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Gloo Secures $110 Million Strategic Growth Investment

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New funding allows Gloo to accelerate platform development and AI advancement while expanding focus to include Gloo Ventures.

BOULDER, Colo., July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Gloo, the leading technology platform dedicated to connecting the faith ecosystem and releasing its collective might, announced the completion of a $110 million financing. The new financing will accelerate development of the Gloo platform—which includes free and premium ministry tools and marketplace offerings—while funneling new investment capital toward ministry-based technology, products, and services.

“So often faith-aligned capital leaves the faith ecosystem,” said Scott Beck, Gloo CEO and co-founder. “That means ministries that need the goods, services, and capital to fuel their growth don’t have access to essential resources. Our goal with this investment round, funded by 100% mission-aligned investors, is to reinvest the capital back into the ecosystem in the form of capital investments and continued development of our growing platform that connects the faith community at scale.”

The investment aligns with plans to expand the Discover marketplace on Gloo, which offers the faith community a comprehensive range of free and premium products and services that meet the specific and ongoing needs of ministry leaders.

“Gloo is accelerating our investment in marketplace motions to create uniquely curated experiences tailored to the faith ecosystem,” said John Fowle, chief financial officer at Gloo. “Investing in a marketplace is not just about enhancing our platform; it’s about empowering our users with the tools and resources they need to make a positive impact in their communities.”

The company is planning further investments to accelerate AI specifically tailored to the faith ecosystem. With a potential AI market size reaching into the trillions within the next decade, Gloo recognizes the growing need faith leaders will have to leverage the technology responsibly. Through its AI & the Church Initiative, upcoming AI hackathon, and other ventures, Gloo has become a leading voice in responsible and innovative use of AI for the faith ecosystem.

Earlier this year, Gloo launched a new division, Gloo Ventures, focused on investments in and acquisitions of organizations that bring value to the faith community. The division will include investments in AI-based tools to help church leaders responsibly leverage the technology.

“It’s clear to us that the faith community is seeking greater connection,” said Beck. “The Gloo platform is already enabling those connections in a variety of ways including enabling over 25MM text-based ministry interactions, connecting over 400K people in need to local ministries and resources, and enabling the exchange of value between thousands of ministry equipping partners and over 70K Gloo churches. No single person, ministry, or church could do this on their own. We’re seeing silos breaking down and collective might at work.”

Gloo closed the latest funding round in the first half of 2024, which included investments from a diverse group of mission-aligned partners including a leading partner in small group content, a major global child development ministry, a major denominational provider of financial services and one of the largest providers of church building and development loans. The approach aligns with Beck’s long-term vision that mission-aligned partners, and ultimately the big C Church, would be significant owners in the platform.

“We choose our investors carefully,” Beck said. “Finding close missional alignment, driving great financial outcomes, and guarding against mission drift are key drivers for us. Ultimately, our commitment is to connect the faith community, so every ministry can achieve its mission,” said Beck, “We’re committed. We’re resourced. And we’ve never been in a better position to achieve this goal.”

Gloo is the trusted tech platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. Gloo connects ministry leaders to resources, people, data and insights and funding so their people and communities flourish and their organizations thrive. Gloo does this with the highest standards of trust and scalable economic models. Gloo serves over 70,000 churches and over 1,000 resource partners.

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SOURCE Gloo

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PerformYard Launches AI-First Talent Development Suite to Turn Performance Data into a Lever for Growth

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PerformYard Talent Development helps managers become better coaches, connect pay with performance, and drive real employee growth with an AI-first interface.

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PerformYard, the AI-powered performance management platform used by thousands of companies, today announced the launch of PerformYard Talent Development, a new product suite designed to accelerate employee growth and improve team performance. The suite layers competencies, coaching, and compensation onto PerformYard’s core platform.

“PerformYard has long helped drive productivity and efficiency in the performance process to help our customers reach their goals. Now, Talent Development’s AI-first approach surfaces insights from their data to enhance performance, decision-making, and coaching across the company.”

Many organizations have established consistent performance management processes, including performance reviews, goal tracking, and regular 1:1 conversations. However, translating performance data into decisions around employee development, compensation, and career growth often remains a manual and inconsistent process.

