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Pharos Closes $8 Million Seed Round Led By Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC

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The funding round is announced alongside a partnership with ZAN to jointly explore hardware acceleration, infrastructure technologies, and more

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Pharos , a full-stack, parallel layer-1 blockchain network, today announced the completion of an $8 million seed round investment co-led by Lightspeed Faction (“Faction”) and Hack VC, with additional participation from strategic anchor investor SNZ Capital and other investors including Reforge, Dispersion Capital, Hash Global, Generative Ventures, Legend Star, MH Ventures, Zion, and Chorus One Ventures.

The company plans to utilize the funding to accelerate the development of the Pharos protocol and drive the growth of the ecosystem and community. The company will maintain its vision of driving mass adoption through efficient blockchain technology implementation into the verticals of decentralized finance, real world assets, and more.

In tandem with the funding round, Pharos has announced a strategic partnership with ZAN, the Web3 brand of Ant Digital Technologies, to jointly explore and develop web3 infrastructure, focusing on node service, security and hardware acceleration.

“We are incredibly grateful for the trust and support from our investors,” said Alex Zhang, CEO of Pharos. “This is just the beginning of an exciting journey. At Pharos, we are driven by our belief to bridge existing FinTech services with trustless Web3 innovations to onboard billions of new users and real-world assets into the Web3 ecosystem. This seed round propels us closer to realizing that vision.”

With hyper-parallelism across consensus, execution, storage, and heterogeneous hardware, Pharos delivers unparalleled scalability and performance, enabling a decentralized real-time payment network for global access. Pharos envisions a real-time payment network that not only delivers unparalleled scalability and performance but also connects existing FinTech services with trustless Web3 innovations to onboard billions of new users and real-world assets into the Web3 ecosystem.

Investor Quotes:

Clara Boh, Deal Partner at Faction : “Pharos’ unique approach to parallelism and high-performance architecture positions it as a game-changer for bringing real-world assets and decentralized finance together. We are thrilled to be a part of Pharos’ seed funding round as it advances its vision of a truly interconnected, scalable blockchain network.”

Alex Pack, Managing Partner at Hack VC : For blockchains to go mainstream and get true mass adoption they must become orders-of-magnitude more scalable and performant. The Pharos team has been working on this problem for years, at the highest level, and we’re excited to support them now in solving these problems with the Pharos protocol.

About Pharos:

Pharos is a full-stack parallel blockchain, pushing the boundaries of decentralized innovation. With hyper-parallelism across consensus, execution, storage, and heterogeneous hardware, Pharos delivers unparalleled scalability and performance, enabling a decentralized real-time payment network for global access.

Pharos is committed to bridging existing FinTech services with trustless Web3 innovations, to onboard billions of new users and real-world assets into the Web3 ecosystem.

About Lightspeed Faction:

Lightspeed Faction (“Faction”) is the leading blockchain-native venture capital firm that merges Silicon Valley VC experience with deep blockchain expertise. Faction typically invests in early-stage startups across the blockchain ecosystem that are in their Seed or Series A funding rounds. Faction is firmly committed to the growth of the crypto space, investing in projects with the potential to meaningfully contribute to and advance the industry and society at large.

For more information, please visit: https://www.faction.vc 

About Faction’s Relationship with Lightspeed

Faction Ventures, LLC (“Faction”) and Lightspeed Management Company, L.L.C. (“Lightspeed”) are separate businesses that operate independently of each other. Faction is a registered investment adviser under the United States Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Faction advises its own fund(s) and does not advise any Lightspeed clients, and Lightspeed does not advise Faction or any of its clients.

About Hack VC:

Hack VC is a Web3 venture capital firm that partners on- and off-chain with hackers building the future of the Internet at the earliest stages. The firm invests in infrastructure, such as AI, blockchain protocols, and financial technology, with investments across 100+ companies and protocols. Hack VC runs hack.labs(), an in-house tech platform for institutional grade network participation, through which its team of blockchain engineers and quant researchers provide liquidity, stake, make open-source contributions, and more. In addition, Hack VC created and hosts hack.summit(), a global developer community and one of the world’s largest blockchain programmer events, with 130K+ attendees from 150+ countries across events to date.

