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Estonia Recognized as Innovation Champion by the Consumer Technology Association at CES 2025

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Estonia has been named an Innovation Champion by the CTA, a prestigious recognition celebrating the nation’s leading role as the most advanced digital society fostering technological innovation, economic growth, e-government and social progress.

TALLINN, Estonia and LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Estonia has been named an Innovation Champion by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), a prestigious recognition celebrating the nation’s leading role as the most advanced digital society fostering technological innovation, economic growth, e-government and social progress. This honor places Estonia among the top 25 countries worldwide that provide the most welcoming environments for innovation.

By embracing cutting-edge technologies, fostering a digital-first culture, and building robust partnerships, Estonia has proven that even a small nation can lead the way in driving global progress.

Estonia’s Innovation Champion accolade is a result of CTA’s fourth edition of the Global Innovation Scorecard, which rigorously analyzed 75 countries, including all 27 European Union members. The Scorecard evaluated nations across 17 categories within five key areas, ultimately classifying them into four categories: Innovation Champions, Innovation Leaders, Innovation Adopters, and Modest Innovators.

Mr. Erkki Keldo, Estonia’s Minister of Economy and Industry said: “By embracing cutting-edge technologies, fostering a digital-first culture, and building robust partnerships, Estonia has proven that even a small nation can lead the way in driving global progress. We are honored to be acknowledged as an Innovation Champion and will continue to pioneer solutions that inspire the world.”

Estonia’s simple tax system, e-services and flexible and stable business and investment environment have created an ecosystem for digital companies and startups to thrive. Estonia is known as the “Unicorn Nation,” boasting the highest number of unicorn companies per capita in Europe and twice as many AI startups per capita than even the U.S. Estonia is also hailed by many as the world’s most advanced digital society. For new businesses, it takes 15 minutes to establish a company and three minutes to file taxes. Estonia is also ranked as the number one tax system in OECD countries for nine consecutive years; number two in Internet freedom, and number six in economic freedom. Estonia ranks number one in Europe in the Cybersecurity index, and its capital Tallinn is home to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. This digitally advanced ecosystem has resulted in accelerated innovation and growth for Estonian companies, supporting export of products and services to over 120 countries worldwide.

Minister Erkki Keldo will be an honoree and featured speaker at CES. With the support of the Estonian Embassy in Washington DC, the minister is also accompanied by The Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL) and a business delegation including Nortal, Auve Tech, e-Pavement, 1oT, Verge Motorcycles Donut Labs, and Cognuse. These companies have either already entered the U.S. market or are looking for cooperation partners to enter the market, and for this they will receive support from the presence of the minister.

The Estonian IT companies’ visits to the U.S. are among several initiatives aimed to provide Estonian companies with the resources to establish connections with U.S. partners, build valuable relationships, and seize opportunities in one of the world’s most vibrant economies.

For media inquiries, contact Carol Hickins, U.S. Public Relations for Trade Estonia at press.usa@eis.ee.

This project is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.

About The Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL)

Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL) is a voluntary organization, whose primary objective is to unite the Estonian information technology and telecommunications companies and organizations to promote their co-operation in Estonia’s development towards information society, to represent and protect the interests of its member companies and to express their common positions. According to ITL’s vision, by 2035 Estonia will have reached the forefront in digitalization in both the private and public sectors, and serve as a model for others in this field. The vision is supported by three pillars: innovative and sustainable economy, smart people, and a bold state with a vision.

About Trade Estonia

Trade Estonia is part of Enterprise Estonia. As a state organization, Trade Estonia helps Estonian companies to establish themselves in international markets. With a focus on future technologies and pioneering projects, Trade Estonia provides Estonian companies access to market analysis and marketing strategies. It creates the conditions for them to operate successfully on a global scale. Trade Estonia not only promotes the development of new business areas and the establishment of strategic partnerships but also facilitates access to international networks, thus contributing to the global competitiveness of Estonian companies.

About CES ®

CES is the most powerful tech event in the world – the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators. This is where the world’s biggest brands do business and meet new partners, and the sharpest innovators hit the stage. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, CES features every aspect of the tech sector. CES 2025 takes place Jan. 7-10, 2025, in Las Vegas. Learn more at

CES.tech and follow CES on social.

About Consumer Technology Association (CTA) ®

As North America’s largest technology trade association, CTA is the tech sector. Our members are the world’s leading innovators – from startups to global brands – helping support more than 18 million American jobs. CTA owns and produces CES® – the most powerful tech event in the world. Find us at CTA.tech. Follow us @CTAtech.

#CES2025

Media Contact

Carol Hickins, Trade Estonia, 1 6463453954, press.usa@eis.ee, https://tradewithestonia.com/

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Air Products to Expand Industrial Gas Supply for Samsung Electronics’ Next-Generation Semiconductor Fab in South Korea

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New investment underscores the company’s long-term commitment to Korea and its leading role in the global semiconductor industry 

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products (NYSE:APD), a world-leading industrial gases company and serving Samsung globally, today announced it has been selected by Samsung to supply industrial gases for its new advanced semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Under the agreement, Air Products will build, own and operate multiple state-of-the-art production facilities and a bulk specialty gas supply system to supply nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and hydrogen for Samsung’s new semiconductor fab. The new facilities are expected to come onstream in multiple phases from 2028 through 2030.

Air Products has a long track record of executing multiple phase expansions in Pyeongtaek to support Samsung’s growing manufacturing needs. This latest project represents Air Products’ largest investment to date in the semiconductor industry and will establish Pyeongtaek as the company’s single largest operations site globally supporting the electronics industry. 

“Air Products is honored to be selected once again by Samsung and to have their continued confidence as a trusted partner supporting their strategic growth plans,” said SR Kim, President, Air Products Korea. “This significant investment reinforces Air Products’ role as a leading global supplier to the semiconductor industry and underscores our long-standing commitment to supporting our strategic customers with safety, reliability, efficiency and excellent service.”

Air Products has served the global electronics industry for more than 40 years, supplying industrial gases safely and reliably to many of the world’s leading technology companies. The company has operated in Korea for more than 50 years and has established a strong position in electronics and manufacturing sectors.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 85 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets and generating a cleaner future. The Company supplies essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical and food. As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects, supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the industrial and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Through its sale of equipment businesses, the Company also provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

Air Products had fiscal 2025 sales of $12 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedInXFacebook or Instagram.

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/air-products-to-expand-industrial-gas-supply-for-samsung-electronics-next-generation-semiconductor-fab-in-south-korea-302757497.html

SOURCE Air Products

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