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Latham Expands Market-Leading Antitrust & Competition Practice with Paris Partner Victor Levy

Arrival further strengthens the firm’s premier Antitrust & Competition Practice in Europe and enhances its unrivalled global platform.

PARIS, Sept. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Latham & Watkins is pleased to announce that Victor Levy has joined the firm’s Paris office as partner in its Antitrust & Competition Practice. Levy advises on competition law matters, with particular experience in merger control filings before the European Commission, the French Competition Authority, and other competition authorities globally, as well as complex antitrust investigations and follow-on damages claims before competition authorities and Courts.

Victor Levy, Latham & Watkins
Victor Levy, Latham & Watkins

Levy has extensive experience across sectors including aerospace and defense, consumer goods, and industrials.

“We are thrilled to welcome Victor to the firm,” said Thomas Margenet-Baudry, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Paris. “Our Paris office is a powerhouse in the French market, with exceptional strength across our transactional and regulatory practices. Antitrust and competition is central to that success, an essential component of our market-leading transactional and litigation platforms and a formidable go-to practice. Victor brings deep experience in complex domestic and cross-border antitrust matters for French and international clients that complements our existing strengths and further enhances the sophisticated, integrated advice we provide to clients in France, across Europe, and globally. His arrival reflects our ambition to continue investing in the very best talents and to remain at the forefront of the market for years to come.”

Latham’s Antitrust & Competition Practice is widely recognized as one of the world’s premier antitrust platforms, delivering sophisticated, coordinated advice across the United States, Europe, and Asia. The firm advises and represents clients on many of their most significant and complex global transactions, cartel investigations, and disputes, combining deep antitrust experience with market-leading litigation and trial capabilities. The Paris competition practice, like that of the Brussels office, is ranked Band 1 / Tier 1 in the legal directories. The addition of Levy further strengthens the firm’s European and Paris bench and enhances its ability to guide clients through an increasingly complex and interconnected global competition and regulatory landscape.

“The addition of Victor underscores the continued strength and momentum of our global practice,” said Lawrence Buterman, Global Chair of Latham’s Antitrust & Competition Practice. “Our platform brings together leading antitrust lawyers across the United States, Europe, and Asia who are increasingly called upon by our clients to lead and coordinate representations on complex transactions and litigation matters spanning multiple jurisdictions. Victor brings outstanding credentials and deep experience that will further strengthen our ability to deliver integrated and global solutions at the highest level.”

“We have known Victor for many years and have long held him in the highest regard,” said Jacques-Philippe Gunther, Antitrust & Competition partner in Paris. “He is definitely one of the best of his generation, and his unique combination of economic and legal expertise makes him a real additional strength to our talented team.”

Paris Antitrust & Competition partner, Adrien Giraud also commented: “Victor brings extensive experience across merger control, foreign investment screening, antitrust investigations, litigation, and State aid. At a time when antitrust and regulatory considerations are playing a critical role in shaping strategic business decisions, his arrival further enhances the breadth and depth of our offering in Paris.”

“I am delighted to join Latham & Watkins in Paris, especially at this critical time when competition authorities are becoming increasingly active and coordinated across jurisdictions. The firm’s global platform and market-leading capabilities provide an exceptional opportunity to help clients navigate their most complex matters,” said Levy. “I look forward to working closely with the teams across practices and geographies to further develop Latham’s antitrust and competition offering.”

Levy joins Latham & Watkins from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader. He holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, a Master’s degree in European Business Law from Paris Panthéon-Assas University, and an LL.M. from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Paris and New York.

About Latham & Watkins (lw.com)

Latham & Watkins is a leading global law firm that brings together exceptional legal talent in financial centers around the world to advise on complex transactions, litigation, and regulatory matters. The firm’s deep market and product knowledge, industry experience, vast scale, and commitment to innovation and excellence help clients navigate their most critical challenges and achieve their goals.

