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EQT raises Asia Pacific’s largest private equity fund, closing BPEA IX at USD 15.6 billion in total commitments

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EQT BPEA IX oversubscribed; closes at USD 15.6 billion in total commitmentsBPEA IX is the largest Asia Pacific-dedicated private equity fund raised to date, with USD 14.9 billion in fee-generating assets under managementRobust investor demand serves as a testament to EQT’s Asia platform, reflecting the proven success and sustained momentum following EQT’s combination with Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA)The Fund invests in leading companies across Asia Pacific benefitting from long-term structural growth trends, building on EQT’s nearly three decades of regional presence and established value creation track record

STOCKHOLM, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EQT is pleased to announce the final close of BPEA Private Equity Fund IX (the “Fund” or “BPEA IX”) reaching its hard cap with USD 15.6 billion in total commitments, including USD 14.9 billion in fee-generating assets under management. The Fund was oversubscribed, driven by strong demand from a globally diversified investor base.

BPEA IX is the largest-ever Asia Pacific-dedicated private equity fund raised to date.1 This milestone was achieved against a backdrop of record-low regional fundraising, with capital raised for Asian funds falling to a 12-year low in 2025 after four consecutive years of decline.2 As the market increasingly bifurcates, investors are consolidating capital with scaled, global platforms that offer a proven track record of success – a trend that reinforces the strength of EQT’s expanded footprint in Asia, the collective capabilities of EQT’s integrated franchise, and its ability to deliver consistently strong returns across cycles and almost 30 years of investing in Asia.

BPEA IX saw strong participation from both existing and new investors, attracting over 75 new investors, including more than 45 from across EQT’s broader investment platform. This highlights the continued expansion of EQT’s global investor base and its ability to mobilize capital across strategies, and serves as a clear validation of EQT and BPEA’s merger four years on.

Commitments were globally diversified, with capital broadly balanced across the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with all regions increasing allocations from the prior vintage. Pension funds and sovereign wealth funds were leading contributors, underscoring sustained support from long-term institutional investors. 

Jean Eric Salata, Chairperson of EQT Asia, said, “The closing of BPEA IX is a defining milestone that reflects the depth, strength, and investment performance of our platform over nearly three decades, bringing together the history of BPEA and EQT in Asia. We are proud to have built an organization with the capability and reach to navigate complex cycles and drive significant transformation in our portfolio companies. In a highly competitive and selective fundraising market, our ability to deliver consistent realizations was a differentiator for our investors. We are deeply grateful for the trust our clients have placed in us; their support is a testament to the hard work of our team members and our long-term commitment to Asia Pacific.”

The successful fundraise demonstrates continued conviction in EQT’s Asia strategy and its “local-with-locals” model, with teams embedded in the region’s key markets. Refined over multiple economic cycles, this approach was further institutionalized by the 2022 combination of BPEA and EQT. The integration created a scaled, global franchise that today pairs BPEA’s deep regional roots with EQT’s global sector capabilities, extensive Industrial Advisor network, and operational resources.

Today, EQT’s Private Capital Asia platform provides investors with access across the full investment spectrum – from large-cap and mid-market to growth strategies. This regional presence is supported by dedicated teams in Japan, India, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Greater China and Australia. EQT also manages one of the largest co-investment platforms in Asia, providing investors with additional opportunities to scale exposure and enhance returns.

Hari Gopalakrishnan and Nicholas Macksey, Deputy Co-Heads of Private Capital Asia at EQT, said, “The opportunity in Asia today has shifted from chasing growth to leading profound structural transformation. As the region evolves – redefining global supply chains and scaling digital champions – it has created a more complex investment landscape. In this environment, where performance is defined by earnings growth and active ownership, our value-creation capabilities are clear differentiators. With BPEA IX, we remain committed to backing market leaders and building resilient, global-scale businesses. This focus on future-proofing companies remains central to how we deliver consistent performance over time.”

BPEA IX will focus on control investments in leading companies across high-conviction sectors including technology, healthcare, industrial technology, services, and technology services. The Fund targets businesses with resilient fundamentals where EQT can drive operational improvement to accelerate expansion and long-term enterprise-building.

EQT Private Capital Asia was established in 1997 and has deployed USD 30 billion in over 160 transactions. EQT’s Private Capital Asia portfolio today includes investments in approximately 65 companies in 10 countries, employing more than 270,000 people.

BPEA IX is currently 5-10 percent invested (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication), based on the actual fund size.

Source: Preqin, based on total fund commitments (April 2026)Source: Bain & Company, Asia-Pacific Private Equity Report 2026 (March, 2026)

Contact:
Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-raises-asia-pacific-s-largest-private-equity-fund–closing-bpea-ix-at-usd-15-6-billion-in-total-,c4337393

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SOURCE EQT

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Context Labs AI Distillery™ Lets Enterprises Run Sovereign AI on Data They Own

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Company launches the Context Engine for trusted sovereign AI, which packages an enterprise’s own data with verified lineage for use with the frontier or open-weight model the enterprise chooses.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Context Labs B.V. (“Context Labs”), the AI Data Infrastructure company, today launched the Context Labs AI Distillery™, the Context Engine for trusted sovereign AI. The AI Distillery converts an enterprise’s operational and business data into a governed Context Package that the enterprise owns, creating their own protected competitive moat. Every answer an AI model draws from the package is traced to its source records, and the package works with the frontier or open weight model the customer chooses, inside the customer’s own environment.

