SAN JOSE, Calif., April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SiMa.ai, a leader in Physical AI, today announced it has been named the winner of the “Best Edge AI Board” by the Edge AI + Vision Alliance’s 2026 Product of the Year Awards — recognizing breakthrough innovation where machine intelligence meets real-world applications. 

“We are moving from passive edge to Physical AI — where machines reason and act autonomously in the real world. Being recognized by the Edge AI and Vision Alliance affirms what SiMa.ai was founded to deliver: high performance without the power drain, and a true platform for this transition. Our purpose-built Modalix MLSoC, paired with Palette, our software suite, addresses the full spectrum of use cases — from computer vision to reasoning-based analytics. Combined with our deep partner collaboration, we are enabling customers across industries to get to market faster and more efficiently,” said Durga Peddireddy, Vice President of Product Management & Partnerships, SiMa.ai.

This recognition builds on the momentum of SiMa.ai’s Modalix™ MLSoC System-on-Module (SoM), launched in 2025. Modalix powers generative AI (GenAI), computer vision, and machine learning (ML) inference at the edge, combining Arm-based compute, advanced vision processing, and high-bandwidth I/O into a single, low-power module designed for power-constrained environments. 

Physical AI deployments often face significant hurdles, including high power consumption, thermal limits, and the need for expensive hardware redesigns. The Modalix platform addresses these challenges by allowing customers to modernize existing systems quickly, bringing powerful AI closer to the data source without requiring a total infrastructure overhaul.

By enabling advanced perception, multimodal reasoning, and real-time decision-making directly on-device, the platform eliminates the need for high-power GPU hardware. This efficiency unlocks scalable deployments across industrial automation, robotics, and intelligent video applications.

The Edge AI + Vision Alliance brings together leading multinational companies and emerging innovators, connecting thousands of technical professionals across the industry. As the winner of the “Best Edge AI Board” category for the 2026 Product of the Year Awards, SiMa.ai is recognized for Modalix’s ability to deliver efficient, high-performance Physical AI at the edge in under 10W.

About SiMa.ai
SiMa.ai is a leader in Physical AI, delivering a purpose-built, software-centric platform that brings best-in-class performance, power efficiency, and ease of use to Physical AI applications. Focused on scaling Physical AI across robotics, automotive, industrial automation, aerospace & defense, smart vision, and healthcare, SiMa.ai is led by seasoned technologists and backed by top-tier investors. Headquartered in San Jose, California. Learn more at www.sima.ai.

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SOURCE SiMa.ai

New initiative maps the standards landscape, convenes stakeholders, and builds toward a national strategy

NEW YORK, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is launching a multi-phase initiative to strengthen U.S. coordination on critical minerals standards — the shared rules and benchmarks that help ensure minerals are sourced responsibly, supply chains remain secure, and American industry stays competitive globally. This initiative moves forward thanks to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Mining and Mineral Production Technologies Office, whose partnership made it possible to act on one of the nation’s most pressing industrial priorities. It directly responds to U.S. government priorities to secure domestic supply chains and reduce dependence on foreign sources of critical minerals. 

This effort brings together U.S. stakeholders to coordinate national standards priorities, positioning American industry and government to contribute meaningfully to the success of the G7 Critical Minerals Standards Roadmap while harnessing the momentum of the current administration’s focus on supply chain resilience and domestic competitiveness.

The initiative includes a standards landscape assessment, a webinar series, a two-day hybrid workshop, and a summary report with recommended next steps. A call for webinar speakers and a request for information for the standards landscape is open.

Why This Matters

Critical minerals are foundational to national defense, clean energy, advanced electronics, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Yet as global demand rises, the U.S. faces real risks: fragmented efforts at home, supply chain vulnerabilities, and growing urgency to align on the international rules that govern how these materials are sourced, processed, and traded.

Standards bring order to that complexity. They promote transparency and traceability across supply chains, help U.S. companies access global markets, and give the public and private sectors a common framework for investment. Without a coordinated approach, the U.S. risks ceding influence to competitors who are already moving.

