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Sanas Deepens Philippine Investment, Taps IBPAP Chief Jack Madrid to Lead Market Expansion

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Jack Madrid joins as Sanas Ambassador, Philippines and Christopher Venturina as Director of Business Development to strengthen relationships with enterprises, BPO providers, and technology partners across the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Philippines has built a global reputation for delivering customer experiences at scale. Now, as artificial intelligence reshapes the way businesses connect with customers, Speech AI company Sanas is strengthening its presence in the country to help shape the future of customer experience.

Effective October 11, 2026, Sanas will appoint Jack Madrid, current President and CEO of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), as Sanas Ambassador, Philippines, and Christopher Venturina as Director of Business Development, Philippines. The appointments come as Sanas strengthens its local operations, expands customer investments, and builds deeper relationships with enterprises, BPO providers, and technology partners in the country.

The Philippines is a key market for Sanas as it brings AI into an industry where Filipino talent already plays a leading role in serving customers around the world.

Sanas currently works with more than 200 enterprises globally and processes millions of live voice interactions every day. The company was also recently ranked No. 8 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, while ranking No. 1 in both AI & Data and California.

“The Philippines has spent decades building one of the world’s strongest customer experience industries. What AI changes is not the value of that talent, but what people can accomplish with the right technology,” said Sharath Keshava Narayana, Co-Founder and CEO of Sanas. “We are investing in the Philippines because we believe the country can play a leading role in defining how people and AI work together to create better customer experiences.”

A familiar industry leader for a new era
Madrid joins the company as Sanas Ambassador, Philippines at a pivotal moment for the Philippine IT-BPM industry, bringing more than two decades of experience across banking, technology, digital commerce, media, and industry leadership.

As President and CEO of IBPAP, Madrid helped lead the country’s IT-BPM sector through significant transformation and growth. Under his leadership, the industry surpassed US$40 billion in annual revenues and supported approximately 1.9 million Digital Filipino Workers, reinforcing the Philippines’ position as a global leader in technology-enabled services.

His move to Sanas brings together two sides of a conversation increasingly important to the Philippine economy: the country’s strength in human-led customer service and the growing role of AI in the workplace.

“The conversation around AI and the Philippines should not simply be about what technology can replace. It should be about what technology can help Filipino talent do better,” said Jack Madrid, Sanas Ambassador, Philippines. “The Philippines has an opportunity to lead the next chapter of global customer experience by combining the strengths of its people with technology that helps them communicate, perform, and connect more effectively. That is what makes this opportunity with Sanas particularly exciting to me.”

Throughout his career, Madrid has held senior leadership positions at organizations including Citibank, Dell Technologies, Yahoo! Philippines, MTV Philippines, Ayala Corporation, and Multiply.com. He has also been a prominent voice on AI adoption, workforce readiness, digital infrastructure, and the future of work.

Turning AI interest into business impact
Sanas is also strengthening its commercial presence in the Philippines with the appointment of Venturina, who brings extensive experience across the country’s outsourcing and customer experience ecosystem.

In his new role, Venturina will focus on expanding Sanas’ relationships with enterprise customers, BPO providers, and technology partners in the Philippines and across the region.

“The conversation has moved from whether AI will affect customer experience to how companies can use it effectively and responsibly,” said Christopher Venturina, Director of Business Development, Philippines, Sanas. “Our role is to help organizations turn that interest into practical applications that support employees, make conversations more effective, and deliver better customer experiences.”

That shift is increasingly relevant as Philippine enterprises and BPOs navigate a global market where customers expect faster, more personalized, and more seamless interactions, while businesses face growing pressure to improve productivity and performance.

For Sanas, the opportunity is not simply to automate customer interactions, but to help organizations combine technology with human expertise to create better experiences.

“Technology should ultimately make it easier for people to understand and connect with one another,” said Shawn Zhang, CTO and Co-Founder of Sanas. “The Philippines has shown the world what exceptional customer experience looks like. We believe AI can help Filipino professionals and the organizations they work with take that capability even further.”

With Madrid and Venturina joining its Philippine leadership team, Sanas is strengthening its presence in a market it sees as central to the future of customer experience.

The future of customer experience will be defined by the combination of AI and human expertise. The Philippines is uniquely positioned to lead that future, pairing world-class talent with technologies that help people communicate more effectively, perform at a higher level, and deliver better outcomes for customers.

About Sanas
Sanas is a real-time Speech AI platform built to power global enterprise and communications platforms. Founded in 2021 in Palo Alto, California, Sanas enables speech to be understood clearly and naturally across languages, accents, and environments. The platform provides real-time speech enhancement, accent transformation, and language understanding that can be embedded directly into applications, platforms, and carrier networks. In 2026, Sanas was named the No. 1 AI & Data company in America on the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies and also earned the No. 1 ranking in California and No. 8 overall. Learn more at Sanas.ai.

