Monthly Archives: May 2022

PR Newswire

TUV Rheinland Presents Record Earnings for Its 150th Anniversary

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150 years of TUV Rheinland: founded October 31, 1872, for the safety of people, technology and the environment

COLOGNE, Germany, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In the year of its 150th anniversary, TUV Rheinland is presenting a record-breaking balance sheet. The international testing service provider generated revenues of EUR 2.091 billion in 2021 (2020: EUR 1.952 billion). This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 7% and is a new high. In the 2021 fiscal year, TUV Rheinland posted the highest EBIT in its 150-year history of EUR 157.8 million. The EBIT for 2021 was therefore much higher than in the previous year. In 2020 – due to non-recurring effects – TUV Rheinland posted EBIT of EUR -23.6 million. The company’s EBIT for 2021 was also a considerable EUR 22.2 million higher than in 2019 (EUR 135.6 million). The EBIT margin reached 7.5% after -1.2% in 2020 and 6.5% in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.

“Our employees around the world were fully committed to our customers in 2021 – despite the continuing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to these efforts and successful measures to increase efficiency, we can be very happy with our performance in our anniversary year. The positive result gives us additional leeway to invest in our future and further growth,” says Dr. Michael Fubi, CEO of TUV Rheinland AG.

The number of employees at the international testing company decreased slightly last year, reaching an average of 20,241 full-time equivalents over the course of 2021. This is 416 employees or 2% fewer than in the previous year. Capital expenditure was around EUR 57.7 million in 2021.

150 years of TUV Rheinland

With regard to the company’s anniversary and TUV Rheinland’s role in overcoming the imminent, global challenges, Dr. Fubi continues: “We are looking ahead. For 150 years, we have seen ourselves as a partner for new technologies – yesterday it was steam boilers, today it is renewable energy, tomorrow it will be artificial intelligence. We use safety to make such innovations a success, in line with our aim of making the future a little safer. We are paying particular attention to services for a more sustainable economy. We thus intend to continue growing profitably.”

TUV Rheinland is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2022. The company was founded on October 31, 1872, as the “Verein zur Uberwachung der Dampfkessel in den Kreisen Elberfeld und Barmen” (Association for the Inspection of Steam Boilers in the Districts of Elberfeld and Barmen). As the decades progressed, this first steam boiler inspection association in one of Germany’s industrial centers evolved into the global testing company TUV Rheinland. “The company’s mission is timeless: building trust by providing safety and quality in the interaction between people, technology, and the environment. This idea will continue to hold in the coming decades, because safety is a basic human need as well as a requirement for quality of life and sustainable solutions of the future,” says Michael Fubi. “Thanks to the dedication and extensive expertise of our employees, we not only have a long history to look back on but will also closely follow future technological developments.”

Focus on sustainability

In the future, TUV Rheinland will amplify its contribution to sustainable development as defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and to the fight against the climate crisis. For the testing company, this entails both improving customers’ sustainability with its own services and how it performs its own services. “It is absolutely clear that TUV Rheinland’s development hinges on the environment and society in which we operate. This means we have an ecological and social responsibility that we live up to – in the past, in the present, and in the future,” says Michael Fubi. 

In 2006, TUV Rheinland was the first testing company in the world to sign up to the United Nations Global Compact to promote responsible business and sustainability. Since October 2021, EcoVadis, the world’s leading provider of sustainability rankings, has given TUV Rheinland Gold status, putting it among the best 5% of the companies rated. The EcoVadis rating looks at 21 criteria relating for example to the environment, work practices and human rights, fair business practices and sustainable procurement. “We set clear sustainability targets for our own activities. For example, we are reducing our greenhouse gas emissions in line with the 1.5 degree target agreed by most nations at the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris,” says Michael Fubi.

The journey to a more sustainable future also provides TUV Rheinland with good economic prospects. The testing company has recently bundled its wide range of sustainability services in almost all service areas worldwide. At the same time, the experts are working to implement new, innovative testing services for future areas such as carbon-neutral business, energy generation without fossil fuels, and social standards in global supply and value chains. A wealth of information and services for more sustainability are now available from TUV Rheinland at www.tuv.com/sustainability.

TUV Rheinland as partner for new technologies

TUV Rheinland has seen itself as a partner for new technologies since it was founded 150 years ago. A current example is the rapidly growing electromobility segment. Since last year, TUV Rheinland has been building a large testing laboratory for drive batteries in Aachen, which will open in June 2022. Most recently, TUV Rheinland and its partner TWAICE founded Battery Quick Check GmbH in March 2022. The new company aims to launch a service to evaluate drive batteries of used electric vehicles on the market from fall 2022. In addition, the company’s experts provide support for the type approval of newly developed vehicles, particularly with regard to increasingly automated driving. For example, TUV Rheinland assisted the homologation of the world’s first driver assist system for highly automated driving (SAE Level 3) for use on the road, namely Drive Pilot in the S-Class and EQS from Mercedes-Benz.

Another example is hydrogen, which can provide a solution to the problem of storing renewable energy and offers an opportunity to combine previously separate areas such as electricity, heating and mobility. In 2021, TUV Rheinland established a global hydrogen competence center, in which it bundles its many services for the safe production, storage, transport and use of hydrogen as an energy carrier worldwide. A hydrogen testing laboratory recently opened in Cologne underscores TUV Rheinland’s aim to help shape the transition to renewable energy.

