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From Catapult to capital: NextFin Asia reaches first investment milestone with Indonesia’s Finfra

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First Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia participant to receive investment through NextFin Asia

LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) today announced that Finfra, an Indonesia-based lending-as-a-service platform and participant in its Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia program, is the first company to receive investment through NextFin Asia.

Finfra raised new capital in a Series A extension funding round from ADB Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), through the NextFin Asia fund, alongside existing investors Cento Ventures and Accion Ventures. The funding will support Finfra’s growth, strengthen its technology platform, and support its expansion into new markets.

Launched in February 2026, NextFin Asia is the dedicated investment fund supporting LHoFT’s Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia acceleration program. It is a partnership between LHoFT, ADB Ventures, and the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (MFA).

“When we launched NextFin Asia, we called it a world first: a development bank joining forces with a fintech accelerator to invest in fintechs driving financial inclusion and social impact. A unique and bold model, made possible by the confidence the Luxembourg Government and ADB showed in Catapult SE Asia. With this first investment, that ambition is now becoming reality,” said Alex Panican, Acting CEO of the LHoFT.

The fund invests in early-stage tech companies helping to advance financial inclusion across Southeast Asia. By combining the program’s acceleration and ecosystem support with access to investment opportunities through ADB Ventures, NextFin Asia helps promising companies access the capital and support they need to grow. Finfra participated in Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia in 2024.

“Finfra’s progression from Catapult participant to the first company to receive investment through NextFin Asia highlights the high value of combining acceleration support with access to capital. It is a very encouraging early example of how the initiative can help promising fintech companies expand their reach and impact across the region,” added Annabelle Fonteneau, Head of Acceleration Programs at the LHoFT.

Finfra provides the infrastructure and operational capabilities lenders need to launch and scale lending products more efficiently. Through a single platform, lenders can originate, underwrite, service, and collect loans without having to build local operations from the ground up, helping financial institutions reach more borrowers, including the underserved.

The platform also enables embedded finance models, allowing businesses and digital platforms to integrate credit into existing customer journeys and opening new pathways for small businesses to access working capital.

“Access to credit remains one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses across Southeast Asia,” said Markus Prommik, Founder and CEO of Finfra. “Our mission is to make lending infrastructure more accessible so that financial institutions can serve more businesses and individuals that have traditionally been overlooked. We’re grateful for the support of our investors and excited to continue building the infrastructure that helps expand access to capital for millions of small businesses in the region.”

“Many small businesses still struggle to access the financing they need to grow, while lenders face significant costs and complexity in reaching them,” said Yichu Zhang, Investment Specialist, ADB Ventures. “Finfra is helping close that gap by making it easier for lenders to launch and scale lending products.

Through NextFin Asia, we’re pleased to support a solution that can help more small businesses access financing through formal channels.”

In addition to investment, Finfra will continue to benefit from the wider NextFin Asia ecosystem, including connections with financial institutions, industry experts, and partners working to advance financial inclusion across the region.

Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia is gearing up for its next cohort of promising fintech startups. Applications already open. Visit Catapult: Inclusion SE ASia #4 webpage to learn more and to apply!

Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-lhoft

About the LHoFT Foundation
The LHoFT Foundation is a public-private sector initiative that drives technology innovation for Luxembourg’s financial services industry, connecting the domestic and international fintech community to develop solutions that shape the world of tomorrow. The LHoFT Foundation offers an innovation platform that provides fintech startups with access to talent, expertise, funding, and market opportunities. The LHoFT Foundation also works with government agencies, regulators, and industry associations to foster a supportive and inclusive fintech ecosystem in Luxembourg.

For more information, please visit: https://lhoft.com/

About Finfra
Established in 2022, Finfra serves as a prominent Indonesian lending-as-a-service platform, allowing enterprises to embed customizable credit offerings directly into their customer journeys. Its API-driven infrastructure delivers end-to-end loan management, automated underwriting, risk analytics, and institutional capital access, helping digital platforms generate additional revenues while deepening customer connection. Supported by prominent venture funds including Cento Ventures, Accion Ventures, and ZVC, Finfra actively promotes financial inclusion throughout Southeast Asia. Through close cooperation between its affiliate and the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK), the company upholds rigorous regulatory standards, expanding financing opportunities across the country.

For additional information, please visit: https://finfra.io/

About ADB Ventures
ADB Ventures is the venture arm of the Asian Development Bank, supporting technology-driven startups that deliver measurable social, climate, and development impact across Asia and the Pacific. It provides

early-stage capital, strategic support, and access to ADB’s network, helping startups scale innovative solutions in sectors such as inclusive fintech, climate tech, sustainable agriculture, and clean energy. By crowding-in private capital for sustainable development, ADB Ventures accelerates progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals in emerging markets.

