Technology

Alkami Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Published

1 year ago

February 27, 2025

Alkami Today Also Announced Its Intent to Acquire MANTL

PLANO, Texas, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) (“Alkami”), a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions (FIs) in the U.S., today announced results for its fourth quarter ending December 31, 2024.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights

GAAP total revenue of $89.7 million, an increase of 25.6% compared to the year-ago quarter;GAAP gross margin of 59.3%, compared to 56.0% in the year-ago quarter;Non-GAAP gross margin of 63.1%, compared to 60.3% in the year-ago quarter;GAAP net loss of $(7.6) million, compared to $(12.7) million in the year-ago quarter; andAdjusted EBITDA of $10.2 million, compared to $3.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Full Year 2024 Financial Highlights

GAAP total revenue of $333.8 million, an increase of 26.1% compared to 2023;GAAP gross margin of 58.9%, compared to 54.4% in 2023;Non-GAAP gross margin of 62.7%, compared to 59.0% in 2023;GAAP net loss of $(40.8) million, compared to $(62.9) million in 2023; andAdjusted EBITDA of $26.9 million compared to $(1.6) million in 2023.

Alkami also announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Fin Technologies, Inc. (“MANTL”) for an enterprise value of $400 million, on a debt free, cash free basis and subject to customary purchase price adjustments, expected to be $7 million. Alkami plans to fund the acquisition with cash of approximately $380 million and restricted stock units issued to continuing MANTL employees with an estimated value of $13 million at transaction closing in replacement for unvested compensatory stock options. MANTL is the premier onboarding and account opening solution that allows financial institutions to acquire commercial, business and retail customers through any channel for virtually any deposit account type. MANTL combined with Alkami’s digital banking platform and marketing and analytic capabilities creates the industry leading digital sales and service platform for financial institutions.

Comments on the News

Alex Shootman, Chief Executive Officer, said, “In the fourth quarter, we continued to deliver strong growth and enhanced profitability, with revenue growth of over 25% and Adjusted EBITDA of $10.2 million. This capped a year that saw revenue growth of 26% and our first full year of positive Adjusted EBITDA. We also continued to expand our client portfolio, adding an additional seven banks in the fourth quarter.”

Shootman added, “We also announced today that we signed a definitive agreement to acquire MANTL, the premier onboarding and account opening solution. MANTL is unique in that it offers a multi-tenant, core-agnostic, single platform that enables FIs to support all channels in onboarding deposit accounts, including branch, call center and digital. With this acquisition, Alkami solidifies its position as the de facto digital sales and service platform in the industry, allowing FIs to onboard, engage, and grow their account base. This creates a tremendous opportunity for us to expand market share and generate cross sell within our client base, driving additional revenue growth and enhancing our competitive offering among financial institutions.”

Bryan Hill, Chief Financial Officer, said, “In 2024, we added 2.5 million registered users to our digital banking platform, ending the year with 20 million digital banking users. We exited 2024 with annual recurring revenue of $356 million, up 22% compared to December 31, 2023 and revenue per registered user of $17.81, up 7% compared to the year-ago quarter. Our remaining performance obligation reached $1.4 billion at December 31, 2024, providing substantial visibility into our future operating and financial performance. In addition, we are thrilled to welcome MANTL to the Alkami team. We believe MANTL will be accretive to Alkami’s overall revenue growth and gross margin expansion, and we expect the impact of the acquisition to be accretive to Adjusted EBITDA in 2026, allowing Alkami to meet or exceed its long-term financial targets.”

2025 Financial Outlook

The following statements are forward-looking, and actual results could differ materially depending on market conditions and the factors set forth under “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Alkami’s financial outlook is based on current expectations, and includes the impact of the MANTL acquisition.

Alkami is providing guidance for its first quarter ending March 31, 2025 of:

GAAP total revenue in the range of $93.5 million to $95.0 million;Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $9.5 million to $10.5 million.

