Technology

Picogrid and MIT MIx win $1.75M program to help first responders put an eye on wildfires

Published

1 year ago

March 13, 2025

Picogrid and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Mission Innovation X won a $1.75M program to help government teams monitor wildfires during space launch operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Picogrid software fuses data from sensors deployed at locations across military bases, uses artificial intelligence to detect threats autonomously, and disseminates information to first responders in real time.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 13, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Picogrid and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Mission Innovation X (MIx) announce they have been selected by AFWERX for an STTR Phase II Contract in the amount of $1.75M focused on helping military and civil authorities respond to wildfires to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018, which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded, and now, Picogrid will continue its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

Jake Jeffries, Technical Program Manager at Picogrid, explained: “Wildfires pose a serious threat to DoD installations, and the military has consistently played a vital role in responding to them across the U.S. Our technology enables Air Force end users, such as fire departments, to deploy compact and portable sensor packages that stream real-time full-motion video back to command centers. This is invaluable for monitoring active wildfires, deterring crime, and supporting emergency response efforts.”

Jeffries continued: “At Vandenberg Space Force Base, for instance, we delivered our Helios hardware in under 24 hours. Helios provided mobile and rapidly deployable capabilities with under 15-minute setup to establish persistent surveillance in vulnerable areas. This adds to our multiple Lander platforms already in use at Vandenberg for long-duration missions to get early situational awareness of local fires. Given our hardware is fully independent of the existing power grid and communication infrastructure, we have ensured operational reliability in austere conditions. What sets us apart is our focus on information interoperability across military, state, municipal, and other fire departments.”

Zane Mountcastle, CEO of Picogrid, emphasized the broader capabilities of the platform: “Picogrid’s platform creates a single pane of glass for emergency operations by consolidating data from dispersed sensors and disseminating the information using Orion and Legion open API. The goal is to make the same information accessible to many stakeholders simultaneously, whether they are in the office or working on mobile devices in the field.”

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.”

About Picogrid

Picogrid is a defense technology company that builds a unified platform for unmanned systems. The company’s technology helps connect humans, sensors, and autonomous vehicles in a single software environment to achieve mission objectives. Based in El Segundo, CA, and Lawton, OK, Picogrid’s vision is to build the foundational infrastructure to enable a new defense industrial base. Picogrid products are used by military and enterprise customers globally.

About AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at four hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than $4.7 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit afwerx.com.

Media Contact

Zane Mountcastle, Picogrid, 1 6503958327, media@picogrid.com, https://picogrid.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/picogrid-and-mit-mix-win-1-75m-program-to-help-first-responders-put-an-eye-on-wildfires-302398022.html

SOURCE Picogrid

Technology

Yon Raz-Fridman Joins Intrinsic Labs as Co-Founder and Partner

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2026

Most AI companies are selling software. Intrinsic is deploying AI workers into the core operations of mid-market companies – and just brought in a serial tech entrepreneur to help the firm scale across the Heartland.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Intrinsic Labs today announced that Yon Raz-Fridman has joined the firm as a Co-Founder and Partner.

Raz-Fridman has spent nearly two decades building across software, hardware, and platform businesses. Early in his career, he served as Chief of Staff to the President of Keter Group, a $1 billion-plus global consumer products manufacturer. He went on to co-found Kano, the award-winning educational computing company, and later founded Supersocial, the immersive gaming studio acquired by Super League Enterprises in 2025. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Convergence Council.

He joins Intrinsic at a moment when mid-market companies are moving from AI experimentation to deployment. Intrinsic works with operators in logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets to deploy AI workers into the workflows that run the business – increasing throughput, reducing manual work, and expanding capacity without adding headcount.

The firm has built its reputation on practical deployments tied to real operating metrics. In one engagement with a national real estate brokerage, Intrinsic’s AI Accounting Agents reached 97% invoice coding accuracy, automated 90% of the AP workflow, and fully removed FTEs from the review flow.

“Yon understands what it takes to build and scale in the real world,” said Jon Slemp, Managing Partner at Intrinsic Labs. “Our clients aren’t buying flashy agents, they’re buying outcomes and reliable labor. They need agentic systems that take work off their teams, perform reliably, and produce measurable gains in throughput and capacity. That’s what we build.”

As Co-Founder, Raz-Fridman will oversee Intrinsic’s expansion – designing the channel relationships, institutional partnerships, and market positioning that take the firm from a proven Ohio model to the defining AI workforce platform for America’s industrial middle market.

