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dtcpay Welcomes SBI Group as Strategic Investor, Extending Series A to US$25M

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — dtcpay, a Major Payment Institution headquartered in Singapore, today announced the completion of its US$25 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India in April 2026. It is now further anchored by Japan’s leading financial conglomerate, SBI Group, which is investing both through its subsidiary, SBI Ventures Asset Pte Ltd, and through the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund. The round also drew participation from Genedant Capital and existing investor, Mr. Kwee Liong Tek, a prominent Singaporean business leader.

The investment reflects institutional confidence in dtcpay‘s vision of making stablecoins as seamless and accessible as traditional financial services.

Modern Payment Rails for a Digital Economy

Founded by Alice Liu and Band Zhao, dtcpay bridges digital assets with traditional finance through infrastructure that enables businesses and individuals to accept, store, and transact in stablecoins. Its real-time swap engine delivers seamless settlement across stablecoin and fiat currencies, eliminating the operational friction that has slowed mainstream adoption of digital assets. Where traditional cross-border transfers via SWIFT and correspondent banking networks are often slowed by multi-day settlement cycles and layered intermediary fees, dtcpay settles transactions seamlessly, at a fraction of the cost.

dtcpay’s growth has been marked by a series of early moves in the stablecoin payments space. The company launched a Digital Payment Token (DPT) point-of-sale acceptance solution enabling merchants to accept stablecoin payments directly in-store. It also was an early player in Asia to integrate with WalletConnect, extending stablecoin acceptance across more than 700 wallets used by millions of consumers globally. On the consumer side, its partnership with Visa introduced an early stablecoin-to-fiat Visa Infinite card for its customers in the region. The dtcpay Visa card now enables multi-currency spend across both fiat and stablecoins at more than 150 million merchant locations worldwide.

Beyond product innovation, dtcpay was also quick to bring stablecoins to real-world commerce use cases, partnering with BNB Chain to accelerate practical stablecoin adoption and enabling Metro to become the first department store in Singapore to accept stablecoin payments, alongside select hospitality partners such as Capella Singapore.

This additional fundraise enables dtcpay to maintain its pace of execution, scaling its product suite and merchant network while extending its lead in stablecoin payments. It continues to invest in its product roadmap through the remaining half of 2026, including a revamped business portal for enterprise clients and a series of new consumer-friendly features rolled out within the dtcpay app.

As a MAS-licensed Major Payment Institution in Singapore, and one of the select few digital payment companies to hold an Electronic Money Institution license in Luxembourg, dtcpay has built a regulatory foundation required to operate across Singapore, Europe, and other strategically important markets. This regulatory-first approach also underpins the reliability of dtcpay’s infrastructure, enabling institutional clients to transact with the assurance of a fully licensed financial institution.

dtcpay’s execution and regulatory leadership has drawn industry recognition, including Disruptor of the Year and Fintech of the Year at the 2025 Asia Fintech Awards, and Fintech Mentor of the Year for Alice Liu at the SFF FinTech Excellence Awards in 2025. Collectively, these achievements highlight dtcpay’s ability to execute at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and commercial adoption.

Strategic Capital to Fuel Global Expansion

The completion of the Series A brings together a diverse group of investors whose collective expertise spans traditional finance, fintech infrastructure, and global market expansion. Beyond capital, these investors contribute strategic network and domain expertise that will help support the company’s next phase of growth.

Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, part of Vertex Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, led the initial tranche of the round. In addition to capital, Vertex brings extensive experience scaling technology companies, providing valuable strategic guidance rooted in deep Southeast Asian market expertise.

SBI Group adds a compelling financial service and fintech pedigree to the shareholder base. As one of Japan’s largest financial services groups, SBI operates across banking, securities, insurance, asset management, and digital assets. It has also been among the most active institutional investors in fintech and digital asset infrastructure globally.

Completing the investor group is Genedant Capital, a Singapore-based fund management firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore with over USD 2 billion in assets under management and advisory, and existing investor, Mr. Kwee Liong Tek. Genedant Capital brings in a network of family offices, private wealth investors and institutional relationships across Asia, strengthening access to strategic capital as dtcpay scales internationally. Mr. Kwee continues to increase his commitment, reflecting his long-term conviction in the company’s vision of bringing regulated digital payment infrastructure to global markets.

“We did not raise this round to sustain what we have built. We raised it to fundamentally change how money moves across borders. SBI Group has spent decades shaping financial infrastructure across Japan and beyond, from banking and securities to blockchain and digital assets, and their conviction in dtcpay is validation that compliant, real-world stablecoin payments are not a distant vision but an infrastructure being built right now. Combined with the enduring trust of Mr. Kwee and the support of Genedant Capital, we have the capital, the network, and the momentum to move into every market that is ready for this change. And we are just getting started.” said Alice Liu, Founder and CEO of dtcpay.

