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Midea America Corp. Expands U.S. Innovation Capabilities with 157,000-Square-Foot Louisville Research Center

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Expansion grows the center’s footprint by approximately 400%, adding 22 laboratories and new spaces for research, collaboration and talent development

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Midea America Corp. today announced the opening of its expanded Midea America Research Center (MARC) in Louisville, Kentucky. The expansion grows the center’s footprint by approximately 400%, bringing the total facility to 157,000 square feet and adding 22 laboratories.

By investing in talented people and bringing consumer research, engineering, product development and testing together under one roof, the expanded center strengthens Midea’s ability to understand U.S. consumers and develop home appliances around their everyday needs.

The expanded facility includes:

127,000 square feet of additional space22 laboratoriesA product showroomAn auditoriumDedicated collaboration spaces

“The most meaningful innovations start with a deep understanding of people’s lives,” said Justin Reinke, President of Midea America Corp. “This expansion gives our teams more opportunities to listen, learn and turn unmet needs into thoughtful, innovative appliances that can make life at home a little easier.”

MARC supports Midea’s U.S. research and innovation across refrigeration, dishwashers, cooking, laundry, air treatment, floor care and small appliances. The center has contributed to innovations including the STRAWash Dishwasher with Total Tumbler Clean, the 50/50 Flex Upright Convertible Freezer and the OneTouch AutoFill French Door Refrigerator. Together, these innovations reflect Midea’s focus on developing practical and dependable solutions for U.S. homes.

MARC began operating in Louisville in 2015 with one team member and has grown to approximately 130 employees today. The expanded facility strengthens MARC’s research, engineering and product-development capabilities in the U.S. while reinforcing Midea’s long-term investment in Louisville.

“What began with one employee has grown into a research and innovation organization of approximately 130 talented people,” said Adam Schultz, Executive Director of Midea America Research Center. “With expanded research and testing capabilities, we are well positioned to build on that momentum, develop the next generation of technical talent and continue advancing home appliance innovation.”

Midea also supports the development of future engineering and innovation talent through university and co-op programs that give students practical experience in research, engineering and product development.

About Midea America
Midea America Corp. is a U.S. subsidiary within Midea Group, a Fortune 500 company, known for making life easier for millions around the globe. As a leading innovator of home appliances, Midea is proud of its 166,000+ employees and presence in 200+ countries, including here in the U.S. 

Midea’s lineup of products—from kitchen appliances to air conditioners, laundry, and floor care—surprises and delights consumers in just about every part of their homes. Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., with an innovation hub in Kentucky, Midea America ensures your appliances don’t just work hard—they work smart. 

Our goal? To reimagine home appliances so daily chores feel less like work and more like wins. We blend design, performance, and convenience into every product—whether it’s a freezer that adapts to your changing needs or a dishwasher that works quietly to make dishes sparkle. At Midea, we create products that fit seamlessly into your busy life, bringing practical innovations that are affordable and reliable. Because home appliances should have a simple job—to make your life easier. 

Media Contact:Midea@mbooth.com 

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SOURCE Midea America Corp.

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WorldVue Expands Atlas into a Comprehensive Property Technology Management Platform

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New capabilities and planned modules will give hotel owners and operators greater visibility across properties, technology assets, vendors, costs and lifecycle management

HOUSTON, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — WorldVue, a trusted provider of video, advanced connectivity and professional services to properties and enterprises across the world and a partner of the International Luxury Hotel Association (ILHA), today announced the next evolution of Atlas, its operational intelligence layer operating system designed to give hotel owners and operators greater visibility, control and intelligence across their technology environments.

Originally introduced as an operational intelligence layer for WorldVue customers, Atlas is expanding beyond service visibility and support to address a larger challenge facing hotel owners and operators: technology information is often fragmented across vendors, properties, brands, spreadsheets, emails and individual systems.

Atlas is being developed to support portfolios across multiple properties and brands, including properties that may use technology services from providers other than WorldVue. This centralized technology record can also help preserve critical information when a property changes ownership or management.

