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South Australia Named in World’s Most Welcoming Regions – Booking.com’s Traveller Review Awards

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Booking.com has announced the recipients of its 13th annual Traveller Review Awards, revealing South Australia as one of the ‘Top 10 Most Welcoming Regions on Earth’. Based on over 360 million verified customer reviews, the awards honour travel partners who consistently deliver outstanding hospitality and service across accommodations, activities, and transportation options, including flights, car rentals, and taxi services.

In 2025, a record 27,432 partners across Australia are being acknowledged with a Traveller Review Award. Holiday homes remain the most-awarded accommodation across Australia, with 9,894 winners.

Most Welcoming Regions on Earth
Determined by the share of accommodation partners receiving a Traveller Review Award, this year’s Most Welcoming Regions on Earth list showcases the world’s hospitality, inspiring unforgettable adventures for the year.

2025’s Most Welcoming Regions

Todd Lacey, Regional Manager, Oceania for Booking.com commented “Our Booking.com partners go above and beyond to help create memorable travel moments. The annual Traveller Review Awards are just one way that we can spotlight these dedicated hospitality heroes, saying thank you not just from Booking.com, but from the hundreds of millions of travellers who use Booking.com to experience the world.

We’re thrilled to see South Australia recognised on the global stage this year, and are looking forward to continuing to support our local partners as they welcome visitors to the state’s world-class events, wine regions and scenic landscapes.”

For more information about Booking.com’s 2025 Traveller Review Awards, please visit https://www.booking.com/traveller-review-awards/index.en-gb.html

Contact:
Booking Australia Press Office, 
Email: bookingau@havasred.com

About Booking.com:

Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. By investing in the technology that helps take the friction out of travel, Booking.com’s marketplace seamlessly connects millions of travelers with memorable experiences every day. For more information, follow @bookingcom on social media or visit news.booking.com.

U Power Announces Closing of $5.0 Million Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

SHANGHAI, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — U Power Limited (Nasdaq: UCAR) (the “Company” or “U Power”), a vehicle sourcing services provider with a vision to becoming a comprehensive EV battery power solution provider in China, today announced the closing of its previously announced registered direct offering and concurrent private placement with certain institutional investors for the purchase and sale of i) 648,000 Class A ordinary shares  (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”) of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Shares”), ii) Pre-funded Warrants to purchase up to 393,668 Class A Ordinary Shares in the registered direct offering (the “Pre-funded Warrants”), and iii) warrants to purchase up to 1,562,502 Class A Ordinary Shares in the concurrent private placement (the “Common Warrants”) at a combined offering price for each Class A ordinary share and accompanying Common Warrant of $4.80. The Pre-funded Warrants are exercisable immediately and at any time until all of the Pre-funded Warrants are fully exercised, at an exercise price of $0.0001 per Class A Ordinary Share. The Common Warrants are immediately exercisable, have an exercise price of $4.80 per share, and will expire five years from the date of issuance.

The gross proceeds to the Company were approximately $5.0 million before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses.

Additionally, certain existing Series A warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of approximately 100,000 Class A ordinary shares of the Company that were issued to such institutional investors in December 2023, at an exercise price of $120.00 per share, have been amended to have an exercise price of $4.80 per share.

Maxim Group LLC acted as the sole placement agent in connection with the offering.

The Shares, the Pre-funded Warrants and the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Pre-funded Warrants described above were offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-282901) that was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 8, 2024. The Common Warrants and the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Common Warrants were offered in a private placement under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Act”), as amended, and Regulation D promulgated thereunder and have not been registered under the Act or applicable state securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor will there be any sales of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. A prospectus supplement relating to the sales of the Shares and the Pre-funded Warrants has been filed by the Company with the SEC and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus may also be obtained from Maxim Group LLC at 300 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, by phone at (212) 895-3500 or e-mail at syndicate@maximgrp.com.

About U Power Limited

U Power Limited is a vehicle sourcing services provider, with a vision to becoming an EV market player primarily focused on its proprietary battery-swapping technology, or UOTTA technology, which is an intelligent modular battery-swapping technology designed to provide a comprehensive battery power solution for EVs. Since its operation in 2013, the Company has established a vehicle sourcing network in China’s lower-tier cities. The Company has developed two types of battery-swapping stations for compatible EVs and is operating one manufacturing factory in Zibo City, Shandong Province, China. For more information, please visit the Company’s website: http://ir.upincar.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current view about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to,” “propose,” “potential,” “continue” or similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and other filings with the SEC.