“The companies that win over the next decade will be the ones that figure out how to staff AI into their operations and manage it like a workforce. Intrinsic is doing that work now, inside real businesses, tied to real outputs. The Heartland is exactly the right place to prove this model, and Intrinsic is exactly the right team to do it.” — Yon Raz-Fridman

About Intrinsic Labs LLC
Intrinsic Labs helps mid-market companies deploy AI workers into the workflows that run their business. The firm focuses on logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets, where manual work, fragmented systems, and labor constraints create clear opportunities for leverage. Intrinsic works with clients to put AI workers into production, tie them to operating KPIs, and help teams scale output without scaling headcount. https://www.intrinsic-labs.ai/

About Team Yon LLC
Team Yon LLC is a management company founded by Yon Raz-Fridman that incubates new ventures, provides executive leadership, and makes strategic investments at the intersection of emerging technology and human advancement. Through Team Yon LLC, Raz-Fridman partners with founders and operators across healthcare, AI, and frontier technology – including his role as co-founder and Partner at Intrinsic Labs. https://teamyon.org

Media Contact:hello@intrinsic-labs.ai

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yon-raz-fridman-joins-intrinsic-labs-as-co-founder-and-partner-302756994.html

SOURCE Team Yon LLC

Technology

Wipfli to complete CompliancePoint transaction and add associates, expanding capabilities

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2026

MILWAUKEE, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wipfli, a top 25 national advisory and accounting firm, announced today it has entered into an agreement with CompliancePoint Inc., a provider of risk management services focused on information security, data privacy and regulatory compliance. 2 partners and 52 associates will join the firm as a result of the transaction.

Based in Duluth, Georgia, CompliancePoint brings specialization across cybersecurity, privacy and compliance, serving clients across a wide variety of industries. The addition strengthens Wipfli’s risk management offerings and expands its ability to help organizations navigate regulatory scrutiny, evolving cybersecurity threats and complex data protection requirements.

“Organizations today are under more pressure than ever to protect sensitive information and operate responsibly in an evolving regulatory environment,” said Kurt Gresens, CEO at Wipfli Advisory, LLC. “The team at CompliancePoint brings specialized experience and a strong, people-first approach that enhances how we support clients navigating today’s risk landscape.”

CompliancePoint has built its reputation on helping organizations manage risk across the full data lifecycle, with a holistic approach that recognizes how privacy, security and compliance intersect. The combined professional teams from CompliancePoint and Wipfli will deliver expanded, integrated advisory solutions designed to help clients proactively manage risk while supporting long-term growth and operational resilience.

“Wipfli shares our commitment to practical, client-focused solutions and long-term relationships,” said Greg Sparrow, CompliancePoint president. “Together, we’re expanding the resources available to our clients while continuing to deliver the specialized experience and trusted relationships they rely on.”

The addition of the CompliancePoint team also supports Wipfli’s continued investment in talent and innovation. CompliancePoint associates will join a national firm that emphasizes collaboration, professional development and meaningful client impact, while maintaining the specialized focus that has defined their work.

The transaction is expected to become effective on May 1st, 2026

About Wipfli

Wipfli is a leading national advisory and accounting firm with nearly 100 years of experience serving ambitious middle-market organizations. We understand our clients’ unique challenges and help them succeed on their terms through assurance, tax, advisory, outsourcing and technology services. With 3,000+ associates and global alliances, we combine national capabilities with local relationships. Wipfli operates under an alternative practice structure: Wipfli LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides attest services, while Wipfli Advisory LLC, a non-CPA firm, delivers business advisory and non-attest services. Learn more at wipfli.com or contact Alicia O’Connell at alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com.

Media Contact

Alicia O’Connell
Wipfli
alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wipfli-to-complete-compliancepoint-transaction-and-add-associates-expanding-capabilities-302756208.html

SOURCE Wipfli

Technology

Ginkgo Bioworks Announces Date of First Quarter 2026 Results Presentation

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2026

Presentation and Q&A session scheduled for post-market on Thursday, May 7, 2026

BOSTON, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA, “Ginkgo”) today announced that it plans to host a presentation and Q&A session reviewing business performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, on Thursday, May 7, 2026, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The presentation details and webcast link will be available on Ginkgo’s investor relations website at https://investors.ginkgobioworks.com, and a replay will be made available.

To ask a question ahead of the presentation, please submit them to @Ginkgo on X (hashtag #GinkgoResults) or by sending an e-mail to investors@ginkgobioworks.com.

About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone. The company offers autonomous laboratories that replace manual laboratory work with robotics in the lab, greatly improving the productivity of scientists. Ginkgo’s in-house autonomous lab is also available as a “cloud lab” through our Datapoints and Solutions contract research services. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

Ginkgo Bioworks Contacts:

INVESTOR CONTACT:

investors@ginkgobioworks.com

MEDIA CONTACT:

press@ginkgobioworks.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ginkgo-bioworks-announces-date-of-first-quarter-2026-results-presentation-302757632.html

SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks