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Leading the AI Chart: Cisco Engage Greater Bay Area 2025 Focuses on the Next Wave of Transformation Technologies

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New innovations showcase the company’s leading portfolio designed to help customers build, secure and operate AI-ready data centers.Cisco’s Greater Bay Area team empowers businesses with innovative solutions, aiding customers in AI, secured networking, and digital resilience.Latest research by Cisco shows that CEOs worry gaps in their understanding of AI will impact strategic decisions, risking missed opportunities.

HONG KONG, Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today brought together senior leaders and industry experts for a series of insightful discussions on the critical technological advances shaping the vibrant Greater Bay Area (GBA). The event marked the return of Cisco Engage Greater Bay Area following its great success in 2023. This year’s theme, “Go Beyond”, explores new frontiers of innovation, where companies in the GBA harness the transformative possibilities of the AI era to push the limits of what can be achieved.  

The event was attended by Professor Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, Hon. Mr. Duncan Chiu, Legislative Council Member Technology & Innovation Constituency, Carmen Leung, Senior Superintendent of Police, Cyber Security, Forensics and Training, CSTCB, Hong Kong Police,  Dave West, President, Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China, and Ming Wong, Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco Greater China.

Professor Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government said, “Hong Kong has long been recognized as a super connector, bridging the dynamic markets of Mainland China with the rest of the world.  The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is fully committed to creating a robust I&T ecosystem and a business-friendly environment where I&T enterprises and start-ups can grow and thrive here, and make impactful contributions to the local and global economy and society.  To construct a sustainable I&T ecosystem, the close collaboration among government, industry, academia, research and investment sectors is crucial. We welcome more international I&T enterprises like Cisco to set foot in Hong Kong and leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantages as an ideal gateway for businesses aiming to tap into the vast markets of Mainland China and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Cisco’s Commitment in Greater Bay Area

In May 2023, Cisco proudly established the Greater Bay Area team, marking a significant step in our commitment to innovation and customer success in the region. Over the past 20 months, our dedicated GBA team has played a pivotal role in helping customers seize growth potential in the GBA and capitalize on synergies across markets. The team has successfully assisted a large number of customers in transitioning to AI-ready data centers, create future-proof workplaces, and enhance digital resilience. These achievements underscore Cisco’s unwavering dedication to empowering businesses with cutting-edge solutions and robust digital infrastructures.

Additionally, Cisco has been actively involved in a range of strategic initiatives across the GBA. These include a Memorandum of Understanding with Cyberport to make join efforts in the establishment of an AI lab; supporting Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in expanding its AI data center; and contributing to the Hong Kong Police Force’s establishment of a Cyber Security Action Task Force to enhance the city’s ability to cope with cyber threats. Cisco also participated in the “US-China Bay to Bay Dialogue”, where discussions focused on the shared economic development of the Bay Area.

A Paradox Between AI’s Potential and Implementation Challenges

Cisco has been leading the chart on providing in-depth analysis of the biggest trends impacting businesses, the latest of which are published in Cisco’s 2025 AI Briefing CEO Edition. This study uncovers a paradox where four in five CEOs recognize AI’s potential benefits and almost all CEOs plan to integrate AI into their operations. Yet at the same time, many fear gaps in their knowledge will hinder decisions in the boardroom (74%) and stifle growth (58%) – risking missed opportunities and falling behind competitors. 

More than 70% of CEOs are concerned about losing ground due to IT and infrastructure gaps, fears that are already translating into real losses. Over half (53%) worry that a lack of investment in technology is costing them competitive advantage, while two-thirds are concerned about the opportunity costs of not investing more in technology.  Without decisive action, CEOs anticipate higher operating costs, lower profits, reduced productivity, and declining market share.

For those who confront their fears, the rewards will go far beyond simply “keeping up”. CEOs are turning to AI for its transformative potential: driving efficiency (69%), spurring innovation (68%), and outpacing competitors (54%). Yet, to realize AI’s full potential, they must first overcome key barriers – including skills shortages, infrastructure limitations, and security risks.

While CEOs focus on the bigger picture, their CIOs and CTOs are often grappling with operational hurdles, including the lack of compelling business use cases – a challenge CEOs rank lower. This tension perhaps reflects AI’s exploratory phase, with 82% of CEOs recognizing that AI’s potential benefits call for bold experimentation in the short term to uncover value in the long term.

As they work to meet these challenges, CEOs recognize they cannot deliver on their blueprint alone. 96% are turning to trusted partnerships to future-proof their network for AI.

“As AI continues to evolve, particularly with the rapid growth of agentic AI, companies in the GBA are navigating a pivotal transformation,” said Iris Feng, General Manager of Cisco Hong Kong, Macau, and South China. “Cisco is leading the charge to help businesses not only navigate the AI revolution but also leverage its power for sustainable growth, capitalizing on the region’s growing role as a global powerhouse. Our solutions are designed to help businesses in the GBA seamlessly adapt, stay competitive, and achieve long-term success, all backed by Cisco’s AI-driven innovations.”

