Business Wire

The jury of the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech 2026, which met on February 9 at the Automobile Club de France, has selected six finalist startups following several hours of deliberation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210456562/en/ Jury members The selected companies stand out for their technological ambition, economic viability and tangible impact on automotive cost reduction and industrial performance. Key themes this year include AI-assisted engineering design, strategic independence from critical materials, and advanced LiDAR optimization. Finalist startups include: Grand Prix ACF (Mature startups) - Altrove (Paris, France): Develops innovative alternatives to high-risk critical inorganic materials using a proprietary algorithmic approach and unique artificial intelligence, strengthening industrial resilience and technological sovereignty. - Cognitive Design Systems (Toulouse, France): Provides an AI-powered

Mary Kay Inc., a global direct sales leader in beauty and skincare innovation, entered 2026 with momentum, securing a top-tier distinction on Forbes’ 2026 Best Customer Service list, where the company ranked #2 overall. The honor follows a standout year for Mary Kay, which concluded 2025 with a total of 25 global awards, underscoring its continued focus on corporate excellence, direct selling industry, social impact, environmental sustainability, science, and innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210599426/en/ Mary Kay Inc., a global direct sales leader in beauty and skincare innovation, entered 2026 with momentum, securing a top-tier distinction on Forbes’ 2026 Best Customer Service list, where the company ranked #2 overall. (Image Courtesy: Mary Kay Inc.) The recent recognition highlights Mary Kay’s enduring commitment to putting the customer at the heart of everything it does, from seamless digital

Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global electronic broker, today announced the launch of Coinbase Derivatives, LLC nano Bitcoin and nano Ether futures contracts for trading on the IBKR platform. These new products are available with monthly expirations or as perpetual-style contracts, offering eligible clients a cost-effective way to gain exposure to cryptocurrency and manage risk within a regulated framework, with trading available 24/7. Clients of Interactive Brokers can access more than 170 markets worldwide and trade both traditional instruments and digital assets from a single platform. The new Coinbase Derivatives contracts offer an easier way to manage cryptocurrency exposure, with lower capital requirements and transparent trading on a regulated exchange. Nano futures are smaller-sized contracts, such as 0.01 Bitcoin and 0.10 Ether, that lower entry costs and allow for more precise position sizing. Perpetual-style futures are long-dated contracts that are design

Andersen Consulting enters a Collaboration Agreement with Lighthouse Consultants, a London-based consulting firm specializing in forensic accounting and financial investigations. Founded by Managing Director Kingsley Bye, Lighthouse Consultants provides services including fraud and financial crime investigations, bribery and corruption inquiries, litigation and insurance claims analysis, financial analysis, risk assessments, internal and compliance reviews, and sustainability audits. The firm’s team of experienced chartered management accountants works with law firms, high-net-worth individuals, businesses, and charities to resolve complex disputes, mitigate risks, and enhance transparency across financial and operational processes. "By integrating our forensic and investigative expertise with Andersen’s global platform, we can deliver a more comprehensive suite of services that addresses clients’ needs from risk prevention to complex dispute resolution,” Kingsley said. “This collabora

Today, Golub Capital (“the Firm”) announced the expansion of its BSL CLO strategy to Europe and the appointment of Tyler Wallace as Managing Director, European Broadly Syndicated Loans. Wallace brings more than 20 years of leading credit experience to the Firm and most recently was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of CLOs at Fair Oaks Capital in London. “This is a natural expansion for us,” said Scott Morrison, Head of BSL at Golub Capital. “The expansion builds on our market-leading U.S. CLO platform and strengthens our ability to deliver comprehensive financing solutions to partners across Europe.” Said Tyler Wallace, “Golub Capital has an exceptional BSL track record. I am excited to lead this next chapter and bring the Firm’s capabilities to partners in the region.” As of December 31, 2025, Golub Capital manages over $14 billion in broadly syndicated loans and has completed over 60 BSL CLO transactions since 2007. Other key business highlights include: Closed over $9 billi

Draslovka a.s. (“Draslovka”), a global innovator in sustainable chemical technologies and AI‑enabled services for the mining sector, and Avathon, the leader in Autonomy for Operations, today announced a strategic commercial partnership to accelerate the adoption of intelligent, autonomous, and data‑driven operations across the global mining industry. The partnership provides a breakthrough solution that combines Draslovka’s real‑time mineral and slurry monitoring technologies—delivered through its world class Blue Cube on‑stream mineralogical sensors—and MetOptima advanced metallurgical optimization AI engine, with the Avathon Autonomy Platform, a scalable industrial‑AI environment that enhances operational performance, automating decisions, and orchestrating complex operations across sites. Under the agreement, Draslovka and Avathon will collaborate closely on go-to-market initiatives, jointly commercializing and cross‑selling the combined offering. The combined Draslovka‑Avathon offe