The Newspaper That Helped Shape the Course of the Long March

LANZHOU, China, Sept. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — During the Gansu leg of the “Together on the Long March” CICG International Communication Project, Liang Xiaoyuan, son of founding lieutenant general Liang Xingchu, visited the historic Long March sites in Hadapu and recalled a remarkable episode involving his father.


The Newspaper That Helped Shape the Course of the Long March

In Hadapu, Liang Xingchu was assigned by Mao Zedong to search for “spiritual nourishment”—newspapers and other sources of information. A copy of Ta Kung Pao obtained during the mission contained reports about the situation in northern Shaanxi, providing the Central Red Army with important information as it determined where to advance next.

That newspaper helped turn Hadapu, a small town in northwest China, into a key historical landmark on the road toward the Long March’s eventual destination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-TbhjEJa3g

 

ARTPRICE NEWS: A WORLD-BOOK BECOMES A MIRROR FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OpenAI/Astra, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Google Gemini and xAI/Grok are confronted with the same work: a meta-reading experiment turns literary criticism into a comparative laboratory for artificial intelligence.

PARIS, Sept. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What if, in order to understand artificial intelligences, we gave them exactly the same book to read?

"Dialogue Between a Thinker and AI" by thierry Ehrmann
“Dialogue Between a Thinker and AI” by thierry Ehrmann

That is the experiment now accompanying “Dialogue Between a Thinker and AI”.

A world-book written by Thierry Ehrmann becomes a mirror for artificial intelligence.

After hundreds of hours of dialogue, human thought, archives, questions, and contradictions gave rise to a book whose pen was entrusted to artificial intelligence.

https://www.dialoguebetweenathinkerandai.com/en/

Today, the book also exists materially: its French and English editions are in print. But the experiment does not end with the book. It now turns back toward the artificial intelligences themselves.

We didn’t ask AI to judge the book. We asked AIs to read it — and then to read each other.

The complete corpus is submitted to several major systems:

OpenAI / Astra, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Google Gemini, and xAI / Grok.

They all receive the same object. But do they produce the same reading?

https://www.dialoguebetweenathinkerandai.com/en/meta-reading/

FIVE AIs. ONE BOOK. FIVE MAPS?

The objective is not to organize a competition between models.

It is precisely the opposite.

The purpose is to observe their convergences, divergences, and blind spots.

Which concepts do they spontaneously identify? Which theses do they consider central? Which passages do they connect? Where do their interpretations diverge?

And above all: what happens when each is subsequently given access to the analyses produced by the others? At that moment, a meta-reading emerges.

AI no longer merely reads the book.

It reads another AI reading the book.

A third system can then analyze that confrontation. Commentary becomes corpus. The corpus becomes new material for analysis.

CRITICISM CHANGES DIRECTION

For centuries, we have used critics to better understand books.

This experiment also proposes the reverse movement:

using a book to better understand those who read it.

The same work thus becomes a kind of cognitive mirror placed before several artificial-intelligence architectures. This mirror does not ask: “Which AI is right?”

What Gemini thought of the analysis produced by Grok.

DeepSeek’s response to the critique by OpenAI Astra.

It asks: “Why don’t they see exactly the same thing?”

The distinction is essential. Because their divergences themselves become information.

THE HUMAN RETAINS THE FINAL SAY

This experiment does not delegate human judgment.

It demands more of it. The human remains the one who compares, doubts, contextualizes, and decides.

The machine produces readings. The human also observes the gaps between those readings.

Dialogue Between a Thinker and AI thus becomes simultaneously a book, a corpus, and an open experiment into the plurality of artificial intelligences.

The book was meant to be read by humans.

It now also becomes an object through which humans can watch AIs read.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The meta-reading experiment makes it possible to examine, among other things:

  • what Google Gemini observes in the analysis produced by xAI/Grok;
  • DeepSeek’s response to the critique produced by OpenAI/Astra;
  • the convergences, divergences and blind spots revealed by confronting the different readings.