Powering AI for the Future: Cisco’s Latest Innovations

To provide GBA customers with the technology needed to embrace AI, Cisco is delivering impactful innovations across its unmatched product portfolio. Its AI infrastructure and data center solutions empower enterprises and service providers to transform their infrastructure for AI workloads:

Cisco N9300 Smart Switches with Hypershield: Cisco’s Smart Switches redefine adaptive and scalable AI data center architectures by embedding services directly into the network. Cisco Hypershield, which will be the first service available, eliminates the gap between security and networking layers by converging them into a single solution.Cisco Hybrid Mesh Firewall: The N9300 Smart Switch and Hypershield integration, along with advances in firewall, management, and licensing, will enable Cisco to deliver Hybrid Mesh Firewall optimized to protect AI applications in the data center and public cloud. Cisco’s Hybrid Mesh Firewall is a highly distributed security fabric managed under a single management console, delivering zero trust segmentation and protect application vulnerabilities in modern and AI applications.Cisco Agile Services Networking: The Cisco Agile Services Networking architecture provides a blueprint for service providers as they look to enable AI connectivity and monetize assured services. The innovations introduced to deliver this architecture include Silicon One-powered platforms, coherent pluggable optics and provider management and assurance software enhancements.Expansion of AI Server Family: New Cisco UCS C845A M8 server, based on the NVIDIA MGX reference architecture, brings flexibility to AI workloads. Its advanced architecture is designed to enable AI innovation, offering the computational power for intensive tasks and the efficiency required for rapid deployment.

Solving AI Challenges

Cisco’s portfolio gives customers and partners solutions to accelerate AI adoption, but challenges remain. Recognizing the need to tackle the energy efficiency challenges imposed by AI workloads, as well as the deepening skills gap that has developed due to the ever-evolving AI landscape, Cisco has introduced new partnerships and programs:

Engineering Alliances: The Cisco Engineering Alliances program is designed to accelerate building new validated solutions to solve some of our customers’ most pressing challenges. Cisco has signed alliances with Vertiv, DeepCoolAI, Green Revolution Cooling, and Asperitas to deliver liquid cooling solutions, addressing the ever-increasing thermal density in AI data centers. Additionally, Cisco has signed alliances with Panduit, MHT Technologies, and ThinLabs to deliver end-to-end direct current microgrid solutions leveraging Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and Fault Managed Power (FMP) to reduce energy use in smart buildings.  AI Skilling: Cisco continues to enhance its offerings in AI skilling by launching its newest AI Skills Journey program to build critical AI Infrastructure skills from entry to expert—available at u.cisco.com. As a part of this effort, Cisco Learning & Certifications has updated current certifications, including Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), and Internetwork Expert (CCIE). These updated certifications reflect the AI and cybersecurity skills needed to achieve impactful business outcomes. Select programs will be complimentary through March 24.

Download highlights from Cisco’s 2025 AI Briefing CEO Edition here.

For more information about AI Defense, the latest addition to Cisco’s series of AI-driven security innovations, visit cisco.com/go/ai-defense.

For more high-resolution images and video, please visit this link.

The CEO study, conducted by Opinion Matters (24 Dec 2024 – 2 Jan 2025), surveyed 2,503 CEOs from companies with 250+ employees worldwide. A companion study with 8,065 senior networking leaders will follow in the coming months, exploring the strategic and operational needs of AI-era networking and security.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that is revolutionizing the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era. For more than 40 years, Cisco has securely connected the world. With its industry leading AI-powered solutions and services, Cisco enables its customers, partners and communities to unlock innovation, enhance productivity, and strengthen digital resilience. With purpose at its core, Cisco remains committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. Discover more on The Newsroom.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. 

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Truemed and Highmark Benefits Administration Partner to Expand Access to Root‑Cause Healthcare and Enable Employers to Reach Benefits Goals

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AUSTIN, Texas, May 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Truemed, the leading platform enabling qualified health purchases with HSA and FSA dollars, today announced a strategic partnership with Highmark Benefits Administration, a trusted provider of comprehensive, compliance‑driven solutions committed to providing A+ benefits administration services to clients nationwide.

The partnership aligns two organizations focused on delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions that help clients achieve business goals while empowering employees to use their benefits confidently and proactively. By integrating Truemed’s medically-necessary qualification process with Highmark’s service‑driven administrative infrastructure, employers can offer a broader range of eligible health interventions while maintaining clarity, compliance, and operational efficiency.

