Connect with us

Technology

PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge 2022: Plume and Partners Raise €217,000 to Benefit Ukrainian and Moldovan Children

Published

on

— #PlumeStrong will fund and create inclusive children’s education programs through Street Child for Ukrainian and Moldovan children —

ZURICH, Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Plume®, the personalized communications services pioneer, last week completed its second annual #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge, a demanding five-day ride through Switzerland, raising €217,000 with the help of its partners to ensure refugee children in Ukraine and Moldova can safely access education programs. Plume employees were joined on the 675-kilometer ride by some of their partners and two-time Tour de France Winner Tadej Pogačar. In exceeding its fundraising goal, #PlumeStrong will help fund safe spaces, called Inclusive Learning Hubs, for Ukrainian refugee children and Moldovan children to learn, play, and build friendships, and have a sense of normalcy despite the challenging circumstances of war.

#PlumeStrong is Plume’s corporate social impact program, committed to serving its global community by making a material impact across five pillars: Health & Wellness, Education & Equality, Planet & Climate, Science & Technology, and Security & Privacy. The inaugural 2021 #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge started as an initiative to encourage Plume employees to stay mentally and physically healthy during the pandemic: 33 Plume employees cycled 680 kilometers through the Alps, raising $70,000. Plume donated 45 bicycles, helmets, and chains in Slovenia through the Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth, and almost $30,000 to the Ron Brown scholarship program.

This year, Plume opened up participation in its #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge to partners to make an even greater difference in the lives of children. Plume selected Street Child to equip the Inclusive Learning Hubs in Ukraine and Moldova with much needed technology resources, including internet subscriptions, routers, and devices.

A recap video from the 2022 #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge can be viewed here. Cumulatively our riders completed:

Distance: 24,412 kilometers, over halfway around the world.Elevation: 358,955 meters of elevation gain, the same as climbing Mount Everest 41 times.Saddle time: 1,101 hours and 46 minutes, the equivalent to riding for 46 days.

“The #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge was a resounding success with the industry coming together to raise funds to help ensure children in Ukraine and Moldova can access online education, despite war and many other hardships. It’s on us as a technology community to help make a difference in their lives,” said Fahri Diner, Founder & CEO of Plume. “We were thrilled to have the incredibly successful professional cyclist Tadej Pogačar along for the ride. Equally committed to supporting the dreams of young people, he is an inspiration to us all.”

Last year, the 23-year-old Pogačar was the first cyclist since 2017 to win back-to-back Tour de France titles; he became the first to win at least three jerseys in consecutive Tours in nearly four decades.

“I’m a fan of Plume’s technology to help with my training as well as staying in touch with friends and family while I’m competing. Plus, we share similar values: a commitment to using our platforms to help others in need,” said Pogačar. “I was honored to ride alongside Plume employees for this year’s #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge for such a worthy cause.”

Plume would like to thank all of its partners that helped make this year’s event a success and exceed the fundraising goal. Our participating partners include Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Alpeaktiv, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, Broadband Networks, Cablenet, Clements Bernard Baratta Walker PLLLC, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Heights Telecom, Jackson Square Ventures, Liberty Global, Pono, QTF, Sagemcom, Service Electric Cablevision, Sunrise, TMF Group, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and special thanks to Colnago.

About Plume®

Plume® is the creator of the world’s first SaaS experience platform for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) and their subscribers, deployed in more than 41 million active locations globally. As the only open and hardware-independent, cloud-controlled solution, Plume enables the rapid delivery of new services for smart homes, small businesses, and beyond at massive scale. On the front end, Plume delivers self-optimizing adaptive WiFi, cyber-security, access and parental controls, and more. CSPs get robust data- and AI-driven back-end applications for unprecedented visibility, insights, support, operations, and marketing. Plume leverages OpenSync™, an open-source framework that comes pre-integrated and supported on the leading silicon, CPE, and platform SDKs.

Visit plume.com, plume.com/homepass, plume.com/workpass, and opensync.io.

Follow Plume on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Plume and OpenSync are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Plume Design, Inc. Other company and product names are used for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Photo – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MMlLVjWU5Q
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1899526/pscc22_infographic.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1477960/Plume_symbol_wordmark_row_dark_bg_Logo.jpg

Continue Reading

Technology

China Hour Expands Reach of Chinese Audiovisual Content in South Africa Through Multi-Platform Partnership

Published

on

By

NANJING, China, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — “China Hour,” a year-round media initiative jointly operated by Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), is significantly expanding the footprint and accessibility of Chinese audiovisual content across South Africa.

Marking the first time a Chinese broadcast media institution has established a year-round, dedicated daily broadcast mechanism with an African national public broadcaster, the project leverages SABC’s television network and digital streaming platform, SABC+, bringing over 100 hours of localized Chinese programming directly to South African households since its launch in June 2026.

