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Sun Life recognized for innovative employee GenAI chatbot with 2024 CIO Award

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Secure chatbot empowers employees to safely experiment with GenAIOver 5,000 employees using the tool per weekPropelled productivity and 229 per cent increase in use less than a year after launch

TORONTO, July 25, 2024 /CNW/ – Sun Life has been named a 2024 CIO Awards Canada winner for their Sun Life Asks GenAI chatbot. The CIO Awards Canada celebrate Canadian organizations and the teams within them that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth, or improving relationships with customers. The award recognizes the tech world’s most innovative organizations and accomplished leaders.

Sun Life Asks is an internal GenAI chatbot that enables employees to find quick answers and general assistance with daily tasks. Housed within Sun Life’s existing technology ecosystem, the tool performs tasks similar to chatbots available externally and can help with everything from summarization of text to organizing ideas for a presentation or even analyzing the purpose or sentiment of an article.

“GenAI is an important part of our digital transformation and we are committed to safely innovating and adopting emerging technology,” said Laura Money, Executive Vice-President, Chief Information and Technology Innovation Officer, Sun Life. “Our goal is to ensure that our employees have access to the benefits of a GenAI chatbot for work-related purposes, while keeping Client and company data safe. We’re honoured that CIO Awards Canada has recognized Sun Life Asks as one of the most innovative projects for 2024.” 

Sun Life Asks is helping employees develop skills for the future and in just eight short months since launch:

Employees report saving minutes to hours each day on regular tasks and are reinvesting that time into work they find most meaningful.The tool has generated over 400,000 queries in the first 8 months, with 10,000 queries daily – in fact, use has climbed 229 per cent between launch and now.Over 2500 employees have continued to upskill to better understand AI through CIFAR’s Destination AI course, embedding within our own internal training platform. The course covers machine learning, GenAI, big data and deep learning, as well as the role we all play in shaping this emerging technology as it continues to evolve.A new prompt training course also just launched internally to help employees learn strategies to write clearer prompts to generate better GenAI outputs. 

Sun Life is committed to digital leadership and to ensuring a focus on client impact by continuing to adopt and experiment with innovative technology. Our culture is rooted in safety and security which extends to our adoption of emerging technologies. Through technology like GenAI, Sun Life empowers its people to enhance their skills to propel our Purpose, to help clients achieve lifelong financial security and live healthier lives, forward.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2024, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.47 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

About the CIO Awards Canada

The CIO Awards Canada celebrate Canadian organizations and the teams within them that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth, or improving relationships with customers. It is an acknowledged mark of enterprise excellence. Because the award is given to company projects rather than individuals, it is an honour that everyone on Canadian team can take pride in.

About IDC 

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC’s analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights. To learn more about IDC Canada, please visit www.idc.com/ca or follow us on Twitter at @idccanada and LinkedIn.

About CIO

CIO focuses on attracting the highest concentration of enterprise CIOs and business technology executives with unparalleled peer insight and expertise on business strategy, innovation, and leadership. As organizations grow with digital transformation, CIO provides its readers with key insights on career development, including certifications, hiring practices and skills development. The award-winning CIO portfolio provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals. CIO is published by Foundry (formerly IDG Communications, Inc.) Company information is available at http://www.foundryco.com

Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars

Media Relations Contact:     
Kelsey Rutherford
Director 
Corporate Communications 
T. 416-317-6249
kelsey.rutherford@sunlife.com

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Canada

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ZaiNar brings location awareness expertise to Arm® Total Design for Physical AI

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ZaiNar brings shared, real-time location awareness to robots and autonomous machines

BELMONT, Calif., Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, ZaiNar announced it is joining the newly announced Arm® Total Design for Physical AI ecosystem as a founding location partner.

Arm Total Design for Physical AI is a collaborative ecosystem that brings together companies across the physical AI technology stack to reduce complexity, enable earlier development, and accelerate the path from design to deployment for autonomous systems. As part of the ecosystem, ZaiNar brings expertise in shared, real-time location awareness for robots and autonomous machines, while working to optimize its algorithms and signal processing to run on Arm-based compute platforms.

“Robotics has spent a decade teaching every machine to figure out where it is, one machine at a time. That was the only option when location had to come from the robot. It does not anymore. The networks are already deployed, and they can tell every machine on site where everything is, continuously, without adding a single piece of hardware. That is what we are bringing to the Arm Total Design for Physical AI ecosystem.”

— Daniel Jacker, CEO and Co-Founder, ZaiNar

“As physical AI moves toward deployment, autonomous systems need a shared understanding of the environments around them. Arm Total Design for Physical AI is designed to bring together the technologies needed to make that possible at scale, and ZaiNar’s location intelligence adds a critical layer of real-world awareness for robotics and autonomous machines.”

