Monthly Archives: December 2021

PR Newswire

YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) Acquires SPEC (Semiconductor Process Equipment Corp.)

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Adds Wet Processing to its Expanding Portfolio of Surface & Material Enhancement Solutions

FREMONT, Calif., Dec. 22, 2021 — YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.), a leading manufacturer of process equipment for semiconductor advanced packaging, life sciences and "More-than-Moore" applications, today announced that it has acquired SPEC (Semiconductor Process Equipment Corporation) of Valencia, California for an undisclosed amount. The companies had announced a strategic partnership agreement in June.

The purchase brings together two longtime, trusted semiconductor equipment suppliers with more than 70 years of industry experience between them. "YES and SPEC have many characteristics in common," said Rama Alapati, CEO of YES. "Both of us have accumulated decades of technological expertise and have installed hundreds of systems in dozens of countries. We both take pride in our many repeat customers, and our excellent industry reputations. In acquiring SPEC, we feel YES is now better-positioned to meet the growing demands of current and future customers in emerging markets such as HPC, AI/ML, 5G, autonomous driving, augmented reality, and other computationally intensive applications."

"The SPEC product line, which includes cleaning, etching, stripping and plating equipment, complements our portfolio well, and will allow YES to extend our offerings into the wet processing market," added Rezwan Lateef, President of YES. "We welcome SPEC’s employees to the YES team, and we look forward to developing a variety of new products together to address and anticipate customer needs."

"SPEC is very pleased to join forces with YES. With global demand for semiconductors increasing dramatically, this merger could not have come at a better time for both companies. We are excited to help YES open new markets and opportunities for our proven wet-process technologies going forward," said Kevin McGillivray, co-founder of SPEC.  

In addition to augmenting its personnel resources with the SPEC staff, YES will gain more than 40,000 square feet of manufacturing, assembly, and cleanroom space in Valencia, as well as SPEC’s regional offices around the world.

About YES

YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) is a preferred provider of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for transforming surfaces, materials, and interfaces. The company’s product lines include vacuum cure systems, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, and plasma etching tools used for precise surface modification and thin-film coating of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor and MEMS devices, biosensors and medical substrates. With YES, customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies can create and volume-produce products in a wide range of markets, including Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Life Sciences. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing presence globally. For more information, please visit www.yieldengineering.com.

About SPEC

SPEC (Semiconductor Process Equipment Corporation) is a highly experienced supplier of surface conditioning wet process equipment. Since 1986, SPEC has designed and manufactured wafer-level and device-level wet process equipment for acid and solvent surface modification (cleaning, etching, stripping), electroplating, and electroless (chemical) plating for all industries requiring a high level of process cleanliness. SPEC’s products are used for polysilicon chip, chunk, and ingot cleaning; crucible cleaning, cavity cleaning for particle accelerators, chemical mixing and delivery, hard drive component cleaning, and quartzware cleaning. SPEC systems are engineered to match the unique requirements of the end user. For more information, please visit www.team-spec.com.

Media Contact
Victoria Barnes
Director of Communications
YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.)
510-954-6723 direct
VBarnes@yieldengineering.com

PR Newswire

Qudian Chairman & CEO to Purchase Up to US$10 Million of ADSs

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XIAMEN, China, Dec. 21, 2021 — Qudian Inc. ("Qudian" or "the Company") (NYSE: QD), a leading technology platform empowering the enhancement of the online consumer finance experience in China, today announced that Mr. Min Luo, the Company’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer, has informed the Company that he intends to use personal funds to purchase up to US$10 million of the Company’s American depository shares ("ADSs") over the next 12 months. Purchases will take place in full compliance with applicable laws and the Company’s securities trading policy.

The share purchases may be made from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means in accordance with applicable rules and regulations, including, but not limited to, Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The number of ADSs purchased and the timing of purchases will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, price, trading volume and general market conditions.

Mr. Luo commented, "Our senior management believes the current share price deeply undervalues Qudian’s potential. Our ability to maintain a solid balance sheet with sufficient liquidity lays a strong foundation for our future success. I have great confidence in Qudian’s solid business fundamentals and long-term growth prospects."

About Qudian Inc.

