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Toku launches Makimoto: open-source conversational AI built for Asia-Pacific data residency

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A composable architecture that keeps customer data in-country from day one and outlasts the components inside it.

SINGAPORE, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Toku, a Singapore Exchange (SGX) Catalist-listed AI-powered customer experience platform, today launched Makimoto, its open-source initiative for conversational AI in Asia-Pacific. The first release, Makimoto Kawa (“Kawa”), will be available from 1 July 2026 as a managed transcription API1 service hosted in Singapore. Additional country-specific APIs and a containerised, self-hostable release will follow, enabling deployment in the customer’s cloud, data centre, or jurisdiction of choice. The waiting list for early access opens today at makimoto.ai. Alongside the waiting list, Toku is opening ten Singapore-based roles on the Makimoto team for recent graduates.

“In an era where AI capabilities evolve on a weekly cycle, the biggest risk of any technology decision is creating tomorrow’s legacy today. Makimoto is our response: a composable architecture where every component can be swapped as the field evolves.” said Thomas Laboulle, Founder and CEO at Toku.  

A response to a fragmenting regulatory landscape

Data-processing regulations across Asia-Pacific are tightening and diverging. Indonesia’s Personal Data Protection Law, Vietnam’s Personal Data Protection Law, and recent updates to Singapore’s PDPA have all raised the weight that enterprises place on where audio, transcripts, and customer conversations are processed. For teams building voice and chat automation across the region, the primary engineering question is no longer which model is most accurate: it is which deployment satisfies each regulator while scaling across markets.  

Makimoto is designed to answer that question on day one, and to keep answering it as requirements evolve. Kawa’s first release runs exclusively in Singapore, keeping customer audio and transcripts within the country and supporting in-country processing for customers subject to Singapore’s PDPA and regulated-sector guidelines, including those issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.  

Makimoto gives teams optionality for markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam, which enforce among the strictest in-country data-processing mandates on real-time communications and transcription services, frequently requiring local servers for critical or personal data.

“With Kawa, customer data is processed in country, not just stored there. Every stage of the pipeline runs within a single jurisdiction, so our customers always know exactly where their data is going.” said Thomas Laboulle.  

Orchestration-first: composable by design  

Makimoto Kawa is an open-source orchestration framework that assembles, configures, and runs multiple open-source components as a production-grade transcription pipeline. What Toku open-sources under the MIT licence2 is the orchestration layer itself: the glue code, configuration, and APIs that allow every component in the pipeline to be swapped without rewriting the surrounding system.  

Kawa will be offered through two APIs at launch: one for real-time transcription, which developers can use to build live voice agent experiences, live captioning, or in-conversation analytics; and one for post-conversation transcription, suited for recorded calls, voicemail, and batch analytics of archived conversations. Under the surface, both APIs run the same five-stage modular pipeline: audio resampling, noise filtering and audio enhancement, voice activity detection with speaker diarisation, speech-to-text inference, and post-processing for normalisation, temporal ordering, speaker labelling, and structured output. Operators can swap or tune any individual stage to optimise for a given language, domain, or deployment environment.

Makimoto is a natural extension of the composable customer engagement approach recognised by Gartner in its Cool Vendor research.  

“We are obsessed with the orchestration layer, because models and components turn over every few months, but the layer that keeps them swappable is what makes the whole stack durable.” said Thomas Laboulle.  

A progressive path to full transparency  

At launch, Makimoto opens the orchestration layer of Kawa as MIT-licensed source code, while its internal components, including voice activity detection, diarisation, noise handling, the speech-to-text model, and post-processing, remain managed by Toku. Over subsequent releases, Toku will progressively open additional layers of the pipeline, working towards full transparency and community modifiability of every component. This phased approach lets the Makimoto community review, contribute to, and eventually replace each part of the stack while Toku maintains production stability for early-access users.  

Makimoto is operated through Makimoto Technology Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Toku Group, established to preserve community trust and transparent governance, and to maintain a clear distinction between the enterprise and community editions of Kawa. Toku believes this separation unlocks innovation in both: the community edition evolves under open governance and external contribution, while the enterprise edition stays focused on the reliability, security, and commercial support that regulated-sector customers require. Toku commits to keeping Makimoto’s open-source components permissively licensed, with no plans to adopt source-available or Business Source License-style terms. Over time, additional components of Toku’s technology stack will migrate into Makimoto, evolving the group’s architecture toward an open-core approach that reinforces the composability thesis at the heart of this initiative.

