Winners Announced in $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE for Advancements in Autonomous Ocean Exploration

Winners also Announced for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s $1M Bonus Prize for Underwater “Sniffer” Technology



MONACO-Monday 3 June 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, XPRIZE, the global leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges, has announced winners in the $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, a global competition to advance ocean technologies for rapid, unmanned and high-resolution ocean exploration and discovery.

The results were revealed at an awards ceremony hosted at the world-renowned Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, part of the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation. The grand prize winner, receiving a total of $4M, was GEBCO-NF Alumni, an international team based in the United States, while KUROSHIO, from Japan, claimed $1M as the runner-up:

    GEBCO-NF (International) – Led by Rochelle Wigley, Ph.D. and Yulia Zarayskaya, Ph.D., the 14-nation team integrated existing technologies and ocean-mapping experience with a robust and low-cost unmanned surface vessel, the SeaKIT, along with a novel cloud-based data processing system that allows for rapid seabed visualization, to contribute towards comprehensive mapping of the ocean floor by 2030.
    KUROSHIO (Yokosuka, Japan) – Led by Takeshi Nakatani, Ph.D., the team integrated technologies from their partners to create a surface vessel and software platform that can operate with different autonomous underwater vessels, which increases the versatility of their technology.

The $1M National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bonus Prize for teams to develop technology that could detect a chemical or biological signal underwater and autonomously track it to its source was split between junior high school team Ocean Quest from San Jose, California, claiming $800K as the winner, and Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers, from Florida, taking $200K as runner-up.

“Currently, more than 80 percent of the world’s ocean is unmapped, and I'm proud to have worked alongside the people who will change this as a part of this XPRIZE,” said Executive Director of the Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, Jyotika Virmani, Ph.D. “Our vision is that these new technologies will enable the discovery of new ocean species, underwater resources, geological features, and safer methods of exploring the deep sea, while illuminating the mysteries of the deep and discovering what has remained unknown since the dawn of time.”

Additionally, the judges unanimously recommended a $200K “Moonshot Award” for Team Tao from the United Kingdom for its unique approach to seafloor mapping, even though they did not meet the criteria of the competition.

“The Ocean Discovery XPRIZE teams' accomplishments are a true reflection of XPRIZE’s core belief that incentivizing the crowd will drive innovation and investment, leading to a massive shift in the state of the market,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “It is an honor to celebrate the winning teams GEBCO-NF Alumni, KUROSHIO, Ocean Quest, Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers, as well as Team Tao for their unprecedented, radical approach. We look forward to watching these pioneers shape the future of ocean exploration and discovery.”

To determine winners, the panel of independent judges reviewed data from field testing conducted in Kalamata, Greece and Ponce, Puerto Rico. In Kalamata, teams had up to 24 hours to map at least 250 km2 of the ocean seafloor at 5m horizontal resolution or higher. The gold-standard high-resolution baseline maps, against which the team maps were judged, were provided by Ocean Infinity and Fugro, while Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) software and geodatabase management, donated its award-winning ArcGIS Online platform for the teams and judges to use.

“At Shell, we are firm believers in the power of ideas and the value of collaboration to solve big problems,” said Martin Stauble, Shell’s Vice President Exploration North America and Brazil. “We are proud to be part of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE. This prize energized teams from across the globe and stimulated innovation, technology and learning, all in support of providing data for a better understanding of our oceans. We hope that the XPRIZE results will be a catalyst to create a step-change in the speed and quality of data that companies, research institutes and society can use.”

As part of the total $7M prize purse, four teams opted to compete for the $1M NOAA Bonus Prize. In a field test in Ponce, Puerto Rico, teams needed to demonstrate that their technology can “sniff out” a specified object in the ocean by first detecting and then tracing a biological or chemical signal to its source. The judges determined that no single team was able to trace the signal to its source in the timeframe allowed, so the prize was divided among the two teams that came the closest.

Last year, nine finalist teams were awarded an equal share of the first $1M of the $7M prize purse, in recognition of their progress-to-date and to support the teams’ continued technological development.

