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YRCI and Pyramid Systems Launch AIR-hr – An AI-Driven Tool to Revolutionize HR Support for Federal Employees

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RESTON, Va., March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Pyramid Systems, an award-winning leader in innovative IT solutions, and YRCI, a leading provider of human capital management solutions for federal agencies, have joined forces to launch AIR-hr. This powerful AI-driven tool will help federal employees and HR professionals efficiently navigate complex employment regulations, retirement options and reduction in force procedures during an unprecedented time for the federal workforce.

Pyramid Systems & YRCI launch AIR-hr: a powerful AI tool delivering real-time HR support for federal workers.

Combining Pyramid’s advanced AI technology with YRCI’s deep expertise in federal HR policies, AIR-hr offers real-time, reliable guidance tailored to the needs of federal agencies and employees.

“Federal employees will benefit from clear guidance and easy access to their options,” YRCI CEO Hans Jaeger said. “With AIR-hr, we’re providing instant, straightforward support to empower employees and enhance HR services across federal agencies. This collaboration with Pyramid builds upon our 24 years of expertise in federal HR policy to deliver a truly groundbreaking solution at a transformational time for the federal workforce.”

AIR-hr introduces a new era of streamlined HR support by eliminating the need for employees to sift through dense policy documents or wait for HR assistance. With immediate, policy-backed answers available 24/7, employees can make informed decisions quickly, and agencies can better serve their workforce. In addition to supporting federal employees, the tool enhances the capabilities of HR professionals by addressing routine inquiries, enabling teams to focus on high-value, strategic initiatives.

“We are committed to driving innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of federal agencies,” Pyramid CEO David Chow said. “AIR-hr represents the future of HR support: purpose-built for federal employees to improve how they access and retrieve information rapidly. By leveraging our AI expertise in partnership with YRCI’s human capital acumen, we are enabling federal workers and the HR teams supporting them to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.”

AIR-hr is more than a traditional chatbot; it’s a purpose-built AI system specifically trained on federal HR policies. The tool is continuously updated as regulations evolve and is backed by expert oversight to maintain accuracy and relevance. Its key features underscore its impact on federal HR support:

Policy-Driven Expertise: AIR-hr provides accurate, up-to-date guidance tailored to federal employees, ensuring adherence to federal HR policies – critical at a time of major changes in the federal workforce.

Real-Time, On-Demand Answers: Employees and HR professionals can access clear and reliable responses to complex policy questions – anytime, anywhere.

Enhanced HR Team Efficiency: By managing routine inquiries, AIR-hr enables HR staff to devote more time to strategic initiatives while ensuring consistent support.

User Privacy and Security: Designed with government compliance and security standards in mind, the system protects employee privacy by not storing or processing personal information.

AIR-hr is being released as a free version 1.0, ensuring federal employees can immediately access critical HR information. Future iterations will offer agency-specific customization through paid versions, expanding functionality and capabilities based on personalized needs.

Pyramid ‘ Nexus Division led the IT and development efforts behind the tool. Nexus manages Pyramid Labs, which professionalizes innovation across the Pyramid ecosystem of advanced technologies. With a legacy that includes transformative projects like FHA Catalyst, which redefined the Federal Housing Administration’s data, Pyramid is setting new benchmarks for modernizing federal processes and transforming the way business is done.

“AIR-hr embodies the core mission of Nexus and Pyramid Labs: bringing innovative solutions to market that solve real-world challenges,” Chow said. “We are excited to see how AIR-hr transforms the HR landscape, making processes more streamlined and accessible for federal agencies and their employees.”

YRCI complements this technological expertise with decades of expertise in federal HR policy, ensuring the tool’s deep alignment with the needs of federal agencies.

“This partnership reflects the best of what YRCI and Pyramid brings to the table. Together, we’ve created a solution that enhances operational efficiency and ensures the human aspect of HR is preserved and strengthened,” Jaeger said.  

AIR-hr’s release comes at a pivotal time, as federal workforces adapt to evolving policy landscapes and changing workplace dynamics. Employees need timely guidance now more than ever, and AIR-hr is poised to provide just that. By offering consistent, policy-backed insights, the tool empowers employees to make confident, well-informed decisions in a dynamic environment.

The pathway for AIR-hr includes exciting future developments. Agencies will soon have access to customized, advanced versions of the tool designed to meet their unique requirements. Paid versions will include enhanced features, such as advanced analytics and tailored training modules, further amplifying the tool’s impact.

About Pyramid 

Pyramid Systems, Inc. is an employee-owned technology leader, driving digital transformation across federal agencies for 30 years. We empower forward-thinking innovations, accelerate production-ready software, and deliver secure solutions so federal agencies can meet their mission goals. Voted a Top Workplace USA 2023-2024, Pyramid is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, and employs more than 185 people. Learn more at pyramidsystems.com

About YRCI

YRCI, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, is a trusted leader in federal human capital solutions, dedicated to empowering the government to better serve its citizens. Since its founding in 2001, YRCI has partnered with federal agencies to deliver innovative, strategic, and technology-driven HR solutions designed to address complex workforce challenges. With expertise spanning the full spectrum of federal staffing and workforce management, YRCI ensures agencies have the right people, processes, and technologies to achieve mission success. Driven by a commitment to excellence, flexibility, and care, YRCI provides impactful, results-oriented solutions that support the evolving needs of federal agencies. As a powerhouse in federal HR, YRCI is shaping the future of federal workforce management. Learn more at YRCI.com

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SOURCE Pyramid Systems, Inc.

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Air Products to Expand Industrial Gas Supply for Samsung Electronics’ Next-Generation Semiconductor Fab in South Korea

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New investment underscores the company’s long-term commitment to Korea and its leading role in the global semiconductor industry 

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products (NYSE:APD), a world-leading industrial gases company and serving Samsung globally, today announced it has been selected by Samsung to supply industrial gases for its new advanced semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Under the agreement, Air Products will build, own and operate multiple state-of-the-art production facilities and a bulk specialty gas supply system to supply nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and hydrogen for Samsung’s new semiconductor fab. The new facilities are expected to come onstream in multiple phases from 2028 through 2030.

Air Products has a long track record of executing multiple phase expansions in Pyeongtaek to support Samsung’s growing manufacturing needs. This latest project represents Air Products’ largest investment to date in the semiconductor industry and will establish Pyeongtaek as the company’s single largest operations site globally supporting the electronics industry. 

“Air Products is honored to be selected once again by Samsung and to have their continued confidence as a trusted partner supporting their strategic growth plans,” said SR Kim, President, Air Products Korea. “This significant investment reinforces Air Products’ role as a leading global supplier to the semiconductor industry and underscores our long-standing commitment to supporting our strategic customers with safety, reliability, efficiency and excellent service.”

Air Products has served the global electronics industry for more than 40 years, supplying industrial gases safely and reliably to many of the world’s leading technology companies. The company has operated in Korea for more than 50 years and has established a strong position in electronics and manufacturing sectors.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 85 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets and generating a cleaner future. The Company supplies essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical and food. As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects, supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the industrial and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Through its sale of equipment businesses, the Company also provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

Air Products had fiscal 2025 sales of $12 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedInXFacebook or Instagram.

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/air-products-to-expand-industrial-gas-supply-for-samsung-electronics-next-generation-semiconductor-fab-in-south-korea-302757497.html

SOURCE Air Products

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