About SNZ Capital:

SNZ is a crypto-native, research-driven investment company based in HK, Singapore and US, with 200+ portfolios. Active since 2014, beyond investment, the SNZ team has been dedicated to community building and incubation, notably as one of the earliest backers of Ethereum in Asia, and the strategic partner for western projects to expand in Asia. SNZ is an engaging and proactive investor that grows with portfolios. In addition, SNZ has deep industry know-how and great network with Web 2.0 and trafi ecosystems, committed to connecting different stakeholders to empower the development of Web 3.0.

About ZAN:

ZAN is the technology brand of Ant Digital Technologies for Web3 products and services. Powered by AntChain Open Labs’ TrustBase open-source technical stack, ZAN provides rich and reliable services for business innovations and a development platform for Web3 endeavors. The ZAN product family includes ZAN eKYC, ZAN KYT, ZAN Smart Contract Review, ZAN Node Service, with more products being on the way.

Media Contact: faction@mgroupsc.com

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SOURCE Pharos

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Revolune and Concept Life Sciences Partner to Help Customers Transition Multiplex IF Assays to Flexible New Workflows

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OBERKOCHEN, Germany, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Revolune today announced a partnership with Concept Life Sciences to help biopharma and life sciences customers reassess, transfer, and scale multiplex immunofluorescence assays using Revolune’s flexible staining technology, which now supports 4- to 7-plex assays. 

The collaboration addresses a growing market need as customers evaluate alternatives to existing workflows and reconsider how best to support tissue biomarker research. With Revolune now offering 4- to 7-plex assay capabilities, Concept Life Sciences can help customers transfer established assays onto the Revolune platform, preserve valuable panel know-how, and move more easily from existing workflows to flexible, ready-to-use multiplex formats. 

“Many customers are not starting from a blank page — they already have assays, panels, and tissue biomarker strategies they need to preserve while moving toward more flexible workflows,” said Adrian Arechiga, CCO of Revolune. “Concept Life Sciences brings the translational biology, biomarker, and assay development expertise needed to help customers make that transition practically and confidently.” 

Concept Life Sciences is a leading contract research organization serving the global life sciences industry, with capabilities across discovery, development, analytical services, translational biology, biomarker discovery, spatial biology, and end-to-end chemistry. By combining these capabilities with Revolune’s adaptable multiplex immunofluorescence technology, the companies aim to help customers generate decision-ready tissue biomarker insights while reducing the operational burden of assay transfer and implementation. 

The partnership is designed for research teams that want to retain the scientific value of existing workflows while gaining access to a more flexible platform for multiplex staining. Customers can work with Concept Life Sciences to evaluate assay transfer feasibility, optimize panel design, run tissue staining workflows, and connect resulting biomarker data to broader discovery and development programs. 

“We are excited to work with Revolune to support customers who are rethinking how they approach multiplex tissue analysis,” said Adam Davenport, CSO at Concept Life Sciences. “Together, we can help teams transfer existing assays, explore new panels, and apply multiplex immunofluorescence in ways that support meaningful translational decisions.” 

The Concept Life Sciences partnership forms part of Revolune’s broader strategy to build an ecosystem of partners that support adoption across different customer needs — from specialist service execution to assay migration, translational biology, and integrated R&D support.

Meet Revolune and Concept Life Sciences at SITC 2026

Revolune and Concept Life Sciences will both be attending the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, November 4–8, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Meet both teams at SITC at Sundown, a relaxed evening of complimentary drinks, dinner and conversation hosted by Concept Life Sciences on November 6, 6.30-8.30 pm. More information: https://www.conceptlifesciences.com/campaigns/sitc-2026.

About Revolune

Revolune is a life science company dedicated to making multiplex immunofluorescence as accessible and practical as routine tissue analysis. Its reagent technologies help laboratories move rapidly from existing primary antibodies to ready-to-use multiplex kits, simplifying spatial biology workflows and enabling researchers to focus on biological questions rather than assay management. 

About Concept Life Sciences

Concept Life Sciences is a leading contract research organisation (CRO) serving the global life sciences industry. For over 25 years, the company, and its heritage companies, have provided consultative and collaborative drug discovery and development services. Our approach, supported by passionate scientists and world-leading capabilities, enables clients to overcome complex scientific challenges and improves program success rates. The company has successfully helped 29 candidates advance to the clinic.

The company offers sophisticated translational biology services coupled with exceptional end-to-end chemistry capabilities to support drug discovery and development across a range of established and emerging modalities, with the ability to seamlessly integrate capabilities and provide bespoke solutions to address client needs.