Qudian Inc. ("Qudian") is a leading technology platform empowering the enhancement of online consumer finance experience in China. The Company’s mission is to use technology to make personalized credit accessible to hundreds of millions of young, mobile-active consumers in China who need access to small credit for their discretionary spending but are underserved by traditional financial institutions due to lack of traditional credit data or high cost of servicing. Qudian’s credit solutions enable licensed, regulated financial institutions and ecosystem partners to offer affordable and customized loans to this young generation of consumers.

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

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the expectation of its collection efficiency and delinquency, contain forward-looking statements. Qudian may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Qudian’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Qudian’s goal and strategies; Qudian’s expansion plans; Qudian’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Qudian’s expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, its credit products; Qudian’s expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with borrowers, institutional funding partners, merchandise suppliers and other parties it collaborate with; general economic and business conditions; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Qudian’s filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Qudian does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

Qudian Inc.
Tel: +86-592-596-8208
E-mail: ir@qudian.com 

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Jenny Cai
Tel: +86 (10) 6508-0677
E-mail: qudian@tpg-ir.com

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
E-mail: qudian@tpg-ir.com

PR Newswire

QuEST Global partners with NXP to deliver integrated and secure platforms for Vehicle Networking

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Helps automotive OEMs and Tier-1s to develop next-gen S32G vehicle processing designs and address software complexity and security challenges

BENGALURU , India, Dec. 21, 2021 — QuEST Global, a global product engineering services company, announced today its partnership with NXP® Semiconductors to deliver software support for NXP’s S32G Vehicle Network Processors. QuEST will provide valued services to help OEM’s and Tier-1’s unlock the true potential of the NXP S32G processors to deliver a highly-secure vehicle network that combines ASIL D safety, hardware security, high-performance real-time application processing and network acceleration for service-oriented gateways, domain controllers, zonal processors and safety processors. Through this collaboration with NXP, QuEST reaffirms its commitment in helping its partners build safer, greener and smarter future cars.  

The evolution in automotive industry has shifted the demand towards electric, autonomous, connected and shared mobility. Vehicles are becoming more data-driven and software-defined, and safe and secure connectivity is becoming a key concern for the consumer. The S32G processor significantly helps in addressing the vehicle networking requirements by securely managing data transmission around the vehicle and protecting safety critical applications. With its trained and dedicated resources specialized on this platform, QuEST will support NXP S32G customers to help reduce development complexity, accelerate time-to-market and expand business opportunities for future data-driven and software-defined Automotive OEMs.

"The automotive industry is going through a massive transformation with deployment of new vehicle architecture to support the future of mobility", said Krish Kupathil, Head of Innovation, QuEST Global. He further added, "The S32G processors address the need for higher performance compute and networking bandwidth with enhanced security and functional safety. We will leverage our S32G expertise to support our common automotive customers, to build the platform required to deploy new connected services and upgradable features for next-gen vehicles."

"As the automotive industry is evolving, vehicle manufacturers will continuously need to deliver an enhanced, secure and hassle free data management for their vehicles. QuEST’s support and software solutions can help our mutual OEM and Tier-1 customers realize the full potential of the S32G processors," said Carlos Prada, Director of Automotive Processing Partnerships at NXP.

NXP’s S32G automotive network processors enable modern service-oriented gateways for rapid Over-the-Air (OTA) deployment of new capabilities and advanced edge-to-cloud analytics. They deliver higher processing and networking performance with ASIL D functional safety to support autonomous driving applications[1]. QuEST will be offering the following services for the S32G platform:

  • Hardware System Designing and Prototyping
  • Automotive System Software Engineering including Design, Development and Maintenance.  
  • Integration of Connectivity Module and Features
  • Support NXP’s customers in achieving Functional Safety, System Validation and Automation
  • Product Realization

As the automotive industry witnesses exponential growth, it also opens up challenges to manage data security for vehicle manufacturers. The new age vehicles will require a more secure and seamless information flow both within and outside the vehicle. QuEST and NXP’s association will help in addressing these hard challenges and help Tier-1 and OEM’s transform from carmakers into vehicle data-driven service providers.