Developing future-ready talent  

Alongside the early-access programme, Toku is opening ten Singapore-based positions on the Makimoto team, open to recent graduates of Singapore’s universities and polytechnics. The roles span engineering, developer relations, and community work. The hiring programme reflects Toku’s conviction that Asia-Pacific open-source infrastructure benefits from engineers and community builders rooted in the region, and that Makimoto should be a place where early-career talent joins a production-grade open-source initiative from the start. Applications open today at makimoto.ai.  

A complement to the regional AI ecosystem  

Makimoto is designed to complement, not replace, the broader Singapore and APAC AI ecosystem. Kawa is built to interoperate with open regional language models such as SEA-LION from AI Singapore and MERaLiON from A*STAR, which developers can plug in as reasoning or dialogue layers in applications that depend on accurate transcription of regional speech.  

1 API refers to Application Programming Interface – a way for software systems to communicate with each other, allowing developers to access functionality or data without building it from scratch.

2 MIT licence is a widely-used open-source licence that allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute software with minimal restrictions, including for commercial purposes.

About Toku  

Headquartered in Singapore, Toku Ltd. (SGX Catalist: TKU) is a cloud-native, AI-powered customer experience platform purpose-built for enterprises operating in complex, multi-national environments.  

Trusted by leading enterprises and public-sector organisations, Toku helps organisations streamline operations, scale customer engagement and deliver consistent experiences in fragmented markets worldwide.  

For more information about Toku, visit toku.co    

About Makimoto  

Makimoto is Toku’s open-source initiative, operated through Makimoto Technology Pte Ltd, dedicated to building composable conversational AI infrastructure for Asia-Pacific. Its first release, Makimoto Kawa, is an MIT-licensed orchestration framework for production-grade transcription pipelines.  

For more information about Makimoto,  visit makimoto.ai  

Forward-Looking Statements  

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Toku’s expansion plans and business strategy. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Toku undertakes no obligation to update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.  

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Reliance Digital Launches ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day Campaign Celebrating the Many Expressions of Fatherhood

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MUMBAI, India, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reliance Digital has launched ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day campaign to celebrate the many expressions of fatherhood. Built around a simple cultural observation, while “Maa ki Mamta” has long been a part of India’s collective vocabulary, there has never been a word that captures the distinct ways fathers express love, the campaign introduces ‘Baaptaa’ as a tribute to the many shades of fatherhood.

Conceptualised as an original music-led campaign, Baaptaa celebrates fathers not as idealised figures, but as they are experienced in everyday life, protective, dependable, emotional, quirky, practical, occasionally embarrassing, and always present. Through a relatable narrative, the campaign acknowledges the countless ways fathers care for their families, often through actions rather than words.

Watch Video: https://youtu.be/9XyUsJB33Ds?si=PM67vhxrzth1JEkz 

At the heart of the campaign is an original music video told from a father’s perspective, capturing the different roles he plays across life’s moments and milestones. The film brings to life the humour, warmth and unspoken affection that characterise father-child relationships, while giving a name to a form of love that many recognise but few have articulated.

The campaign stems from a simple insight: while motherhood has often found expression through familiar phrases and popular references, the unique language of fatherhood has remained largely undefined. Baaptaa seeks to fill that gap by creating a term that reflects the everyday gestures, practical wisdom and quiet sacrifices that fathers make.

Father’s Day communication often leans into familiar emotional territory, but Reliance Digital’s campaign celebrates fathers in a way that feels more culturally authentic and relatable. The idea for ‘Baaptaa’ came from a simple observation — mother’s love has been immortalised in a number of heartfelt, emotional songs, there needed to be an anthem dedicated to dad’s love. And thus was born Baaptaa – a love language that is often awkward, practical, protective, humorous and deeply felt, even if rarely verbalised. It’s a celebration of fatherhood in all its wonderfully imperfect forms immortalized by a song that you won’t be able to stop humming.

Shop for the widest range of electronics at Reliance Digital and thank your father for his Baaptaa.

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REPT BATTERO Deepens Inter Milan Partnership, Brings Latest Innovations to Intersolar Europe 2026

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MUNICH, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As global audiences follow the world’s biggest football tournament this summer, another international stage is preparing to bring together innovators, businesses and industry leaders from across the energy sector.

From June 23 to 25, REPT BATTERO will participate in Intersolar Europe 2026 in Munich, Germany, showcasing its latest developments in energy storage, sustainability and global business expansion.