— Dermot O’Driscoll, Vice President of Go-to-Market, Physical AI, Arm

Every robot in the field today answers the same question in isolation: “Where am I, and where is everything else?” Each machine carries its own sensors, builds its own map, and starts from zero in every new environment. ZaiNar answers that question once, for the entire site, from the infrastructure side. It complements the perception running on each machine rather than replacing it, giving every robot on site the same shared ground truth.

ZaiNar turns the wireless networks already in place into a sensor, delivering sub-10cm location indoors, underground, and in the GPS-denied environments where satellite positioning fails. The system requires zero device changes and zero hardware changes, adds no battery drain, and runs network-side only.

ZaiNar provides location updates 100 to 500 times per second, compared with the once-per-second maximum of standard 5G positioning reference signals, so it keeps pace with fast-moving objects such as drones, vehicles, and robots. It is carrier-agnostic and works across WiFi, 5G, and other radio protocols. ZaiNar is self-calibrating: performance improves over time, with ZaiNar learning from every new environment it is deployed in.

ZaiNar delivers situational awareness for robotics across three capabilities. The first is training: grounding robot models in how people, equipment, and vehicles actually move through real sites. The second is swarm enablement, where every machine knows the position of every other machine and can coordinate optimized movements. The third is environmental memory, a persistent record of a site that new machines inherit instead of mapping the space from scratch.

About ZaiNar

ZaiNar is the foundation layer for Physical AI. Founded in 2017 and based in Belmont, California, ZaiNar turns the wireless networks that already exist into a sensor, delivering sub-nanosecond time synchronization and sub-10cm 3D location outdoors, indoors, underground, and in GPS-denied environments. ZaiNar runs as network-side software with zero device or hardware changes and no battery drain, works across WiFi, 5G, and other radio protocols, and is carrier-agnostic. ZaiNar has raised more than $100 million, is valued at more than $1 billion, holds more than 100 patents, shares board members with SpaceX & xAI, and is backed by Samsung, SoftBank, AME Cloud Ventures, Future Ventures, and GFC. Learn more at ZaiNarTech.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zainar-brings-location-awareness-expertise-to-arm-total-design-for-physical-ai-302871948.html

SOURCE ZaiNar, Inc

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AutoAp Changes Name to The Recall Company; New Name Reflects Role in Auto Recall Information and Services

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The Recall Company provides automated auto recall information and recall management services through integration partners and directly to dealers and fleets.

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — AutoAp, Inc., a leading provider of auto recall information and safety recall services, today announced it has changed its name to The Recall Company (www.therecallcompany.com). The new name more accurately reflects its work helping auto dealers, fleets, and automotive technology and service providers identify and manage open safety recalls.

“Our team found themselves introducing the company as ‘AutoAp…the recall company’ in nearly every interaction we ever had,” Allen said. “We decided to cut to the chase and simply say, ‘We are The Recall Company.’

The new name stems from thousands of conversations with automotive industry stakeholders, according to Mark Allen, president of The Recall Company.

“Our team found themselves introducing the company as ‘AutoAp…the recall company’ in nearly every interaction we ever had,” Allen said. “We decided to cut to the chase and simply say, ‘We are The Recall Company.’ With so much noise in all areas of business and life, we wanted to get right to it. As The Recall Company, there is no ambiguity in terms of what we do.”

The Recall Company provides automated auto recall information and recall management services through integration partners and directly to dealers and fleets. Its technology identifies vehicles with open safety recalls and supplies enhanced vehicle recall information to companies that offer recall notification services. Use cases include identifying open recalls in dealer and fleet inventory, flagging vehicles at acquisition, and supporting consumer outreach to schedule safety recall repairs, among many others.

Open Safety Recalls: An Ongoing Industry Challenge and Dealer Opportunity

Safety recalls remain a significant industry challenge. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 997 vehicle and equipment recalls were issued in 2025 and more than 29 million vehicles were recalled in the United States. Millions of vehicle recalls go unrepaired or unaddressed each year.

The Recall Company estimates that more than 50 million vehicles on the road today have an open safety recall, creating a significant opportunity for franchised dealers to generate service revenue and retain customers:

Unrepaired recalls represent an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion opportunity for dealers in aggregate.That equals approximately $2.1 million in potential additional revenue per dealership.The average warranty claim reimbursement is approximately $440. Dealerships may also generate $250 to $400 in customer-pay maintenance or repair revenue per recall service visit.

“Because recall repairs are free to vehicle owners, they represent a unique opportunity for retailers to strengthen relationships with current and potential customers,” Allen said. “Being open, transparent, and proactive about recalls gives dealers an opportunity to build trust with vehicle owners, bring in current or new customers for service through proactive outreach, and generate additional revenue. Working with an automated service provider is the best way to make that happen.”

