Technology

Toku’s Middle East Expansion Runs Ahead of Plan: Talabat Live Across Eight Markets and UAE Subsidiary Incorporated

Published

2 days ago

September 10, 2026

Local entity, in-country hosting and Arabic-language AI with SESTEK position the Group for public-sector tenders across the GCC

Through its newly established subsidiary, Toku Technology L.L.C., Toku can now contract, invoice, hire and pursue government and semi-government tenders directly in the UAE and across the GCCSESTEK, the Company’s first strategic technology partner in the region, brings native Gulf-dialect speech capability which, combined with Toku’s locally hosted deployment options, addresses the language and data-residency requirements of banks, government bodies and telecommunications operatorsTalabat, one of the region’s leading on-demand delivery platforms and Toku’s first customer in the Middle East, is live across all eight of its markets, with more than 8,000 users on the platform, providing early commercial validation of regional demand

SINGAPORE, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Toku Ltd (SGX: TKU) (“Toku” or the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), a Singapore-incorporated AI-powered customer experience (CX) platform, today announced the incorporation of Toku Technology L.L.C., its first in-country entity in the Middle East, marking the next phase of a regional expansion that began in December 2025. The wholly owned subsidiary anchors a footprint that has grown from two to eight markets since then, and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in June 2026 with SESTEK, a conversational AI provider specialising in Arabic-language solutions.

Toku Technology L.L.C. was incorporated on 24 August 2026 as the Group’s in-country operating entity for the Middle East. The subsidiary allows Toku to contract, invoice and receive payment locally, giving enterprise buyers across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) a straightforward way to procure directly from a partner on the ground. It also allows the Group to hire and sponsor local talent and to participate in government and semi-government tenders in the UAE and the wider GCC, where procurement increasingly favours locally incorporated providers able to combine regulatory compliance with in-country infrastructure. The Group is currently participating in a number of tenders in the region, working alongside a regional partner.

Thomas Laboulle, Founder and CEO of Toku, said: “The Middle East has developed ahead of our expectations since our first deployments there last year. The regional disruption earlier this year has durably changed how governments and enterprises assess cloud concentration and data residency, and demand for customer engagement platforms that can run on locally hosted, sovereign or hybrid infrastructure has increased markedly. Our UAE subsidiary gives that demand a local foundation: it lets us contract, invoice, and hire in-country, brings us closer to our customers and partners, and positions Toku to participate fully in the region’s digital transformation. Our partnership with SESTEK follows the principle of composability that runs through our platform: specialist Arabic-language models run behind Toku’s orchestration layer, so organisations across the GCC get the accuracy they need without compromising on the deployment and data requirements that matter most to them.”

SESTEK: First Strategic Technology Partner in the Region

The Group signed a MOU with SESTEK in June 2026, which was disclosed alongside the Group’s 1H2026 results in July 2026. The MOU sets out a framework for SESTEK’s Agentic CX Suite to be integrated into Toku’s offering, adding Arabic-language conversational AI to the Group’s capabilities. Integration work between the two product teams is under way. The partnership will initially focus on opportunities across the Middle East and the GCC, with the potential to expand to additional regions over time by mutual agreement.

“Toku’s entry into the Middle East reflects exactly the kind of ambition this market rewards: combining serious communications infrastructure with a genuine commitment to local relevance. Language is where most voice-AI deployments succeed or fail in this region, and our two decades of work in Arabic, Turkish and multilingual speech technology are built for precisely the dialect diversity and code-switching that GCC organisations deal with every day. We see strong complementarity between SESTEK’s Agentic CX Suite and Toku’s customer experience capabilities, and we look forward to bringing that combination to banks, telecom operators and government bodies across the region as the partnership develops,” Ahmet Subaşı, Managing Director, MEAPAC, SESTEK.

The collaboration addresses a practical challenge facing GCC organisations as they seek to move AI from experimentation to wider deployment. According to a 2025 survey by McKinsey, the level of AI adoption had risen from 62 percent in 2023 to 84 percent in 2025. However, only 31 percent reported their organisations had scaled or fully deployed AI across its operations.

For banks, telecommunications operators and government agencies deploying voice AI in customer service, accuracy in everyday speech is decisive. Spoken Arabic varies considerably across regional dialects, and conversations frequently switch between Arabic and other languages; when interactions are misunderstood, more calls require human intervention and the service and efficiency gains needed to scale voice AI remains out of reach. SESTEK’s speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies are built for this environment, supporting Gulf Arabic variants including Najdi, Kuwaiti and Emirati speech as well as multilingual code-switching involving Arabic, English, French and Urdu. Combined with Toku’s communications infrastructure and customer experience platform, these capabilities allow the two companies to deliver voice-AI solutions that are locally relevant for the diverse communities the region’s organisations serve.