Adding to the excitement, an Inter Milan legend will make a special appearance at the REPT BATTERO booth, meeting customers, partners and visitors from around the world. The appearance follows the company’s recent partnership with Inter Milan, which named REPT BATTERO as the club’s Global Official Battery and Energy Storage Partner.

But beyond products, exhibitions and football, the story REPT BATTERO hopes to tell is about something larger: how a young Chinese battery company is evolving into a global energy brand.

Growth Comes First

For any company looking to expand globally, one question comes before all others: is the business ready?

For REPT BATTERO, the answer is increasingly being reflected in its performance.

According to its 2025 annual results, the company reported revenue of approximately €3.1 billion, up 36.7% year on year, while net profit reached approximately €87 million, marking the company’s first full year of profitability. Annual battery shipments totaled 82.7GWh, representing year-on-year growth of 89.2%.

Energy storage continued to be a key growth driver, generating approximately €1.7 billion in revenue in 2025, an increase of 86.8% compared with the previous year.

The momentum has continued into 2026. In the first quarter, REPT BATTERO ranked No.1 globally in both residential energy storage cell shipments and commercial & industrial energy storage cell shipments, while ranking among the world’s top five in energy storage cell shipments overall. The company has also maintained BloombergNEF Tier 1 Energy Storage Supplier status for eleven consecutive quarters.

These achievements are not simply the result of rapid growth. They reflect years of investment in product development, manufacturing capability, customer relationships and operational excellence.

For REPT BATTERO, globalization is not a sudden ambition. It is the natural next stage of a business that has steadily built the foundations required to compete internationally.

Globalization Beyond Exporting Products

For many companies, globalization begins with exports.

But long-term success requires much more than shipping products overseas.

Customers increasingly evaluate suppliers not only on technology and price, but also on local service capabilities, supply chain resilience, regulatory readiness and long-term reliability. This is particularly true in Europe, where the energy transition continues to drive demand for trusted and sustainable partners.

Over the past several years, REPT BATTERO has been steadily strengthening its international footprint.

The company established its European subsidiary in Munich in 2023 and has since expanded its overseas presence across Germany, the United States, Indonesia, Australia and Japan. Today, REPT BATTERO’s business network spans six continents, supporting customers across a wide range of energy storage and mobility applications.

At the same time, the company is advancing construction of its first overseas manufacturing base in Indonesia, a major milestone in its global manufacturing strategy.

Europe remains one of REPT BATTERO’s most important markets. Earlier this year, during KEY – The Energy Transition Expo in Italy, the company signed energy storage supply agreements totaling 8.3GWh with seven European partners. REPT BATTERO has successfully delivered and deployed energy storage projects in Germany, Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and Latvia, further strengthening its presence in Europe.

Taken together, these developments demonstrate that REPT BATTERO’s global strategy extends far beyond exports. The company is building local presence, local partnerships and long-term capabilities designed to support customers worldwide.

Building a Global Brand

As technology, products and services enter global markets, another challenge emerges: building recognition and trust.

This is one of the reasons behind REPT BATTERO’s partnership with Inter Milan.

Announced in May 2026, the collaboration goes beyond traditional sponsorship. It includes brand campaigns, fan engagement initiatives, customer experiences and future activations across international markets.

For REPT BATTERO, the partnership represents a new approach to global brand building.

Historically, battery companies have communicated primarily through technical specifications, product performance and manufacturing capabilities. While these remain essential, global audiences increasingly connect with brands through stories, experiences and shared values.

Football provides a unique platform for that connection.

With one of the largest fan bases in world football, Inter Milan offers a global stage that transcends language, geography and culture. Through the partnership, REPT BATTERO aims to engage customers and communities in a more accessible, international and human-centered way.

The goal is not simply to increase visibility. It is to help a broader audience understand the innovation, ambition and long-term vision behind the company.

Youth Is About Agility, Not Image

Founded in 2017 and entering production just one year later, REPT BATTERO remains a relatively young company by industry standards.

Yet its development has been remarkably rapid.

The company became one of the fastest battery manufacturers in the industry to surpass RMB 10 billion in annual revenue. Since then, it has continued evolving—from rapid expansion to profitability, from domestic growth to international development, and from product exports to global brand building.

At REPT BATTERO, being young is not about image. It is about agility.

It means responding quickly to changing market conditions, adapting to customer needs and continuously improving across products, operations and organization.