Alkami is providing guidance for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2025 of:

GAAP total revenue in the range of $440.0 million to $445.0 million;Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $47.0 million to $51.0 million.

The completion of the MANTL acquisition remains subject to certain standard conditions, and is expected to close on or before March 31, 2025. As such, starting in the second quarter of 2025 and included in Alkami’s full year guidance, Alkami expects MANTL to contribute revenue of approximately $30 million and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $5 million to its 2025 full-year financial performance. Alkami expects MANTL’s annual recurring revenue under contract at December 31, 2025 to be approximately $60 million, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of over 30%.

Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET today to discuss its financial results with investors. A live webcast of the event will be available on the Alkami investor relations website at investors.alkami.com. In addition, a live dial-in will be available domestically at 1-800-836-8184 and internationally at 1-646-357-8785, using passcode 39894. The webcast replay will be available on the Alkami investor relations website.

About Alkami
Alkami Technology, Inc. is a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions in the United States that enables clients to grow confidently, adapt quickly, and build thriving digital communities. Alkami helps clients transform through retail and business banking, digital account opening, payment security, and data and marketing solutions. To learn more, visit www.alkami.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements relating to Alkami Technology, Inc.’s strategy, goals, future focus areas, and expected, possible or assumed future results, including its future cash flows and its financial outlook. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by terms such as “expects,” “believes,” “plans,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may materially affect such forward-looking statements include: Our limited operating history and history of operating losses; our ability to manage future growth; our ability to attract new clients and retain and expand existing clients’ use of our solutions; the unpredictable and time-consuming nature of our sales cycles; our ability to maintain, protect and enhance our brand; our ability to accurately predict the long-term rate of client subscription renewals or adoption of our solutions; our reliance on third-party software, content and services; our ability to effectively integrate our solutions with other systems used by our clients; intense competition in our industry; any downturn, consolidation or decrease in technology spend in the financial services industry, including as a result of recent closures of certain financial institutions and liquidity concerns at other financial institutions; our ability and the ability of third parties on which we rely to prevent and identify breaches of security measures (including cybersecurity) and resulting disruptions of our systems or operations and unauthorized access to client customer and other data; our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies or businesses; our ability to comply with regulatory and legal requirements and developments; our ability to attract and retain key employees; the political, economic and competitive conditions in the markets and jurisdictions where we operate; our ability to maintain, develop and protect our intellectual property; our ability to respond to evolving technological requirements to develop or acquire new and enhanced products that achieve market acceptance in a timely manner; our ability to estimate our expenses, future revenues, capital requirements, our needs for additional financing and our ability to obtain additional capital and other factors described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Business Metrics
The company reports its financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP. However, the company believes that, in order to properly understand its short-term and long-term financial, operational and strategic trends, it may be helpful for investors to exclude certain non-cash or non-recurring items when used as a supplement to financial performance measures in accordance with GAAP. These items result from facts and circumstances that vary in both frequency and impact on continuing operations. The company also uses results of operations excluding such items to evaluate the operating performance of Alkami and compare it against prior periods, make operating decisions, determine executive compensation, and serve as a basis for long-term strategic planning. These non-GAAP financial measures provide the company with additional means to understand and evaluate the operating results and trends in its ongoing business by eliminating certain non-cash expenses and other items that Alkami believes might otherwise make comparisons of its ongoing business with prior periods more difficult, obscure trends in ongoing operations, reduce management’s ability to make useful forecasts, or obscure the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of certain business strategies and management incentive structures. In addition, the company also believes that investors and financial analysts find this information to be helpful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance and comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors.

The company defines “Non-GAAP Cost of Revenues” as cost of revenues, excluding (1) amortization and (2) stock-based compensation expense. The company believes that investors and financial analysts find this non-GAAP financial measure to be useful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance, comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors, and understanding the company’s ability to generate income from ongoing business operations.

