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Raise Secures $63 Million to Transform the Payments and Loyalty Industry with Blockchain-Powered Gift Cards

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Strategic Funding Round Was Led by Haun Ventures as the Company Seeks to Revolutionize Consumer Engagement and Drive Innovation in the Multi-Trillion Dollar Gift Card Industry

MIAMI, Feb. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Raise, a leader in the global gift market and pioneer in blockchain-powered payments and loyalty, today announced the successful close of a $63 million funding round. Led by Haun Ventures, the round included participation from Amber Group, Anagram, Blackpine, Borderless Capital, GSR, Karatage, Paper Ventures, Pharsalus Capital, Selini Capital, Sonic Boom Ventures, the Web3 Foundation, and notable angels Tekin Salimi, Raj Gokal, Teddy Gorisse among others. This latest round brings Raise’s total funding to over $220 million, building on prior investments from Accel, Paypal, and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). 

“Raise has redefined how consumers interact with and value gift cards – it’s about loyalty and share of wallet, not just gift-giving,” said George Bousis, Founder and CEO of Raise. “For over a decade, we’ve invested tens of millions of dollars in bringing gift cards and loyalty programs on-chain. Now, we’re making a nin-figure commitment over the next several years to fully realize this vision. Having been involved in blockchain and crypto since its early days, we waited for the right regulatory framework and the technological maturity to support a fully reconfigured, on-chain gift card industry. That time is now – the barriers that once existed are no longer obstacles.”

Raise will use the funding to further develop its proprietary blockchain-backed gift card program, Smart Cards, and expand the Retail Alliance Foundation, its non-profit coalition dedicated to uniting global retailers and brands to create a more secure, interoperable, and fraud-resistant gift card network. Raise has seeded the Alliance and the Raise blockchain network with its intellectual property in partnership with BFG Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Raise Holdings Ltd. Raise’s mission is to redefine gift cards as a secure, fully programable retail currency that strengthen trust and fosters deeper engagement between brands and their customers.

Diogo Monica, General Partner at Haun Ventures, commented, “Raise is seizing a massive, outdated market with the right mix of experience, infrastructure, and blockchain expertise. With deep industry ties and a real plan for adoption, this isn’t just a bet on the future of gift cards—it’s an investment in a proven team solving a trillion-dollar problem.”

Raise’s blockchain initiatives kicked off earlier this year with the upcoming integration of DOT Wallet through a partnership with the Polkadot Community Foundation, enabling seamless transactions within their application. Additionally, Raise partnered with WalletConnect to integrate the Raise app with leading digital wallets like Coinbase, MetaMask, Phantom, Trust, and other prominent ecosystems, which will be announced soon. Raise is rapidly expanding its B2B partnerships, engaging with major financial institutions and loyalty programs, including  Citi Bank and BILT Rewards.

In conjunction with the funding round, Raise has also announced the appointment of a new Board of Directors featuring former CLO at Kraken and former President of Blockchain.com, Marco Santori, former co-founder and CEO of Honey, George Ruan, former founder and CEO of GrubHub, Matt Maloney, and Bjorn Wagner, CEO of Parity Technologies. With their expertise and support, Raise is well-positioned to execute its mission to redefine the future of gift cards and drive innovation in consumer loyalty.

With global sales projected to exceed $2.3 trillion by 2030, gift cards have evolved beyond simple transactional tools to become an integral component of the modern retail ecosystem. Since its founding, Raise has facilitated over $5 billion in transactions for its nearly 7 million users and 1,000+ retail partnerships, consistently driving innovation in the industry. The introduction of blockchain-powered gift cards marks the culmination of over a decade of work to reshape how consumers value, use and trust gift cards. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.raise.com/

About Raise
Raise, a renowned pioneer in the gift card industry, has been at the forefront of innovation since its inception in 2013. The company has facilitated over $5 billion in transactions through its Raise consumer app, exchange (GCX), and B2B (Raise for Business) operations. With over 1,000+ brand partnerships, Raise offers activation and real-time redemption capabilities across a network of over one million stores, websites, and applications. For more information, please visit https://www.raise.com/.

About the Retail Alliance Foundation
The Retail Alliance Foundation is a non-profit coalition committed to revolutionizing the global loyalty economy. The Retail Alliance Foundation strives to create a secure, innovative, and inclusive gift card ecosystem by promoting transparency, advancing technology, and uniting industry stakeholders. Guided by industry leaders, we provide critical funding and resources to initiatives that empower stakeholders and ensure the long-term sustainability of the global gift card industry. Through collaboration and community-driven governance, we’re setting new standards for loyalty while promoting happiness and trust.