About QuEST Global:

For nearly 25 years, QuEST Global has been a trusted global product engineering services partner to many of the world’s most recognized companies in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Healthcare and Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. With a presence in 13 countries, 54 global delivery centers and 11,500+ personnel, QuEST Global is at the forefront of the convergence of the mechanical, electronics, software and digital engineering innovations to engineer solutions for a safer, cleaner and sustainable world. QuEST Global’s deep domain knowledge and digital expertise help its clients accelerate product development and innovation cycles, create alternate revenue streams, enhance consumer experience and make manufacturing processes and operations more efficient.

[1] NXP Unlocks the Full Potential of Vehicle Data with the S32G Automotive Network Processors | NXP Semiconductors

PR Newswire

JD.com Plans to Double Imports of Sunkist Citrus Over the Next Three Years

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BEIJING, Dec. 20, 2021 — JD Fresh, the fresh produce business of JD.com announced a plan to double the imports of Sunkist’s citrus fruits in the next three years as the American citrus grower cooperative’s first export ship of newly harvested navel oranges arrived in Shanghai from Long Beach, California in mid-December.

The rising demand for high-quality fresh produce is a prominent trend amid China’s consumption upgrade. JD.com became an authorized e-commerce direct-sourcing partner of Sunkist’s citrus fruits in China since 2018, the company has seen a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60% in Sunkist’s fresh citrus sales in the past years, and it plans to import no less than 10,000 tons of the premium citrus within the next three years.

Sunkist’s farmers in California sent off the first ship of seasonal navel oranges to JD Fresh in China
Sunkist’s farmers in California sent off the first ship of seasonal navel oranges to JD Fresh in China

"Thanks to our close collaboration with Sunkist and JD’s cold-chain logistic strength, we have created a highly efficient way to supply the in-season citrus directly from farm trees around the world to the dining tables of Chinese customers throughout the year at a better price and faster speed," said Wei Ye, general manager of JD Fresh.

"As people have greater need for healthy fresh food and are becoming more and more customized to shop for them online after the pandemic, we are confident to support Sunkist to further grow in the China market," he added.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to deliver fresh California-grown Sunkist citrus to consumers in China," said Christina Ward, Sr. Director of Global Marketing at Sunkist Growers, Inc.  "Through JD.com, we can educate millennial consumers on the in-season availability, flavor attributes, and nutritional benefits of our fruit."

Sunkist Growers is a citrus marketing cooperative, founded in 1893, which is owned by and operated for thousands of family farmers growing citrus in California and Arizona. The variety of its fresh citrus products include oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins and more. The seasonal navel oranges from the sunny California groves feature a refreshingly sweet and juicy taste, pleasant floral aroma and a bright orange, seedless interior.

Upon the ship’s arrival in China, following the custom quality inspection, the navel oranges will be sent directly to JD’s self-operated cold chain warehouses. The fruits will be put in JD customized packages and go straight to customers’ door steps through JD’s nationwide logistics network. JD’s cold-chain logistics for fresh produce, which range from same-day delivery to two-hour flash delivery, are the standard services available in more than 300 cities across China, allowing consumers in both coastal and inland regions to enjoy the freshest Sunkist products.

China is the largest importer for Sunkist citrus, accounting for about 30% of its global exports. Despite the headwinds in trade and supply chain in the past year, JD.com and Sunkist have continued to work together to ensure stable and smooth supplies to China and made the brand achieve first in sales among all the imported American citrus brands during the 2020-2021 season.

According to statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in September, U.S. citrus exports have dropped by 6% between 2020-2021 as compared to the previous season, primarily due to a smaller fresh-market crop. Under such circumstances, it is even more critical for the two sides to strengthen their partnership as a good indicator for the support of Sunkist’s farmers and the brand’s fans in China.

PR Newswire

ASUS Aims to Lead the New Digital Era with Launch of ASUS-NTU Joint Research Center

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New collaboration elevates the innovation capabilities of ASUS, advances its leadership in AIoT and smart healthcare, and provides a channel to foster incredible talent

KEY POINTS 

  • ASUS-NTU Joint Research Center advances brand’s strategy of building robust long-term innovation capabilities and expanding its partner ecosystem
  • Center positions ASUS as smart tech leader by enhancing cross-disciplinary, cross-sector R&D in fields such as AIoT, smart healthcare, and next-gen PCs
  • Partnership enables brand to foster top talent and cultivate a new generation of incredible R&D leaders

TAIPEI, Dec. 20, 2021 — ASUS today announced the establishment of the ASUS-National Taiwan University (NTU) Joint Research Center, inaugurating a collaboration with NTU to consolidate industry-academia development capabilities and foster smart technology for the future.

