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AuguStar Life enhances its suite of living benefits

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New feature gives clients flexible access to death benefit when they need it most

CINCINNATI, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AuguStar® Life, a Constellation business, has enhanced its LiveNow Access accelerated benefit rider with a new critical illness feature, giving clients more ways to use their life insurance when it matters most.

The addition complements the rider’s suite of living benefits, which also includes chronic and terminal illness coverage. Together, these features allow clients with a qualifying illness to access a portion of their death benefit during their lifetime for any purpose, helping provide financial flexibility at a critical time.

The LiveNow Access rider is designed to give clients clarity and control. Unlike discount-based approaches commonly used across the industry, AuguStar’s lien method allows clients to see in advance how much they can access and how it will impact their remaining death benefit, helping them make informed decisions about how and when to use their policy. It also gives financial professionals the ability to illustrate benefits in advance and set clearer expectations with clients.

“As more carriers offer accelerated benefit riders, how benefits are calculated matters,” said Jack Heller, AuguStar Life vice president and chief distribution officer. “Our approach gives clients clarity upfront so they can see what they can access and what remains for their loved ones.”

Emphasizing transparency

Under AuguStar’s approach, benefit eligibility does not require additional underwriting at the time of claim, and maximum benefit amounts can be illustrated in advance. When a benefit is taken, a lien is established against the policy’s death benefit for the amount of the benefit taken plus a one-time administrative fee. The lien accrues additional carrying charges over time and is deducted from the death benefit when the insured passes away.

By contrast, discount‑based riders often rely on life expectancy and condition severity at the time of claim, which can result in reduced payouts and a disproportionate reduction to remaining death benefits.

Designed for flexibility and predictability

LiveNow Access benefits can be used for any purpose, including health‑related expenses or personal goals. Premiums and policy charges remain unchanged after benefits are taken.

The LiveNow Access accelerated benefit rider is available on select permanent life insurance products issued by AuguStar Life Insurance Company. Rider availability and features vary by state.

About AuguStar Life

AuguStar Life markets indexed universal life, indexed whole life, term and bank-owned life insurance through a national network of traditional direct agent distribution and independent marketing organizations. AuguStar Life is a member of the Constellation family of businesses, which also includes AuguStar Retirement, AuguStar Seguros, Constellation Investments, Constellation Re and Constellation Institutional Markets. Constellation’s investors and equal partners, CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’, are two of North America’s largest long-term institutional investors, managing CA$796 billion in net assets, including CA$136 billion in private capital investments (as of Dec. 31, 2025). More information is available at augustarfinancial.com.

The optional LiveNow Access Rider issued on Form ICC26-CCTAD-1 and any state variations. LiveNow Access rider not yet available in California, and Florida. LiveNow Access rider benefits and features may vary by state. 

The LiveNow Access rider provides for a partial acceleration of the policy death benefit in the event that the base policy insured is certified by a licensed physician as being chronically ill, critically ill or terminally ill. By taking an accelerated death benefit payment, a lien is created against the policy death benefit. The lien accrues carrying charges at an adjustable rate we declare. The lien, including the lien carrying charges, will be deducted from the total death benefit otherwise payable to the policy beneficiary(ies) and will reduce the cash value available for policy loans, surrenders, or the exercise of any non-forfeiture option. The required premium for the policy must still be paid even if an accelerated death benefit is taken. If an accelerated benefit is taken and the policy lapses or otherwise terminates, a taxable event may occur. 

While the lien method used by the LiveNow Access rider is designed to provide enhanced value to policyholders as compared to discount-based riders, individual circumstances may vary, and discount-based riders may offer superior benefits under certain circumstances.

The LiveNow Access rider is not long-term care insurance and does not provide a lifetime benefit payment, nor may it cover all of the expenses associated with long-term care. It is not intended to replace the need for long-term care insurance, health insurance, or nursing home insurance.

Indexed whole life insurance is issued by AuguStar Life Insurance Company on Policy Forms ICC22-IWL-1/U and any state variations. Indexed universal life insurance is issued by AuguStar Life Insurance Companion Policy Forms ICC19-IUL-1/1U and any state variations. The life insurance policy and associated riders contain exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits, and terms for continuing to keep coverage in-force.

Guarantees based on the claims-paying ability of the issuer. Guarantees do not apply to the investment performance of any chosen index. Product, product features and rider availability vary by state. Issuer not licensed to conduct business in NY.

Contact: Lisa Doxsee
513.794.6418 (o) | 513.218.5519 (m)
mediarelations@constellationinsurance.com

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SOURCE AuguStar Life

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Summation Makes AI Analysts Available to Every Business Team

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Put a proactive AI analyst to work in minutes: automating the grind, staying on top of what’s changing, and helping teams make better decisions, fast.