“NOAA is proud to support this important competition that is accelerating the development of new unmanned tools capable of tracking chemical and biological signals in our ocean,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., acting NOAA administrator. “The cutting-edge technologies that have emerged as a result of the NOAA Bonus Prize will help fuel a growing Blue Economy and inspire future innovation.”

As part of its post-prize impact work, XPRIZE announced a partnership with Seabed 2030, a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) to inspire the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030 and to compile all bathymetric data into the freely-available GEBCO Ocean Map.

Additionally, and in anticipation of World Oceans Day on June 8th, XPRIZE will launch a science fiction ocean anthology featuring 19 original short stories and artwork set in a future when technology has helped unlock the secrets of the world’s oceans.

For more information, visit oceandiscovery.xprize.org.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE designs and operates multi-million-dollar, global competitions to incentivize the development of technological breakthroughs that accelerate humanity toward a better future. Active competitions include the $20 Million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, the $10 Million ANA Avatar XPRIZE and the $5 Million IBM Watson AI XPRIZE. For more information, visit xprize.org.

About Royal Dutch Shell

Shell has been a technology pioneer for more than 100 years, and has come up with many industry-transforming “firsts” to deliver energy its customers and partners need. Since 2007, Shell has spent more than $1 billion annually on research and development. In 2014, our research and development expenditures were $1.2 billion. Shell’s technical and engineering staff amount to more than 43,000.

Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. For further information, visit www.shell.com.

About National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a science-based federal agency within the Department of Commerce with regulatory, operational and information service responsibilities with a presence in every state and U.S. territories. NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources. For more information, visit www.noaa.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190531005539/en/

Contacts

Eric Desatnik & Katherine Schelbert
310.741.4880 / eric@xprize.org
katherine.schelbert@xprize.org


Permalink : https://www.aetoswire.com/news/winners-announced-in-7m-shell-ocean-discovery-xprize-for-advancements-in-autonomous-ocean-exploration/en

Visa Increases Global Investment in Women’s Soccer

Announces Five-Year Partnership with U.S. Soccer Federation in Support of U.S. Women’s National Team, Presenting Sponsor of SheBelieves Cup

Launches U.S. Marketing Campaign Featuring Players of the U.S. Women’s National Team

Unveils Global Team Visa Roster and Presenting Partner of the Player of the Match for FIFA Women’s World Cup™


SAN FRANCISCO-Saturday 1 June 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Heading into the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, Visa (NYSE:V) today announced an expanded commitment to women’s soccer, leveraging the brand’s sponsorship platform to inspire women athletes amidst the global gender equality and women’s empowerment movement.

“Sport presents a huge opportunity for women to pursue their dreams on and off the field,” said Lynne Biggar, chief marketing and communications officer, Visa. “Women make the vast majority of consumer purchases and start millions of small businesses a year. By making a substantial investment in women’s initiatives, including soccer, Visa is celebrating this powerful global force.”

Visa’s Newest Investments Include:

Supporting Women’s Soccer in the U.S. and Beyond

Partnership with United States Soccer Federation

Visa has entered a five-year sponsorship agreement with the world leader in women’s soccer, the U.S. Soccer Federation, to contribute to its long-standing investment in the development of women’s soccer and support the U.S. Women’s National Team through 2023. The support of U.S. Women’s Soccer complements Visa’s global investment in women’s soccer through partnerships with UEFA Women’s Football and Visa’s longstanding partnership with FIFA, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Uruguay 2018 and FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018.

Visa will be the presenting sponsor of the SheBelieves Cup, which was started in the run-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™, a four-team women’s international team tournament played in the United States each year. The tournament is based around U.S. Soccer’s SheBelieves initiative, focused on inspiring young girls and women to accomplish their goals and dreams. The agreement between U.S. Soccer and Visa was facilitated by Soccer United Marketing (SUM), U.S. Soccer’s partner for the past 15 years.

“We are incredibly excited Visa is partnering with us on our overall mission to become the preeminent sport in the U.S.,” said Jay Berhalter, chief commercial officer, U.S. Soccer. “With Visa joining us in our long-term investment in women’s soccer, we will continue to increase opportunities for women players, coaches and referees at all levels. Overall, we are looking forward to Visa helping us reach our mission by increasing participation, developing world class players, coaches and referees, and increasing fan engagement.”

