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Vincent and Phyllis Bacon STEM Entrepreneurship Fellowship Marks Five Years Connecting YSU Students With Hands-On Experience at YBI Portfolio Companies

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More than 30 internships and four full-time hires mark five years of the Bacon Fellowship program

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Vincent and Phyllis Bacon STEM Entrepreneurship Fellowship, a partnership between YBI and Youngstown State University, has placed more than 30 students in hands-on STEM internships with YBI portfolio companies since 2021, with four full-time hires by YBI portfolio companies.

The Bacon Fellowship program was established in 2021 through a nearly $1 million endowment from Vince and Phyllis Bacon, in partnership with Youngstown State University and YBI. The program pairs students with YBI portfolio companies for hands-on STEM internships, giving them real-world experience alongside coursework. Tyler Barzak, a YSU mechanical engineering student who interned at JuggerBot 3D, was the first Bacon Fellow. He was later hired full-time by Ursa Major, a YBI portfolio company located on YBI’s campus.

Interns have found fellowship at YBI portfolio companies including JuggerBot 3D, Bearing Distributors Inc. (BDI), Tailored Alloys, Fitz Frames, VISTA/AST, Spokbee, LeapFast, and Gizmo & Trinket. In all, four Fellows have been hired full-time by YBI portfolio companies.

“Establishing an internship program with YBI was a perfect fit for us. We wanted to do something that would help the community. Through discussions with YBI’s team, we realized that with our financial support, a program could be created to offer YSU students lifelong opportunities and skills. We also hoped that some interns would keep their skills in the community,” said Vince and Phyllis Bacon. “To have interns hired by YBI portfolio companies is exactly what we hoped for. It looks like we made a good investment. We are so very pleased and proud.”

YBI is a globally recognized economic development nonprofit advancing innovation and growth across Ohio and beyond, with deep roots in the Mahoning Valley. Its portfolio companies span advanced manufacturing and technology, and its programs include the Engine Tech Incubator, Advanced Manufacturing Services, Explore VR, and it hosts the Ohio Department of Development’s Youngstown/Warren Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC). The Bacon Fellowship program is part of YBI’s broader effort to build a pipeline of skilled talent for the companies it supports, connecting YSU students directly with the manufacturers and technology firms driving regional growth.

“The Vincent and Phyllis Bacon STEM Entrepreneurship Fellowship opened the first real door into the startup world for me. It gave me the space, mentorship, and resources to build the skills that make me a more dynamic engineer and employee today. My time at JuggerBot 3D showed me how advanced manufacturing can power real companies, and that path has come full circle in my role at Ursa Major, where I’m applying those same lessons in a fast-growing aerospace environment,” said Ty Barzak, additive manufacturing operations lead at Ursa Major.

Portfolio companies that have hosted Bacon Fellows describe the program as a direct pipeline to skilled local talent.

“The Bacon Fellows interns have been a tremendous asset to our additive manufacturing team. They have contributed directly to production by supporting manufacturing operations, learning advanced technologies, and bringing enthusiasm to every project,” said Tyler Pagley, lead additive manufacturing engineer at BDI. “Their willingness to learn, strong work ethic, and genuine interest in the industry have made a meaningful impact on our organization while providing them with valuable real-world experience. We are grateful to the Bacon family and the Bacon Fellows program for investing in YSU students and creating opportunities that connect talented young professionals with local industry.”

Amiel Bernal, Ph.D., chief operating officer of Tailored Alloys and Tailored Rings, said YBI’s facilitation of the Bacon Fellowship program has created a talent pipeline in the Valley, and that the company is on track to hire its second full-time employee from that pipeline. He said the program has enabled Tailored Alloys to develop YSU students with no prior industry experience into full-time employees the company is eager to hire.

“Five years and 30-plus internships in, the Bacon Fellowship program is exactly the kind of talent pipeline YBI was built to support. Every Fellow leaves with real, hands-on experience, and four have gone on to full-time roles at YBI portfolio companies – proof this model works. We’re grateful to Vince and Phyllis Bacon for believing in that vision from the start,” said Colleen Kelly, senior vice president of YBI.

That confidence comes as Ohio builds on its 2026 CNBC ranking as the nation’s top state for business. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel visited America Makes, located on YBI’s campus in Youngstown, on Aug. 17 as part of the state’s ‘Heart of Opportunity’ tour, joined by YBI CEO Barb Ewing as a panelist. For YBI, the Bacon Fellowship program remains one piece of that broader effort, turning STEM students into the skilled workforce the state is counting on.