Whether addressing growing demand for residential energy storage in Europe, preparing for emerging battery passport requirements, or navigating an industry increasingly focused on profitability and sustainable growth, REPT BATTERO has consistently demonstrated its ability to adapt and execute.

This combination of innovation, responsiveness and global ambition continues to shape the company’s identity as it enters its next stage of development.

See You in Munich

From SNEC in Shanghai to Intersolar Europe in Munich, the interaction between REPT BATTERO and INTER MILAN continues.

Yet the company’s story is about more than exhibitions or celebrity appearances. It is about the evolution of a young energy company building the capabilities, partnerships and brand needed to compete on a global stage.

This June, as the FIFA World Cup captures the attention of football fans around the world, REPT BATTERO will welcome an Inter Milan legend to its booth at Intersolar Europe in Munich.

When a player who once stood at the pinnacle of world football walks into the booth of a young Chinese energy company and exchanges handshakes and conversations with customers and partners from across the globe, the moment represents something larger than a partnership.

It reflects how far REPT BATTERO has come—and where it is heading next.

From a fast-growing battery manufacturer to an increasingly global energy brand, REPT BATTERO’s journey is still being written. And perhaps, that scene in Munich will be one of its most meaningful chapters yet.

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Felicitysolar Strengthens Brand Presence at SNEC 2026

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GUANGZHOU, China, June 20 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Felicitysolar presented its energy storage product portfolio, technical progress, third-party recognition, and global cooperation achievements at SNEC 2026, held in Shanghai from June 3 to June 5.

During the exhibition, Felicitysolar showcased solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial energy applications, including the 50kW C&I ESS, 125kW/257kWh system, 125kW/261kWh liquid-cooled all-in-one system, and FLB Series low-voltage residential battery pack. These products reflected the company’s continued focus on system reliability, flexible deployment, and practical energy storage needs across different scenarios.

Felicitysolar also held Chinese and English product presentations on June 3 and June 4, covering commercial and industrial energy storage systems, low-voltage residential battery packs, intelligent management platforms, and the company’s newly developed AI management platform. Through application-oriented explanations, the presentations helped customers better understand the role of Felicitysolar’s products in residential, commercial, and industrial energy management.

Third-party activities during the exhibition added further depth to Felicitysolar’s brand presentation. Intertek issued ETL certificates for Felicitysolar’s energy storage system and photovoltaic inverter products and granted the company Intertek “Satellite Program” laboratory qualification, supporting product access to the North American market and recognizing Felicitysolar’s in-house testing capability. DEKRA presented certificates related to Felicitysolar’s hybrid inverter and energy storage battery system products for European and international standards. SGS granted an Australian grid-connection certificate for Felicitysolar’s IVGM25KHP3G3 Series high-voltage hybrid inverter. EUPD Research recognition was also presented during the exhibition.

In addition, Felicitysolar received three Global Smart Energy Award honors: ENTERPRISE OF THE YEAR, FRONTIER TECHNOLOGY, and INNOVATIVE SOLUTION. These awards recognized Felicitysolar’s overall development, the FLB Series low-voltage LiFePO4 battery pack, and the 50kW high-voltage hybrid energy storage system, respectively. Together with the third-party activities, the awards highlighted Felicitysolar’s continued progress in product development, quality systems, market readiness, and solution capabilities.

The company also held partner signing ceremonies for Argentina and Chile, strengthening communication and cooperation with partners in Latin America. As energy storage demand grows across regional markets, localized cooperation remains an important part of Felicitysolar’s global development.

To extend the exhibition experience beyond the venue, Felicitysolar launched an online VR booth tour, allowing customers to explore the booth layout, featured products, and related materials after the event:
https://www.felicitysolar.com/snec-pv-power-expo-shanghai-vr-tour/

Through product showcases, technical presentations, third-party activities, award recognition, localized partnerships, and digital exhibition tools, Felicitysolar used SNEC 2026 to present its brand capabilities in solar energy storage. The company will continue to focus on practical energy needs across residential, commercial, and industrial applications while strengthening its products, services, and global cooperation capabilities.

About Felicitysolar

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Guangzhou, China, Felicitysolar provides solar energy storage solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Its product portfolio covers solar inverters, lithium battery packs, integrated solar street lights, commercial and industrial energy storage systems, and related smart energy solutions.

CONTACT:
Felicitysolar Marketing Department
pr@felicitysolar.com
+86-18620102298

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