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Plug and Play announces expansion into Seattle along with Partnership with SBI Holdings and SNBL and Future Participation as co-GP in SBI US Gateway Fund

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The partnership comprises the establishment of Plug and Play Seattle with SBI Holdings and SNBL as the Founding Anchor partners and Plug and Play’s future participation as co-GP in the $40M SBI US Gateway Fund

Plug and Play expands presence to Seattle, Washington, in strategic collaboration with SBI Holdings and SNBL to foster innovation and early-stage investment

SEATTLE, Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Plug and Play, the world’s leading innovation platform based in Silicon Valley that connects startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies, announced today a strategic collaboration with SBI Holdings, Inc., and SNBL to establish Plug and Play’s first presence in the Greater Seattle Region. The expansion includes two new offices in the region, with locations at the SNBL Global Gateway (SGG) business incubation facility in Everett, WA, and at CoMotion Labs technology incubator on the University of Washington’s (UW) Seattle campus, aiming to drive regional innovation and support early-stage startup growth.

This collaboration not only marks Plug and Play’s entry into the Seattle area but also includes Plug and Play’s participation as co-General Partner (co-GP) for the newly launched SBI US Gateway Fund. The $40 million fund established by SBI and SNBL focuses on early-stage startups in North America with promising advancements in sectors such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, climate technology, supply chain, and healthcare, including biotechnology and drug research and development. Through its co-GP role, Plug and Play will leverage its extensive global network and innovation expertise to guide and support portfolio companies, providing strategic growth opportunities and strengthening investment outcomes.

Strengthening the U.S.-Japan Innovation Pipeline
The launch of the SBI US Gateway Fund is a significant step in connecting North American startups with key investment and partnership opportunities from Japan. With this partnership, Plug and Play, SBI, and SNBL aim to create synergies between the U.S. startup ecosystem and Japanese investors, fostering long-term growth and sustainability in cutting-edge fields. The fund’s operations will benefit from Plug and Play’s expansive reach across five continents and its experience in corporate innovation and startup acceleration.

“We are thrilled to bring Plug and Play’s innovation platform to Seattle in partnership with SBI Holdings, SNBL, and the University of Washington,” said Saeed Amidi, Founder & CEO at Plug and Play. “The Pacific Northwest is home to a dynamic and rapidly growing tech ecosystem, and we are excited to contribute to this community by supporting the next generation of innovative companies.”

Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO from SBI Holdings, stated, “This collaboration with Plug and Play and SNBL represents a major milestone in our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting transformative startups. By connecting Japanese investment with North American innovation, we are creating a unique bridge that will empower startups with not only capital but also strategic guidance and industry connections. Together, we are shaping the future of technology and healthcare advancements.”

Ryoichi Nagata, Representative Chairman, President & CEO from SNBL stated, “We are excited to join forces with Plug and Play and SBI Holdings in this groundbreaking collaboration. Through the combined strengths of our organizations, we aim to build a robust platform that will enhance our ability to support startups and innovation utilizing the SNBL Global Gateway business incubation facility. This strategic alliance enables us to leverage our respective expertise and extensive networks, creating unparalleled opportunities for growth and advancement on a global scale.”

This new collaboration between Plug and Play, SBI, SNBL, and UW will provide startups with capital and access to a unique blend of corporate innovation resources, strategic advisory services, and a wide network of industry leaders across key sectors. These resources are expected to amplify the value and growth of portfolio companies in the SBI US Gateway Fund, setting a strong foundation for sustainable innovation and development.

Plug and Play x SNBL Global Gateway (SGG) (Everett, WA)
SBI has partnered with SNBL, the largest non-clinical contract research organization in Japan, to operate an accelerator program and SBI US Gateway Fund at SGG business incubation facility in Everett, WA. Plug and Play plans to use the SGG business incubation facility as a hub to operate their accelerator programs.

