LOWELL, Mass., Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Infrasense team recently completed a comprehensive 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (3D-GPR) investigation along approximately 1.37 miles of pavement along Route 133 in historic Lowell. The study area included the westbound and eastbound travel lanes, both shoulders, and the center turning lane. The team was tasked with 3D-GPR data collection and detailed subsurface data analysis in order to evaluate pavement conditions and structural components throughout the corridor.

The primary objectives of the project were to:

Perform dowel and tie bar analysis to identify locations where these components are present, missing, shallow, and/or misaligned;Determine the typical dowel layout, including standard spacing and depth at transverse joints;Conduct a depth analysis to identify the depth to the bottom of the pavement layer across the project site; andPerform an activity analysis at the bottom of the pavement layer to detect any indications of underlying voids.

3D-GPR data collection was conducted using a Kontur DXG1820 sensor. Unlike traditional single-channel GPR systems, the DXG1820 utilizes 20 independent channels to capture data in three dimensions, enabling the collection of a continuous five-foot-wide swath of subsurface information.

Once 3D-GPR data was collected, analysis of dowels, tie bars, depth and activity was completed across the entire project site. These analyses were used to generate project deliverables designed to support pavement evaluation, maintenance planning, and future rehabilitation efforts. The final results of the investigation provided stakeholders with critical subsurface condition data which will be used3D to better understand pavement performance and identify areas requiring additional assessment or remediation.

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SOURCE Infrasense, Inc.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Overlord Labs, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company building battery intelligence infrastructure for compute-intensive, battery-powered devices, today announced the close of its oversubscribed Seed financing, bringing total funding raised to-date to $10 million. The total comprises $7.25 million in Seed financing and the remainder in non-dilutive strategic development funding.

The financing comes as Overlord Labs transitions from tape-out to product validation, following the successful bring-up of its flagship GENESIS™ Battery Intelligence IC, built on the company’s proprietary Silicon × Algorithm Architecture. With silicon operating, the company is advancing validation and preparing to begin customer sampling.

The $4.35 million Seed extension was led by Band of Angels and drew participation from Foothill Ventures, Unlock Pacific Ventures, NuFund Venture Group, Sand Hill Angels and Castle Fund. The round also included returning strategic angel investors, who backed Overlord Labs in its earlier financings and invested additional capital in the extension alongside the new institutional investors.

As compute continues moving to the edge, battery-powered devices are placing unprecedented demands on power efficiency, thermal management, safety and runtime. Traditional fixed-function battery management ICs were not designed for this new generation of intelligent products. Overlord Labs’ Silicon × Algorithm Architecture solves this by building battery intelligence directly into silicon, giving OEMs a more adaptable foundation for these systems.

The first GENESIS™ device targets single-cell systems and is designed to support both established and emerging battery chemistries, including silicon-anode cells. Initial applications include smart glasses, wearables, hearables and other edge AI devices, where rising compute demands must be met within tight battery and form-factor limits.

Overlord Labs will use the capital to complete validation and qualification, support customer sampling and Tier-1 OEM engagements, expand its firmware and battery-algorithm capabilities, and build the production infrastructure needed for commercial scale. The company is targeting volume production in the first half of 2027.

“We started Overlord Labs because battery management architectures were no longer keeping pace with the devices they power,” said Richard Nicholson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Overlord Labs. “We now have working silicon, active customer engagement and an investor syndicate, including angels who came back to invest again, that understands the scale of the opportunity. This capital gives us the resources to move GENESIS™ through customer validation and toward production.”

“Hardware OEMs have historically faced a rigid trifecta of trade-offs: performance, form factor, and battery life,” said Carlos Rodriguez, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Overlord Labs. “We engineered GENESIS™ to break those constraints, giving product teams the software-defined silicon they need to scale all three without compromise. With the Seed financing complete, our focus is getting GENESIS™ into customers’ hands and building the foundation to scale.”

About Overlord Labs
Overlord Labs is a fabless semiconductor company building battery intelligence infrastructure for the next generation of compute-intensive, battery-powered devices. Powered by its proprietary Silicon × Algorithm Architecture, the company’s GENESIS™ Battery Intelligence Platform integrates advanced battery intelligence directly into silicon, enabling OEMs to improve runtime, safety, performance, and design flexibility. Initially focused on wearables, smart glasses, and edge AI devices, the platform is designed to scale across a broad range of battery-powered systems. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Overlord Labs is engineering battery intelligence from the silicon up.

Media Contact
Dianna Rodriguez
Marketing Manager
hello@overlord-labs.com

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SOURCE Overlord Labs

Harris Poll survey of 755 U.S. HR leaders finds 64% are very confident they know the skills employees need, but only 43% are very confident employees possess them.

PHOENIX, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — University of Phoenix today announced findings from its Future of Skills Development report, new research conducted online by The Harris Poll examining how HR leaders are navigating skills development, workforce readiness and rapidly changing workforce demands. The findings reveal a significant skills visibility gap. Nearly two-thirds of HR leaders (64%) are very confident they know which specific skills employees need to do their jobs, yet only 43% are very confident employees actually possess those skills.