Collectively, the company’s high-quality services and commitment to customer service across the drug development pathway enhances efficiency in drug discovery, helping clients advance their drugs to clinic in as little as 32 months, well ahead of the industry average of 60 months.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/revolune-and-concept-life-sciences-partner-to-help-customers-transition-multiplex-if-assays-to-flexible-new-workflows-302919466.html

SOURCE Revolune

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From Global Orders to Global Growth: Financial Infrastructure for Mid-Market Exporters

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At the 140th Canton Fair, PhotonPay demonstrates how its stablecoin-centric financial operating system helps growing exporters manage cross-border collections, currency conversion and global payments.

HONG KONG, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For a growing homewares exporter, a major overseas order brings opportunity, but also an immediate question: how will the business finance production, cover shipping costs and manage cash until the buyer pays?

A furniture manufacturer may need to pay suppliers weeks or months before receiving the final payment. A home décor or festive-goods exporter may be managing several seasonal orders at once, each with different delivery schedules, payment terms and currencies. As the business expands into more markets, tracking incoming payments, converting currencies and paying suppliers becomes increasingly complex.

These are everyday challenges behind international trade. At the second phase of the 140th Canton Fair, themed “Quality Home Life” and featuring furniture, kitchenware, household items, home decorations, gifts and festive products, PhotonPay is highlighting how financial infrastructure can help growing exporters manage these demands as they expand internationally.

Financial Tools for the Next Stage of Growth

Large multinational companies can draw on dedicated treasury teams, established banking relationships and sophisticated systems to manage funds across markets. Smaller businesses may have simpler payment needs. Mid-market exporters occupy a different position: their operations span multiple countries and currencies, while their finance teams often remain lean.

At the same time, production and freight costs must be covered before all customer payments arrive. Receivables may be spread across currencies and accounts, while suppliers expect payment according to their own schedules. Finance teams must track receipts, reconcile invoices and maintain a clear view of available funds.

Across multiple markets and overlapping orders, these tasks can consume significant time and complicate decisions about when and where to deploy cash. Growing exporters need practical tools to coordinate collections, manage funds across currencies and pay counterparties worldwide, without having to build a large treasury function from scratch.

Connecting Fiat and Stablecoin Rails to Global Business

Bank accounts and fiat payment networks remain central to international trade, connecting businesses to local collection methods and established banking relationships. Stablecoins offer an additional way to transfer value across borders, with transactions possible outside conventional banking hours depending on the network and transaction arrangements.

Connecting fiat and stablecoin rails can give businesses more flexibility in managing cross-border funds. For exporters, the practical value lies in connecting the stages of a cross-border financial workflow: receiving customer payments, converting currencies and making funds available for supplier payments and other business expenses.

PhotonPay is built around this connection. As a stablecoin-centric financial operating system, PhotonPay brings together a cross-border financial infrastructure across both fiat and stablecoin rails.

Its multi-asset wallet supports fiat currencies and stablecoins within a unified environment. Local collection capabilities cover 21 currencies, enabling businesses to receive payments in the currencies their customers use. Through integrated on- and off-ramp services, businesses can convert between fiat and stablecoins, while 24/7 foreign exchange allow funds to move across markets at any time. Cross-border payouts in fiat and stablecoins are available across 200+ countries and territories. Card issuing capabilities also allow companies to manage overseas business spending directly from one platform.

These capabilities connect the key stages of cross-border financial operations, and for growing exporters, this provides a more integrated way to manage international payments as their business expands.

PhotonPay also extends its infrastructure to platforms through Embedded Finance. Its APIs enable B2B platforms, marketplaces and other digital businesses to integrate financial capabilities, including accounts, fiat and stablecoin wallets, global payouts and card issuing, into their own products. This allows platforms to build collection, payment and fund management services into existing workflows and extend financial capabilities to their customers.

Financial Infrastructure That Grows With the Business

For mid-market exporters, international growth brings new customers, more markets and greater demands on financial operations. The ability to manage funds across borders needs to keep pace, supporting everything from the next production run to the next supplier payment and the next market entry.

By connecting fiat and stablecoin rails within one financial operating system, PhotonPay helps growing businesses manage cross-border funds with greater flexibility as they scale internationally.

Visit PhotonPay at Area D, Booths DT1714–DT1718, during the 140th Canton Fair.