BELLEVUE, Wash., Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AI has made individuals dramatically more capable. But making each person smarter doesn’t automatically make the company run better.

Companies are becoming more complicated. There’s too much happening for any person or team to see the full picture. Summation is AI designed for how a business actually operates.

Starting today, Summation’s AI analyst is available to everyone. After a year deploying Summation inside companies including Fanatics, Lineage, and Grid, any team can now sign up, connect its data, and put an AI analyst to work in minutes.

“Most businesses aren’t short on valuable problems to solve. They’re short on the analytical capacity to solve them,” said Ian Wong, CEO and Co-Founder of Summation. “We built Summation to put an AI analyst on every team and bring the best of AI to the decisions that drive the business.”

The AI Analyst That Stays on Top of the Business
Most AI tools wait for someone to ask the right question. Summation can take responsibility for work that needs to happen whether someone remembers to ask or not.

It can run recurring analytical processes, including reviews, forecasts, and reporting, automatically on your schedule.

Summation can monitor thousands of changes across products, customers, locations, and channels. When something matters, Summation investigates why, shows the evidence, and brings it to the right person.

And it can go beyond analysis into operating decisions. Summation powers applications for planning, pricing, inventory, marketing, and other workflows, helping teams make key decisions and measure what matters.

The result is more capacity to run the business: more questions answered, faster response to change, and better decisions made sooner.

More Than a General-Purpose LLM
Making that work takes more than a great AI model.

Summation learns the context that makes each business different: its data, metrics, definitions, processes, and constraints. Its workflows keep running from one operating cycle to the next, and its work is verified and traceable back to underlying data.

That’s what allows Summation to take responsibility for recurring work rather than simply generate a one-off answer. An output from Summation is a boardroom ready deliverable you can trust.

From Sign-Up to Production
Individuals and teams can sign up, connect their data through more than 1,200 integrations, and delegate their first job in minutes. With Summation Workflows, useful work can then run automatically and deliver itself by email or Slack.

For enterprises, Summation’s deployment team works alongside customers to make the analyst successful. The team identifies high-value responsibilities to delegate, learns how the business actually operates, and does the last-mile work to put AI into production.

The goal isn’t another AI implementation. It’s a working analyst driving a real business outcome.

Available Today
Summation is available in two self-serve plans: Pro at $60 per user per month and Max at $200 per user per month.

Enterprise plans include dedicated deployment support, custom integrations, and advanced governance and controls for organizations putting AI analysts into critical operating workflows.

Summation AI analysts are available today. Put one to work at: www.summation.com/try-summation.

About Summation
Summation builds AI analysts that help companies understand what’s happening, plan what comes next, and make better operating decisions. Its AI analysts work from live business data and shared company context to automate recurring work, proactively monitor performance, investigate problems, and improve plans.

Companies including Fanatics, Lineage, and Grid run recurring analytical and planning work on Summation today.

Summation is backed by Benchmark and Kleiner Perkins and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

Media Contact
Trevor Shih
Head of Business Operations
Summation
press@summation.com

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SOURCE Summation Technologies, Inc.

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New North American Survey Reveals Only One in Ten Sustainability Professionals Expect Their Organization’s Ambition to Decrease

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Research from UN Global Compact Networks in Canada, Mexico, and the USA and GlobeScan reveals companies are becoming more selective and strategic as pressure on corporate sustainability commitments grows

TORONTO, Sept. 10, 2026 /CNW/ — Despite mounting economic, political and regulatory pressure on corporate sustainability, ambition among sustainability professionals across North America is proving more resilient than widely assumed. A new tri-national study finds that only 10 percent of respondents expect their organization’s sustainability ambition to decrease, while most expect it to increase, remain stable, or become more targeted.

Leading Through Uncertainty: The Evolving Role of Sustainability Professionals in North America, published by UN Global Compact Networks in Canada, Mexico and the USA, in partnership with GlobeScan, draws on survey responses from corporate sustainability professionals across all three countries, conducted in English, French and Spanish. The research finds that sustainability leadership in North America is evolving, with organizations becoming more selective in where they focus, how they communicate, and demonstrate progress. Other key findings include:

Business value is the defining test for sustainability leadership. 76 percent of respondents identify the ability to connect sustainability to business value as a crucial capability, meaning that industry leaders are expected to translate environmental and social priorities into strategy, operations, and finance.Sustainability is moving closer to core business strategy. 61 percent of respondents say embedding sustainability into strategy and capital allocation should be a priority for sustainability leaders, pointing to a shift toward deeper business integration.The role of sustainability professionals is expanding. Beyond technical expertise, the research also surfaces the growing importance of influencing leadership, working across functions and driving organizational change.

