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Pillar Biosciences, LC-SCRUM-Asia and LSI Medience Announce Liquid Biopsy Screening Collaboration in Lung Cancer

oncoReveal® Essential+ validated at LSI Medience for cfDNA/cfRNA screening in the LC-SCRUM-Asia project, with testing planned to begin in August 2026

NATICK, Mass. and TOKYO, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pillar Biosciences, Inc. (“Pillar”), LC-SCRUM-Asia and LSI Medience Corporation (“LSI Medience”) today announced a collaboration to support genomic screening of blood-based samples from patients with lung cancer as part of the LC-SCRUM-Asia project in Japan.

Following approval of a revision to the LC-SCRUM-Asia project protocol, the participating organizations plan to begin testing in August 2026. The project is expected to include approximately 2,000 patients over a two-year period.

Pillar’s oncoReveal® Essential+ assay has been validated at LSI Medience for use as a screening test for circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and cell-free RNA (cfRNA) samples collected from patients with lung cancer participating in the LC-SCRUM-Asia project. Testing will be performed by LSI Medience to support identification of genomic alterations relevant to the project’s research objectives.

“LC-SCRUM-Asia has established an important collaborative framework for advancing precision oncology research in lung cancer,” said Daniel Harma, Chief Commercial Officer, Pillar Biosciences. “We are pleased that oncoReveal Essential+ has been validated at LSI Medience for screening both cfDNA and cfRNA samples and look forward to supporting this large-scale project in Japan.”

“Rapid and reliable genomic testing is essential for identifying patients who may benefit from biomarker-driven clinical studies and emerging precision therapies,” said Dr. Koichi Goto of LC-SCRUM-Asia. “The use of oncoReveal® Essential+ through LSI Medience will provide the LC-SCRUM-Asia network with a highly accurate and accessible liquid biopsy solution for analyzing cfDNA and cfRNA from patients with non-small cell lung cancer, while supporting the rapid turnaround needed for clinical research.”

Supporting blood-based genomic screening in lung cancer
Liquid biopsy testing can enable genomic analysis from blood samples when tissue is limited or when a minimally invasive sampling approach is desirable. By combining analysis of cfDNA and cfRNA, the LC-SCRUM-Asia project is designed to support broad screening for genomic alterations in patients with lung cancer.

The planned use of oncoReveal Essential+ within the LC-SCRUM-Asia project reflects the assay’s ability to support targeted NGS analysis from blood-based specimens within a decentralized laboratory workflow.

About LC-SCRUM-Asia

LC-SCRUM-Asia is a large-scale lung cancer genomic screening and clinical research network led by the National Cancer Center Hospital East in Japan. The project brings together medical institutions, diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and other research partners to identify genomic alterations in patients with lung cancer and facilitate the development and delivery of biomarker-driven therapies. Through comprehensive molecular screening and collaboration across participating institutions, LC-SCRUM-Asia seeks to advance precision medicine and expand clinical research opportunities for patients with lung cancer.

About LSI Medience Corporation

LSI Medience Corporation, a Japanese subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation, was established in 1975. With clinical testing as its primary business, LSI Medience develops new solutions by leveraging the analytical capabilities it has built across a broad range of testing fields. The company contributes to disease prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment and is actively engaged in initiatives supporting next-generation healthcare, including personalized medicine. For more information, visit www.medience.co.jp/english/.

About Pillar Biosciences

Pillar Biosciences is a global provider of next-generation sequencing (NGS) kitted solutions designed to deliver high analytical performance and operational efficiency for cancer testing. Powered by proprietary SLIMamp® and PiVAT® technologies, Pillar enables localized testing to expand access to complex molecular diagnostics worldwide. The company offers a growing portfolio of IVD and RUO NGS kits targeting tumor profiling, biomarker analysis, and molecular research and monitoring applications. Pillar’s solutions are built to provide laboratories and pharmaceutical partners with reliable, reproducible results while improving workflow efficiency across clinical and research settings. For more information, visit pillarbiosci.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

SuperX’s Japan Global Supply Center has Delivered Pro6000 Servers Worth US$31 Million and Secured New Orders

SINGAPORE, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SuperX AI Technology Limited (“SuperX” or the “Company”), a full-stack AI infrastructure solutions provider, announces the latest business milestone achieved by its Japan Global Supply Center, the Company’s core local hub for expanding presence in Japan’s computing infrastructure market. On July 9 and August 4, 2026, the Company entered into Phase 3 procurement contracts and Phase 4 Purchase Order, respectively, with Digital Dynamic Inc. (“DDI”), a Japan-based AI infrastructure company, via its partner, for the supply of Pro6000 servers. All equipment will be warehoused, allocated and delivered locally through the Japan Global Supply Center.

SuperX and DDI have secured four rounds of Purchase Orders in 2026. The first three orders were secured in January, April and July respectively, followed by a fourth new Purchase Order in August. Four successive capacity expansions within a single year fully demonstrate DDI’s recognition of SuperX’s product quality, delivery reliability and localized service capabilities, serving as solid evidence of the Company’s strengths in overseas computing hardware delivery. SuperX expects cumulative shipments to DDI to reach approximately US$38 million by the end of August 2026, of which approximately US$31 million has been shipped to date. Projects valued at around US$28 million are under phased production and sequential delivery, while new orders worth approximately US$20 million have been secured. The Company’s regional delivery capacity has been validated by the market, and its localized delivery model has entered large-scale operation.

Japan’s computing industry is accelerating the deployment of distributed AI infrastructure, with ongoing rollouts of data center operations, GPU cluster deployment and computing hosting projects. Market demand for bulk supply of high-performance servers, reliable product availability and rapid local response continues to climb. DDI has built a nationwide computing network across Japan, covering AI data center development and operation, hardware cluster asset management and commercial computing capacity provision. The company maintains sustained demand for stable supply of high-performance GPU hardware. This Phase 3 procurement contract and the Phase 4 Purchase Order, reflect the deepening long-term strategic partnership centered on localized delivery.

As SuperX’s pivotal local hub in Japan’s computing sector, the Japan Global Supply Center has established an integrated service ecosystem encompassing warehousing, bulk resource scheduling and local order fulfillment. Compared with conventional cross-border long-distance shipment models, the local hub significantly shortens equipment lead times, ensures on-time delivery of large-volume AI server orders, and caters precisely to local computing operators’ project schedules featuring phased rollouts and capacity expansion. Since commencing operations, the Center has continuously secured hardware orders from domestic computing service providers with steadily growing supply volumes.

The new contract and new orders demonstrate the expanding operational capacity of SuperX’s Japan Global Supply Center and further consolidate the Company’s service footprint in Japan’s local AI hardware delivery segment. Meanwhile, SuperX is actively onboarding more local computing clients, deepening regional market penetration and strengthening its market position within Japan’s AI infrastructure industry. Against the backdrop of rising demand for distributed AI computing infrastructure across Japan, SuperX will continue to optimize inventory scheduling, bulk delivery and supporting service frameworks at the Japan Global Supply Center and expand the scope of local order fulfillment. Leveraging its localized supply chain capabilities, SuperX will deliver consistent, efficient hardware support for regional AI infrastructure initiatives and steadily drive the expansion of its overseas computing infrastructure business.

