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Covera Health Expands Radiology Centers of Excellence to Include Prostate MRI, Enhancing Nation’s Leading Imaging Quality Program

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Significant expansion of Covera’s proven COE platform launching in 2026; provider applications now open, with employer and health plan partners preparing for deployment

NEW YORK, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Covera Health, a market leader in radiology quality, today announced a major enhancement to its national Radiology Centers of Excellence (COE) platform with the addition of Prostate Imaging. Launching in Q1 2026, this expansion targeting a high-risk and fast-growing area of diagnostic care, marks a significant evolution in Covera’s COE platform. With Prostate Imaging leading the way, Covera is poised to introduce other disease-specific COE offerings throughout 2026 to include breast, abdominal and chest imaging. To prepare for 2026, Covera is currently onboarding COE network practices, reviewing new COE provider applications and working with payors and employers to ensure members are aware of this radiology quality network.

“Given the significant variability in imaging quality across the country, initiatives like this are critical to ensuring that every patient receives the highest standard of care.”

Since 2019, Covera’s COE platform has supported millions of covered lives across the United States. First launched in partnership with Walmart, the program is now trusted by large employers and plans across the country – including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), to ensure health plan and employer members are guided to high quality imaging centers for routine imaging such as MRI, CT, PET and matched with sub-specialized radiologists to interpret their exams.

Covera’s COE platform expansion comes at a critical time as an array of healthcare stakeholders are seeking quality gains in radiology image quality and interpretation, all of which can have significant impact on a patient’s care journey and outcomes. A landmark study published in The Spine Journal found a 43% miss rate in routine low back MRIs performed on the same patient at 10 different centers within three weeks – highlighting how interpretive accuracy varies widely across settings, even for an exam as common as low back MRI.

In a 2024 analysis reviewed by Milliman, a global consulting and actuarial firm, patients who received imaging at Covera-designated imaging centers through the COE program saw up to 12% lower downstream healthcare costs. These savings are driven by improved diagnostic accuracy –reducing misdiagnosis and unnecessary interventions, as well as unit cost savings through Covera’s high value network.

“As we demonstrated – and continue to see – with low back MRI, variation in both image quality and interpretation is a systemic issue,” said Ron Vianu, CEO of Covera Health. “Prostate MRI is now a critical decision point in cancer care, yet how and where it’s performed continues to vary widely. It’s not just about the cost of one exam – it’s about how that exam sets off a chain of clinical decisions. Our Prostate COE program is built to address this head-on – ensuring every patient receives high-quality imaging and expert interpretation at the start of their care journey.”

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. With an estimated 314,000 new cases expected in the U.S. in 2025, it can also be a deadly diagnosis. Recent guidelines now recommend an MRI study be ordered prior to biopsy in many diagnostic workflows. While this shift has clinical benefits, it has also caused a rapid increase in the number of prostate MRIs being performed and resultant surge in prostate biopsies related to equivocal and / or poor-quality MRI results.

While standards for prostate MRI acquisition and interpretation do exist – most notably from the American College of Radiology – the exam remains technically challenging, and adherence to those standards varies significantly across imaging centers. This inconsistency contributes to many unnecessary biopsies – procedures that carry significant clinical risk and cost.

“Prostate MRI is a complicated imaging exam to perform and interpret, and misdirected care is common,” said Dr. Matthew Davenport, William Martel Collegiate Professor of Radiology and Co-Director of the Ronald Weiser Center for Prostate Cancer at the University of Michigan. “Improving imaging quality leads to better diagnostic confidence, reduces unnecessary procedures, and ultimately improves patient outcomes. Given the significant variability in imaging quality across the country, initiatives like this are critical to ensuring that every patient receives the highest standard of care.”

Covera’s Prostate Imaging COE will be automatically activated in early 2026 for employer and health plan partners already using Covera’s Radiology Centers of Excellence platform. When a prostate MRI is ordered, patients will be seamlessly directed to a facility that meets rigorous quality standards for both image acquisition and interpretation. Because the enhancement is delivered through Covera’s existing infrastructure, no additional contracting or integration is required. This allows employers to immediately extend high-quality imaging protections to a critical clinical area – without disruption or added burden.

Covera is announcing the expansion now to begin onboarding qualified imaging providers and to analyze the patient and practice impact before full scale roll out in 2026. As with other enhancements, the program will plug directly into care navigation and prior authorization workflows – requiring no change to existing patient or provider processes. Covera Health is now accepting applications from imaging providers interested in becoming designated Prostate Imaging Centers of Excellence. For program criteria and participation details, providers may contact prostateCOE@coverahealth.com.

About Covera Health
Covera Health is a healthcare analytics company dedicated to improving diagnostic accuracy in radiology. Through its AI-enabled Centers of Excellence, Protect Her, and Protect Seniors programs, Covera partners with employers, health plans, and providers to drive better outcomes, reduce misdiagnoses, and lower total healthcare costs. The company’s Radiology COE platform launched in 2019 and today supports millions of covered lives nationwide.

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SOURCE Covera Health

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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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