About PhotonPay

PhotonPay is a stablecoin-powered payment operating system built for global infrastructure. Designed for modern enterprises, PhotonPay enables businesses to send, receive, convert, and settle funds across both fiat and stablecoin rails through a single, compliance-first integration, spanning 200+ countries and territories.

For more information, visit [www.photonpay.com].

Disclaimer

This material is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation for any product or service. The availability, features, and regulatory treatment of PhotonPay’s products and services may vary depending on the user’s location, business model, and the laws and regulations that apply. Any descriptions of functionality, performance, efficiency, cost savings, or compliance support (including, without limitation, references to “real‑time”, “24/7”, “high‑efficiency”, or “compliant” solutions) are aspirational or forward‑looking in nature. Actual outcomes may differ due to market conditions, technological constraints, and regulatory developments, and PhotonPay makes no express or implied representation, warranty, or guarantee as to the achievement of any particular result.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/from-global-orders-to-global-growth-financial-infrastructure-for-mid-market-exporters-302920151.html

SOURCE PhotonPay

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Rockwell Automation Unveils Record-Breaking Innovation Lineup at Automation Fair 2026

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From AI-powered manufacturing and next-generation control to cybersecurity and digital engineering, Rockwell showcases technologies designed to help manufacturers build the future of industrial operations

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, today announced an expanded product showcase for Automation Fair® 2026. Across the plant floor and enterprise, Rockwell’s latest innovations help manufacturers unlock greater productivity, simplify operations and strengthen resilience in an increasingly complex industrial environment. Together, these technologies demonstrate how AI, automation and digital transformation are reshaping the future of industrial operations.

At Automation Fair 2026, attendees will get an exclusive look at new technologies designed to help manufacturers modernize production, accelerate decision-making and scale innovation with greater confidence. The innovations span Rockwell’s automation and software portfolio showcasing practical applications that address some of the industry’s most pressing operational challenges.

“Production systems today are balancing growth, workforce challenges, cybersecurity threats and the need to adapt faster than ever before,” said Matheus Bulho, senior vice president, software & control, Rockwell Automation. “At Automation Fair 2026, we’re bringing together hardware, software and industrial intelligence in new ways, giving customers the tools to move faster, adapt with confidence and create more resilient and autonomous operations.”

Among the list of record-breaking innovative new technologies being showcased are:

LogixEdge™ Controller, enhancing the power of Logix with new form factors and seamless integration of IT and OT workloads that further amplify Logix’s powerful multidiscipline control and information capabilities, including AI workloads that enable autonomous controlCompactLogix® 5390 Controller, delivering enhanced performance and security with greater scalability for modern production system environments.PointMax™ I/O, a next-generation I/O platform designed to simplify deployment and support high-performance machine applications.Armor™ PowerFlex® 330 Integrated Drive Motor, combining motor and drive functionality in a compact solution to reduce complexity and accelerate installation.EtherNet/IP™ In-cabinet Solution, helping manufacturers simplify what it takes to construct, wire, deploy and manage industrial control systems more efficiently.FactoryTalk® Optix™ Version 1.9 and new OptixPanel™ Pro and PanelView™ Pro graphic terminals, providing expanded visualization capabilities across larger distributed systems, enhanced security and a modern operator experience.FactoryTalk® Conductor™, enabling organizations to orchestrate industrial intelligence and agentic engineering across design, operations and maintenance for their entire operations.FactoryTalk® AssetIQ™, FactoryTalk® Design Workbench™ and FactoryTalk® ResilientEdge™ software, helping customers simplify enterprise OT asset management, streamline engineering and improve resilience of edge deployments.New AI innovations for the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform™ and AI-powered Quality Management capabilities, bringing practical artificial intelligence to everyday manufacturing workflows.Expanded cybersecurity offerings, including SecureOT™ Platform Managed Services, OT Cybersecurity Assessment Suite, and capabilities designed to support OEMs in building more secure machines from the start

In addition to product announcements, attendees will have the opportunity to experience live demonstrations, engage with Rockwell Automation experts and partners and explore the innovations driving greater productivity, flexibility and resilience across manufacturing.

Registration is now open. Join thousands of industrial professionals at Automation Fair 2026 and be among the first to experience Rockwell’s latest innovations in action. Register today at automationfair.com.

About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise® to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rockwell-automation-unveils-record-breaking-innovation-lineup-at-automation-fair-2026-302907266.html

SOURCE Rockwell Automation, Inc.

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