Hardware-isolated, credential-free microVMs built from zero-CVE Chainguard OS Packages give security and platform teams a safe way to run fleets of agents at full speed

SEATTLE, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chainguard, the trusted source for open source, today announced Chainguard Workspaces, hardened microVMs that give every developer and coding agent their own secure environment, with no access to sensitive credentials and optional egress policies that block any connection a team has not approved. Because protection is built into the environment rather than left to the agent, security and platform teams can let agents run autonomously while limiting the blast radius of any compromise and keeping a signed record of everything each agent did.

The tradeoff between access and safety

Coding agents today run migrations, remediation campaigns, and refactors that last for hours, and most agents have the same access as the developer who launched them, right next to their credentials, cloud keys, and production systems. The controls meant to keep them in check, such as permission prompts and allowlists, depend on the agent’s adherence to the rules. At the same time, many developers now run a dozen agents or more at once. Teams have to choose between giving agents enough access to be useful and accepting the risk, or locking them down behind approval prompts and spending their day clicking “allow.”

“Right now teams are choosing between letting agents run next to their production keys or babysitting them through approval prompts all day. Neither one scales,” said Dan Lorenc, CEO and Co-founder, Chainguard. “Workspaces gets rid of that tradeoff. Every agent gets its own hardened, isolated machine with nothing in it worth stealing, so you can let it run for hours and trust what comes out the other end.”

A separate, hardened environment for every agent

Chainguard Workspaces is built for security and platform teams whose developers run fleets of coding agents. Workspaces run as remote microVMs that sync each developer’s local working tree, so developers keep their editor and git workflow while execution happens off their machine. Because every agent gets its own isolated environment, dozens of agents can work in parallel without colliding, and long-running migrations, remediation campaigns, and refactors can run for hours with no one watching. Teams can safely run agent-generated or third-party code, give every developer a standardized environment drawn from their Chainguard catalog, and try many candidate fixes at once. Security teams get visibility into what the agent read, ran, and reached before approving agent use.

To meet security teams’ needs, Workspaces has:

Layers of defense: Workspace microVMs are built exclusively with zero-CVE Chainguard OS Packages, including FIPS-compliant toolchains. Dependencies are verified against the lockfile at runtime, so untrusted or tampered code can’t execute.Exfiltration-safe by design: Real credentials are injected outside the workspace, so agents never hold them. Tools that need a credential on disk get an encrypted, short-lived stand-in that is useless if taken.Configurable egress controls: Optional network egress policies block unauthorized outbound requests, preventing a prompt-injected agent or compromised dependency from communicating with unapproved external systems.Total visibility into every run: Every credential call and network connection is logged in a tamper-proof record, and every run generates signed attestations of the exact environment, code changes, and check results.

Alongside those security controls, Chainguard Workspaces provides engineering teams with what they need to build faster with agents:

Fast starts and resumes: Cache-hot microVM snapshots mapped to the exact repository and toolchain let teams launch new workspaces or resume idle ones in seconds.Instant local package loading: Dependencies load directly from local disk as defined by the lockfile, removing external registry fetches and download delays from the loop.Built-in completion validation with Chainguard Checks: Paired with Chainguard Checks (also launching today in Beta), agents run CI suites in context and keep iterating until checks pass. Tying the loop exit to verified results keeps incomplete or faulty code from being handed off.Human-in-the-loop: When an agent requires developer input, the Workspace stays active for 10 minutes before automatically suspending to a snapshot. Memory state, active processes, and warm caches are preserved with no ongoing compute spend while paused.

With Workspaces, Chainguard extends the secure-by-default foundation behind its open source software catalog to the environments where agents write and run code. As agent adoption outpaces security review, the shift from securing the agent to securing where it runs is becoming a requirement for enterprise teams.

“Banks, fintechs, and corporates across Australia rely on Cuscal to move money safely. For agent sandboxing, we need an environment where AI agents can iterate quickly without risking core systems. We’re excited to work hand-in-hand with Chainguard as an early design partner to shape the future of software development end-to-end,” Brad McCoy, Senior Manager, Cloud Platforms, Cuscal.

“IDC research shows that organizations rank AI-generated code and agentic development workflows alongside third-party software and open source packages as top software supply chain concerns. Addressing that risk means accounting for what an agent can access while it works, in addition to the code it writes. Agents running with developer-level credentials and broad network access extend the supply chain attack surface in ways that many traditional controls were not designed to address,” said Katie Norton, Research Director at IDC. “Approaches that isolate agent execution environments, keep secrets out of the agent’s reach, and maintain auditable records of agent activity, such as the approach Chainguard is taking with Chainguard Workspaces, are designed to support agentic development at scale while preserving control over the development environment.”

Chainguard Workspaces is available now in Beta. For more information, visit: chainguard.dev/workspaces.