Analysts have quantified the obstacle to scaling enterprise AI. Gartner predicts that through 2026 organizations will abandon 60% of AI projects unsupported by AI-ready data, and that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027. McKinsey reports that eight in ten companies name data limitations as the barrier to scaling AI agents. Gartner has also described what enterprises now need: software that lets teams construct, govern and deliver semantically organized knowledge to AI agents, built on ontologies and knowledge graphs.

 The Context Labs AI Distillery™ is designed around six outcomes:

Own your IP. An enterprise’s knowledge, know-how and operating context stay inside a Context Package that only it controls and are not used to train third-party AI models.

Own your AI. The intelligence employees create in everyday use accrues to the enterprise, not to a model provider, and grows with every interaction.

Trusted, provable answers. Every output carries its data lineage and decision provenance, so answers can be verified, audited, and defended.

Build, protect and scale a proprietary competitive asset. The Context Package captures how the enterprise describes and runs its operations, starting with one facility and extending to others without rebuilding.

Sovereign by design. The AI Distillery runs inside the customer’s own data center or chosen cloud, so data stays where the customer decides.

Freedom of model choice, at lower cost. Customers can use any frontier or open-weight model and switch models without rebuilding the Context Package. Precise, verified context reduces the tokens each query uses.

The AI Distillery works in three steps: distill, package, and prove. It maps an enterprise’s structured and unstructured data to industry-specific ontologies, stores the result in a Context Package with cryptographic provenance, and checks answers against the company’s own records before any model goes into production. Work that has typically required teams of specialist engineers becomes a guided, governed workflow.

Context Agents and the Semantic Context Tunnel. Context Agents answer operational, commercial and compliance questions from the enterprise’s Context Package, with every figure traced to its source. The Semantic Context Tunnel brings the same context into the AI assistant employees already use. Both work within the access controls the enterprise sets.

“Models come and go. An enterprise’s context should not,” said Dan Harple, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Context Labs. “Frontier models will keep improving, but they do not supply governance, provenance or trust, and they should not absorb the knowledge that makes a company competitive. The AI Distillery gives enterprises a moat they own: their own context, proven and protected, working with whichever model they choose. That is how our customers own their IP and own their AI.”

At ADIPEC 2026, Context Labs is demonstrating the AI Distillery on energy-sector use cases, in which a Context Agent answers operational questions with every figure traced to the underlying plant records. Context Labs is located Arab Development Group stand, Stand #5240, Hall 5 and in the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA, AI Zone, Hall 13.

Availability. The Context Labs AI Distillery™ is available now through the Microsoft Marketplace. Each enterprise license includes an industry starter kit to accelerate time to value. Companies can request a briefing or technical working session at contextlabs.com/distillery.

About Context Labs B.V.

Context Labs is an AI Data Infrastructure company delivering the Context Engine for Trusted and Secure Sovereign AI. Its platform turns complex, fragmented operational, engineering and enterprise data into continuously verified, auditable information that AI systems, people and markets can trust. Built on an extensible library of industry-specific ontologies that map to established standards published by ISO and other standards bodies, the platform is deployable across sectors, with use-case applications delivering decision-ready intelligence on a common foundation. The Context Labs AI Distillery™ lets enterprises run sovereign AI inside their own data centers, so they own their IP and own their AI. Formed out of MIT research and led by a team that helped drive the at-scale growth of the Internet, Context Labs has offices in Amsterdam, Cambridge (Mass.), Houston and Abu Dhabi. Learn more at www.contextlabs.com.

Media contact
press@contextlabs.com | 1-617-902-0932 | contextlabs.com/resources

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From IFA Berlin to CES 2027: OlloBot Continues Its Journey in Emotional Companionship

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HONG KONG, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AI companion robot brand OlloBot made its European debut at IFA Berlin 2026, where its AI companion robot OlloNi SS1 was named an Honoree in the Best in Home & Entertainment category of the IFA Innovation Awards. The recognition, alongside feedback from visitors at the show, offered further encouragement for OlloBot’s belief that the future of home robotics lies not only in what robots can do, but also in the connections they can build with people.

In the Top 10 Trends in China’s Robotics and Embodied Intelligence Market for 2026, IDC identifies the evolution of educational and companion robots into all-age home intelligent terminals as a key trend. The report highlights a growing emphasis on long-term companionship, contextual understanding and ongoing content services, with value extending beyond specific functions to lasting relationships and services.

OlloBot is building its identity around this shift. Rather than developing humanoid robots or devices primarily centered on task execution, the brand is exploring a different path through what it calls “Cyber Pet,” an emerging category of home companions designed around emotional relationships. Its approach starts with a simple question: how can a robot become a familiar and meaningful presence in someone’s life?