Telekom Srbija Group has been honoured with the Europe Telecom Deal of the Year award at the prestigious TMT Finance Awards EMEA 2026, recognising excellence in telecom financing. The award was given for its US$900 million corporate Eurobond, listed on Euronext Dublin. The award celebrates outstanding dealmaking in the telecom sector across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The distinguished accolade highlights Telekom Srbija’s strategic success in executing a high-profile international financial transaction that strengthened investor confidence and expanded the company’s footprint in capital markets. This marks a significant milestone in Telekom Srbija Group’s continued growth and global recognition. Vladimir Lučić, CEO of Telekom Srbija Group, said: “We are incredibly proud that our Eurobond has been recognised as Europe Telecom Deal of the Year. This award reflects not just the success of the transaction, but the confidence global investors have in our strategy, our financial stre

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), the global financial technology platform that makes Intuit TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, today announced a set of Mailchimp product innovations that unlock profitable growth for ecommerce businesses. Powered by the Intuit platform, the enhancements include more ways for merchants to connect their data and activate omnichannel campaigns driving up to 30x ROI for ecommerce customers1 without the added price or complexity. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210726144/en/ Built to deliver ROI for less cost, Intuit Mailchimp now combines unified data with powerful automation across email and messaging. Product innovations available in 185 countries and territories across North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC. For small and mid-market online sellers, customer acquisition and growth are becoming harder to measure and optimize. Only 33% of marketers say their pre-

ILiAD Biotechnologies, Inc. (ILiAD), an advanced clinical stage biotech company focused on the prevention and treatment of disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, today announced the successful closing of an oversubscribed $115 million Series B financing. The financing was led by RA Capital Management with participation from new investors Janus Henderson Investors and BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, as well as existing investors including a multi-national pharmaceutical company and AI Life Sciences. As part of the financing, Mario Barro, Ph.D., Head of Infectious Diseases at RA Capital Management has joined ILiAD’s Board of Directors. Proceeds from the Series B financing will support the advancement of ILiAD’s next generation pertussis vaccine candidate, BPZE1. Inducing both systemic and mucosal immunity, BPZE1 is a live attenuated intranasal pertussis vaccine designed to provide durable and comprehensive immunity for the prevention of B. pertussis infection, disease (whooping cough

ExaGrid®, the industry’s only Tiered Backup Storage solution with AI-Powered Retention Time-Lock (RTL) that includes a non-network-facing tier (creating a tiered air gap), delayed deletes and immutability for ransomware recovery,today announced that CRN®—a brand of The Channel Company—has selected Sam Elbeck, ExaGrid’s Vice President of Americas Sales and Channel Partners, for inclusion on the prestigious 2026 CRN® Channel Chiefs list. This annual recognition celebrates IT vendor and distribution executives who are shaping channel strategy and driving innovation and partnership across the industry. “It’s an honor to be named to the Channel Chiefs list again this year,” said Sam Elbeck. “We are committed to the channel and view our partners as an extension of ExaGrid. We collaborate closely on every opportunity to ensure mutual success. Our channel philosophy centers on building long-term relationships grounded in honesty, integrity, and transparency. We strive for ExaGrid to be known a

Armis, the cyber exposure management & security company, today announced Armis CentrixTM for Application Security, which unifies application security across an organization’s software development lifecycle. The technology helps security teams secure code as a next-generation attack vector to fortify organizations’ defenses and protect against cyber threats. “To effectively manage risk, it’s essential to get to the root cause of the problem and weed it out,” said Nadir Izrael, CTO and Co-Founder of Armis. “Code-based vulnerabilities are being embedded into organizational infrastructure, and AI-generated code is exacerbating the problem, containing exponentially more vulnerabilities when compared to code written by human developers. As enterprises embrace AI-assisted coding and drive continuous development pipelines, they need a smarter, more dynamic, and unified approach to securing software at scale.” Today’s application security landscape is overloaded with fragmented, static point so

Vasion, a leader in serverless printing and Intelligent Print Automation, today announced the appointment of Scott Lee as Chief Product Officer. Lee brings more than 25 years of C-level product and growth leadership experience transforming and scaling enterprise SaaS companies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210803525/en/ Scott Lee joins Vasion as Chief Product Officer, bringing more than 25 years of enterprise SaaS leadership experience to accelerate the company's intelligent print automation platform and AI-ready capabilities. As Chief Product Officer at Vasion, Lee will lead product management, product design, and product operations. He will focus on expanding strong product foundations and ensuring customer value as the company scales. His extensive experience modernizing complex technologies into AI-powered platforms positions him to accelerate growth and innovation at Vasion. "Vasion has long been kn

Kingswood Capital Management, LP (together with its affiliates, “Kingswood”) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Business Unit Paper (“BU Paper”) from Coveris, a global manufacturer of paper and plastic packaging solutions. As part of the transaction, BU Paper will be rebranded Paragon Print and Packaging (“Paragon”), restoring the unit’s original name. Jo Ormrod, Chief Operating Officer, will serve as Paragon’s Chief Executive Officer, and the existing company management will remain in place. The transaction is expected to close in several weeks, subject to customary legal and regulatory requirements. Paragon produces high-quality, sustainable paper-based packaging solutions, including for key end markets such as food, household, and personal care. The company, which was established in 1994, specializes in products like self-adhesive and linerless labels, lined board, cartons, and trays using eco-friendly materials. “We are excited about our next

Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction Company, the owner, developer, and operator of Masar Destination in Makkah, has concluded its participation as a strategic partner in this year’s Real Estate Forum (RFF). The forum was held in Riyadh from January 26 to 28 under the patronage of His Excellency, the Minister of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210508479/en/ Masar Promenade View (Photo: AETOSWire) The company’s pavilion, which drew strong interest from investors and visitors, presented Masar Destination’s key components, available investment opportunities, and recent project developments. It also highlighted the significant progress achieved in recent months. During the forum, Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction announced the launch of a unified digital ownership platform through approved developers. The platform provides acc

Ireland’s reputation as a world-class culinary destination was celebrated this evening as the MICHELIN Guide UK & Ireland Awards were held in Ireland for the very first time, celebrating the country’s exceptional chefs, restaurants and producers on an international stage. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260209670808/en/ Fôret Restaurant, Dublin At a ceremony hosted in Dublin, MICHELIN unveiled its latest selection for the UK & Ireland, with a number of Irish restaurants recognised for their creativity, craftsmanship and commitment to quality, marking a significant moment for Ireland’s evolving food scene and its growing appeal among international diners. The ceremony included the announcement of the MICHELIN Stars, the Bib Gourmands for great value dining, and a series of Special Awards recognising outstanding individuals and teams in hospitality. Eight Irish restaurants were awarded in total at the ceremony.

MultiBank Group, one of the world’s largest and most regulated financial derivatives institution, has announced the launch of two limited-time promotional programs designed to reward both its Introducing Broker network and retail trading clients. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210880239/en/ MultiBank Group has announced the launch of two limited-time promotional programs designed to reward both its Introducing Broker network and retail trading clients. The programs reflect the firm's ongoing strategy to strengthen relationships across its partner and client ecosystem while maintaining the competitive positioning that has supported the Group's growth since its establishment in 2005. Elite IB Promo: Enhanced Partner Compensation Under the Elite IB Promotion, MultiBank Group's Introducing Brokers are eligible to receive a 50% boost on their standard rebate and commission structures. The program provides IBs t

Expereo is redefining what’s possible for global enterprises at CiscoLive Amsterdam with the launch of its enhanced Digital Case Management (DCM) capability in expereoOne. As the world-leading managed Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, Expereo is putting customers firmly in control - slashing resolution times, cutting through operational noise and ensuring everyone is aligned every step of the way. With DCM, service issues are no longer bottlenecks: instead, enterprises experience swift, transparent outcomes, with every stakeholder empowered through a single, real-time view of progress. DCM is designed around a simple objective: enable enterprises to resolve issues faster, with greater clarity and full control, through a fully digital, software-first workflow inside expereoOne. Customers can create, manage and track cases end-to-end within a single platform, ensuring predictable, consistent and aligned service experiences across their global network footprint. Unified, digital-first

The Pathology Division of the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) and Laife Reply, the Reply Group company specialised in AI and Big Data solutions for the healthcare sector, have entered into a collaboration to develop Bianca, the first project in Italy aimed at creating an AI-based digital biobank designed as an integral part of clinical diagnostic practice. The initiative is part of a broader technological innovation journey that structurally integrates research and development into routine diagnostic processes in pathology, transforming the traditional histopathological sample workflow into an end-to-end digital ecosystem. The complete digitalisation of histopathological and molecular diagnostic workflows aims to make analysis more efficient, scalable and reproducible, laying the foundations for the evolution of AI-supported oncological diagnostics. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210610418/en/ On this

ZOLL®, an Asahi Kasei company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that Zenix®, the company’s most clinically advanced and easy-to-use professional monitor/defibrillator, is approved under the European Union (EU) Medical Device Regulation 2017/745, commonly referred to as EU MDR. The Zenix monitor/defibrillator is a groundbreaking device that redefines efficiency, clarity, and intelligence in both EMS and hospital settings. Built from years of feedback from customers, Zenix combines intuitive design with powerful functionality to enhance patient care and automate workflows for ease-of-use. Featuring a large, durable touchscreen, Zenix provides critical information when it’s needed. With on-the-fly customization, healthcare professionals can make real-time adjustments, helping them stay in control during high-pressure situations. Equipped with ZOLL’s innovative Real BVM Help® and exclusive Real CPR Help® technology, Zenix gives healthcare pro

OPEX® Corporation, a global leader in Next Generation Automation providing innovative solutions for warehouse, document and mail automation, has announced the launch of its Velo™ Series powered by InoTec, a new class of premium desktop and free standing high production scanners. The OPEX Velo scanners are engineered to deliver exceptional performance, reliability and image quality and offer industry-standard TWAIN/ISIS connectivity to help simplify deployment into existing capture environments. These state-of-the-art scanners are ideal for service bureaus, government agencies, healthcare providers and enterprise capture operations. “The Velo Series powered by InoTec introduces an entirely new class of scanners to the OPEX portfolio, expanding the options available to both our current customers and organizations considering OPEX for the first time,” said Dann Worrell, President, Document and Mail Automation, OPEX. “By broadening our offerings, we can better align the right solution with