Announced today at the unveiling ceremony by ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih and NTU President Chung-Ming Kuan, the Center combines exceptional talent from the business and academic sectors and aims to cultivate future leaders in smart technology fields. Established with R&D investments totaling over US $3.5 million, the Center will focus on areas such as advanced electromagnetics, next-generation computers, IoT, and artificial intelligence, pooling resources from across sectors to attain research breakthroughs and propel smart technologies forward.

During the ceremony, several leaders from ASUS and NTU hailed the start of the partnership. "As a leading global brand in motherboards and computing, ASUS is actively expanding innovation in artificial intelligence and AIoT to harness the accelerating digitization trends in the industry," noted ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih. "Combining the innovation capabilities of ASUS with the solid academic research foundations of NTU, we are setting a new standard for industry-academia collaboration while bringing Taiwan’s R&D capabilities to greater heights on the international stage."

"ASUS encourages every BU to make use of industry-academia collaboration and strategic alliances to actively plan key technologies and develop new areas of business," ASUS co-CEO S.Y. Hsu elaborated. "Through the combined efforts of ASUS and NTU, the Center will further connect academic resources with industry applications to drive ASUS and the industry forward."

From National Taiwan University: "NTU and ASUS have built a long-term relationship, and we are taking this further with the establishment of the Center. NTU professors across diverse research fields, from electrical engineering and computer science to medicine, are committed to the future development of the Center," NTU President Chung-Ming Kuan remarked. "We look forward to seeing more interactions between our faculty members, students, and industry leaders, as well as to demonstrating the academic capabilities of NTU."

Envisioning the ASUS-NTU Joint Research Center as a world-leading smart tech incubator

ASUS endeavors to be an industry leader in artificial intelligence and applied AIoT fields, integrating robust innovation capabilities across hardware and software to roll out smart technologies with ecosystem partners. Aligning with these goals, the Center will place special focus on three major, advanced areas — terminal and edge device technology, internet and multimedia, and data science and smart healthcare — and is currently formulating plans for short, medium, and long-term research projects.

For this collaboration with NTU, ASUS will be consolidating R&D resources across departments, rallying the research and application capabilities of seven NTU departments plus the National Taiwan University Hospital. Aside from expanding cross-discipline innovation capabilities, ASUS will also be passing on its enterprise experience, giving back to academia, and cultivating a new generation of R&D talent — carrying out aspirations to advance the ASUS-NTU Joint Research Center firmly towards the No. 1 position in Asia and the top tier worldwide.

A collaboration between enterprise, academia and government with an industry-wide impact

In addition to investment from ASUS to support its development, the Center will also be subsidized by the Academia-Industry Research Center (AIR Center) from Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology. By acting as an innovation incubator, fostering R&D talent, and advancing smart technology development, ASUS aims to bring new vitality into the information and communications technology industry, thereby reinforcing international connections and increasing Taiwan’s visibility worldwide.

Press Contacts

Andrew Bavelock

Specialist, Global Communications

Andrew_Bavelock@asus.com

Nicole Lee        

Corporate Communications

Nicole1_Lee@asus.com 

Notes to Editors

ASUS Global News: https://www.asus.com/news

ASUS Global Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asus

ASUS Global Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/asus

About ASUS

ASUS is a global technology leader that provides the world’s most innovative and intuitive devices, components and solutions to deliver incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere. With its team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, ASUS is world-renowned for continuously reimagining today’s technologies for tomorrow, garners more than 11 awards every day for quality, innovation and design, and is ranked among Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies.