“Atlas is evolving from a customer platform into a broader technology management platform,” said Mark Schaps, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at WorldVue. “Our goal is to give owners and operators one place to understand what they have, where it is, what needs attention and what’s coming next.”

From Technology Visibility to Technology Lifecycle Management

Atlas currently provides portfolio and property-level visibility, network monitoring, deployment tracking, opportunities and support case management. The platform is now being expanded toward broader technology lifecycle management.

Additional Atlas capabilities in development include modules for:

Capital Budgeting — Greater visibility into technology investments, planned projects and portfolio-level capital requirements.Contract Management — Centralized visibility into technology-related agreements and contracts.License and Subscription Management — Tracking of licenses, subscriptions, renewals and associated technology services.End-of-Life Management — Identification of equipment approaching end of life, with reporting and optional alerts to help properties plan replacement and capital needs.Compliance Management — Portfolio-level visibility into technology-related compliance requirements and documentation.Portfolio Technology Management — A broader view of technology assets and services across properties, regardless of vendor.

These capabilities will be introduced through additional Atlas feature tiers, with expanded capabilities planned for future availability.

Improved Service and Field Visibility

Atlas is also expanding visibility for property teams during field service activity. Authorized users will be able to view technician status, estimated arrival times, reported issues and work progress.

“Property teams want to know more than whether someone has been dispatched,” said Niame Ba, Vice President of Operations at WorldVue. “They want visibility into when the technician is arriving, whether work has started and when the issue is resolved. Atlas puts that information where the property team can see it.”

AI-Assisted Support

WorldVue is also introducing MIA, an AI-powered phone agent designed to gather information from customers when they call for support and initiate a service case.

MIA is intended to assist, not replace WorldVue’s support teams by collecting information at the beginning of the interaction so cases can be routed with the necessary details.

“MIA is about AI assistance, not AI replacement,” said Schaps. “The goal is to reduce friction in the initial support interaction and allow our teams to focus on resolving the issue.”

Additional Services Coming to Atlas

WorldVue is also developing additional services within Atlas, including invoicing, enabling customers to view and pay invoices through Atlas.

The expanding Atlas platform reflects WorldVue’s goal of bringing property technology information, service management and operational intelligence into a single environment.

“Hotels already have enough systems to manage,” added Schaps. “The opportunity with Atlas is to bring more of the information they need into one place.”

Atlas is currently available to WorldVue customers, with additional capabilities and feature tiers planned for future release.

WorldVue is a sponsor of INSPIRE 2026, the International Luxury Hotel Association’s flagship North American luxury hospitality conference, taking place December 15–17, 2026 at JW Marriott Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa in Orlando, Florida. WorldVue’s Robert Grosz will deliver a keynote at the event. Learn more at ilha.org/inspire.

Learn more about Atlas at www.worldvue.com/atlas.

ABOUT WORLDVUE

WorldVue® is a trusted provider of video, advanced connectivity and professional services to properties and enterprises across the world. With a dedication to customer service, WorldVue is leading the way in delivering innovative technology solutions that enhance the resident, guest, and staff experience. From managed services to digital transformation, WorldVue is a single point of contact for all property technology needs.

Founded in 1975, WorldVue is a privately held company headquartered in the United States with offices globally. The company serves over 8,000 properties and over 1,000,000 rooms.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL LUXURY HOTEL ASSOCIATION

Founded in 2017, the International Luxury Hotel Association (ILHA) is the definitive gateway for luxury hospitality professionals, connecting hotel owners, operators, developers and investors through research, insight and candid industry dialogue. ILHA has produced more than 16 conferences and summits across the United States and Europe, anchored by its flagship INSPIRE Summits in North America and Europe. Its digital community has grown to over a million professionals, and its digital marketing platform, Luxury Hotel Network, connects sponsor and brand partners directly with its luxury hospitality audience. For more information, visit ilha.org.