As AI, automation and emerging technologies reshape roles and workflows, the findings suggest that organizations face a dual challenge: understanding how skill requirements are changing and gaining clearer visibility into the capabilities employees already have.

“AI is accelerating how quickly work and skill requirements evolve, but this is not a choice between technical expertise and human capabilities,” said Nathan Jones, vice president of Product Management, Workforce Solutions Group at University of Phoenix. “Organizations need a clearer view of the skills they have, the skills they need and where gaps are emerging. Employees need that visibility as well — clearer signals about what to develop next and credible ways to demonstrate what they can do. The opportunity is to make skills more visible, measurable and connected to the work that actually needs to get done.”

AI is increasing uncertainty about future workforce skills

Keeping pace with technological advances, including AI and other emerging technologies, is the single greatest source of uncertainty when HR leaders plan for future workforce skills needs, cited by 27% of respondents. Only 46% are very confident they can predict the skills employees will need two to three years from now.

At the same time, organizations are prioritizing a mix of capabilities. Nearly 3 in 5 HR leaders (59%) say soft or durable skills such as communication, collaboration and problem-solving are their organization’s primary talent development focus, compared with 37% who identify technical skills as the primary focus.

“AI can change the tools people use and the tasks within a role, but technology does not eliminate the need for judgment, communication, problem-solving and adaptability,” Jones said. “The workforce conversation needs to move beyond technical skills versus durable skills. Increasingly, people need both.”

Employers face challenges seeing and verifying skills

The survey indicates that skills visibility challenges extend from employee development into hiring. HR leaders most commonly assess the skills employees currently have or need through managers’ direct knowledge of employees’ skills (51%) and performance reviews (51%). Less than half (49%) say managers at their organizations are very prepared to identify, assess and discuss skill gaps and development needs with employees.

Verification can be difficult for job candidates as well. Soft or durable skills are the type of candidate capability HR leaders most often identify as difficult to verify or assess (20%), followed closely by emerging or specialized skills such as AI and cloud computing (18%). The largest share of respondents, 38%, say they feel confident an applicant’s skills and ability to perform the role have been properly verified only after a skills evaluation, assessment or technical test.

Digital credentials are also becoming part of that evidence ecosystem. More than 7 in 10 HR leaders (71%) say their departments use microcredentials, digital badges, digital wallets or other digital methods of verifying skills when evaluating at least some applicants.

What the skills visibility gap means for workers and employers

For employees, the findings underscore the value of making skill development an ongoing conversation with managers rather than waiting until a performance review or job search. Workers can ask:

What skills are becoming more important in my role?Where am I demonstrating those capabilities today, and where should I continue developing?What project, assessment or experience could help me demonstrate that skill?

For organizations, the research points to opportunities to improve visibility through more consistent skills-gap analysis, clearer communication about future skill requirements, more personalized development and credible methods for assessing skill growth. Only 44% of HR leaders say their organizations regularly conduct formal skills-gap analyses, while 51% say their organizations very clearly communicate to employees which skills they need to develop for future roles.

Workforce skills challenges vary by industry

The research also found different patterns among the industries studied:

Manufacturing: 32% identify keeping pace with technological change as their greatest source of uncertainty when planning future workforce skills needs, and 56% place greater emphasis on technical skills development than soft or durable skills.Financial services: 64% identify durable skills as their primary talent development focus, while 35% are very confident employees possess the skills needed to do their jobs.Healthcare: 82% are very confident they know which skills employees need, 70% are very confident employees possess those skills and 71% say future skills expectations are communicated very clearly to employees.

Because these findings represent industry subsets of the overall survey, they provide directional insight into how workforce skills challenges can differ across sectors.

Explore the Future of Skills Development research

Jones leads business-to-business product strategy for University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions focused on skills intelligence, employer-aligned learning and workforce transformation. His work includes AI-enabled approaches designed to help organizations understand evolving skills needs and align learning with employer demand. Jones will be leading a virtual media tour with interviews conducted across the country about the survey findings on Friday, September 25.

The complete Future of Skills Development report, key findings and research methodology are available from University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions. Explore the Future of Skills Development report here.

About the survey
The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of University of Phoenix from July 14–27, 2026, among 755 employed adults ages 25 and older who hold a job title of manager/supervisor or higher, work in a human resources or learning and development function and engage in at least one talent acquisition, talent development and/or workforce planning activity as part of their role (“HR leaders”).

Data are weighted where necessary by employee size to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in The Harris Poll surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 4.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is Built for Real Life. 50 Years Strong. The University innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world through flexible online learning, relevant courses, academic AI pillars, and skills-mapped curriculum for associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Active students and alumni have access to Career Services for Life® resources including career guidance and tools. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. 

About University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions 

University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions helps companies align employee development to business strategy through skills-based solutions designed to address evolving workforce needs. Its Adaptable Skills Solutions brings together professional development, education savings and AI skills intelligence provided through Skillmore, a University of Phoenix affiliate, to support workforce planning, retention and talent mobility. By combining data, tools and education resources, Workforce Solutions offers practical ways to identify skills gaps, inform workforce decisions and prepare employees for long-term adaptability in a rapidly changing workplace. Learn more at https://www.phoenix.edu/workforce-solutions.html.

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SOURCE University of Phoenix