Through this collaboration, eligible Highmark participants can use pre‑tax HSA and FSA funds on evidence‑based, root‑cause health solutions— including fitness and movement programs, nutrition and supplement options, stress‑management tools, and other medically‑necessary interventions designed to help employees proactively improve their health.

“At Highmark Benefits Administration, we understand that managing employee benefits and plan compliance can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Dan Bearden, Founder and Director of Highmark. “Partnering with Truemed expands what’s possible with HSA and FSA dollars while maintaining the clarity and compliance confidence our clients rely on. We’re excited to help participants access more meaningful health solutions.”

“Highmark has built a reputation for exceptional service and operational excellence,” said Justin Mares, CEO of Truemed. “This partnership builds on that foundation by giving eligible participants access to root‑cause health interventions that have been shown to improve health outcomes and chronic condition management. Together, we’re helping employers offer benefits that are simple, compliant, and truly impactful.”

Learn more at: truemed.com/a/highmark

Truemed is for qualified customers. See terms at truemed.com/disclosures.

About Truemed

Truemed partners with consumer health brands and benefits administrators to enable HSA and FSA payments for root‑cause healthcare expenses. Through licensed practitioner review and IRS‑aligned documentation, Truemed helps qualified individuals invest in medically necessary products and services using pre‑tax dollars. Learn more at truemed.com.

About Highmark Benefits Administration

Highmark Benefits Administration provides comprehensive, cost‑effective benefits administration services designed to simplify complexity and support employer goals. With expertise in enrollment and eligibility management, COBRA administration, FSA/HSA/HRA programs, compliance reporting, carrier billing, and employee communication, Highmark delivers exceptional service backed by modern technology solutions. Learn more at highmarkbenadmin.com.

Media Contact:
Tom Dahl
tom@truemed.com

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DistrictWON’s uReport Partners with KOIN to Usher Back Local Sports Coverage to Every Community

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PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — KOIN 6 is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with uReport, bringing comprehensive, community-driven sports coverage to every high school across the entire metro Portland and southwestern Washington markets.

Through this initiative, KOIN is offering uReport, a human-powered, AI-assisted platform widely endorsed across high schools and colleges nationwide, fully-funded to all high schools in the region. uReport is ISTE EdTech Index Approved and listed in the ISTE Learning Technology Directory, a vetted resource used by educators to identify high-quality digital learning tools.

This partnership empowers schools, students, and communities to create and share stories, highlights, and updates across all sports, while amplifying that content across KOIN.com. uReport is already endorsed by leading organizations including the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, College Sports Communicators and other groups representing over 17,000 high schools and colleges.

“Local sports coverage has historically reached the biggest schools and the biggest games. uReport flips that. Every school in our market — from the 6A powerhouse to the 1A program with 80 kids — now has a dedicated platform on KOIN.com,” said Tom Keeler, Vice President & General Manager of KOIN.

Key benefits for each school & community include:

A dedicated content platform for every school.The ability to cover every game, every sport at every level and include unlimited pictures and videos.Every school will also be featured on KOIN.com, allowing all schools to consistently make the news!Schools also distribute content onto their own social channels, creating an amazing content library Real-world training for student journalism and responsible use of AI in storytellingA free fan-powered mobile app for real-time contributions from the communityFull customer support for the platform, all year. 

Check out a quick explainer video here: KOIN – Supercharging Your Coverage

KOIN will host three short webinars for Portland market school administrators to learn more. Any administrator is encouraged to participate (administrator, teacher, coach or other, click below to attend):
Tuesday 5/5: 9am PT
Wednesday 5/6: 8am PT
Thursday 5/7: 12pm PT
Schools can self-start and sign-up right now to cover spring events and continue to have access for the entire 2026–27 academic year. Self-start sign-up is easy here: www.ureport.com/koin

For more information, contact uReport Director of Customer Success, Dan McGrath: 216-647-3857; dmcgrath@districtwon.com

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Fuutura Outlines Architecture Built for the Cross-Border Stablecoin Corridors the IMF Now Tracks

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As the IMF’s April 2026 Global Financial Stability Report calls for enhanced regulatory oversight of cross-border stablecoin flows to emerging markets, Fuutura’s compliance-first architecture across identity, payments, and trading is built to support exactly this kind of regulatory oversight

PANAMA CITY, Panama, May 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fuutura, a blockchain infrastructure company building a compliance-first financial ecosystem for the global market, today set out its position on rising cross-border stablecoin flows to emerging markets, following the IMF’s call for enhanced regulatory oversight in its April 2026 Global Financial Stability Report.

