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8th ASEAN CIO Forum in the Philippines puts a spotlight on sustainability, cybersecurity, and AI/blockchain

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The ASEAN CIO Association’s 8th flagship event features regional experts and thought leaders from Google Cloud Security, ST Engineering, Bangkok Bank PCL, Sta. Lucia Land Inc. and the Government Service Insurance System. 

SINGAPORE, Sept. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ASEAN CIO Association, the leading CXO community that champions the development, collaboration and success of ICT industry leaders across ASEAN, is proud to organise the 8th ASEAN CIO Forum, supported by the Philippines and conceptualised in line with the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 (ADM), in Manila from 18-19 September 2024.

Themed “Powering a Sustainable ASEAN Digital Society and Economic Future with Secured, Transformative Technologies and Ecosystem”, the 1.5-day forum and exhibition, co-hosted by Philippines CIO Association (PCIOA) and CIOF Foundation, seeks to discuss regional and country blueprints, public-private sector growth strategies, and navigate the emerging digital challenges and opportunities that cannot be ignored as ASEAN powers ahead as an economic bloc.

Tapping on the valuable insights and visions of thought leaders from all around the region, ACIOA’s 8th flagship event will build a better understanding of opportunities and risks presented by mega technology trends that are shaping ASEAN’s digital future and showcase top-of-the-line solutions that are revolutionising industries. The by-invitation forum specially put together for C-suite leadership and executives will explore compelling topics such as cybersecurity and governance, green and sustainability, artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning.

Notable speakers include:

USec. Alexander Ramos, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) (Philippines)USec. Jesus S. Domingo Gary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs (OUCSCA) (Philippines)Dr Hammam Riza, President, KORIKA (Indonesia)Dr Kitti Kosavisutte, Chairman, TB-CERT (Thailand)Mr Baljit Singh, Head of Planning strategy and governance, Digital Nasional Berhad (Malaysia)Mr Lim Chinn Hwa, Co-founder and CEO, dConstruct Technologies (Singapore)

“We are pleased to gather regional industry experts and senior ICT leaders to join the Philippine CXO community in Manila for our first in-person forum since COVID-19. As a non-profit and non-government association that spans 10 countries and diverse geographies, united by a common goal to harness technology to drive ASEAN’s progress as an economic bloc, and to improve the standard of living of its citizens, we are heartened by the continuous support of the ASEAN Secretariat since our inception. We are grateful to the forum’s host country, the Philippines, for the gracious and unreserved partnership, and we are overwhelmed by the collaboration from supporting ASEAN countries’ participants and the generous sponsorship from the industries, as we look forward to creating a sustainable digital future and leading the ‘Smart ASEAN’ of tomorrow through our forum,” said Mr Ng Hoo Ming, President of ACIOA.

“We are seeing a stronger economy worldwide as more businesses and industries leverage global digitalisation. I am excited to discuss and hear how the adoption of AI and robotics in the workforce can present both opportunities and challenges, not just in the Philippines, but all over ASEAN,” said Jonathan C. Pineda, OIC Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Government Service Insurance System, GSIS Philippines.

Benjamin Goh, Senior Vice President, Deep Cybersecurity Capabilities, ST Engineering, stated, “There is certainly an urgent need for advanced AI-driven defences against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As technology rapidly evolves, so do the tactics of cyber adversaries, making it crucial for us to stay ahead with cutting-edge solutions.”

Registration for the event is open until 11 September 2024.

Learn more at acioa.com/8th-asean-cio-forum/.

For queries on the forum, please contact ACIOA at event@acioa.com.

About ACIOA

The ASEAN CIO Association (ACIOA) is a non-profit organisation formed in 2014 to provide the platform for greater collaboration and sharing of ICT best-practices amongst CIOs, industry leaders and public sector representatives. ACIOA recognises the immense value of business relationships in the highly technical field of information systems management, believing the development of an active community of ICT leaders is key to ASEAN’s success in the digital age.

ACIOA offers a diverse array of activities, programmes and resources to support ASEAN ICT leaders with opportunities for information sharing and education at the executive level. Through monthly meetings, ASEAN CIO Forums, strategic partnerships with regional ICT associations as well as resources like CIO Consulting and Business Bridge, ACIOA enables CIOs to build invaluable personal alliances and tap on the expertise of accomplished ASEAN ICT leaders.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/8th-asean-cio-forum-in-the-philippines-puts-a-spotlight-on-sustainability-cybersecurity-and-aiblockchain-302239648.html

SOURCE ASEAN Chief Information Officer Association

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Zifo Transforms Ontology Engineering with AI-Powered Intelligent Automation

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Advanced AI solution speeds up ontology creation by 80%, generating structured, interoperable knowledge models for science-driven organizations.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and CAMBRIDGE, England, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zifo, the leading global enabler of AI and data-driven enterprise informatics for science-driven organizations, has developed an Intelligent Automation solution for Ontology Engineering, which is designed to seamlessly generate structured, interoperable knowledge models while accelerating ontology creation by 80%.

