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Former Shanghai Innovation Bank and Silicon Valley Bank Asia Executive Jade Lu Joins Alpha Ladder as Wealth and International CEO

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Appointment marks the next phase of Alpha Ladder Wealth Management Solutions and the Group’s international expansion, as Alpha Ladder advances its ambition to support Chinese enterprises going global with a broader financial services platform

SINGAPORE, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Alpha Ladder Group Pte. Ltd. (“Alpha Ladder”), today announced the appointment of Jade Lu as Wealth CEO and International CEO, reporting directly to Dr Bo Bai, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Alpha Ladder Group.

Jade brings more than 20 years of international banking experience and was previously President and Executive Director of Shanghai Innovation Bank (Previously known as SPD Silicon Valley Bank) and, concurrently from 2020 to 2023,  with Silicon Valley Bank Asia. She previously held senior leadership roles at Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank.

In her dual role, Jade will lead two strategic growth priorities for Alpha Ladder: the development and international expansion of Alpha Ladder’s Wealth Management Solutions and the build-out of Alpha Ladder’s international financial services capabilities across key global markets.

Her appointment also marks the next phase of Alpha Ladder’s international growth ambitions, including building a broader financial services platform to support the growing needs of Chinese enterprises expanding globally. As these businesses establish and grow their operations overseas, Alpha Ladder aims to support their increasingly complex financial needs across markets.

Building the next generation of wealth through Alpha Ladder’s Wealth Management Solutions

Wealth creation is undergoing a historic paradigm shift. Accelerated by AI and next-generation technologies, global economic and industrial structures are being fundamentally reshaped. Alpha Ladder’s Wealth Management Solutions is built to empower investors to capture these multi-dimensional opportunities.

Alpha Ladder defines the next generation of wealth as a powerful fusion: uniting strict regulatory compliance and the fundamental risk discipline inherent to finance with the agility and innovation of new digital paradigms.

Through its Wealth Management Solutions, Alpha Ladder delivers an integrated, multi-dimensional platform. It enables clients to seamlessly access, manage, and diversify their portfolios across traditional and future-facing assets.

Jade will champion the platform’s global proposition and ecosystem, cementing it as a core pillar of Alpha Ladder’s international expansion.

Supporting Chinese enterprises as they go global

As International CEO, Jade will lead Alpha Ladder’s international strategy across Hong Kong, the Middle East & Africa, Europe, the United States and Latin America, building the Group’s capabilities and partnerships in markets where its clients increasingly operate.

A major focus will be supporting Chinese enterprises through the increasingly complex financial requirements that come with international expansion.

As companies enter new markets, their needs extend well beyond moving capital across borders. They require financial partners that understand both their home-market context and the regulatory and commercial environments in which they are expanding, while being able to support their evolving requirements as their international businesses grow.

Alpha Ladder’s ambition is to build a full-spectrum international financial services platform for cross-border enterprises, spanning four core areas: financing, payment, wealth and compliance. Together, these capabilities are intended to support Chinese enterprises across different stages of their global journey, from establishing in new markets to managing increasingly complex financial requirements as they scale.

Dr Bo Bai, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Alpha Ladder Group, said:

“Jade joins Alpha Ladder at an important stage of our development, as we accelerate both our wealth and international strategies.

She brings more than two decades of international banking experience, together with a deep understanding of China’s innovation economy and the financial needs of companies as they grow beyond their home markets. Her leadership experience at Shanghai Innovation Bank and Silicon Valley Bank Asia is particularly relevant as we build for this next phase.

With Jade leading Alpha Ladder’s Wealth Management Solutions and our international expansion, we aim to build a differentiated wealth proposition while strengthening Alpha Ladder’s capabilities across financing, payment, wealth and compliance. Our ambition is to support enterprises with the financial capabilities they need as they expand and operate across markets.”

During her tenure at Shanghai Innovation Bank and Silicon Valley Bank Asia, Jade played a leading role in China’s innovation finance ecosystem, working with high-growth companies and venture capital institutions and providing full-lifecycle financial services across different stages of their development.

Jade Lu, Wealth CEO and International CEO of Alpha Ladder Group, said:

“Chinese companies are entering a new phase of international growth. As they expand into more markets, their financial needs are becoming broader and more complex. They need financial partners that understand where they come from, the markets they are entering, and how their requirements evolve as they grow internationally.

Wealth management is evolving at the same time. Technology is changing how clients access, manage and diversify wealth across markets, while trust, regulatory discipline and institutional standards remain fundamental.

I look forward to working closely with Dr Bai and the team as we build the next phase of Alpha Ladder’s growth. My focus will be on building Alpha Ladder’s Wealth Management Solutions into a distinctive wealth proposition and strengthening our international financial services platform to support companies and clients as they grow across markets.”