Financial position and capital expenditure

TUV Rheinland’s equity increased by EUR 151.2 million from EUR 285 million to EUR 436.2 million in 2021. Net cash from operating activities totaled EUR 205.9 million in the 2021 fiscal year (2020: EUR 223.2 million).

Capital expenditure amounted to EUR 57.7 million in 2021 and was thus somewhat lower than in the previous year. These investments focused on various software and digitization projects as well as on the expansion of testing capacity and the creation, expansion and modernization of testing laboratories. TUV Rheinland invested a total of EUR 5 million in a new testing laboratory in Budapest. In addition, EUR 13.8 million was spent on testing equipment and facilities for the Products business stream. Investment continued in one of Europe’s largest and most state-of-the-art test centers for drive batteries, which TÜV Rheinland is currently building in Aachen, with EUR 1.2 million spent in 2021. The Mobility business stream also invested EUR 1.4 million in vehicle inspection centers in Chile.

Development of employee numbers

TUV Rheinland’s internationality is reflected by its employees: in 2021, 58.1% of the 20,241 employees were based outside of Germany. In Germany, TUV Rheinland employed an annual average of 8,486 full-time equivalents in 2021, 259 fewer than the previous year. This was due in particular to a streamlining of central administrative functions, which was completed in 2021. Internationally, the number of employees fell by 1.3%. The implementation of the planned restructuring programs of the last few years is well advanced. In the medium and long term, TUV Rheinland plans to create new jobs again as it has continuously done over the past few decades. For comparison, in the year of its 140th anniversary TUV Rheinland employed 17,200 people around the world. The targeted growth will be achieved largely organically, thus resulting in the creation of new jobs.

Performance in Germany and internationally

The German market accounted for 52.3% of TUV Rheinland’s total revenues in 2021, with the international regions accordingly contributing 47.7%. Revenues in Germany grew by EUR 56.7 million, totaling EUR 1.093 billion in 2021. Outside of Germany, revenues amounted to EUR 997.5 compared with EUR 916.8 million in 2020. As in the past, the Greater China region accounted for the largest share of international business, contributing 19.5% of the Group’s total revenues. Revenues grew in most regions in 2021, with sometimes significant growth rates of up to 25%. There were only slight declines in revenues in the North America and Asia-Pacific regions. 

Performance of the business streams

TUV Rheinland has divided its global testing and certificate business into five business streams. Industrial testing, product testing, and mobility services together constitute more than 75% of the entire business of TUV Rheinland.

In 2021, the Product Testing business stream made the biggest contribution to TUV Rheinland’s total revenues. Revenues in this area totaled EUR 604.1 million, corresponding to a significant increase of 8.5% or around EUR 47 million year-on-year. This positive development is attributable to factors including excellent revenue performance in the testing of toys, cosmetics and textiles as well as machinery, components and solar modules.

The revenue performance in the Mobility business stream was again impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, the business stream palpably improved its revenues by 7.5% to EUR 595.4 million (2020: EUR 554 million). Volumes at vehicle inspection centers in Germany and Latvia returned to normal levels, while significant growth was seen in Chile. In Spain and France, the vehicle inspection business fell somewhat short of expectations as a result of the pandemic.

The business with vehicle appraisals and vehicle type approval services was noticeably affected by factors such as global supply problems and the associated production bottlenecks for automobile manufacturers, because these reduced the number of new registrations. In contrast, the very international business with inspection services for rail transport grew significantly.

The Industrial Services & Cybersecurity business stream generated revenues of EUR 560.7 million in 2021, up 4.2% on the previous year (EUR 538.1 million). Significant growth was seen in many countries of Western Europe, which were still heavily affected by the pandemic in 2020. Testing and certification services for the energy and environment sectors were in particularly high demand there. The regions Greater China, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), India, Middle East, Africa (IMEA) and South America also made significant contributions to the revenue growth.

The Academy & Life Care business stream was still heavily impacted by measures in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, especially in the business with training and further education. Nevertheless, the business stream considerably improved its revenues by 6.9% to EUR 244.7 million (2020: EUR 228.8 million), chiefly due to investments in digitalized learning opportunities. Business relating to occupational health management again saw increased demand. Here, TUV Rheinland employees were also involved in the implementation of the national coronavirus vaccination strategy in Germany.

The Systems business stream grew considerably with the certification of management systems. Revenues increased by 11.9% to EUR 239.9 million (2020: EUR 214.3 million). Catch-up effects after a pandemic-driven decline in the previous year were one reason for the significant increase. Furthermore, there was growing customer demand for audits in the supply chain, especially in the Greater China and Asia-Pacific regions. Pre-shipment inspection business for Indonesia and inspections for the Iraqi, Moroccan, and Saudi Arabian markets also developed positively.

150 years of safety: Since 1872, TUV Rheinland’s mission has been to make technology safe for people and the environment. From the steam engine to digitalization, the erstwhile “Verein zur Überwachung der Dampfkessel in den Kreisen Elberfeld und Barmen” (Association for the Inspection of Steam Boilers in the Districts of Elberfeld and Barmen) has evolved into a global testing service provider ensuring safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. This responsibility is now shared by more than 20,000 employees, who generate annual revenues of around EUR 2.1 billion. Around the globe, experts from TUV Rheinland test technical systems and products, support innovations in technology and industry, train personnel in a wide range of professions, and certify management systems according to international standards. With safety and sustainability, TUV Rheinland is also shaping the future. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has therefore been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com

PR Newswire

ACE Green Recycling to build North America’s largest green battery recycling park in Texas

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Proprietary emissions-free battery recycling technology to be deployed to recycle both lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries  

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Recycling technology company, ACE Green Recycling (ACE) is announcing its plans to build and operate North America’s largest emissions-free and sustainable battery recycling park in Texas, USA. The 400,000 square foot facility will be able to recycle both lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries when fully operational. These batteries are key elements in the automotive, power storage, telecommunications industry and portable devices like mobile phones and laptops. 