About The Recall Company

The Recall Company, formerly AutoAp, Inc., is an AutoManager Acquisition, LLC portfolio company providing auto recall information and recall management services to dealers, technology/service providers, fleets and rental car companies. Its solutions help improve driver safety, reduce liability, generate service revenue and lower recall management costs. For more information visit www.therecallcompany.com.

Media Contact

Mike DeVilling, WestShore Public Relations, 1 2488754207, mdevilling@westshorepr.com, www.therecallcompany.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/autoap-changes-name-to-the-recall-company-new-name-reflects-role-in-auto-recall-information-and-services-302871475.html

SOURCE WestShore Public Relations

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Sony Electronics Introduces Its First Fisheye Zoom G Lens

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Compact, lightweight SEL814G Full-frame lens delivers fisheye perspectives from circular to diagonal with high resolution across the zoom range

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Electronics introduces the SEL814G, the company’s first fisheye zoom G Lens™ for full-frame Alpha™ E-mount cameras.

The 8 mm to 14 mm zoom range covers circular fisheye at 8 mm through diagonal fisheye at 14 mm, with a constant aperture of f/3.5. Built for landscapes, architecture, sports, and video production, the lens pairs a compact, lightweight body with G Lens resolution, fast and precise autofocus, and refined operability for stills and movies. In a dual-lens configuration with the VENICE Extension System Mini1 it also supports spatial content production.

The SEL814G brings new creative fisheye perspectives to Sony’s E-mount lineup for photographers, cinematographers, and content creators.

“Our first fisheye zoom runs circular through diagonal across 8 to 14 millimeters, so you can find your perspective standing right in front of the subject. We held it to G Lens resolution through the whole range, to provide an exciting, high-quality creative tool. And at 314 grams, you can carry it all day,” said Yang Cheng, Vice President of Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics.

Availability and Price

Product Name

Model

Availability

Price

Full-frame E-mount lens for Alpha
cameras

SEL814G

October 2026

MSRP of USD
$1,599.99, CAD
$1,999.99

Pre-orders for the SEL814G begin at 7 AM PST/10 AM EST on Sept. 8, 2026.

For more information, please visit: https://youtu.be/VGlc13dv7qI

Key Features of the SEL814G

Fisheye zoom coverage from circular to diagonal fisheye

The 8 mm to 14 mm range delivers a broad set of fisheye perspectives in one compact lens. At 8 mm it shoots circular fisheye with a 180-degree angle of view projected as a circular image on a full-frame sensor. At 14 mm it shoots diagonal fisheye across the full frame with an 180-degree diagonal angle of view. You can match the angle of view and composition to the subject and creative intent, across landscapes, architecture, sports, and video production.

High-resolution G Lens performance across the zoom range

An optical design with ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass and aspherical elements suppresses chromatic and other aberrations across the image area, holding high resolution throughout the zoom range. A minimum focusing distance of 0.15 m and maximum magnification of 0.22x at the telephoto end enable dramatic close-up fisheye perspectives for stills and movies.

Compact, lightweight design for high mobility and spatial content production

The lens measures approximately 63.1 mm in maximum diameter and 82.8 mm in length and weighs approximately 314 g, giving it mobility for handheld, gimbal, and rig-based shooting. An inner zoom mechanism minimizes shifts in the center of gravity while zooming. Using two sets of the VENICE Extension System Mini and this lens, side by side, positions the optical axes approximately 64 mm apart, close to the average interpupillary distance of human eyes supporting spatial content production, including Virtual Reality (VR), with a natural sense of depth and distance.

Autofocus performance and operability for stills and movies

The lens delivers fast, precise autofocus and Linear Response manual focus while suppressing focus breathing with quiet operation for movie production. Controls include a focus mode switch, zoom lock switch, and an aperture ring with switchable click stops. A dust- and moisture-resistant design2 and a fluorine coating on the front element support use in outdoor environments.

For main specifications and additional product details, please visit the product website: https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/lenses/all-e-mount/p/sel814g

Showcase Information

The SEL814G will be exhibited at the Sony booth at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, beginning Friday, Sept. 11, local time.

“Sony,” “Alpha,” “G Lens,” and all associated logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Group Corporation or its affiliates. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.

Images included in this release may be removed without prior notice due to rights or other considerations.

About Sony Electronics Inc.

Sony Electronics is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and an affiliate of Sony Group Corporation, one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world, with a portfolio that encompasses electronics, music, motion pictures, mobile, gaming, robotics and financial services. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sony Electronics is a leader in electronics for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, engineering, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Sony Electronics creates products that innovate and inspire generations, such as the award-winning Alpha Interchangeable Lens Cameras and revolutionary high-resolution audio products.

1 VENICE Extension System Mini sold separately.
2 Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sony-electronics-introduces-its-first-fisheye-zoom-g-lens-302871883.html

SOURCE Sony Electronics, Inc.

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