Plug and Play x CoMotion Labs (Seattle, WA)
Plug and Play, SBI, and SNBL have agreed to partner with the University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs to help foster the startup ecosystem in the Seattle area and on campus. CoMotion Labs provides a multi-industry incubation environment for early-stage startups. While preference is given to UW spinoffs, CoMotion Labs also accepts startups from outside the UW community. From critical infrastructure to learning, mentoring, and networking, CoMotion Labs nurtures and enables success and helps startups grow without taking equity or IP.

To learn more about Plug and Play Seattle, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/locations/seattle.

About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 60+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and manage over $1 billion in AUM across our funds, driving innovation across multiple industries where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies, including Dropbox, PayPal, Guardant Health, Honey, N26, Rappi, Turing, and more. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/.

About SBI Holdings
Established in 1999 as a pioneer of Internet-based financial services in Japan, the SBI Group is a comprehensive Internet financial group that operates globally, encompassing five core businesses: “Financial Services Business,” such as securities, banking and insurance businesses; “Investment Business,” which is engaged in private equity investment including venture capital investment; “Asset Management Business,” that provides various asset management related services; “Crypto-asset Business,” which operates crypto asset trading and exchange services; and “Non-financial Business,” which includes business activities related to biotechnology, healthcare and medical informatics, Web3, and new overseas markets. For more information, please visit https://www.sbigroup.co.jp/english/.

About SNBL
Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. (SNBL) is the largest and the oldest non-clinical contract research organization in Japan, with a strong focus on supporting the growth and development of the global biotechnology and drug discovery ecosystem. Founded in 1957, SNBL provides comprehensive services ranging from translational research (TR) to contract research and Medipolis, a unique blend of biomedical facilities. Headquartered in Kagoshima, Japan, SNBL is dedicated to advancing innovation in biotechnology and healthcare through its partnerships, research, and support of new and groundbreaking therapies. For more information, visit https://en.snbl.com/.

Media Contacts

Plug and Play Media Relations
Jacky Tsang
press@pnptc.com

SBI Holdings, Inc. Corporate Communications Dept.
Tel: +81 3 6229-0126

SNBL IR & Corporate Communications
ir@snbl.com

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SOURCE Plug and Play

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ModelBest and OpenBMB Open-Source MiniCPM-OCR Series, Delivering High-Performance Document Parsing and AI-Powered Quality Control

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BEIJING, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ModelBest and OpenBMB jointly announced the release and open-source availability of the MiniCPM-OCR series, a family of models for efficient document parsing and parsing-quality assessment. The launch includes two models: MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 (1.3B) and MiniCPM-OCR Jev (2B).

As the first OCR-focused model in the MiniCPM family, MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 brings top-tier parsing accuracy to a compact 1.3-billion-parameter architecture optimized for edge deployment, pushing forward the balance between efficiency and performance for open-source OCR models. Built for real-world conditions, it accurately parses scanned, photographed, curved, tilted and screen-captured documents without cumbersome image pre-correction, lowering the barrier to large-scale document digitization.

The model handles dense bilingual Chinese-English content, complex mathematical formulas, and multi-level or borderless tables, consistently performing at a leading level across a broad range of mainstream industry evaluations. Beyond full-page reconstruction, it supports key information extraction (KIE), pulling specified fields from invoices, IDs and financial statements according to business instructions.

Powered by DSpark decoding acceleration, MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 significantly increases end-to-end throughput while lowering per-page latency. For enterprises processing millions of pages—such as financial contract archives, academic libraries and government records—this means processing far more documents with the same hardware and time budget, at a substantially lower computing cost.

To address the long-standing need for page-by-page manual review, ModelBest and OpenBMB also introduced MiniCPM-OCR Jev, the first OCR result decision model that acts as an “AI quality inspector.” Rather than performing OCR itself, Jev compares the source image with OCR output and rapidly assigns confidence scores to text, LaTeX formulas and tables, detecting missing characters, errors and formatting misalignments. Despite its compact 2B-parameter size, Jev delivers judgment accuracy typically associated with far larger models.