About SuperX AI Technology Limited (NASDAQ: SUPX)

SuperX AI Technology Limited is an AI infrastructure solutions provider, offering a comprehensive portfolio of proprietary hardware, advanced software, and end-to-end services for AI data centers. The Company’s services include advanced solution design and planning, cost-effective infrastructure product integration, and end-to-end operations and maintenance. Its core products include high-performance AI servers, 800 Volts Direct Current (800VDC) solutions, high-density liquid cooling solutions, as well as AI cloud and AI agents. Headquartered in Singapore, the Company serves institutional clients globally, including enterprises, research institutions, and cloud and edge computing deployments. For more information, please visit www.superx.sg

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This press release may contain forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, we or our representatives may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the information currently available to us. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “contemplates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “plans,” “projected,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “hopes” or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including: our ability to change the direction of the Company; our ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; and the competitive environment of our business. These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement.

Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking events discussed in this press release, including delivery schedules, production capacity and order values, and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives, may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about us. Actual delivery schedules and the value of AI servers delivered may vary based on customer data center readiness and supply chain conditions. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives might not occur.

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CN Energy Group Announces Commencement of Production from Oil Well Investment Project in Cold Lake, Alberta

LISHUI, China, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CN Energy Group. Inc. (NASDAQ: CNEY) (“CNEY” or the “Company”) today announced that the oil well project in the Cold Lake region of Alberta, Canada, in which the Company’s Canadian wholly owned subsidiary, CNEY Canada Inc., holds an investment interest, has been completed and has commenced production.

Located in one of Canada’s major oil-producing regions, the project represents an important step in CNEY’s strategy to expand its North American energy operations and establish a platform integrating oil production, investment, trading and supply chain services.

Through Blessing Logistics Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CNEY Canada Inc., CNEY is leveraging local energy resources, investment capital, operational capabilities and industry relationships to develop an integrated platform covering oil well investment, crude oil production, transportation, trading and supply chain management.

Mr. Wenhua Liu, interim CEO of CNEY, stated:

“The successful commencement of production at the Cold Lake oil well project marks an important milestone in the execution of our North American energy strategy. We are expanding beyond our existing energy businesses into oil asset investment, production operations and supply chain services. By combining Canadian energy resources, institutional investment capital and experienced operating teams, we aim to build a scalable energy investment and supply chain platform that can generate new opportunities for long-term growth.”

Going forward, CNEY will continue to evaluate oil and gas opportunities in Canada and across North America, with a focus on projects supported by established infrastructure, stable resource conditions, experienced operators and reliable sales channels. The Company will also emphasize production management, cost control, environmental compliance, operational safety and supply chain risk management as it expands its North American energy platform.

About CN Energy Group. Inc.

CN Energy Group. Inc. is currently listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “CNEY.” CNEY has pioneered and specialized in producing high-quality recyclable activated carbon from raw carbon materials, converting harmful wastes into invaluable wealth and delivering significant financial, economic, environmental and ecologic benefits. CNEY’s products and services have been widely used by food and beverage producers, industrial and pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as environmental protection enterprises. CNEY also develops and provides customizable robotics products, automation tools, and related software solutions for small and medium-sized industrial, logistics, and service businesses in North America. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.cneny.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can generally be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance.

These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company’s plans to expand its North American energy operations, the development and expansion of its energy investment and supply chain platform, and its plans to continue evaluating oil and gas opportunities in Canada and across North America. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including market and commodity price conditions, operational performances, regulatory requirements, and the Company’s ability to successfully execute its business strategy.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them, except as required by law. Information on the Company’s website or social media is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

Apodex Launches TRACES, a Benchmark for Scientific Discovery

TRACES moves beyond static datasets and answer keys, testing whether AI can navigate real-world scientific environments, adapt to feedback and produce verifiable discoveries

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Apodex today introduced TRACES, a novel benchmark designed to evaluate AI on one of the hardest challenges in artificial intelligence: working on real-world problems where the answer may not yet be known.

Most AI benchmarks begin with an answer key. They measure whether a model can retrieve established knowledge, solve a predefined problem, write correct code or reproduce a known result. Scientific discovery is different. Researchers often begin without knowing the answer, and sometimes without knowing whether their initial hypothesis is correct. Progress may require searching vast bodies of evidence, using specialized tools, maintaining competing hypotheses, running experiments, learning from failure and repeatedly revising a line of inquiry before reaching a conclusion that can withstand verification. In some scientific problems, the ultimate answer may not become known until months or years later.

TRACES is designed for that world. Rather than treating a benchmark as a static dataset with hidden answers, TRACES transforms real-world problems into executable environments where AI systems can observe, act, use tools, learn from feedback and work toward verifiable outcomes. The process of such AI systems interacting with executable environments are also evaluated along six TRACES capabilities, novel evaluation metrics which we design specifically for the purpose of evaluating discoverative AI. Together, these real-world problems, executable environments and evaluation frameworks form the TRACES benchmark.

“TRACES is a benchmark designed specifically to evaluate progress in discoverative AI,” said Dr. Sheng Wang, Lead Scientist at Apodex, who leads discovery and evaluation. “It brings together sophisticated efforts in scouting high-value real-world problems, assembling the tools and data needed to build executable environments, and developing a novel scoring system that evaluates not only outcomes but also the discovery process. We believe TRACES represents an important milestone in the development of discoverative AI.”

Beyond Static Benchmarks: Toward Executable Environments

TRACES is built around a different conception of AI evaluation. Instead of presenting a model with a question and scoring only its final answer, a TRACES environment gives an AI system an environment in which to work. Depending on the problem, that environment may include scientific literature, structured datasets, code execution, specialized scientific tools, simulators, folding engines, experimental feedback or other interfaces. The system must decide what to do, interpret what happens, update its approach and continue working toward a verifiable outcome. The full trajectory can then be evaluated alongside the final result.

TRACES: Six Capabilities for Discovery

Discoverative AI aims at answering open-ended, high-value questions, many of which may lack outcome feedback. It is therefore essential to evaluate and verify the process of such systems, essential for the success of discoverative AI. To this end, within these environments, TRACES evaluates six capabilities Apodex considers fundamental to long-horizon, verifiable problem solving:

  • T — Tools: selecting, calling and correctly interpreting external tools
  • R — Repair: locating and correcting its own errors once feedback arrives
  • A — Alternatives: laying out competing hypotheses and keeping or discarding them as evidence accumulates
  • C — Coherence: holding state, constraints and logic intact across a long chain of work
  • E — Evidence: grounding every conclusion in observation, data, experiment or citation
  • S — Scope: stating the conditions under which a conclusion holds, and where it does not apply

“The TRACES process verification is what makes the benchmark unique,” said Brian Wang, AI Research Scientist at Apodex. “In scientific discovery, the answer is one line at the end of hundreds of judgments — what to try next, when the evidence is enough, when to abandon a hypothesis. The capability lives there, and scoring only the last line throws away almost all of it. Our TRACES verifier systematically scores the quality of process, which is essential for evaluating and improving AI systems for long-horizon, open-ended discoverative jobs.”

Together, these dimensions evaluate more than whether an AI produced the right final answer. They evaluate how the system got there. A scientifically plausible answer is not enough if the system used the wrong tool, ignored contradictory evidence, failed to consider alternative explanations or made a claim broader than its evidence supports. The objective is to evaluate both outcome and process — what the system discovered and whether the path it took supports the conclusion.

Verifying the Path, Not Only the Answer

In TRACES, AI systems are evaluated both by outcome and process verifiers. The outcome verifier grades a submission against hidden ground truth; the process evaluation asks whether the conclusion was earned — whether the path that produced it is one that would hold up on the next problem. Both matter, but for discoverative AI, process verification is arguably more important,  evaluating submissions along the six fundamental TRACES capabilities.