For more information, please visit: https://ventures.adb.org/

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SOURCE THE LHOFT – LUXEMBOURG HOUSE OF FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY

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ModelBest and OpenBMB Open-Source MiniCPM-OCR Series, Delivering High-Performance Document Parsing and AI-Powered Quality Control

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BEIJING, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ModelBest and OpenBMB jointly announced the release and open-source availability of the MiniCPM-OCR series, a family of models for efficient document parsing and parsing-quality assessment. The launch includes two models: MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 (1.3B) and MiniCPM-OCR Jev (2B).

As the first OCR-focused model in the MiniCPM family, MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 brings top-tier parsing accuracy to a compact 1.3-billion-parameter architecture optimized for edge deployment, pushing forward the balance between efficiency and performance for open-source OCR models. Built for real-world conditions, it accurately parses scanned, photographed, curved, tilted and screen-captured documents without cumbersome image pre-correction, lowering the barrier to large-scale document digitization.

The model handles dense bilingual Chinese-English content, complex mathematical formulas, and multi-level or borderless tables, consistently performing at a leading level across a broad range of mainstream industry evaluations. Beyond full-page reconstruction, it supports key information extraction (KIE), pulling specified fields from invoices, IDs and financial statements according to business instructions.

Powered by DSpark decoding acceleration, MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 significantly increases end-to-end throughput while lowering per-page latency. For enterprises processing millions of pages—such as financial contract archives, academic libraries and government records—this means processing far more documents with the same hardware and time budget, at a substantially lower computing cost.

To address the long-standing need for page-by-page manual review, ModelBest and OpenBMB also introduced MiniCPM-OCR Jev, the first OCR result decision model that acts as an “AI quality inspector.” Rather than performing OCR itself, Jev compares the source image with OCR output and rapidly assigns confidence scores to text, LaTeX formulas and tables, detecting missing characters, errors and formatting misalignments. Despite its compact 2B-parameter size, Jev delivers judgment accuracy typically associated with far larger models.

Jev supports cross-model deployment and can be integrated into existing OCR workflows without replacing the underlying OCR engine. It can automatically identify reliable results for direct processing, flag potentially inaccurate outputs for human review and select the best result from multiple OCR systems. This enables enterprises to move from full manual inspection toward risk-based, automated quality control.

The MiniCPM-OCR series is available on GitHub, Hugging Face and ModelScope, and supports vLLM, SGLang, llama.cpp and Ollama, along with SDKs, APIs, Agent Skill plugins and open-source fine-tuning code. Day-0 hardware adaptation covers AMD, Arm, Houmo AI, Intel and NVIDIA. Through the FlagOS software stack, it also has Day-0 support for AI and edge chips from CIX Technology, Huawei Ascend, Hygon, Iluvatar CoreX, Kunlunxin, MetaX, Moore Threads, Sunrise, T-Head, TsingMicro, NVIDIA and Apple Mac (Arm).

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SOURCE ModelBest

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Wulcea Elevates Consumer Trust in Heated Apparel Through Multi-National Safety Certifications and Rigorous Technical Testing

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NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As smart heated clothing gains broader adoption, consumers are paying closer attention to the safety and reliability of the technology behind these products. Wulcea, a brand specializing in graphene-powered heated apparel, combines its flexible GrapheneNano™ heating technology with documented safety compliance and durability testing for its heating components and battery systems.

“Trust in smart heated apparel goes beyond warmth—it comes down to confidence in battery safety and heating element reliability,” said John C, Founder of Wulcea. “Our goal is to give users peace of mind through certified technical standards.”

Advanced Graphene Heating Elements Supported by Global Standards

At the core of Wulcea’s thermal architecture is its GrapheneNano™ heating technology. Engineered to eliminate garment stiffness, Wulcea integrates flexible graphene elements that deliver balanced warmth across key upper-body zones while preserving natural garment drape and full freedom of movement.

Wulcea supports its heating components with applicable compliance documentation for major markets. These include CE and FCC compliance documentation addressing relevant electrical and electromagnetic compatibility requirements, as well as PSE compliance for applicable products in Japan. RoHS compliance further addresses restrictions on specified hazardous substances in applicable electrical and electronic components.

Multi-Certified Battery System for Dependable Power

To power its heating elements, Wulcea pairs its heated apparel with rechargeable battery systems designed for convenient everyday use. Featuring a compact design and housed in dedicated interior pockets, the batteries provide portable power while maintaining a streamlined garment profile and comfortable fit.

Wulcea backs its battery options with comprehensive third-party accreditations. UL certification demonstrates that the battery system has been evaluated against recognized power bank safety requirements, covering key areas such as overcharge protection, short-circuit protection, and thermal safety. The battery systems are also supported by applicable CE and FCC compliance documentation, addressing relevant regulatory requirements for electrical and electromagnetic compatibility.

For daily handling and travel, RoHS compliance validates that the battery system meets stringent global standards for material safety. The battery models have also undergone applicable UN 38.3 testing, supporting compliance with international requirements for lithium battery transportation.