Toku and SESTEK have begun collaborating on active tenders and opportunities in the region, with an initial focus on the UAE. Together with the new local entity, the partnership gives the Group both the on-the-ground presence and the language capability to compete for enterprise and government contracts across the GCC, with further regional expansion under consideration as the partnership matures.

Talabat: Early Commercial Validation Across Eight Markets

Talabat, one of the region’s leading on-demand delivery platforms, is Toku’s first customer in the Middle East, providing early commercial validation of the Group’s regional expansion. Toku’s platform is now live across all eight markets in which Talabat operates, namely Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, supporting more than 8,000 users across in-house and business process outsourcing (BPO) teams for inbound and outbound service.

Toku’s contact centre is integrated with Talabat’s various Customer Relationship Management (CRM) environments, and manages differing regulatory, infrastructure, and language requirements in each market. Following the introduction of voice alongside chat, Talabat’s customer satisfaction (CSAT) rose to approximately 80 percent, a measured uplift of more than 20 percent across the deployment.

The Talabat deployment extends Toku’s track record of supporting multi-market on-demand delivery platforms. It follows go-lives with PedidosYa in Latin America and Glovo in Europe, demonstrating the Group’s ability to deploy its platform across complex and geographically diverse environments, drawing on the same operating model first proven in Asia Pacific.

With Talabat live, a local subsidiary in place and SESTEK as its first strategic technology partner, Toku now has the customer validation, on-the-ground presence and localised technology capabilities to build further momentum across the Middle East.

Toku will showcase its platform at the Customer Experience Live Show Middle East in Dubai on 30 September and 01 October 2026, where Thomas Laboulle will deliver a keynote address.

– END –

About Toku

Headquartered in Singapore, Toku Ltd. (SGX Catalist: TKU) is a cloud-native, AI-powered customer experience platform purpose-built for enterprises operating in complex, multi-market environments. With deep roots in the APAC region and an expanding global footprint, Toku’s modular 360° CX Platform orchestrates customer interactions across voice, chat, email and digital channels while managing regulatory, linguistic and infrastructure complexity at scale. Built on end-to-end ownership of its technology stack, from carrier-grade connectivity to AI applications, Toku delivers enterprise-grade security, reliability and deployment flexibility across commercial cloud, private data centres and hybrid environments. Its AI capabilities include transcription, summarisation, sentiment analysis, conversation analytics and governed virtual agents, designed to integrate seamlessly with enterprise systems and customer data. Trusted by leading enterprises and public-sector organisations, Toku helps organisations streamline operations, scale customer engagement and deliver consistent experiences in fragmented markets worldwide.

For more information about Toku, visit toku.co

About SESTEK

SESTEK is a global solution vendor working on AI-powered products for automation and digitalization of customer experience. Since 2000, SESTEK has been focusing on AI-powered solutions for contact centers, helping over 700 enterprise clients in 20 countries, operating mainly in banking, insurance, telecom, retail and BPO verticals. With offices in the US, UAE, and two R&D centers in Türkiye, SESTEK employs a multidisciplinary team of over 100+ engineers working on conversational AI solutions for self-service and optimization tools for contact centers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Toku’s expansion plans and business strategy. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Toku undertakes no obligation to update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Sponsor’s Statement

Toku Ltd. (the “Company”) was listed on Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “Exchange”) on 22 January 2026. The initial public offering of the Company was sponsored by PrimePartners Corporate Finance Pte. Ltd. (the “Sponsor”). This press release has been reviewed by the Sponsor. It has not been examined or approved by the Exchange and the Exchange assumes no responsibility for the contents of this press release, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this press release. The contact person for the Sponsor is Ms. Ng Shi Qing, 16 Collyer Quay, #10-00 Collyer Quay Centre, Singapore 049318, sponsorship@ppcf.com.sg

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Technology

The World Is Taking Notice: TIME Recognition Fuels VinFast’s Global Journey

Published

3 minutes ago

September 11, 2026

On a rainy Tuesday morning in Paris, a driver waiting at a red light on Boulevard Haussmann might not immediately place the badge on the SUV beside them. Thousands of miles away, a driver in California might have a similar moment seeing the same badge on an American road. It is not German, nor one of the familiar Asian names that have become common across established automotive markets. It belongs to VinFast , a Vietnamese automotive brand that is steadily making its presence felt across Europe and North America, and whose global journey reflects a much larger story unfolding inside its parent group, Vingroup.