TRACES makes each of the generic capabilities concrete for different environments. Evidence fidelity (E), for instance, could take different forms: where a solver must propose a candidate that will later be tested in the physical world, it asks whether the proposal rests on a prediction the solver actually ran under its limited feedback budget rather than on asserted plausibility; where the deliverable is a report that must survive audit, it asks whether every figure traces to a procedure genuinely executed on the population it claims to describe. Decomposing TRACES capabilities into problem-specific atomic skills or subrubrics, TRACES verification offers targeted process evaluation and diagnostic feedback.

Evaluators do not assign a free-form score — they match observed evidence against explicit written descriptions of each scoring band, and every finding is anchored to specific steps in the recorded trajectory. An independent model then reviews the result, and disagreement triggers a re-score and final adjudication. Calibrations between process verification and hidden outcomes, and verification-repair loops are also carried out to ensure the validity of our process verifier.

Beyond What AI Knows: Measuring What It Can Discover

As AI moves deeper into science, the distinction between knowing and discovering becomes increasingly important. A model can summarize what humanity already knows about a disease and still fail to identify a new therapeutic opportunity. It can understand published protein science and still fail to design a biological candidate that works when tested. It can produce an elegant scientific explanation that collapses when confronted with new evidence. Discovery begins where the answer key ends. TRACES is Apodex’s attempt to evaluate AI at that boundary.

About Apodex

Apodex is building Discoverative AI: artificial intelligence that discovers unknown things from known knowledge, rather than just generating outputs from material already in the training distribution. At the core is the company’s Self-Evolving Solver, a system built for real-world problems: questions with no answer in any dataset, where every reasoning step can be audited, and every improvement is earned through verified discovery.

Apodex’s founding thesis is that scale and data alone cannot cross the barrier from pattern-matching to genuine discovery. Crossing it requires new ideas from neuroscience, information theory, physics, and formal verification — and the people sharp enough to bring them. Apodex is hiring across research, engineering, and open-source contributions. Learn more at www.apodex.com.

Participation and Access

TRACES is open for participation, and Apodex is actively seeking both solver systems to evaluate and new problems to build. Teams building a solver system — a model, a harness, an agent loop, or all three — can submit it for evaluation on our benchmark, including on the TRACES capabilities, through https://discovery.apodex.com/submit-solver.html. No integration work is required from the submitting team: every system enters through the same fixed episode interface, and Apodex performs that work in collaboration with the submitter. Researchers and organizations holding a consequential problem from their own field — one they believe an AI system should be able to attack — can propose it through https://discovery.apodex.com/submit-problem.html, and Apodex will work with them to turn it into an executable environment with both outcome and process verifiers.

For More Information

The complete framework, including the problem-scouting process behind the 423 high-value problems assembled from a survey of 561 industries across 16 sectors, the environment and episode design, the process metric, and full results, is documented in the following technical report and websites:

Explore TRACES and its environments 
Read the TRACES technical paper on arXiv 

Media Contact
TEAM LEWIS: apodex@teamlewis.com

EaseUS Releases New Update to Its Partition Manager Software – EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 with Smart Diagnostics for Detecting 13 Disk Issues & Maintaining Disk and System Health

NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EaseUS Software, a leading software provider of data recovery, data security, and disk management, announced the release of its reliable partition manager software, EaseUS Partition Master v20.8, with Smart Diagnostics for smarter, faster, and even more secure solutions for disk and system health. This new feature addresses 13 core scenarios, including C drive partition allocation, disk health, system boot, BitLocker control, and large-disk space management. The latest version of EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 provides users with rapid disk diagnostics and smart solutions to optimize their PC and disk performance.

EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 Major Update – Smart Diagnostics: One-Click to Detect and Address 13 Disk & System Issues

This Smart Diagnostics feature offers an easy, smart solution that helps users worldwide address 13 disk and system scenarios with 1 click. It addresses complicated disk and system issues with automated intelligent solutions.

  • Unallocated Partitions – Check for adjacent unallocated space to extend the C drive or an existing partition.
  • System Drive Space – Check if C drive free space is below 10GB or 20%, and offer app/data migration to free up space.
  • Boot Repair – Check for invalid or duplicate BCD/UEFI boot entries and identify potential boot issues.
  • Disk Health – Check S.M.A.R.T. indicators and monitor HDD, SSD, and external drive health.
  • Space Check – Check for low-space partitions and extend them with one click.
  • Large MBR Disk – Check for MBR disks over 2TB and convert them to GPT to use full capacity.
  • Large FAT32 Removable – Check large FAT32 external drives and offer conversion to exFAT for better compatibility and performance.
  • 4K Align – Check whether SSDs need 4K alignment for better performance.
  • Bootable Media – Check whether the C drive is BitLocker-protected and guide users to create bootable media to resolve BitLocker issues.
  • System Disk – Check whether the system disk is low-speed and offer OS migration to a faster SSD.
  • BitLocker Key Finder – Check for locked BitLocker partitions and offer one-click recovery key retrieval.
  • GPT for Win11 – Check whether the system disk uses GPT, as required by Windows 11.
  • Compatible for Win11 – Check Windows 11 hardware compatibility and provide a diagnostic report to prepare for upgrade or installation.

Smart C Drive and Partition Space Management

EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 works as a smart partition space manager to assist Windows users in detecting different types of disk partition issues, including:

  • C drive full
  • Low disk space error on C drive or disk drive
  • Not sufficient space on disk partition
  • Extend volume greyed out

This feature integrates with 3 tools – Unallocated Partition, System Drive Space, and Space Check to help Windows users extend C: drive or data partitions in just one click, regardless of whether the source disk has or doesn’t have unallocated space.

One-Click Disk Health Diagnostic with Complete Solutions

The v20.8 of EaseUS Partition Master covers 4 practical issues that most Windows owners often request solutions for:

  • PC or Windows boot failure, or boot issues
  • Not knowing whether a hard disk or SSD is healthy or not
  • Lack of a method to improve SSD speed
  • Having no idea if they need to upgrade or replace the system disk

To address these frequent system and disk issues, EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 introduces Boot Repair, Disk Health, 4K Align, and System Disk to help non-tech disk owners and Windows users manage their storage drives and systems like experts.

Smart & Complete BitLocker Manager

A wide range of Windows users report that their Windows 11 and even older Windows systems keep popping up BitLocker encryption issues, including:

  • BitLocker recovery key blue screen
  • BitLocker boot loop
  • Forgetting or not having a backup of the BitLocker recovery key or password
  • No access to disable BitLocker
  • Not knowing how to enable or disable BitLocker on older systems

In the Smart Diagnostics feature, users can utilize two practical tools: Bootable Media and BitLocker Key Finder to manage and address the BitLocker problems listed above.

Large Disk or Removable Device Optimizer

According to some storage device owners, it’s common to encounter these issues, such as:

  • Low file transfer speed on PC or external USB
  • Cannot create a partition bigger than 64GB in FAT32 format
  • Disk has high unallocated space but “New simple volume” is greyed out in Disk Management

The above issues can happen if disk drives are not using the proper file system or partition style. The Large MBR and Large FAT32 Removable features in Smart Diagnostics, powered by EaseUS Partition Master, can automatically detect your disk and volume, then convert the target disk or volume to the correct format to optimize disk performance.

Smart Windows 11 Update Assistant

Beyond solving partition space issues, monitoring disk health, managing BitLocker, and optimizing disk performance, the Smart Diagnostics feature in EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 also helps Windows users check whether their PCs’ hardware meets Windows 11 requirements and automatically converts the system disk to GPT for the Windows 11 update.

An Intelligent Way to Manage Disks and Get Rid of Modern Storage Challenges

EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 combines disk-management technology with 13 smart diagnostic scenarios, targeted solutions, and a user-first approach, bringing troubleshooting guidance directly to help users manage and optimize their storage devices with greater confidence.