PerformYard built the Talent Development suite of products to address these very issues. Talent Development enables organizations to leverage their existing performance data by surfacing insights that will drive employee progression, align compensation with performance, and improve retention, while all but eliminating the administrative strain via an AI-first experience.

“PerformYard has long helped drive productivity and efficiency in the performance process to help our customers reach their goals. Now, Talent Development’s AI-first approach surfaces insights from their data to enhance performance, decision-making, and coaching across the company.”

— Sean Dunn, PerformYard CEO

PerformYard Talent Development:

Talent Development is for the leaders asking, “Now what?” Their performance management process is efficient and consistent but they still struggle with turning that data into decisions around career growth, pay, and promotion.

The PerformYard Talent Development suite is comprised of three products: Competencies, Coaching, and Compensation.

The Competencies product dynamically tracks employee progression in specific skills tied to individual roles over time so managers and employees can collaborate and align on growth plans.

Coaching’s AI-powered real-time insights enable managers to have truly impactful conversations with their team members. Via the AI-first interface and the intelligence layer across all of their data, managers are served insights around areas of development for each individual employee. Skill building opportunities are identified, career progression is highlighted, and improved conversations are leading to accelerated growth and development.

Compensation replaces a clunky pay cycle process with a budget-based solution tied directly to performance history. This ensures pay changes adhere to a consistent data-driven approach throughout the organization, leading to increased confidence in the process and a direct positive impact on employee retention.

PerformYard’s AI-first interface enables HR, managers, and employees alike to take full advantage of the Performance and Talent Development product suites. The intelligence layer allows HR managers to focus less on admin tasks and more on driving meaningful growth. Managers can have impactful conversations driven by insights and development plans surfaced instantly. And employees have a clear picture of what is needed to grow in their career.

Putting the Pieces Together:

Talent Development is built to work seamlessly with PerformYard’s existing Performance product.

Coaching takes what’s already in the platform: meeting transcripts, reviews, goals, and notes, and turns it into actionable guidance to improve employee performance and manager output.Compensation and Competencies close the loop, connecting that same performance data to pay decisions and career paths instead of leaving them to inconsistent processes.PerformYard’s AI-first experience surfaces the insights and guidance that drive real growth within the organization.

Together, these enhancements create a connected experience across the employee lifecycle. Insights surfaced from meeting transcripts inform employee growth plans and 1:1 conversations, those plans drive results that feed into performance reviews, and review outcomes can be tied directly to compensation decisions. By connecting these workflows within a single platform, PerformYard helps organizations reduce manual processes and improve consistency, and enables leaders to spend more time on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.

“What we’ve built here goes well beyond saving HR time. Talent Development enables leadership to drive meaningful employee and company growth by surfacing insights from the data that is already there,” said Sean Dunn, CEO of PerformYard. “PerformYard was founded to fix a broken and inefficient review process. Talent Development is the next step in our evolution: an AI-first solution leaders need to help develop, reward, and retain employees using their existing data.”

About PerformYard

PerformYard is an AI-powered performance management and talent development platform built for HR teams that want flexibility without complexity. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, PerformYard brings performance management and talent development into one AI-first system, backed by a dedicated customer success manager for every account.

Learn more at performyard.com.

Media Contact

Drew Detzler, PerformYard, 1 5715344779 169, ddetzler@performyard.com, performyard.com

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SOURCE PerformYard

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When Music Becomes an Act of Freedom: Shuja Rabbani Challenges the Silence

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Afghan electronic artist Shuja Rabbani returns with ‘Bedroom’, turning music, technology and personal reinvention into a statement about creative freedom.

DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For Shuja Rabbani, music has never been only about sound. His return with ‘Bedroom’ after a five-year hiatus is also a statement about something more fundamental: the right to define your own identity.

For an electronic producer with artistic roots tied to Afghanistan, that principle carries particular weight.

Since returning to power, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on Afghanistan’s cultural and public life, including a ban on music documented by Amnesty International. Against that backdrop, an Afghan artist openly creating electronic music represents more than entertainment.

Rabbani has spent years challenging convention through creation.

Long before ‘Bedroom’, he was helping introduce electronic dance music to Afghan audiences where EDM had little established presence. He later built an international digital audience while releasing music independently through Rabbani Records.

His rebellion, however, has also been personal.