The research is based on a survey of 276 sustainability professionals with responsibility and expertise in corporate sustainability across North America. Conducted in English, French and Spanish, the results are weighted equally across Canada, Mexico and the USA. The full findings were presented at the virtual launch event on September 10, 2026. The complete report is now available to download here.

About UN Global Compact
As a special initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General, the UN Global Compact is a call to companies worldwide to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our vision is clear: to mobilize business to transform sustainability ambition into action at the scale the world demands. With more than 25,000 participants and a presence in over 100 countries through 5 Regional Hubs and more than 70 Country Networks and expansion territories, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.

For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our websites at unglobalcompact.org  | UN Global Compact Network Canada – unglobalcompact.ca | UN Global Compact Network Mexico – pactoglobal.org.mx  | UN Global Compact Network USA – globalcompactusa.org

About GlobeScan
GlobeScan is an insights and advisory firm specializing in trust, sustainability, and engagement. 
We equip clients with insights to navigate shifting societal and stakeholder expectations, crafting evidence-based strategies that reduce risks and create value for their organizations and society.
Established in 1987, we have offices in Cape Town, Dubai, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, London, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, and Toronto. GlobeScan is a participant of the UN Global Compact and a Certified B Corporation.
Learn more here.

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SOURCE United Nations Global Compact

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OpenSpace Unveils the Next Generation of Its Visual Intelligence Platform at Waypoint 2026

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New Spatial AI, mobile, and progress tracking innovations help construction teams turn trusted reality data into faster, better decisions

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — OpenSpace, the Visual Intelligence Platform for the built world, today unveiled the next generation of its platform at Waypoint 2026, the company’s annual virtual customer event. The new and upcoming capabilities demonstrate how Visual Intelligence is creating a new way to work in construction, moving project teams beyond document-centric workflows toward decisions grounded in visual, real-world data.

In recent years, OpenSpace has become a leading platform that brings together data from 360° cameras, smartphones, drones, laser scanners, BIM models, project schedules and more. OpenSpace enriches that data with location, field context and reality-based progress analytics, making it easier for project teams to coordinate around what is actually happening on-site, communicate across stakeholders, and make faster decisions. This new way of working, with visual reality at the center, is making life easier for field teams, delivering literal ROI, and making AI genuinely more useful for builders.

“Construction doesn’t need another disconnected tool or system that asks teams to manually input information into a form,” said Jeevan Kalanithi, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSpace. “The next phase of the industry will be defined by platforms that understand the physical world and make that intelligence available wherever teams already work. Today at Waypoint, we demonstrated how OpenSpace is powering a new way of reality-based work, with an open platform that interoperates with the systems and technologies that work best for our customers’ businesses.”

A New Way to Work in the Field
At Waypoint 2026, OpenSpace previewed new capabilities designed to make the smartphone a powerful tool for capturing, understanding, and acting on jobsite reality, reducing administrative work and helping teams move more quickly from observation to action.

The company announced a breakthrough in its Autolocation technology, revealing AI Autolocation 2.0 with Live Location. In construction, location of a photo taken is often the most important, but almost always missing, piece of information. OpenSpace made this a priority to solve for their customers. AI Autolocation works like GPS, but inside buildings where GPS does not operate, and it works without the need to install wireless hardware devices like bluetooth beacons. AI Autolocation 1.0 helped users automatically pin issues created on mobile to their location on a drawing. AI Autolocation 2.0 takes it further, allowing users to understand their position in real time, all the time, powering entirely new field workflows.

The technology powers a new mobile experience called Site Mode, which puts a user’s live location directly on project drawings and BIM models, even when offline, allowing users in the field to instantly access relevant information, open Field Notes and expedite issue workflows based on exactly where they are on the jobsite.

The technology also powers AI Walk-and-Talk, a capability that allows users to create structured updates by speaking naturally as they move through the jobsite. The images and voice are tagged in real time to jobsite locations, providing a rich data set of site status. Walk-and-Talk powers workflows such as daily reports, with OpenSpace compiling the information into an end-of-day report to reduce significant time spent on administrative work.

Verified Progress, Not Opinions
OpenSpace also showcased major advancements to OpenSpace Track, its reality-based progress-tracking solution for projects ranging from multifamily housing to hospitality projects to some of the most complex, high-value and mission-critical projects. OpenSpace Track helps customers verify installed work, compare actual progress with planned milestones, identify schedule risks, forecast future performance, and view trends across multiple projects at the portfolio level.