Contact

U Power Limited
Investor Relations Department
Email: ir@upincar.com

Robin Yang, Partner
ICR, LLC
Email: UPower.IR@icrinc.com
Phone: +1 (212) 475-0415

DeTect to Deliver MERLIN™ True3D™ Bird Detection Radar to Hanseo University’s Flight Education Center in South Korea

DeTect’s state-of-the-art MERLIN True3D bird radar is the most widely used system for commercial airport and military airfield bird-aircraft strike risk management.

PANAMA CITY, Fla., Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — DeTect, Inc. (DeTect) is shipping a MERLIN True3D Bird Detection Radar (BDR) to Hanseo University’s Flight Education Center in South Korea with the system to be installed and operational in mid-February. The system will be used to support flight safety for pilot training and for research, providing real-time bird and drone tracking and strike risk alerting to air traffic controllers and airfield management. DeTect and Hanseo entered into an agreement in June 2024 to deploy the MERLIN system at the training centre airstrip in Taean. “The system will be installed adjacent to the runway and will provide 24-7 real-time information on aircraft, bird and drone activity in support of flight safety” said Gary Andrews DeTect CEO. “The radar detects out to 11 kilometers around the airfield with live displays and risk alerts in the Air Traffic Control tower and other user locations.”

ABOUT DETECT INC:

DeTect is a fully integrated radar company with research, engineering and manufacturing facilities in Florida, Canada and Poland, and offices in North Dakota, California, Hawaii, London, Poland and South Korea. The company’s MERLIN BDR is the most proven and widely used system for aircraft-bird strike risk management. Other DeTect products include HARRIER™ Security and Surveillance Radars, the DroneWatcher™ counter-UAS system, MERLIN bird protection systems for wind farms, and the HARRIER Aircraft Detection Lighting System.  Since 2003, DeTect has manufactured and delivered over 1100 systems in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

 

MERLIN True3D bird and drone detection radar system installation (USA)
MERLIN True3D bird and drone detection radar system installation (USA)

 

Xiao-I (AIXI) Responds to “DeepSeek” Developments, Showcases Cost-Effective RL Breakthroughs in Hua Zang LLM, and Announces U.S. Expansion

PISCATAWAY, N.J., Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Xiao-I Corporation (NASDAQ: AIXI), a leading artificial intelligence company (“Xiao-I”), today commented on recent developments surrounding “DeepSeek,” emphasizing the company’s longstanding expertise in reinforcement learning (RL) technology. The company highlighted how the firm has seamlessly integrated these advanced RL capabilities into its proprietary Hua Zang Large Language Model (LLM), offering a highly efficient solution that reduces both licensing and hardware costs.

Xiao-I’s Hua Zang LLM leverages cutting-edge RL algorithms that the company has been refining for years—capabilities that have enabled the model to be deployed with minimal infrastructure outlay. The company underscored that the latest headlines around “DeepSeek” are unsurprising, given the company’s ongoing research and innovation in advanced AI.

“As attention grows around new AI developments like DeepSeek, we want our investors and clients to know that Xiao-I has been quietly but diligently pushing the boundaries of reinforcement learning,” said a company spokesperson. “Our Hua Zang LLM incorporates proprietary RL techniques, which deliver high performance and scalability, yet maintain a cost structure that sets us apart from other large language models. This efficiency has already proven itself in applications such as our recent HR digitization project for a Hong Kong government entity.”

Hua Zang LLM’s Advantages

  • Reinforcement Learning (RL) Core: Years of in-house R&D have culminated in a more efficient RL framework, optimizing training times and deployment costs.
  • Scalable Infrastructure: Achieves top-tier performance industry-specific model without requiring extensive, high-cost GPU clusters, lowering total cost of ownership for enterprise clients.
  • Competitive Licensing Model: Offers flexible, cost-effective licensing, making enterprise-scale LLM adoption accessible to organizations of all sizes.

Following success in Asia, Xiao-I now plans to expand its enterprise LLM solutions into the United States, tailoring its offerings to meet the dynamic needs of U.S. corporations seeking robust and budget-friendly AI services.

“We are excited to bring our cost-effective solutions to U.S. enterprises,” continued the company spokesperson. “Our RL-optimized Hua Zang LLM addresses rising concerns about excessive hardware and licensing expenses, giving clients the freedom to scale AI initiatives without compromising on quality or performance.”

