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World Phygital Community Announces Global Qualifying Tournament Season 2025/2026

Season anticipated to be biggest ever before the Games of the Future 2026 in Kazakhstan

HONG KONG, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the World Phygital Community (WPC) announces the 2025/2026 ranking tournament season for athletes and clubs aiming to qualify for the Games of the Future in Kazakhstan next year. Running from August 1st to December 15th, 2025, the tournaments hosted by WPC members worldwide, will provide the opportunity for clubs and athletes to show their prowess in phygital sports and qualify to compete at the largest global phygital sport’s event next year.

 

An overview of the WPC ranking tournaments around the world

During the season, phygital competitors will participate in a round of regional tournaments within each participating country called Phygital Origins, followed by national tournaments, which are called Phygital Rivals.

Dan Merkley, Chairperson of the WPC, said, “This new season will be the biggest ever. With 96 World Phygital Community members across 92 countries, this is the chance for anyone who wants to be part of this fast-growing phenomenon to step up and prove themselves. Phygital sport is for everyone, and we are eager to see which phygital superstars emerge this season.”

Tournaments can feature the following core disciplines: Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, Phygital Shooter and Phygital Dancing. The first three consist of two stages—a digital round, where athletes compete in a video game version of the discipline, followed by a physical round, where they face off in a real-world version of the discipline. Phygital Dancing tournaments use well-known dancing video games to deliver the phygital experience in a single stage.

Following conclusion of these tournaments in December, rankings are calculated and the top two clubs and athletes in each discipline will go straight through to the Games of the Future 2026, while clubs and athletes placed 3rd – 26th will go through to the Phygital Contenders tournament to fight for their place at the event.

Prior to the season starting, all WPC members can apply to host Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals tournaments from May 1st till July 31st, 2025.

Notes to Editors:

About the World Phygital Community (WPC):

The World Phygital Community (WPC) is a non-profit, international organization that aims to promote phygital sport worldwide by uniting physical and digital communities globally. It is responsible for providing guardianship of the rules and regulations of phygital sport and hosting the Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals. The winners from the Phygital Origins progress to the Phygital Rivals, facing other Phygital Origins winners, for a chance to compete at the Games of the Future.

For more information please visit: https://worldphygital.org/

About the Games of the Future (GOTF):
 
The Games of the Future is an annual international event that fuses the worlds of physical and digital and is the pinnacle of phygital sport. The tournament brings together the next generation of phygital sporting heroes from all over the world to compete in a diverse range of phygital disciplines and challenges. The Games of the Future 2025 will be held in the UAE while The Games of the Future 2026 will be held in Kazakhstan.

For more information please visit: https://gofuture.games/

Phygital athletes competing in the digital part of a phygital ranking tournament.
Phygital athletes competing in the digital part of a phygital ranking tournament.

 

Phygital athletes competing in the physical part of a phygital ranking tournament.
Phygital athletes competing in the physical part of a phygital ranking tournament.

 

 

Strategic Planning, Governance, and Process Orchestration Critical to AI Implementation Success, SS&C’s Global Survey Finds

WINDSOR, Conn., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) today announced findings from a new survey: governance, process orchestration and strategic planning are critical to ensuring successful AI implementation. Conducted by SS&C Blue Prism in December, the 2025 Global Enterprise AI survey gathered insights from 1,650 CEOs, CTOs and IT leaders across financial services and healthcare enterprises in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

“AI adoption is advancing rapidly. Success depends on careful strategic planning, ethical governance, and workforce readiness,” said Rob Stone, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SS&C’s Intelligent Automation and Analytics business. “Organizations realize these foundations are critical to minimizing risk inefficiencies and security vulnerabilities. Investing in upskilling, building ethical frameworks, and adopting enabling technologies such as process orchestration helps ensure long-term success and maximize opportunities.”

