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United Solar Secures IFC’s Backing for FEOC-Compliant Polysilicon, Completing $1.6 Billion Capital Raise

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The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation’s (“IFC”) $50 million equity investment represents the final tranche of the approximately $1.6 billion raised from global investors to complete the funding of the Middle East’s largest polysilicon manufacturing facility.

IFC has now arranged and mobilized more than 30% of the total capital raised, a strong endorsement of United Solar’s operating and commercial sustainability and its adherence to the highest international standards.

The investment reinforces United Solar’s position as FEOC-compliant supplier of fully traceable, high-purity polysilicon to the world’s tier-one solar manufacturers.

SOHAR, Oman, July 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — United Solar today announced the financial close of its previously announced $50 million equity investment from IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. The financial close completes the company’s $1.6 billion capital raise from a consortium of global investors.

United Solar’s state-of-the-art 100,000-ton-per-year polysilicon facility in Oman’s Sohar Free Zone began operations in January 2026 and is expected to ramp up to 100kT by the end of 2026. The plant represents the world’s most advanced polysilicon production facilities, the foundational material for the global solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain.

With this close, IFC has arranged and mobilized more than 30% of the total capital raised for the project. The direct equity commitment from IFC represents United Solar’s governance, environmental and social standards, traceability, and long-term commercial viability — the benchmarks that customers and regulators increasingly demand of polysilicon suppliers.

Critically for buyers in the United States and other advanced markets, United Solar is a FEOC-compliant producer of high-purity polysilicon. With production in Oman and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) as its single-largest shareholder, United Solar provides tier-one cell and module manufacturers with a fully traceable supply—one that supports eligibility for clean-energy incentives and the diversified, resilient supply chains the industry is racing to secure.

The close builds on OIA’s anchor equity investment through its Future Fund Oman, which signaled strong sovereign confidence in United Solar. IFC’s commitment now completes a capital structure that has drawn leading global institutions to the company.

At full capacity, the facility is expected to enable the production of approximately 40 gigawatts of solar modules annually, enough to power up to 12 million homes, while avoiding an estimated 8.8 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The plant is set to create nearly 3,000 direct and indirect jobs and advance Oman’s economic diversification agenda.

“The closing of IFC’s investment completes our approximately $1.6 billion capital raise and is a powerful endorsement of United Solar’s standards, governance, and long-term commercial strength,” said Binyam Giorgis, Group CFO of United Solar. “With the backing of the World Bank Group, and on the foundation laid by the Oman Investment Authority, we are delivering world-class, fully traceable polysilicon that tier-one manufacturers need — and doing so as an FEOC-compliant producer they can rely on as they build resilient, diversified supply chains.”

“This equity investment completes our landmark support for the Middle East’s largest and only operational polysilicon manufacturing facility,” said Ulyana Dovbush, IFC’s Regional Industry Manager for the Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services in the Middle East, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. “Aligned with Oman’s vision, this investment will help create thousands of jobs, attract foreign direct investment, accelerate economic diversification, and strengthen the role of the private sector in driving sustainable growth beyond oil.”

About United Solar
United Solar is a leading producer of high-purity polysilicon — the essential material used in the manufacture of solar panels — operating one of the world’s most advanced polysilicon manufacturing facilities in Oman. The company uses cutting-edge processes and modular plant design to deliver cost-competitive polysilicon at scale, while meeting rigorous international standards for quality, traceability, and environmental responsibility. United Solar is committed to building a secure, resilient, and globally competitive solar supply chain.

Media Contacts
United Solar Media Relations
Jessi Zhang
Secretary of the Board
Jessi.Zhang@unitedsolarholding.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-solar-secures-ifcs-backing-for-feoc-compliant-polysilicon-completing-1-6-billion-capital-raise-302818687.html

SOURCE United Solar Holding Inc.

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He Sold Everything and Moved to Colombia for Her. Then Built the Translator They Needed and Named It After Her.

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Nayerly, a patent-pending iPhone app, is the first translator both people can talk over at once. Fully offline, 22 languages.

EDMONDS, Wash., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Michael Wilson sold everything he owned and left the US for Colombia to be with the woman he loved. They did not share a language.