The company defines “Non-GAAP Gross Margin” as gross profit, plus (1) amortization and (2) stock-based compensation expense, all divided by revenue. The company believes that investors and financial analysts find this non-GAAP financial measure to be useful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance, comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors, and understanding the company’s ability to generate income from ongoing business operations.

The company defines “Non-GAAP Research and Development Expense” as research and development expense, excluding stock-based compensation expense. The company believes that investors and financial analysts find this non-GAAP financial measure to be useful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance, comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors, and understanding the company’s ongoing expenditures related to product innovation.

The company defines “Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expense” as sales and marketing expense, excluding stock-based compensation expense. The company believes that investors and financial analysts find this non-GAAP financial measure to be useful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance, comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors, and understanding the company’s ongoing expenditures related to its sales and marketing strategies.

The company defines “Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expense” as general and administrative expense, excluding (1) stock-based compensation expense and (2) secondary offering costs. The company believes that investors and financial analysts find this non-GAAP financial measure to be useful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance, comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors, and understanding the company’s underlying expense structure to support corporate activities and processes.

The company defines “Non-GAAP Income (loss) before income taxes” as loss before income taxes, plus (1) gain on financial instruments, (2) amortization, (3) stock-based compensation expense, (4) secondary offering costs, and (5) acquisition-related expenses. The company believes that investors and financial analysts find this non-GAAP financial measure to be useful in analyzing the company’s financial and operational performance, comparing this performance to the company’s peers and competitors, and understanding the company’s ability to generate income from ongoing business operations.

The company defines “Adjusted EBITDA” as net loss plus (1) provision (benefit) for income taxes, (2) gain on financial instruments, (3) interest income, net, (4) depreciation and amortization (5) stock-based compensation expense, (6) secondary offering costs, (7) acquisition-related expenses, and (8) loss on extinguishment of debt. The company believes adjusted EBITDA provides investors and other users of our financial information consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations.

In addition, the Company also uses the following important operating metrics to evaluate its business:

The company defines “Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)” by aggregating annualized recurring revenue related to SaaS subscription services recognized in the last month of the reporting period as well as the next 12 months of expected implementation services revenues in the last month of the reporting period. We believe ARR provides important information about our future revenue potential, our ability to acquire new clients, and our ability to maintain and expand our relationship with existing clients.

The company defines “Registered Users” as an individual or business related to an account holder of an FI client on our digital banking platform who has registered to use one or more of our solutions and has current access to use those solutions as of the last day of the reporting period presented. We price our digital banking platform based on the number of registered users, so as the number of registered users of our digital banking platform increases, our ARR grows. We believe growth in the number of registered users provides important information about our ability to expand market adoption of our digital banking platform and its associated software products, and therefore to grow revenues over time.

The company defines “Revenue per Registered User (RPU)” by dividing ARR for the reporting period by the number of registered users as of the last day of the reporting period. We believe RPU provides important information about our ability to grow the number of software products adopted by new clients over time, as well as our ability to expand the number of software products that our existing clients add to their contracts with us over time.

The company does not provide a reconciliation of our adjusted EBITDA outlook to GAAP net loss because certain significant information required for such reconciliation is not available without unreasonable efforts, including provision for income taxes, loss on financial instruments, stock-based compensation expense, and acquisition-related expenses, net, all of which may be significant.

ALKAMI TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(UNAUDITED)

December 31,

2024

2023

Assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 94,359

$ 40,927

Marketable securities

21,375

51,196

Accounts receivable, net

38,739

35,499

Deferred costs, current

13,207

10,329

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

13,697

10,634

Total current assets

181,377

148,585

Property and equipment, net

22,075

16,946

Right-of-use assets

14,565

15,754

Deferred costs, net of current portion

37,178

30,734

Intangibles, net

29,021

35,807

Goodwill

148,050

Other assets

5,011

3,949

Total assets

$ 437,277

$ 399,825

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

$ 6,129

$ 7,478

Accrued liabilities

24,520

19,763

Deferred revenues, current portion

13,578

10,984

Lease liabilities, current portion

1,343

1,205

Total current liabilities

45,570

39,430

Deferred revenues, net of current portion

15,526

15,384

Deferred income taxes

1,822

1,713

Lease liabilities, net of current portion

17,109

18,052

Other non-current liabilities

220

305

Total liabilities

80,247

74,884

Stockholders’ Equity

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized and 0 shares issued and outstanding

as of December 31, 2024 and 2023

—

Common stock, $0.001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; and 102,088,783 and 96,722,098

shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively

102

Additional paid-in capital

833,129

760,210

Accumulated deficit

(476,201)

