies accumulate vast volumes of raw driving data, most consisting of routine scenarios that offer limited training value and can even degrade model performance.

“At its core, autonomous driving is a scaling problem,” said Tongyi Cao, CTO of DeepRoute.ai. “While the industry has made significant progress, true large-scale deployment remains elusive because traditional execution paths are flawed. The bottleneck is no longer about acquiring data; it is about how efficiently a system can filter out the noise and convert massive amounts of raw data into high-value training samples.”

DeepRoute.ai’s solution: compress the data processing cycle from over five days to approximately 12 hours through intelligent automation.

Photo 2
Photo 2

One Model, Three Roles: Driver, Analyst, and Critic

The 40B VLA Foundation Model performs three complementary functions simultaneously:

The Driver – Executes real-time driving actions based on visual inputs

The Analyst – Identifies critical driving events and explains decisions through causal reasoning

The Critic – Evaluates trajectories for safety, comfort, and human-like behavior

“Our solution to the industry’s scaling bottleneck is a unified, 40-billion parameter Vision-Language-Action Foundation Model,” Cao explained. “This model goes beyond basic vehicle control. It possesses the capability to analyze data and evaluate driving behavior. Simply put, this model serves not only as the ‘driver,’ but simultaneously as the ‘analyst’ and the ‘critic.'”

By embedding these capabilities within a single foundation model, DeepRoute.ai has automated large portions of the data pipeline. The system autonomously identifies high-value events such as near-misses and rare scenarios, performs root-cause analysis, and generates reasoning annotations, all without manual intervention.

A Self-Evolving Data Flywheel

The architecture enables a self-reinforcing development cycle where improvements in driving performance directly enhance the system’s ability to process and curate its own training data.

“Traditional data closed loops are highly dependent on manual human processes, which severely limits iteration speed,” said Cao. “By leveraging our Foundation Model, we have entirely reconstructed this workflow. The model autonomously handles data mining, reason diagnosis, and behavior scoring. Every single iteration of this workflow compounds directly into a measurable enhancement of our AI capabilities.”

This self-evolving flywheel accelerates capability growth while dramatically reducing reliance on manual labeling.

Photo 3
Photo 3

Scale and Momentum: 250K to 1M Vehicles

“By the end of 2025, we successfully delivered over 250,000 mass-produced vehicles equipped with DeepRoute.ai’s autonomous driving systems,” Cao said. “The Foundation Model serves as the core cornerstone for DeepRoute.ai’s next-generation autonomous driving assistance and functions as a fundamental AI framework for the physical world. This unified architecture enables the system to go beyond mere execution; it understands complex traffic environments, explains the underlying logic of its decisions, and evaluates driving behaviors. This evolution provides its autonomous driving systems with more comprehensive cognitive and decision-making capabilities.”

Photo 4
Photo 4

Through its presentation at GTC 2026, DeepRoute.ai demonstrated how its 40B Vision-Language-Action Foundation Model architecture is accelerating the path to scalable, safe autonomous driving through continuous, data-driven learning and rapid iteration cycles.

About DeepRoute.ai

DeepRoute.ai is a leading artificial intelligence company developing advanced autonomous driving systems. Driven by the vision of achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for the physical world, the company leverages state-of-the-art foundation models to deliver highly reliable, safety-first autonomous driving solutions. Backed by top-tier investors with over $700 million in funding, DeepRoute.ai has successfully deployed its systems across more than 200,000 mass-produced consumer vehicles. By prioritizing scalable and innovative smart mobility, the company is establishing a robust foundation to pioneer the future of commercial Robotaxi operations.

Innorna Announces FDA Clearance of IND for IN026, Advancing mRNA-based Therapies into Chronic Metabolic Diseases

IN026 is a potential first-in-class mRNA therapy for refractory gout, marking the emergence of a new category of mRNA medicines enabled by Innorna’s proprietary mRNA–LNP platform.

HONG KONG SAR, China and SHENZHEN, China and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Innorna, a clinical‑stage biotech company advancing RNA medicines, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for IN026, an investigational mRNA-based therapy for refractory gout. The IND clearance enables the company to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of IN026 in this currently underserved patient population.

IN026 delivers mRNA encoding urate oxidase (uricase; UOX) to the liver to enable systemic uric acid breakdown.

“Refractory gout remains a severely debilitating condition, and existing biologic treatments are limited by immunogenicity, tolerability challenges, and diminishing efficacy over time. We are proud to advance IN026 into clinical development as a potential first-in-class investigational mRNA therapeutic designed to overcome these limitations,” said Michael Beckert, Chief Medical Officer of Innorna.

“We founded Innorna on the conviction that mRNA, as a new modality, can achieve what existing therapeutic approaches cannot,” said Dr. Linxian Li, Founder and CEO of Innorna. “With IN026 advancing into clinical development, we are pioneering a new chapter for mRNA-based protein-replacement therapies engineered for repeated administration and long-term control of chronic diseases.”

About Refractory Gout

Refractory or difficult‑to‑treat gout refers to patients who continue to experience frequent flares, progressive tophi, or cannot achieve target serum urate despite guideline‑directed urate‑lowering therapy, representing a population with substantial unmet medical need. In 2026, refractory gout is estimated to affect approximately 1.9 million people worldwide, representing about 3% of all gout patients.