Media Contact:
Havas Red for Sanas
Sanas@havas.com

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Agoda Partners with Marina Bay Sands on Bespoke Flagship Store for Experience-Led Travel

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The custom digital storefront brings together Marina Bay Sands’ rooms, suites and resort experiences, expanding visibility across Agoda’s booking journey

SINGAPORE, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Digital travel platform Agoda has partnered with Singapore’s landmark integrated resort, Marina Bay Sands to unveil a bespoke Marina Bay Sands Flagship Store on the Agoda platform. The customized luxury digital storefront brings together Marina Bay Sands’ rooms, suites, and select resort experiences, allowing travelers to explore and book them seamlessly in one place.

As the first custom flagship store dedicated to a single property, the storefront features rooms and suites from Marina Bay Sands’ Paiza Collection and Sands Collection, alongside select in-resort experiences. Through rich visual storytelling and editorial content, travelers can explore how the resort’s accommodation and wider dining, entertainment and cultural offerings can complement their stay.

Available in multiple languages including Japanese and Korean, the Flagship Store is designed to engage travelers across Asia Pacific and support them throughout their journey from discovery to booking.

Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President, Supply at Agoda remarked, “Marina Bay Sands and Agoda’s collaboration offers travelers a richer travel perspective through seamless planning. Travelers often start with the experience they might have first seen on social media, whether that is a restaurant, a theatre show, or a cultural activity and then look for the stay that brings the trip together. Reducing friction in travel planning encourages more travel and helps position our partners’ at pivotal moments that influence booking decisions.”

A new generation of high-intent travelers are increasingly influencing luxury travel, with customized and personalized vacations accounting for over a third of global luxury travel spend, as reported by Strategic Market Research. Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook Report points to a similar pattern emerging across Asia, where surveyed travelers are increasingly planning trips around the experiences they want to have, including culinary experiences at 31%, followed by cultural exploration at 25%.

The Agoda Flagship Store is a multichannel marketing solution that enables hospitality brands to tell their stories, foster customer loyalty and support revenue growth. Through its dedicated storefront, Marina Bay Sands will gain a targeted presence from the early stages of travel discovery and consideration. Agoda supports the initiative with homepage visibility and branded search placements through its Connected Ecosystem feature, which allows seamless store entry throughout the traveler journey – from discovery to booking.

Travelers can explore the Marina Bay Sands Flagship Store on Agoda here.

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Unprecedented Fish Sound Recordings Presented to the Library of Congress at Voices of the Ocean’s Convening to Inspire Ocean Regeneration

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On October 6, 2026, Wave and Conservation Nation convened over 300 ocean leaders, scientists, innovators, conservationists and ocean-lovers at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., for Voices of the Ocean—an immersive evening celebrating the discoveries, ideas and people shaping the future of our ocean.

The evening included an unprecedented moment when FishEye Collaborative presented a collection of fish sounds from Hawai’i’s coral reefs to the Library of Congress. The recordings represent the largest publicly accessible natural sound collection of fish species from the United States and from across the Pacific Ocean, to join the Library’s historic inclusion of the original “Songs of the Humpback Whale” recordings.

Opening the evening via video-link, Her Royal Highness Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Founder of Wave, said: “It is especially meaningful that we have gathered here to celebrate those who are dedicating their lives to understanding and protecting our ocean, and to amplify the ideas, discoveries and solutions that can help secure a healthy, thriving ocean for generations to come.”

Doro Bush Koch, Co-founder of Conservation Nation, said: “What brought us together tonight is a shared love of the ocean and a belief that we can do something meaningful to protect it.”

In the historic Coolidge Auditorium, the program featured guests from the depths of the ocean to the frontiers of marine science and innovation. Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, esteemed marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer and founder of Mission Blue, spoke about the power of exploration, conservation and collective action.

Wave Chief Scientist Professor Carlos Duarte explored the ocean’s next frontier, examining how marine life is unlocking new possibilities for medicine and human health. Peabody Awardwinning science journalist Lulu Miller shared the remarkable story of a whale calf birth, accompanied by footage revealing the extraordinary communal behaviors of marine life.

Internationally bestselling author Sy Montgomery invited guests to see the ocean through a different lens, bringing the character, intelligence and spirit of marine animals to life.

The evening opened with a cinematic celebration of the ocean, featuring extraordinary footage by ocean filmmaker Matthew David Kaplan set to an original score by Alex Lustig. The program culminated in an immersive cinematic journey created by the next generation of ocean storytellers—filmmakers, photographers and marine biologists—accompanied by a live orchestra performance.

From Ocean Ideas to Ocean Innovation
The evening continued in the Library of Congress’ Great Hall, where guests met the founders behind a new generation of ocean solutions.