PR Newswire

Not just 108MP: ZEEKER P10 Features a Leading Camera System in Rugged Phones

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PERTH AMBOY, N.J., Dec. 18, 2021 — Cameras have become one of the major selling points for modern-day smartphones, including rugged phones also. Over the past years, there are only 48MP and 64MP cameras on a rugged phone. But now, the new rugged phone brand ZEEKER’s new phone P10 takes the rugged phone photography to the next level, with the new 108MP sensor. And more than that, ZEEKER P10’s video stabilization and IR night vision are also very impressive.

Features of ZEEKER P10
Features of ZEEKER P10

The main camera of ZEEKER P10 uses Samsung’s ISOCELL HM2 108MP sensor, which measures 1/1.52-inch across. The 108MP camera’s larger pixel count allows it to capture more information, compared to 64MP, 48MP, and traditional 12MP cameras. Hence, you get a more detailed image that can be zoomed in digitally or printed on a larger scale without becoming blurry or grainy.

In theory, a large sensor means better light capture. ZEEKER P10’s 108MP camera sensor comes with 1/1.52-inch sensor size. That sounds small, but it’s bigger than the Huawei Mate 30 Pro’s 1/1.7-inch sensor and significantly larger than the 1/2-inch sensor inside the new Blackview BL6000 Pro. 

ZEEKER P10 is the first several phones featuring Super Steady video mode. ZEEKER P10 ensures stable video capture even in extreme conditions, thanks to EIS and the new AI algorithm support. Let’s check out the showcase.

In addition to a 108MP main camera, ZEEKER P10 also includes an 8MP ultra-wide camera, 8MP IR night vision camera and 2MP depth camera. The 8MP IR night vision camera paired with infrared LED can help you capture epic even in a completely dark environment.

For ruggedness, ZEEKER P10 features IP68, IP69K, MIL-STD-810G and claims to support industry-leading 1.8m drop-proof. With a 6.49-inch FHD+ Dot Display protected by CORNING® Gorilla® Glass, the visual experience of the ZEEKER P10 is as just impressive as its durability. Equipped with an octa-core MediaTek Helio G85 processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage and a massive 6000mAh battery that supports 18W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging, ZEEKER P10 is a powerhouse for both productivity and entertainment that can keep with today’s digital business and offer uninterrupted gaming experience. In addition, it is compatible with most network providers around the world, ensuring users can stay connected unbounded by location and time.

A Christmas flash deal will be held on ZEEKER Amazon official store on December 19, get the ZEEKER P10 at the best year-end price. Also, visit ZEEKER’s official website to participate in a gift-giveaway to win a chance of getting a free ZEEKER P10.

About ZEEKER
ZEEKER is a global technology brand providing tough yet stylish rugged smartphones and smart hardware for outdoors enthusiasts and frontline workers. Based on the philosophy of "Dare to Explore", fueled by Geek DNA, ZEEKER is dedicated to delivering products that are both rugged and of technological artistry, meeting the needs of users in every situation.

PR Newswire

Delta to Acquire Universal Instruments – a Leader in Precision Automation Solutions for Electronics Manufacturing -to Further its Smart Manufacturing Capabilities

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TAIPEI, Dec. 18, 2021 — Delta Electronics, Inc. (later referred to as "Delta"), a global leading provider of smart energy-saving solutions, today announced the agreement to acquire, through its subsidiary Delta International Holding Limited B.V., UI Acquisition Holding Co., owner of Universal Instruments Corporation and its worldwide branches and subsidiaries for an estimated amount of US$88.9 million (approx. NT$2,471,420 thousand)**. Universal Instruments, a global leader in precision automation solutions for smart manufacturing, boasts a lineage of over 100 years and provides precision automation solutions to world-leading customers in a broad range of fields, including automotive, computing, medical, industrial, as well as printed circuit board surface mount placement and odd-form insertion. The transaction is expected to generate substantial synergies by leveraging both companies’ R&D and global customer base and to strengthen Delta’s smart manufacturing capabilities for the electronics industry. 

Mr. Ping Cheng, Delta’s chief executive officer, said, "Universal Instruments has built a remarkable track record and long-lasting customer relationships in the electronics manufacturing field, which is a key focus of Delta’s industrial automation business. Furthermore, by adding Universal’s precision automation machine offering and leading technologies to our highly diversified industrial automation portfolio, we can offer customers total solutions capable of enhancing the productivity and carbon footprint of their production lines. Universal Instruments’ rich experiences in standard automation machines will also enhance Delta’s product development processes. We look forward to cooperating deeply with Universal Instruments to accelerate the development of Delta’s next-generation smart manufacturing solutions."