Jade holds a Bachelor of Economics from Fudan University and an International MBA from the University of Hong Kong, and served as a member of the first Sci-Tech Innovation Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

About Alpha Ladder Group

Headquartered in Singapore, Alpha Ladder Group Pte Ltd (Alpha Ladder) is a technology and financial services group driving Digital Green Transformation. We operate on the conviction that the future of financial infrastructure is neither purely centralised nor distributed, but a Hybrid.

From our first member subsidiary founded in 2016, we have grown into a multi-vertical ecosystem that operationalises this conviction across four critical sectors:

Digital Financial Services
In digital financial services, our businesses operate one of Asia’s leading licensed digital financial services platforms, providing compliant payment and wealth services, with annualised transaction volume of US$14 billion (FY26 run rate).Sustainable Investment
Our sustainable investment business is an award-winning impact investment firm with around US$2.9 billion AUM*, focusing on investing in deep-tech companies for decarbonisation.AI-Powered Green Technology
In green technology, our businesses provide end-to-end carbon SaaS solutions, including an AI emission factor search engine, Scope 1, 2 & 3 measurement, decarbonisation rating, AI ESG reporting, and green asset development & trading.AI-Native Energy Intelligence
In AI-native energy intelligence, our businesses are advancing AI for energy by forging hybrid models that ground graph transformers in deterministic physics and high-throughput real-world validation. Our platforms deploy this intelligence to address the pressing energy challenges constraining AI and other mission-critical infrastructure, providing speed, resilience and sustainability to the systems that power the compute age.

At Alpha Ladder Group, our name reflects our commitment to continuous evolution. We believe that by engineering the intersection of Digital and Green, we move the world forward to pursue sustainable alpha—one particle at a time.

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Rockwell Automation Receives Eight Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards

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India-based Gurukul leadership development program wins four Gold and four Silver honors in the 2026 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards

NEW DELHI, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, announced that its India-based Gurukul leadership development program has received eight awards at the 2026 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards®. The program earned four Gold and four Silver awards, receiving recognition for all eight submissions entered across four disciplines.

In Learning & Development, the Gurukul program received three Gold awards for Best Competencies & Skill Development, Best Use of a Blended Learning Program and Best Learning Team. In Talent Management, the program earned two Silver awards for Best High Potential Development and Best Succession & Career Management. In Leadership Development, it received Gold for Best Unique or Innovative Leadership Development Program and Silver for Best Leadership Development Program. The program also earned Silver for Best Program for Upskilling Employees in the Future of Work discipline.

The Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards recognize organizations that successfully develop and deploy programs, strategies, technologies and solutions that deliver measurable business results and advance excellence in human capital management. Each submission is evaluated by an independent panel of Brandon Hall Group analysts, industry experts and experienced practitioners against criteria including business need, program design, innovation, adoption and organizational impact.

The Gurukul program was designed to prepare high-potential team leads for broader enterprise roles as Rockwell Automation India evolves into a strategic Global Capability Center. Developed with Chrysalis HRD Pvt Ltd., the nine-month program combined leadership assessments, experiential workshops, simulations, action learning projects, global mentoring and coaching to strengthen strategic thinking, commercial awareness and stakeholder influence. All 15 participants completed the leadership journey, with a participant satisfaction score of 4.9 out of 5. During the program, eight participants were promoted and three others transitioned into expanded or different roles, while manager feedback identified improvements in enterprise perspective, collaboration and leadership ownership.

“This recognition from Brandon Hall Group is a testament to Rockwell Automation India’s commitment to developing talent and creating a future-ready workforce. Through Gurukul, we have built a learning ecosystem that empowers employees to continuously grow, embrace new opportunities, and develop the leadership capabilities needed for tomorrow’s challenges. Winning eight awards across learning, talent management, leadership development, and future of work categories is an honor that reflects the impact of our people-first approach and the remarkable contributions of our teams,” said Abhishek Misra, Head Human Resources – India, Rockwell Automation.

“Every year, the HCM Excellence Awards remind us that innovation is ultimately about impact. The organizations recognized this year have demonstrated that great HR and learning strategies don’t just improve programs, they strengthen organizations, empower people and deliver measurable business results. We are honored to celebrate their achievements,” said Rachel Cooke, COO of Brandon Hall Group™ and HCM Excellence Awards® Program Leader.

For more information about the awards, visit the official Brandon Hall Group announcement.

About Rockwell Automation: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries as of fiscal year end 2025. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise® to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.

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As the Industry Revisits What Premium Customers Value, LEPAS Shares Its Own Perspective

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BARCELONA, Spain, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the automotive industry revisits what premium customers value, LEPAS, Chery Auto’s mid-to-premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand, is setting out its own perspective. For LEPAS, premium is defined by elegance: design people connect with, technology that stays in the background, and a cabin that makes every journey feel composed.