Jev supports cross-model deployment and can be integrated into existing OCR workflows without replacing the underlying OCR engine. It can automatically identify reliable results for direct processing, flag potentially inaccurate outputs for human review and select the best result from multiple OCR systems. This enables enterprises to move from full manual inspection toward risk-based, automated quality control.

The MiniCPM-OCR series is available on GitHub, Hugging Face and ModelScope, and supports vLLM, SGLang, llama.cpp and Ollama, along with SDKs, APIs, Agent Skill plugins and open-source fine-tuning code. Day-0 hardware adaptation covers AMD, Arm, Houmo AI, Intel and NVIDIA. Through the FlagOS software stack, it also has Day-0 support for AI and edge chips from CIX Technology, Huawei Ascend, Hygon, Iluvatar CoreX, Kunlunxin, MetaX, Moore Threads, Sunrise, T-Head, TsingMicro, NVIDIA and Apple Mac (Arm).

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/modelbest-and-openbmb-open-source-minicpm-ocr-series-delivering-high-performance-document-parsing-and-ai-powered-quality-control-302925594.html

SOURCE ModelBest

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Wulcea Elevates Consumer Trust in Heated Apparel Through Multi-National Safety Certifications and Rigorous Technical Testing

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NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As smart heated clothing gains broader adoption, consumers are paying closer attention to the safety and reliability of the technology behind these products. Wulcea, a brand specializing in graphene-powered heated apparel, combines its flexible GrapheneNano™ heating technology with documented safety compliance and durability testing for its heating components and battery systems.

“Trust in smart heated apparel goes beyond warmth—it comes down to confidence in battery safety and heating element reliability,” said John C, Founder of Wulcea. “Our goal is to give users peace of mind through certified technical standards.”

Advanced Graphene Heating Elements Supported by Global Standards

At the core of Wulcea’s thermal architecture is its GrapheneNano™ heating technology. Engineered to eliminate garment stiffness, Wulcea integrates flexible graphene elements that deliver balanced warmth across key upper-body zones while preserving natural garment drape and full freedom of movement.

Wulcea supports its heating components with applicable compliance documentation for major markets. These include CE and FCC compliance documentation addressing relevant electrical and electromagnetic compatibility requirements, as well as PSE compliance for applicable products in Japan. RoHS compliance further addresses restrictions on specified hazardous substances in applicable electrical and electronic components.

Multi-Certified Battery System for Dependable Power

To power its heating elements, Wulcea pairs its heated apparel with rechargeable battery systems designed for convenient everyday use. Featuring a compact design and housed in dedicated interior pockets, the batteries provide portable power while maintaining a streamlined garment profile and comfortable fit.

Wulcea backs its battery options with comprehensive third-party accreditations. UL certification demonstrates that the battery system has been evaluated against recognized power bank safety requirements, covering key areas such as overcharge protection, short-circuit protection, and thermal safety. The battery systems are also supported by applicable CE and FCC compliance documentation, addressing relevant regulatory requirements for electrical and electromagnetic compatibility.

For daily handling and travel, RoHS compliance validates that the battery system meets stringent global standards for material safety. The battery models have also undergone applicable UN 38.3 testing, supporting compliance with international requirements for lithium battery transportation.

Real-World Durability and Practical Usability

Component compliance forms Wulcea’s foundation, but reliability is defined by real-world performance. Built for high-flex endurance, Wulcea’s flexible graphene heating elements are tested through 10,000 active flexing cycles to maintain steady thermal output through repeated bending and everyday body movement.

Everyday convenience is equally essential. Built for hassle-free care, Wulcea’s heating elements withstand 100 machine-wash cycles under standard care guidelines, maintaining internal conductivity and structural stability under repeated laundering.

Integrated NTC temperature sensors provide thermal monitoring and are designed to stop heating if temperatures exceed 131°F (55°C). Combined with runtime of up to 10 hours on the low setting and a discreet interior control button, these features support practical everyday use in cold-weather conditions.