(435,366)

Total stockholders’ equity

357,030

324,941

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$ 437,277

$ 399,825

ALKAMI TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(UNAUDITED)

Three months ended December 31,

Year ended December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Revenues

$ 89,656

$ 71,369

$ 333,849

$ 264,831

Cost of revenues(1)

36,446

31,420

137,219

120,720

Gross profit

53,210

39,949

196,630

144,111

Operating expenses:

Research and development

25,349

21,491

96,211

84,661

Sales and marketing

14,552

11,863

59,765

48,557

General and administrative

21,576

19,292

83,650

72,900

Acquisition-related expenses

—

195

263

Amortization of acquired intangibles

359

1,435

Total operating expenses

61,836

53,048

241,256

207,816

Loss from operations

(8,626)

(13,099)

(44,626)

(63,705)

Non-operating income (expense):

Interest income

1,070

2,273

4,560

8,095

Interest expense

(134)

(1,870)

(461)

(7,384)

Gain on financial instruments

—

113

—

534

Loss on extinguishment of debt

—

(409)

—

(409)

Loss before income taxes

(7,690)

(12,992)

(40,527)

(62,869)

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(47)

(279)

308

Net loss

$ (7,643)

$ (12,713)

$ (40,835)

$ (62,913)

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

Basic and diluted

$ (0.08)

$ (0.13)

$ (0.41)

$ (0.67)

Weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding:

Basic and diluted

101,057,260

95,871,058

98,892,692

94,080,797

(1) Includes amortization of acquired technology of $1.3 million and $1.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $5.4 million for both the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

ALKAMI TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

(UNAUDITED)

Year ended December 31,

2024

2023

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net loss

$ (40,835)

$ (62,913)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provide by (used in) operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization expense

10,508

10,631

Accrued interest on marketable securities, net

(1,075)

(3,231)

Stock-based compensation expense

59,437

51,231

Amortization of debt issuance costs

210

138

Gain on financial instruments

—

(532)

Loss on extinguishment of debt

—

409

Gain on lease modification

—

(375)

Deferred taxes

109

(32)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable

(3,240)

(9,253)

Prepaid expenses and other assets

(3,972)

425

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

3,322

Deferred costs

(8,603)

(7,720)

Deferred revenues

2,736

3,629

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

18,597

(17,502)

Cash flows from investing activities:

Purchase of marketable securities

(40,416)

(140,816)

Proceeds from sales, maturities, and redemptions of marketable securities

71,312

181,019

Purchases of property and equipment

(1,195)

(1,058)

Capitalized software development costs

(6,660)

(5,234)

Net cash provided by investing activities

23,041

33,911

Cash flows from financing activities:

Principal payments on debt

—

(85,000)

Payment of holdback funds from acquisition

—

(3,600)

Payments for taxes related to net settlement of equity awards

(12,820)

(15,985)

Proceeds from stock option exercises

20,241

12,983

Proceeds from Employee Stock Purchase Plan issuances

4,736

4,124

Debt issuance costs paid

(363)

(341)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

11,794

(87,819)

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash

53,432

(71,410)

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

40,927

112,337

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

$ 94,359

$ 40,927

ALKAMI TECHNOLOGY, INC.

