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Apaluma Announces $5.55 Million Seed Funding to Scale Unified Government Data Platform

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Apaluma, which transforms fragmented regulatory records into a unified ecosystem, today announced the closing of its $5.55 million seed funding round led by Crosslink Capital and Kickstart, co-led by Haven Ventures and Overwater Ventures, with Orange DAO and NM Vintage Fund as additional pre-seed and seed investors.

Government agencies hold the data that shapes daily life: Permits, regulations, and environmental records are all public records. Most of it sits in PDFs, scanned ledgers, and incompatible databases. It exists, but no one can use it. Apaluma transforms fragmented regulatory records into one connected ecosystem.

The records become searchable, secure, mapped to real-world locations, and governed by each agency’s own rules. The platform is purpose-built for the full regulatory life cycle and serves analysts, scientists, and regulators who need answers in hours, not weeks.

“With Apaluma, every record — from filing to enforcement — lives in one connected system,” said Apaluma founder and CEO Alicia J. Keyes. “That unification expedites permitting, speeds up FOIA requests, streamlines agency operations, and makes the regulatory life cycle of a location coherent and actionable.”

“We invest in founders who understand a problem from the inside,” said Gabby Contro of Crosslink Capital. “Alicia ran economic development for the state of New Mexico. She has sat at the nexus of sustainability and development. That firsthand insight is what convinced us that Apaluma can solve this long-fragmented problem for regulators and businesses.”

For more information, visit www.apaluma.com.

FAQ

What environmental data does Apaluma work with?

Government agencies hold the world’s most critical data sets around air, water, energy, and waste — data that shapes daily life via permits, regulations, environmental records, and public filings.

How does Apaluma unify government environmental data?

Apaluma links every facility, permit, violation, and record by meaning through data ontology, not just by keyword, so queries surface the full regulatory picture of a location.

How does Apaluma handle environmental data digitization?

Apaluma ingests decades of scanned PDFs, classifying and normalizing records into structured intelligence. The platform also connects legacy systems without rip-and-replace, so agency data stays where it lives.

Can Apaluma support a public environmental data project?

In New Mexico, the Apaluma platform ingested every public document the New Mexico Environment Department has ever filed, normalized it, and made the entire archive searchable from a single interface, with cited sources on every answer.

Does Apaluma work with air pollution data, pollution data, and air quality data for government agencies?

The platform connects monitoring feeds and sensor data to decades of permitting context on a single dashboard, unifying siloed state, federal, city, and county records into maps, charts, and dashboards in one place.

Does Apaluma offer water-quality data solutions?

Apaluma is used daily by permit reviewers, compliance officers, and water-quality analysts — all without hallucinated facts or untraceable claims.

For more information:
matthewmurray@cozen.com

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Guidepoint Relocates Shanghai Office to Strengthen Regional Presence

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Guidepoint, a global pioneer in access to expert insight, today announced the relocation of its Shanghai office to the Bund Center on East Yan’an Road.

Building on more than a decade of sustained growth in China, the relocation positions Guidepoint in the heart of Shanghai’s business district, bringing the firm closer to the clients and partners it serves while providing a modern, collaborative workspace for its growing team.

“Research today has evolved beyond standalone expert calls to more connected, AI-enabled workflows,” said Michael Wang, Guidepoint’s Director and Head of China. “The new Shanghai office brings together capabilities across research, product innovation, compliance, and operations, reinforcing Guidepoint’s commitment to delivering source-backed insight through rigorous standards, transparency, and integrity.”

“Shanghai remains one of the world’s most influential centers for business and finance, connecting decision-makers across industries and markets,” said Chris Bonsi, Head of APAC. “This relocation reinforces our long-term commitment to the region and strengthens our ability to serve clients and attract top talent.”

As demand for expert-led, source-backed insight continues to grow, Guidepoint is focused on expanding its research capabilities by combining expert knowledge, proprietary content, and technology-enabled workflows to help clients move from uncertainty to conviction with greater speed and confidence.

About Guidepoint
Guidepoint provides real-time access to expert insights, combining human expertise with AI-powered research tools to deliver knowledge at scale. Backed by a global network of more than 2M+ subject-matter experts, Guidepoint equips institutional investors, consulting firms, and corporations with the context they need across companies, markets, and trends. Through live, asynchronous, and agentic workflows, Guidepoint embeds expert knowledge directly into decision-making, turning answers into action when timing matters most.

More on Guidepoint

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Reap Launches First Ever Managed Fraud and Risk Service for Card Programs

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Reap Sentry configures and manages fraud controls for clients’ card programs, eliminating the need for additional monitoring tools or in-house fraud specialists.

HONG KONG, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reap, a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-enabled infrastructure, today announced the launch of Reap Sentry, a managed card fraud and risk service. Through Sentry, Reap manages a client’s end-to-end transaction risk management – from configuring fraud rules and screening authorisations in real time to investigating alerts, processing chargebacks, and reporting confirmed fraud to Visa. Clients do not need to build or license additional fraud-monitoring tools, or hire a dedicated fraud team.

