MIDLAND, Texas, Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Robert Stitzel Scholarship for Entrepreneurs officially launches today, offering a dedicated platform for undergraduate students across the United States to advance their business leadership goals. Established by Robert Stitzel, a Professional Engineer and recognized business leader with over three decades of experience in the energy sector, this one-time award aims to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurial thinkers. Robert Stitzel leverages his extensive background in engineering excellence, operational leadership, and company development to provide a meaningful educational opportunity for emerging innovators.

Eligibility for the Robert Stitzel Scholarship for Entrepreneurs requires applicants to hold current enrollment in an accredited undergraduate institution within the United States. Candidates must display a documented interest in entrepreneurship, innovation, or business leadership. The application process requires students to submit a comprehensive packet containing their contact information, university details, field of study, and an optional resume highlighting academic and extracurricular achievements.

A central component of the application involves a substantive essay ranging from 750 to 1,000 words. Robert Stitzel requests that applicants explore a specific challenge they wish to solve through entrepreneurial means. The essay prompts students to articulate a proposed solution, explain the value it generates for others, and detail the leadership qualities necessary to execute the vision successfully. To maintain academic integrity, Robert Stitzel stipulates that all submitted essays must consist of original, unpublished work. Essays generated entirely by artificial intelligence or copied from external sources do not meet the eligibility requirements.

Applicants must compile all required documents into a single PDF file and submit the materials via email. The submission deadline stands as April 15, 2027. Following a thorough review process, the organization announces the selected recipient on May 15, 2027. Because this initiative functions as a one-time award rather than a recurring annual program, undergraduate students are encouraged to prepare their materials well in advance of the spring deadline to ensure consideration.

Through this focused initiative, Robert Stitzel  bridges the gap between academic theory and practical business execution. The Robert Stitzel Scholarship for Entrepreneurs serves as a strategic investment in the future of the American business landscape, prioritizing actionable problem-solving over conventional academic metrics.

Contact Information
Spokesperson: Robert Stitzel
Organization: Robert Stitzel Scholarship for Entrepreneurs
Website: robertstitzelscholarship.com
Email: apply@robertstitzelscholarship.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robert-stitzel-scholarship-for-entrepreneurs-launches-to-fund-undergraduate-innovation-across-the-us-302863062.html

SOURCE Robert Stitzel Scholarship

Financing for NVIDIA AI Infrastructure deployment draws on Blue Owl’s digital infrastructure operating and underwriting experience

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Owl Capital Inc. (NYSE: OWL) (“Blue Owl”), a leading alternative asset manager, today announced that funds managed by Blue Owl led a $2.4 billion compute equipment financing for IREN Limited (NASDAQ: IREN) (“IREN”), a vertically integrated AI Cloud platform delivering data centers, compute, and software for AI training and inference.

The financing comprises a $1.2 billion senior secured term loan and $1.2 billion of senior secured notes, with proceeds to fund IREN’s purchase of air-cooled NVIDIA Accelerated Computing Infrastructure including NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs for IREN’s Mackenzie data center campus in British Columbia, Canada. The facility is structured to fund equipment purchases in tranches over a defined draw period, allowing capital to be deployed alongside the delivery and commissioning of hardware. The transaction supports IREN’s continued build-out of its AI Cloud infrastructure, which is underpinned by a more than 5GW global data center development pipeline.

“Customer demand for AI compute is accelerating, and we are scaling rapidly to meet it. This financing supports the continued build-out of our AI Cloud infrastructure at Mackenzie, expanding our capacity to serve a growing customer base across both AI training and inference workloads,” said Anthony Lewis, Chief Financial Officer, IREN.

“Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) makes NVIDIA AI factories fungible across any customers and workloads—and better over time. That makes NVIDIA AI infrastructure an investable infrastructure asset class for long-term capital. Blue Owl’s $2.4 billion asset-backed GPU financing for IREN is another great proof point—and a repeatable model for financing AI infrastructure at scale,” said Nico Caprez, Vice President, Global AI Infrastructure Growth at NVIDIA.