 

 

The IMF’s findings reflect a structural shift in how money moves across emerging economies. Cross-border flows of the two largest dollar-pegged stablecoins, Tether and USD Coin, rose from approximately $12 billion in early 2020 to $316 billion by early 2025, outpacing flows of Bitcoin and Ethereum. A significant share of those flows has been directed toward emerging markets, with cumulative net inflows accelerating since late 2023. The IMF’s concern is that rapid stablecoin adoption in emerging markets, absent appropriate regulation and backstops, could lead to currency substitution, weaken the transmission of monetary policy, increase capital flow volatility, and create challenges for capital flow management measures.

The IMF report also acknowledges that stablecoins, with adequate regulation, could offer improved settlement efficiency, faster cross-border payments, increased competition in the payment space, and broader access to digital finance. The same flows that warrant enhanced oversight also reflect genuine demand for financial services that legacy infrastructure has consistently failed to deliver in emerging markets.

Fuutura is being built to make both possible at once. A compliance by design approach facilitates the very regulatory oversight the IMF is advocating. That same architecture allows the platform to serve users in markets unreached by legacy financial infrastructure. What that looks like in practice is best described by the people who have built it.

“The IMF’s findings lay bare something that anyone working in cross-border financial services across emerging markets has been seeing for years. The flows are real, the demand is structural, and the existing infrastructure has not been built to give regulators the kind of visibility they need to do their work properly. That is the gap our infrastructure is built to address, across cross-border payments, identity verification, and the trading layer that connects users to the global financial system. Compliance is not something we have layered on top of an existing platform. It is part of how the system functions at every level.”

Ellis McGrath, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Fuutura

The architectural choice that defines Fuutura is the integration of compliance at a foundational level. Most digital asset platforms operate perimeter compliance, with KYC and AML conducted at onboarding and transaction monitoring sitting on top of an existing technology stack. Fuutura’s design records verified KYC and AML attestations on-chain and ties them to the user’s wallet, so that every interaction with the platform is gated by the presence of that attestation at the smart contract level. This applies across the entire ecosystem. Whether a user is opening a wallet, executing a trade on the exchange, or moving funds across borders, the same compliance design governs every interaction. The result is infrastructure where compliance is enforceable on every transaction and auditable by regulators at the on-chain level.

“The platforms that earn regulators’ trust will be the ones that make their work easier. The IMF’s call for proportionate monitoring of stablecoin flows reflects a broader truth about the relationship between innovators and regulators in this industry. Architecture that is open to inspection by default. A company posture that welcomes the questions responsible oversight requires. We believe the future of digital finance depends on builders and regulators working together, and we have designed Fuutura to support that relationship across every product on the platform.”

Oliver Cook KC, Co-founder and Chief Legal Officer, Fuutura

Fuutura is building for a market where existing financial infrastructure has consistently failed to deliver. The cross-border stablecoin corridors identified by the IMF are one part of that market. The broader scope is the millions of people and businesses across emerging economies who require digital identity, secure custody, and access to global financial markets in a single connected environment. The company’s launch marks the beginning of a phased rollout, with further ecosystem development planned as the platform scales across the markets it was designed to serve.

About Fuutura

Fuutura is a blockchain infrastructure company building a compliance-first financial ecosystem facilitating participation in the global financial system from underserved markets with a focus on the Global-South. The platform combines digital identity verification, a wallet, and a trading exchange into one unified ecosystem, giving users access to crypto and tokenised real-world assets through a single environment. Fuutura is pursuing licensing in multiple jurisdictions. Built with KYC and AML integrated at an architectural level, Fuutura is designed to be open to regulatory oversight by design. Fuutura is building infrastructure to extend digital finance to markets that legacy banking has not reached.

Media Contact
Fuutura
pr@fuutura.com

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Disclosures

Digital asset risk. Digital assets are high-risk and their value may fall as well as rise. Trading digital assets involves significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Forward-looking statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Fuutura, its technology, products, business plans and future conduct, including statements relating to the phased rollout of the ecosystem, regulatory engagement and licensing outcomes, geographic expansion, and market ambitions. Forward-looking statements are identifiable by words such as “building,” “plans,” “intends,” “expects,” “designed to,” “anticipates” and similar expressions, as well as by statements regarding future outcomes, ambitions or strategic direction.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those expressed. These include, without limitation, changes in the regulatory environment across jurisdictions; the availability and timing of licensing or authorisation; developments in digital asset markets; technological and cybersecurity risks; operational risks; counterparty and third-party risks; the pace of product development; and other factors beyond Fuutura’s control.

No offer or advice. Nothing in this press release constitutes an offer to sell, a solicitation to purchase, investment advice, or a recommendation in respect of any digital asset, crypto-asset, token, security, or financial product or instrument. Fuutura’s products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions and may be subject to regulatory restrictions. Access to Fuutura’s platform is restricted to residents of jurisdictions where its services are permitted.

No duty to update. Fuutura undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

This release is not for distribution in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, or in any other jurisdiction where such distribution would be unlawful.

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