It offers users less guesswork, faster diagnosis, and a more intelligent path from problem to solution, so as to manage modern Windows storage effortlessly.

For more information about EaseUS Partition Master v20.8 and its Smart Diagnostics major update, visit: https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/epm-pro.html  

About EaseUS Software

EaseUS, founded in 2004, is a leading software provider, offering data recovery, disk management, data backup services, and multimedia solutions to its global users. Trusted by millions of users across more than 160 countries and regions, EaseUS commits to delivering reliable, innovative, and user-friendly solutions to help individual and business users worldwide manage and protect their digital lives with ease. For more information, please visit: https://www.easeus.com.

Dubai Police Initiatives Drive $176.4 Million in Social Value and Gains in Safety, Wellbeing and the Economy, Study Reveals

DUBAI, UAE, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A study has estimated the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of 80 Dubai Police community initiatives at AED 647.9 million ($176.4 million), reflecting the wider social, economic and security value created for 3.8 million beneficiaries between 2017 and 2026.

Dubai Police Initiatives Drive $176.4 Million in Social Value and Gains in Safety, Wellbeing and Economy
Dubai Police Initiatives Drive $176.4 Million in Social Value and Gains in Safety, Wellbeing and Economy

Conducted by the Future Foresight Centre, the study examined initiatives across education, health, awareness and sport and measured their contribution to security, economic and social outcomes, including public safety, crime prevention, trust in police and quality of life.

The study found that economic and community contributions accounted for AED 542.7 million ($147.8 million) of the total SROI. Initiatives supporting quality of life generated AED 31.7 million ($8.6 million), while AED 62.8 million ($17.1 million) was attributed to initiatives contributing to public trust. A further AED 5 million ($1.36 million) was linked to community wellbeing, while AED 5.7 million ($1.55 million) came from initiatives promoting accessibility and opportunities for participation across society.

The research also examined statistical relationships between community initiatives and key security and social indicators. It found positive correlations of 0.44 with the Happiness Index, 0.45 with the Happiness, Security and Awareness Index, and 0.44 with enhanced perceptions of safety.

The analysis also identified inverse relationships with crime related indicators. Increased implementation of community initiatives coincided with lower levels of concerning crimes, recording a negative correlation of 0.41. The study also found a negative 0.796 correlation between customer happiness and crime rates.

Lieutenant General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, said the results reflect the effectiveness of developing sustainable community initiatives around society’s needs, while strengthening community partnerships and supporting quality of life. He described community initiatives as an important pillar of sustainable security, contributing to trust in police, perceptions of safety and crime prevention.

Among the initiatives assessed, ‘Positive Spirit’ initiative reached two million people, while Esaad benefited more than 1.15 million. Ride with Dubai Police reached 40,000 people, while activities associated with the UAE SWAT Challenge benefited 51,000.

The study also found that 7,189 volunteers contributed 249,916 hours between 2017 and 2026, generating estimated financial savings of AED 21.7 million ($5.9 million).

The findings show how sustained community engagement can translate into measurable social and economic value while supporting preventive security, stronger public trust, improved quality of life and greater social stability.

PROYA Partners with Ulta Beauty: Joining The Retailer’s Prestige Skincare Portfolio Later This Year

HANGZHOU, China, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PROYA, the flagship brand of Proya Cosmetics, has partnered with Ulta Beauty, the nation’s largest beauty retailer. PROYA will join Ulta Beauty as part of the retailer’s global prestige skincare lineup. This November, PROYA will officially launch its Advanced Firming and Original Repair collections in 400 Ulta Beauty stores nationwide and online at Ulta.com.


The collaboration marks a significant milestone in PROYA’s global expansion, as PROYA brings its cutting‑edge R&D and science‑led skincare philosophy to U.S. consumers, while further strengthening the presence of Chinese beauty in the global prestige skincare market.

Yuli Cai, Head of PROYA’s Overseas Business, said:

“Global expansion today is about far more than simply entering a new market. It means earning a lasting place in consumers’ daily skincare routines. Through our partnership with Ulta Beauty, we aim to bring a fresh perspective to global prestige skincare, delivering research-backed innovation with meaningful results. This partnership represents an important step in building PROYA as a global beauty brand, grounded in quality, scientific innovation and long-term growth.”    

Science-Driven Chinese Beauty Solution for Balanced High-Efficacy Skincare

PROYA enters the U.S. market amid rising consumer demand for clinically proven, results-driven skincare that balances potent performance with long-term skin tolerance. More specifically, beauty enthusiasts are seeking professional-level effects without compromising skin barrier health.


Guided by its skincare philosophy of “effective, gentle, and balanced”, PROYA has built a strong reputation for science-backed skincare across Asia. The brand integrates advanced ingredient research, proprietary patented technologies and rigorous clinical testing to deliver visible cosmetic results while safeguarding long-term skin health and stability. Two flagship lines will headline the U.S. launch:

PROYA Advanced Firming Collection:

As PROYA’s signature peptide-retinol anti-aging range, this market-leading line targets signs of aging. It delivers powerful anti-wrinkle performance with exceptional gentleness, while its refillable packaging helps reduce plastic waste.

PROYA Original Repair Collection:

This dual-function, research-backed skincare range unites basement membrane repair and early anti-aging benefits within a single mild yet potent essence. It delivers barrier repair and collagen support to meet surging demand for streamlined, multi-tasking skincare among North American consumers.

This market rollout is backed by PROYA’s long-term investment in a global R&D framework built around local consumer insight integration and cross-border technical collaboration. From ingredient screening and formula development to patent registration and clinical validation, PROYA consistently translates laboratory research into tangible, user-friendly skincare benefits.

From “Product Export” to “Global Brand Building”

The Ulta Beauty partnership stands as a defining milestone within PROYA’s global expansion roadmap. Far beyond a retail product launch, it signals the brand’s strategic shift from product export to comprehensive global brand development — bringing not just skincare solutions overseas, but also PROYA’s brand philosophy, proprietary research system and long-term commitment to local markets.

Leveraging Ulta Beauty’s nationwide store footprint and millions of Ulta Beauty Rewards members, PROYA aims to cultivate deep consumer trust across the U.S., while building replicable operational standards and retail partnership models for future expansion into Western Europe and other global markets.

About PROYA

PROYA is the leading brand under PROYA Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (603605.SH). Founded on the principle of “Scientific Skincare,” the brand is dedicated to providing high-quality, high-efficacy beauty solutions through continuous innovation and a globalized R&D supply chain. As a pioneer in the Chinese beauty industry, PROYA is committed to empowering consumers with technology-backed skincare that delivers visible results.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty is the largest specialty beauty retailer in the U.S. and a leading destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, wellness and salon services. Since opening its first store in 1990, Ulta Beauty has grown to more than 1,500 stores across the U.S. and redefined beauty retail by bringing together All Things Beauty. All in One Place®.

