TOKYO, Oct. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bloomberg announced the first successful fully automated Japanese Government Bond (JGB) Market-on-Close trade, following the introduction of a new workflow. Aligned to BB3P (Hikene Trading), the Market-on-Close reference rate for JGBs, the automated workflow helps minimize tracking error and provides certainty of execution at a specific close time.

Available as part of Bloomberg Electronic Markets, the workflow combines the Bid/Offer List Trading functionality with Rule Builder, Bloomberg’s trade automation tool, enabling clients to define execution criteria and automate order routing based on predefined conditions within an integrated order and execution management workflow, through TSOX.

Yudhveer Chaudhry, Head of Emerging Markets, FX, Commodities & Digital Assets at BlackRock observed, “The ability to combine Market-on-Close execution with rule-based automation is a significant step forward for the JGB markets. By accelerating time to market and enabling more systematic execution at the BB3P market reference, this workflow will help minimize transaction costs, reduce manual intervention, and deliver more consistent, optimized outcomes for investors, particularly during high-volume periods. It is an exciting development for one of the highest volume bond markets in Asia, and we were pleased to collaborate with Bloomberg on introducing the protocol.”

“We continue to enhance our global Market-on-Close capabilities, bringing greater automation and efficiency to Fixed Income trading for our global clients,” said Norman Tweeboom, Japan Enterprise Sales Head at Bloomberg. “The powerful combination of Bloomberg Electronic Markets capabilities enables clients to more efficiently negotiate pricing while reducing operational complexity in a critical market.”

The JGB workflow expands Bloomberg’s Market-on-Close capabilities across global Fixed Income, which also supports U.S. Treasuries, Canadian government bonds, U.K. Gilts and European government bonds.

About Bloomberg Electronic Markets
Bloomberg’s Electronic Markets solutions are used by leading financial institutions to trade efficiently in over 175 markets around the world. More than 9,000 client firms use Bloomberg Electronic Markets to access industry-leading depth and breadth of liquidity across asset classes from over 1,500 dealers globally. Bloomberg Electronic Markets provides market participants with comprehensive solutions across the trading lifecycle, including robust price transparency, analytics, automation and execution, powered by Bloomberg’s high-quality, multi-asset class data and tools.

About Bloomberg
Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.

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SOURCE Bloomberg

TOKYO, Oct. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TIER IV, the pioneering force behind open-source software for autonomous driving, has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for a grant program supporting collaborative technology initiatives in the Global South. Through this program, TIER IV will conduct autonomous bus field operational tests (FOTs) in Saudi Arabia. Using autonomous driving technologies with a proven track record in Japan, the company aims to help deliver safe, scalable mobility services adapted for local conditions. TIER IV will also promote talent development initiatives that contribute to the local workforce.

Background

Under the Saudi Arabian government’s Saudi Vision 2030 strategy, the country is pursuing economic diversification and social transformation with a focus on building a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. It has set a target of making 15% of public transportation autonomous by 2030. As urban development continues, there is a growing need to develop sustainable mobility solutions that improve the convenience of public transportation, enhance traffic safety, and address challenges of training skilled driving personnel.

In September 2025, TIER IV signed a memorandum of understanding with Elm, a developer of digital services and autonomous technologies. Leveraging this initiative alongside its experience and expertise in deploying autonomous buses using open-source technologies and developing talent in Japan, TIER IV will contribute to the advancement of next-generation mobility in Saudi Arabia.

Project overview

Through the following initiatives, TIER IV aims to deepen collaboration with automakers, autonomous driving technology providers and local transportation operators while establishing a business model for the future commercial operation of autonomous vehicles.

1. Vehicle integration

TIER IV will develop autonomous buses for deployment in Saudi Arabia, working with a European automaker to integrate its autonomous driving system. Autonomous vehicles developed in Japan will serve as a reference.

2. Local adaptation and FOTs

TIER IV will adapt and deploy an autonomous driving system based on open-source technologies and AI models. Training these models with local data will create an autonomous driving system tailored to local conditions, including the desert climate and right-hand traffic. FOTs will initially take place in closed environments before expanding to public roads.

3. Co-creation with local partners and talent development

TIER IV will work with local partners and transportation operators to gain insights into operational environments and regional transportation needs, while also collaborating with government authorities to share knowledge regarding local transportation challenges and requirements for deployment.

With educational institutions, the company will promote programs designed to foster talent in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through competitive events.

Government support

To date, TIER IV has conducted autonomous driving FOTs in more than 120 regions across Japan, as well as in the United Kingdom and Australia. To further improve the performance of autonomous driving systems, however, systems must be adapted to the unique driving environments and traffic rules of each country and region. This requires substantial upfront investment for large-scale data collection, AI model training and other costs.

Deploying autonomous solutions in new markets involves uncertainties regarding demand and the establishment of viable business models. For private companies, these upfront investments can therefore represent a significant burden and entail substantial risks associated with commercialization.

Supported by this grant, TIER IV will work on establishing a high-precision autonomous driving system tailored to the local environment and advance talent development programs toward goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030.

Future outlook

This initiative will contribute to economic development and innovation through collaboration between Japan and Saudi Arabia, with TIER IV driving the deployment of autonomous mobility solutions to help build a sustainable future for transportation.