Key findings from the report include:

  • Process Orchestration is Fundamental: Nearly 94% of respondents emphasized the importance of process orchestration as a core part of the technology stack to enable seamless, end-to-end AI management.
  • Data Challenges Persist: 44% of organizations surveyed reported a lack of systems to effectively move large data sets, and 41% struggled with inaccurate and inconsistent data
  • Workforce transformation is underway: 84% of business leaders recognize AI’s potential to disrupt traditional practices and unlock innovative ways of working. Around 40% of businesses are upskilling employees for new or expanded roles.
  • Employees See Growth Opportunities: AI implementation is creating room for career growth, with 40% of employees anticipating new AI-specific jobs, 34% focused on assisting AI adoption, and 31% engaging in more creative and strategic work.
  • Assessing AI’s Value is Critical: While 88% of organizations surveyed are closely measuring the value derived from AI, only 36% reported consistent, recognizable value from their AI implementations, highlighting the need to refine adoption strategies.
    Agentic AI is here: Autonomous automation is being adopted by 29% of respondents, with another 44% planning to implement it over the next year. However, 78% don’t fully trust the technology, indicating the need for additional tools to provide checks and balances.

Among the key challenges hindering AI adoption, security and compliance concerns rank the highest at 37%, underscoring the critical need for organizations to safeguard sensitive data while adhering to ever-evolving regulations. Closely following, skills and expertise shortages (35%) highlight the growing demand for professionals equipped with specialized knowledge to develop, deploy, and manage AI solutions effectively. Additionally, integration and migration complexities (35%) represent a significant barrier, as businesses grapple with merging advanced AI systems into existing infrastructure without disrupting operations. Addressing these challenges requires a proactive approach to balance robust security protocols, targeted workforce development, and streamlined implementation strategies.

“Striking the right balance between speed, governance, and strategic alignment is crucial,” Stone added. “The enterprise AI revolution is here. Unlocking its full potential depends on holistic, sustainable adoption strategies.”

Click here to download the full report.

Learn more about SS&C Blue Prism Enterprise AI solutions here.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C is a global provider of services and software for the financial services and healthcare industries. Founded in 1986, SS&C is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut, and has offices around the world. More than 22,000 financial services and healthcare organizations, from the world’s largest companies to small and mid-market firms, rely on SS&C for expertise, scale and technology.

Additional information about SS&C (Nasdaq: SSNC) is available at www.ssctech.com.

Follow SS&C on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Youdao Filed 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F

HANGZHOU, China, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Youdao, Inc. (“Youdao” or the “Company”) (NYSE: DAO), an AI-powered solutions provider specializing in artificial intelligence applications for the learning and advertising verticals, today announced that the Company had filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the full year ended December 31, 2024 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The annual report is available on the Company’s investor relations website at ir.youdao.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company will provide hard copies of the annual report, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon written request. Requests should be directed to Investor Relations, Youdao, Inc., No. 399 Wangshang Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou 310051, People’s Republic of China.

About Youdao, Inc.

Youdao, Inc. (NYSE: DAO) is strategically positioned as an AI-powered solutions provider specializing in artificial intelligence applications for the learning and advertising verticals. Youdao now mainly offers learning services, online marketing services and smart devices – all powered by cutting-edge technologies. Youdao was founded in 2006 as part of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES; HKEX: 9999), a leading internet technology company in China.

For more information, please visit: http://ir.youdao.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:
Jeffrey Wang
Youdao, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-8255-8163 ext. 89980
E-mail: IR@rd.netease.com

Piacente Financial Communications
Helen Wu
Tel: +86-10-6508-0677
E-mail: youdao@thepiacentegroup.com

In the United States:
Piacente Financial Communications
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
E-mail: youdao@thepiacentegroup.com

ALERT: Tariffs Pose No Material Impact to Highway Holdings’ Business

HONG KONG, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Highway Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: HIHO, the “Company” or “Highway Holdings”) today confirmed it does not expect a material impact from the recent imposition of higher U.S. tariffs on imports into the U.S. from China. The Company had less than 4% of its total products exported to the U.S. over the last twelve months, with approximately 3% from China and approximately 1% from Myanmar, and the Company has no present dependence on the U.S. market.