For OlloBot, the answer lies in restraint. A companion robot should not replace human relationships or compete for a user’s constant attention. It should learn when to engage and when to step back. The goal is not about delivering a moment of novelty or amusement. It is about creating a unique relationship that can expand with each interaction and gradually become personally meaningful.

“We believe home robots need to enter the household through emotional connection,” said Lyn Fang, founder of OlloBot. “Technology can create the conditions for interaction, but meaningful companionship comes from how those interactions make people feel over time.”

At IFA, the enthusiasm from visitors offered a tangible reflection of this approach. Under the theme “Touch. Feel. Bond.,” OlloBot created an open, home-inspired setting where visitors could interact with OlloNi SS1 directly. Powered by OlloBot’s proprietary EmpathCore emotional engine and Affinilog interaction system, OlloNi SS1 engages dynamically through touch, sound and facial expressions. OlloNi SS1 also appeared in IFA’s “Robots on the Runway” showcase, where its emotional engine enabled it to react to its surroundings in real time. Visitors were not simply examining a device or comparing functions. They were exploring how it responded to them. The experience reinforced the brand’s conviction that, in the home, emotional connection can matter as much as technical capability.

Next stop: Las Vegas

The recognition and feedback at IFA mark an encouraging step as OlloBot continues to advance its product development and commercialization. Looking ahead to CES 2027, OlloBot is set to take the next step in its journey by introducing two all-new robot family members: a desktop lamp-form robot and OlloBot Gen 2. Visitors will also get a first look at a rich lineup of IP merchandise and ecosystem peripherals built around the flagship OlloVerse universe. Please stay tuned—OlloBot looks forward to welcoming everyone in Las Vegas and sharing how its expanding ecosystem continues to redefine emotional companionship in the home.

About OlloBot

OlloBot is an AI companion robot brand developed by Ollobot Robotics Limited, a Hong Kong-based company and part of BizConf Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE: 300578).

The company focuses on embodied intelligence and family-oriented AI companion robots designed to support more natural interaction, emotional presence and connection in modern homes. Through its Cyber Pet concept, OlloBot aims to explore how AI and robotics can become a more meaningful and approachable part of everyday family life.

For more information, please visit ollobot.com.

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@ollo_botFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/ollobotofficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/ollo_botThreads:https://www.threads.com/@ollo_botTikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@ollo_botX:https://x.com/OLLOBOT_Real

 

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SOURCE OlloBot

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A new way to explore Japan with AI: Naviu AR Travel Companion for Japan Launches November 1 2026

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Patent pending geospatial technology brings 29 language guidance and city scale AR navigation to travelers

TOKYO, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Naviu, a business under TANGLE Inc., offering an AI-powered augmented-reality travel companion for Japan, launches on iOS and Android on November 1. Built on patent-pending geospatial technology, Naviu places AR content and navigation accurately in the real world across entire cities, without requiring a visual positioning system.

Travelers can ask Naviu about anything around them and receive answers in any of 29 languages, grounded in their exact location. A semi-transparent AR path provides turn-by-turn guidance, an AI companion walks with the traveler, and the app reveals side-street cafes, local landmarks, and other places that conventional maps and guidebooks may overlook.

About Naviu

Naviu combines an ask-anything AI guide, city-scale AR navigation, photo recognition, bespoke trip planning, and an optional cultural storytelling companion. Its spatial content network also allows brands, cities, and creators to place interactive 3D and AR content in the real world. AR experiences are already live at landmarks including Senso-ji, Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Jingu, and Tokyo Station.

Naviu is available on the App Store and Google Play.

Official site: naviu.app

Key Features

Ask-anything AI guide: Conversational answers about any place in 29 languages, grounded in precise location dataCultural storytelling and guidance: An optional companion mode that guides travelers street by street and narrates local history and storiesAR navigation: A semi-transparent augmented-reality path overlaid on real streets across entire citiesPhoto recognition: Travelers can point the camera at a temple, sign, or storefront and ask what it isBespoke trip planning: Itineraries built around dietary needs, interests, accessibility, and available timeSpatial content network: Brands, cities, and creators can place interactive 3D and AR content in the real world

Statement from the Head of Naviu

“The hard part of traveling in Japan isn’t getting lost. It’s standing in front of something remarkable with no idea what it is. Naviu answers that question in your own language, right where you’re standing, so the city opens up instead of staying a backdrop.”
Jack Mead
CEO of Ashita Co. and Head of Naviu

About TANGLE Inc

TANGLE Inc. is the Tokyo-based company behind the tour operators TOMOGO! and Untold Japan. Its mission, Make the City Yours, reflects a decade of helping travelers discover Japan beyond the guidebook and now extends that experience into software through Naviu.

Company

TANGLE Inc.

Headquarters

Tokyo, Japan

Representative Director

Kengo Goto

Business

TOMOGO!, Untold Japan, and development and operation of Naviu

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SOURCE TANGLE Inc.

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