“Soccer United Marketing is proud to facilitate this multi-year partnership between U.S. Soccer and Visa,” said Jen Cramer, senior vice president, SUM. “We are always looking to establish partnerships with iconic, forward-thinking brands who are committed to advancing the game and developing female leaders for the next generation both in athletics and business. This exciting relationship between Visa and U.S. Soccer will elevate soccer’s popularity to even higher levels in North America, especially in advance of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™.”

Amplifying Women in Soccer

Visa is launching a new U.S. marketing campaign celebrating the U.S. Women’s National Team. The centerpiece is a new ad spotlighting stars Mallory Pugh, Becky Sauerbrunn, Rose Lavelle, Jessica McDonald, Abby Dahlkemper and Adrianna Franch as they attempt to earn a fourth star by winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ title. The ad provides a glimpse into the players’ hard work and determination as they strive to achieve greatness on the world stage this summer. This builds upon Visa’s new global ad campaign, “One Moment Can Change the Game,” focused on elevating women in sports.

“My teammates inspire me in so many ways every day,” said Mallory Pugh, United States Women’s National Team Forward. “I am so proud to be part of Visa’s campaign which celebrates athletes the way we are and showcases the magic moments on the field. Visa’s campaign is another incredibly empowering message for women and girls.”

Celebrating Women at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™

Player of the Match, Presented by Visa

Visa is the presenting sponsor of the Player of the Match for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™, celebrating women soccer players. Soccer fans worldwide will have the opportunity to vote on FIFA.com for their favorite player for each of the 52 matches during the tournament. Players can be selected for their outstanding performance – amazing play, display of sportsmanship, or some other moment on the field.

The Player of the Match, Presented by Visa, trophy is designed to celebrate and create an opportunity for fans to have a voice and contribute to the growing recognition of the women in soccer across the world.

Team Visa Expansion

Visa’s roster of Team Visa athletes is expanding, as 18 new women’s soccer players from 16 countries will join Team Visa. They include: Ellie Carpenter (Australia), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Nadia Nadim (Denmark), Lucy Bronze (England), Fran Kirby (England), Nikita Parris (England), Eugenie Le Sommer(France), Dzsenifer Marozsán (Germany), Laura Giuliani (Italy), Shanice vd Sanden (Netherlands), Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway), Ewa Pajor (Poland), Kim Little (Scotland), Ramona Bachmann (Switzerland), Alexia Putellas (Spain), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden), Didem Karagenç (Turkey) and Megan Rapinoe (United States).

Since the beginning of the Team Visa program in 2000, on average fifty four percent of Team Visa have been women, including the newly announced 18 women soccer players from around the world. The program has supported more than 400 athletes and aims to provide athletes with the resources needed to achieve their goals on and off the field.

Visa Everywhere Initiative: Women’s Global Edition

On the opening day of the tournament on June 7, Visa will host the finals event for its first global competition focused on celebrating women entrepreneurs who are making strides in Fintech and Social Impact around the world. Twelve finalists from six regions will pitch their solutions for a chance to win the grand prize of $100,000 per challenge.

Uplifting Women from the Field to the Boardroom

Visa’s support for women goes beyond the playing field. Ninety four percent of women in the C-suite have played a sport at some time in their lives.1 Given the correlation between success in sport and business, Visa is a catalyst for supporting and championing women in all facets of life. Visa’s investment in women’s soccer globally builds on Visa’s initiatives that support women entrepreneurs and small business owners. Others include:

    She’s Next, Empowered by Visa, a global program championing women in their efforts to fund, run and grow their small businesses.
    Money is Changing, Visa’s multimillion-dollar campaign in the U.S., which builds on its millennial women focus and highlights practical steps women have taken to change the game and challenge existing taboos when it comes to money.

“As a leading sponsor of women’s soccer and advocate for female empowerment, Visa is dedicated to accelerating the growing support of the game, on and off the field,” continued Lynne Biggar, chief marketing and communications officer, Visa. “From championing professional players and celebrating their stories, to tapping into the strength of the Visa brand and elevating the game’s visibility across the world, Visa’s commitment to women’s soccer is here to stay.”