About Xiao-I Corporation

Xiao-I Corporation is a leading cognitive intelligence enterprise in China that offers a diverse range of business solutions and services in artificial intelligence, covering natural language processing, voice and image recognition, machine learning, and affective computing. Since its inception in 2001, the Company has developed an extensive portfolio of cognitive intelligence technologies that are highly suitable and have been applied to a wide variety of business cases. Xiao-I powers its cognitive intelligence products and services with its cutting-edge, proprietary AI technologies to enable and promote industrial digitization, intelligent upgrading, and transformation. For more information, please visit: www.xiaoi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company’s ability to achieve its goals and strategies, the Company’s future business development and plans for future business development, including its financial conditions and results of operations, product and service demand and acceptance, reputation and brand, the impact of competition and pricing, changes in technology, government regulations, fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China, and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 30, 2024, as well as its current reports on Form 6-K and other filings, all of which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

/DISREGARD RELEASE: TuanChe Limited/

We are advised by TuanChe Limited that journalists and other readers should disregard the news release, TuanChe Announces Adoption of DeepSeek R1 Model in its Holographic Image Creation Processes, issued 27-Jan-2025 over PR Newswire.

TuanChe Announces Adoption of DeepSeek R1 Model in its Holographic Image Creation Processes

BEIJING, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — TuanChe Limited (NASDAQ: TC) (“TuanChe” or the “Company”), a leading automotive marketplace platform, announced today its plan to adopt DeepSeek’s newly released R1 model as the foundation for its holographic AI applications. This move aims to further strengthen TuanChe’s technological capabilities in holographic digital content generation and interaction, providing users with a more immersive and intelligent holographic experience.

The DeepSeek R1 model has significantly enhanced the deep reasoning abilities of large-scale models through a multi-stage loop training approach and has demonstrated outstanding performance in tasks such as mathematics, coding, and natural language reasoning. Notably, its breakthrough in reinforcement learning allows DeepSeek R1 to autonomously learn complex reasoning strategies through self-play and evolution, eliminating the need for large amounts of labeled data.

TuanChe is committed to optimizing digital content creation efficiency and quality through  advanced algorithms. The decision to integrate DeepSeek R1 into its holographic AI systems was driven by the model’s superior reasoning capabilities and autonomous learning potential.

TuanChe plans to integrate DeepSeek R1 into its holographic digital content generation and interaction platform. By leveraging R1’s robust inference algorithms, TuanChe aims to optimize its holographic image creation processes. The deep learning capabilities of R1 enable more precise capture and reconstruction of 3D objects’ geometric and texture details, delivering lifelike, highly detailed holographic visuals.

Moreover, DeepSeek R1’s open-source nature creates opportunities for enhanced collaboration and innovation. TuanChe intends to conduct secondary development and customization using R1’s open-source code to address diverse customer needs across various applications.

TuanChe stated that adopting DeepSeek R1 as the cornerstone of its holographic AI applications represents a pivotal step in the company’s technological development. Moving forward, the Company will continue to increase its investments in artificial intelligence and holographic technologies, delivering innovative, practical solutions that provide users with an intelligent and immersive holographic experience.

As TuanChe advances its integration of DeepSeek R1, it is expected to unveil more realistic, dynamic, and intelligent holographic digital content in the near future.

About TuanChe Limited

Founded in 2010, TuanChe Limited (NASDAQ: TC) is China’s leading automotive marketplace platform. TuanChe is dedicated to connecting automotive consumers with manufacturers, dealers, and service providers. By integrating its digital platforms with offline sales events, TuanChe offers comprehensive automotive marketing and transaction services. Through its integrated marketing strategies, TuanChe transforms individual and independent car purchases into large-scale group buying experiences, using an interactive many-to-many model.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s business plans and development, business outlook, which can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

Media Enquiries:

Lydia Hu
lydia.hu@tuanche.com

ThinkCyte expands product portfolio to drive innovation in drug discovery and disease research.

TOKYO, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ThinkCyte, a biotechnology company pioneering novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based cell analysis and sorting instruments, announced today that it will begin the pre-commercial launch of its new cell analysis platform, VisionCyte™. The announcement coincides with the 2025 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) conference in San Diego, CA from January 27-30, 2025, where VisionCyte was named a finalist for the 2025 New Product Award. The launch of VisionCyte extends ThinkCyte’s product portfolio of life science research platforms beyond VisionSort, the company’s flagship product launched in 2023 and adopted by leading biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutions worldwide.

The new VisionCyte™ cell analysis platform.
The new VisionCyte™ cell analysis platform.