PARIS , Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — That journey reached a new milestone this year. Vingroup has been ranked 340th in TIME’s World’s Best Companies 2026, produced jointly with the research firm Statista, placing it among the world’s top 350 businesses and marking a rise of nearly 500 places from the previous year. It is the only Vietnamese company to appear on the list for two consecutive years.

A Ranking Built on More Than Growth

TIME and Statista do not rank companies on size alone. Their methodology weighs three dimensions: revenue growth, employee satisfaction and sustainability transparency. Vingroup earned an overall score of 81 out of 100, rising from 817th to 340th worldwide.

The revenue figures behind that score are substantial. In the first half of 2026, Vingroup posted consolidated net revenue of VND 222.9 trillion, up 72 percent year on year, with profit after tax reaching VND 20.904 trillion, more than four and a half times the figure recorded over the same period in 2025. That growth was driven largely by the Group’s industrial manufacturing and real estate businesses, earning Vingroup an “Outstanding” rating on the revenue metric.

Employee satisfaction told a similar story of momentum. Vingroup climbed to 398th globally, up 496 places, in a workforce that now spans roughly 400,000 people across 12 countries.

On sustainability, the Group’s contribution came through a different kind of infrastructure – green transition projects, urban development, and long-term investment in the systems that sustain a livable city rather than a single quarter’s balance sheet. Vinhomes, the Group’s real estate arm, has extended this thinking through its ESG++ model, adding Regeneration and Resilience to the conventional three pillars of Environmental, Social and Governance work, applied across urban developments spanning thousands of hectares.

Two new business lines added to that picture in 2025: infrastructure, through VinSpeed’s high-speed rail projects connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Can Gio and Hanoi to Quang Ninh, and green energy, through VinEnergo’s projects across multiple provinces. Together, they represent an attempt to build not just individual businesses, but the connective tissue – rail, power and mobility – that a modern, low-carbon economy runs on.

Making the EV Transition More Accessible

Within that broader ecosystem, VinFast represents one of the clearest expressions of Vingroup’s global aspirations. The company’s expansion across Asia, North America and Europe is bringing the Group’s vision for a greener future to an increasingly international audience, while putting a Vietnamese automotive brand directly into competition in some of the world’s most established markets.

For customers considering a new automotive brand, however, global vision is only the starting point. The more important question is whether a new entrant can earn the trust required to become part of everyday life.

Research from the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility offers a useful, if counterintuitive, perspective. Surveying thousands of European car buyers, McKinsey found that Europeans open to considering an Asian market entrant show an overall 53 percent likelihood of switching to a new brand when they move to an electric vehicle – a figure that rises as high as 63 percent in the United Kingdom. Brand loyalty, in other words, is proving more fluid in the EV era than it was in the age of the internal combustion engine.

That shift creates an opening for new EV brands. But winning customers requires more than a competitive vehicle. It requires making electric mobility accessible while building the sales, service and ownership infrastructure that gives customers confidence throughout the ownership journey.

With an increasingly diverse and accessible product portfolio, VinFast remains committed to its mission of making electric vehicles more accessible to everyone and enabling customers to transition to green mobility with greater ease and confidence.

In Europe, the company is expanding its presence with products designed around local priorities of efficiency, design and accessibility, including the VF 6 and VF 8, while electric buses such as the EB 8 and the fully European-certified EB 12 further extend its contribution to the region’s transition toward greener transportation.

Across North America, the same vision is being supported by the expansion of VinFast’s sales and service network and the development of its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program. Together, these initiatives are designed to build a more comprehensive ecosystem around the customer, extending beyond the vehicle itself to the services and support that shape the ownership experience.

Vingroup was the first Vietnamese company to qualify for TIME’s World’s Best Companies list in 2025, while VinFast has earned recognition among TIME100 Most Influential Companies and Asia-Pacific’s Best Companies of 2025. These milestones reflect growing international recognition of Vingroup’s and VinFast’s aspirations, capabilities and expanding global reach.

The latest TIME recognition for Vingroup therefore arrives at a moment when that global reach is becoming increasingly visible. For VinFast, the challenge and opportunity now extend across multiple continents , from European cities where a new badge is gradually becoming familiar, to North American roads where the company is building its presence and customer ecosystem.

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Technology

XLCS Partners advises CID Capital on its investment in Kaiser Garage Doors & Gates

Published

3 minutes ago

September 11, 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce it served as advisor to CID Capital on its investment in Kaiser Garage Doors & Gates, LLC (Kaiser).

