Five-year partnership to support the EBRD’s Technology Blueprint Northstar through AI and continuous improvement

LONDON, Nov. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hexaware Technologies (NSE: HEXT), a global AI-first digital and IT solutions company, has been selected as strategic technology partner for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The five-year Strategic Partner Framework covers the Bank’s Run-Change-Transform technology portfolio.

The EBRD’s Technology Blueprint focuses on driving efficiency, effectiveness and innovation through digitally enabled processes powered by AI, data, and intelligent automation. Hexaware will help embed AI into the Bank’s operations and establish a continuous improvement engine to identify optimization opportunities, automate processes, and drive increased efficiencies in our delivery model. The partnership focuses on measurable outcomes alongside fixed capacity and resource augmentation delivery.

Partnership Highlights

Technology services: Software engineering and quality assurance; IT operations and support; IT security, identity and access management; cloud, data, and analytics; SAP application support and modernization; treasury risk operations; and low-code, no-code, and AI-powered developmentAs part of the framework, Hexaware plan to deploy their AI frameworks: RapidX® for agentic software development lifecycle acceleration; Amaze® for AI-powered data engineering and modernization; Tensai® Reasoning Ops for intelligent operations and AIOpsDelivery model: Hexaware operating as an integrated part of the EBRD’s technology organization, supported by onshore and offshore delivery centers, with enterprise-grade AI deployment at scale.

Simon Reeves, Director of Technology, EBRD, said, “The Strategic Parter Framework is about creating deeper partnerships that are aligned to outcomes yet constantly drive continuous improvement. We want our strategic partners operating as part of one team, no matter where they are based geographically. As an existing Partner, we’re pleased to strengthen and deepen our relationship with Hexaware and look forward to their innovation, capability and fresh thinking while helping us to deliver the objectives of our Tech Blueprint.”

Subhash Jose, Managing Director for IT and Chief Information Officer, EBRD, said, “Our Tech Blueprint is about building a technology organisation that continuously improves, adapts and delivers greater value to the Bank. The Strategic Partner Framework plays an important role in that journey, helping us to combine strong engineering foundations with AI, automation and modern ways of working to improve how we deliver technology services.”

Parameshwaran Iyer, EVP & Head – Europe, Hexaware, said, “This partnership is a significant validation of our AI-native solution delivery model and our commitment to global development and stability. We intend to take this approach to other International Financial Institutions and Multi-lateral Development Banks to help them foster long-term economic growth across European nations”

Parag Pawar, BFS Portfolio Head – Europe, Hexaware, said, “We’re excited to bring these capabilities to the EBRD and are committed to delivering sustained, measurable efficiency gains through intelligent automation, continuous improvement, and enterprise-grade, governance-compliant AI deployment at scale.”

About Hexaware

Hexaware is a global technology and business process services company driven by a singular purpose: to create smiles through great people and technology. Our Zero Friction Enterprise™ approach combines AI innovation with human expertise to remove the technological and operational barriers that slow business progress. Globally, we help enterprises reduce complexity, accelerate transformation, and create lasting business value.

Learn more about Hexaware at https://hexaware.com/

About the EBRD

The EBRD is a multilateral bank that promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 40 economies across three continents. The Bank is owned by 77 countries as well as the EU and the EIB. EBRD investments are aimed at making the economies in its regions competitive, inclusive, well governed, green, resilient and integrated. Follow us on the web, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X and YouTube.

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Cross-border pilot across the Middle East, Africa, China and ASEAN with results to be submitted for consideration in ongoing discussions on establishing global AI identity and accountability standards

WUZHEN, China, Nov. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zetrix AI Berhad (“Zetrix AI”), in collaboration with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (“CAICT”), announced the launch of a Know Your Agent (KYA) service, to bring greater trust, transparency and accountability to the rapidly expanding world of AI agents.

Announced simultaneously at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China, and the ICT Development Forum 2026 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the KYA service introduces a framework that enables AI agents to possess verifiable digital identities linked to businesses or personal users.

The KYA service is designed to allow businesses, governments and digital service providers to verify not only the identity of an AI agent, but also who it represents, what it is authorised to do and whether its actions fall within approved limits.