“We believe premium is something you experience every day, not only on special occasions,” said a LEPAS spokesperson. “It is the calm of a quiet cabin, the pleasure of a considered design and the feeling that a car fits the way you live. That is what we mean by elegant mobility, and it guides every product we create.”

LEPAS expresses this view through three brand pillars. Leopard Aesthetics draws on the poise and agility of the leopard to shape a distinctive design language. Elegant Technology, built on the LEX Platform, aims to make cockpit and safety technology intuitive. Exquisite Space combines thoughtful space planning, comfortable materials, acoustic refinement and everyday practicality.

The LEPAS L6 brings these ideas into the cabin. At the 2026 Torino Automotive Design Award (TADA), announced on Sept. 11, 2026 in Turin, Italy, the LEPAS L6 received the Best Interior Design Award in the City Car category. The 2026 edition evaluated 87 models across City Car, Family Car and Premium Car categories. The jury highlighted the L6’s spacious and refined cabin, its premium materials and flexible storage, and the natural integration of technology throughout the interior.

The cabin features a flat rear floor, a gull-wing wraparound layout and NVH optimisation designed to support a calm interior atmosphere. The LEPAS L6 EV has launched in Thailand; specifications and availability vary by market.

LEPAS believes customers should be free to choose the powertrain that suits their lives. Its portfolio covers multiple powertrain technologies for different market needs, with NEV models launched in markets including Thailand and Indonesia and pre-sales underway in selected European markets. Within Chery Group, the iCAUR brand is also preparing to enter several European markets.

In October, LEPAS will host its inaugural Global Elegant Lifestyle Week under the theme “TOGETHER IN ELEGANCE” during the 2026 Chery International User Summit, bringing together users, partners and cross-industry guests to explore how elegance can shape everyday mobility.

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Brain-Inspired AI Neo-lab Xisiid Intelligence Raises Seed Funding

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The Company Unveils the First Brain-Inspired Self-Evolving Foundation System at the Shanghai Pujiang Innovation Forum

SINGAPORE, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Xisiid Intelligence, an AI neo-lab exploring new paradigms for next-generation artificial intelligence, announced the completion of a RMB 25 million seed round. The funding will primarily support continued research and development of its Brain-Inspired Self-Evolving Foundation System and the joint development of AI applications with domain experts.

As AI agents move beyond conversational applications toward increasingly complex professional workflows, Xisiid Intelligence is developing a new approach designed to help AI systems learn from real-world task execution and continuously build reusable capabilities.

The company also made its public debut at the recent Shanghai Pujiang Innovation Forum, a high-level international science and technology forum jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China. At the forum, it introduced its technical vision and multidisciplinary team and unveiled its proprietary foundation system.

The Next Phase of AI: From Content Generation to Reliably Completing Complex Tasks

The way large language models (LLMs) are evaluated is reaching a pivotal transition. Industry attention is shifting beyond generation and reasoning performance on static benchmarks toward a more demanding question: Can AI reliably complete complex, real-world tasks?

In high-stakes professional fields such as investment banking, management consulting, and cross-border legal practice, a single assignment may require processing large volumes of heterogeneous documents, coordinating workflows across multiple software applications, and reasoning through complex, multi-step processes with iterative verification.

Current state-of-the-art LLMs, however, still struggle with complex, long-horizon tasks. As task length and complexity increase, they remain vulnerable to reasoning drift, compounding errors, and inconsistent execution. Frontier agent benchmarks highlight this gap. Across both APEX-Agents, which evaluates complex tasks spanning multiple applications, and Harvey LAB, which assesses professional legal deliverables, even state-of-the-art models continue to face challenges in reliably completing end-to-end work. Recent public results from Harvey LAB, for example, show that under its rigorous All-Pass standard, leading models still achieve end-to-end task completion rates of below 20%.

“Current AI systems have already achieved remarkable capabilities in generation and reasoning, but in mission-critical environments, the real test is whether AI can reliably complete complex, multi-step work over extended task horizons, like a human expert,” said Dr. Chua Yam Song, Founder of Xisiid Intelligence. “Increasing model parameters alone cannot solve the challenges of reliable execution and cumulative learning. Our approach, Brain-inspired Intelligence for Artificial Intelligence (BI4AI), goes beyond replicating the physical structure of the brain. Instead, we draw on the principles by which biological intelligence organizes cognition, memory, learning, and adaptive feedback—moving AI from a computation-centric paradigm toward a memory-centric one.”

A Dual-System Architecture for Reliable Execution and Continual Learning

To translate this memory-centric philosophy into an engineering architecture, Xisiid Intelligence has developed a dual-system architecture comprising System 1 and System 2, integrating a proprietary language model layer with structured memory layer.