1 EY and espnW “Where Will You Find Your Next Leader?” study

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device, for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190530005245/en/

Contacts

Visa Inc.
Sheerin Salimi
shesalim@visa.com

Permalink : https://www.aetoswire.com/news/visa-increases-global-investment-in-womenrsquos-soccer/en

Rimini Street’s Nancy Lyskawa Wins Female Executive of the Year

 IT executive earns a gold Stevie Award for leading Rimini Street’s global client onboarding team



LAS VEGAS-Saturday 1 June 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of enterprise software products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products and a Salesforce partner, today announced that Nancy Lyskawa, Rimini Street’s senior vice president of Global Client Onboarding, was honored with a gold Stevie® Award for Female Executive of the Year in the 15th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Ms. Lyskawa has earned this recognition for her executive role leading the Company’s global client onboarding team which focuses on creating a holistic client experience, orchestrating a detailed, precise onboarding process to ensure clients have a smooth transition from their previous support provider to Rimini Street support.

The worldwide Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run. Over 1,500 nominations were submitted for consideration in more than 90 categories, including the Female Executive of the Year category.

Innovating the Client Onboarding Experience

Ms. Lyskawa has led hundreds of successful client onboarding projects with a consistent track record of providing exceptional support for new clients onboarding around the world. Onboarding is one of the key programs that sets the stage for a long-term, successful relationship between Rimini Street and its clients. Ms. Lyskawa and her team are dedicated to continuously improving and innovating the onboarding process to satisfy evolving client requirements. The onboarding program combines a structured ISO 9001:2015 certification process with quality management principles to ensure a successful and smooth project completion and client satisfaction.

“Nancy brings together her background in finance, project management and deep IT industry experience, along with an intimate understanding of what our clients care about most, to guide and support a new client’s onboarding journey to success,” said Seth A. Ravin, Rimini Street CEO. “Nancy utilizes an advanced analytical approach to managing the client onboarding process for all new clients. She embodies the Company’s steadfast, unwavering dedication to providing outstanding client service, and we are very proud of this well-earned recognition of her professional accomplishments.”

“I am honored to receive this Stevie award recognition, and would like to congratulate all award recipients and nominees in each ‘Women in Business’ category,” said Nancy Lyskawa, senior vice president of Global Client Onboarding, Rimini Street. “It is a privilege to represent Rimini Street and my dedicated onboarding team who deliver exceptional support to clients every day with a focus on ensuring their needs are met with a successful and smooth onboarding process that sets clients up for success.”

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

About Rimini Street, Inc.

Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI) is a global provider of enterprise software products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products and a Salesforce partner. The Company has redefined enterprise software support services since 2005 with an innovative, award-winning program that enables licensees of IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP and other enterprise software vendors to save up to 90 percent on total maintenance costs. Clients can remain on their current software release without any required upgrades for a minimum of 15 years. Over 1,850 global Fortune 500, midmarket, public sector and other organizations from a broad range of industries currently rely on Rimini Street as their trusted, third-party support provider. To learn more, please visit http://www.riministreet.com follow @riministreet on Twitter and find Rimini Street on Facebook and LinkedIn. (C-RMNI)

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this communication are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “may,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “continue,” “future,” “will,” “expect,” “outlook” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expectations of future events, future opportunities, global expansion and other growth initiatives and our investments in such initiatives. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance, nor are these statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties regarding Rimini Street’s business, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in the business environment in which Rimini Street operates, including inflation and interest rates, and general financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting the industry in which Rimini Street operates; adverse developments in pending litigation or in the government inquiry or any new litigation; the final amount and timing of any refunds from Oracle related to our litigation; our need and ability to raise additional equity or debt financing on favorable terms and our ability to generate cash flows from operations to help fund increased investment in our growth initiatives; the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity requirements; the terms and impact of our outstanding 13.00% Series A Preferred Stock; changes in taxes, laws and regulations; competitive product and pricing activity; difficulties of managing growth profitably; the success of our recently introduced products and services, including Rimini Street Mobility, Rimini Street Analytics, Rimini Street Advanced Database Security, and services for Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud products, in addition to products and services we expect to introduce in the near future; the loss of one or more members of Rimini Street’s management team; uncertainty as to the long-term value of Rimini Street’s equity securities; and those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Rimini Street’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 14, 2019, and as updated from time to time by Rimini Street’s future Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings by Rimini Street with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, forward-looking statements provide Rimini Street’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. Rimini Street anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Rimini Street’s assessments to change. However, while Rimini Street may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Rimini Street specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Rimini Street’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.