“We didn’t ask AI to judge the book. We asked AIs to read it — and then to read one another.“

https://www.dialoguebetweenathinkerandai.com/en/meta-reading/
https://www.dialoguebetweenathinkerandai.com/en/

Media Contact : Thierry Ehrmann, ir@artmarket.com 

Tomoyoshi Kimura Reflects on a Turning Point in the Long March at Lazikou

LANZHOU, China, Sept. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — During the Gansu leg of the “Together on the Long March” CICG International Communication Project, veteran Japanese journalist and former NHK anchor Tomoyoshi Kimura visited Lazikou, a site that marked a crucial turning point in the Long March.


Tomoyoshi Kimura Reflects on a Turning Point in the Long March at Lazikou

Seeing the place he had previously known only through books brought history vividly to life and left a powerful impression on him. Reflecting on the extraordinary hardships and sacrifices of those who fought here, Kimura gained a deeper understanding of the spirit that drove China’s revolution and the historical journey that has shaped the country today.

https://youtube.com/shorts/SN6FYj98h84?feature=share

Binance Launches Foreign Exchange Perpetual Futures, Expanding 24/7 Access to the Largest Financial Market

  • First FX perp: USDBRLUSDT (USD/Brazil Real) goes live September 21, 2026 at 14:00 UTC.
  • Built for FX gaps: Dual-mode pricing maintains fair and orderly markets when traditional FX liquidity thins on weekends.
  • Proven weekend leadership: Binance’s TradFi-linked perps have already become primary venues for weekend price discovery, leading peer venues by 2.6–3.8×.

ABU DHABI, UAE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Binance today introduced Foreign Exchange (“FX”) perpetual futures under its TradFi Perpetual product category, bringing regulated USDT-settled, 24/7 access to the world’s most actively traded market. The first FX perpetual contract, USDBRLUSDT (USD/Brazil Real), will go live on September 21, 2026 at 14:00 (UTC).

“FX is one of the world’s most foundational markets, traded every moment to hedge and express macro views. Unlike most traditional asset classes, FX already operates 24 hours a day, five days a week, and weekend trading activity is growing — though liquidity is not as robust outside weekday sessions. With Binance’s deep liquidity and global user base, we’re well positioned to extend continuous price discovery into the gaps that traditional FX cannot cover, giving traders a single venue to express macro views, hedge exposure, and capture opportunity around the clock,” said Shunyet Jan, Head of Exchange and Trading at Binance.

The case for 24/7 TradFi perps is already backed by data. By April, Binance’s gold perpetuals were exhibiting institutional-grade weekend price discovery, according to Binance Research — with weekend price movements correctly predicting the direction of Monday’s opening gap approximately 89% of the time.[1]

In mid-September, Binance’s equity perps linked to AI and semiconductors became the primary live market for investors to express views before Wall Street reopened, capturing approximately 53% of combined weekend volume across five major venues for the most directly linked pre-IPO AI-linked contracts and approximately 59% for the most exposed semiconductor contracts, leading the second-ranked venue by roughly 3–4× in both cases.[2]

TradFi perpetuals feature no expiry dates and no need for contract rollovers, with consistent fee and margin mechanics across all contract types. Traders can express views on FX, commodities, and equities markets, hedge related exposures, and diversify strategies using USDT as a single settlement currency.

To support continuous trading when underlying FX markets have limited hours, Binance applies a dual-mode pricing framework. During regular FX trading hours — Sunday 17:00 (ET) to Friday 17:00 (ET) — the price index is updated every second as a weighted average of constituent prices from third-party data vendors (Standard mode). During weekends and public holidays — Friday 17:00 (ET) to Sunday 17:00 (ET) — the system transitions to Orderbook EWMA mode, using an exponentially weighted moving average of orderbook prices to maintain fair and orderly pricing when traditional FX liquidity is thinner. Additional controls include multi-source indices, mark price mechanisms, and deviation constraints to reduce dislocation risk.