Rabbani says he faced criticism because the values he chose to represent differed significantly from those historically associated with his family name in Afghanistan. Rather than allowing ancestry, convention or expectation to define him, he chose to build an identity of his own – through music.
That philosophy runs through ‘Bedroom’.

Created using AI-assisted production techniques, the album blends electronic energy with introspection while exploring isolation, intimacy and personal reinvention. It follows Rabbani’s previous two albums, which featured collaborations with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Ian Urbina.

An Afghan artist experimenting openly with artificial intelligence, international influences and global electronic culture presents a striking contrast to efforts to restrict artistic expression. Yet Rabbani’s message is not delivered through political slogans. It is expressed through the freedom to create.

‘Bedroom’ therefore represents more than a comeback album. It is the continuation of an artist separating inheritance from identity and demonstrating that cultural change does not always begin in politics.

Sometimes it begins with a beat.

And sometimes, continuing to create becomes its own form of resistance.

Press Release Service provided by 24-7PressRelease.com.

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SOURCE Shuja Rabbani

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See all essential data on a sleek, high-resolution color display with the intuitive GMI 40 from Garmin

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Modern multipurpose marine instrument seamlessly integrates with other Garmin onboard electronics to keep mariners informed in real time

OLATHE, Kan., Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Garmin (NYSE: GRMN), the world’s largest1 and most innovative marine electronics manufacturer, today unveiled the GMI™ 40 multipurpose marine instrument that displays live boating insights in an easy-to-read format. Boasting a modern, streamlined design that complements Garmin GPSMAP® chartplotters, the device has an intuitive touchscreen interface with edge-to-edge glass on a 4.3-inch, high-resolution, color LCD display. The touchscreen optimizes space for a clear, uninterrupted view of instrumentation data, keeping sailors, cruisers and coastal anglers informed throughout the trip. 

“Whether sailing, fishing the coast or cruising for the weekend, you need a compact instrument that’s simple to operate and fits cleanly at the helm. Our new GMI 40 delivers that and more with a modern display that networks seamlessly across Garmin’s marine products, putting the real-time data you rely on in one place.” — Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President of Global Consumer Sales & Marketing

Smooth integration

The cutting-edge GMI 40 integrates with compatible devices on board via the NMEA 2000® network and the Garmin BlueNet™ network. The powerful marine instrument also has wireless connectivity with gWind™ wireless sensors, marine remote controls and Garmin quatix® marine smartwatches, allowing for easy sharing of data.

Mariners can also keep their GMI 40 software up-to-date via the free, all-in-one ActiveCaptain® app on their compatible smartphone. When upgrading from the GMI 20, users can purchase an adapter plate to easily install the GMI 40 into the existing cutout in the dash.

Upgraded data options

Mariners can purchase the GMI 40 on its own, or as part of an exciting bundle to receive enhanced wind and water information. Bundle options include a gWind™ wired or wireless transducer, which provides a three-bladed anemometer for more accurate wind speed and a twin-fin design for a more stable True Wind Angle (TWA). Boaters can also opt to receive more detailed data below the surface by including a DST820 thru-hull smart transducer or GDT™ 43 transducer (depth and temperature) and GST™ 43 (speed/temperature) transducer with their bundle.

The GMI 40 marine instrument is available now with a suggested retail price of $599.99. The GMI 40 bundles range from $1,099.99 to $1,899.99. To learn more, visit garmin.com/marine.

Engineered on the inside for life on the outside, Garmin products have revolutionized life for anglers, sailors, mariners and boat enthusiasts everywhere. Committed to developing the most innovative, highest quality, and easiest to use marine electronics the industry has ever known, Garmin believes every day is an opportunity to innovate and a chance to beat yesterday. For the 11th consecutive year, Garmin was named the Manufacturer of the Year by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). Visit the Garmin Newsroom, email our media team, connect with @garminmarine on social, or follow our blog.  

1Based on 2025 sales.

About Garmin: Garmin International, Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN). Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Garmin, GPSMAP NMEA 2000, quatix and ActiveCaptain are registered trademarks, and GMI, BlueNet, gWind, GDT, and GST are trademarks of Garmin Ltd., or its subsidiaries.

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2025, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). Copies of such Form 10-K are available at https://www.garmin.com/en-US/investors/sec/. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Mike Cummings and Carly Hysell
913-397-8200
media.relations@garmin.com

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SOURCE Garmin International, Inc.

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