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, Kaiser is a leading installer and servicer of residential and commercial overhead doors and gates serving the Phoenix, Tucson, and White Mountains markets. With over 30 years of proven operations, the company has established a strong regional footprint, a reputation for quality and reliability, and long-standing customer relationships.

Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, CID Capital is a private equity firm with decades of experience partnering with high-quality, lower middle market companies. CID makes control investments in companies with a proven track record of success and works alongside management teams to provide strategic guidance, resources, and capital for the next phase of growth, combining a focus on founder- and family-owned companies with a collaborative approach to building long-term value.

Kaiser is the third platform investment made from CID’s latest fund, CID Capital Opportunity Fund IV, L.P. In conjunction with the closing, industry veteran Eric Farley stepped in as CEO to lead the business under CID’s ownership, partnering with Dean Bennett, COO, and the existing Kaiser team.

XLCS acted as buyside advisor to CID Capital in connection with its investment in Kaiser, which was completed on August 14, 2026. The engagement was supported by Jay Cremer, Vice President, and David Silva, Senior Associate.

About XLCS Partners, Inc.
XLCS Partners is a leading global investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services. Visit www.xlcspartners.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Kendra Span
kspan@xlcspartners.com
615-379-7783

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SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc.

Technology

PlanetiQ Selected for NOAA’s Space-Based Environmental Monitoring IDIQ

Published

1 hour ago

September 11, 2026

Selection builds on PlanetiQ’s long-standing relationship with NOAA and adds thermospheric neutral density to its environmental data offerings

GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PlanetiQ, a leading provider of commercial satellite-based environmental data, today announced that it has been selected as an industry partner under NOAA’s new Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. Through the SBEM IDIQ, PlanetiQ will be eligible to compete for task orders to provide NOAA with two types of commercial environmental data: Global Navigation Satellite System-Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) observations for atmospheric profiling and ionospheric monitoring, and thermospheric neutral density data for satellite orbit prediction.

“This selection builds on our long-standing partnership with NOAA and expands the ways our data can support the agency, from high-resolution atmospheric and ionospheric observations to thermospheric neutral density for satellite orbit prediction,” said Ira Scharf, CEO of PlanetiQ.

The SBEM IDIQ, established by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) through its Commercial Data Program. The contract has a five-year base period followed by a five-year option and is effective from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2036.

Under SBEM, PlanetiQ will provide data from its existing satellite constellation as well as additional satellites planned for launch later this year. The company’s GNSS-RO observations provide high-resolution atmospheric profiles for numerical weather prediction and measurements of the ionosphere, including Total Electron Content (TEC) and scintillation. PlanetiQ will also introduce thermospheric neutral density data as a new commercial data product for NOAA NESDIS, supporting improved satellite orbit prediction and space-weather applications.

“PlanetiQ has built its business around delivering high-quality GNSS-RO data with the precision needed to improve weather forecasting,” said Ira Scharf, CEO of PlanetiQ. “This selection builds on our long-standing partnership with NOAA and expands the ways our data can support the agency, from high-resolution atmospheric and ionospheric observations to thermospheric neutral density for satellite orbit prediction. We look forward to continuing to work with NOAA to advance weather forecasting and space weather applications.”

Per NOAA’s own press release, NOAA is expanding its procurement and use of new commercial environmental satellite data streams that will enhance weather forecasting and space weather monitoring. The SBEM IDIQ contract is a key part in the agency’s ongoing effort to boost U.S. weather forecasting capabilities.

PlanetiQ currently provides GNSS-RO data to NOAA NESDIS under the agency’s previous commercial data contract vehicle. The company’s most recent task order, announced in August, provides GNSS-RO and ionospheric data and bridges the transition to the new SBEM contract.

About PlanetiQ

PlanetiQ provides the highest-quality GNSS radio occultation (RO) data available from a commercial constellation of satellites, offering unmatched temporal and spatial resolution. The data drive accurate, high-impact weather and climate forecast models, helping improve Numerical Weather Prediction and AI forecasts, safeguard lives and property from severe weather. In 2025, PlanetiQ was awarded NOAA’s largest-ever contract for satellite weather data, valued at $24.3 million. PlanetiQ is a space-tech company that serves the most mission-critical government, defense, and industry leaders, including international weather agencies, enabling more resilient operations across sectors. Founded in 2015 and privately owned, PlanetiQ designs, builds, and operates the preeminent commercial constellation of GNSS-RO satellites, setting the standard for precision and reliability in atmospheric monitoring. For more information, contact info@planetiq.com

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SOURCE PlanetiQ