When trading goes live, FX Perpetual Futures under the “TradFi” category will be available on Binance Futures via web, app, and API. Users can navigate to the “TradFi” tab under the symbol search bar to explore the new contracts and related TradFi perpetual offerings. The TradFi asset-name search function on the Futures trading page in the app will be progressively rolled out to users.

Contract Specifications: USDBRLUSDT

  • Contract Type: USDT-Priced, USDⓈ-M Perpetual Contract
  • Underlying: 1 US Dollar (USD) to Brazil Real (BRL)
  • Scheduled Launch Time: September 21, 2026, 14:00 (UTC)
  • Settlement Asset: USDT
  • Tick Size: 0.0001
  • Min Trade Amount: 0.01 USDBRL
  • Min Notional Value: 5 USDT
  • Capped Funding Rate: +0.375% / -0.375%
  • Funding Fee Settlement: Every 8 hours
  • Maximum Leverage: 100x
  • Trading Hours: 24/7
  • Multi-Assets Mode: Supported

# # #

Disclaimer: Digital asset prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may go down or up and you may not get back the amount invested. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions and Binance is not liable for any losses you may incur. TradFi Perps are subject to high market risk and price volatility (particularly outside traditional market hours). You may be called upon at short notice to make additional margin deposits or interest payments. If the required margin deposits or interest payments are not made within the prescribed time, your collateral may be liquidated. Moreover, you will remain liable for any resulting deficit in your account and interest charged on your account. All of your margin balance may be liquidated in the event of adverse price movement. Past performance is not a reliable predictor of future performance. TradFi Perps do not represent ownership of the relevant underlying asset. Before trading, you should make an independent assessment of the appropriateness of the transaction in light of your own objectives and circumstances, including the risks and potential benefits. Consult your own advisers, where appropriate. This information should not be construed as financial or investment advice. To learn more about how to protect yourself, visit our Responsible Trading page. For more information, see our Terms of Use, Clearing Rules, Clearing Procedures, Contract Specifications and Risk Warning.

About Binance

Binance is a leading global blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and registered users. Binance is trusted by more than 300 million people in 100+ countries for its industry-leading security, transparency, trading engine speed, protections for investors, and unmatched portfolio of digital asset products and offerings from trading and finance to education, research, social good, payments, institutional services, and Web3 features. Binance is devoted to building an inclusive crypto ecosystem to increase the freedom of money and financial access for people around the world with crypto as the fundamental means. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com.

[1] By April 2026, Binance’s gold perpetuals were exhibiting institutional-grade weekend price discovery, with weekend price movements correlating approximately 0.80 to Monday’s futures gap, explaining approximately 66% of its variance (R² ≈ 0.66), capturing a median 57% of the Friday-close to Monday-open adjustment, and correctly predicting the gap direction approximately 89% of the time — evidence that when weekend news hits, Binance’s TradFi perps set a credible price that traditional markets largely confirm on Monday.

[2] Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s September 12 “We Must Pace the Frontier” post drew weekend endorsements from Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis, Binance’s equity perps became the primary live market for investors to express views before Wall Street reopened, capturing approximately 53.2% of combined weekend volume across five major venues for the two most directly linked pre-IPO perps (OpenAI + Anthropic) — leading the second-ranked venue by approximately 2.6× and lifting its own volume approximately 102% to $68.38M — and approximately 58.8% for the two most exposed semiconductor perps (SOXL + SK Hynix), leading the runner-up by approximately 3.8× and nearly doubling volume to $861M.

 

 

oneworld Named World’s Best Airline Alliance at the 2026 Skytrax Awards

LONDON, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — oneworld® has been named ‘World’s Best Airline Alliance’ at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Presented in London on 18 September 2026, the recognition marks oneworld’s fifth win in the annual awards known as the ‘Oscars of the aviation industry.’

