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THE WILLOW, NAFTALI GROUP’S LATEST BOUTIQUE TOWER, LAUNCHES SALES IN GRAMERCY

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COOKFOX Architects and Rockwell Group-Designed Luxury Development Brings Timeless Interiors and Stylish Amenities to Historic New York City Neighborhood

NEW YORK, April 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On the heels of launching four new buildings in late 2024, including the record-breaking One Williamsburg Wharf, The Henry, 255 East 77th Street and Viceroy Fort Lauderdale, Naftali Group, a leading privately held global real estate development and investment firm based in New York, today announced the launch of sales at The Willow, a new luxury residential building in the heart of New York’s historic Gramercy neighborhood. Designed by the award-winning COOKFOX Architects, with amenities and residences by the world-renowned Rockwell Group, The Willow represents a modern interpretation of classic New York architecture, offering 69 exceptionally crafted residences and a curated suite of club-like amenities that seamlessly integrate with the historic charm of the Gramercy neighborhood.

“The demand for well-designed, meticulously planned residential buildings is strong, especially for our recently launched projects in New York City,” said Miki Naftali, Chairman and CEO of Naftali Group. “With this impressive momentum, we’re proud to introduce The Willow in New York City’s Gramercy neighborhood. This development reflects the area’s rich architectural history through its beautiful arched windows and modern interpretation of classic Downtown buildings, and it showcases our collaboration with the incredible COOKFOX Architects and Rockwell Group. With the expertise of a world-renowned design team, we’re excited to see The Willow become a landmark in this cherished New York neighborhood.”

Located at 201 East 23rd Street, two blocks northeast of the historic Gramercy Park, The Willow features a stunning exterior by COOXFOX Architects, the global architecture firm known for its critically acclaimed work in environmentally responsive and sustainable architecture and design. Rising 19 stories on the prominent corner of East 23rd Street, the boutique building’s striking hand-laid masonry façade is crafted from a custom red brick blend, cast stone, and sleek black metal accents, paying homage to the architectural fabric of the historic Gramercy neighborhood Thoughtful, eye-catching design elements, such as one-of-a-kind arched windows and private setback terraces and loggias, provide residents with indoor and outdoor lifestyle experiences, while the custom black metal railings and entrance doors set the stage for a distinctive and timeless quality.  

Complementing the building’s remarkable façade, COOKFOX thoughtfully designed the layouts of The Willow’s residences, emphasizing contemporary elegance and refined style that mirrors the surrounding neighborhood. The spacious layouts, serene color palette, and luxurious finishes by Rockwell Group create a welcoming atmosphere throughout, from the custom millwork in the kitchens to the spa-like bathrooms that evoke a sense of tranquility.

Ranging from one to four-bedroom residences, including four half-floor penthouses and one full-floor penthouse at the crown of the building, The Willow boasts gracious homes with elegant floor plans and interiors, seamlessly blending loft-style living with classical details. Each home features white oak flooring throughout all living spaces and bedrooms, with select residences, including the building’s penthouses, offering expansive private outdoor loggia and terrace spaces that invite seamless indoor-outdoor living with dynamic views of the iconic New York City skyline. The homes also include beautiful open kitchens with honed quartz countertops, Miele kitchen appliances, and custom-designed cabinetry, while the baths are finished with honed Ice Grey stone and Waterworks fixtures for a spa-like experience. Residents of The Willow are welcomed home through custom black entrance doors that open to a 24-hour attended lobby with a custom stone patterned floor and artisan-made reception desk clad in hand-glazed tile that leads into a landscaped open courtyard designed by Future Green, inviting natural light into the lobby and adjacent library. 

Representing a new generation of luxury Downtown Manhattan living, The Willow comprises an exclusive club-like collection of indoor-outdoor lifestyle amenities designed by Rockwell Group, the firm internationally recognized for its innovative and luxurious design approach and decades of work in the high-end residential and hospitality spaces around the world. Rockwell Group crafted the amenities at The Willow to feel like an extension of the home, offering an array of stylish, thoughtfully designed spaces for wellness, entertainment, and leisure. Residents will have access to a state-of-the-art fitness center, complete with a sauna, as well as a cinema and a speakeasy-inspired lounge known as the Mermaid Room. The building’s signature Hearth Room features a striking travertine block fireplace and serves as a cozy gathering space, while the Glamercy Room offers a curated music lounge outfitted with instruments and an extensive vinyl collection, as well as a professional recording studio. Additional amenities include a nautical-themed children’s playroom, a landscaped rooftop terrace with sweeping city views, a bike room, and storage available for residents to purchase. Two private cabanas on the building’s roof deck are also available for purchase. The landscaped central courtyard, visible from many residences and the building’s jewel box lobby, offers a rare and tranquil green space within the urban landscape.

