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Sopris Capital Acquires Blackford Analysis, Strengthening AI Orchestration Capabilities Across Its HealthTech Portfolio

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Acquisition of the AI imaging orchestration pioneer expands Sopris Capital’s healthcare technology platform and reinforces its commitment to end-to-end, AI-enabled patient care

MIAMI, Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sopris Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm with a deep and growing portfolio of healthcare technology companies, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Blackford Analysis from Bayer. Blackford is a pioneer in AI orchestration for medical imaging, with its platform deployed by leading original equipment manufacturers and hospitals across various world markets. Sopris is in the process of combining Blackford under one of Sopris’s top performing portfolio companies, Azra AI, and this next step is expected to be completed in the coming days/weeks. Blackford will continue to operate as a separate legal entity following the combination with operations in Scotland and the United States and will continue to serve its existing OEM partners and health system customers with no disruption to current deployments or operations. Once this combination is completed, a further announcement will be made.

Founded in 2010, Blackford launched the industry’s first AI orchestration platform in 2016 and has since become a trusted infrastructure partner for radiology departments seeking to evaluate, deploy, and manage AI imaging applications at scale. The Blackford Platform has a portfolio of more than 130 AI applications from over 45 partner vendors, giving health systems a single, vendor-neutral way to bring best of breed AI into the imaging workflow without disrupting existing operations.

Azra AI, is a leading healthcare AI platform built to identify, connect, and manage patients with cancer and other complex illnesses across the care journey, and ensures they stay on the right path from suspicion through survivorship — Blackford’s capabilities allow Azra AI to go even further upstream with their customers with any AI imaging algorithm. The addition of Blackford reflects Sopris Capital’s continued investment in AI-enabled healthcare technology and its broader thesis around supporting more connected, longitudinal patient care.

“Blackford has spent over a decade building the infrastructure that healthcare AI depends on, and this acquisition reflects our conviction in that vision,” said Abinav Sankar, Managing Partner at Sopris Capital. “As we continue to build out a healthcare technology portfolio focused on connected, longitudinal patient care, Blackford gives us a critical foothold at the very beginning of that journey, the moment an image is captured and analyzed. Combining with Azra AI, we are positioning our portfolio to support patients from first scan through survivorship.”

“Joining Sopris Capital creates an exciting opportunity to accelerate Blackford’s growth and extend the reach of our platform,” said James Holroyd, Blackford Managing Director. “With Sopris’s support and complementary healthcare technology portfolio, we can both broaden and deepen our work with customers, channel partners and AI vendors while continuing to make the adoption of medical imaging AI simpler, scalable and more effective.”

The acquisition marks Sopris Capital’s latest step in building a healthcare technology portfolio focused on the future of AI-enabled patient care.

About Sopris Capital

Sopris Capital is a multi-strategy investment firm with long-term strategic capital, giving it the flexibility and agility to act quickly and deploy its knowledge, networks, and expertise in support of its portfolio companies. Sopris Capital partners closely with management teams to accelerate growth and create long-term value. With more than two decades of experience, Sopris Capital invests across venture capital, private equity, and real estate, with a concentrated focus on healthcare services, healthcare technology, and technology-enabled B2B businesses. The firm maintains a deep portfolio of healthcare technology companies, including Azra AI. Sopris Capital has offices in Colorado and Florida. For more information, visit sopriscapital.com.

About Blackford Analysis

Founded in 2010, Blackford Analysis is a pioneer in AI orchestration for medical imaging. The Blackford Platform enables healthcare organizations to evaluate, deploy, manage, and support AI imaging applications at enterprise scale. Blackford’s technology is deployed by leading original equipment manufacturers and hospitals across various world markets, helping radiology departments improve diagnostic confidence, streamline workflows, and expand access to AI without disrupting existing clinical operations. For more information, visit blackfordanalysis.com.