The initiative first gained momentum in April 2026, when senior SABC leadership attended the 13th China Internet Audio & Video Convention and officially announced the joint project with JSBC. To solidify and expand upon these initial results, JSBC and SABC formally signed a new cooperation agreement on August at the 7th Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation in Beijing. The signing was witnessed by senior leadership from China’s National Radio and Television Administration and South Africa’s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies.

So far, China Hour has already achieved rapid audience engagement. The popular fantasy drama series The Starry Love, which premiered on SABC2 on July in a dedicated 10:30–11:30 p.m. daily broadcast block, entered SABC+’s monthly Top 10 chart in its debut month, becoming the first Chinese television series to achieve a Top 10 ranking on the streaming platform.

Beyond hit drama series, the broader China Hour content catalog spans diverse genres designed to offer South African audiences holistic perspectives on contemporary and historical China. Featured titles include flagship documentary series such as The Grand Canal, Wetlands Our Land, Reading on the Island, and Architecture China, as well as popular short-form productions including A Dream Like True Love and Wildfire, among others.

To streamline content adaptation, JSBC deployed its proprietary Lychee Media AI Module for automated multilingual translation and dubbing adaptation. Integrated with rigorous human editorial review, this hybrid workflow enhances production efficiency while ensuring content complies strictly with local language nuances, cultural contexts, and broadcasting regulations.

The project builds on more than a decade of strategic exchanges between JSBC and African media organizations, including active participation in regional markets. Continuing its commitment to industry collaboration, JSBC will once again co-organize the China Pavilion at MIP Africa in Cape Town this October, showcasing new intellectual properties and exploring cross-border content licensing opportunities.

Looking ahead, JSBC and SABC plan to deepen cooperation across program curation, platform operations, and audience development, while welcoming broader collaboration with media stakeholders across the African continent.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/china-hour-expands-reach-of-chinese-audiovisual-content-in-south-africa-through-multi-platform-partnership-302870701.html

Continue Reading

Technology

viaim Rise Receives Two 2026 IFA Innovation Awards; Indiegogo Campaign Launches September 8

Published

on

By

BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — viaim today announced that viaim Rise, its AI Agent Earbuds, won Best in Audio and was named a Best in Design Honoree at the 2026 IFA Innovation Awards. The recognition highlights Rise’s combination of acoustic engineering, AI-assisted work features and a distinctive smart charging case.

The recognition at IFA 2026, one of the world’s most significant technology trade shows, validates viaim’s unique vision for the future of work. Following this successful unveiling in Berlin, viaim has confirmed that the viaim Rise will be available for global consumers via a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, launching on September 8, 2026, at 9:00 AM ET.

Beyond Audio: Listen. Think. Act.

viaim Rise combines premium wireless earbuds with an AI Agent workflow designed for everyday work. Built around Listen. Think. Act., Rise helps users capture conversations they choose to record, understand them in context and prepare next steps that remain under the user’s control.

Engineered for the modern professional, Rise supports user-initiated recording, transcription and translation for phone calls, in-person meetings and multilingual conversations, covering 78 languages and 145 accents. The system’s breakthrough lies in its ability to connect these recordings directly to project context, surface actionable insights, and hand off tasks—by voice—to the AI platforms users already rely on after the user confirms, such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Award-Winning Hardware Meets Intelligent Software

The dual IFA Innovation Awards reflect the product’s commitment to both sonic excellence and functional design. The ‘Best in Audio’ win acknowledges the product’s premium acoustic architecture. The viaim Rise features a powerful 11mm + 6mm dual-driver configuration, delivering Hi-Res Audio Wireless with LDAC and LHDC support. Coupled with an advanced ANC system featuring transparency and voice pass-through modes, the earbuds ensure high-fidelity sound, while a comprehensive multi-microphone array with bone-conduction VPU guarantees crystal-clear call quality, regardless of the environment.

At the same time, Vision Intelligence officially announced a partnership with Bose, a world-leading audio brand. viaim is working with engineers from Bose’s Audio Technology business to enhance the audio performance of viaim products. Working with Bose, viaim will leverage the company’s decades of technical expertise in active noise cancellation and acoustics to improve AI Agent hardware and enable robust perception and decision-making capabilities.

The ‘Best in Design’ honor recognizes the product’s innovative form factor: a unique dual-device ecosystem. When users press the two side latches, a mechanical structure raises the earbuds from the charging case—a physical expression of the Rise name. The smart charging case also serves as a recording entry point: with at least one earbud inside, users can start a recording without opening the case or reaching for a phone. When connected to a computer over USB-C, its three-microphone array can support desktop meeting capture through the viaim PC app.

Indiegogo Launch Details

The viaim Rise will officially go live on Indiegogo on September 8 at 9 AM ET.