© 2019 Rimini Street, Inc. All rights reserved. “Rimini Street” is a registered trademark of Rimini Street, Inc. in the United States and other countries, and Rimini Street, the Rimini Street logo, and combinations thereof, and other marks marked by TM are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, and unless otherwise specified, Rimini Street claims no affiliation, endorsement, or association with any such trademark holder or other companies referenced herein.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190530005028/en/

Contacts

Michelle McGlocklin
Rimini Street, Inc.
+1 925 523-8414
mmcglocklin@riministreet.com


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PlugXR Expands AR Market by Adding PTC Vuforia for Seamless AR Apps and Experiences

NO Coding or Scripts; NO Licensing; Apps Published Automatically



SANTA CLARA, Calif. -Saturday 1 June 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AWE USA -- PlugXR, Inc., an Augmented Reality (AR) Silicon Valley startup in San Jose, today announced enhancement of its AR Authoring Platform PlugXR Creator, by seamlessly integrating PTC’s Vuforia® Engine platform.

PlugXR Creator & Vuforia SDK

The world-wide market for AR applications is reaching a critical point with leading companies using AR to enhance their products and services. However, the complexities of AR development and resources stifle mass adoption across industries. PlugXR has developed its Creator Platform to bridge this gap, by reducing the time and cost of AR applications development for most markets. This technology will help expand AR development by enabling anyone to create AR experiences in minutes.

Brad Pitser, Director of Product Management, PTC Vuforia, says, “Vuforia Engine provides the ability to leverage consistent performance of AR applications, simultaneously across multiple platforms. Using Vuforia’s powerful and advanced computer-vision SDK, PlugXR Creator allows anyone including developers to make engaging AR applications that can be built and viewed in just minutes.”

“PlugXR partnership with Vuforia enables rapid development and deployment of cost-efficient solutions which can transform industries. Now anyone can create AR apps, in less than an hour, with no coding or scripts. They can also auto-generate .apk (Android) and .ipa (iOS) seamlessly, without installing Android Studio or XCODE and without any additional licensing fees, using our web-based PlugXR Creator,” says Shivaji Yerra, PlugXR Founder & CEO.

PlugXR Creator Subscription

PlugXR Creator includes more advanced features which require absolutely NO Coding for animations, event handlers, custom triggers, CTA, widgets, and multiple object interactions by supporting rich multimedia caontent like 3D models, 2D images, HD video, audio, buttons, text and more.

PlugXR Creator is available for bundled subscription pricing from June 15, 2019 with 15-days free trial with no additional licensing fees.

About PlugXR

PlugXR, Inc. develops seamless products to accelerate and expand AR market for millions of programmers and non-programmers with NO coding skills to publish new AR Apps or AR experiences in PlugXR App or in existing App in an hour using popular SDKs.

Website: www.plugxr.com
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqwuOGIbe1g
Brochure: http://tinyurl.com/yyn77nd7

PTC and Vuforia are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190531005525/en/

Contacts

Mike Raghavan
Tel: +1-408-921-1317
Email: sales@plugxr.com

Permalink : https://www.aetoswire.com/news/plugxr-expands-ar-market-by-adding-ptc-vuforia-for-seamless-ar-apps-and-experiences/en

Toshiba Memory Holdings to Implement 1.2 Trillion Yen Financing Through Preferred Stock and Loans

TOKYO-Saturday 1 June 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Toshiba Memory Holdings Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, announced today that its board of directors has agreed today with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Bank, Ltd., and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., (hereinafter: main financial banks), to take on 900 billion yen in new loans and an additional commitment line of 100 billion yen, aiming to further strengthen the company’s business base and capital structure. The board of directors also decided today to issue 300 billion yen worth of non-convertible-bond-type preferred stock as a third-party allotment to Development Bank of Japan Inc., bringing the total amount of new financing to 1.2 trillion yen. Both financing initiatives are scheduled to be implemented by the end of June.