The VisionCyte platform leverages high resolution morphological profiling, high-throughput capabilities, and advanced AI analysis to uncover novel biomarkers and facilitate the discovery of new and diversified hits and targets for drug discovery. The full commercial rollout of VisionCyte will occur in 2025, with an initial line of customer ready units available in H2 2025. The company also announced the launch of its Celluminate cell tracking kits, compatible with both VisionSort and VisionCyte, for enabling discovery applications in areas where existing cell surface cell markers are limited such as specific hematological conditions, stem cell research, and age-related diseases.

“The expansion of our product portfolio reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing life science research.” said Waichiro Katsuda, Chief Executive Officer at ThinkCyte. “By introducing innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of scientists worldwide, we’re not just adding products—we’re providing the tools to accelerate discoveries in disease understanding and drug discovery to improve lives.”

More information about the VisionCyte platform can be found by visiting the ThinkCyte booth (#2632) at SLAS 2025 or by visiting thinkcyte.com/visioncyte.

About ThinkCyte

ThinkCyte, founded in 2016 with offices in Tokyo, Japan and Redwood City, California is a biotechnology company that develops innovative scientific instruments based on integrated, multidisciplinary technologies to enable life science research, diagnostics, and therapeutic development. The company pioneered Ghost Cytometry™, a proprietary AI-based, label-free cell analysis and sorting technology and partners with major global biopharmaceutical companies and leading academic research institutes to drive pioneering research. For more information, please visit www.thinkcyte.com.

 

bbSOL Unveils its Largest Airdrop on Bybit Web3

DUBAI, UAE, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is unleashing the rewarding power of its SOL liquid staking token bbSOL in the first mega airdrop of 2025, the bbSOL Golden Maxi Rewards event. With over $700,000 worth of SONIC, J, SSI, and ALCH up for grabs in prizes, the event is bbSOL’s largest giveaway to date, and promises to get Bybit Web3 users in festive spirit throughout the Lunar New Year.

From Jan. 27 to Feb. 17, 2025, eligible users may exclusively get on board the growth journey of bbSOL and explore rewards options during the event, by simply staking 0.5 SOL or more on Bybit Web3 using their Bybit Web3 Seed Phrase Wallet. Registration and other tasks are required, terms and conditions apply. The top stakers may be eligible for up to 800 J, 800 SONIC, 80 SSI, and 800 ALCH in Red Packets.

Barely five months’ old, bbSOL is fast maturing as a popular portal to the Solana ecosystem, connecting Bybit Web3 users to the immense opportunities on the emerging SOL network without leaving the Bybit app. The innovative SOL staking solution has seen over $280 million in Total Value locked since its launch.

“At Bybit Web3, we are constantly thinking out of the box to provide more creative solutions and pathways to returns. bbSOL is the culmination of our focus on product innovation. And we are committed to offering an expansive range of rewards and helping our users stay ahead of the curve of Web3 innovations,” said Emily Bao, Head of Spot and Web3 at Bybit.

bbSOL Unveils its Largest Airdrop on Bybit Web3
bbSOL Unveils its Largest Airdrop on Bybit Web3

Bybit Web3 made significant strides in 2024, building a robust ecosystem to connect millions of users worldwide to  multi-chain opportunities. In a recent keynote address by Ben Zhou, the CEO and Co-founder of Bybit alluded to the future of on-chain Bybit as a gateway to Web3. The Web3 dimension of Bybit plays a pivotal role in integrating on-chain asset management, delivering advanced CeDeFi trading solutions into a seamless Web3 experience for all.

#Bybit / #TheCryptoArk / #BybitWeb3

About Bybit Web3

Bybit Web3 is redefining openness in the decentralized world, creating a simpler, open, and equal ecosystem for everyone. We are committed to welcoming builders, creators, and partners in the blockchain space, extending an invitation to both crypto enthusiasts and the curious, with a community of over 10 million wallet users, over 20 major ecosystem partners, and counting.

Bybit Web3 provides a comprehensive suite of Web3 products designed to make accessing, swapping, collecting and growing Web3 assets as open and simple as possible. Our wallets, marketplaces and platforms are all backed by the security and expertise that define Bybit as a top 3 global crypto exchange, trusted by 40 million users globally.

Join the revolution now and open the door to your Web3 future with Bybit.

For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Web3.

About Bybit

Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 60 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit is redefining openness in the decentralized world by creating a simpler, open and equal ecosystem for everyone. With a strong focus on Web3, Bybit partners strategically with leading blockchain protocols to provide robust infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools, Bybit bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi, empowering builders, creators, and enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of Web3. Discover the future of decentralized finance at Bybit.com.

For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com
For updates, please follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social Media

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