For more information on the Bacon Fellowship program, visit ybi.org.

About YBI

YBI is a globally recognized economic development nonprofit supporting startups, small businesses, and manufacturers across Ohio through incubation, advanced manufacturing services, minority business assistance, and immersive workforce development. For more information, visit ybi.org.

Media Contact
Jessica Sprowl
Marketing and Communications Director, YBI
jsprowl@ybi.org 

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SOURCE YBI

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LF AI & Data Foundation Welcomes AIRSEAI to Unite Open Source Embodied AI Ecosystem

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August 26, 2026

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Collaborative framework contributed by Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society addresses robotics fragmentation and ensures cross-platform hardware interoperability

Summary

LF AI & Data Foundation welcomes AIRSEAI, an open source embodied AI project designed to let robotic intelligence evolve through real deployment.The project establishes a modular framework to solve fragmentation across proprietary robotics platforms, ensuring hardware and AI model interoperability.The contribution provides a neutral home to accelerate the creation of practical, physical AI systems that interact seamlessly with the world.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LF AI & Data Foundation, a Linux Foundation umbrella organization supporting open source innovation in artificial intelligence and data under the Linux Foundation, today announced that AIRSEAI, an open source embodied AI project initiated by Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS), has joined the Foundation. Together with LF AI & Data, AIRSEAI will provide a neutral home for global collaboration to accelerate the development of deployable embodied AI, or the integration of AI into physical systems, enabling them to interact with the world.

The embodied AI ecosystem is fragmented across proprietary robotic platforms, hardware-specific software stacks, isolated datasets and models that are difficult to evaluate or reuse. AIRSEAI, under the LF AI & Data Foundation, addresses this challenge with a unified framework that enables researchers, developers and manufacturers to test and deploy intelligence across diverse hardware architectures without vendor lock-in.

“Embodied AI presents new and complex challenges for how AI interacts with the physical world,” said Mark Collier, general manager of AI & Infrastructure at the Linux Foundation and executive director of LF AI & Data. “By hosting AIRSEAI, the LF AI & Data Foundation is helping to break down proprietary silos that have long hindered robotics innovation, and providing an open, collaborative ecosystem that ensures the future of embodied AI is interoperable, scalable and driven by the global community.”

AIRSEAI’s three-stage roadmap advances embodied AI through modular single-robot intelligence, data-driven dual-arm manipulation and collective adaptive intelligence. AIRSEAI 2.0 accelerates this vision with production-ready features like vision-based tactile sensing and an elastic model zoo. Ultimately, future AIRSEAI 3.0 release updates will enable heterogeneous robots to seamlessly coordinate across distributed environments, creating a shared foundation for next-generation embodied AI.

“We are very happy to join the Linux Foundation family,” said Shaoshan Liu, initiator of the AIRSEAI project and Director of Embodied AI at the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS). “We believe AIRSEAI provides essential open infrastructure for enabling robotic evolution. By connecting data, models, software and diverse robotic platforms, AIRSEAI allows robots to continuously learn, adapt and improve through real-world deployment, while enabling the broader community to build and share embodied intelligence on a common foundation.”

Organizations interested in contributing to AIRSEAI or learning more about the project are encouraged to visit the project website and GitHub.

About the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects, including Linux, Kubernetes, Model Context Protocol (MCP), OpenChain, OpenSearch, OpenSSF, OpenStack, PyTorch, Ray, RISC-V, SPDX and Zephyr, provide the foundation for global infrastructure. The Linux Foundation is focused on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact
The Linux Foundation
pr@linuxfoundation.org 

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SOURCE The Linux Foundation

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ProphetX and Swivel Gaming Partner to Expand Access to CFTC-Regulated Prediction Markets Through Swivel’s B2B Technology Platform

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August 26, 2026

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Integration will give participating operators a streamlined way to connect their users to ProphetX’s regulated exchange through Swivel’s platform for emerging verticals

NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ProphetX, America’s first federally regulated sports-native prediction market, and Swivel Gaming, a global B2B technology provider, today announced a strategic partnership that will make ProphetX connectivity available through Swivel’s unified platform.

Through a single technical integration with Swivel, participating operators can connect to ProphetX under direct agreements and give eligible users access to ProphetX’s exchange from within their existing digital experiences. Swivel simplifies the technology connection, while each participating operator maintains a direct relationship with ProphetX.

