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illumend, from myCOI, Wins Stevie Award for New AI-Native Product Redefining Insurance Compliance and Risk Intelligence

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Stevie recognizes honors illumend’s approach to helping organizations identify insurance risk before it becomes a claim, delay, dispute, or financial loss

INDIANAPOLIS, July 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — illumend®, from myCOI, the next-generation AI platform redefining how companies manage third-party risk and insurance compliance, today announced it has been named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Domain Specific AI Platform of the Year – Artificial Intelligence category in the third annual Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence.

The award recognizes illumend’s use of practical, explainable AI to address a persistent business risk: determining whether the insurance carried by contractors, vendors, tenants, suppliers, and other third parties actually satisfies contractual requirements.

For risk, legal, procurement, finance, and operations leaders, collecting a Certificate of Insurance (COI) is not the same as confirming protection. Insurance documents can be incomplete, inconsistent, expired, or misaligned with contractual obligations. When those issues go undetected, organizations may be left exposed to claims, project delays, contractual disputes, and unexpected financial liability.

illumend was built to close that gap.

Rather than functioning as a document repository, illumend analyzes insurance records, compares coverage against organizational requirements, flags potential deficiencies, and guides teams toward resolution. This helps organizations move from reactive document collection to proactive, risk-based insurance compliance.

“Too many organizations have a false sense of security because a document has been collected and stored,” said Kristen Nunery, founder and CEO of illumend. “The real question is whether the coverage is adequate, current, and aligned with the contract. illumend helps teams answer that question earlier, more consistently, and with far less manual effort.”

At the center of the illumend platform is Lumie, illumend’s conversational AI guide. Lumie reads insurance documents, identifies compliance issues and coverage gaps in real time, explains findings in plain language, and recommends practical next steps. Together, Lumie and the broader illumend platform help organizations move beyond document collection to proactive insurance compliance through capabilities including:

AI-driven document intelligence that turns unstructured insurance documents into structured, decision-ready informationGuided decision support through Lumie, which explains complex insurance requirements and recommends clear next stepsCoverage gap and underinsurance detection that helps organizations identify potential financial exposure before it becomes a claim, delay or disputeEnd-to-end compliance workflow management for document collection, validation, expiration monitoring, alerts and issue resolutionAudit-ready activity tracking that strengthens transparency, accountability and due diligence

The software is designed for organizations managing large networks of third parties and complex insurance requirements, including businesses in construction, real estate, property management, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, retail, logistics, and other risk-intensive industries.

illumend is backed by myCOI’s 16 years of third-party insurance compliance expertise and institutional intelligence from more than 45 million documents processed, 1.2 million agreements managed, 750,000 third-party partners cleared, and two million coverage gaps identified before claims. That foundation gives illumend a deep body of compliance intelligence from which to help organizations to evaluate risk with greater speed, consistency, and confidence.

“This recognition validates our belief that AI delivers the greatest value when it helps people make better decisions about real business risk,” said Nunery, founder and CEO of illumend. “Insurance compliance has traditionally been document-heavy, difficult to interpret, and highly dependent on manual review. By making that information more understandable and actionable, we are helping organizations reduce uncertainty and intervene before exposure affects a project, property, or business.”

The Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of individuals, teams, and organizations shaping the future of technology across all industry sectors. More than 160 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s honorees.

“We congratulate all of the winners in the third annual Stevie® Awards for Technology Excellence for their outstanding achievements,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “Their innovations are helping shape the future of technology across every industry, and we look forward to celebrating their success on October 28.”

Details about the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence and the list of 2026 Stevie winners are available at http://Tech.StevieAwards.com.

About illumend
Founded in 2025, illumend, from myCOI, is the AI-powered platform redefining how businesses manage third-party insurance compliance and risk. Backed by myCOI, the leader in third-party insurance compliance management with 16 years of expertise, illumend reimagines compliance by guiding every step of the process, from document review and expiration tracking to risk flagging, communication, and resolution, within one intuitive system. Built on myCOI’s institutional foundation, having processed more than 45 million documents, managed over 1.2 million agreements, cleared more than 750,000 third-party partners, and identified more than two million coverage gaps before claims, illumend brings this depth of compliance intelligence into an AI-native platform. At its core is Lumie, illumend’s conversational AI guide that reads complex insurance documents, flags issues in real time, and explains them in language anyone can act on. To learn more, visit https://www.illumend.ai.

Media contact:
Michael Tebo
Gabriel Marketing Group (for illumend, from myCOI)
Email: michaelt@gabrielmarketing.com

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SOURCE illumend

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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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