System 1: Fast Execution Through Latent-Space Interaction

System 1 serves as the high-speed execution layer for frequent tasks. Powered by their proprietary latent exchange protocol, it enables vector-based interaction at the internal representation layer, allowing functional modules to exchange states directly rather than relying on decoding and encoding of text.

Conventional agent frameworks typically coordinate modules through prompts and natural-language context. As task horizons expand, larger context windows increase token overhead while important information can become diluted or lost. By using latent exchange protocol, Xisiid Intelligence aims to reduce communication overhead and information loss across complex workflows.

System 2: Task-Centric Hierarchical Memory

System 2 functions as a task-centric hierarchical memory system. Beyond factual knowledge, it captures reusable workflows, decision heuristics, and experience derived from previous task execution.

When the system encounters non-standard or unfamiliar situations, it can retrieve relevant prior experience to provide task-specific constraints, execution guidance, and decision support. This allows accumulated experience to become reusable rather than requiring each task to effectively start from scratch.

Together, System 1 and System 2 form a continual-learning loop driven by real-world task feedback:

Execution –> Feedback –> Generalization –> Consolidation

Within this loop, validated skills and experience can be progressively consolidated into reusable system and model capabilities. The evolution process is governed by evaluation, gating, and rollback mechanisms designed to keep updates controlled and reversible.

As experience accumulates, the system can progressively adapt to the workflows, knowledge, and operating environments of individual professionals and organizations.

Xisiid Intelligence reports that the architecture has already completed initial milestone validation. In benchmark evaluations covering complex professional tasks, its agent system—powered by models of approximately 30 billion parameters—has demonstrated performance comparable to frontier models with more than one trillion parameters, effectively supporting fully private, on-premise deployment.

A Multi-disciplinary Team Advancing Brain-Inspired Intelligence

The technical roadmap of Xisiid Intelligence is grounded on years of interdisciplinary research and engineering across computational neuroscience, brain-inspired computing, artificial intelligence, and large-scale systems.

Founder Dr. Chua Yam Song has extensive experience in computational neuroscience and neuromorphic computing. His previous roles include serving as Principal Investigator for the Neuromorphic Program at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore; Chief Researcher of Neuromorphic Computing at Huawei 2012 Labs; Chief Expert and Director of a leading Chinese Neuromorphic Computing Laboratory. He currently leads and participates in several Chinese National research initiatives, including projects under the China Brain Project.

At the 2024 World Internet Conference, Dr. Chua introduced NaoQi-SuWen, the first brain-inspired medical language model developed in China. In 2025, leveraging on common core technologies Qixin, a language model designed for emotional companionship, was also launched. He also contributed to the development of a general-purpose neuromorphic cloud platform capable of supporting both large language models and brain simulations up to 10 billion neurons.

Brain-inspired technologies developed under his leadership have been deployed across healthcare, electric power, energy, transportation, and agriculture, reflecting end-to-end experience spanning algorithm research, software development, and large-scale cloud-edge computing systems.

Building on this foundation, Xisiid Intelligence has assembled a multi-disciplinary team spanning computational neuroscience, neuromorphic computing, large-model algorithms, cognitive science, and systems engineering. The team combines rigorous academic research with extensive industry experience, with research published in leading international venues including Nature Machine Intelligence and IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems (IEEE TNNLS).

This enables Xisiid Intelligence to connect insights from biological intelligence with current AI approaches such as large language models, agentic systems, memory architectures—advancing a new generation of brain-inspired innovation designed for complex, real-world tasks.

From Co-Creation to Own Intelligence

Xisiid Intelligence is currently working with institutional clients across professional domains including investment decision-making, legal due diligence, and enterprise operational governance, validating its Brain-Inspired Self-Evolving Foundation System in real-world workflows.

Through continued human-AI interaction, this experience can be consolidated into persistent and reusable organizational memory, enabling the system to develop capabilities increasingly aligned with expertise and technical know-how of each organization.

The system can also be deployed on-premise, allowing mission-critical data, proprietary workflows, and accumulated organizational knowledge to remain within enterprise-controlled environments. Over time, organizations may then build an intelligence asset that is progressively accumulated and owned within the organization itself.

With the new funding, Xisiid Intelligence will continue advancing its core architecture and deepen co-creation with professional institutions across knowledge-intensive domains.

The Company sees this as critical to the transition of AI from content generation to the reliable completion of real-world tasks, and continually evolving through real-world execution.

Its long-term vision is to enable every individual and enterprise to build intelligence they truly own—intelligence that learns, evolves, and compounds over time.

This is “Own Intelligence.”

Media Contact: 
Name : Yang Chen
Email: chenyang@xisiid.com
Website: www.xisiid.com 

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SOURCE Xisiid Intelligence

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