Unlike a traditional sportsbook model, where the house sets the line and takes the other side of every transaction, ProphetX operates as a true exchange — a two-sided marketplace where buyers and sellers set prices and every trade is executed as a CFTC-regulated derivatives contract. For the operators running on Swivel’s platform, that means a new, complementary product line sitting alongside their existing offerings, with pricing and liquidity set by the market rather than the house. ProphetX remains responsible for the regulated exchange and clearing functions, including customer eligibility, clearing, custody, market operations and surveillance, while Swivel focuses on technology connectivity and its platform relationships.

“Swivel gives us an efficient way to extend ProphetX connectivity across a broad network of platforms while preserving a direct relationship between each participating platform and our exchange. Swivel simplifies the technology integration, and ProphetX continues to operate the regulated market infrastructure. It is a scalable model that lets partners focus on their own customer experience.”

– Jake Benzaquen, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, ProphetX

“Our turnkey platform is built to make new emerging verticals easier for partners to deploy and manage through one unified back-office. Integrating ProphetX gives participating operators a streamlined connection to a regulated prediction market exchange, while ProphetX operates the exchange, clearing and customer eligibility functions behind the trading experience.”

– Michael Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer, Swivel Gaming

A Scalable B2B Distribution Model for Prediction Markets

ProphetX’s B2B model is designed to let operators maintain their brand, customer experience and product roadmap while connecting eligible users to ProphetX’s exchange. Swivel’s integration creates a single technology distribution channel for participating operators, reducing implementation work and simplifying connectivity.

Participating operators will contract directly with ProphetX and complete ProphetX onboarding before exchange access goes live. Eligible users will access the market under ProphetX’s normal KYC and jurisdictional requirements, with orders executed and cleared on ProphetX. The integration is expected to roll out across Swivel’s platform network in the coming months, with additional details on available markets and onboarding to be announced closer to launch.

About ProphetX

Founded in 2018, ProphetX is America’s first sports-native prediction market. The company is a regulated U.S. exchange for event-driven contracts, built on a sports-focused foundation and designed to expand across a broad range of event markets. Its mission is to create the world’s most trusted and innovative marketplace where anyone can participate in event outcomes.

About Swivel Gaming

Swivel Gaming is a global B2B technology provider specializing in emerging digital verticals. Its unified platform combines account management, back-office reporting, payments, KYC and fraud-mitigation tools, giving partners the infrastructure to launch and scale digital products across North America and internationally.

Media Contacts

ProphetX: ProphetX Newsroom | press@prophetexchange.com

Swivel: sales@swivelgaming.com

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SOURCE ProphetX

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Ninkear to Unveil AI-Ready Mini PCs and Performance Laptops at IFA 2026

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August 26, 2026

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BERLIN, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ninkear, a practical AI PC brand for mobile professionals, will participate in IFA Berlin 2026 to present its latest compact computing solutions and actively seek new partners and distributors worldwide.

Since 2020, Ninkear has focused on reliable performance and energy efficiency under its “Nothing Extra” philosophy—the right performance for real work, no more, no less. The company offers free shipping from its European warehouse, 30-day returns, and a 2-year warranty; products are available in 25+ markets and trusted by over 200 enterprise customers.

At IFA, Ninkear will highlight these key models:

Mini PCs

Ninkear L20 AI Mini PC – Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 Processor 226V with 97 TOPS AI Performance. Ultra-compact design delivering practical local AI for office and multi-display use.Ninkear MBOX 18 Mini PC – Palm-sized all-metal body with Intel® Core™ 3 processor 304, dual M.2 SSD slots, USB4 ports, and quiet cooling for reliable everyday performance.

Laptops

Ninkear S13 2-in-1 Laptop – 13-inch 2.5K anti-glare screen, Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 Processor 115U + 16GB memory, slim metal body, Unlock AI Productivity.Ninkear U9 Pro Laptop – Powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 Processor 185H, built for professionals. Supports 35 TOPS AI Performance for private local AI processing.

We are actively seeking distributors and partners in various countries and regions.

Visit our booth to experience the products, discuss cooperation opportunities, and explore potential partnerships. We look forward to meeting you!

IFA Berlin 2026

Dates: September 4–8, 2026

Booth: H5.2-450

Address: Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin, Germany

For more information, visit https://ninkear.com/

Media Contact:
marketing@ninkear.com
+8615914917645

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