The facility is expected to start its phase 1 of operations in the third quarter of 2023, starting with the recycling of lead-acid batteries using ACE’s proprietary emission-free battery recycling technology and followed with a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in proximity. When operating at full capacity, ACE expects the facility to process and recycle up to 100,000 metric ton of used lead-acid batteries and 20,000 metric ton of used lithium-ion batteries annually by 2025.

Traditionally, battery recycling is via the smelting process which involves operating at extremely high temperatures – often more than 1,000 °C – with the burning of expensive and polluting fossil fuels, producing significant greenhouse gases (GHG), and exposing workers to hazardous working conditions. Compared to smelting, ACE’s proprietary technologies for both lead-acid and lithium-ion battery recycling are fully electrified with zero carbon emissions and provide higher battery material yields while providing a safer workplace environment. ACE is also exploring opportunities for operating most of its key plant activities with solar energy to reduce the facility’s Scope 2 emissions.

ACE has identified Texas to locate its flagship battery recycling facility in the United States. With a growing population and easy access to an abundance of spent batteries from automobiles and other industrial sources, Texas is an obvious choice for ACE’s new plant. 

Due to the lack of sufficient recycling capacity, the US is currently exporting a large volume of its scrap batteries to Mexico and Asia while importing battery materials back to make new batteries leading to a major value loss. By establishing a large operation in Texas, ACE intends to reduce America’s dependence on imports of battery materials and batteries from foreign suppliers that are often subject to adverse global supply chain issues. 

“Texas sits at the heart of the world’s global energy revolution with key access to an abundant pool of top engineering and technical talent. ACE’s new facility aims to be part of that revolution and build a greener, more sustainable future for America,” said Nishchay Chadha, ACE’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

ACE’s Texas lead-acid recycling facility will be scaled up in phases. When fully operational, it is projected to recycle more than 5 million lead-acid batteries, prevent more than 50,000 metric ton of GHG emissions, reduce landfill dumping of more than 10 million pounds of hazardous solid waste, and recycle more than 15 million pounds of plastics annually. The facility will also generate up to 100 direct and indirect well-paying American jobs for the local economy. ACE will be announcing more details about its lithium-ion battery recycling operations in upcoming months.

The green technology solutions start-up will utilize its own funds and collaborate with several strategic and financial investors to set up the envisioned Texas battery recycling park. “We are excited to establish our first North American facility in the state of Texas that will not only generate significant local economic activity but also contribute to a greener environmental footprint,” said Dr Vipin Tyagi, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of ACE. “By contributing to America’s battery recycling capabilities, we also aim to strengthen the country’s energy independence and build a more resilient future for the nation.”

ACE has already deployed its technology on a commercial scale and most recently announced a deal with Pondy Oxides & Chemicals Ltd (BSE: 532626), a leading recycler in India, and is set to announce new facilities in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East by early 2023.

About ACE Green Recycling Inc

ACE Green Recycling is an American green recycling technology company with global operations across Southeast Asia and India. The company has started commercializing its proprietary recycling process for used lead-acid batteries that releases no greenhouse gas emissions and is currently scaling up its zero-emission technology to recycle lithium-ion batteries. ACE is also simultaneously working on clean technology solutions for other metallic waste streams. The team behind ACE has decades of recycling, technology and scrap supply chain experience, making them poised to become a leader in global recycling.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ikram Zainy                                                              
Superminted Pte Ltd                                                
ikram@superminted.com
Tel: +(65) 96553441

For any enquiries, please contact:
ACE Green Recycling
communications@ace-green.com

Lifestyle, News, Social Media

Instagram is Embracing NFTs, You Can Show Your NFTs on Instagram Soon!

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Love it or hate it, NFT is here to stay for a while. If you are not familiar yet, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) really took off in the past year. It started out as something of a trading alternative for artists in the digital space. It also stems from cryptocurrency, which is another completely different and large topic on its own.

The rise of NFTs does pave plenty of ways for artists and content creators to make millions in a matter of minutes, faster than ever before. There are always two sides of the coin though. Some may like the idea of NFT, some opposed it and thinks that NFT is just a fad. Then again, cryptocurrency is not everyone’s cup of tea either.

Instagram seems to be one that hopes that the NFT trend could boost their own popularity though. To be fair, this should not be something new. Instagram has been contemplating on allowing the sharing of NFTs on their platform for a while now. Recently, the thoughts have been put to action as announced by Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri via Twitter and Instagram Reels.

This does not mean that Instagram is going to be a marketplace for NFTs though. It is a mere platform to showcase owned NFTs. According to Adam, there will be additional information provided with NFT postings. Information like who owns the NFT, for example, will be essential and shared with the posts. He also added that NFTs can be posted and shared across the platform without additional fees or costs.

NFTs on Instagram 🎉

This week we’re beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.

See you next week! ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/VuJbMVSBDr

Still, you do want to take Instagram’s stance on NFTs with a pinch of salt though. Adam Mosseri’s post says that they are just beginning the tests with a handful of creators and NFT owners. That also means that not all users might get to share their NFT contents just yet. It could pave a way for Instagram to become one of the NFT marketplaces in the future, depending on how its users receive the feature. For now, it will act like a gallery for NFT placements. If you wish to buy NFTs, you still should head to the appropriate marketplaces to make your purchases or bids.

