Technology

EMERGING and Promethean Launch $300M Experience Fund to Back AI for Hospitality

Published

4 hours ago

August 14, 2026

CHICAGO, Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EMERGING and Promethean today announced the launch of The Experience Fund (XPR), a $300 million vehicle with a $500 million hard cap, co-sponsored 50/50 by the two firms. Led by EMERGING Managing Partner Mathew Focht and Promethean Managing Partner Michael Burt, XPR will invest in artificial intelligence, IP holdings Companies and automation platforms built for hospitality and experiential entertainment.

The fund formalizes a six-year working relationship, pairing EMERGING’s origination and operating engine with Promethean’s twenty-year history of institutional private equity investing and capital structuring. XPR targets the intelligence layer of the experience economy—the AI, automation and data infrastructure beneath consumer-facing brands—spanning order and beverage automation, computer vision, autonomous service, and labor and supply-chain intelligence and gaming intellectual property.

The opportunity is scale: the restaurant and foodservice industry is the second-largest private-sector employer in the U.S.—roughly 15.7 million jobs, about 10 percent of the workforce—yet runs on 35 to 40 percent turnover, single-digit margins and heavy manual process.

“Hospitality has enormous scale and very little legacy technology to defend, which is a rare combination,” said Focht. “The winners won’t be the flashiest consumer app. They’ll be the AI platforms that take cost, labor friction and guesswork out of every location—and we can see which ones actually work, because we see the operating data across roughly a third of U.S. restaurants.”

That vantage point comes through Buyers Edge Platform, the industry’s largest food and beverage platform, which works with nearly one in three U.S. restaurants. Prospective portfolio companies gain a route to market across tens of thousands of operators on day one. John Davie is GP of EMERGING and CEO of Buyers Edge Platform.

“Technology is now transforming entertainment the way it already transformed music, film and television,” said Burt. “We’re investing in the infrastructure that drives physical entertainment. The businesses that we are investing in are delivering a technology driven experience as well as the B2B infrastructure that helps deliver the best in-person experience for the consumers.

EMERGING’s category history includes IP-driven social entertainment concepts F1 Arcade, Flight Club US, Poolhouse and Batbox, alongside technology platforms TaiV, Botrista, BrewBird and Serve.

About EMERGING FUND MANAGEMENT LLC

EMERGING is an investment and operating platform focused on AI and technology for hospitality, competitive social entertainment and experiential hospitality. Founded by Mathew Focht, it is headquartered in Chicago.

About Promethean Investments LLP

Promethean is a U.S. and U.K-based private equity investment firm with more than 20 years of experience structuring, scaling and investing in consumer, retail and services businesses.

xpr.fund

This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any such offer will be made only to qualified investors pursuant to definitive offering documents.

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SOURCE EMERGING

Technology

DREO to Unveil New Air Products, Technologies and Air Intelligence at IFA 2026

Published

60 minutes ago

August 14, 2026

CLIFTON, N.J., Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — DREO, a global smart home brand, today announced its participation at IFA 2026 in Berlin, Germany, from September 4 to 8 under the theme “AIR, Mastered.”

At the show, DREO will unveil its new Air Purifier lineup led by its latest flagship model, preview next-generation heating technologies featuring a new adaptive airflow innovation, and introduce DREO Air Intelligence, the company’s AI-powered system for more intelligent home air management.

Visitors to the DREO booth will experience:

New Air Purifier lineup, led by DREO’s latest flagship model and featuring the company’s newest purification technologies, immersive user experiences and connected smart capabilities.Next-generation Heating Technologies, introducing a new adaptive airflow innovation that seamlessly transitions between focused warmth and whole-room heating, offering an early preview of DREO’s upcoming winter innovations.DREO Air Intelligence, an AI-powered system that combines environmental sensing, intelligent reasoning and coordinated device control to enable smarter home air management.

“People don’t experience home wellness through a single product. They experience it through the air around them,” said Olivia Xu, Chief Marketing Officer at DREO. “For us, mastering air has never been just about stronger airflow, faster heating or better purification. It’s about making air itself work more intelligently for people. At IFA, we’re bringing together new air products, breakthrough heating technologies and DREO Air Intelligence to show how air can better understand the home, adapt to changing needs and create a smarter everyday living experience.”

DREO’s new Air Purifier and heating technologies are both designed around how air moves through the home. DREO Air Intelligence extends that same focus across connected devices, coordinating purification, heating and future products around real-time conditions in the home.

Beyond its product and technology showcases, DREO will also take the IFA Dream Stage for a panel discussion titled “How Air, Connectivity and Intelligence Bridge the Last Mile of Home Wellness.”

The session will be moderated by Anna Heim of TechCrunch, with featured speaker Tobin Richardson, President & CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, alongside industry leaders from smart home, connected health and home air management. The discussion will explore how AI, connectivity home air management can move beyond basic automation to make home wellness more responsive, personalized and meaningful in everyday life.