Every translator they tried forced them to take turns: one speaks, stops, waits for playback, and only then can the other answer. It worked. It also turned every conversation into a transaction.

So he built his own, alone, and named it after her. Nayerly is now on the App Store.

Nayerly is full duplex, meaning it listens and speaks at the same time instead of taking turns. The app keeps listening while it is speaking, so you can talk over the translation, and it keeps listening when more than one person talks, so two people can talk over each other and it still works. No phone passed back and forth. It works like a personal interpreter sitting between you.

“Every other translator is a walkie-talkie. You talk, you stop, you wait,” Wilson said. “I built this so I could speak better with someone I love. That is the only way you make a real connection. It works so well you forget you are using it and start talking over each other.”

Everything runs on the device. All 22 language models download during setup, so it works with no Wi-Fi and no signal – on a plane, abroad, off the grid – and no audio ever leaves the phone. Hands-free works with any AirPods, not just the premium ones.

Key features:

– Full duplex: listens and speaks at the same time, so you can talk over the translation and over each other
– 100% offline in 22 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi and Ukrainian
– Hands-free with any AirPods
– Private by design: audio is never recorded or stored
– Free to download, 10 minutes of translation daily

Unlimited use is $1.99 per month during launch, billed annually. A one-time lifetime option includes Apple Family Sharing. New languages will be added in future updates at no additional cost to existing users.

Videos of Wilson and his girlfriend using Nayerly in Colombia, both speaking at once in English and Spanish, are on Instagram at instagram.com/nayerlyapp and TikTok at tiktok.com/@nayerlyapp.

Availability

On the App Store for iPhone now: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762064110
More: https://nayerly.com 

About Nayerly
Nayerly is an independent iPhone app built alone by Michael Wilson and named for the woman he built it for. It exists so two people without a shared language can just talk.

Media Contact
Michael Wilson
Founder, Nayerly
421311@email4pr.com
425-220-5237

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/he-sold-everything-and-moved-to-colombia-for-her-then-built-the-translator-they-needed-and-named-it-after-her-302859030.html

SOURCE Nayerly

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Eleven GovTech Startups Named to Pitch at State of GovTech 2026

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Companies from across the country will pitch live to government and investor judges in Montgomery County, Maryland, September 9–10. Registration is free for government employees.

SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CivStart today announced the eleven startups selected to pitch at State of GovTech 2026, the organization’s seventh annual national govtech summit, taking place September 9–10 at the Silver Spring Civic Building in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The selected companies span permitting, public safety, emergency management, grant administration, constituent services, and civic infrastructure finance. They will pitch live on the main stage to a judging panel drawn from local government, county technology leadership, and the govtech investment community.

The 2026 Startup Cohort

Appellate  (Bentonville, AR) — system of record for police towing and vehicle custodyAyla  (Washington, D.C.) — public-sector recruiting on a live government labor-market data engineCODICE  (Washington, D.C.) — no-code permitting, licensing, and inspections platformGostly  (Westminster, MD) — real-time command center for urban infrastructureGrantwell  (Los Angeles, CA) — AI grant management across the full lifecycleGreen Stream Technologies (Wake Forest, NC) — flood and weather early warning systemsGovstream  (Seattle, WA) — AI-driven permitting intakeLabrynth  (US, Australia, EU, UK) — AI-native regulatory intelligence for permittingManyBond — crowdfinancing for community-supported local investmentReadyly  (Connecticut) — agentic AI resolving resident inquiries across every channelSamora AI  (Bellevue, WA) — multilingual voice AI for citizen information lines

The Judging Panel

Hillary Orr, Deputy Director of Transportation, City of Alexandria, Virginia Rita Reynolds, Director of Public Sector, CAI Thao Hill, Co-Founder and CEO, Govinity Tom Spenger, CEO, SOVRA Eyal Feder-Levy, CEO, Zencity

The pitch competition is one part of a two-day agenda built around working sessions rather than passive programming. Attendees draft AI use policies, run live cybersecurity breach simulations, and bring unresolved problems from their own jurisdictions to work through with peers.

State of GovTech 2026 is expected to draw more than 200 attendees, split roughly evenly between public sector leaders and the entrepreneurs, investors, and industry practitioners who serve them. The venue sits directly on the Washington Metro, and registration is free for government employees. Full agenda and registration at civstart.com/sogt26.