Roland Kohl, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Highway Holdings, commented, “The recent imposition of higher tariffs worldwide by the U.S., and on imports from China in particular, has caused undue concern for our shareholders regarding the impacts on the Company. The reality is that almost all of our revenue is generated from customers in Europe, with less than 4% of our products exported to the U.S. over the last twelve months and no dependence on the U.S. market.”

“The other reality is that higher tariffs on imports from China into the U.S. should help to improve our business in Myanmar, as Chinese companies affected by these tariffs may look to shift production to countries like Myanmar, which has substantially lower tariff rates. As a result, this is a very exciting time because such actions may benefit rather than harm a truly international company such as we are. We hope this helps clarify our unique position for shareholders as they continue to support the company.”

About Highway Holdings Limited

Highway Holdings is an international manufacturer of a wide variety of quality parts and products for blue chip equipment manufacturers based primarily in Germany. Highway Holdings’ administrative offices are located in Hong Kong and its manufacturing facilities are located in Yangon, Myanmar and Shenzhen, China. For more information visit website www.highwayholdings.com

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements., These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, tariffs, changes in the global trade environment, competitive pressures, governmental, political and technological factors affecting the company’s revenues, operations, markets factors, and other factors discussed in the company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, the company’s annual reports on Form 20-F.

Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Digital Asset Analysts Officially Launched to Establish HK as Global Hub for Digital Asset Talent


HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 April 2025 – The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Digital Asset Analysts (HKCDAA) held its grand inauguration ceremony at the China Everbright Centre in Wan Chai, marking the official opening of its headquarters. The event was led by Dr. Anthony Neoh, Honorary Chairman of HKCDAA, former Chairman of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and former Chief Advisor to China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Distinguished guests from government agencies, financial institutions, and the virtual asset industry gathered to witness this milestone. Following the ceremony, participants engaged in a productive seminar on “Web3 Digital Asset Talent Standards in Hong Kong.”

Inauguration Ceremony: A New Chapter for Digital Asset Professional Certification
Established in September 2023, HKCDAA aims to become the premier global association for digital asset analysts, supporting the Hong Kong SAR Government’s strategic vision of building an international virtual asset hub. Guided by the principle of “leading global innovation in digital assets,” the institute is committed to establishing an authoritative professional certification system for the industry. The opening of its new headquarters represents a significant step forward in promoting standardized and professional development of Hong Kong’s digital asset sector.

Dr. Anthony Neoh stated during the ceremony, “As an international financial center, Hong Kong is actively embracing the future of Web3.0 and digital assets. The establishment of HKCDAA will cultivate more professionals with deep theoretical knowledge and practical expertise, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as a leading global digital asset hub.”

Seminar: Advancing Web3 Digital Asset Talent Standards
Following the inauguration, HKCDAA hosted a high-level seminar on “Web3 Digital Asset Talent Standards in Hong Kong.” Discussions covered six key topics, including the current state of Hong Kong’s Web3.0 ecosystem, talent gaps and training mechanisms, corporate talent strategies, and policy recommendations. Attendees included government officials, financial institution representatives, academic experts, and industry leaders, all exploring ways to drive sustainable industry growth through standardized professional certification.

Dr. Yu Jianing, Director of HKCDAA, emphasized, “The rapid growth of the digital asset industry demands more interdisciplinary professionals. Through systematic training and certification, we aim to nurture experts with expertise in technology, finance, and legal compliance.” Participants also provided constructive suggestions on talent recruitment, qualification recognition, and tax incentives to support Hong Kong’s Web3 and digital asset policies.