Media Contact:

Abinav Sankar

ASankar@sopriscapital.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sopris-capital-acquires-blackford-analysis-strengthening-ai-orchestration-capabilities-across-its-healthtech-portfolio-302903112.html

SOURCE Sopris Capital

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TestMu AI Positioned as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Agentic Software Quality Assurance Platforms

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October 9, 2026

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Evaluation Based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute

NOIDA, India, Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TestMu AI, the Full-Stack Agentic AI Quality Engineering platform, announced it has been positioned as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Agentic Software Quality Assurance Platforms. A complimentary copy of this research report is available [here].

As software delivery shifts toward agentic workflows, TestMu AI continues to advance end-to-end quality engineering through agentic testing and scalable cloud execution infrastructure. The platform provides independent verification, nondeterministic agent evaluation, and governance capabilities that allow enterprise teams to transition smoothly into agentic software delivery while maintaining existing browser and device testing environments.

The platform addresses core enterprise testing needs through KaneAI and Kane CLI for natural-language test authoring and agent-callable execution, Agent Testing for multi-agent evaluation, and HyperExecute for intelligent test orchestration. The platform also offers Test Manager, Real Device Cloud, SmartUI, and accessibility testing in a unified quality engineering ecosystem.

TestMu AI believes its Leader positioning reflects its continued focus on advancing agentic quality engineering through AI-powered test authoring, agent testing, scalable test execution, development workflow integrations, and capabilities that support enterprise adoption of AI-driven software quality practices.

Coupled with continuous customer feedback channels and advisory initiatives, TestMu AI remains dedicated to meeting the evolving support and platform requirements of modern digital enterprises.

“The software testing landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift toward agentic automation and continuous governance,” said Asad Khan, CEO and Co-Founder of TestMu AI. “We believe our placement as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Agentic Software Quality Assurance Platforms reflects our continued focus on empowering engineering & quality teams with reliable, agent-callable verification, robust governance, and deep coding-agent integrations.”

Citations

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Agentic Software Quality Assurance Platforms, By Joachim Herschmann, Sushant Singhal, Ross Power, C.A. Swan, 12 October 2026.

Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About TestMu AI

TestMu AI is Full Stack Agentic AI Quality Engineering platform that empowers teams to test intelligently and ship faster. Engineered for scale, it offers end-to-end AI agents to plan, author, execute, and analyze software quality across web, mobile, and enterprise applications, on real devices, real browsers, and custom real-world environments. For more information, visit www.testmuai.com.

Media Contact

Nikhil Saxena
Corporate Communication Manager, TestMu AI
nikhils@testmuai.com
+91 98709 81968

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/testmu-ai-positioned-as-a-leader-in-the-2026-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-agentic-software-quality-assurance-platforms-302903687.html

SOURCE TestMu AI

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New Report Reveals Disconnect in How Builders and Buyers Define Housing Affordability

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October 9, 2026

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COGNITION Smart Data report finds buyers are willing to rethink size, location, and upfront price in exchange for lower long-term housing costs.

LAKE CITY, Colo., Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — New market intelligence from Green Builder Media’s COGNITION Smart Data portal reveals that buyers are increasingly evaluating affordability through a different lens: what a home costs to own and operate every month.

The report, Full Cost, Not First Cost, Will Unlock Future Housing Affordability, draws on proprietary COGNITION Smart Data surveying of consumers, homeowners, and building professionals to uncover a substantial disconnect between what buyers can afford, what they value, and what the housing industry is delivering.

The homeownership dream remains surprisingly resilient. Half of renters surveyed expect to purchase a home in the future, with another 11.7% saying they probably will. But 41.7% of consumers say they realistically need a home priced below $200,000.

COGNITION data also reveals consumers are willing to make significant tradeoffs to achieve homeownership. Three of four respondents would move to find more affordable housing, while more than 40% would accept a home 25% smaller than the average new single-family home if it meant owning sooner.

Perhaps most significant is the changing definition of affordability itself. Buyers identified energy efficiency, optimized space, and smaller homes among the leading ways to reduce long-term housing costs.

“The affordability conversation has been dominated by purchase price, but that’s only one part of what people actually pay to live in a home,” says Jennifer Castenson, Vice President of COGNITION Smart Data and Market Analytics at Green Builder Media. “Our data shows an opportunity to rethink the housing product around total monthly cost, efficiency, durability, and right-sized design.”