CEO of IAG and oneworld Chairman Luis Gallego
CEO of IAG and oneworld Chairman Luis Gallego

“We are honoured to be awarded World’s Best Airline Alliance by Skytrax,” said Luis Gallego, CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG) and Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, collecting the award. “This prestigious award reflects how oneworld’s continued commitment to creating a more connected and rewarding journey is valued by global travellers.”

Skytrax award winners are determined through a large-scale customer satisfaction survey, with millions of travellers rating their travel experiences across airlines and airports worldwide.

“This recognition is acknowledgment of the elevated, consistent experience our member airlines provide to customers around the world each day, as oneworld leads the industry in customer benefits, loyalty, sustainability initiatives and more,” said Ole Orver, CEO of oneworld. “With the best premium offerings in the world, including First Class lounge access, we are honored that customers see the considered care with which our member airlines deliver service.”

About oneworld:
oneworld brings together 15 world-class airlines – Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian and SriLankan Airlines to nearly 1,000 destinations. oneworld member airlines work together to consistently deliver a superior, consistent travel experience, with special rewards and privileges for its frequent flyers, including earning and redeeming miles and points across the entire alliance network, access to airport lounges, priority check in and boarding and extra baggage allowances and more. Learn more about the oneworld Alliance at oneworld.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
press@oneworld.com

Sea, Gardens, Lawns and Hearths: Life Abroad Across Noah’s N+ Club Network

From yachts in Hong Kong to hearthside gatherings in Tokyo, and from West Coast lawns to a reading space in Shanghai, Noah’s N+ Club network spans 10 cities, providing global Chinese families who move among multiple locations with a place to sit down in each one.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Singapore-headquartered global wealth management firm Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE: NOAH; HKEX: 6686; “Noah”) today introduced its N+ Club network. Currently spanning 10 cities across Asia and North America, the network allows individuals and organizations holding N+ memberships to reserve and use participating clubs in its various locations.

More Chinese families are now living across several cities at once: one family member works in one place, children study in another, and parents remain elsewhere. Assets can be arranged across different markets, but family life is less easily organized. A family dinner, a gathering of friends or a child’s birthday still needs a physical place where people can come together.

That is the need the N+ Club network is designed to address. It is not a standardized business space; each club reflects the way people live locally. A single membership opens onto a different setting in every city.

Four Ways of Living Abroad

Hong Kong, China — Out to Sea. The club can arrange yacht outings for members, taking a business meeting or family gathering onto the water. It also features a conference room accommodating approximately 150 people for small forums and family events. In Hong Kong, good conversations often begin after leaving shore.

Singapore — A Villa and Garden. The club occupies a villa with a garden, suited to family dinners, alfresco meals and small private gatherings. The tropical climate keeps the garden usable almost year-round: it belongs to children by day and to adults after nightfall.

U.S. West Coast — Lawns in Los Angeles, a Bar in Silicon Valley. The Los Angeles club makes the outdoors its main stage, with an expansive lawn, outdoor barbecues and an open gathering space. On the U.S. West Coast, socializing rarely takes place in meeting rooms: children run across the grass, adults talk over drinks, and much gets decided that way. Silicon Valley moves to a different rhythm. Its sunlit lounge beside the bar features sofas arranged for conversation and abundant greenery. It feels less taut than Silicon Valley’s usual pace and more relaxed, giving people time to finish the conversations that truly matter.

Tokyo, Japan — The One Place That Turns Inward. The club includes a hearth room where a small group can gather around a fire on winter nights. Art lines the walls, making the very act of staying worth the time. While the previous three settings open outward, Tokyo draws inward: quiet, unhurried and suited to a long conversation with no need to watch the clock.

