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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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China Xplained | The China Squeeze, or the China Opportunity?

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GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This is a news report from South: 

Is China’s manufacturing rise squeezing out or creating opportunities for other economies?

Ahead of the 2026 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in China this November, journalists and experts from around the world gathered in Guangdong for the Asia-Pacific Media Forum (APMF) 2026.

The forum opened in Shenzhen on September 5, bringing together more than 400 representatives from across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as from international organizations.

Before the opening of the forum, participants travelled across Guangdong to see China’s industries and development first-hand.

In this episode of China Xplained, we look at the numbers, supply chains, investment and voices from across the developing world—to ask a bigger question: Is China squeezing out room for other economies?

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SOURCE South

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PUDU D7 Named Honoree in IFA Innovation Awards for Best in IFA Next & Emerging Technologies

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BERLIN, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pudu Robotics, a global leader in commercial service robotics, today announced that its PUDU D7 Semi-humanoid Intelligent Robot has been named an Honoree in the Best in IFA Next & Emerging Technologies category of the IFA Innovation Awards. The recognition highlights PUDU D7’s ability to combine mobile navigation, dexterous manipulation and intelligent sensing to perform a range of tasks in real-world industrial and commercial environments.

The IFA Innovation Awards recognize outstanding innovations across the global technology landscape. Entries are evaluated by an independent international jury based on criteria including technology and functionality, innovation and originality, and the potential to create tangible value for users and the market. The recognition places PUDU D7 among emerging technologies demonstrating new possibilities for the future of robotics.

From Industrial Operations to Guest Interaction

PUDU D7 is designed for industrial, warehouse, retail and hospitality environments, where it can move through human-oriented spaces and perform tasks that require both mobility and dexterous manipulation.

In industrial and warehouse settings, D7 can handle materials, pick items from shelves, replenish inventory, transport goods between work areas and push carts. With a payload capacity of up to 20 kg (44.1 pounds) and an operating height of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet), it can work with a range of storage systems and materials.

In retail, D7 can support shelf replenishment, item handling and store organization, moving products between storage areas and shelves and helping maintain product displays.

In hotels and hospitality, PUDU D7 can take on the role of an intelligent front-desk host, welcoming guests, preparing and serving coffee, interacting with visitors and providing engaging experiences. Its semi-humanoid form and dual-arm capabilities allow it to combine practical service tasks with natural human-robot interaction, bringing a more personable and engaging presence to the guest experience.

Designed for Adaptable Performance

PUDU D7 combines a dual-arm manipulation system, tactile sensing and a 360-degree perception system to support these applications. Front- and rear-facing LiDAR and other sensors enable navigation around people and obstacles, while tactile sensing provides precise control when handling objects.

The robot also features autonomous battery swapping, allowing it to independently replace its battery and reduce downtime during extended operation.

Together, these capabilities enable D7 to support different tasks across a range of environments without being limited to a single application.

PUDU D7 Makes Its European Debut at IFA

IFA 2026 marks the first time PUDU D7 is being showcased in Europe. At the Pudu Robotics booth, visitors can experience live demonstrations highlighting the robot’s capabilities and its potential for human-robot interaction.

D7 interacts directly with visitors through demonstrations including waving, making heart gestures and picking up objects. These demonstrations showcase the robot’s ability to combine movement, manipulation and interaction in a human-oriented environment.

Advancing the Next Generation of Intelligent Robotics

The IFA Innovation Awards recognition marks another step in Pudu Robotics’ expansion from service delivery, commercial cleaning and industrial delivery into embodied intelligent robotics.

PUDU D7 is part of Pudu Robotics’ broader strategy to develop a portfolio of specialized, semi-humanoid and humanoid robots, building on its capabilities in embodied navigation, manipulation and interaction. This approach enables the company to address a broader range of applications across commercial and industrial environments.

Pudu Robotics will continue working with customers and partners worldwide to explore new applications for embodied intelligence and bring increasingly capable robots into real-world environments.

About Pudu Robotics

Pudu Robotics is a global leader in commercial service robotics and the industry’s first company to offer a full portfolio spanning specialized, semi-humanoid, and humanoid robots. According to Frost & Sullivan’s latest market report, Pudu Robotics ranks No. 1 globally in commercial service robotics by both revenue and shipment volume. Built on its One Brain, Multiple Embodiments architecture, Pudu offers robots for service delivery, commercial cleaning, industrial delivery, and general embodied AI applications across hospitality, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, education, public services, and more. To date, Pudu Robotics has shipped over 130,000 robots to customers across 85+ countries and regions.

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SOURCE Pudu Robotics

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Asia-Pacific Media Forum held in China’s Guangdong

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SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from Xinhuanet: 

The Asia-Pacific Media Forum opened on Saturday in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, with the theme of “Building a Path to Shared Prosperity for the Asia-Pacific Community: Media Consensus and Action.”

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech. Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, attended the forum and delivered a speech.

Participating guests noted that this year marks 2026 APEC “China Year,” during which China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. They expressed their belief that with support from all sides, the summit will yield fruitful outcomes and elevate Asia-Pacific cooperation to new heights.

Participating guests emphasized that development and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region depend on the active participation of media. The media are expected to share stories of openness and integration, provide comprehensive coverage of the region’s progress and achievements across various fields, and help foster a favorable public opinion environment for the region’s open development.

Participating guests noted that the media should actively promote outcomes of the series of APEC activities, interpret policies and measures of various economies to support scientific and technological innovation, and build regional consensus for innovative development.

They also called for deepening results-oriented cooperation in joint reporting, technological innovation and personnel training, and leveraging media exchanges to carry forward civilizations, spread culture and convey goodwill, so as to enhance mutual understanding and closer bonds among the peoples of the Asia-Pacific.

The forum was co-hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Xinhua News Agency and the Guangdong provincial government, and organized by the Shenzhen municipal government.

More than 400 representatives from over 40 countries and regions, as well as UN agencies and international organizations, attended the event. At the opening ceremony, 16 founding organizations from China and abroad jointly formed the Organizing Committee of the Asia-Pacific Media Partnership Program.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/asia-pacific-media-forum-held-in-chinas-guangdong-302870809.html

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