HKCDAA’s Mission: Building a World-Class Digital Asset Certification System
The institute’s flagship program, the Chartered Digital Asset Analyst (CDAA) qualification, has been officially recognized by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), placing it alongside prestigious global certifications such as CFA and FRM. The three-tier examination covers digital asset fundamentals, blockchain technology, investment analysis, and risk management, designed to cultivate professionals at all levels.

The first CDAA examination will take place on June 28, 2025, at designated HKEAA test centers. To align with the Greater Bay Area talent development strategy and accommodate growing demand from mainland professionals and university students seeking opportunities in Hong Kong, HKCDAA is actively evaluating the feasibility of adding test centers in mainland China to facilitate cross-border talent mobility.

Mr. Romeo Wang, Executive Secretary-General of HKCDAA, remarked, “Amid the trend toward institutionalization and compliance in digital assets, we aim to supply the industry with qualified professionals through rigorous certification and industry collaboration. This will not only address talent shortages but also advance Hong Kong’s Web3.0 policies, solidifying its leadership as an international virtual asset center.”

Looking Ahead
The successful launch of HKCDAA and its inaugural seminar mark a major milestone in standardizing digital asset talent development in Hong Kong. Moving forward, the institute will continue collaborating with governments, enterprises, and academic institutions to position Hong Kong as a global nexus for Web3.0 and financial innovation.

Hashtag: #HongKongInstituteofCharteredDigitalAssetAnalysts #HKCDAA #web3.0 #virtualassets #crypto

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

About HKCDAA

Founded in September 2023, the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Digital Asset Analysts (HKCDAA) is dedicated to becoming the world’s leading professional body for digital asset analysts, supporting Hong Kong’s vision as an international virtual asset hub. As a platform for “leading global innovation in digital assets,” HKCDAA provides authoritative certification to foster the professional and standardized growth of the Web3.0 and digital asset industry.

Cheetah Mobile Files 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F

BEIJING, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cheetah Mobile Inc. (“Cheetah Mobile” or the “Company”) (NYSE: CMCM), a China-based IT company, today announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15, 2025.

The annual report can be accessed on the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.cmcm.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov

About Cheetah Mobile Inc.

Cheetah Mobile is a China-based IT company with a commitment to AI innovation. It has attracted hundreds of millions of users through an array of internet products and services on PCs and mobile devices. At the same time, it actively engages in the independent research and development of AI technologies, including LLM technologies. Cheetah Mobile provides advertising services to advertisers worldwide, value-added services including the sale of premium membership to its users, multi-cloud management platform to companies globally, as well as service robots to international clients. Cheetah Mobile is also committed to leveraging its cutting-edge AI technologies, including LLM technologies, to empower its products and make the world smarter. It has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2014.

Investor Relations Contact

Helen Jing Zhu
Cheetah Mobile Inc.
Tel: +86 10 6292 7779
Email: ir@cmcm.com  

NetEase, Inc. Announces Filing of Annual Report on Form 20-F for Fiscal Year 2024

HANGZHOU, China, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES and HKEX: 9999, “NetEase” or “the Company”), a leading internet and game services provider, today announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The annual report can be accessed on the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.netease.com/.

The Company will provide a hard copy of its annual report containing the audited consolidated financial statements, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests should be directed to the IR Department, NetEase, Inc., NetEase Building, No. 399 Wangshang Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou, 310052, People’s Republic of China at the contact information listed below.

About NetEase, Inc.

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES and HKEX: 9999, “NetEase”) is a leading internet and game services provider centered around premium content. With extensive offerings across its expanding gaming ecosystem, the Company develops and operates some of the most popular and longest running mobile and PC games available in China and globally.

Powered by one of the largest in-house game R&D teams focused on mobile, PC and console, NetEase creates superior gaming experiences, inspires players, and passionately delivers value for its thriving community worldwide. By infusing play with culture, and education with technology, NetEase transforms gaming into a meaningful vehicle to build a more entertaining and enlightened world.