Among them were Coastal Assembly, a public benefit corporation working to grow the world’s coastlines; Coral Vita, pioneering new approaches to coral restoration; FishEye Collaborative, a conservation technology nonprofit using acoustic monitoring to help protect coral reefs and nearshore habitats; GRoW Reefs, developing reef-building products designed to accelerate native oyster reef restoration; and Room 71, an innovation studio at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution focused on advancing solutions emerging from ocean science and exploration.

Giving the Ocean a Voice
In the Great Hall, the presentation of fish sounds to the Library included new discoveries for these species. These recordings stand at the frontier of listening to animals and represent a mere glimpse of the myriad voices still to be discovered in the world’s oceans. In 2010, the Library of Congress honored the 1970 “Songs of the Humpback Whale,” recording that changed how Americans see the ocean. Today, by adding the first fish sounds to the Library’s archives, the hope is that ocean voices will be valued, kept safe, and available to the world for study and wonder.

Voices of the Ocean brought together many perspectives, disciplines and generations around one shared message: the ocean’s future depends on our ability to listen, learn, collaborate and act.

About Wave
Founded by HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Wave is a Collective Action Platform dedicated to restoring a thriving ocean by 2050. Powered by the Future Investment Initiative Institute and in partnership with the Ministry of Energy, Wave strives towards the ambitious yet attainable goal of Ocean Regeneration within a Human Generation.

For more information, visit thewave.global

About Conservation Nation
Conservation Nation is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the conservation movement by funding and supporting a diverse group of conservationists from all communities while educating and inspiring the next generation of leaders. Through free, in-school STEM education programs, Conservation Nation connects students with diverse role models, builds confidence and belonging in nature, and sparks interest in conservation careers. Their grants, fellowships, and capacity-building initiatives equip conservationists around the world with the resources they need to protect endangered species and ecosystems, and to create a more inclusive and effective movement for the future. For more information, visit conservationnation.org

About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

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AI’s Next Infrastructure Challenge Is Power: DIGITIMES Examines the Shift Toward 800VDC Data Centers

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TAIPEI, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As AI computing continues to scale, the infrastructure challenge is moving beyond processors. Rising rack-level power requirements are forcing data center operators, server makers, and semiconductor suppliers to rethink how electricity is delivered from the grid all the way to AI compute systems.

A new report from DIGITIMES Intelligence, “AI Data Center 800VDC Power Architecture Takes Shape; Future Hurdles Require Balancing Multiple Key Factors,” examines how the emerging 800VDC architecture could reshape power delivery across next-generation AI data centers—and how the transition is creating new strategic questions for the semiconductor and infrastructure ecosystem.

Power Is Becoming Part of the AI Performance Equation. As AI systems become increasingly compute-intensive, power delivery is becoming a system-level design issue rather than simply a facility consideration. Higher-density AI racks require the industry to reconsider conversion efficiency, power density, system footprint, thermal management, and the overall path electricity takes before reaching GPUs and other accelerators.

DIGITIMES observes that the industry’s transition toward higher-voltage DC architectures is accelerating changes across the power-delivery chain. The implications extend beyond data center design to power semiconductors, server systems, power conversion equipment, and the broader AI infrastructure supply chain.

800VDC Is Creating a New Power Semiconductor Battleground. The transition is also changing the role of power semiconductor technologies. Rather than pointing to a single winning technology, DIGITIMES’ analysis shows that different device architectures are finding distinct roles across the AI power-delivery chain, depending on voltage, switching frequency, power density, efficiency, and system requirements.

This makes the evolution of GaN and SiC particularly important to watch. As AI server power architectures evolve, their respective technical characteristics are influencing how semiconductor suppliers position products across different stages of the power system.

Competition Will Extend Beyond Device Performance. As the architecture matures, DIGITIMES expects competition to extend beyond individual device specifications. The ability to work with server OEMs and ODMs, participate in system-level design, maintain supply stability, and respond quickly to rapidly changing AI platform requirements will become increasingly important.

A Supply Chain Shift Worth Watching, for data center operators, server manufacturers, power semiconductor suppliers, and investors tracking AI infrastructure, the shift toward 800VDC is more than a change in voltage. It represents a broader redesign of how power moves through AI infrastructure—and potentially a redistribution of value across the supply chain.

The DIGITIMES Intelligence report provides an in-depth examination of the evolving 800VDC architecture, the roles of key power semiconductor technologies, emerging vendor strategies, and the competitive factors that could shape the next stage of AI data center infrastructure.

Read the full report:

DIGITIMES Intelligence 800VDC Report
https://dgt.ms/report800VDC_prnewswire

About DIGITIMES

DIGITIMES is a Decision Intelligence platform rooted in the global technology industry, providing first-hand industry intelligence, forward-looking research, and AI-driven analysis to help decision-makers navigate change and formulate strategies. Through its Intelligence, Research, and enterprise services, DIGITIMES connects technology trends with the supply chains and companies shaping the industry’s next moves.

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