SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Asia-Pacific Road User Charging Alliance (AP RUC Alliance) marked a new milestone at the ITS World Congress, officially welcoming ITS Australia as its newest member and further strengthening regional collaboration on road user charging and intelligent mobility.

The joining ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po, Taipei City Government Deputy Secretary-General Lin Shih-bin, and representatives from across the Asia-Pacific region, underscoring the growing regional momentum for collaboration on the future of road infrastructure, road user charging and intelligent transportation.

With ITS Australia formally joining the Alliance, the network now brings together seven ITS organizations — ITS Taiwan, ITS New Zealand, ITS India, ITS Thailand, ITS Malaysia, ITS Singapore and ITS Australia — creating a broader platform for sharing policy, technology and operational experience across the region.

The occasion also carried special significance as Taipei prepares to host the ITS World Congress in 2029. Bringing the global ITS community to Taipei will provide an important opportunity to showcase advances in smart mobility and intelligent transportation, while creating a platform for partners from across the Asia-Pacific to exchange experience, demonstrate innovation and strengthen international collaboration.

Deputy Minister Chen Yen-po highlighted the importance of international cooperation as transportation systems become increasingly connected and digital.

“Transportation is becoming increasingly connected and digital, making international collaboration more important than ever. By sharing experience across the Asia-Pacific, we can learn from one another and advance smarter, more sustainable mobility together. We also look forward to welcoming the global ITS community to Taipei in 2029 and sharing the region’s innovation and experience with the world.”

Building a Regional Platform for Road User Charging

The expansion of the Alliance reflects the increasing importance of road user charging across the Asia-Pacific region. While individual markets are at different stages of development, they share many common challenges and opportunities — from the evolution of electronic toll collection and multi-lane free-flow tolling to sustainable road funding, emerging charging models, technology integration and changing mobility patterns.

The AP RUC Alliance provides a regional platform through which ITS organizations and their respective communities can exchange practical experience, discuss emerging policy and technology trends, and explore opportunities for greater collaboration.

Philip Tseng, President of ITS Taiwan, said the addition of ITS Australia further strengthens the diversity of experience represented within the Alliance.

“The strength of the Alliance comes from bringing together different experiences from across the Asia-Pacific. With ITS Australia joining us, we now have seven ITS organizations sharing ideas, lessons and perspectives. As we look toward the ITS World Congress in Taipei in 2029, I hope we can continue to grow this network and bring a stronger Asia-Pacific voice to the global ITS community.”

ITS Australia Brings New Perspectives to the Alliance

Australia brings extensive experience in intelligent transportation, road operations, connected mobility and the ongoing discussion around future road funding and road user charging. Its participation further broadens the range of perspectives represented within the Alliance and strengthens connections among ITS communities across the region.

Susan Harris, Chief Executive Officer of ITS Australia, welcomed the opportunity to join the growing regional network.

“We are delighted to join the AP RUC Alliance. It gives us a valuable opportunity to share Australia’s experience, learn from different approaches across the Asia-Pacific, and work together as road user charging continues to evolve. We look forward to contributing to the Alliance and strengthening our connections with ITS partners across the region.”

The addition of ITS Australia marks another step in the Alliance’s development as a regional platform for knowledge and experience sharing, regional collaboration and technology innovation in road user charging and related intelligent transport applications.

With seven member organizations now connected through the Alliance, the AP RUC Alliance will continue to deepen engagement among its members, facilitate the exchange of practical experience and connect Asia-Pacific perspectives with the wider global ITS community.

Looking ahead to 2029, when Taipei will host the ITS World Congress, the Alliance will continue to strengthen regional collaboration and create opportunities for its members to bring Asia-Pacific experience, innovation and perspectives to the global stage.

About the Asia-Pacific Road User Charging Alliance

The Asia-Pacific Road User Charging Alliance (AP RUC Alliance) is a regional collaboration platform bringing together ITS organizations, government agencies and operators to promote knowledge exchange and dialogue on road user charging, electronic tolling and related intelligent transportation applications.