Overcoming the Bottlenecks of Manual Ontology Creation

Manual ontology creation in the biopharma industry has traditionally been a time-consuming process that requires specialized expertise. Organizations frequently struggle with semantic ambiguity, complex integration challenges, and limited scalability, resulting in workflows that can take weeks to complete. Zifo’s AI-powered automation tackles these challenges head-on by eliminating 80% of the manual work through automated class generation, description creation, and precise IRI mapping.

Addressing the Complexities of Semantic Knowledge

Developing comprehensive knowledge models often demands deep domain expertise to define relationships and align terminology. Zifo’s intelligent solution overcomes this by providing an AI-guided workflow featuring an intuitive interface, meaning specialized ontology engineering knowledge is no longer required. By leveraging LLM-powered generation, the solution creates precise definitions with a deep understanding of domain-specific context, while generating standardized synonyms and establishing controlled vocabulary alignment to eliminate inconsistent terminology.

A Solution Designed for Scalable Scientific Data Modeling

The AI-powered solution addresses critical format compatibility and integration points in ontology management:

Seamless Integration: Automated mapping connects directly to established ontologies, including NCIT, CHEBI, OBI, and EFO, via BioPortal and OLS APIs.Massive Scalability: Parallel processing and batch operations empower teams to execute large-scale ontology projects without performance limitations.Automated Hierarchies: The AI autonomously generates semantic relationships and parent-child hierarchies based on domain context and predefined relation vocabularies.Format Compatibility: The solution produces direct OWL/RDF exports with proper URIs, ensuring seamless downstream integration.

Unique Features include:

Multi-Source Integration: The solution combines BioPortal, OLS, and EMBL-EBI APIs to guarantee comprehensive ontology coverage.Intelligent Ranking System: The system uses AI-powered relevance scoring and justification for precise ontology mappings.Precise IRI Mapping: It ensures that each generated class is linked to the correct IRI, directly promoting semantic web compatibility.Human-in-the-Loop Design: The solution automates repetitive tasks while maintaining vital expert oversight.End-to-End Workflow: Users are guided through a complete pipeline, from initial domain knowledge input straight to exportable OWL files.Visual Knowledge Graph: An interactive graph visualization allows for intuitive relationship exploration and validation.Multi-Format Exports: Provides seamless export options in CSV, OWL, or HTML Ontograph formats for downstream use, collaboration, and visualization.

Strategic Value Across the Scientific Chain

This solution breaks down the traditional barriers of data structuring. Built on a robust backend of Python, LangChain, and leading LLM models, alongside a frontend framework using Next.js 15 and Cytoscape.js for graph visualization, the solution is highly adaptable. Furthermore, future optimization enhancements will include provisions for uploading user-defined classes or semi-ready ontologies.

About Zifo

Zifo is the leading global enabler of AI and data-driven enterprise informatics for science-driven organizations. With expertise spanning research, development, manufacturing, and clinical domains, Zifo serves a diverse range of industries including Pharma, Biotech, Chemicals, Food and Beverage, and more. Trusted by over 190 organizations worldwide, Zifo is the partner of choice for advancing digital scientific innovation.

For more information, visit www.zifornd.comhttps://zifornd.com/practical-ai-blueprints/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2731415/Zifo_Technologies_Logo.jpg

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zifo-transforms-ontology-engineering-with-ai-powered-intelligent-automation-302758975.html

SOURCE Zifo Technologies

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UNC-Chapel Hill establishes ‘Carolina in the Capital’ with new Washington, D.C. office

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C., April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has opened a new office in Washington, D.C., establishing an expanded presence for the University in the nation’s capital and creating exciting opportunities for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Located at 101 Constitution Avenue NW, the 10,861-square-foot space – coined “Carolina in the Capital” – will support a variety of functions, including educational programming for undergraduate and graduate students, alumni relations and engagement with government partners.

As a leading R1 university, UNC-Chapel Hill annually attracts more than $1.6 billion to the state’s economy to fund research that creates a better quality of life for all its citizens. More than 60% of UNC-Chapel Hill’s total research funding comes from federal sponsors with the majority of that federal funding coming from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is based in the Washington area.

“Carolina in the Capital is a state-of-the-art facility that reflects our commitment to creating experiential learning opportunities for our students and faculty,” said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “The space is designed as an immersive learning environment where students can translate classroom knowledge into hands-on experience, which has never been more important. The facility also strengthens our ability to support engagement between our staff, alumni, policymakers and partners.”