XtalPi Holdings Announces 2026 Interim Results

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 

Financial Highlights:

  • In the first half of 2026, the Group recorded revenue of RMB393.6 million, compared with RMB517.1 million in the corresponding period of last year. The change was primarily attributable to the high base in the corresponding period of last year, which reflected the recognition of an upfront payment of US$51.0 million from a major pipeline licensing project. The collaboration progressed well during the Reporting Period, and the Group received the second payment of US$19.0 million. Excluding this impact, revenue increased by 73.8% year on year.
  • Revenue from AI4S Intelligent Solutions amounted to RMB193.5 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 136.4%, with both AI4S Intelligent Robotic Laboratories (Physical AI) and AI4S Intelligent Services maintaining rapid growth.
  • In the first half of 2026, the Group recorded a net loss of RMB224.9 million and an adjusted net loss of RMB105.5 million, primarily due to the year-on-year decline in revenue and a 66.0% year-on-year increase in R&D expenses. The increase in R&D expenses was mainly attributable to the Group’s continued investment in its autonomous laboratories, agent systems, pipeline programs under development and multimodal technology platforms.
  • As of June 30, 2026, the Group had a total cash balance of RMB8,671.2 million, comprising cash and cash equivalents, bank deposits, the current portion of financial assets at fair value through profit or loss, and restricted cash.

Business Highlights:

As the Group’s technology platforms continued to be deployed and commercially validated across drug discovery and AI4S scenarios, the efficiency of pipeline discovery and advancement improved significantly, driving a number of important business breakthroughs:

  • Leading the development of AI4S infrastructure: The industry’s only full-stack AI4S infrastructure system integrating robotic laboratories, Scientific Agents and autonomous synthesis, and among the first to achieve commercial deployment at scale. During the Reporting Period, AI4S Intelligent Solutions scaled rapidly, with revenue increasing by 136.4% year on year.
  • The most comprehensive AI drug R&D platform: Established four core technology platforms spanning small molecules, large molecules, peptides and oligonucleotides. Across each field, the Group has accumulated high-quality, standardized proprietary data and used it to train industry-leading generative and predictive models.
  • Efficient development of a differentiated and diversified pipeline portfolio: Among the Group’s partnered and proprietary pipelines, three have entered the clinical stage, more than 10 have received IND approval or reached the IND preparation stage, and nearly 10 have reached the preclinical candidate (PCC) stage. By 2027, more than 10 pipelines are expected to be in the clinical stage, more than 10 to have received IND approval or reached the IND preparation stage, and approximately 20 to have reached the PCC stage.
  • “Real-world-ready” AI addressing traditional drug R&D bottlenecks: AI has continued to demonstrate its ability to solve complex R&D challenges across multiple drug modalities. These include achieving novel mechanisms of action, optimized therapeutic windows, and breakthroughs in safety and druggability in antibody programs; optimizing target protein degradation activity to picomolar concentrations within one quarter in certain molecular glue programs; identifying hit compounds within two months of target selection in an oral cyclic peptide program; and generating strong non-human primate efficacy data approximately seven months after initiating an oligonucleotide program for IgA nephropathy.
  • Strong recognition and broad-based collaboration with leading customers: Continued to deepen collaborations with leading global customers across platform services, model licensing, pipeline transactions and AI4S infrastructure deployment. The Group also entered into a strategic AI drug discovery collaboration with a renowned international biopharmaceutical company with a total potential value exceeding US$400 million, as well as multiple collaborations with domestic innovative pharmaceutical companies.
  • Launched a self-evolving AI retrosynthesis system: Reduced the chemical hallucination rate to 4.6%, only one-sixth that of leading large models in the industry. Its top-1 recommended route accuracy reached 74.3%, 2.2 to 3.5 times that of existing specialized and general-purpose models, materially enhancing the reliability and R&D translation efficiency of AI-assisted synthetic route design.
  • The world’s first comprehensive open scientific research platform with a closed Physical AI loop: Officially launched the XtalPi Science platform and the Genius Agent suite of Scientific Agents, standardizing and platformizing the Group’s internal scientific research capabilities and building underlying AI4S infrastructure that global industry partners and research institutions can access on demand.
  • Building leading biological simulation capabilities: Expanded biological modeling and validation capabilities through investments, incubation and other approaches in virtual cells, human organ-on-a-chip models and organoids, extending R&D capabilities from molecular design to mechanism studies, translational prediction and efficacy validation at the cellular and tissue levels.

Business Overview

As AI rapidly extends from the digital world into scientific R&D and the physical world, AI4S is advancing AI from isolated tools that assist research toward “autonomous scientific discovery” spanning reasoning through validation. The Group was among the first to classify autonomous scientific discovery into five levels: L1 Tools, L2 Co-Pilots, L3 Agents, L4 Domain-Specific Autonomous and L5 General Autonomous AI4S. Drawing on extensive real-world project experience and accumulated capabilities, the Group has achieved end-to-end L4 autonomous discovery across multiple R&D scenarios.

Through unified agent-based orchestration of scientific models and automated experimental facilities, the Group has established an R&D closed loop encompassing task planning, experimental validation and iterative feedback. Agentic HTE can autonomously match experimental conditions, generate protocols, orchestrate automation, analyze results and plan subsequent experiments. Agentic Synthesis connects the full workflow from raw-material verification and project creation through experimental-condition generation and automated execution. Drawing on more than a decade of AI4S R&D and industry experience, the Group has built integrated scientific research infrastructure connecting digital R&D with real-world physical experimentation, which continues to be validated, iterated and upgraded through real-world projects.

Technology Engine: An Industrial-Grade AI R&D Paradigm Connecting the Digital and Physical Worlds

Across the full workflow of complex scientific research tasks, and through sustained execution of internal R&D and external service projects, the Group has progressively established a four-layer core technology architecture comprising Genius Agent, Scientific AI, Physical AI and the Data Moat. This industrial-grade, integrated scientific research infrastructure has been continuously operated, validated and iterated within real-world industrial R&D workflows.

  • Genius Agent (Intelligent Hub): As the core orchestration hub and R&D matrix, Genius Agent establishes a multi-agent system combining global planning with scenario-specific execution. It centrally orchestrates scientific models, specialized tools, R&D workflows and data resources, while using project context to continuously advance long-horizon R&D.
  • Scientific AI: The Group continues to develop AI capabilities spanning different molecular modalities and specialized tasks, including small molecules, large molecules, peptides and oligonucleotide therapeutics. In an evaluation involving 350 real-world industrial molecules, SureRoute, its self-evolving AI retrosynthesis system, reduced the chemical hallucination rate to 4.6%, only one-sixth that of leading large models in the industry, and achieved a top-1 recommended route accuracy of 74.3%.
  • Physical AI: Centered on the Group’s proprietary Intelligent Robotic Laboratories, Physical AI translates experimental plans generated by scientific models and agents into standardized, automated and traceable experimental workflows. The Group has deployed more than 300 automated workstations worldwide, covering over 20 types of R&D scenarios.
  • Data Moat (High-Quality Data Foundation): Integrates public scientific data, proprietary R&D data and real-world experimental data generated by Physical AI to create traceable data assets encompassing experimental results, process parameters and failed experiments. The system has supported more than 100 drug and advanced materials discovery projects, generating over 50,000 reaction-yield data points and 300,000 process data points each month. It has accumulated more than 500,000 real-world experimental records, approximately 80% of which are negative results from failed experiments that are relatively scarce in published literature.

Business Model: A Deeply Integrated Business Portfolio

Built on its R&D system connecting the digital and physical worlds, the Group has established a dual-engine business model centered on Drug Discovery Solutions and AI4S Intelligent Solutions (AI4S Infrastructure), combining recurring cash flow with the potential for asset value realization.

  • Drug Discovery Solutions are built around the Group’s AI-driven drug discovery capabilities and encompass platform-based collaboration services and the out-licensing of proprietary assets. Platform-based collaboration projects provide R&D services by leveraging the Group’s AI drug discovery capabilities, while proprietary pipeline assets may generate upfront licensing payments, milestone payments and potential royalties through out-licensing, co-development and other arrangements.
  • AI4S Intelligent Solutions provide customers with AI4S infrastructure comprising AI4S Intelligent Robotic Laboratories (Physical AI) and AI4S Intelligent Services. The Intelligent Robotic Laboratories support standardized, high-throughput experimental execution and systematically generate high-quality, traceable experimental data. Leveraging innovative molecular building blocks, the VAST Virtual Compound Library and a high-throughput autonomous synthesis platform, AI4S Intelligent Services enable chemical-space expansion and rapid validation from molecular design through physical synthesis.