Aligning Technical Standards with Everyday Warmth

By combining graphene-based heating technology with documented battery safety compliance and durability testing, Wulcea continues to focus on the technical foundations of dependable heated apparel. This approach reflects the brand’s emphasis on bringing together safety considerations, practical functionality, and everyday comfort for cold-weather use.

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SOURCE Wulcea

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NIDS Co., Ltd. Confirms CES 2027 Participation, Pursues Expansion of Global Supply Chain for Environmental Sensors

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Company introduced optical and gas sensors at SEDEX and is strengthening its composite sensor business for robotics, home appliances, automotive, and smart building applications

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Environmental sensor manufacturer NIDS Co., Ltd. has confirmed its participation in CES 2027 and is moving to expand its global business-to-business (B2B) supply chain. Building on its experience supplying sensors to domestic and international home appliance and automotive companies, the company aims to secure overseas customers and extend its applications into smart building HVAC and robotics.

NIDS recently participated in the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association’s Sensor Pavilion at SEDEX 2026, held at COEX in Seoul, where it introduced its next-generation sensor modules. The company said the exhibition allowed it to raise awareness of its technology among domestic home appliance and electronic component industry professionals and to lay the groundwork for collaboration in the sensor field.

The company will use CES 2027 as its next stage. NIDS plans to firm up discussions on sensor module supply with global home appliance makers, HVAC specialists, and robotics companies. It aims to extend the industry contacts gained at the domestic exhibition overseas and to convert product introductions into actual supply opportunities.

Founded in 2000, NIDS develops and manufactures environmental sensors and air quality management solutions. According to the company, it has supplied more than 10 million sensors cumulatively to domestic and international companies, including Dyson, Samsung Electronics, and Hyundai Motor. Drawing on this supply track record, the company intends to showcase its precision sensing technology and mass-production capabilities to overseas customers.

Its main products include particulate matter sensors, optical gas sensors based on non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology, composite environmental sensors, and electronic nose sensor modules. The particulate matter sensors measure PM1.0, PM2.5, and PM10, while the gas sensor lineup targets carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), and other gases. The electronic nose is used for detecting everyday odors, gas leaks, and fires. The company said it designs the core components required for air quality measurement in-house and has a system in place to mass-produce 5 million units annually.

The area where NIDS will expand development and supply going forward is next-generation composite sensor modules. The company has been pursuing a sensor business that responds to industry-specific demand in home appliances, automotive, and smart building HVAC, and is now concentrating its capabilities on markets such as robotics, industrial safety, and odor detection based on this technology. Building on its experience supplying individual components, NIDS plans to continue developing and supplying, on a B2B basis, modules that handle multiple types of environmental data.

The company will also highlight its sensor product lineup and its newly developed ultra-compact MEMS sensor technology at the exhibition. NIDS plans to introduce its optical and gas sensor lineup along with examples of their application in actual air quality management systems. By explaining both the measurement functions of its components and its experience operating sensors for finished-product services, the company aims to broaden the scope of partnership discussions.

NIDS explained that, because it owns its precision sensors, it can control sensor sensitivity and tune algorithms to suit the system in which they are applied. Drawing on this technical operating experience, the company plans to pursue partnerships with customers and to promote its business capabilities extending from sensor components to air quality and odor management and industrial safety management.

NIDS will also leverage its existing branch network in its overseas market development. Through its overseas bases in the United States, Japan, and China, the company plans to widen its touchpoints with buyers and seek new supply opportunities in conjunction with its CES participation. Its goal is to generate export results by combining exhibition participation with its local networks.

The company intends to keep expanding the global supply of sensor components as a core pillar of its business. Building on the supply experience accumulated in home appliances and automotive, it will broaden its partners to robotics, HVAC, and smart buildings, and respond to industry-specific air quality measurement demand through the development of next-generation modules.

“We plan to continue expanding the development and B2B supply of next-generation composite sensor modules needed across a range of industries, including home appliances, automotive, and smart building HVAC,” NIDS said.

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SOURCE NIDS Co., Ltd.

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