The new financing will be used to refinance loans totaling of 600 billion yen from its main financial banks for the acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corporation last June by K.K. Pangea, a special-purpose company formed by a consortium led by Bain Capital Private Equity, LP. The company will also reorganize its capital structure through moves including early redemption of existing non-convertible-bond-type preferred stock.

Toshiba Memory Holdings will continue to enhance its competitiveness by deploying various financial measures going forward. This will include implementing cutting-edge R&D targeted at flash memory and responding to promising market trends with strategic capital investments in its “K1” manufacturing facility in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.

About Toshiba Memory

Toshiba Memory Group, a world leader in memory solutions, is dedicated to the development, production and sales of flash memory and SSDs. In April 2017, Toshiba Memory was spun off from Toshiba Corporation, the company that invented NAND flash memory in 1987. Toshiba Memory pioneers cutting-edge memory solutions and services that enrich people's lives and expand society's horizons. The company's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, SSDs, automotive and data centers. For more information on Toshiba Memory, please visit https://business.toshiba-memory.com/en-jp/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190531005313/en/

Contacts

Toshiba Memory Holdings Corporation
Kota Yamaji
Public Relations & Investors Relations
Phone: +81-3-6478-2319
tmchq-tmchd-info@ml.toshiba.co.jp


Permalink : https://www.aetoswire.com/news/toshiba-memory-holdings-to-implement-12-trillion-yen-financing-through-preferred-stock-and-loans/en

Mavenir Scoops Award for Next Generation 5G Core

 Leading contributor to mobile network development is ready to deploy its cloud native 5G Core solution



RICHARDSON, Texas & BERLIN -Saturday 1 June 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mavenir, the industry’s only End-to-End Network Software Provider, was recognized as the leading contributor in the development of the next generation of software-led mobile networks for its advanced cloud native 5G Core at the Network Virtualization Europe conference in Berlin.

The 5G Core is critical as next generation 5G mobile networks represent a quantam shift in the principles of network architecture. Instead of serving a handful of different device types and applications, 5G networks will be required to support practically every conceivable device, application and service from the consumer, enterprise & industrial sectors. As a result, each 5G network needs to scale from supporting millions to billions of connections – with data handling that seamlessly scales up from gigabytes to petabytes.

Mavenir’s approach has focused on redefining the economics of building mobile networks through software-led solutions that are hardware-agnostic, thereby the cost of building the 5G core (5GC) network. Mavenir also simplifies operational complexity by supporting open interfaces and Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) hardware deployments; completely eliminating the operator’s reliance on costly proprietary solutions from traditional vendors.

Mavenir also allows operators to transition to a microservices framework that allows network functions to be engineered into smaller, independent services that are not dependent upon any specific coding language or proprietary system. Utilizing cloud native microservices Mavenir uniquely implements interoperable solutions that 3GPP definitions don’t address, including working with legacy protocols. Additionally, Mavenir offers operators numerous options for delivering rapid value with a flexible core evolutionary path that greatly reduces risk while delivering unlimited scale and significantly improved speed, security and reliability.

“We have already demonstrated our abilities to provide the most important 5GC functions such as AMF, SMF, UPF, NSSF, AUSF and NRF to Tier-1 mobile network operators in the US and Europe,” said Pardeep Kohli, Mavenir President and CEO. “Now the importance of our contribution to accelerate the introduction, and reduce the cost, of building 5G networks has been recognized by the expert judges in these prestigious awards.”

Added Kohli, “Mavenir has also developed machine learning, Security as a Solution (SECaaS) functionality that supports signaling plane security, DDoS detection and IoT service anomaly detection as part of our NWDAF offering. Mavenir’s contribution helps reduce the time-to-market for 5G services by minimizing system integration.”

About Mavenir:

Mavenir is the industry's only 100% software, End-to End, Cloud-Native Network Software Provider. Focused on accelerating software network transformation and redefining network economics for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) by offering a comprehensive end-to-end product portfolio across every layer of the network infrastructure stack. From 5G application/service layers to packet core and RAN – Mavenir leads the way in evolved, cloud-native networking solutions enabling innovative and secure experiences for end users. Leveraging industry-leading firsts in VoLTE, VoWiFi, Advanced Messaging (RCS), Multi-ID, vEPC and Virtualized RAN, Mavenir accelerates network transformation for more than 250+ CSP customers in over 130 countries, serving over 50% of the world’s subscribers.