What do you think about NFTs? Is this the right move for Instagram? Would you share your digital collectible on Instagram? Would you even buy NFTs off Instagram? Comment below!

PR Newswire

Turnitin and Japanese Science and Technology Agency announce content partnership

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TOKYO, May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Turnitin—a leading provider of academic integrity and assessment solutions—and Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST)—a government agency responsible for implementing science and technology policy in Japan——announced their content partnership. 

Japan Link Center (JaLC), J-STAGE, and Turnitin team up to uphold research integrity
Japan Link Center (JaLC), J-STAGE, and Turnitin team up to uphold research integrity

The partnership aims to provide the academic and research community with a comprehensive Japanese content database to cross-check new academic content for potential plagiarism, originality, and authorship. The Japan Link Center (JaLC)—Japan’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI) registration service for academic content, which JST serves as a secretariat—and JST’s online academic journal J-STAGE are contributing Japanese academic content to Turnitin’s secure and extensive scholarly database.

Turnitin’s content database helps researchers and publishers surface potential plagiarism by uploading and comparing submissions against more than 82 million scholarly articles provided and owned by the world’s premier academic publishers.

Content contributed to Turnitin by JaLC and J-STAGE includes: 1) JaLC content derived from member institutions that use Turnitin plagiarism prevention software and have had their contents’ DOIs registered through JaLC, and 2) J-STAGE content whose DOIs have been registered through JaLC. Already, over 2.6 million pieces of Japanese academic content have been added to the Turnitin database from J-STAGE.

“In October 2020, Turnitin established a Japanese entity in response to growing domestic demand from academic institutions,” said Turnitin North East Asia Regional Director Betsy Matsunaga. “This partnership further exemplifies the Japanese education and research community’s commitment to academic integrity. We look forward to working with the Japan Science and Technology Agency to help ensure the integrity of academic research.”

“We have received many requests from Japan Link Center members and other academic institutions in Japan to use plagiarism checking, especially for Japanese content,” said Japan Link Center Steering Committee Vice Chair Ritsuko Nakajima. “We felt it necessary to respond to this request. We are very pleased to be able to offer plagiarism prevention services to Japan Link Center member institutions through this partnership. We hope that this initiative will help improve research integrity in Japan and promote the distribution of academic content originating from Japan.”

Turnitin Japan media contact
Motoki Endo, mendo@turnitin.com

About Japan Link Center
Japan Link Center (JaLC) centrally manages bibliography and location information of academic content—such as articles, books, data, dissertations, reports, e-learning, and more—in Japan. It is a system to register a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). It was certified by the DOI Foundation on March 15, 2012 as the ninth DOI registration body in the world and the only one in Japan. JaLC also collects and manages bibliographic information related to the content when registering DOIs. JaLC is jointly operated by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the National Institute for Materials Science, the National Institute of Informatics, and the National Diet Library.

About Japan Science and Technology Agency
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) is an organization that plays a central role in the Science and Technology Basic Plan. Based on the goals set by the government, JST comprehensively implements a variety of projects to promote science and technology and solve social issues, including basic research, fundamental research and development, support for commercialization of new technologies, distribution of scientific and technological information, and more recently, promotion of international joint research and development of next-generation human resources. As part of the distribution of scientific and technological information, JST operates the electronic journal platform J-STAGE and serves as the secretariat of the domestic Digital Object Identifier registration organization Japan Link Center.

About Turnitin
Turnitin is a global company dedicated to ensuring the integrity of education and meaningfully improving learning outcomes. For more than 20 years, Turnitin has partnered with educational institutions to promote honesty, consistency, and fairness across all subject areas and assessment types. Turnitin products are used by educational institutions and certification and licensing programs to uphold integrity and increase learning performance, and by students and professionals to do their best, original work.

Turnitin has offices in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Over 16,000 academic institutions, publishers, and corporations use Turnitin services: Gradescope by Turnitin, iThenticate, Turnitin Feedback Studio, Turnitin Originality, Turnitin Similarity, ExamSoft,  ProctorExam, and Ouriginal.

Photo – https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/turnitin-and-japanese-science-and-technology-agency-announce-content-partnership.jpg

PR Newswire

Opsera Announces Partnership with Mindtree to Accelerate DevOps Initiatives

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Enterprises can now take advantage of Opsera’s no-code DevOps orchestration platform and Mindtree’s digital transformation capabilities

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Opsera, the Continuous Orchestration platform for DevOps, today announced it has partnered with Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company. The combination of Opsera’s cutting-edge DevOps Orchestration and Analytics technology, and Mindtree’s deep domain knowledge and expansive delivery capabilities will enable enterprises to increase scale, speed-to-market, and customer satisfaction as they advance along their transformation journey.

Learn more about the partnership: https://www.opsera.io/partners/mindtree

From retail to banking and healthcare, Mindtree helps some of the top brands around the world utilize cloud and digital solutions to stay ahead of the competition. In order to be successful in these digital initiatives, it is critical that organizations adopt DevOps practices and tools to maintain the velocity, security and quality of software deployments.