For media inquiries, please contact:

raisepr@mgroupsc.com

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SOURCE Raise

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Wondershare Demonstrates AI-Powered Document Workflows with PDFelement at Microsoft AI Tour Hong Kong

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HONG KONG, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wondershare, a global leader in digital productivity and creativity software, showcased its latest AI-powered solutions at the Microsoft AI Tour Hong Kong, highlighting how its flagship product, Wondershare PDFelement, integrates with Microsoft technologies to enable smarter, more secure, and more efficient document workflows for enterprises.

As Microsoft’s flagship global AI event, the Microsoft AI Tour brings together partners and industry leaders to explore how AI is transforming business operations. At the Hong Kong stop, Wondershare demonstrated its deep collaboration with Microsoft across key solution areas, showcasing how its product ecosystem aligns with Microsoft technologies to deliver integrated, end-to-end AI workflows.

At the center of the showcase was Wondershare PDFelement, an AI-powered, all-in-one PDF solution designed to streamline document-centric processes in enterprise environments. Through deep integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, PDFelement enables seamless interoperability with widely used applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, allowing users to convert PDFs into fully editable formats while preserving original layout and structure. With built-in Office plugins, users can also generate standardized PDFs directly within Microsoft applications. PDFelement further supports deployment in Microsoft Azure environments, enabling Single Sign-On (SSO) for streamlined access management, while maintaining compatibility with Microsoft Rights Management Services (RMS) to securely manage protected documents.

Beyond its ecosystem integration, PDFelement also introduces a suite of AI-powered capabilities to enhance productivity across document workflows. Smart Redact enables automatic detection and masking of over 70 types of sensitive data to support compliance requirements, while Professional AI Translation delivers accurate, industry-specific language output for cross-border collaboration. The Admin Console provides enterprise-grade centralized access and permission control, allowing IT teams to manage AI, cloud, and eSign features with real-time visibility into license usage. At the event, attendees can also experience a range of enhanced AI features, including AI Summarize, Chat with PDF, AI Translate, AI Detect and Rewrite, as well as AI Proofread, Voice, Explain, Grammar Check, and Mind Map Generation.

In addition to PDFelement, Wondershare also showcased how its broader product portfolio integrates with Microsoft technologies. EdrawMax offers full compatibility with Microsoft Visio through bidirectional .vsdx import and export, along with Office add-ins, OLE embedding, and data-driven diagram generation from Excel, while also featuring AI-powered capabilities such as the Edraw Agent, natural language-driven diagram generation, and text-to-diagram conversion across platforms. EdrawMind enables one-click conversion of mind maps into PowerPoint and supports intelligent analysis of Office documents to generate structured knowledge frameworks, alongside AI features including webpage summarization, node-based note generation, and AI-powered search. Filmora is optimized for the Windows AI PC ecosystem, leveraging on-device NPU acceleration for AI-powered video processing, supporting Windows on Arm, and enabling natural language interaction with RAG-based asset matching, while also incorporating AI Extend, AI Portrait, and Smart Cutout. Reelmate provides an AI-powered, agent-driven platform covering the full content production pipeline from generation to post-production for creating premium comic series.

Through live demonstrations, attendees were able to experience how Wondershare’s AI-powered solutions can be applied across real-world enterprise scenarios, from document processing and knowledge management to visual communication and content creation. The showcase attracted strong interest from professionals across industries such as finance, education, information technology, and telecommunications, particularly around capabilities related to document security, automation, and cross-language collaboration.

Wondershare’s participation in the Microsoft AI Tour Hong Kong highlights its continued commitment to advancing practical AI adoption through deep ecosystem integration. By combining AI capabilities with seamless compatibility across Microsoft technologies, Wondershare is helping enterprises build more secure, connected, and efficient workflows for the future.

About Wondershare:

Wondershare is a globally recognized software company founded in 2003, known for its innovative solutions in creativity and productivity. Driven by the mission “Creativity Simplified”, Wondershare offers a range of tools, including PDFelement for document management; EdrawMax, EdrawMind for diagraming, Filmora and SelfyzAI for video editing. With over 2 billion cumulative active users across all products and a presence in over 200 countries and regions, Wondershare empowers the next generation of creators with intuitive software and trendy creative resources, continually expanding the possibilities of creativity worldwide.

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SOURCE Wondershare Technology

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TCL Solar Highlights Groundbreaking Solar Products at Korea Green Energy Expo 2026

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Booth No: K-450

DAEGU, South Korea, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TCL Solar is currently exhibiting its latest photovoltaic solutions at the Korea Green Energy Expo, reinforcing its commitment to advancing South Korea’s renewable energy market. As South Korea is poised to become a key global player in the solar energy sector, the country is on track to achieve a cumulative installed solar capacity of 55.7GW by 2030, with over 5GW set to be installed annually. Among the growing demand, distributed and floating photovoltaic systems are driving significant market expansion.

TCL Solar is actively supporting South Korea’s renewable energy goals by offering high-efficiency, reliable solar modules and localized services that are integral to helping the country meet its solar installation targets and accelerate its transition to sustainable energy.