The two businesses operate in deep synergy to create a self-evolving closed loop. Drug Discovery Solutions continuously generate high-quality data, demand for experimental validation and momentum for technological iteration, driving capability upgrades in AI4S Intelligent Solutions. In turn, AI4S Intelligent Solutions provide efficient, reusable R&D infrastructure for drug discovery. Together, they form a self-evolving closed loop of “scenario-driven development, experimental validation, data feedback and capability evolution.” The underlying capabilities have also been extended to advanced materials, consumer health and other fields.

Outlook

The AI4S industry, particularly AI-driven drug discovery (AIDD), is in a period of rapid growth. The rapid expansion of AI-driven drug discovery is driving significant demand for novel molecule synthesis and R&D data. Leveraging its AI-native experimentation system and leading intelligent laboratories, the Group is capturing incremental orders from leading pharmaceutical companies. Over the medium term, the Group can generate stable revenue through platform-based technology services while monetizing high-quality proprietary pipeline assets through pipeline transactions, creating dual growth drivers from platform services and asset monetization. Over the medium to long term, as proprietary pipelines advance toward regulatory filings and clinical development, the Group is expected to establish a dual-engine growth model combining R&D services with proprietary drug development. Over the long term, its end-to-end intelligent R&D system will continue to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase success rates, while strengthening its proprietary data and algorithmic advantages.

Business Progress

Drug Discovery Solutions: Platform Technologies Accelerating Pipeline Asset Development and Commercialization

During the Reporting Period, revenue from Drug Discovery Solutions amounted to approximately RMB200.1 million, compared with RMB435.2 million in the corresponding period of last year. The change was primarily attributable to the high base in the corresponding period of last year, when an upfront payment of US$51.0 million from a major pipeline licensing project was recognized. The collaboration progressed well during the Reporting Period, and the Group received the second payment of US$19.0 million. The Group continued to advance its multimodal drug technology platforms and develop proprietary innovative drug pipelines with substantial clinical value and commercial potential.

Drug R&D Platforms and Pipeline Progress: Broad-Based Advances across Therapeutic Modalities, Accelerating Clinical Translation

The Group has established a systematic technology portfolio covering key drug modalities, including small molecules, large molecules, oligonucleotides and peptides, spanning target understanding, molecular design, function prediction, candidate optimization and experimental validation. AI has been deeply integrated into R&D scenarios including the discovery of molecular glue candidates with high degradation activity, remediation of protein aggregation and immunogenicity optimization for large molecules, and oligonucleotide drug design and personalized modification recommendations. Among the Group’s proprietary and partnered pipelines, three have entered the clinical stage, more than 10 have received IND approval or reached the IND preparation stage, and nearly 10 have reached the PCC stage. By 2027, more than 10 pipelines are expected to be in the clinical stage, more than 10 to have received IND approval or reached the IND preparation stage, and approximately 20 to have reached the PCC stage. The pipelines span oncology, autoimmune diseases, metabolic and chronic diseases, neurological disorders and consumer health, representing potential markets worth hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars.

  • Small Molecules:

The small-molecule R&D platform encompasses AI-powered computational prediction, physics-constrained modeling, synthetic route planning and closed-loop experimental validation. The XGlue™ platform for molecular glue discovery has built a virtual compound library containing millions of compounds and a physical scaffold library containing tens of thousands of scaffolds, while its experimental operations can synthesize and validate hundreds to more than 1,000 compounds each week. The Group has established multiple molecular glue programs for autoimmune diseases and identified hits against multiple targets. For certain programs, target protein degradation activity was optimized to picomolar concentrations in approximately one quarter. The Group plans to advance the relevant projects into the preclinical stage in 2027. If their druggability and differentiated advantages are subsequently validated, these assets may realize value through co-development or out-licensing.

The Group’s proprietary TRK/RET dual-target small-molecule candidate demonstrated low-nanomolar inhibition of both targets at the protein level, together with strong selectivity and gut-restricted properties, resulting in an excellent safety window. Intended for gut pain-related indications including irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, it is the world’s first candidate targeting this dual-target combination to be filed for clinical development (First-in-Class). The program has completed submission of materials for a U.S. pre-IND meeting, and the Group expects to submit IND applications in both the United States and China in the second half of 2026.

  • Multiple Partnered Pipelines Continued to Advance toward Clinical Translation:

SIGX1094, a dual FAK/SRC inhibitor discovered in collaboration with Signet Therapeutics, has received IND clearance in both China and the United States and is undergoing a Phase I clinical trial at Peking University Cancer Hospital. Preliminary results have shown a favorable safety profile and antitumor signals. It has also received orphan drug designation and fast track designation from the U.S. FDA. The CDE has accepted an application for a Phase II/III clinical trial of SIGX1094 in combination with Innovent Biologics’ approved KRAS-G12C inhibitor fulzerasib tablets for KRAS-G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. SIGX2649, a pan-TEAD inhibitor being developed with Signet Therapeutics, has received IND clearance in both China and the United States. A Phase I clinical trial is planned to begin as early as the second half of 2026.

RTX-117, an eIF2B small-molecule activator enabled for ReviR Therapeutics, has received clinical trial approvals in China and the United States for Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease and clinical trial approval in China for vanishing white matter disease. A Phase I trial in healthy adults is underway, and a Phase II trial is expected to begin in the first half of 2027.

The world’s first oral small-molecule inhibitor of LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), being developed in collaboration with Meta Pharmaceuticals, has entered the IND application stage, with IBD as its lead indication.

PEP08, a next-generation PRMT5 inhibitor being developed in collaboration with PharmaEngine, has begun enrolling patients with solid tumors. The parties have also initiated a second AI drug discovery program targeting a novel synthetic lethal target.

A high-value, tumor-agnostic asset being developed with DoveTree has entered the IND stage. Preliminary biological activity validation demonstrated a clear target intervention effect and an excellent selectivity window. The parties will further deepen their collaboration on the agreed difficult-to-drug targets, advance R&D efforts including those involving molecular glues, and accelerate the clinical translation of drug candidates.

  • Large Molecules:

The Group’s large-molecule platform, Ailux, is a globally leading AI-native antibody drug development platform and has established collaborations with multinational pharmaceutical companies (MNCs) across its models, platforms and assets. Ailux’s core strength lies in the deep integration of models, data and wet-lab experimentation.

Models: Ailux is powered by three core engines—the XtalFold® structural modeling platform, the XenProT® generative AI platform and the Xentient® discriminative AI platform—covering the full large-molecule R&D workflow from structure prediction and molecular generation to function assessment and candidate optimization. The platform has been validated across more than 100 internal and external projects.

Data: The proprietary AtlaX™ data foundation builds data resources through proprietary wet-lab systems, high-throughput data generation and the LuxSight™ patent-mining agent. Across key data types including antibody affinity, antigen–antibody complex structures, antigen–antibody pairing and native heavy- and light-chain sequences, AtlaX™ offers a scale advantage ranging from several-fold to tens of times that of public datasets.

Wet Lab: The platform uses proprietary experimental workflows to generate functional labels for polyreactivity, stability, immunogenicity and other properties that are difficult to capture in public datasets, creating a differentiated data moat for complex antibody drug development.