The Alliance currently comprises ITS Taiwan, ITS New Zealand, ITS India, ITS Thailand, ITS Malaysia, ITS Singapore and ITS Australia. Through regional exchanges, industry engagement and international ITS platforms, the Alliance seeks to connect experiences across different markets and support the continued development of road user charging and intelligent mobility in the Asia-Pacific region.

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SOURCE Asia-Pacific Road User Charging Alliance (AP RUC Alliance)

TraceWeave develops its own post-Transformer AI architecture that enables AI agents to run on memory-constrained devicesCompletes paid pilot in mobility; pursues commercialization across robots, drones, smart glasses, and moreNAVER D2SF continues to invest in on-device AI and next-generation device technologies

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NAVER D2SF has made a new investment in TraceWeave, an on-device AI startup led by co-founder and CEO Jaeyoung Park. TraceWeave is the team behind Phase-TITAN, a post-Transformer architecture that understands long contexts and carries out multi-step tasks while keeping memory usage constant. NAVER D2SF recognized the company’s core technology for enabling AI agents on resource-constrained devices.

As AI expands to robots, vehicles, smart glasses, and drones, its applications are advancing beyond simple chatbots toward complex reasoning and decision-making. In Transformer-based models, the key-value cache (KV-Cache) grows with context length, requiring more memory. On-device constraints in memory, battery life, and heat have made it difficult to implement AI agents that understand long contexts and perform complex tasks.

TraceWeave’s Phase-TITAN is a new AI architecture designed to resolve this memory bottleneck by replacing the conventional Transformer architecture altogether. TraceWeave develops its own AI models rather than relying on existing open-source models. Memory usage remains constant as context grows. According to TraceWeave, at a 1M-token context without quantization, a comparable Transformer’s KV-Cache holds tens of gigabytes or more, while its 1B Phase-TITAN model holds 0.04 GB. This enables agents to call tools, interpret results, and decide on their next actions entirely on the device, without cloud calls. TraceWeave’s internal benchmarks on RULER and BFCL indicate that Phase-TITAN maintains performance on par with Transformer models of the same size and larger.

TraceWeave has demonstrated a multi-step agent running on a smartphone using only its CPU, without cloud calls. In mobility, it completed a paid pilot with the autonomous driving affiliate of a global automotive group, identifying driving-data frames that improve the partner’s autonomous driving model without human annotation. It is also validating in-vehicle agent performance with a global automotive electronics software company and exploring opportunities in robots, drones, smart glasses, and wearables. TraceWeave was a Top 20 finalist in NVIDIA’s 2026 Inception Grand Challenge.

TraceWeave was co-founded in October 2025 by researchers with backgrounds at ETH Zurich, Google, and KAIST. The team combines engineering expertise grounded in computational neuroscience and physics with business development capabilities, designing its own architecture and validating it in device environments that reflect real-world customer needs. In this seed round led by Mirae Asset Capital, TraceWeave raised approximately KRW 3 billion at a pre-money valuation of approximately KRW 30 billion. Based at NAVER D2SF @Gangnam, the company plans to use the funding to expand its research and engineering team for next-generation architecture development and grow its business.

“Taking the KV cache out was never the hard part. Staying capable without it was,” said Jaeyoung Park, co-founder and CEO of TraceWeave. “The best part is no part. Phase-TITAN already delivers Transformer-class capability without the Transformer’s memory tax, and the next one goes well beyond its class, with the memory still fixed.”

“On-device AI is a core technology for implementing complex, advanced AI across diverse device environments beyond PCs, and it also offers advantages in reducing cloud call costs and protecting privacy,” said Sanghwan Yang, Head of NAVER D2SF. “TraceWeave is a team that is innovating AI architecture to overcome the limitations of existing AI models and bring AI to on-device environments.”