Supporting students participating in Carolina’s Washington-based academic programs is a priority. For years, students and faculty have relied on temporary or borrowed spaces across the city. The new office provides a permanent home where students can gather, learn and build community while living and studying in Washington. A robust schedule of classes and events will fill the space throughout the year.

The Washington, D.C. region is home to the largest concentration of out-of-state Carolina alumni anywhere in the country. The new office creates a dedicated space to strengthen those connections and support networking, mentorship, professional development and community-building among D.C.-based Tar Heels.

The space will also serve as a platform to bring Carolina’s research and academic expertise into closer conversation with policymakers, industry leaders and member organizations. Carolina is the nation’s 11th largest university in the country based on research volume with primary federal funding coming from NIH and the National Science Foundation (NSF), both based in the D.C. area. Carolina is a proud member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public & Land Grant Universities (APLU), which are both based in Washington.

The office is funded entirely through the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation and does not use any state appropriations.

You can view additional photos of the space here.

Media Contact: UNC Media Relations, 919-445-8555, mediarelations@unc.edu

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unc-chapel-hill-establishes-carolina-in-the-capital-with-new-washington-dc-office-302758250.html

SOURCE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Office of Communications

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Investing.com Acquires Stonki to Accelerate Its Entry into the Agentic AI Era

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The acquisition strengthens Investing.com’s AI capabilities, advancing a next-generation research assistant that can analyze markets, generate insights, and guide investors in real time

NEW YORK, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Investing.com, one of the world’s largest financial platforms used by more than 60 million investors each month, today announced the acquisition of Stonki, an AI-powered investing assistant designed to help traders turn ideas into structured, actionable trading plans.

The move marks a major step in the company’s evolution toward agentic AI, strengthening its ability to deliver faster, deeper, and more actionable market insights to a growing base of more than 300,000 paying subscribers across its InvestingPro suite, the company’s premium subscription offering for advanced market data, tools, and AI-driven insights.

Over the past 12 months, nearly 3 million users have used WarrenAI, Investing.com’s AI-powered financial research assistant launched last year, to perform market analysis, making AI a central entry point into the platform’s ecosystem. With the addition of Stonki, the company is moving beyond traditional AI tools toward agentic systems that can proactively guide users through the investment process.

“We’re entering the age of agentic AI, where the technology moves beyond just answering questions to actively helping investors think, analyze, and act,” said Omer Shvili, CEO of Investing.com. “Bringing Stonki.ai into the fold accelerates our goal of building an agentic platform that will serve as a 24/7 analyst for our users. We are developing this to be more than just a tool; it will be a partner that identifies opportunities, tracks unfolding situations, and surfaces trade ideas even when the user isn’t active—giving our users the kind of edge that was previously only available to professional investors.”

Founded in 2025, Stonki is developing a new category of ‘agentic’ AI for investing, enabling users to turn investment ideas into fully defined strategies with entry and exit conditions, risk management rules, and continuous monitoring.

“We started Stonki because, as investors and traders ourselves, we knew how much time and focus it takes to stay on top of the market and properly manage a day trade, a swing trade, an investment idea, or a portfolio,” said Ulas Bilgenoglu and Itay Verkh, co-founders of Stonki. “We set out to build AI that could carry part of that load by continuously monitoring the market, turning ideas into structured strategies, and helping users make better decisions with clear entry and exit conditions, disciplined risk management, and ongoing tracking. Joining Investing.com gives us the scale, data, reach, and strong AI foundation to accelerate that vision. Together, we can create an experience where AI helps users stay ahead of the market, manage risk, and act with greater confidence.”

The acquisition expands Investing.com’s AI capabilities across both technical and fundamental investing workflows. Stonki’s technology is built around persistent, real-time intelligence, continuously monitoring markets, tracking user-defined strategies, and alerting investors when conditions align, rather than relying on one-off prompts or static analysis.

For active traders, the platform is evolving into a real-time analysis engine designed to support high-frequency decision-making with precision and speed. For long-term investors, it is becoming a central hub for research, enabling users to evaluate opportunities, set personalized alerts, and monitor portfolios based on their individual investment strategies.

Users will be able to define specific conditions, such as a stock crossing a long-term moving average, and have the AI continuously monitor the market, analyze relevant signals, and surface actionable insights in real time. The system will also review portfolios on an ongoing basis, helping investors avoid potential losses and uncover new opportunities aligned with their strategy.

This latest step builds on Investing.com’s broader strategy of expanding its AI-powered suite, including WarrenAI, ProPicks AI, and its recently launched AI Chart Analysis, all aimed at delivering faster, more accurate and more actionable insights to investors.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/investingcom-acquires-stonki-to-accelerate-its-entry-into-the-agentic-ai-era-302756588.html

SOURCE Investing.com

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