Jean-Luc Pelissier, Universal’s chief executive officer, commented "Delta has been a long term customer partner of Universal Instruments, and we are privileged to now be part of the Delta family. Delta’s global scale, strong presence in Asia, smart manufacturing prowess, and deep understanding of electronics automation needs supports our technology development and growth strategy. This unique combination will expand our scalability, improve our global reach, and also complement our supply chain and manufacturing footprint, thereby greatly benefiting all our customers."

Throughout its 100-year history, Conklin, NY-based Universal Instruments has devoted itself to technological innovation and development, reflected in its 500+ patent portfolio and close to 30,000 systems delivered to date. The Company offers Precision Automation solutions for advanced applications requiring high accuracy, high-speed handling, assembly, and inspection.  In addition, Universal Instruments developed its Advanced Process Lab (APL) platform, which assists customers in each phase of the products’ lifecycle (prototyping, process development, analytics, and advanced assembly). 

Following the aforementioned transaction, Universal Instruments shall continue operating under the leadership of its original management team.

** The closing of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions in the Purchase Agreement.

About Delta

Delta Electronics, founded in 1971, is a global leader in switching power supplies and thermal management products with a thriving portfolio of smart energy-saving systems and solutions in the fields of industrial automation, building automation, telecom power, data center infrastructure, EV charging, renewable energy, energy storage and display, to nurture the development of smart manufacturing and sustainable cities. As a world-class corporate citizen guided by its mission statement, "To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow," Delta leverages its core competence in high-efficiency power electronics and its CSR-embedded business model to address key environmental issues, such as climate change. Delta serves customers through its sales offices, R&D centers and manufacturing facilities spread over close to 200 locations across 5 continents.

Throughout its history, Delta has received various global awards and recognition for its business achievements, innovative technologies and dedication to CSR. Since 2011, Delta has been listed on the DJSI World Index of Dow Jones Sustainability™ Indices (DJSI) for 11 consecutive years, and its ESG performance was recognized with the highest score in the global electronic equipment industry in 2021 by DJSI. In 2020, Delta was also recognized by CDP with two "A" leadership level ratings for its substantial contribution to climate change and water security issues and named Supplier Engagement Leader for its continuous development of a sustainable value chain.

For detailed information about Delta, please visit: www.deltaww.com

PR Newswire

Riversand, A Syndigo Company, Announces Strategic Partnership with Nexer Group to Offer Cloud-Native Data Management Solutions for Digital Transformation

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CHICAGO, Dec. 18, 2021 — Riversand, a Syndigo company and visionary cloud-native SaaS Master Data Management (MDM) and Product Information Management (PIM) solution provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Nexer Group, a modern tech company with expertise in strategy, technology and communication. The new partnership will provide Nexer clients with the opportunity to use technology solutions to enable better data management and governance to drive their business growth.

Left to right: Henrik Påhlsson, VP Nordics, Riversand; Fredrik Larsson, BU Manager, Nexer Data Management; Karim Iskandar, CEO Europe, MD, Syndigo; Sachin Kumar, VP Customer & Partner Success Europe, Riversand
Left to right: Henrik Påhlsson, VP Nordics, Riversand; Fredrik Larsson, BU Manager, Nexer Data Management; Karim Iskandar, CEO Europe, MD, Syndigo; Sachin Kumar, VP Customer & Partner Success Europe, Riversand

"We are thrilled to partner with Riversand and to share their portfolio of Data Management solutions to new and existing customers. Nexer provides strategy, tech and communication, all through cutting-edge digital solutions, ensuring our clients are not just part of the change, but rather being ahead of it. Riversand’s innovative multi-domain cloud-native platform will help them make that shift," says Fredrik Larsson, Business Unit Manager at Nexer Data Management.

Nexer Group is founded on the vision of enabling a promising future for their clients, with offerings in digital transformation and software development, including business solutions around data management, data insight, cybersecurity, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, IT and R&D.