Super Early Bird Offer: Early backers can secure viaim Rise with a $259 pledge, compared with a planned MSRP of $399.Added Value: Every backer will receive a 3-month of the viaim Pro subscription for free, unlocking the complete potential of the AI Agent ecosystem.

“We are honored by the recognition from IFA,” said the viaim team. “Rise is built to move work forward. By merging professional-grade acoustic hardware with a sophisticated AI agent workflow, we are transforming the way professionals capture their ideas and execute their daily tasks.”

For those interested in experiencing the future of AI-powered productivity, join the Indiegogo campaign at https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/viaim/viaim-rise, or visit viaim’s official website at https://store.viaim.ai/ to learn more

About viaim

viaim develops AI-native hardware and intelligent agent services designed to help people capture information, understand context and move work forward. As of May 2026, viaim has served more than 1.5 million registered users across over 200 countries and regions worldwide.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/viaim-rise-receives-two-2026-ifa-innovation-awards-indiegogo-campaign-launches-september-8-302870702.html

SOURCE viaim

Continue Reading

Technology

Bringing Local AI Home: UGREEN Introduces Privacy-First HomeAgent for Smarter Living

Published

on

By

BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — UGREEN, a leading global consumer technology brand, announced two new product lineups at a European launch event. The unveiling of the UGREENHomeAgent series of agentic local AI hubs and a new MagFlow lineup marks UGREEN’s next stage of growth. Building on its established presence in digital accessories and smart storage, the company is now dedicated to a broader spectrum of intelligent consumer electronics designed to enhance everyday life.

UGREEN HomeAgent: Agentic Local AI Hub for Homes

At the center of UGREEN’s broader intelligent consumer electronics vision is UGREEN HomeAgent, a groundbreaking Agentic AI Local Hub unifying local storage, computing, and control into one device. It connects a growing ecosystem of UGREEN AIoT devices, including security cameras, smart speakers, and smart photo frames, as well as third-party devices.

UGOS Pro is UGREEN’s in-house operating system built on a Linux architecture, offering professional storage management, robust data security, easy backup and sync, and extensive expandability.

UGREEN HomeAgent is powered by the all-new UGOS Pro, combining NAS-grade storage and data management with integrated home security features, smart home capabilities, and natural voice interaction to deliver a more complete all-in-one experience.

Traditional surveillance cameras usually only document bad news, and their footage is constantly overwritten, so the moments truly worth keeping quietly disappear. That’s why UGREEN set out to redefine the home camera system, not as a surveillance tool, but as a camera for life.

“HomeAgent proactively recognizes moments that are truly worth remembering and organizes them into a personalized daily briefing for every family. Moments that might otherwise be forgotten can return. We want to help families preserve the precious time they spend together.” – Samuel Zhang, CEO of UGREEN

As an agentic local AI hub integrating on-device intelligence, local storage, AI computing and smart-home control, HomeAgent serves as the AI brain of the connected home. Designed to keep data private and local, it enables intelligent file management, proactive home monitoring, voice-driven automation and unified device control. The ecosystem includes the HomeAgent HA100 and HA100 Pro, the NVIDIA® Jetson Thor™-powered MasterAgent MA100, SynCare smart cameras, the UGREEN Smart Speaker for Uliya, and UGREEN Gallery smart frames, while remaining compatible with third-party Matter-enabled devices. Together, they deliver a private, expandable AI platform that helps users preserve memories, monitor their homes and coordinate devices through natural, context-aware interactions.

MagFlow Pro: Active Heat Dissipation and Sustained Fast Charging

Announced alongside HomeAgent, MagFlow Powerbank is the world’s first liquid-cooled Qi2 25W magnetic power bank, featuring CryoPulse™ micro-pump liquid cooling, active heat dissipation and sustained fast charging.

The launch complements UGREEN’s strong range of charging options, outlining the brand’s commitment to true-rated performance and flagship-quality power.

Availability Timeline

Pre-orders for the UGREEN HomeAgent HA100, HA100 Pro and UGREEN MasterAgent MA100 opened on September 4, 2026, via the UGREEN AIoT Official Store, and remain available until the official Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launches on October 27, 2026. Other AIoT accessories will be introduced as part of the Kickstarter campaign beginning on October 27. During the pre-order period, customers can place a deposit starting at $50 to reserve the UGREEN HomeAgent HA100, HA100 Pro or UGREEN MasterAgent MA100 and secure 50% off with the Super Early Bird discount.

About UGREEN

UGREEN is a leading global tech brand creating innovative products that make everyday life smarter, easier, and more connected. From smart charging and productivity to smart storage and AIoT, UGREEN designs technology around the needs of modern life.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bringing-local-ai-home-ugreen-introduces-privacy-first-homeagent-for-smarter-living-302870674.html

Continue Reading

Trending