At the Other End of the Network: Shanghai

Shanghai, China — Art, Music and Reading Under One Roof. Located at the heart of the Hongqiao transportation hub, Noah Wealth Center was designed around the idea of “a tree rooted in the soil and continually growing.” The first two floors of the flagship client service building house reading spaces, with a spiral staircase winding upward. Above them are art exhibition and music spaces, followed by meeting and business areas. The “Ten Thousand Acts of Trust” art exhibition was previously held here.

The clubs outside mainland China draw people outdoors; Shanghai invites them in. Moving floor by floor up the staircase is a journey in itself. For many families living abroad, it is also a place to land when they return.

Noah also operates clubs in Suzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an and Wuhan, China, for business discussions, gatherings of family and friends, and small meetings.

What Is Consistent, and What Is Different

The N+ Club network initially considered adopting a standardized format, but ultimately decided against it. Noah’s view is that clients in Hong Kong want to go out on the water; in Singapore, they want to invite people into a garden; on the U.S. West Coast, they want gatherings on the lawn; in Tokyo, they seek a different kind of quiet; and in Shanghai, they want a place they can move through slowly, floor by floor. These are not merely variations in amenities; they reflect different ways of life. If every club looked the same, the network would be further removed from clients’ daily lives.

What the network does standardize is something else: wherever members arrive, the reservation process, service standards and approach to hosting are familiar. What differs is the scene that greets them when they walk through the door.

Why Would a Wealth Management Firm Build Clubs?

Most families Noah serves have moved beyond conversations focused solely on rates of return. What they truly care about is whether, when wealth passes to the next generation, it still carries the family’s intentions intact.

Financial arrangements can be completed in accounts and reports; family memories cannot. What a family truly leaves behind is often a way of seeing the world. It cannot be captured in an asset list and can only be passed on through time spent together: a meal, a piece of music, an exhibition seen together or a summer a child remembers.

Beyond financial services, Noah’s global N+ ecosystem brings art, music, culture and private client experiences into families’ daily lives. The clubs are the most everyday part of that ecosystem. Members can come even when there is no specific business to conduct; that is precisely why the clubs exist.

For an institution that treats enduring legacy as a defining theme, this work matters as much as asset allocation.

Membership and Use

N+ membership provides eligibility to reserve and use Noah’s N+ clubs. Membership is offered in individual and organizational categories and is valid for one year. Organizations may register authorized users in accordance with the membership rules. Global membership is open to individual and organizational applicants outside mainland China.

Applicants do not need to hold a Noah account. Applications may be referred by an existing member, a member of the Noah team or a partner, or submitted directly. Membership is subject to review, and each club sets an annual limit on new admissions. Venue, service and fee arrangements for each use are confirmed separately by the local club. On-site services are provided by the local operating entity. N+ membership is not a financial product.

About Noah Holdings

Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE: NOAH; HKEX: 6686) is a wealth management firm headquartered in Singapore and focused on serving high-net-worth global Chinese families. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010 and achieved a dual-primary listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 2022.

Where Global Chinese Wealth Connects

Since its founding in 2005, the Noah team has made cumulative asset allocations exceeding USD 153 billion for global Chinese families, with operations spanning nine countries and regions. Noah’s three platforms have distinct roles: Olive Asset Management helps clients own the future; ARK Wealth Management helps them allocate toward the future; and Glory Family Heritage helps them pass the future on. Together, they provide an integrated range of services spanning investment, asset allocation and succession. Each platform operates through entities licensed in the relevant jurisdictions and only within the scope of their respective authorizations.

Beyond financial services, Noah’s global N+ ecosystem focuses on art, music, culture and private client experiences, building a community rooted in shared values for global Chinese families that extends beyond wealth and across generations.

Wisdom Beyond Wealth

Membership inquiries: WhatsApp: +852 5355 6348, or contact your Noah relationship manager

The information contained herein is for general reference only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer or an invitation to make an offer. N+ memberships and club services are provided by the relevant local operating entities and are subject to local rules.