"We’re pleased to partner with Nexer Group, as we share a client-centric approach to developing unique solutions," says Jasleen (Jas) Ahluwalia, Vice President & Global Head – Alliances.

Jas Ahluwalia continues: "With Syndigo’s added capabilities, Nexer’s clients will have the opportunity to leverage a world-leading SaaS platform for product content creation, management, syndication, and analytics, to accelerate the flow of information that drives commerce."

About Nexer:

Nexer Group is an entrepreneurial tech company that leads the digital revolution with an inspiring vision of a promising future for clients, employees, and the world. Nexer takes pride in leading change with an agile and forward-looking approach. Through long-term partnerships, Nexer supports customers’ digital transformation with strategy, technology, and communication expertise. Nexer has 1,900 experts in 10 countries. Before 2021, Nexer operated under the name Sigma IT. Visit https://www.nexergroup.com/ for more information and follow us Nexer Group on LinkedIn.

About Riversand:

Riversand, a Syndigo company, provides a Master Data Experience Platform (MDxP), enabling customers to leverage their data through intelligent insights, automation, and multi-domain SaaS solutions. Riversand’s MDxP platform is the engine that powers customers’ digital transformation journeys through improved business agility, faster adoption and improved collaboration across the enterprise. Visit https://www.riversand.com/ for more information and follow us @RiversandMDM on Twitter and Riversand on LinkedIn.

About Syndigo:

Syndigo enables commerce by supporting the efficient transfer of product information through its network of brands and their customers. The company provides descriptive product and nutritional information, images and other digital media, powered by deep analytics to empower engaging brand experiences online and in store.

Through Syndigo’s integrated platform, Content Experience Hub, clients can publish, manage, syndicate and audit product content across the largest trading network of brands and recipients in the world.

Syndigo serves more than 12,000 manufacturers and 1,750 retailers and distributors globally in many important consumer industries, including grocery, foodservice, hardlines, home improvement/DIY, pet, health and beauty, automotive, apparel, and healthcare products. For more information, please visit www.syndigo.com.

Related Links :

Syndigo

PR Newswire

S2W noted Log4j-related vulnerability attacks are already underway on the dark web in recently released report.

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SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 18, 2021 — Data intelligence company S2W (https://s2w.inc/) recently released an analysis report on Logs of Log4shell (CVE-2021-44228) and introduced countermeasures. Malwares that have already exploited vulnerabilities are actively distributed in the Dark Web from December 10.

Kyoung-ju Kwak, Director of CTI at S2W said, "According to our CTI group analysis, malware distribution such as cryptominer, botnet, and ransomware using Log4j-related vulnerabilities is actively taking place, and indiscriminate attacks on unpatched systems have already begun." And he also expressed concern as "The CVE-2021-44228 affects not only the Apache server, but also all servers and services using log4j regardless of the type of server."

S2W pointed out that it is necessary to understand the current usage of in-house open-source, including Log4j, to cope with overall security vulnerabilities. Thereafter, when a vulnerability related to an open source used internally is disclosed, a system capable of providing an automated notification is also needed. If simultaneous measures for the entire system are difficult due to security threats, sequential measures are required, which must precede classification of internal assets such as customer systems and externally accessible employee work sites and identification of services in use. S2W also stressed that domestic and foreign conferences and security vendors should continue to check and internalize reports and intelligence related to malware periodically.

S2W’s ‘Logs of Log4shell (CVE-2021–44228) Report’ carefully selects and introduces a variety of log4j-related vulnerability detection and tools at home and abroad, including tools to check vulnerabilities in multiple sites remotely.

S2W emphasized that more than 150 services, including Tomcat, Minecraft, Redis, Apache Struts, Apache Solr, Apache Druid, Apache Flink, Apache Dubbo, ElasticSearch, Flume, Logstash, Kafka, and Spring-Boot-starter-log4j2, are affected by CVE-2021-44228 vulnerabilities, and that special attention is needed.

S2W has been quickly sharing related information since it was recognized as a vulnerability on S2Gether, a separate information delivery channel for its customers. In addition, S2W’s CTI solution "Xarvis" is updating information related to this vulnerability collected from various channels, and related IoC (Indicator of Compromise) are also continuously posted.