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP MEASURES

(In thousands, except per share data)

(UNAUDITED)

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP total revenues

$ 89,656

$ 71,369

$ 333,849

$ 264,831

December 31,

2024

2023

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

$ 355,874

$ 291,049

Registered Users

19,984

17,502

Revenue per Registered User (RPU)

$ 17.81

$ 16.63

Non-GAAP Cost of Revenues

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Non-GAAP Cost of Revenues.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP cost of revenues

$ 36,446

$ 31,420

$ 137,219

$ 120,720

Amortization

(1,926)

(1,656)

(7,389)

(6,579)

Stock-based compensation expense

(1,434)

(1,444)

(5,366)

(5,584)

Non-GAAP cost of revenues

$ 33,086

$ 28,320

$ 124,464

$ 108,557

Non-GAAP Gross Margin

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Non-GAAP Gross Margin.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP gross margin

59.3 %

56.0 %

58.9 %

54.4 %

Amortization

2.2 %

2.3 %

2.2 %

2.5 %

Stock-based compensation expense

1.6 %

2.0 %

1.6 %

2.1 %

Non-GAAP gross margin

63.1 %

60.3 %

62.7 %

59.0 %

Non-GAAP Research and Development Expense

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Non-GAAP Research and Development Expense.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP research and development expense

$ 25,349

$ 21,491

$ 96,211

$ 84,661

Stock-based compensation expense

(4,533)

(4,141)

(17,279)

(15,995)

Non-GAAP research and development expense

$ 20,816

$ 17,350

$ 78,932

$ 68,666

Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expense

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expense.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP sales and marketing expense

$ 14,552

$ 11,863

$ 59,765

$ 48,557

Stock-based compensation expense

(2,400)

(1,911)

(9,049)

(7,220)

Non-GAAP sales and marketing expense

$ 12,152

$ 9,952

$ 50,716

$ 41,337

Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expense

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expense.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP general and administrative expense

$ 21,576

$ 19,292

$ 83,650

$ 72,900

Stock-based compensation expense

(7,248)

(5,821)

(27,743)

(22,432)

Secondary offering costs

(527)

—

(1,337)

—

Non-GAAP general and administrative expense

$ 13,801

$ 13,471

$ 54,570

$ 50,468

Non-GAAP Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Non-GAAP Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP loss before income taxes

$ (7,690)

$ (12,992)

$ (40,527)

$ (62,869)

Gain on financial instruments

—

(113)

—

(534)

Amortization

2,285

2,015

8,824

8,014

Stock-based compensation expense

15,615

13,317

59,437

51,231

Secondary offering costs

527

—

1,337

—

Acquisition-related expenses

—

195

263

Non-GAAP Income (loss) before income taxes

$ 10,737

$ 2,270

$ 29,266

$ (3,895)

Adjusted EBITDA

Set forth below is a presentation of the company’s “Adjusted EBITDA.” Please reference the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Measures” section.

Three Months Ended

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

GAAP net loss

$ (7,643)

$ (12,713)

$ (40,835)

$ (62,913)

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(47)

(279)

308

Gain on financial instruments

—

(113)

—

(534)

Interest income, net

(936)

(403)

(4,099)

(711)

Depreciation and amortization

2,654

2,790

10,508

10,631

Stock-based compensation expense

15,615

13,317

59,437

51,231

Secondary offering costs

527

—

1,337

—

Acquisition-related expenses

—

195

263

Loss on extinguishment of debt

—

409

—

409

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 10,170

$ 3,051

$ 26,851

$ (1,580)

Investor Relations Contact
Steve Calk
ir@alkami.com

Media Relations Contacts
Marla Pieton
marla.pieton@alkami.com

Valerie Kerner
alkami@fullyvested.com

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SOURCE Alkami Technology, Inc.

Technology

Laifen Expands U.S. Retail Footprint with Costco Launch of Best-Selling SE Hair Dryer

Published

33 minutes ago

July 18, 2026

Starting July 18, Costco Members Can Shop Laifen’s Award-Winning Hair Dryer in Select Warehouse Locations Across the U.S.