“Following the success of Naftali Group’s other Manhattan projects, we are delighted to help bring The Willow to life in Gramercy,” said Alexa Lambert of Compass Development Marketing Group, the building’s exclusive sales and marketing agent. “We have already seen wonderful interest from buyers and brokers who recognize the exceptional quality and design this project offers as well as the opportunity to live in one of New York’s most iconic and fun neighborhoods.”

Perfectly located where the charm of Gramercy meets the vibrant energy of Flatiron and NoMad, The Willow is surrounded by the neighborhood’s picturesque tree-lined streets and buzzy neighborhood offerings. The Willow’s location also provides residents with proximity to many of Downtown Manhattan’s acclaimed cultural and lifestyle destinations, including fine dining, shopping, and green spaces like Madison Square Park, Union Square Park, and much more. Ample transportation options are also nearby, which ensures seamless connectivity to the rest of Manhattan and beyond.

One of the most active developers in New York City, Naftali Group has successfully launched and sold out three record-breaking luxury condominium projects in Manhattan since 2020 including The Benson at 1045 Madison Avenue, 200 East 83rd and The Bellemont at 1165 Madison Avenue, in addition to more than 37 total projects over the past three decades, including The Shepherd in Greenwich Village. Along with the forthcoming The Willow, the firm has several new development projects in the pipeline in Manhattan, including the recently launched The Henry on the Upper West Side and 255 East 77th Street on the Upper East Side, both designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the firm is developing Williamsburg Wharf, a 3.75-acre master-planned development along the Williamsburg Wharf, including the recently One Williamsburg Wharf, the project’s first condominium tower, and Two and Three Williamsburg Wharf, which recently launched leasing. In addition to Naftali Group’s active projects in New York City, the firm is developing over 3 million square feet of premier residential and mixed-use space in South Florida, including the recently launched JEM Private Residences in Miami and Viceroy Residences Fort Lauderdale.

Construction at The Willow is well underway, and completion is slated for Q3 of 2026. Pricing begins at $1,225,000 for a one-bedroom residence. Sales and marketing are being handled exclusively by Compass Development Marketing Group. For additional information or to schedule a private appointment, please visit www.thewillow-gramercy.com.

About Naftali Group
Naftali Group, a privately held global real estate development and investment firm based in New York City, has a prestigious track record, having led some of the most significant developments and landmark restorations. Founded and led by Miki Naftali, Naftali Group is highly specialized in identifying and acquiring undervalued properties in premier geographic areas with strong potential growth while maximizing the value of unique and irreplaceable assets. Naftali Group pursues strategic acquisitions and continuously grows its extensive portfolio of new development condominiums, income-producing, mixed-use properties and other assets. Through innovation and discipline, Naftali is recognized as a leading developer with a current and past portfolio comprised of more than 50 projects encompassing more than $15 billion in total value. One of the most active firms in New York City, Naftali Group has successfully launched and sold out three record-breaking luxury condo projects in Manhattan since 2020, including The Benson at 1045 Madison Avenue, 200 East 83rd and The Bellemont at 1165 Madison Avenue. The firm has several new development projects in the pipeline both in Manhattan and in Brooklyn, where the firm’s waterfront development Williamsburg Wharf is currently in progress and estimated to be completed with the first phase in 2025. In addition to active projects in New York City, Naftali Group is developing over 3 million square feet of premier residential and mixed-use space across two projects in South Florida, including JEM in Miami and Viceroy Residences Fort Lauderdale. Visit: https://naftaligroup.com/.

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SOURCE Naftali Group

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Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Sir Jony Ive; iyO Alleges Trade Secret Theft by Altman’s Hardware Chief

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April 27, 2026

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted iyO Inc. a preliminary injunction against OpenAI, Sam Altman, Sir Jony Ive, and io Products. The ruling, where the Court found that iyO was likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark claim, officially bars the defendants from using the “io” name for their hardware while iyO’s federal lawsuit proceeds.

Federal court bars OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Jony Ive from using ‘io’ name as iyO alleges trade secret theft.

Amended Complaint: Trade Secret Theft and Corporate Espionage
The ruling caps a year of escalating legal action. On March 13, 2026, iyO amended its federal complaint to include trade secret theft claims against the defendants and Tang Yew Tan — former Apple VP of Product Design, co-founder of io Products, and current Chief Hardware Officer at OpenAI.

The amended complaint outlines a highly coordinated timeline of alleged misappropriation:

May 2024: Just 11 days after iyO’s viral TED talk was published, Tan pre-ordered the iyO One. Nine days later, he contacted iyO’s Design and Manufacturing Lead, Dan Sargent, to schedule a dinner meeting for early June.