“This is equipment finance at AI scale, and it demands the same discipline,” said Kurt Tenenbaum, Senior Managing Director at Blue Owl. “Our investment track record, combined with operating experience across more than 100 data centers worldwide, lets us tailor this facility to how AI Infrastructure is actually delivered and deployed. That’s what makes us a partner of choice for the AI compute ecosystem, while providing our investors with strong risk-adjusted returns.”

About Blue Owl Capital Inc.

Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager that is redefining alternatives®. With $319 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, we invest across three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, Real Assets and GP Strategic Capital. Anchored by a strong permanent capital base, we provide businesses with private capital solutions to drive long-term growth and offer institutional investors, individual investors, and insurance companies differentiated alternative investment opportunities that aim to deliver strong performance, risk-adjusted returns, and capital preservation.

Together with over 1,380 experienced professionals globally, Blue Owl brings the vision and discipline to create the exceptional. To learn more, visit www.blueowl.com or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-owl-capital.

About IREN

IREN is a vertically integrated AI Cloud platform, delivering data centers, compute and software for AI training and inference. IREN’s platform is underpinned by its expansive portfolio of land and grid connected power in renewable-rich regions across North America, Europe and APAC.

Investor Contact:
Ann Dai
Head of Investor Relations
blueowlir@blueowl.com

Media Contact
Andrew Williams
Head of Communications
media@blueowl.com 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-owl-managed-funds-lead-2-4-billion-ai-factory-financing-for-iren-302863057.html

SOURCE Blue Owl Capital

DETROIT, Aug. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Driven by a commitment to foster business innovation and leadership across the United States, entrepreneur Ali Kain officially announces the launch of the Ali Kain Scholarship for Entrepreneurs. Designed to support forward-thinking undergraduate students nationwide, this one-time initiative provides critical financial support and recognition to the next generation of business leaders.

The Ali Kain Scholarship for Entrepreneurs offers a $1,000 award to a qualified student who demonstrates a clear passion for starting, growing, or managing a business venture. Unlike location-specific academic grants, this opportunity is open to eligible undergraduate students attending accredited colleges and universities across the nation.

Ali Kain, an accomplished founder and business executive with extensive experience across software development, fuel distribution, and international logistics, established this opportunity to help emerging innovators navigate the challenges of higher education and business creation. Having built multiple successful enterprises from the ground up, Ali Kain recognizes that resilience, resourcefulness, and a strong ethical foundation are essential components of sustainable business growth.

“Hard work and integrity create real opportunities in the business world,” states Ali Kain. “This initiative reflects a dedication to helping ambitious students transform their strategic visions into impactful ventures.”

To qualify for the award, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Enrollment Status: Currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at an accredited institution.Career Path: Pursuing or planning to pursue a career in entrepreneurship, business management, or innovation.Demonstrated Interest: Showing a genuine ambition to build, launch, or scale a commercial venture.Submission Requirement: Submitting a original response to the designated essay prompt.

Applicants must submit a 500-to-750-word essay addressing the following theme:

“Entrepreneurship often requires overcoming significant obstacles — financial, personal, or circumstantial — in pursuit of a larger goal. Describe a challenge you’ve faced (or expect to face) on your path to becoming an entrepreneur, and explain how you plan to use resilience, resourcefulness, and hard work to turn that challenge into an opportunity.”

Key Dates and Application Details:

Application Deadline: April 15, 2027Winner Announcement: May 15, 2027

To apply, eligible candidates must draft their essay response and email the completed text along with their full name, academic institution, and program of study to apply@alikainscholarship.com prior to the official deadline.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ali-kain-launches-national-scholarship-for-aspiring-undergraduate-entrepreneurs-302863066.html

SOURCE Ali Kain Scholarship