“The next chapter for dtcpay is about scale. We are strengthening our infrastructure, deepening partnerships with global financial institutions, and expanding into new regulated markets to make stablecoin payments as seamless and trusted as traditional payment rails. With the backing of our investors, we are accelerating our mission to build the financial infrastructure that enables businesses and consumers to move value globally, instantly, and compliantly,” said Band Zhao, Group Chairman of dtcpay.

“dtcpay has made decisive progress in establishing itself as the region’s leading regulated payment infrastructure that bridges traditional payments and stablecoins. Beyond execution, we were impressed by its licensing-led foundation, strong user experience, and comprehensive product offerings for financial institutions, corporates, and individuals. For SBI Group, which is steadily expanding its business footprint across Singapore and Southeast Asia, this investment marks the beginning of a strategic partnership with dtcpay. It also reflects our broader view to expand the global corridor for digital asset origination between Japan and Southeast Asia through trusted, regulated digital financial infrastructure,” commented Eiichiro So, CEO of SBI Ven Capital.

“dtcpay is building the regulated infrastructure that will bring stablecoin payments into everyday commerce.” said Quek How Jiang, CEO of Genedant Capital. “Beyond capital, we look forward to leveraging our network of strategic investors, industry leaders and institutional relationships to support the company’s commercial expansion and international growth.”

About dtcpay

dtcpay is a Singapore-headquartered payment services company building a globally licensed payment network that delivers seamless settlement, competitive pricing, and innovative payment solutions — Tomorrow’s Payments, Today. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and holding an Electronic Money Institution licence in Luxembourg, dtcpay is authorised to deliver regulated payment services across the European Economic Area. The company also holds licences and registrations in Hong Kong, Australia, the United States, and Canada, bridging digital assets with traditional finance for businesses and individuals across its licensed jurisdictions.

To learn more, please visit https://dtcpay.com/.

About SBI Group

Founded in 1999, the SBI Group is a comprehensive financial services group and a pioneer of internet-based financial services in Japan, operating across securities, banking and insurance. Beyond these, the Group is also active in asset management, private equity, crypto-assets, and next-generation businesses on a global scale.

Its MAS-regulated Singapore subsidiary, SBI Ven Capital, manages the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund, launched in 2022 to invest in early-stage digital transformation and digital platform companies across Southeast Asia. The fund was established by the SBI Group with NTUitive (a subsidiary of Nanyang Technological University), and Kyobo Securities (a subsidiary of the Kyobo Life Insurance Group), drawing on the partners’ combined business expertise and ecosystems to back the region’s next generation of globally competitive companies.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.sbivencapital.com.sg

About Genedant Capital

Genedant Capital is a Singapore-based fund management firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The firm partners with accredited investors, including family offices and private wealth individuals, through a multi-strategy platform spanning private equity, venture capital, public markets, and bespoke investment solutions.

With over USD 2 billion in assets under management and advisory, Genedant Capital combines disciplined investment research, institutional risk management, and deep sector expertise across areas including deep tech, healthcare, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. The firm seeks to deliver long-term, risk-adjusted returns while supporting high-quality managers and companies with strong growth potential across global markets.

To learn more, please visit https://genedant.com/.

Media Contact: dtcpay marketing team, marketing@dtcpay.com

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Wild Reaches 900,000+ Verified Members Across 57 Countries, Challenging What Dating Apps Are Supposed to Be

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September 18, 2026

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NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wild, a dating app built around casual connections, has reached more than 900,000 verified members across 57 countries, marking a new milestone for a platform built around a simple idea: not every connection needs to become a relationship.

Dating apps have always come with their own set of expectations.

Who should message first.
What to say.
How long to wait.
When to meet.
And, eventually, what the connection is supposed to become.

But people do not always open a dating app looking for the same thing.

Sometimes, you want a relationship.

Sometimes, you want a date.

Sometimes, you want to flirt, explore the chemistry, or find a hookup.

And sometimes, you just want someone.

That is the space Wild was built for.

Not Every Connection Needs a Destination

Dating is often presented as a progression: match, date, relationship.

But not every connection follows that path.

You can be attracted to someone without wanting a future with them. You can want intimacy without wanting a partner. You can want to meet someone for one night, a few weeks, or simply for as long as the chemistry lasts.

That does not necessarily make the connection less meaningful. It simply means the connection has a different purpose.

Wild puts that idea at the center of its experience.

The platform is designed for people looking for different kinds of connections, including casual dating, flirting, hookups, friends-with-benefits relationships, or simply meeting someone who wants the same thing.

Rather than assuming every match is the beginning of a relationship, Wild gives people room to decide what they actually want from the connection.