Opsera offers the industry’s first no-code DevOps orchestration platform that provisions engineering teams’ choice of CI/CD tools from a common architectural framework and builds declarative pipelines for a variety of use cases, including SDLC, Infrastructure as Code, and release automation for SaaS applications, such as Salesforce, Snowflake, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), and more. Mindtree’s customers can now enjoy the benefits of Opsera’s no-code DevOps orchestration platform, and Opsera’s customers will be able to tap into Mindtree’s proven engineering capabilities.

“Partnering with Mindtree helps strengthen our collective approach to help engineering and IT organizations turn DevOps practices into improved business performance,” said Chandra Ranganathan, co-founder and CEO of Opsera. “Mindtree offers some of the most cutting-edge digital transformation capabilities that large organizations need to stay competitive. Its expertise combined with our no-code DevOps orchestration platform will help Mindtree’s customers accelerate their DevOps initiatives. We also look forward to utilizing Mindtree’s digital transformation capabilities to help our customers excel.”

“We are confident that our partnership with Opsera will give our customers an even greater competitive edge in times of rapid change and transformation,” said Radhakrishnan Rajagopalan, Global Head of Technology Services at Mindtree. “No-code DevOps orchestration is a revolutionary approach to software delivery that ensures the strictest speed, quality and security standards until they are met. We look forward to bringing this solution to our customers and also providing Opsera’s customers with our own unique approach and capabilities around digital transformation at scale.”

Schedule a demo to see Opsera in action: https://www.opsera.io/schedule-a-demo

About Opsera
Opsera is the first Continuous Orchestration platform for next-gen DevOps that enables choice, automation, and intelligence across the entire software life cycle. It offers simple, self-service toolchain integrations, drag-and-drop pipelines, and unified insights. With Continuous Orchestration, development teams can use the tools they want, operations teams gain improved efficiency, and business leaders have unparalleled visibility. Opsera believes DevOps has transformed from an aspiration to a practical science, and Continuous Orchestration is the future to help organizations accelerate DevOps adoption and reach peak innovation velocity.

About Mindtree
Mindtree [NSE: MINDTREE] is a global technology consulting and services company that enables enterprises across industries to drive superior competitive advantage, customer experiences and business outcomes by harnessing digital and cloud technologies. A digital transformation partner to more than 275 of the world’s most pioneering enterprises, Mindtree brings extensive domain, technology and consulting expertise to help reimagine business models, accelerate innovation and maximize growth. As a socially and environmentally responsible business, Mindtree is focused on growth as well as sustainability in building long-term stakeholder value. Powered by more than 35,000 talented and entrepreneurial professionals across 24 countries, Mindtree — a Larsen & Toubro Group company — is consistently recognized among the best places to work. For more, please visit www.mindtree.com or @Mindtree_Ltd.

PR Contact
Olivia Heel
Catapult PR
oheel@catapultpr-ir.com 
303-521-5049

Android, Mobile, News

TECNO Enters the Malaysian Smartphone Market with Their Phantom X Flagship Smartphone at MYR 1,499

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Before we go on, no we haven’t heard too much of TECNO. Yes, technically TECNO is new to the smartphone industry. Yes, it is TECNO’s first smartphone to enter Malaysia. No, we do not know why any new players would want to compete in the current smartphone market landscape.

Now we got that out of the way, let us look at what they just came up with, the Phantom X. Well, when we said they just came up with it, the device was technically launched by TECNO in the middle of 2021. The said device launched first in India and the later to the rest of the world, now Malaysia. While it is a new device in Malaysia, it is technically an outdated device by the time we get our hands on one. No matter though, modern outdated devices are still full of features and are still good enough to at least last a few software updates, so it is not like you are missing out on that much.

It is priced at MYR 1,499, which is relatively little ask for a modern smartphone by any standards. While the price range puts it squarely in the entry-level mid-range smartphone segment, TECNO claims that this device is, in fact, a flagship smartphone. At least on paper, the device looks the part.

Flagship Performance

TECNOPhan5
Source: TECNO

RM 1,499 buys you a MediaTek Helio G95 System on A Chip (SoC). While it does not sound like much, the MediaTek 12nmm SoC is still powerful enough to perform like modern flagships (not necessarily in gaming terms). Sadly, it does not support 5G. Then again, how many smartphones in the sub-MYR 1,500 category does?

Alongside the SoC, there is 8GB of RAM that can be expanded to up to 13GB. The extra 5GB is borrowed from 256GB of on-board storage that is offered on the device. If 256GB of storage feels a little constrictive, you can also expand via the dedicated MicroSD card slot that is more of feature now than anything else.

Immersive Display

TECNOPhan1
Source: TECNO

Wrapping the internals are 3D curved glass panels that is held together an aluminium frame, an industry standard today. Out the front is a Corning Gorilla Glass that encases 6.7-inch of AMOLED goodness. The AMOLED panel offers Full HD+ in resolution and up to 90Hz in refresh rate. In theory, the combination should give you a smooth and immersive experience with Android 11 with HIOS 7.6 overlay.

5 Cameras

TECNOPhan3
Source: TECNO

Parked on the top left side of the display is a punch hole that houses two cameras. It is one high-resolution 48-Megapixel main selfie camera for those extra crisp and detailed self-portraits. For a group photo, you get an 8-Megapixel ultrawide shooter beside it.

TECNOPhan2
Source: TECNO

Out the first-in-industry etched textured glass back are three cameras. The main shooter is an impressive 50-Megapixel camera with a large 1/1.3-inch sensor for the best-in-class image clarity and detail. It should perform better in low-light conditions too, with a larger sensor to capture more light naturally. The main camera is flanked with a 120o ultra-wide camera with 8-Megapixel sensor behind the glass. There is also a 13-Megapixel telephoto sensor at 50mm, which we can safely say is a more of a portrait lens than anything else.