About IN026

IN026 is an investigational mRNA-based therapy designed to treat refractory gout by delivering mRNA encoding urate oxidase (uricase; UOX) to the liver, where expressed UOX facilitates systemic uric acid breakdown. Engineered on Innorna’s proprietary mRNA–lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform for repeat administration and long-term disease control, IN026 represents a potential first-in-class approach to mRNA-based protein-replacement therapy for refractory gout and other chronic metabolic diseases.

About Innorna

Innorna is a clinical‑stage biotech advancing RNA medicines by accelerating a virtuous cycle of platform and pipeline innovation—improving lives worldwide. Backed by a substantial and growing intellectual property portfolio, the company has built a proprietary, differentiated RNA delivery and engineering platform spanning a rationally designed library of over 6,000 chemically diverse ionizable lipids, targeted LNP delivery systems, and mRNA technologies. Its vertically integrated capabilities, from discovery through cGMP manufacturing, enable deep technical expertise, accelerated development, and strong capital efficiency. Innorna is advancing a robust mRNA pipeline across chronic disease therapeutics, in vivo immunotherapies, and vaccines. Innorna has raised $150 million to date and is well capitalized through key clinical milestones. The company continues to explore strategic financing and partnership opportunities to accelerate its broader programs.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company’s business and industry and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in market conditions, regulatory developments, competition, technological changes, operational risks and other factors beyond the Company’s control. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law.

Dazuma Expands IP65 Protection Across Outdoor Lighting Collection as Demand for Waterproof Fixtures Grows

HONG KONG, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As outdoor living spaces continue to gain popularity among homeowners, demand for reliable and weather-resistant lighting has increased significantly. In response to this trend, Dazuma has expanded IP65 protection across a broader range of its outdoor lighting collection, reinforcing the brand’s long-standing focus on durability, safety, and consistent product quality.

Dazuma Outdoor IP65 Waterproof Lighting Collection
Dazuma Outdoor IP65 Waterproof Lighting Collection

Dazuma has observed a clear rise in demand for waterproof outdoor lighting, reflected in increased customer inquiries about IP ratings, closer comparisons of technical specifications during the buying process, and growing interest in fixtures designed for long-term outdoor use. According to the company, buyers today are more likely to review technical specifications before making a purchase, with IP65 protection becoming one of the most frequently requested features for outdoor lighting.

IP65 is widely recognized as a high level of protection, meaning a fixture is fully protected against dust intrusion and resistant to water jets from multiple directions, making it suitable for everyday outdoor use. Because lighting installed on exterior walls, walkways, and garden areas must withstand rain, dust, and humidity, more homeowners now pay close attention to waterproof ratings, often using IP codes as a key reference when comparing outdoor fixtures.

“As outdoor living continues to grow in popularity, customers are paying closer attention to durability and waterproof performance when selecting outdoor lighting,” said a spokesperson for Dazuma. “Expanding IP65 protection across more of our outdoor lighting collection helps ensure our products can perform reliably in real-world outdoor environments.”

In response to evolving customer expectations, Dazuma has expanded IP65 protection across a wider range of its outdoor lighting products, including:

This approach helps maintain consistent protection standards across different product categories while ensuring dependable performance in a variety of outdoor environments.

To support this expansion, Dazuma has refined its sourcing strategy and strengthened coordination with supply partners to ensure more outdoor lighting designs meet consistent protection requirements. The company has introduced clearer waterproof performance guidelines for exterior fixtures, requiring suppliers to provide detailed technical specifications and IP test documentation based on recognized protection standards. Products intended for outdoor use are also reviewed more carefully during the selection process, with IP65 ratings becoming an important reference when evaluating durability and suitability for real-world environments.

At the same time, Dazuma has worked more closely with its supply partners to align product requirements across different categories. By maintaining regular communication on technical specifications, confirming protection levels during product development, and applying more unified evaluation criteria, the company aims to ensure that outdoor wall lights, pathway lights, garden fixtures, and other exterior lighting designs meet consistent IP65 expectations while maintaining the overall style and variety of the collection.

The company noted that this move reflects its long-term commitment to product quality rather than a short-term adjustment. Over the years, Dazuma has continued refining its outdoor lighting designs to improve resistance to weather, corrosion, and environmental wear. Expanding IP65 protection across a broader range of fixtures is seen as a natural step in maintaining consistent quality across the brand’s growing outdoor lighting lineup.

Looking ahead, Dazuma plans to gradually make IP65 protection a standard feature across its outdoor lighting collection, ensuring that fixtures designed for exterior use meet reliable performance expectations by default. As customer requirements continue to evolve, the company also expects to explore higher protection ratings for products intended for more demanding outdoor environments.

About Dazuma

Founded in France in 2016, Dazuma is a lighting and home décor brand focused on providing modern, functional, and well-designed products for indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Supported by a global supply chain, the company offers a wide range of lighting solutions, including indoor and outdoor lighting, wall lights, ceiling lights, ceiling fans, and decorative lamps, serving both homeowners and business customers across the United States. Dazuma is committed to delivering reliable quality at competitive prices while also providing customized lighting solutions for large-scale projects and B2B customers.

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