Casual Doesn’t Mean Careless

Casual dating is often treated as the opposite of serious dating.

But wanting something casual does not mean wanting something careless.

Attraction still matters. Chemistry still matters. Privacy still matters. And knowing who you are actually meeting matters.

That is why verification is built into the Wild experience.

Wild uses 100% forced verification, requiring members to complete the platform’s verification process rather than leaving verification as an optional feature. The approach puts real-person verification at the center of how members connect.

Wild is also LGBTQ+ inclusive, with a community spanning 57 countries, bringing together people with different identities, preferences, and reasons for connecting.

A Different Reason to Open a Dating App

The growth of Wild to more than 900,000 verified members points to the variety of reasons people use dating apps.

Not everyone is searching for “the one.”

Some people are looking for chemistry.

Some are looking for intimacy.

Some want something casual.

Some want a hookup.

And some simply want someone.

There does not have to be one correct reason to connect.

A connection can be romantic, physical, casual, temporary, or something that evolves naturally. What matters is that the people involved are looking for something compatible.

Wild was created around that idea: different connections can have different purposes, and people should be free to choose their own.

About Wild

Wild is a dating app focused on casual connections and direct intentions. Launched in 2016, Wild has more than 900,000 verified members across 57 countries and uses 100% forced verification. The platform is LGBTQ+ inclusive and supports different types of connections, including casual dating, flirting, hookups, and friends-with-benefits relationships.

Ready to make your next connection?

Visit Wild through the link: https://wild.onelink.me/X5zz/3jo5iu34, click through to download the app, and start connecting.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wild-reaches-900-000-verified-members-across-57-countries-challenging-what-dating-apps-are-supposed-to-be-302882864.html

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iQIYI Capitalizes on China’s Big-Screen Viewing Trend as Long-Form Video Enters Next Chapter

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September 18, 2026

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BEIJING, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — iQIYI, China’s leading online entertainment platform, is well positioned to capitalize on the growing trend toward big-screen viewing, as the big screen increasingly becomes a key destination for long-form video consumption.

Behind this trend is a rising bar for viewing experience. The big screen’s natural advantages — audio-visual quality, immersion, and shared family viewing — make it a more fitting home for premium long-form content. As big-screen viewing continues to gain momentum, iQIYI’s big-screen business has become an increasingly important driver of user scale, engagement, and monetization.

A Global Trend Toward the Big-Screen

This shift is part of a broader global trend toward big-screen streaming. The worldwide Connected TV (CTV) market is projected to reach USD 260.56 billion in 2026 and expand at a 6.03% CAGR through 2032, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for approximately 45% of total demand, according to MarkNtel Advisors. In the United States, streaming accounted for 48.6% of total TV watch time in May 2026, with YouTube representing 13.8% and Netflix at 8.0%, according to Nielsen’s monthly “The Gauge” report.

The shift is also visible across other markets. In Poland, for example, Nielsen found that Netflix’s share of viewing on TV screens rose from 83% in May to 86% in June 2026, reflecting what Nielsen described as a broader trend of digital platforms strengthening their presence on the household’s largest screen. Together, these developments point to the growing role of the big screen as a key destination for streaming, particularly for premium and long-form content.

A Growing Audience

According to China’s leading big data intelligence services provider QuestMobile, active smart TV devices reached 302 million in June 2026, up 12.04 million year-over-year, with OTT monthly active devices continuing to grow. iQIYI’s smart TV application, QIYIGuo TV, led the market with 141 million monthly active devices.

The scale of big-screen viewership extends well beyond what mobile numbers capture. QIYIGuo TV recorded 50.42 million daily active devices in June, slightly ahead of the 45.14 million daily active users on the iQIYI mobile app. But television is not a single-user device. According to Gozen Data, a leading cross-screen big data provider in China, each smart TV averages 2.6 viewers, implying iQIYI’s big-screen content reaches approximately 130 million individual viewers daily — nearly three times its mobile daily active users (DAU).

Deeper Engagement

Scale only tells part of the story. What sets the big screen apart is how long audiences stay. Gozen Data shows that iQIYI TV users averaged 256 minutes of daily viewing in August, up 13 minutes from the prior month and growing for three consecutive months.

That engagement translates into willingness to pay. According to iiMedia Research, a leading new-economy research and data analytics firm in China, QIYIGuo TV ranked first among consumers’ preferred TV video subscription services in 2026, with a 32.45% share. Paying habits on the big screen are well established, providing a solid foundation for monetization. Television viewing is also behaviorally different from mobile: sessions run longer, consumption is shared across the household, and immersion runs deeper. That makes the big screen a more natural home for long-form content and a more durable platform for subscription retention and advertising.