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/naver-d2sf-invests-in-on-device-ai-startup-traceweave-302913752.html

SOURCE NAVER D2SF

HONG KONG, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As October gets underway, many individuals are proactively preparing their daily health and self-care routines ahead of the busy year-end season. Global health and wellness e-commerce platform iHerb has curated a premier lineup of four top-selling daily nutritional supplements from its flagship house brand, California Gold Nutrition, and consumer-favorite brand, Doctor’s Best. Encompassing marine collagen, Omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, and chelated magnesium, this selection addresses distinct nutritional priorities, providing consumers with comprehensive, high-quality choices for daily maintenance and holistic vitality.

The iHerb Singles’ Day Early Access campaign officially launches today and runs through October 28. During the promotional period, shoppers can apply promo code “HD11BUY” at checkout to receive up to 40% off sitewide. Additionally, new customers worldwide can use promo code “WELCOME7” to enjoy 30% off their first purchase—offering consumers the ideal opportunity to proactively map out their year-end wellness and nutrition regimens.

Daily Wellness from Within: Collagen and Omega-3 as Nutritional Building Blocks

Founded in the United States and powered by 30 years of global health curation, iHerb offers an extensive catalogue spanning vitamins, dietary supplements, beauty, sports nutrition, and everyday lifestyle essentials. The platform empowers consumers to explore premier wellness goods from around the world all in one convenient place.

Among the featured highlights is California Gold Nutrition’s Hydrolyzed Marine Collagen Peptides + Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin C. This synergistic formula pairs bioavailable hydrolyzed marine collagen peptides with hyaluronic acid and antioxidant vitamin C. Formulated as an unflavored, easily dissolvable powder, it blends effortlessly into morning coffee, smoothies, or water according to usage guidelines, offering a hassle-free addition to daily beauty and mobility regimens.

For essential fatty acid support, California Gold Nutrition’s Omega-3 Premium Fish Oil provides concentrated Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA. Delivered in fish gelatin softgels, it offers an accessible, high-purity option for consumers seeking to incorporate vital fatty acids into their daily dietary routine to maintain overall cardiovascular, cognitive, and cellular wellness.

Targeted Cellular Vitality and Essential Minerals: Advanced Science from Doctor’s Best

Complementing collagen and fish oil, trusted wellness brand Doctor’s Best delivers science-backed formulations for more specialized nutritional support. The brand’s High Absorption CoQ10 utilizes naturally fermented Coenzyme Q10 paired with patented BioPerine® black pepper extract to enhance nutrient absorption and bioavailability. It provides an exceptional daily option for adults focused on supporting cardiovascular function, cellular energy generation, and antioxidant defenses.

Another standout favorite is Doctor’s Best High Absorption Magnesium Lysinate Glycinate, which features Albion® TRAACS® chelated magnesium in convenient tablet form. This fully chelated delivery ensures high bioavailability and superior digestive tolerance, allowing consumers to easily select the right daily supplement tailored to their dietary habits, physical activity, and relaxation needs.

Special Promotion: 11.11 Early Access

Sitewide Early Bird Offer: Use promo code HD11BUY to take up to 40% off sitewide.

New Customer Welcome: First-time shoppers globally can apply promo code WELCOME7 for 30% off their order.Promotion Window: Active immediately through October 28, 2026.Details & WhatsApp: Subject to terms and product eligibility on the official iHerb website. Subscribe to the official iHerb Hong Kong WhatsApp channel for real-time campaign updates.

About iHerb (https://hk.iherb.com/）

iHerb is a world-leading e-commerce destination dedicated to health, wellness, and self-care. Founded in California in 1996, iHerb now serves millions of customers across more than 180 countries. With a selection of over 40,000 authentic, high-quality products across vitamins, supplements, sports nutrition, personal care, and grocery items, iHerb delivers value and convenience directly to doorsteps worldwide, supported by state-of-the-art GMP-registered, climate-controlled distribution centers.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/gear-up-for-year-end-wellness-iherb-spotlights-4-everyday-health-essentials-and-kicks-off-11-11-early-access-sale-with-up-to-40-off-sitewide-302914770.html

SOURCE iHerb