NEW YORK, July 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Laifen, ranked the world’s No.1 high-speed hair dryer brand, today announced the launch of its best-selling SE High-Speed Hair Dryer at select Costco warehouse locations, marking the brand’s largest U.S. retail expansion to date and bringing its award-winning haircare technology to Costco members across select U.S. markets.

The launch brings Laifen’s award-winning haircare technology to Costco, making it easier for consumers to experience the brand through one of the nation’s leading membership retailers. Laifen joins Costco’s growing portfolio of premium beauty and personal care brands. The initial rollout includes select Costco warehouse locations across the United States, with a strong presence across the Western U.S., including California, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.

Costco’s reputation for quality and its highly selective merchandising approach make this partnership especially meaningful. The Costco launch reflects Laifen’s continued expansion beyond direct-to-consumer channels as the brand accelerates its U.S. omnichannel retail strategy. “Costco represents an important milestone in our U.S. retail strategy,” said Romeo, General Manager of International Business of Laifen. “As more consumers seek salon-quality performance at an accessible price, we’re excited to make Laifen available through one of America’s most trusted retailers.”

Engineered to deliver professional-level performance in a sleek, lightweight design, the Laifen SE is powered by the brand’s proprietary high-speed brushless motor, delivering fast drying, reduced heat damage and smoother styling. An intelligent temperature control system continuously monitors airflow to help minimize frizz while protecting hair from excessive heat.

The Costco launch represents the next phase of Laifen’s U.S. retail expansion as the brand continues to grow beyond its direct-to-consumer and online channels. By expanding into one of the nation’s most trusted retailers, Laifen aims to broaden access to its category-disrupting haircare solutions while advancing its mission to bring more thoughtful design and everyday excellence into more homes.

The Laifen SE High-Speed Hair Dryer in White will be available at select Costco locations, while Costco.com shoppers will have access to additional color options including Purple and Pink, alongside the White model.

For more information on Laifen, please visit LaifenTech.com.

About Laifen:

Founded in 2019, Laifen is a global personal care technology brand combining high-performance engineering with modern design across hair care, oral care, and grooming categories. Ranked the world’s No. 1 high-speed hair dryer brand by Euromonitor International, Laifen first gained recognition for its self-developed 110,000 RPM high-speed brushless motor, the proprietary technology behind its award-winning hair dryers.

Building on this innovation, Laifen has expanded its portfolio to include electric toothbrushes and shavers, delivering premium technology and elevated everyday experiences to consumers worldwide. Today, Laifen products and accessories are used by over 22 million households across more than 60 countries, supported by more than 600 patents and recognized with over 50 international design and innovation awards. Driven by continuous technological breakthroughs, Laifen is committed to making cutting-edge personal care technology more accessible to consumers around the world.

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SOURCE Laifen

Technology

Pillsbury Notice of Data Breach

Published

4 hours ago

July 18, 2026

NEW YORK, July 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (“Pillsbury”) was among many law firms targeted by sophisticated social engineering attempts in an incident last year. While the firm quickly detected and blocked the activity, an unauthorized actor was able to access some of the firm’s documents during a short window of time. Pillsbury notified any impacted clients last year and undertook a detailed process to review the accessed documents for personal information. Pillsbury then began notifying individuals whose personal information was affected. That process is now complete, and today, Pillsbury is publishing substitute notice as a final step.

For more information, please visit the substitute notice on our website at https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/breach-notice.html.

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SOURCE Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Technology

From Remote Racing to Embodied AI: Fibocom and Intedigo Bring 5G Bidirectional Data Transmission into Real-World Applications

Published

5 hours ago

July 18, 2026

SHANGHAI, July 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From July 17 to 20, Fibocom and Intedigo will jointly present a cross-regional, beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) teleoperation demonstration at Booth H3-C408 during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026. Visitors will be able to enter a remote driving cockpit and control a real race car located at HURA PARK in Jiading, Shanghai, steering, accelerating, and braking in real time while experiencing how 5G connectivity enables remote operation.