Long Battery Life

TECNOPhan6
Source: TECNO

To keep everything running all day long and more is a large 4,700mAh built-in battery. The battery is rated to last up to 30 days in standby conditions, up to 16 hours in video streaming, and even 9 hours in continuous video conferencing. When your battery is running low, you get up to 33W in charging speeds as well to charge your device from nothing to full within an hour.

Price and Availability

The TECNO Phantom X is now available at all their authorised stores and retailers across Malaysia. As mentioned, the device is priced at MYR 1,499. You can get your hands on one in two colour options – Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Monet’s Summer. To celebrate TECNO’s entry into Malaysia and its launch of the Phantom X, the first 2,000 buyers of the device are entitled to a complementary TECNO buds wireless earphones. For more information on the TECNO Phantom X, you can visit their website.

PR Newswire

Mintegral Climbs the Ranks in Tenjin’s 2022 Hyper-Casual Games Insights Report

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GUANGZHOU, China, May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Tenjin, a leading mobile marketing analytics platform has recently published the Q1 2022 Hyper-Casual Games Insights for Advertisers report and has ranked Mintegral 2nd in advertising spend for global hyper-casual games on iOS and rose to 3rd for advertising spend on Android.

Tenjin’s report compiled data on the distribution of iOS and Android’s advertising spend across global hyper-casual games in Q1 2022, as well as ad spend on different platforms and regions.

Mintegral Climbs the Ranks in Tenjin's 2022 Hyper-Casual Games Insights Report
Mintegral Climbs the Ranks in Tenjin’s 2022 Hyper-Casual Games Insights Report

Mintegral ranked 2nd in advertising spend for global hyper-casual games on iOS and rose to 3rd in advertising spend on Android.
Mintegral ranked 2nd in advertising spend for global hyper-casual games on iOS and rose to 3rd in advertising spend on Android.

Compared to Tenjin’s previous report which showed an increase in Android ad spend, the Q1 2022 report shows ad spend distribution is now even. At the time, advertisers had more uncertainty surrounding iOS 14.5 and tended to be more cautious with their budget allocation. Mintegral remains strong on iOS, as the proprietary algorithm was not reliant on IDFA and instead utilized predictive modeling and dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to improve efficiency.

There has also been a shake up in the Android rankings with Mintegral now entering the Top 3 across all operating systems and signifies our strength in the market.

“We are honored to be included on Tenjin’s Hyper-Casual Games Report as it demonstrates our ability to provide advertisers with sustainable growth across both iOS and Android,” said Erick Fang, Mintegral CEO. “We will continue to grow stronger and provide cutting edge advertising technology that brings our clients and partners success in the global market.”

Thus far, Mintegral has helped over 5,000 worldwide advertisers and more than 50,000 leading apps to acquire high-quality users at scale in global markets including Europe, America, and the APAC region. Mintegral’s clients include Voodoo, Outfit7, SayGames, iDreamSky, CrazyLabs, Lion Studio, Zynga, and Alictu, among others. Mintegral’s data management platform has an average of more than 2.2 billion daily active users and over 100 billion daily ad requests.

About Mintegral
Mintegral is a mobile advertising platform that provides user acquisition, monetization, and creative solutions for mobile advertisers and publishers around the world. Mintegral’s AI-driven, programmatic ad platform aims to bridge the gap between East and West through innovative products that include SSP, DSP, DMP, ad exchange, an advertiser self-serve platform, and creative automation platform powered by Mindworks, Mintegral’s Creative Studio. Learn more at www.mintegral.com/en/

PR Newswire

Yadea Celebrates Mother’s Day with #LegendaryMom Social Media Campaign

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MUNICH, May 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On Mother’s Day, Yadea, a leading electric two-wheeler brand, is celebrating moms around the world with the launch of its #LegendaryMom social media campaign, incorporating a new Mother’s Day video and a poster. At the center of Yadea’s Mother’s Day campaign is an energetic rap that embodies the brand’s youthful spirit and pays homage to the diverse identities of the modern mom.

“Mothers are not defined solely by the fact that they have children. Mothers have multiple identities in life: they can be family contributors, stylish women and eco-living advocates. As a brand, Yadea has always recognized and supported the plethora of roles that modern mothers occupy in our lives. This film pays tribute to the idea that all mothers around the world are absolutely and unquestionably legendary,” said Aska Zeng, General Manager at Yadea.

A celebration of the modern mom, Yadea’s #LegendaryMom campaign asks audiences to reflect on the diverse roles their mom played, and continue to play, in their lives, from educator to businesswoman and advocate for sustainable living. As their first teacher, mothers are the ones who help kids navigate every aspect of the world, from changing their diapers to helping them study for the big high school exam and enabling them to thrive professionally as they head off to work. They shape children into their best selves – as the rap says: “All your good qualities, they’re hereditary.” Finally, as a “true boss” lady and “real go-getter,” Yadea acknowledges that modern moms are eco-warriors that take action and use sustainable means of transportation to ensure the next generation become leaders in protecting the earth.

Yadea’s #LegendaryMom video launched across the brand’s social media platforms on May 8, 2022, alongside a dedicated Mother’s Day post, which celebrates the diverse roles mothers play, and invites its audience to share pictures to celebrate their own #LegendaryMom on social media.