Lee Dae-jin, a researcher at S2W Offensive Research, said, "Some of the stories that it is safe to use the old version (1.x) of log4j are wrong, and there was an official announcement that a similar type of vulnerability to this log4shell should be found and taken action should be taken. In addition, the log4j1.x version is a version that has ended support, and even if several vulnerabilities are found, patches will no longer appear, so we recommend updating to the latest version.

** S2W’s Report on Logs of Log4shell (CVE-2021–44228) : Logs of Log4shell (CVE-2021–44228): log4j is ubiquitous

PR Newswire

RosterLab Raises $500K Pre-Seed from Quidnet Ventures, Matū Fund and the University of Auckland Investors’ Fund to Enter the New Zealand Market

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SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 18, 2021 — RosterLab, a newly-formed rostering software company, has closed NZ $150,000 in Pre-Seed funding from Quidnet Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund based in New Zealand. The NZ $500,000 total round was led by Matū Fund, with participation from Quidnet Ventures and the University of Auckland Investors’ Fund. This funding will support the company’s software application development and initial product launch targeting New Zealand’s healthcare market.

"We are tremendously excited to work with Quidnet Ventures to bring our revolutionary rostering A.I. to New Zealand and then the world. Our aim is to create effective rosters that will improve the lives of rostered people around the world," states Isaac Cleland, the co-founder of Roster Lab.

RosterLab offers an automated rostering platform, based on advanced techniques developed at the University of Auckland, to a variety of high-intensity sectors, including healthcare providers. RosterLab’s core technology seeks to address weaknesses in existing rostering solutions, including the inability to account for staffing complexity. RosterLab enables rapid generation of optimised rosters that comply with challenging, industry-specific requirements at scale. RosterLab is initially targeting healthcare clients such as hospitals and aged care facilities, where poor staffing compliance as well as time/labour inefficiencies incurs direct costs.

"Early in my career at IBM I was involved in the early stages of this sort of complex scheduling solution so I am particularly excited to see the advances in optimization that have been pioneered at University of Auckland being applied to a real world problem by Isaac and his team at RosterLab," states Mark Bregman, the General Partner of Quidnet Ventures.

RosterLab’s underlying IP was borne out of co-founder Isaac Cleland’s PhD thesis in Engineering Science, and was recognised for its success in the International Nurse Rostering Competition. Along with co-founders Daniel Ge and Sunny Feng, the team won the Velocity $100K Challenge in 2020, and has since completed the VentureLab programme at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Quidnet Ventures, Matū Fund and the University of Auckland Investors’ Fund are all looking forward to working closely with the team as they look to launch their first product in New Zealand, and develop plans for expansion into overseas markets.

"Matū is really excited to lead this round because we believe that better rostering will lead to improved outcomes for both patients and staff. We’ve seen through the COVID-19 pandemic just how important our healthcare workers are, and it would be great to help them achieve better balance and to improve staff morale," states Andrew Chen, a partner at Matū Fund. "It’s been great to co-invest again with Quidnet Ventures, who are committing strongly to supporting great Kiwi start-ups – it’s always helpful to have reliable partners."

About Quidnet Ventures – Quidnet Ventures is a seed and series-A fund investing in New Zealand-based founders building impactful companies.  The fund focuses on companies that have global ambition and leverages the general partner’s 30 years of experience in the global tech industry and 20 years of experience with the New Zealand startup ecosystem, as well as an extensive network of advisors, to help these companies get established and grow in the U.S. Market.

About Matū Fund – Matū is a venture capital fund investing in early-stage science and technology commercialisation from education and research institutions and the private sector. As an open and evergreen fund, Matū takes a long-term investment view and is aimed at turning ground-breaking ideas into globally focused, IP-rich companies. Matū provides intelligent capital with active governance, executive management, operational support, and mentorship for founding and executive teams: www.matu.co.nz

About University of Auckland Inventors’ Fund – The University of Auckland Inventors’ Fund is an evergreen, open-ended $20 million investment fund owned and managed by UniServices, the commercialisation and research impact company wholly owned by the University of Auckland. The fund provides pre-seed and seed capital for University of Auckland spin-outs: www.uniservices.co.nz

Contact:
Skye Grayson
skye@quidnetventures.com

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