As AI agents increasingly access online services and execute transactions, organisations need a reliable way to distinguish authorised activity from rogue or unauthorised actions. The KYA service addresses this trust gap by combining verifiable credentials with explicit delegated permissions and checks before protected actions proceed.

“AI is entering a new era where intelligent agents will increasingly make decisions, interact with businesses and execute transactions independently. Greater autonomy must come with greater accountability. The question is no longer just what AI can do, but who is responsible for what it does. Through Zetrix AI’s KYA service, we are working towards a future where every AI agent can be identified, every permission can be verified and every action can be traced to an accountable owner. This is fundamental to building the confidence needed for AI to operate at scale across businesses, governments and borders,” said TS Wong, Group Managing Director of Zetrix AI.

The launch includes a planned cross-border pilot involving organisations in the Middle East, Africa, China and ASEAN. The pilot will evaluate how agent identity and authorisation can be recognised across jurisdictions while preserving local control over identity systems and trust decisions. The results of the pilot will then be submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), IEEE and other Standard Development Organizations (SDOs) for consideration in the ongoing work and conversations on establishing global AI identity and accountability standards.

With AI agents becoming more deeply integrated into everyday digital activities, the ability to establish trusted identities and verifiable authority could become an essential foundation for their widespread adoption.

“As Agentic AI assumes greater responsibilities, the need for KYA services will continue to rise. It is our expectation that this joint service with Zetrix AI will help foster a cross-border trusted network enabling interoperable Agentic AI around the world,” said Xiaoyu YOU, Head of International Department, ASTRON network, CAICT.

Through the KYA service, Zetrix AI and CAICT aim to help lay the groundwork for a future in which AI agents can operate with greater independence, while remaining identifiable, accountable and trusted across borders.

Building Trust in an AI-Driven World

AI agents are increasingly being built today to perform tasks that previously required direct human involvement, from managing digital services and accessing business information to facilitating payments and interacting with other AI systems. While these capabilities promise significant improvements in productivity and efficiency, they also introduce new risks.

Without reliable identity verification and clearly defined authority, organisations may struggle to distinguish legitimate AI agents from unauthorised systems, determine the limits of an agent’s permissions or establish accountability when something goes wrong.

Zetrix AI’s KYA service seeks to address these challenges by introducing a verifiable identity and authorisation framework for AI agents, creating a foundation for more secure and responsible autonomous interactions.

Unlike conventional digital identity systems that primarily verify human users, KYA extends identity verification to AI agents themselves, linking each agent to a verified owner and establishing clear boundaries around its activities.

The KYA service builds on W3C Verifiable Credentials and incorporates AvatarLabs’ Agentic Wallet technology to manage digital credentials, verify delegated permissions and maintain evidence of agent activity.

Giving AI Agents an Identity and Clear Boundaries

At the heart of the KYA service is a simple but effective principle that AI agents should be able to act independently, but never without clearly defined authority and accountability. The KYA service will assign each participating AI agent a verifiable digital identity linked to an authenticated individual or organisation.

Owners can establish specific permissions governing what an agent is allowed to do, including which services it can access, what information it can use, who it can transact with and how much it is permitted to spend. For example, a business could authorise an AI agent to process payments to approved suppliers within a specified spending limit, while requiring human approval for transactions exceeding that amount.

Similarly, an AI agent accessing government or enterprise digital services could be required to demonstrate its identity and authorisation before gaining access to protected information.

The KYA service is also designed to ensure that when an AI agent delegates tasks to another agent, the delegated authority cannot exceed the permissions originally granted. Permissions can be revoked, while signed records of agent activity provide an auditable trail to support accountability.

By combining identity verification, permission controls and cryptographic evidence, the KYA service aims to enable organisations to embrace the benefits of autonomous AI without compromising security, privacy or oversight.

Taking AI Trust Beyond Borders

Recognising that AI agents will increasingly operate across international markets, Zetrix AI and CAICT are also planning a cross-border pilot to test how verifiable AI identities and permissions can be recognised across different jurisdictions. The proposed pilot will involve participating organisations from the Middle East, Africa, China and ASEAN, subject to confirmation.