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SOURCE International Luxury Hotel Association

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SerpApi Achieves ISO/IEC 27701:2019 Certification

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AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SerpApi, the world’s leading platform for structured search data APIs has earned International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)’s ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification. ISO/IEC 27701 is an internationally recognized standard that sets requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving a Privacy Information Management System (PIMS). The certification builds on SerpApi’s recent security and compliance milestones, including the successful completion of its SOC 2® Type 2 examination, issuance of its SOC 3® report, and achievement of ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. 

According to ISO, “Personal data is one of the most valuable and sensitive assets organisations handle today. With growing expectations from individuals, regulators, and business partners, it’s not enough to say you care about privacy—you need to prove it.” By participating in the rigorous audit, SerpApi proves its commitment to managing risks around personally identifiable information (PII), and continually improving its privacy practices.

“Security and privacy are non-negotiable baselines for every customer we serve, from independent developers to the world’s largest enterprises,” said Alaa Abdulridha, cybersecurity expert and engineering director at SerpApi. “Protecting data at this scale requires absolute vigilance, which is why SerpApi aggressively pursues the highest global standards in data protection, ensuring our infrastructure remains trusted by the organizations that move the global economy.”

SerpApi will continue investing in the people, processes, and technology required to meet evolving global privacy and security expectations. ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification represents the latest milestone in that ongoing commitment to customer trust and responsible data stewardship. To learn more, visit www.serpapi.com/enterprise

About SerpApi 
SerpApi is the world’s leading provider of search data, pioneering APIs that turn search engine results into structured, developer-ready information. Founded in 2017, the company enables developers, researchers, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations around the world to integrate live search insights from sources like Google, Bing, and YouTube into applications, analytics, and research workflows. With more than 100 specialized APIs, SerpApi supports use cases ranging from AI development and machine learning to SEO monitoring, cybersecurity intelligence, and e-commerce analysis, helping teams build reliable, data-driven products at scale.

Media contact: press@serpapi.com

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SOURCE SerpApi, LLC

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Vatn Systems Wins Defense Innovation Unit’s Mine Countermeasure Modernization Prize Challenge

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As DIU searches for modular, communications-resilient technology to conduct unmanned naval mine countermeasures, Vatn Systems’ SIGURD system evaluated under operational conditions.

BRISTOL, R.I., Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Vatn Systems, a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles for the U.S. military, allied nations, and commercial customers, today announced it is a winner of the Department of War Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Mine Counter Measure Modernization Prize Challenge. Vatn’s SIGURD system, built on the company’s Skelmir S6 platform, successfully competed in the Near Surface and Volume Mine Engage Test and Evaluation segment, earning recognition as one of the top-performing solutions.

“Mine countermeasures has long been an underfunded and technically demanding mission in naval warfare, and DIU built this challenge to see which systems could perform under real mission conditions,” said Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems.  “During DIU’s evaluation, SIGURD autonomously detected, reacquired and neutralized mine threats the way operators would encounter them in the field. As the need for this capability grows more urgent, this win helps us accelerate our mission of delivering undersea superiority at scale.”

DIU opened the MCM Modernization Prize Challenge in May 2026, seeking modular, communication-resilient, and rapidly fieldable capabilities to reacquire and neutralize underwater mine threats. Vatn’s SIGURD system, which pairs autonomous detection and terminal engagement, executed the required missions and was selected by DIU to receive a challenge prize based on its performance.

Vatn launched SIGURD in July 2026, built in a matter of weeks by configuring the company’s Skelmir S6 platform into a dedicated mine countermeasures system. It is designed, tested, and verified by a team of former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians. Vatn’s win in DIU’s challenge points to growing government interest in affordable, rapidly fieldable mine countermeasures capability that keeps warfighters at safe standoff.

About Vatn Systems 
Vatn Systems is a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles that can be deployed at scale for the U.S. military, allied nations, and commercial customers. Founded in 2023 by a team of maritime experts and military leaders, Vatn Systems is on a mission to be the next underwater defense prime in a world where autonomous systems dominate naval battlefields. For more information, visit www.vatn.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.

Media Contact: 
McKenzie@ArvoAdvisory.com

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SOURCE Vatn Systems

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