Stronger Content, Smarter Production

Big-screen engagement is built on content. This year, iQIYI has produced three dramas surpassing its content popularity index of 10,000 — a measure of audience engagement on the platform and a milestone typically associated with nationwide hit titles, including “The Punishment,” “Born with Luck” and “Pursuit of Jade.” Among this summer’s new releases, iQIYI accounted for seven of the 15 dramas rated S+ across all platforms by Enlightent, a leading Chinese entertainment data provider, with all seven exclusively streamed on the platform.

Beyond content investment, iQIYI is driving efficiency through AI while expanding the possibilities of AI-powered storytelling. In July, iQIYI exclusively premiered “Mystic Tales: The Spider Lady’s Vendetta” on iQIYI and iQIYI International, making it China’s first AIGC internet feature film released under an Internet Drama and Film Distribution License. This was followed by the first two films in “The Ferry Man” AIGC series, “The Ferry Man: Butterfly Dream” and “The Ferry Man: The Dream of the Celestial Maiden,” which generated over RMB 6 million in revenue-sharing box office within their first 10 days following their August 22 debut—an early signal that audiences are receptive to AI-produced premium content.

From a strong content slate to AI-driven efficiency, iQIYI is amplifying user value on the big screen through streamlined production and a more open, diverse content supply. As big-screen viewing continues its resurgence, iQIYI is well-positioned to capture the trend and reinforce its standing as a leading destination for long-form video in China.

Contact:
iQIYI Press, press@qiyi.com 

 

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Synology® launches ActiveProtect Manager 2.0, bringing expanded platform support and advancing AI-driven security

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September 18, 2026

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Synology today launched ActiveProtect Manager 2.0 (APM 2.0), the latest software update for its ActiveProtect data protection appliances. This release introduces expanded platform coverage, cross-platform recovery, and enhanced security, with future updates bringing AI-driven threat mitigation.

“Managing fragmented backup infrastructure drives up costs and slows recovery. The ActiveProtect appliance unites purpose-built storage with powerful data management software into a single, predictable investment,” said Jia-Yu Liu, Executive Vice President of the Synology Data Protection Group. “APM 2.0 builds on that value, enabling organizations to safeguard their entire hybrid infrastructure through one centralized, scalable solution.”

Expanded platform coverage
APM 2.0 extends protection to Amazon EC2, Azure VM, Proxmox VE, Nutanix AHV, and Google Workspace. Cross-platform recovery allows workloads to be backed up and restored across different environments, supporting both disaster recovery and seamless workload migration.

Backup destinations have also expanded. ActiveProtect Vault now supports a wider range of Synology NAS models, while Azure Blob Storage joins the list of supported copy and tiering targets. Backups stored in Amazon S3 Storage or Azure Blob Storage can be restored directly into either Amazon EC2 and Azure VM as a cloud disaster recovery strategy without routing through on-premises hardware, significantly reducing recovery times.

AI-driven proactive resiliency
ActiveProtect Manager 2.0 adds software-based storage encryption at the volume level to secure data at rest. Backup data and system configurations remain inaccessible in the event of drive theft or hardware loss.

The upcoming APM 2.1 update will add AI/ML anomaly detection, tracking each backup version for shifts in change rate, file modifications, mass deletions, and entropy. Suspicious backup copies will be moved to quarantine for administrators to investigate, limiting the risk of backup contamination. The model learns from those outcomes to improve accuracy and reduce false positives.

APM 2.1 will also scan backups for malware before restoration, using integrated third-party antivirus software such as Microsoft Defender, Bitdefender, and ESET. If malware is detected in the most recent backup, Auto Fallback restores the latest clean version instead.

Availability
ActiveProtect Manager 2.0 is available for all DP-Series appliances at no additional cost. For details, please refer to the product page.

About Synology
Founded in Taiwan in 2000, Synology is a technology company specializing in network-attached storage (NAS), data backup and recovery, video surveillance, and networking solutions for businesses and individuals worldwide. Over the past two decades, Synology has continuously expanded its ecosystem to help users manage, protect, and unlock the value of data more effectively in the era of cloud, AI, and big data.

Synology’s core philosophy is to build a comprehensive hybrid-cloud ecosystem that enables businesses to protect, synchronize, and manage data through a centralized, intuitive, and easy-to-operate platform. From enterprise storage, data backup, file sharing, and collaboration to video surveillance and network infrastructure, Synology’s solutions are designed to simplify IT management and accelerate digital transformation.

Alongside ongoing technology innovation, Synology also focuses strongly on long-term stability, security, and scalability for data infrastructure. More than half of Fortune 500 companies use Synology solutions, reflecting the brand’s credibility and ability to support large-scale data operations worldwide.

Website: https://www.synology.com/en-sg

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