We embrace disruptive, innovative technology architectures and business models that drive service agility, flexibility, and velocity. With solutions that propel NFV evolution to achieve web-scale economics, Mavenir offers solutions to help CSPs with cost reduction, revenue generation and revenue protection. Learn more at mavenir.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190531005377/en/

Contacts

Maryvonne Tubb
Mavenir
PR@mavenir.com

Mallory Kano
MatterNow
mavenir@matternow.com

Kevin Taylor
GlobalResultsPR
mavenir@globalresultspr.com


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Moody’s Analytics and QED Announce Partnership to Deliver IFRS 17 Solutions to Insurers in Africa

LONDON-Friday 31 May 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Moody’s Analytics, a global provider of financial intelligence, has announced a new collaboration with QED to provide insurers in Africa with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 17 advisory services and software solutions to address the new accounting standard.

QED, a leading actuarial consulting firm with headquarters in South Africa, is joining the Moody’s Analytics PartnerAlliance program. Its IFRS 17 team has developed expertise around the Moody’s Analytics RiskIntegrity™ IFRS 17 solution, and will offer insurers advisory services and implementation support across the continent. QED will work with insurers to implement the Moody’s Analytics IFRS 17 solution as software-as-a-service (SaaS), an operating model that offers insurers a faster, more cost-effective way of implementing their IFRS 17 technology.

Last month, Moody’s Analytics was recognized as a Category Leader in a Chartis Research report evaluating top vendors of IFRS 17 solutions.

“As insurers across Africa prepare for IFRS 17, there is an ever-growing demand for advisory services, software, and implementation support to help insurers meet the new standard with confidence,” said Tracy Lister, Associate Director and Head of IFRS17 solutions at QED. “We look forward to working with Moody’s Analytics to bring increased value to the African market by pairing their market-leading IFRS 17 solution with our advisory expertise.”

“Moody’s Analytics will work with QED to support insurers in Africa with the implementation of their IFRS 17 projects by offering an out-of-the box solution that insurers can implement and use immediately,” said Massimiliano Neri, IFRS 17 Lead at Moody’s Analytics at Moody’s Analytics.

QED joins the PartnerAlliance program at the Member level. This alliance is non-exclusive, and both companies remain independent to collaborate with other parties in the best interest of their respective clients.

Interested insurers are encouraged to join experts from Moody’s Analytics, QED, and others at the Moody’s Analytics IFRS 17 roadshow on June 11 at the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg. Attendees will learn about the requirements for – and opportunities presented by – implementation of the new accounting standard.

Click here to learn more about the Moody’s Analytics RiskIntegrity IFRS 17 solution.

About Moody’s Analytics

Moody’s Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools to help business leaders make better, faster decisions. Our deep risk expertise, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology help our clients confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are known for our industry-leading and award-winning solutions, made up of research, data, software, and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. We create confidence in thousands of organizations worldwide, with our commitment to excellence, open mindset approach, and focus on meeting customer needs. For more information about Moody’s Analytics, visit our website or connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Moody's Analytics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO). Moody’s Corporation reported revenue of $4.4 billion in 2018, employs approximately 13,200 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 42 countries.

About QED

QED is headquartered in Johannesburg with regional offices in Mauritius, Kenya and Nigeria. The business provides actuarial services to over 140 companies across 17 countries in Africa, as well as in the UK and the Caribbean. The specialist advisory teams offer actuarial and risk management solutions to life and non-life insurers, healthcare providers, pension funds, banks, regulatory and industry bodies, insurance associations, retailers and developmental organisations. For more information about QED visit www.qedact.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190501005779/en/

Contacts

TRACEY SCOTT
Moody’s Analytics Communications
+44.207.772.5207
Moody’s Analytics Media Relations
moodysanalytics.com
twitter.com/moodysanalytics
linkedin.com/company/moodysanalytics


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