June 2024: Forensic analysis of Sargent’s company laptop revealed that in the days leading up to the dinner with Tan, Sargent downloaded 33 highly secret files, accessed dormant intellectual property folders, and exported 17 CAD files into cross-platform formats unused by iyO. These files were renamed with obfuscated strings (e.g., “grgrgege.x_t”) and exported outside of business hours. Sargent has since admitted to bringing iyO prototypes to show Tan.

May 2025: Barely 11 months after the dinner, OpenAI announced a $6.5 billion acquisition of io Products, a company built on what iyO alleges is its proprietary technology.

Following the acquisition announcement, iyO CEO Jason Rugolo confronted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who refused to cease use of the “io” name and threatened to sue Rugolo for using iyO’s own federally registered trademark.

Statement from iyO Leadership
“Sam, Jony, and Tang investigated us,” said Jason Rugolo, founder and CEO of iyO. “Then targeted us opportunistically, trying to eliminate us with a fancy $6.5 billion press release during our fundraise using a copy of our name. This week, a federal judge said: not so fast.”

iyO’s lawsuit asserts nine causes of action, including trade secret misappropriation, trademark infringement, intentional interference, and unfair competition. The company is seeking injunctive relief, compensatory and exemplary damages, disgorgement of profits, and a constructive trust over any portion of the $6.5 billion acquisition value attributable to the alleged stolen intellectual property and brand infringement.

ABOUT IYO
iyO began its mission inside Google X in 2018 to make natural language computing as commonplace as cellular phones. Spinning out as an independent venture-backed startup in 2021, iyO developed the iyO One, the iyO yO, and the recently announced iyO Wand, which are revolutionary screenless computer form factors that allow users to interact with AI and the internet through voice alone. iyO is headquartered in Redwood City, CA.

WEBSITE
www.iyo.ai 

IYO INC.
2606 SPRING STREET
REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063
UNITED STATES

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
©2026 IYO INC.

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Pudu Robotics Inaugurates U.S. Headquarters in Dallas, Accelerating Long-Term Growth in the Americas

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April 27, 2026

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DALLAS, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pudu Robotics, a global leader in commercial service robotics, officially opened a new U.S. headquarters in Dallas, Texas, on April 23 as part of its global strategic expansion. The new facility is set to enhance Pudu’s regional capabilities and underscores the company’s long-term commitment to the Americas, marking a new phase of scaled, structured business development.

Dallas Unlocks Greater Efficiency and Regional Coordination

As a central hub for nationwide and cross regional operations across the Americas, Dallas brings strong strategic advantages. The area offers well-developed logistics and supply chain infrastructure, a business friendly environment, and access to a broad base of enterprise customers. Its central location will allow Pudu more efficient coverage across both North America and South America. As Pudu transitions into a phase of rapid, scalable growth in the Americas, its new centralized headquarters, which is located in Richardson’s Sherman Tech Center and combines a modern office space, product showroom, and on site warehousing, will enhance support management, operations, and long term regional coordination.

Meanwhile, as part of its broader infrastructure optimization, the company has also transitioned its Santa Clara office into a streamlined logistics support function outpost and established a dual warehouse system on both coasts to support nationwide delivery in the U.S.

Pudu in the Americas – A Growing Footprint Across Diverse Industries

Since entering the U.S. market in 2018, Pudu has steadily expanded its footprint across the Americas to a point of deep, localized operations. To date, nearly 15,000 Pudu robots have been deployed across the Americas, driving regional revenue growth of 285% year over year, bringing the company to a phase of large scale commercialization.

This rapid adoption is fueled by Pudu’s comprehensive product matrix, which addresses the specific labor and efficiency needs of the American market across four core categories:

Service Delivery: Led by the industry-favorite BellaBot and the newly enhanced BellaBot Pro, which have become the gold standard for hospitality and retail interaction.Commercial Cleaning: Featuring the best-selling PUDU CC1 series, the PUDU MT1 series designed for large-scale dry cleaning, and the recently launched PUDU BG1 series—an AI-native large scrubber-dryer robot built for heavy-duty environments.Industrial Delivery: The PUDU T-series robots provide versatile logistics support with payload capacities ranging from 150kg to 600kg, streamlining warehouse and factory workflows.General embodied AI: Represented by the advanced PUDU D5 series, pushing the boundaries of how robots interact with and adapt to complex human environments.

Partnerships with local distributors have also accelerated, achieving 63.6% YoY growth, with a rapidly expanding client base across diverse industries, including food and beverage, healthcare, industrial logistics and warehousing, real estate and property services, retail, and entertainment, sports and more. The company’s robots have enjoyed strong adoption by global industry leaders, including Walmart, Accenture, NASA, Norwegian Cruise Line, Honeywell, top automotive brands, and others.

This growth is matched by organizational development. Since entering the U.S. market in 2018, a initial team has flourished into a multi functional organization of professionals, with localized sales, after sales service, solutions, and marketing capabilities that enable stronger customer support and execution.