It will explore practical applications in areas such as cross-border trade, digital payments, government services and interactions between autonomous AI agents. A key objective is to demonstrate how AI agents can operate across different national identity ecosystems while respecting local regulatory requirements, data protection considerations and jurisdictional control.

The pilot will evaluate the effectiveness of identity verification, permission enforcement, revocation mechanisms, privacy safeguards and accountability records in real-world cross-border environments. By testing these capabilities across multiple jurisdictions, the initiative seeks to establish practical foundations for greater interoperability and trust in the global AI ecosystem.

Contributing to the Future of International AI Standards

Beyond the immediate launch, the initiative is also intended to contribute to international efforts to develop common approaches to identity, trust and accountability for autonomous AI.

Zetrix AI and CAICT plan to jointly submit findings from the cross-border pilot to the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector Study Group 17 (ITU-T SG17), through its Focus Group on Trust and Identity for Humans and Agentic AI (FG-TIDA).

The submissions are expected to include implementation findings, cross-border use cases and recommendations relating to agent identity verification, delegated authority and accountability. These contributions are intended to support ongoing international technical discussions and pre-standardisation efforts, subject to the applicable ITU processes.

Organisations interested in participating in the pilot can contact agentid@avatarlabs.si.

About Zetrix AI Berhad

Zetrix AI Berhad (“Zetrix AI”), formerly known as MY E.G. Services Berhad, is leading the way in the deployment of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence in powering the public and private sectors across ASEAN. Headquartered in Malaysia, Zetrix AI started operations in 2000 as a pioneer in the provision of electronic government services and complementary commercial offerings in its home country. Today, it has advanced to the forefront of technology transformation in the broader region, leveraging its Layer-1 blockchain platform Zetrix and embracing the convergence of Web3, AI and robotics to enable optimally-efficient, intelligent and secure cross-border transactions, digital identity interoperability and automation solutions that seamlessly connect people, businesses and governments.

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SOURCE Zetrix AI Berhad

HONG KONG, Nov. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As digital assets converge with traditional finance and AI, talent needs are changing. Employers increasingly value professional depth and cross-disciplinary capabilities, while new technologies and business models are opening career opportunities.

Against this backdrop, KuCoin’s Head of Talent Acquisition Karina Li shared insights on Web3 talent development at Web3 Career Connect, an official community event of Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK 2026.

During the panel “Inside Web3: Building Businesses, Teams & Careers,” Karina described how industry priorities are broadening talent needs, combining technology and crypto experience with traditional finance capabilities in risk management, compliance and governance. AI’s integration with Web3 is also changing skill requirements and opening career opportunities to people from diverse professional backgrounds.

She highlighted the growing importance of structured talent development, with practical responsibilities, mentoring and feedback helping graduates develop independent judgement and ownership.

“Building services that users can trust requires sustained investment in people,” Karina said. “Professional depth and continuous learning help young talent contribute as the industry evolves.”

In a separate presentation, “How to Make the Right Career Choices in the Crypto Era,” Karina offered university students and recent graduates interested in Web3 a framework for evaluating industries, companies and roles. She encouraged them to assess long-term demand, business fundamentals and opportunities to build transferable skills, while seeking experienced colleagues, meaningful responsibilities and room to grow.

Her advice was to establish expertise in a core discipline before expanding across functions, using internships and practical projects to explore their strengths.

About KuCoin

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a leading global crypto platform built on trust and security, serving over 45 million users across 200+ countries and regions. Known for its reliability and user-first approach, the platform builds trust into every layer of the user experience, combining advanced technology, deep liquidity, and strong security safeguards to deliver a seamless trading experience. KuCoin provides access to 1,000+ digital assets through a broad product suite and remains committed to building a secure, transparent, compliant, and user-centric ecosystem for the future of finance, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO/IEC 27701:2019, ISO 22301:2019 and ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certifications. In recent years, KuCoin has continued to strengthen its global compliance foundation, marked by key milestones including AUSTRAC registration in Australia, a MiCA license in Europe, and regulatory progress in other markets.

Learn more at www.kucoin.com.

Disclaimer

This announcement is for general informational and corporate news reporting purposes only and does not constitute an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to engage in any digital asset transactions or services in Hong Kong. The event described herein was strictly educational and non-commercial in nature.

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SOURCE KuCoin