TIER IV will apply the knowledge gained from deploying Japanese autonomous driving technologies in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries to the development of autonomous driving technologies in Japan, contributing to further technological advancement. By fostering talent and expanding collaboration with related industries, the company also aims to contribute to the growth of Japan’s autonomous driving industry.

TIER IV will leverage these insights in vehicle development, FOTs and technology adoption across different vehicle types in other markets. Through these efforts, the company aims to further strengthen the international competitiveness of Japanese autonomous driving technology.

About TIER IV
TIER IV stands at the forefront of deep tech innovation, pioneering Autoware, open-source software for autonomous driving. With a comprehensive suite of platforms and services built around Autoware, TIER IV provides everything from software development and vehicle procurement to operational support. Through the Autoware ecosystem, TIER IV works with partners worldwide to shape the future of intelligent vehicles with open-source software, aiming to create mobility that is safer, more sustainable, and accessible to all.

Media contact
pr@tier4.jp 

The word marks and logos of TIER IV are trademarks or registered trademarks of TIER IV, Inc. in Japan and other countries. All other company names, product names, service names, and logos referenced herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Autoware is a registered trademark of the Autoware Foundation.

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SOURCE TIER IV, INC.

TCI Lead Gen, the demand generation media unit of Technical Communities, Inc., has been acquired by a major B2B media company for an undisclosed amount. Contributions by by key leadership were fundamental to this successful exit and will continue on as permanent value drivers for the brand. TCI Lead Gen operations continue unaffected by the acquisition.

SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Technical Communities, Inc. (TCI) today announced the acquisition of its marketing services and demand generation media unit, TCI Lead Gen, by a major B2B media company for an undisclosed amount.

Founded in 2012 on a business concept developed by General Manager, JohnHenry Giddings, TCI Lead Gen has earned a sterling reputation serving B2B technology marketers through content syndication, intent data analytics, and custom audience development. The acquisition recognizes the value of TCI Lead Gen’s longstanding reputation for lead quality, customer service, and technology innovation.

“TCI Lead Gen was founded as a counterpoint to the demand generation status quo,” said Giddings. “We developed novel processes for audience sourcing, intent signal collection and analysis, and AI augmentation while holding good character and subject-matter expertise as our core priorities. This acquisition demonstrates the persistent value of differentiated, disruptive solutions, even in a challenging M&A environment.”

For 15 years, TCI Lead Gen’s growth and industry standing were driven by a leadership team that innovated and operated truly proprietary sales, data and service systems en route to multiple $15M annual results. Their contributions include:

Kevin Bennett, SVP, Sales, joined TCI Lead Gen as its second employee in 2013 and continues to build its sales organization, processes and go-to-market strategy. Bennett brings key field intelligence to product development, helping align TCI Lead Gen solutions with the needs of technology marketing clients.Jodi Boyer, Director, Client Operations, led enterprise client operations, onboarding and workflow innovation for TCI Lead Gen’s demand generation programs. While spanning customer success, process automation and personnel management duties, Boyer developed AI-enhanced tools and processes enabling rapid program launches while achieving a nearly 100% proof-to-approval rate.Plamen Marinov, VP, Data Operations & Privacy, led audience development, data operations, data quality and privacy initiatives and pioneered TCI Lead Gen’s proprietary Lead Catalyst program-execution software. Working alongside Sudip Barman, parent company VP of Engineering, Marinov product-managed scalable, outcome-focused MarTech modules that helped TCI achieve top acceptance rates with Tech 100 clients and an almost-zero incidence of privacy escalations. Marinov managed more than 100 audience-development and quality-assurance team members while building TCI Lead Gen’s peerless 100% LinkedLead, title-verified audience.Mary Rose Tobias, VP, Strategic Account Operations, leads strategic account operations, enterprise onboarding, client services and customer-success initiatives for major enterprise customers. For more than a decade running, her leadership is fundamental to TCI Lead Gen’s preferred vendor status for some of the world’s largest companies.Travis Wheeler, VP, Operations, led client delivery and analytics, applying technology, management discipline and process rigor across a team of more than 100 program managers. During his 12-year tenure, Wheeler’s organization achieved greater than 100% on-target delivery across thousands of programs for more than 200 clients. He also product-managed the TCInsights data intelligence suite and served as TCI Lead Gen’s lead-management-system expert.Liana Wong, Sales and Business Operations Manager, led CRM administration, sales operations, business operations and systems integration across TCI Lead Gen’s ERP, billing and sales technology infrastructure. Her work enabled programs to launch with exceptional speed and accuracy while eliminating email from core workflows and achieving 100% system capture of all business functions. Wong also managed an extensive ecosystem of accounts-receivable and accounts-payable relationships without error through more than a decade of service.

TCI Lead Gen operations continue unaffected by the acquisition. For more information about TCI Lead Gen and its B2B demand generation programs, please visit www.tcileadgen.com.

Media Contact
TCI Lead Gen PR, TCI Lead Gen, 1 6507943722, letschat@tcileadgen.com, www.tcileadgen.com 

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SOURCE TCI Lead Gen