Building a Global Future Based on a Strategy of Localization

Looking ahead, Pudu will continue expanding its presence across key sectors including retail, logistics, food service, healthcare, and commercial cleaning, while bringing its service delivery, commercial cleaning, industrial delivery, and general embodied AI robotics solutions into broader industry scenarios.

“We are building for the long-term in the Americas with a localized approach,” said Raymond Pan, General Manager of the Americas at Pudu Robotics. “Our ambition over the next five years is to serve one million people across the U.S . Our new headquarters and infrastructure optimization provide a foundation for this ambition, alongside continuing investment in localized products, enhancing our local supply chain, and strengthening our partner ecosystem.”

Pudu has established itself as a global leader in service robotics, with more than 120,000 units shipped worldwide, operations spanning over 80 countries and regions, and 23% market share in commercial service robotics—ranking No. 1 globally per Frost & Sullivan’s “Market Research on Global Commercial Service Robotics (2023)”. Going forward, Pudu will accelerate its development and localization efforts across the Americas, while, at the same time, continuing to scale its presence in other key international markets as part of its global expansion strategy.

About Pudu Robotics

Pudu Robotics, a global leader in the commercial service robotics, committed to establishing a global intelligent robotics infrastructure that will serve 10 billion people worldwide.

Pudu Robotics has achieved full-stack proprietary R&D in core technologies, including navigation algorithms, multi-robot scheduling, swarm control, motion controllers, and integrated joint modules. Built on three core technologies—Embodied Navigation, Embodied Manipulation, and Embodied Interaction—Pudu Robotics has pioneered an “One Brain, Multiple Embodiments” architecture, establishing a comprehensive product portfolio that includes specialized, semi-humanoid, and humanoid robots.

Currently, Pudu offers four major product lines: service delivery, commercial cleaning, industrial delivery and general embodied AI. Its solutions are widely deployed across industries such as retail, hospitality, manufacturing, real estate and property services, healthcare, entertainment and sport, education, and public services.

To date, Pudu Robotics has shipped over 120,000 units globally, with a presence in more than 80 countries and regions.

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KuCoin Hosts HEXAGON BLOCK PARTY at Hong Kong Web3 Festival, Headlined by DJ Don Diablo and Rooted in Shared Values of Community and Connection

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April 27, 2026

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Headlined by internationally renowned DJ Don Diablo, the event brought together guests from the Web3 and fintech communities for an immersive evening experience.

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — KuCoin, a leading global crypto platform built on trust, and the exclusive Crypto Exchange and Payments Partner for Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium (2026-2028), brought the spirit of global electronic music culture to Asia with the HEXAGON BLOCK PARTY in Hong Kong on April 22, which it co-hosted with Finoverse.

Headlined by internationally renowned DJ Don Diablo, the event welcomed guests from across the Web3, fintech, and broader innovation communities, creating an immersive gathering shaped by shared energy, conversation, and in-person connection. Building on KuCoin’s recent Tomorrowland Winter activation, which highlighted a shared belief that trust can be strengthened through community, creativity, and cultural experience, the event carried that momentum forward in Hong Kong through a similar spirit of openness, energy, and human connection. 

Held in the heart of Hong Kong, HEXAGON BLOCK PARTY was designed as more than an evening celebration. By combining world-class music with a culturally driven atmosphere, the event offered a welcoming space for founders, builders, creators, and community participants to come together in a more human and experience-led setting. It reflected a shared belief that meaningful community is built not only through ideas and technology, but also through moments of creativity, openness, and collective experience.

The event aimed to create a cultural touchpoint in Hong Kong that resonated beyond the venue itself. The event served as a space where ideas, creativity, and communities could converge, bringing together guests across Web3, fintech, and digital culture through a shared experience rooted in openness, energy, and connection.

As the global partnership between KuCoin and Tomorrowland continues, the journey moves forward to Tomorrowland Belgium in July 2026, where KuCoin will once again collaborate with Tomorrowland to create new experiences at the intersection of music, culture, and Web3, further expanding the role of digital assets in real-world cultural moments.

About KuCoin

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a leading global crypto platform built on trust and security, serving over 40 million users across 200+ countries and regions. Known for its reliability and user-first approach, the platform combines advanced technology, deep liquidity, and strong security safeguards to deliver a seamless trading experience. KuCoin provides access to 1,500+ digital assets through a broad product suite and remains committed to building transparent, compliant, and user-centric digital asset infrastructure for the future of finance, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 Certifications. In recent years, we have built a strong global compliance foundation, marked by key milestones including AUSTRAC registration in Australia, a MiCA license in Europe, and regulatory progress in other markets. 

Learn more at www.kucoin.com.

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SOURCE KuCoin

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