For those attending in person, visit the DREO booth at Hall 9, Stand 130, Messe Berlin from September 4 to 8 and join the Dream Stage panel at Hall 25, Messe Berlin on Friday, September 4, 2026, from 12:45 to 13:15 CEST. Please click here to register the DREO IFA panel. For more information and press materials, visit here

ABOUT DREO

DREO, the home tech pioneer transforming everyday comfort through innovation and elegant design, continues to redefine modern living. Specializing in air comfort and smart kitchen solutions, DREO has earned the trust of over 30 million users. Proudly becoming the No.1 U.S. Home Comfort Growth Brand for Two Consecutive Years* and the No. 1 Household Fan Brand on Amazon U.S.** for Three Consecutive Years, DREO’s products are known for their exceptional performance, energy efficiency, and seamless smart home integration, delivering both convenience and sustainability to households across the globe.

For more details visit: https://www.DREO.com/
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DREOHome
Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/DREO.home/
https://www.instagram.com/DREO.kitchen/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@DREOhome

*Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service. DREO was named the 2026 Winner in the U.S. Home Comfort category for Top Increase in Market Share (12 months ending October 2025), and the 2025 Winner for the Largest Dollar Share Increase in the U.S. Home Comfort category (12 months ending December 2024).

**Source: Ranking based on Stackline data for Amazon US retail sales of household fans from January 2022 to January 2025.

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Technology

Hadrian Closes $360 Million Revolving Credit Facility to Accelerate the Buildout of Its U.S. Manufacturing Footprint

Published

60 minutes ago

August 14, 2026

Capital will support the company’s ability to invest in manufacturing infrastructure and meet production goals across critical programs

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hadrian, the advanced manufacturing company building highly automated factories for America, today announced the closing of a $360 million revolving credit facility. This facility allows Hadrian to further invest in the advanced manufacturing infrastructure, machinery, and related hardware needed to achieve its production goals.

The financing was arranged by a leading group of financial firms, underscoring strong institutional support for Hadrian’s continued growth. Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. served as Lead Left Arranger and Bookrunner, with additional joint lead arrangers and bookrunners Western Alliance Bank, J. P. Morgan, First Citizens Bank, Customers Bank, HSBC Ventures USA Inc, Axos Bank, and Texas Capital Securities. The additional funds come a week after Hadrian announced its $1.37 billion Series D fundraise, which valued the company at $7.87 billion.

“This facility’s closing represents a key next step in Hadrian’s growth trajectory, and underscores the institutional confidence in our strategic direction,” said Hadrian CEO and Founder Chris Power. “This financing will play a critical role in facilitating Hadrian’s build out of the industrial capacity the United States needs to remain strategically competitive, while creating thousands of high-quality jobs across the country.”

The raise will directly support Hadrian’s continued expansion across its growing network of U.S. factories as the company scales production for defense and aerospace customers.

Kirkland & Ellis was counsel to Hadrian on the transaction.

About Hadrian
Hadrian is rebuilding America’s industrial base with highly automated factories that combine process engineering, AI, and robotics. Its mission is to help space and defense manufacturers produce full programs at scale in the U.S. while giving American workers the tools to compete globally.

The company operates four facilities covering just under 3 million square feet: two in Torrance, California, and newly launched sites in Arizona and Alabama, with additional sites in development across the country. More information at https://www.hadrian.co/.

Media Contact
press@hadrian.co

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SOURCE Hadrian

Technology

Oklahoma National Guard Soldiers Save Tens of Thousands of Work Hours After Two-Day Skillquest AI Readiness Lab

Published

60 minutes ago

August 14, 2026

Participants Recognized by National Guard Leadership; Prototypes Continue Operating After Training Concludes

LAWTON, Okla., Aug. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Staff Sgt. Herbert Hailey of the Oklahoma Army National Guard attended a two-day Skillquest AI Readiness Lab in May 2026 and left with a deployed AI tool projected to save 61,000 work hours annually across the Guard. The U.S. Army published an independent account of the achievement on army.mil, the official Army news website.

Hailey entered with no prior platform experience. His tool, built on the Army’s Vantage platform, automates military awards eligibility review. Within the Recruiting and Retention Battalion alone, it eliminates 483 hours of administrative work per award cycle.

Hailey’s prototype was one of several that participants continued developing after the lab. Maj. Christopher Hales built a leadership data dashboard during the course that has since been made operational, projected to save hundreds of Senior Leader hours per year. Both Hailey and Hales were formally recognized for their contributions. Soldiers leave the lab with working tools they continue to build on.

“Watching these Soldiers go from zero to working tools against their own data in two days was genuinely impressive,” said Corbin Fonville, CEO of Skillquest. “Staff Sgt. Hailey’s recognition by General Steven S. Nordhaus and the National Guard Bureau is a testament to what these Soldiers can do when they are given the right training.”

“Staff Sgt. Hailey’s initiative demonstrates the kind of innovation that keeps the Oklahoma National Guard moving forward,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Mancino, Adjutant General of Oklahoma. “Guardsmen at every level are finding new ways to solve problems, improve efficiency and allow our Soldiers and Airmen to focus on what matters most: remaining ready to support our state and federal missions.”

Skillquest coordinates AI Readiness Labs for National Guard and other military units across multiple states. Individual registration options are available for Soldiers and units interested in participating. Learn more at skillquest.io/ailab.

About Skillquest

Skillquest (skillquest.io) is an AI and coding education company serving U.S. military personnel. Its AI Readiness Labs bring participants from zero platform experience to working prototypes in two days, using real organizational data. Skillquest is headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma.

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SOURCE Skillquest