Due to high customer demand from mission-critical owners and builders, OpenSpace has expanded its progress tracking offerings with new functionality for quantity tracking, markups and predictive analytics. Combined with the power of the full OpenSpace platform as well as optional walk and pilot services, customers are using these capabilities to build faster and more reliably, with visual reality at the center.

The company also announced its Track API, which allows customers to pull progress tracking data into whatever core system a customer uses — ERP, BI dashboards, or PM tools — and drive more workflows in both the field and office. In particular, the company highlighted customers using Track and the Track API to provide accelerated payments to their subcontractors using a shared visual record that all parties can trust, demonstrating literal ROI impact for the industry as a whole.

“For the construction industry, the field is where money is made or lost, yet progress has traditionally been measured through manual updates, periodic observations, and individual judgment,” said Michael Jones, Vice President of Product Management at OpenSpace. “Visual Intelligence replaces opinions with a more objective, timely view of what has actually been completed, which can truly transform the difficult economics of construction. It allows payments and capital to flow more efficiently from lenders to owners to GCs to trades, each and every month.”

Giving AI Agents Eyes on the Jobsite
OpenSpace outlined the next generation of AI built for the “real world” economy. Most AI systems are designed to interpret documents and text. Construction, however, takes place in a physical environment that changes every minute, every day. To provide meaningful value, AI must understand not only what was planned, but also what is truly happening in the real, physical world. This type of AI is often labeled “Physical AI,” and it represents the cutting edge of AI broadly.

OpenSpace announced the new OpenSpace Agent Ecosystem – an open, interoperable AI agent platform that understands what is happening on the jobsite, and can tackle work that teams have to do. OpenSpace leverages its foundation of processing large amounts of visual data, enriching it with location, meaning and high-level analytics, and is now making that intelligence accessible to AI agents to help tackle real work. OpenSpace is building agentic AI technology capable of understanding reality data that is captured, organized, and mapped to the correct project spatial context. Having analyzed imagery from more than 110,000 construction projects representing over 77 billion square feet, with more than 500 million expert-verified labels and descriptions, OpenSpace has built a foundation of real-world visual and spatial intelligence that can help AI understand how construction actually progresses.

This foundation can enable AI agents – in OpenSpace or in a partner system using OpenSpace via MCP – to assist with everyday workflows like daily logs, routine inspections, and clearing punch lists. OpenSpace is already putting this vision into practice, working with a select group of Early Access customers to build and deploy AI agents against real-world construction workflows.

“AI agents need eyes,” said Michael Fleischman, CTO and Co-Founder, OpenSpace. “An agent may be able to read every report associated with a project, and that provides real value. But without visual and spatial context, AI still cannot fully understand the scope of what drives business results for our customers – that data lies in the field. OpenSpace is building that connection between AI and the physical world so agents can become genuinely useful partners to the people delivering projects. This kind of real-world reasoning has been the vision behind OpenSpace from the beginning, and we’re excited to now put that capability in the hands of our customers.”

Throughout Waypoint 2026, OpenSpace customers shared how they are using Visual Intelligence to improve coordination, reduce administrative work, validate progress, deliver literal ROI through accelerated payments, and make faster decisions.

“OpenSpace puts Autodesk Issues front and center with pinpoint accuracy so we can get them resolved faster. The faster we resolve issues, the greater benefit to the project,” said Zeeshan Haider, Director of Business Process, ISEC, Inc. “I worked with one company that could measure job profitability based on the number of days issues stayed open. So, if we can increase the efficiency with which we resolve open issues, that means money to the bottom line. And at the end of the day, that satisfies our customers. They feel like we’re on top of things and getting them done faster.”

Additional information about upcoming feature availability, participation in Early Access and Beta programs, and general customer access will be shared in the coming months.

To watch Waypoint 2026 and learn more about the innovations announced at the event, visit https://www.openspace.ai/waypoint/.

About OpenSpace
OpenSpace is the Visual Intelligence Platform for the built world, helping teams reduce risk and increase efficiency. Powered by Spatial AI, its image-first platform streamlines coordination between field and office teams, providing reality-based, real-time intelligence for faster decisions and fewer delays. Customers like Suffolk, Comfort Systems, and Tishman Speyer rely on OpenSpace to gain critical insights from their sites, avoid destructive investigations, and finish projects ahead of schedule. To date, general contractors, trades, and owners have relied on OpenSpace to analyze imagery on more than 110,000 construction projects across 132 countries. To learn more, visit www.openspace.ai and follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Lindsay Hull
Zer0 to 5ive for OpenSpace
openspace@0to5.com
or
media@openspace.ai

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SOURCE OpenSpace

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