As a reflection of Yadea’s continued efforts to empower mothers around the globe, the #LegendaryMom campaign forms part of the brand’s larger commitment to support moms as they raise their little ones. Yadea helps mothers guide their children to understand and protect the most important mother of all – Mother Earth – and makes life easier for parents with innovative products, such as its unique kids series. At the same time, Yadea consistently incorporates outstanding award-winning design into its products, including the 2020 Red Dot Design Award winner C1S. This combination of form and function enables children to appreciate and pursue beauty, while assisting mothers to look stylish in their busy daily lives.

As a champion of women everywhere, Yadea steadfastly recognizes and supports the diverse roles that moms play in the modern world. Looking ahead, the company will continue to create green, eco-friendly products that support #LegendaryMoms and accompany children to “Electrify Your Life” as they grow.

About Yadea
Yadea is a global leader in developing and manufacturing electric two-wheel vehicles including electric motorcycles, electric mopeds, electric bicycles and electric kick scooters. To date, Yadea has sold products to 60 million users in over 80 countries, and has a network of 40,000+ retailers worldwide. With a mission to help people “Electrify Your Life”, Yadea continues to invest in R&D, production and global expansion to build a shared and sustainable future for humankind.

For more information, visit our:
Official Website: https://www.yadea.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yadea.Official
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/YADEA.GLOBAL/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YadeaGlobal

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PR Newswire

AIRROBO Introduces Air Purifier AR400 In A New Product Line To Make Smart Life A New Norm

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HONG KONG, May 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — AIRROBO (us.air-robo.com), the smart home appliance brand with a focus on AI-enabled technologies and supported by world-leading AI and humanoid robotic company, UBTECH Robotics, recently announced the launch of a new product in its new product line, pursuing a vision through value-based pricing strategy that creates superb quality products with a wide range of smart appliances that can be expected from not just robot vacuums but also air purifiers, humidifiers, etc. Featuring AIRROBO’s new air purifying technology Tres Air™ Filtration to realize superior air particles blocking performance with 3 lines of defense, AIRROBO AR400 is made for large rooms to quickly, deeply and silently deliver pragmatically clean air for people to breathe freely and comfortably.

AIRROBO Air Purifier AR400
AIRROBO Air Purifier AR400

The coronavirus has centered itself to be the spotlight in the world since 2019, bringing more attention to the need for indoor clean air, however, the rising pollution levels in cities, allergy seasons and natural disasters have produced health-threatening pollutants, irritants and fine particles in everyday life. AIRROBO AR400 shields against these issues in a significant way, improving the respiratory conditions of people around the globe.

When hay fever season arrives in Japan amid the coronavirus pandemic, it’s making indoor air quality a public concern. In western and eastern Japan, the hay fever season starts between the end of January and mid-February, easily causing cold-like signs and symptoms under allergic rhinitis, such as a runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, sneezing etc. Therefore, AIRROBO AR400 is here to help. Through Tres AirTM Filtration technology purifying indoor air quality with 3 lines of defense including a pre-filter, an H13 HEPA filter and an enhanced activated carbon filter, AIRROBO AR400 can block over 99.97% allergens including fine particles at 0.3 microns, bacteria and viruses*, pet dander, VOCs and odors, providing better indoor air quality for people who pursue a healthier lifestyle. AIRROBO AR400 features CADR 300m3/h (188CFM) and provides a strong and efficient air purifying performance for large spaces up to 430ft2(40m2) in 19 minutes. It’s a life essential item especially for those who care about the respiratory conditions of their allergy-prone children, seniors and pet owners.

Struggling with sleep at night due to allergies or asthma is unbearable. Keeping AR400 on under Sleep mode can help you sleep better. It features improved brushless motor and fluid mechanics design to reduce noise to only 20.2 dB, which is equivalent to the sound of rustling leaves in nature and is sonically unobtrusive, helping you breathe and sleep better.

“In 2022, AIRROBO will continue to enrich its product line and bring superior products and satisfactory customer service to more households. In a time with more diversified consumer demands and a younger audience, AIRROBO has made numerous breakthroughs in integrating the supply chain and product testing to ensure the highest cost performance ratio,” said Tommy Zhang, general manager of AIRROBO.

For anyone who is ready to embrace a healthier and more comfortable lifestyle, the air purifier AR400 is available for purchase online on Amazon Japan (www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09KCH6H7D).

About AIRROBO

AIRROBO is a smart home appliance brand with a focus on AI-enabled technologies. Supported by world-leading AI and humanoid robotic company, UBTECH Robotics, AIRROBO is aiming to bring the most cutting-edge technology to more and more households around the globe, making smart home a new norm of life. Find out more at us.air-robo.com.

*The AIRROBO AR400 filters bacteria and viruses but cannot guarantee an elimination or reduction of the risk of person-to-person transmission.

CONTACT: Johnny Liang, +86-15622239653

PR Newswire

2022 Visionox Technology Innovation Launch Event

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BANGKOK, May 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — According to Global One Belt One Road TV Station, On May 5, 2022, Visionox, a leading innovative display enterprise in China, held its 2022 Technology Innovation Launch Event online to release its innovative technological achievements in five sectors. With the theme of “Create a Brandnew and Visionary Future”, there are 20 innovative technological achievements in five sectors being released (e.g. EnV ALT™ low-frequency LTPS, InV tripod® tripod-shaped pixel arrangement, HLEMS technology, COE POL-less technology, and truly bezel-less face ID module). This release highlights Visionox’s great technological innovation capabilities. The further commercialization of these innovations will be destined to accelerate the iteration and upgrade of intelligent terminals.