The Group appointed Dr. Maria G. Belvisi as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Belvisi brings experience across multinational pharmaceutical companies and international academia and has more than 30 years of leadership experience in drug R&D and academia. She spent approximately 10 years at AstraZeneca, where she served as Senior Vice President of Respiratory and Immunology in BioPharmaceuticals R&D.

The Group is advancing three large-molecule programs for autoimmune diseases, all of which are expected to enter Phase I clinical trials in 2027: ALX001, a bispecific antibody targeting TL1A and IL-23p19 for inflammatory bowel disease; ALX002, a T-cell engager targeting CD19 and BCMA for B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis; and ALX005, a long-acting FcRn-blocking antibody for pathogenic IgG antibody-driven autoimmune diseases including myasthenia gravis and immune thrombocytopenia.

  • Peptides:

PepiX™ integrates precision AI design, automated synthesis and high-throughput wet-lab screening to create an efficient dry- and wet-lab closed loop. The platform has established a proprietary database containing more than 5,000 unnatural amino acids, and its core HELM-DIFF model is used to generate, screen and optimize complex peptide molecules. Tensotide™, a peptide developed using PepiX™, has achieved self-affirmed GRAS status in the United States and may be used in food and dietary supplement products in the United States. The brain-delivery program has entered in vivo animal testing and optimization and is expected to reach PCC in the first half of 2027. An oral cyclic peptide program for autoimmune indications has entered the hit-to-lead stage and is expected to achieve PCC by mid-2027.

  • Oligonucleotides:

Kodexia™, the Group’s siRNA drug development platform, integrates first-principles-driven biological mechanism modeling, generative AI and high-throughput automated experimentation. It has accumulated tens of thousands of wet-lab data points and established an siRNA chemical modification database. Based on publicly comparable metrics, the platform has more than doubled R&D efficiency relative to conventional methods and improved molecular property prediction accuracy by approximately 266%. Across multiple pipelines, more than 50% of molecules from the first design round demonstrated better in vivo activity than positive controls. The platform has built six siRNA programs spanning IgA nephropathy, metabolic diseases and central nervous system disorders; more than half have completed in vivo efficacy evaluations, and the most advanced program has reached the PCC stage. The lead IgA nephropathy program generated non-human primate efficacy data approximately seven months after initiation and demonstrated better potency and durability than a clinical-stage reference molecule against the same target. The Group plans to commercialize the relevant programs through joint R&D, asset co-development, out-licensing and other models.

  • Biological Simulation Platforms:

Through investments, incubation and other approaches, the Group has expanded into virtual cells, human organ-on-a-chip models and organoids.

Virtual Cells: OCOO-T, an AI virtual cell model developed by XtalPi-incubated company INFevo, achieved state-of-the-art performance across three perturbation benchmarks covering chemical compounds, genes and cytokines. INFevo also launched The Popper Project (TPP), a scientific discovery engine. In the first half of 2026, INFevo completed an angel financing round raising tens of millions of RMB, with participation from Shunwei Capital, Sequoia China and Green Pine Capital Partners.

Organ-on-a-Chip: XtalPi-incubated company Xellar Biosystems completed delivery of Sanofi’s iDEA-TECH project and collected the final payment in full. Its AI-powered toxicity prediction system jointly developed with Pfizer also achieved a key delivery milestone. As one of the first companies to participate in the CDE’s multicenter collaborative validation of new approach methodologies (NAMs), Xellar Biosystems was selected for the “Pioneer Program” and is also advancing model qualification under the U.S. FDA’s ISTAND program. Xellar Biosystems completed a RMB400 million Series A financing in the first half of 2026 and is currently advancing its Series B financing.

Organoids: The organoid-plus-AI platform developed in collaboration with Signet Therapeutics has established more than 15 gene-edited tumor organoid models. It has also combined AI with normal organoids of the heart, kidney and liver to establish drug toxicity prediction and evaluation models. Its drug cardiotoxicity prediction model based on cardiac organoids achieved an accuracy rate of 81.25%, compared with 43.75% for conventional methods.

Key Commercial Progress: Multiple Major Collaborations, Further Diversifying Monetization Models

  • The Group entered into a strategic AI drug discovery collaboration with a renowned international biopharmaceutical company that has a broad pipeline and multiple commercialized products. The collaboration has a total potential value exceeding US$400 million. The parties will jointly develop a potentially best-in-class innovative oral small-molecule drug against a GPCR target. The partner will pay an upfront payment and fund all early-stage R&D expenses. The Group will also be eligible to receive preclinical, clinical and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on future sales.
  • The Group entered into a key collaboration with Visen Pharmaceuticals, integrating XtalPi’s AI-driven robotic drug R&D platform with Visen Pharmaceuticals’ expertise in endocrinology to focus on indications with high clinical value and innovative targets in endocrinology and metabolic diseases, and to jointly advance the early discovery and clinical translation of innovative therapies.
  • The Group signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Sunshine Lake Pharma. The parties intend to establish a joint venture to jointly develop an AI-driven robotic laboratory and a foundation model for preclinical drug development, and to collaborate on underlying technologies, innovative drug pipelines and commercialization. Sunshine Lake Pharma is expected to invest several hundred million RMB. The two companies aim to build an industry-leading AI drug discovery engine, bring the technology to international markets and establish a diversified monetization model centered on “pipeline co-creation and shared success through technology.”
  • The Group received the second payment of US$19.0 million stipulated under the definitive agreement with DoveTree. The parties will continue R&D activities, including work on molecular glues, against the agreed hard-to-drug targets.
  • In November 2025, the Group and Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals entered into a global strategic collaboration and platform licensing agreement for the R&D of innovative AI-designed peptide drugs. The project is progressing. The jointly established “AI-Driven Intelligent Peptide Delivery Laboratory” — Beijing Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence for Peptide Drug Design and Delivery Systems — was officially recognized as a Beijing Key Laboratory and inaugurated.

AI4S Intelligent Solutions: Accelerating Platform Value Realization and Delivering Breakthrough Revenue Growth

During the Reporting Period, AI4S Intelligent Solutions generated revenue of RMB193.5 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 136.4%, with both AI4S Intelligent Robotic Laboratories (Physical AI) and AI4S Intelligent Services maintaining rapid growth.

AI4S Intelligent Robotic Laboratories (Physical AI): Embedded into Molecular R&D Workflows to Drive Scalable Growth

During the Reporting Period, the Group’s AI4S Intelligent Robotic Laboratory business made progress in both overseas and domestic markets. Overseas, the compound management system for Eli Lilly was contracted and delivered, while the first HTE system completed factory acceptance testing (FAT) and user training. The intelligent autonomous drug synthesis and process R&D system developed with JW Pharmaceutical was fully delivered in April. In China, the Group secured multiple projects valued at tens of millions of RMB, while its intelligent synthesis workstation, a semi-standardized product, was replicated and deployed across 13 customers. These capabilities have also expanded into advanced materials fields including perovskites, lithium batteries and molecular sieves.