Real-World Durability and Practical Usability

Component compliance forms Wulcea’s foundation, but reliability is defined by real-world performance. Built for high-flex endurance, Wulcea’s flexible graphene heating elements are tested through 10,000 active flexing cycles to maintain steady thermal output through repeated bending and everyday body movement.

Everyday convenience is equally essential. Built for hassle-free care, Wulcea’s heating elements withstand 100 machine-wash cycles under standard care guidelines, maintaining internal conductivity and structural stability under repeated laundering.

Integrated NTC temperature sensors provide thermal monitoring and are designed to stop heating if temperatures exceed 131°F (55°C). Combined with runtime of up to 10 hours on the low setting and a discreet interior control button, these features support practical everyday use in cold-weather conditions.

Aligning Technical Standards with Everyday Warmth

By combining graphene-based heating technology with documented battery safety compliance and durability testing, Wulcea continues to focus on the technical foundations of dependable heated apparel. This approach reflects the brand’s emphasis on bringing together safety considerations, practical functionality, and everyday comfort for cold-weather use.

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SOURCE Wulcea

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NIDS Co., Ltd. Confirms CES 2027 Participation, Pursues Expansion of Global Supply Chain for Environmental Sensors

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Company introduced optical and gas sensors at SEDEX and is strengthening its composite sensor business for robotics, home appliances, automotive, and smart building applications

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Environmental sensor manufacturer NIDS Co., Ltd. has confirmed its participation in CES 2027 and is moving to expand its global business-to-business (B2B) supply chain. Building on its experience supplying sensors to domestic and international home appliance and automotive companies, the company aims to secure overseas customers and extend its applications into smart building HVAC and robotics.

NIDS recently participated in the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association’s Sensor Pavilion at SEDEX 2026, held at COEX in Seoul, where it introduced its next-generation sensor modules. The company said the exhibition allowed it to raise awareness of its technology among domestic home appliance and electronic component industry professionals and to lay the groundwork for collaboration in the sensor field.

The company will use CES 2027 as its next stage. NIDS plans to firm up discussions on sensor module supply with global home appliance makers, HVAC specialists, and robotics companies. It aims to extend the industry contacts gained at the domestic exhibition overseas and to convert product introductions into actual supply opportunities.

Founded in 2000, NIDS develops and manufactures environmental sensors and air quality management solutions. According to the company, it has supplied more than 10 million sensors cumulatively to domestic and international companies, including Dyson, Samsung Electronics, and Hyundai Motor. Drawing on this supply track record, the company intends to showcase its precision sensing technology and mass-production capabilities to overseas customers.

Its main products include particulate matter sensors, optical gas sensors based on non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology, composite environmental sensors, and electronic nose sensor modules. The particulate matter sensors measure PM1.0, PM2.5, and PM10, while the gas sensor lineup targets carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), and other gases. The electronic nose is used for detecting everyday odors, gas leaks, and fires. The company said it designs the core components required for air quality measurement in-house and has a system in place to mass-produce 5 million units annually.

The area where NIDS will expand development and supply going forward is next-generation composite sensor modules. The company has been pursuing a sensor business that responds to industry-specific demand in home appliances, automotive, and smart building HVAC, and is now concentrating its capabilities on markets such as robotics, industrial safety, and odor detection based on this technology. Building on its experience supplying individual components, NIDS plans to continue developing and supplying, on a B2B basis, modules that handle multiple types of environmental data.

The company will also highlight its sensor product lineup and its newly developed ultra-compact MEMS sensor technology at the exhibition. NIDS plans to introduce its optical and gas sensor lineup along with examples of their application in actual air quality management systems. By explaining both the measurement functions of its components and its experience operating sensors for finished-product services, the company aims to broaden the scope of partnership discussions.

NIDS explained that, because it owns its precision sensors, it can control sensor sensitivity and tune algorithms to suit the system in which they are applied. Drawing on this technical operating experience, the company plans to pursue partnerships with customers and to promote its business capabilities extending from sensor components to air quality and odor management and industrial safety management.

NIDS will also leverage its existing branch network in its overseas market development. Through its overseas bases in the United States, Japan, and China, the company plans to widen its touchpoints with buyers and seek new supply opportunities in conjunction with its CES participation. Its goal is to generate export results by combining exhibition participation with its local networks.

The company intends to keep expanding the global supply of sensor components as a core pillar of its business. Building on the supply experience accumulated in home appliances and automotive, it will broaden its partners to robotics, HVAC, and smart buildings, and respond to industry-specific air quality measurement demand through the development of next-generation modules.

“We plan to continue expanding the development and B2B supply of next-generation composite sensor modules needed across a range of industries, including home appliances, automotive, and smart building HVAC,” NIDS said.

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SOURCE NIDS Co., Ltd.

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