Led by Visionox’s President Dr. Zhang Deqiang, there were five technical experts, namely Cai Minghan, Shan Qi, Zhang Wei, Xiao Yiming and Cao Xuan, delivering speeches in five dimensions: “Versatile for the Full World”, “Vibrant for the Strong Performance”, “Vigorous for the Integrated Trend”, “Vintage for the Smart Display”, and “Vast for the Infinite World”.

Dr. Zhang Deqiang explained Visionox’s medium- and long-term development strategies (2022-2031): “In the next five years, Visionox will focus on the core technologies of innovative display, expand our production to all related fields, and rank among Top 3 in worldwide OLED panel shipments.” He also noted that through ten years of hard work, Visionox would realize the synchronized development of the industry ecosystem and become a global leader in the emerging display industry. In terms of strategy implementation, Visionox has formulated “One strength & Two new roads” development strategies for the next five years, namely consolidating the success in small-sized display applications, expanding the application of medium-sized display and opening up a new large-sized display market. For the next decade, Visionox has put forward the “2345” development framework (i.e. 2 business lines: OLED and Micro-LED; 3 core technologies: optics and materials, semiconductor devices and system integration; 4 innovation bases in the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Chengdu–Chongqing; 5 application fields: intelligent terminal, automotive interaction, smart home, industrial control and healthcare, and innovation-driven business).

After his speech, the five technical experts explained the five sectors, covering nearly 20 innovative technological achievements, which were elaborated in terms of technical principle, innovation effectiveness, application scenario, user experience, etc.

In terms of “Versatile for the Full World”, Visionox has narrowed 1.4mm bezel down to 1.0mm by applying new circuit design and FIAA technology. In addition, Visionox has realized slimmer bezel, more invisible crease and smaller bend radius through foldable form optimization, stacking module thinning, module materials optimization, and other technologies.

In terms of “Vibrant for the Strong Performance”, Visionox has reduced power consumption by taking three major methods, namely, low-frequency LTPS technology, HLEMS technology and COE POL-less technology, from two aspects of drive and light extraction efficiency improvement.

Meanwhile, Visionox’s original upgraded “dual tripod” pixel arrangement is now able to present finer, sharper and more balanced images. With the promotion and application of new technologies, next-generation smartphones are expected to be substantially improved in portability, screen-to-body ratio, optical performance, screen power consumption and under-display camera.

In terms of “Vigorous for the Integrated Trend”, Visionox launched the world’s first under-display camera solution InV see® in 2020. Now, Visionox has released its latest solutions – InV see® Bezel-less solution of 3D face recognition and PIN optical fingerprint recognition solution, enabling smartphone recognition system to go further on the path of achieving higher information security, convenience of use and compatibility of flexible display.

In terms of “Vintage for the Smart Display”, Visionox has developed tandem OLED technology and aging compensation technology, and also carried out in-depth research on basic technologies such as oxide TFT backplane and Demura. Based on the improvement of the fundamental functions, AMOLEDs are used in medium-sized applications. Visionox presents a flexible under-screen camera solution for laptops which uses ultra-thin bezel technology, enabling the screen-to-body ratio to increase to 91% from 85% which has been the choice of most traditional laptops. In the field of medium-sized automotive applications, Visionox has cooperated with some automobile brands to launch customized OLED automotive displays, such as dashboard, digital rearview, central control and transparent A-pillar.

The part of “Vast for the Infinite World” was especially eye-catching. Visionox is actively “expanding new medium-sized display applications” and “opening up a new large-sized display market”. Visionox started its Micro-LED technology accumulation in 2017. At present, Visionox has built a Micro-LED Pilot Line, and successfully launched samples of 1.84-inch Micro-LED wearable retina displays and 12.7-inch glass-based Micro-LED tiling displays.

Finally, Dr. Zhang Deqiang said that Visionox would accelerate the commercialization of its innovative technologies and products in the future to create more immersive usage scenarios and provide end users with rich experience. At the present stage, Visionox’s goal is to meet market demand for customized, diversified and dynamic solutions, and deliver more value and better integrated solutions to downstream customers, so as to improve end users’ experience and bring the new future forward.

Cao Yong, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that at present, China’s electronic information industry has ushered in an unprecedented and new landscape. China’s display industry has become a major force in the global display industry, and the new display industry represented by OLED has shown strong growth momentum and huge market potential. In recent years, China has made new progress in new displays. The innovation force in emerging displays, led by enterprises like Visionox, has been exploring and making breakthroughs in AMOLEDs. They have launched several new technologies globally, formulated a number of international, national and industrial standards, filed more than 10,000 patents, and made innovations in collaboration with upstream and downstream enterprises of the industry chain, opening up new prospects.

Historically, May is the peak month for the release of new display innovations around the world every year. Visionox’s launch event of its innovative technological achievements at the beginning of May has shown a high degree of confidence in technology and innovation strength.

Focusing on OLED technology for 21 years, Visionox has a leading position in this field, and its innovations are often characterized as “industrial windvane”. Competition for R&D innovation in new displays is expected to grow fiercer. With the advent of the era of flexible displays, intelligent terminals will iterate and update faster.

Fiona Li  
Global One Belt One Road TV Station
89/22 Amonpang 205 Tower 1 Floor 16th  Soi Notong Rachada Rd. Dingdeng Dingdeng Bangkok 10400, Thailand  
Fiona_lee26550846@hotmail.com
Thailand   Bangkok