About CivStart

CivStart is a govtech organization connecting government leaders with the technology solutions and entrepreneurs solving public sector challenges. Through its accelerator programs, industry events, and products including Clarity and GovFit, CivStart helps state and local governments define their challenges and find partners equipped to solve them. State of GovTech is CivStart’s flagship annual summit, now in its seventh year. Learn more at civstart.com.

Media Contact:

Nick Lyell

Co-Founder & COO

421351@email4pr.com | 608.234.2166

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eleven-govtech-startups-named-to-pitch-at-state-of-govtech-2026-302859026.html

SOURCE CivStart

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Goodix Unveils New Generation Touch Screen Controllers for Medium and Large Displays

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SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Goodix has launched its new-generation GT9976 series of high-performance touch screen controllers for medium and large displays, targeting premium flexible OLED tablets, foldable smartphone main screens, and other smart devices. Delivering major upgrades in gaming control, touch performance in challenging environments, and active stylus support, the series enables device makers to create differentiated large-screen products for gaming, work, and learning.

As an early commercial deployment of the series, Lenovo’s latest Legion Y700 Wuji gaming flagship tablet and Tab Pen Pro 2 integrate Goodix’s innovative portfolio, including the GT9976N touch screen controller, an active stylus driver chip, and an ultra-narrow side-key capacitive fingerprint sensor, to deliver a more responsive and immersive user experience.

Faster Response for Smoother Large-Screen Interaction

High-refresh-rate displays used in competitive gaming place greater demands on touch response and data processing. The GT9976 series features Goodix’s proprietary full-screen parallel sensing architecture, which achieves a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) within a shorter scan time — significantly accelerating finger-signal capture and processing efficiency.

Supporting 7- to 9.5-inch flexible OLED displays, the new series delivers industry-leading touch report rates and instant sampling rates. From everyday browsing and app switching to sudden stops, sharp turns and rapid multi-taps in high-frame-rate games, the GT9976 series ensures smooth, precise, and highly responsive touch interaction.

Reliable, High-Precision Touch Performance in Demanding Conditions

To address the noise interference from flexible OLED panels under heavy system loads, the GT9976 series adopts an industry-leading high-noise-suppression analog front end (AFE) sampling architecture that doubles SNR over the previous generation. Combined with Goodix’s proprietary gaming algorithms, the controllers accurately identify valid touch signals even in complex noise environments, delivering stable, precise coordinate data at all times.

In demanding scenarios such as FPS, MOBA and rhythm games, the GT9976 series combines a higher SNR, high-speed scanning and sampling, and enhanced real-time noise monitoring with frequency-hopping technology to enable faster tap response and stable multi-finger control without jitter or drift. This improves responsiveness and tracking accuracy for pixel-level actions such as flick aiming, recoil control, combo execution and movement.

The series also integrates advanced dual-mode self- and mutual-capacitance sensing with complementary algorithms to improve palm rejection, effectively reducing false touches caused by grip and edge contact. Dedicated optimization for sweaty hands, wet fingers and gaming finger sleeves helps maintain sensitive and stable touch performance under challenging real-world conditions.

Enhanced Active Stylus Support for Productivity and Creativity

For mobile productivity, education and professional drawing, the GT9976 series also delivers significantly enhanced active stylus performance. When paired with Goodix active stylus driver chip, the solution supports a 360Hz pen report rate. Together with Goodix’s proprietary stylus anti-interference algorithm, it achieves outstanding linearity and precision — accurately reproducing every stroke for tasks such as note-taking, fine annotation, sketching, and handwriting practice.

For flagship OLED tablets with large screens, Goodix also offers the GT7A series, which supports display sizes ranging from 10 to 14 inches while delivering the same high overall performance, further strengthening its portfolio for mid- to large-size touch applications. Both the GT9976 and GT7A series have been validated by leading device brands and display panel manufacturers, and are set to be adopted in foldable smartphones, gaming tablets, and slim flagship tablets — enabling smoother, more precise, and more reliable large-screen interaction.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goodix-unveils-new-generation-touch-screen-controllers-for-medium-and-large-displays-302859395.html

SOURCE Goodix

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