TCL Solar is showcasing its T5 Pro TOPCon Multi-Cut Product, which utilizes advanced TOPCon technology with overlapping cell architecture, offering a maximum power output of up to 670W、755W. This cutting-edge solution represents the pinnacle of high-efficiency solar energy.

Additionally, the C2 BC Module, powered by Back Contact technology, delivers significantly higher energy yields, making it perfect for complex applications with high BOS costs, low ground reflectivity, limited land availability, partial shadow scenarios, or aesthetic requirements.

The BC module with its no busbar design and no front metal lines present a more visually appealing aesthetic, meeting Korean architectural requirements. Offering a power output 20W higher than TOPCon modules, it also maintains significantly better hot spot resistance and a degradation rate of just 0.35%.

Additionally, the company introduced the lightweight modules (5.4kg/m², reducing weight by 49%) that are particularly suitable for low-load rooftops of aging factories in Korea.

Besides, the company proudly congratulate Prana Solution Co., Ltd. on winning the 2025 TCL Solar Top Sales Award on site. This remarkable achievement highlights the strong partnership between Prana Solution and TCL Solar, built on a shared commitment to innovation and sustainable energy.

Backed by TCL Zhonghuan’s (TCL Solar parent company) advanced manufacturing capabilities including the launch of the industry’s first 4.0 silicon wafer factory in 2020, TCL Solar guarantees excellent quality and technical support. TCL Solar will continue to collaborate with local partners to help South Korea achieve its renewable energy goals, while advancing its global expansion through partnership with the Korean market for mutual growth.

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SOURCE TCL Solar

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BCG Reports $14.4 Billion in Revenue, Marking 22nd Consecutive Year of Growth

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Tech- and AI-Focused Services Now Represent More than 40% of Total RevenueBCG Grew to 33,500 Employees

BOSTON, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has reported 7% global revenue growth, rising to $14.4 billion in 2025 from $13.5 billion in 2024, marking its 22nd consecutive year of growth. The firm expanded across all regions, reflecting client demand globally for large-scale transformation and applied AI impact.

Growth in 2025 was driven by clients seeking to harness technology and AI, pursue new avenues of growth, achieve cost excellence, and redesign their organizations for sustained results. AI- and tech-focused services now represent over 40% of BCG’s total revenue, driven by 25% year-over-year growth in AI services. BCG’s applied AI approach, embedding technology in real business operations at enterprise scale, enabled exponential impact for clients including IBM, Reckitt, and Foxconn.

“Our growth reflects the ambition of our clients and the dedication of our teams,” said Christoph Schweizer, BCG’s CEO. “We partner with leaders at defining moments to navigate uncertainty, embrace AI, and turn strategy into sustained advantage. As AI reshapes business, it is also reshaping how we operate as a firm. AI is now woven into every offering, client relationship, and daily case team experience to drive transformation and multiply impact for our clients.”

Building Up BCG’s Team to Deliver Transformational Results
BCG continued to expand its global talent base in 2025, growing its workforce to 33,500 employees. The firm added AI engineers, data scientists, IT architects, and deep-industry specialists, while continuing to develop its consulting teams to lead complex end-to-end transformations.

AI upskilling efforts have further accelerated across the firm, equipping teams to combine human judgment with AI-powered tools. BCG employees now use AI tools daily, with nearly 4,000 BCG employees actively developing and scaling AI workflows through advanced coding and automation. LinkedIn’s AI Talent Maturity Index places BCG’s workforce as leaders in the industry.

“Our people are at the center of our performance,” Schweizer said. “Their judgment, empathy, and ability to combine applied AI with strategic clarity are what enable us to deliver lasting impact for clients.”

Serving Clients in an Applied AI World
As AI reshapes industries, BCG is embedding AI directly into how it designs and delivers client solutions. Over the past year, the firm has reimagined its offerings by integrating AI into core consulting workflows—embedding proprietary knowledge, data, and proven delivery approaches into reusable, human-led agentic processes that accelerate impact.

Through BCG X, the firm builds bespoke AI solutions where differentiation matters most, deploying industry-specific platforms such as Auto AI, Retail AI, and Deep Customer Engagement AI directly into client systems. In 2025, BCG launched the BCG X AI Science Institute to advance frontier applications across industries, strengthening its work at the intersection of science, technology, and business transformation. BCG also serves as an ecosystem orchestrator working to deliver integrated solutions in collaboration with its tech alliance partners.

To best serve clients, BCG remains a leader in developing and using AI in a manner that is secure, responsible, and trusted by clients, partners, and regulators. BCG was among the first 100 organizations globally, and the only premium consulting firm, certified for ISO/IEC 42001 International Standard for AI Management Systems.

Media Contact:
Brian Bannister
Bannister.Brian@bcg.com

About Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

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SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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