What the Initiative Includes

ANSI connects the organizations that develop standards with the industries that rely on them. To accelerate U.S. leadership on critical minerals, ANSI will deliver:

A standards landscape assessment that maps the current state of play: which standards exist, which organizations develop them, where work is underway, and where gaps remain. The assessment will cover the full supply chain — from extraction through processing, manufacturing, and recovery — and consolidate prior mapping efforts into a single, accessible resource. A Request for Information (RFI) is open.A webinar series to raise awareness of existing standards and regulatory activities related to critical minerals, including a dedicated session for U.S. government stakeholders. Briefings will feature standards developers working across the supply chain. Speakers invited and registration is open.A two-day hybrid workshop convening federal agencies, standards organizations, and industry to identify high-priority needs, explore challenges, and inform the development of a U.S. critical minerals standards strategy this September in the Washington, DC area. A summary report will capture key findings, gaps, and recommended next steps.

Ongoing Coordination

ANSI also convenes a quarterly U.S. ISO Critical Minerals Standards Coordination Group for members of U.S. delegations to ISO Technical Committees. The group serves as a forum to share information, coordinate engagement, and align international standards activities. The next meeting is April 24 — registration is now open.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org and access the latest news and content on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.

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SOURCE American National Standards Institute

TORONTO, April 20, 2026 /CNW/ – commonsku, the connected workflow platform trusted by 950+ distributors driving $1.9 billion in network volume, today announced the creation of a dedicated AI + Strategy role, promoting Bobby Lehew to Chief AI Officer to lead the company’s AI initiative for customers and the platform. The move makes commonsku the first platform in the promotional products industry to invest at the leadership level in AI strategy shaped directly by distributor needs.

The new role bridges the gap between what AI can do and what commonsku’s customers need it to solve, owning the intelligence loop between customers, product, and the AI landscape. What makes the role distinct: it combines AI landscape intelligence, product strategy influence, direct customer engagement, and industry thought leadership in a single role.

A Natural Evolution

Lehew brings more than 30 years of experience in the promotional products industry to the role. Prior to joining commonsku, he was the CEO of Robyn Promotions, a company among the first wave of distributors who architected the model of technology driven e-commerce company stores in the industry, earning three consecutive Inc. 5000 rankings. Always tech-forward in his work, his industry recognition includes multiple Gold and Silver PPAI Pyramid Awards.

The shift to AI strategy is a natural next chapter for Lehew. At commonsku, he built the company’s content engine from scratch — co-hosting the skucast (350+ episodes, the #1 promotional products podcast) while leaning heavily into AI for all his work. He is editor of The AI Promo Brief, the industry’s go-to resource for AI developments in promotional products, and speaks frequently on the future of merch and the cultural shifts transforming how we sell. At PPAI Expo 2026, his AI session packed the room to capacity and was named a must-attend session by PPAI editors. The industry has been watching Lehew move deeper into AI for over a year. This role makes it official.

Investing in AI for Customers

“The industry is at an inflection point with AI, and distributors need a partner who understands their business,” said Catherine Graham, CEO of commonsku. “commonsku has always been built ‘by promo, for promo.’ Bobby has three decades of that expertise, a passion for helping our customers, and the strategic insight to shape AI tools for future growth. This role reflects our mission: making sure our AI tools solve real problems for real distributors.”

“The companies pulling ahead are the ones leading with customer intelligence – letting what they learn from their community shape what they build and advancing with the frontier of AI development. That’s what this role is designed to do. I’ll be talking with our customers at every level about AI and making sure the features we build make work smarter, drive growth, and eliminate friction.” said Lehew.

“Bobby and I have been creative partners for years, always pushing each other to see around corners for this industry,” said Mark Graham, President of commonsku. “We’ve launched multiple projects together and helped educate and raise the standard for what the future distributor can look like. This role is a natural evolution of that passion. He deeply understands the industry and the distributor’s pain points, and he sees with us an incredible opportunity with AI. We’re thrilled to build commonsku’s AI future together.”

commonsku’s AI investments are already in motion. The skubot Mockup Generator is in beta with Advanced and Enterprise customers, a new Opportunity Agent is entering beta as an AI-powered business intelligence tool, and the company’s immediate roadmap includes a Description Rewriter, Auto-Art Configuration, and a Presentation Generator with much more to come.

About commonsku

commonsku is the workflow platform of choice for the promotional products industry. Built by industry experts, it combines CRM, order management, and social collaboration tools in one cloud-based solution. Over 950 distributors and the industry’s largest suppliers rely on commonsku to power $1.9 billion in network volume. With commonsku, teams process more orders, work more efficiently, and grow their sales faster. Learn more at www.commonsku.com.

SOURCE commonsku