Payment card fraud losses worldwide totalled USD 33.41 billion in 2024 (The Nilson Report, January 2026), tied to global card volume of USD 51.920 trillion (The Nilson Report, January 2026). Every card in circulation is a live payment instrument, with authorisation decisions made in milliseconds. Fraud must be stopped at the point of authorisation, not afterwards, as the knock-on costs of fraud can often exceed the value of the fraud itself. Meanwhile, evolving attack patterns make fraud management an ongoing operational function.

Built on the technology within Reap’s issuing portfolio, Sentry combines the fraud policy, tooling, and day-to-day operations required to manage transaction risk effectively. Having issued millions of cards over eight years of card issuance, Reap brings to Sentry controls informed by fraud patterns observed across its entire issuing portfolio. These controls are tailored to each client’s business profile, including its cardholder segments, geographic footprint, and stated risk appetite.

Sentry conducts ongoing screening and declines suspected fraud in real time at authorisation; triages and investigates alerts; and continuously updates controls as new threats emerge, including BIN attacks and merchant breaches. The service also processes and represents chargebacks submitted by clients, reports confirmed fraud, and provides program performance reporting on an agreed cadence. Controls are reviewed and refined as each program evolves, without requiring client intervention. Clients can integrate with Sentry through a single Reap API.

Reap protects the authorisation layer it operates and observes, while clients retain responsibility for the cardholder relationship and key first-party fraud entry points, including onboarding, identity verification and account access.

“Most companies launching a card programme have to build a fraud function from day one. Doing so requires specialist tooling, dedicated expertise and several months of preparation before they can safely issue a single card, by which point the threat landscape may already have shifted. That is rarely how a team wants its first months to go.” said Harris Leow, Head of Product, Reap. “Sentry takes on that entire card fraud function: our controls, data and specialists, tailored to each card programme.”

Sentry is available to new Reap card issuing clients and to existing clients at contract renewal, on Reap’s own API.

To find out more about Sentry, visit our website: https://reap.global/products/sentry-fraud-risk-management

About Reap
Reap is a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-enabled infrastructure. We transform the financial landscape through more efficient money movement by merging traditional finance with digital assets, bridging disparate economies and connecting key financial markets.

Reap was an early leader in Asia to incorporate stablecoins into our solutions. In 2025, Reap processed billions in stablecoin-funded transaction flows. From stablecoin-enabled corporate cards to cross-border payments, we streamline financial operations and empower companies to scale with our integrated business accounts and embedded finance solutions.

Founded and headquartered in Hong Kong, Reap employs 300 people worldwide. More information about Reap can be found at reap.global.

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Envision Energy Powers Morocco’s First Large-Scale Battery Storage System at OCP’s Benguerir Mining Site

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BENGUERIR, Morocco, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Envision Energy, a global leader in green technology, today announced the successful energisation of Morocco’s first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage system at OCP Green Energy’s Benguerir mining site. The 25 MW / 125 MWh system was supplied and commissioned by Envision Energy under a contract signed in late 2025, and is now undergoing testing before entering commercial operation.

Envision Energy provided the full storage system and led the commissioning work, integrating the BESS with the site’s solar generation, grid conditions and industrial load profile. The system is designed to shift surplus solar power from daytime generation to peak consumption hours, reducing the site’s peak-hour electricity bill by approximately 25%.

With five hours of storage capacity, the BESS functions as an industrial energy management tool rather than a short-duration grid asset. It is supported by USD 20 million from the Clean Technology Fund, managed through the African Development Bank Group, and is designed for a 25-year lifetime with daily charge-discharge cycles. For OCP, the value lies not in battery capacity, but in the system’s ability to reduce peak-hour costs over a 25-year operating life.

“The successful energisation of Morocco’s first large-scale battery storage project demonstrates the reliability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of integrated renewable-plus-storage solutions in industrial applications,” said John Lee, General Manager of Envision Energy for the Middle East and Africa. “Envision is proud to be part of this landmark project and to contribute green technology to Morocco’s energy transition.”

As highlighted in OCP Group’s official press release announcing the milestone, Omar Kadir, CEO of OCP Green Energy, said: Storage is the natural extension of our energy strategy. It allows us to reconcile the variable output of renewable energy with the continuous needs of our industrial platforms, while strengthening the reliability of our energy supply. Beyond OCP Group’s own needs, this technology paves the way for a more harmonious integration of renewable energy into the national power system. By bringing greater flexibility and resilience to the grid, it will help accelerate the deployment of renewable capacity.”

The project marks a significant milestone for battery storage and industrial decarbonisation in Morocco. It supports the country’s target of achieving 52% of installed electricity capacity from renewable sources by 2030 and serves as a benchmark for industrial decarbonisation across Africa.

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