More than an immersive driving experience, the demonstration provides a live validation of 5G bidirectional data transmission for embodied AI teleoperation. The vehicle continuously sends live track video, vehicle status, and operating data to the remote cockpit, while control commands are transmitted back to the vehicle, creating a closed-loop teleoperation system. Stable, low-latency, and highly reliable connectivity is essential for high-dynamic maneuvers such as high-speed cornering, precision braking, and continuous lane changes.

Developed by Intedigo, the remote driving system connects a real race car with an immersive remote driving cockpit. It supports 1080p@60Hz video transmission, glass-to-glass (G2G) video latency of less than 80 ms, and control latency of less than 10 ms. The demanding racing environment magnifies differences in video continuity and control responsiveness, making communications performance directly perceptible, measurable, and verifiable.

At the joint demonstration, Fibocom’s FM160 5G module provides cellular connectivity for the system. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ X62 5G Modem-RF System, the FM160 supports SA and NSA network architectures as well as 3GPP Release 16. On the downlink, it supports NR Carrier Aggregation (NR CA) with bandwidth of up to 120 MHz, delivering peak speeds of up to 3.5 Gbps in NSA mode and 2.5 Gbps in SA mode. On the uplink, it supports UL MIMO and delivers peak speeds of up to 900 Mbps in SA mode. These capabilities support the continuous transmission of HD video and vehicle status data, along with reliable delivery of control commands.

As embodied AI moves into factories, data centers, logistics operations, and industrial parks, robots are becoming increasingly capable of performing tasks autonomously. Yet complex environments, unexpected events, and edge cases still require Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) remote intervention to help ensure safe and reliable operation.

Daniel Liu, CEO of Intedigo, said:

“5G represents the pinnacle of human communications and the starting point of machine communications. In the past, communications connected people to people; in the future, they will connect people to robots and robots to robots. Remote racing is simply the easiest entry point for people to understand this concept. What we are truly validating is a communications system capable of supporting remote collaboration for embodied AI. HURA makes low-latency remote driving a tangible experience, while RoBOX extends this capability to robots and a broader range of intelligent terminals. Together with Fibocom, we hope to enable more machines to receive remote assistance whenever needed while remaining continuously connected and operating reliably.”

Simon Tao, VP of Wireless Solutions Business Group and General Manager of MBB BU at Fibocom, said:

“As embodied AI enters real-world industrial environments, reliable connectivity will become the foundation for telemetry feedback, remote control and operational management. Fibocom’s 5G solutions, represented by FM160, provide the cellular connectivity required for continuous on-site data transmission and reliable control command delivery. Fibocom will continue collaborating with ecosystem partners such as Intedigo to bring cellular connectivity to more robots, autonomous machines and mobile intelligent terminals, enabling embodied AI systems to stay continuously connected and respond reliably in real-world applications.”

From remote race cars to robots, unmanned equipment, and mobile intelligent terminals, 5G is evolving from connecting people to connecting machines. This joint demonstration makes the capabilities of 5G bidirectional data transmission directly perceptible, experiential, and verifiable, helping pave the way for embodied AI to scale across real-world applications.

About Fibocom

Fibocom, founded in 1999, is China’s first wireless communication module company listed on both the A-share and H-share markets (300638.SZ, 0638.HK). As a global leading provider of wireless communication modules and AI solutions, Fibocom leverages wireless communication and artificial intelligence as its core technologies to provide integrated hardware and software solutions that empower industry applications. These solutions accelerate the transformation from “Connect Everything” to “Intelligent Connectivity” across diverse industries.

Fibocom’s one-stop solutions encompass cellular communication, AI, automotive, and GNSS modules, as well as AI toolchains, supporting industry-side and mainstream large model integration, and providing AI Agent, global connectivity, and cloud services, driving the digital intelligence upgrades in industries such as robotics, consumer electronics, low-altitude economy, intelligent transportation, smart retail, and smart energy.

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SOURCE Fibocom Wireless Inc.