Media inquiries: Tel./WhatsApp: +852 5532 9909

NAVER D2SF Invests in AI-Driven Precision Medicine Company ImpriMed

  • ImpriMed combines ex vivo functional testing with multimodal AI to support personalized cancer treatment decisions and drug development
  • The investment is part of ImpriMed’s $10 million Series A2 bridge round as the company advances U.S. commercialization and expands into Asia
  • NAVER D2SF to strengthen its global healthcare founder community through its healthcare network and go-to-market expertise

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NAVER D2SF, NAVER’s inhouse corporate venture arm, has invested in ImpriMed, a Silicon Valley-based precision medicine company, joining ImpriMed’s $10 million Series A2 bridge round. ImpriMed develops AI-driven precision medicine solutions that combine ex vivo analysis of patient-derived live cancer cells with genomic, immunophenotypic, and clinical data to support personalized treatment decisions. NAVER D2SF’s investment reflects ImpriMed’s commercial and clinical experience in the U.S. healthcare market and its growing capabilities across precision medicine and drug development.

Precision oncology increasingly relies on integrating multiple types of patient data to account for differences in disease biology and treatment response. ImpriMed applies multimodal AI to patient-specific cancer cell characteristics, drug response profiles, and clinical information to enable more personalized treatment selection.

At the core of ImpriMed’s xCellSense® platform is its ability to keep patient cancer cells viable ex vivo for extended periods, enabling evaluation of their biological characteristics and drug sensitivity. The platform combines these results with immunophenotypic, genomic, and clinical data to guide treatment decisions. ImpriMed is developing AI models trained on more than 3.5 million data points, combining real-world data with functional cell analysis to improve predictive accuracy.

ImpriMed is preparing to commercialize products for blood cancers and blood infection, targeting FDA clearance and CLIA certification by Q1 2027 for an initial U.S. launch. The company has also established business partnerships with major U.S. hospitals as it builds its human health presence in North America. In South Korea, ImpriMed has developed software for multiple myeloma prognosis and therapy-response predictions. The software has been designated an Innovative Medical Device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and is progressing through the approval and commercialization process. ImpriMed also collaborates with leading tertiary hospitals, including Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Seoul Asan Medical Center, and Gangneung Asan Hospital.

ImpriMed’s human healthcare expansion is supported by its commercial experience in veterinary precision oncology and its growing CRO business in drug development. In veterinary medicine, ImpriMed has performed more than 27,000 tests for canine and feline lymphoma to guide treatment decisions. A retrospective study showed a threefold increase in survival time and a fourfold improvement in treatment response, and the findings have been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. ImpriMed’s solutions are currently used by more than 600 veterinary hospitals across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and South Korea.

ImpriMed was co-founded in Silicon Valley by CEO Sungwon Lim and CTO Jamin Koo, who studied together at KAIST and Stanford University. The company brings together expertise in biomedical research, AI modeling, clinical collaboration, and commercialization. Beyond North America, ImpriMed plans to expand into the European and Asian markets.

The $10 million bridge round follows ImpriMed’s $23 million Series A in 2023. The round was led by LB Investment, with participation from new investors NAVER D2SF, Samsung Securities, and Alois Ventures, as well as follow-on investments from existing investors BonAngels and Han River Partners.

NAVER D2SF continues to invest in healthcare startups targeting the North American market. Through NAVER D2SF’s founder network, portfolio companies such as Soundable Health, PranaQ, and NubiLab share local market knowledge and operating experience, fostering collaboration across R&D and go-to-market strategy.

About NAVER D2SF

NAVER D2SF is NAVER’s in-house corporate venture arm, supporting startups through investment and collaboration. Founded in 1999, NAVER has been Korea’s leading search engine for more than 20 years and operates across commerce, content, fintech, and cloud services. Guided by its technology vision of D2 (For Developers, By Developers), NAVER continues to develop new technologies and build global partnerships.

To learn more, visit https://d2sf.naver.com.