Beyond games, NetEase service offerings include its majority-controlled subsidiaries Youdao (NYSE: DAO), an intelligent learning and advertising solutions provider, and NetEase Cloud Music (HKEX: 9899), a well-known online music platform featuring a vibrant content community, as well as Yanxuan, NetEase’s private label consumer lifestyle brand.

For more information, please visit: http://ir.netease.com/.

Contact for Media and Investors:

Investor Relations
Email: ir@service.netease.com
Tel: (+86) 571-8985-3378

CleverTap Acquires rehook.ai to Strengthen AI-Driven Promotions and Customer Retention Capabilities

The integration of rehook.ai’s innovative promotions engine unifies analytics, engagement, and promotions, boosting AI-driven campaigns and customer retention

SAN FRANCISCO and MUMBAI, India, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CleverTap, the all-in-one engagement and retention platform, today announced the acquisition of rehook.ai, a Y Combinator-backed startup. rehook.ai offers a promotions automation solution, empowering businesses to manage coupons, discounts, gamification, loyalty programs, and referral initiatives. This acquisition strengthens CleverTap’s complete suite for customer retention, merging analytics, engagement, and promotions into a single unified offering.

CleverTap
CleverTap

With rehook.ai now part of CleverTap, brands can unlock an enhanced ability to create, distribute, track, and optimize diverse promotional campaigns—ultimately increasing conversions and improving user retention. Brands will be able to address a broader range of customer needs throughout the user lifecycle—from initial acquisition and onboarding to retention and loyalty. The addition of rehook.ai’s real-time promotional data will also enhance CleverTap customers’ ability to trigger timely offers based on user behavior and context, resulting in more meaningful customer relationships.

Anand Jain, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, CleverTap, said, “We’re excited to welcome rehook.ai to the CleverTap family. This acquisition enhances our engagement ecosystem, helping businesses drive retention with greater precision. This allows us to unlock multiple use cases across industries like gaming, retail, and financial services. It not only strengthens our ability to support businesses in crafting deeply personalized, AI-driven experiences but also opens up new opportunities for cross-selling and upselling integrated promotions management. Ultimately, it’s about helping our customers maximize lifetime value, drive sustainable growth, and build stronger, more loyal relationships with their users.”

Akhil Suhag, CEO and Co-founder at rehook.ai, added, “We started with a vision of helping businesses make promotions smarter, more dynamic, and truly impactful. Now, as we join forces with CleverTap, we have the scale and reach to bring this vision to a global audience. Beyond that, their deep expertise in segmentation, real-time analytics, and engagement will enhance how we power personalized promotions, making them even more effective. Together, we’re setting a new standard for AI-driven, deeply personalized marketing that delivers measurable business impact.”

With this acquisition, CleverTap continues to demonstrate its commitment to evolving beyond pure engagement tools—creating a complete customer retention ecosystem that unites data, insights, and incentives within one powerful framework.

About CleverTap

CleverTap is the leading all-in-one customer engagement platform that helps brands unlock limitless customer lifetime value. CleverTap is trusted by over 2000 brands like Decathlon, Domino’s, Levis, Jio, Emirates NBD, Puma, Croma (A Tata Enterprise), Swiggy, SonyLIV, Axis Bank, AirAsia, TD Bank, Ooredoo, and Tesco to help build personalized experiences for all their customers. The platform is powered by TesseractDB™ – the world’s first purpose-built database for customer engagement, offering speed and cost efficiency at scale.

Backed by top-tier investors such as Accel, Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, CDPQ and 360 One, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, with presence across Seattle, London, São Paulo, Bogota, Mexico, Amsterdam, Sofia, Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Delhi, Singapore, Vietnam, and Jakarta.

For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow us on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clevertap/

X: https://twitter.com/CleverTap

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap’s belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could result in the actual outcome being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release.

Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction.

rehook
rehook