Full Cost, Not First Cost, Will Unlock Future Housing Affordability is available for free download. Want to learn more about COGNITION Smart Data? Take it for a spin here.

About COGNITION Smart Data

COGNITION Smart Data is Green Builder Media‘s market intelligence and data platform, tracking evolving consumer behaviors, emerging technologies, policy shifts, competitive benchmarks and market demand signals to help housing-industry organizations align products, messaging and innovation with changing market needs.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-reveals-disconnect-in-how-builders-and-buyers-define-housing-affordability-302903693.html

SOURCE Green Builder Media, LLC

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SocioMX and MediaCo’s EstrellaTV partner to expand U.S. streaming reach of En La Cancha

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October 9, 2026

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Daily SocioMX ‘s soccer show brings expert analysis and fan-focused conversation to EstrellaTV’s growing FAST streaming lineup

DALLAS, Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — SocioMX, the sports fan engagement and media platform, today announced a distribution partnership with MediaCo’s EstrellaTV to bring EN LA CANCHA, its daily Spanish-language sports show, to more viewers across the United States through EstrellaTV’s FAST streaming ecosystem.

“This partnership marks an important next chapter for SocioMX and EN LA CANCHA. MediaCo’s EstrellaTV gives us a powerful platform to bring our content to more fans across the United States.” — Jorge Villalobos, Founder & CEO, SMM Sports and SocioMX

Hosted by Braulio Luna, former Mexican National Team player and two-time FIFA World Cup veteran, and Raúl Sarmiento, one of Mexico’s most respected sports commentators, the 30-minute program delivers news, analysis and lively conversation covering Liga MX, international soccer and the biggest stories in sports.

The partnership connects SocioMX’s established soccer community with EstrellaTV’s expanding streaming distribution, strengthening the network’s sports offering and giving U.S. Hispanic fans greater access to trusted voices and daily coverage of the game they love.

“This partnership marks an important next chapter for SocioMX and EN LA CANCHA,” said Jorge Villalobos, Founder & CEO of SMM Sports & Entertainment and SocioMX. “We have built a passionate community around soccer, and MediaCo’s EstrellaTV gives us a powerful platform to bring our content to more fans across the United States. Together, we’re creating more opportunities to connect audiences with the sport, teams and personalities they follow every day.”

“Soccer is a daily passion for our audience, and EN LA CANCHA brings the expertise, personalities and conversation that keep fans connected to the game,” said Brian Fisher, President of MediaCo. “Our partnership with SocioMX strengthens EstrellaTV’s streaming sports lineup, giving fans more reasons to tune in and brands more opportunities to connect with them.”

The agreement builds on EstrellaTV’s continued growth across broadcast and streaming and SocioMX’s track record of connecting fans with professional soccer. SocioMX has built a community of more than 1.8 million members and followers and promoted more than 100 professional soccer games, bringing fans closer to the sport through original content, live experiences and partnerships.

ABOUT SOCIOMX

SocioMX is a sports fan engagement and media platform connecting fans with the sports, teams and athletes they love. Through original content, media, live experiences and strategic partnerships, SocioMX creates opportunities for fans, brands and sports organizations to connect across the U.S. and Mexico.

ABOUT MEDIACO / ESTRELLATV

MediaCo Holding Inc. is a diverse-owned, multiplatform media company serving multicultural audiences nationwide. Its brands, including EstrellaTV, Estrella News, HOT 97, WBLS, Que Buena Los Angeles and the Don Cheto Radio Network, collectively reach more than 20 million people each month across television, radio, digital and streaming platforms.

Media Contact

Carlos Lozano, SMM Sports, 1 214-483-0200, gm@smm.us, www.smm.us

Rene Mizrahi, MediaCo, 1 917-744-9161, rmizrahi@mediacoholding.com, www.mediacoholding.com

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/sociomx-and-mediacos-estrellatv-partner-to-expand-us-streaming-reach-of-en-la-cancha-302903152.html

SOURCE SMM Sports

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