During the Reporting Period, the Group’s AI4S Intelligent Robotic Laboratory business successfully delivered multiple flagship projects:

  • The Group signed a compound storage and management system project worth tens of millions of RMB with Eli Lilly and completed delivery at its Shanghai R&D center. The system covers compound storage and retrieval, micro-powder dispensing, and sample preparation and output in DMSO solutions, integrating sample management and preparation on a unified automated platform.
  • The Group signed an HTE (high-throughput experimentation) platform collaboration project worth tens of millions of RMB with Eli Lilly. The Group is providing a modular high-throughput experimentation platform centered on a condition-screening glovebox, supporting automated dispensing, reactions, dilution and filtration under anhydrous and oxygen-free conditions and connecting with XtalPi’s Agentic AI algorithms.
  • The high-throughput automated synthesis workstation, AI-powered reaction condition optimization system and intelligent analytics platform provided by the Group to JW Pharmaceutical were fully delivered in April. The platform supports JW Pharmaceutical’s R&D requirements in automated drug candidate screening, synthesis and process optimization.
  • Domestic and Advanced Materials Projects:

The Group signed a mesoporous materials intelligent high-throughput preparation project worth millions of RMB with Wusong Materials Laboratory of Fudan University; an end-to-end automated perovskite solar cell project worth millions of RMB with a leading university; and high-throughput automated electrolyte preparation and testing platform projects worth millions of RMB with Peking University, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and other institutions.

AI4S Intelligent Services: A Key Advance in End-to-End Autonomous AI Decision-Making, Driving Rapid Order Growth

The Group supports chemical-space expansion through innovative molecular building blocks and the VAST Virtual Compound Library and has established a design–make–test–analyze (DMTA) closed loop through its high-throughput autonomous synthesis platform. The value of new orders signed in the first half of 2026 grew rapidly, including orders for more than 20,000 molecules through the VAST Virtual Compound Library.

During the Reporting Period, the Group developed and commercialized two solutions—Agentic Synthesis and Agentic HTE—enabling autonomous AI decision-making across the entire workflow.

  • Agentic Synthesis: Centered on an Agentic System connecting Scientific AI with Physical AI, the autonomous synthesis platform creates a ten-step closed loop from target molecule to final-product delivery. The SureRXN™ synthesizability prediction and condition recommendation module achieved an experimental success rate of over 90%, reducing the average number of experiments to 1.19. The high-pressure separation algorithm achieved an automation rate of 76%, while increasing the first-delivery success rate from 83% to 94%. The LCMS spectral analysis algorithm achieved an overall prediction accuracy of 95%, rising to 98% within the high-confidence range. The NMR spectral interpretation algorithm automatically analyzed more than 70% of spectra across four projects. At the Agentic System level, seven dedicated agents work together across the full lifecycle from project initiation to product shipment.
  • Agentic HTE: This end-to-end high-throughput experimentation solution is centered on an Agentic System that connects Scientific AI with Physical AI. Through intent understanding, skill orchestration, long-running task management and human–AI collaboration, it shortens the conventional HTE iteration cycle from three to four weeks to approximately six days.

While strengthening its end-to-end autonomous AI decision-making capabilities, the Group is also expanding its capabilities in upstream chemical-space design and synthesis. In June 2025, the Group completed the acquisition of LCC. Its PACE (Parallel Automated Chiral Engine) platform integrates AI software with automation technologies to virtually screen target molecules from a chiral chemical library comprising hundreds of millions of molecules, followed by automated synthesis and physical testing. The platform has been validated through internal drug discovery projects. LCC is currently in late-stage discussions with major pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and leading research institutions regarding collaborations centered on PACE, with the aim of creating intellectual property and assets against partners’ high-priority targets.

Advanced Materials and Consumer Health: AI4S Capabilities Broadening Applications and Achieving Key Milestones

Building on the systematic validation in drug R&D of the Group’s autonomous AI R&D closed loop comprising Scientific AI, Physical AI and the Agentic System, the Group is extending its core capabilities into advanced materials, consumer health and other scenarios.

Advanced Materials: Intelligent R&D Platform Empowering Materials Innovation and Driving Breakthrough Progress in Perovskite Tandem Cell R&D

The Group has established an advanced materials R&D team. During the Reporting Period, the Group entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with a subsidiary of JinkoSolar to advance AI- and automation-driven high-throughput R&D for tandem solar cells. The parties have established a joint venture to build the world’s first fully closed-loop intelligent manufacturing line for tandem solar cells, integrating “AI-driven decision-making, robotic execution and data feedback.” The project is progressing. The Group has also established an AI- and automated laboratory-driven perovskite formulation R&D platform. Small-area modules achieved a laboratory-tested efficiency of 27.0% and a third-party-certified efficiency of 26.51%, while large-area modules achieved a laboratory-tested efficiency of 23.0% and a third-party-certified efficiency of 22.74%. The high-throughput automated production line for tandem cells is designed for a daily throughput of no fewer than 1,000 cells. Compared with conventional manual R&D, the optimization cycle for each iteration has been reduced from several months to several hours, while the overall R&D cycle has been shortened from four to six years to one to six months.

Consumer Health: Groland Expands Omnichannel Reach and Advances Commercialization

During the Reporting Period, Groland, a combination formulation incorporating two proprietary topical molecules developed by XtalPi to address hair growth and retention, completed market validation and brand development and began building a marketing network spanning domestic and international markets and online and offline channels. The brand operates official stores on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin. Groland’s AquaKine Scalp Serum ranked No. 1 on Tmall’s “New Anti-Hair Loss Scalp Oil Products” chart, while its Tmall store ranked among the top three emerging personal care stores by gross merchandise value during the 618 Shopping Festival. The brand has established a product portfolio spanning pre-shampoo treatments, shampoos, conditioners, leave-in treatments, hair growth serums and red-light hair growth brushes. The two proprietary molecules have completed regulatory filings as new cosmetic ingredients in China, while the regulatory filings and launch of the general-trade versions are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Strategic Upgrade: Evolving XtalPi Science into an Open Scientific AI Infrastructure Platform

In July 2026, the Group launched XtalPi Science, its Scientific AI platform, together with the Genius Agent suite of Scientific Agents. XtalPi Science is the world’s first comprehensive AI4S platform integrating large language models (LLMs), Scientific Agents and large-scale automated robotic experimentation. It further standardizes and platformizes the Group’s integrated scientific research infrastructure, validated through real-world projects, transforming it into platform capabilities that can be accessed through a unified interface, orchestrated on demand and continuously expanded. In doing so, XtalPi Science is progressively building a Global Scientific Utility for industry partners and research institutions worldwide, providing a unified entry point for cross-institutional R&D collaboration and the scaled application of Scientific AI.

As the core orchestration hub and R&D matrix, Genius Agent can autonomously understand complex research objectives, break down and advance long-horizon interdisciplinary tasks, and centrally orchestrate domain-specific models, specialized tools, R&D workflows and physical execution infrastructure. The platform generates scientific hypotheses and performs specialized predictions in the digital world, followed by experimental validation in the physical world through Physical AI, completing a closed loop spanning “digital hypothesis generation, specialized prediction, physical validation and data feedback.”

The Group and 26 partners jointly launched the Open Ecosystem Alliance for Scientific AI, whose members span multiple segments of the scientific innovation value chain. XtalPi Science also plans to introduce Science Token as a unified access and metering mechanism for scientific research resources. Taking into account customer needs and different R&D scenarios, the Group will explore diverse platform service and collaboration models as it continues to evolve into an open Scientific AI infrastructure platform.

About XtalPi

XtalPi Holdings Limited (“XtalPi,” HKEX: 2228) was founded in 2015 by physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The company is a technology platform focused on quantum physics-based and AI-driven innovation in drug and materials discovery. By integrating quantum physics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and large-scale automation, XtalPi provides research and development solutions and services to global pharmaceutical, materials science, consumer products, energy, and advanced chemicals industries. XtalPi leverages AI Agents, proprietary modeling, and advanced robotics to accelerate scientific discovery through an autonomous paradigm designed to solve the most challenging molecular discovery problems. XtalPi’s team currently spans Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing in China, Boston in the United States and Liverpool in the United Kingdom.