About Chainguard
Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By providing engineers and AI agents with hardened, trusted, and production-ready artifacts, Chainguard helps organizations prevent AI supply chain attacks, increase engineering velocity while reducing toil, and maintain continuous compliance. Customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, DocuSign, OpenAI, Public Storage, Snap Inc., and Snowflake. Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.  For more information, visit: https://www.chainguard.dev/ 

Media Contact: Brittany Hendrickson, press@chainguard.dev

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-chainguard-workspaces-hardened-hardware-isolated-environments-for-faster-agentic-development-302907716.html

SOURCE Chainguard

Customer-centric infrastructure strategy, technology flexibility, operational discipline, and scalable growth strengthen PDG’s position in Asia Pacific’s rapidly evolving data centre landscape.

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Princeton Digital Group (PDG) has earned the 2026 Asia-Pacific Customer Value Leadership Recognition in the data centre infrastructure and operations industry for its strong performance in customer value creation, strategic execution, technology leverage, and operational excellence. The recognition highlights PDG’s ability to align infrastructure investment with evolving hyperscale customer requirements while delivering consistent value across diverse APAC markets.

Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. PDG demonstrated strength across both, aligning its growth strategy with customer demand while executing with consistency across markets where infrastructure maturity, regulations, power availability, and construction ecosystems vary significantly.

“PDG has built customer value into the way it makes infrastructure, technology, and investment decisions. Its approach goes beyond delivering capacity; it demonstrates a clear understanding of how reliability, flexibility, and operational discipline influence the long-term infrastructure decisions of hyperscale customers,” said Gautham Gnanajothi, Senior Vice President at Frost & Sullivan.

PDG’s customer engagement model begins well before contracts are signed. The company works closely with customers on capacity planning, sharing market- and cluster-level visibility into planned supply while incorporating customers’ forward demand outlook into investment priorities. Upstream engagement continues through execution, with PDG adapting technical requirements to APAC market conditions and identifying alternative technology and equipment options when necessary.

Technology adoption is similarly guided by customer requirements rather than novelty. PDG has focused on building reliable, repeatable scale across its markets, including supporting the transition of liquid cooling from limited deployments to broader, hyperscale requirements. Its willingness to evaluate additional OEM options has helped expand the pool of viable suppliers and support scalable deployment across a portfolio approaching two gigawatts of capacity at the time of assessment.

PDG approaches “AI-ready” infrastructure as an operational requirement rather than a marketing concept. Its engineering and commercial flexibility allows projects to accommodate changing cooling requirements during construction without allowing uncertainty to delay delivery. The customer-centric approach is complemented by investments in operational efficiency, where improvements such as power usage effectiveness can translate directly into customer value.

“What differentiates PDG is our ability to deliver at scale across some of Asia Pacific’s most complex and fast-growing markets. We combine deep in-country expertise with the scale and capabilities of a pan-APAC business and strong institutional capital backing, which allows us to move with speed and execute consistently. For hyperscalers, that combination matters as they build increasingly large and sophisticated infrastructure across the region. This recognition is a testament to our teams and the long-term partnerships we have built with our global customers,” said Varoon Raghavan, COO and Co-Founder at Princeton Digital Group.

PDG’s growth strategy reflects its focus on scalable customer value. Its expansion across APAC markets that include Mumbai, Jakarta, Johor, and Tokyo demonstrates an approach that adapts to local market conditions while maintaining consistent enterprise standards. Empowered local teams work alongside a central platform structure, enabling PDG to respond to market-specific requirements while sharing capabilities and expertise across countries.

Frost & Sullivan commends Princeton Digital Group for its customer-centric strategy, disciplined execution, technology flexibility, and ability to scale data centre infrastructure while maintaining a consistent focus on customer outcomes. The company’s approach demonstrates how operational efficiency, human capital, technology adoption, and growth can work together to create sustainable value in APAC’s data centre infrastructure market.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Customer Value Leadership Recognition to a company that demonstrates excellence in creating measurable value for customers through effective strategy development and execution. The recognition highlights organizations that demonstrate customer-centric innovation, strategic responsiveness, and sustained excellence within their respective industries.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Recognition
Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Recognitions honor companies across regional and global markets that exhibit exceptional achievement and consistent excellence in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer experience, and strategic product development. Each recognition is the result of a rigorous analytical process in which Frost & Sullivan industry experts benchmark performance through comprehensive interviews, deep-dive analysis, and extensive secondary research. The goal is to identify true best-in-class organizations that are driving transformative growth and setting new industry standards.
Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Tarini Singh
E: Tarini.Singh@frost.com

About Princeton Digital Group (PDG)
Princeton Digital Group (PDG) is a leading developer and operator of data centers. Headquartered in Singapore with operations in Singapore, Japan, India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Australia, its portfolio of data centers powers the growth of AI and cloud across Asia Pacific. For more information, visit www.princetondg.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/princeton-digital-group-receives-frost–sullivans-2026-asia-pacific-customer-value-leadership-recognition-for-data-centre-infrastructure-and-operations-excellence-302903880.html

Multi-destination bookings jump 84% as travellers embrace experience-led journeys and AI-powered planning, 
creating new growth opportunities for brands.

HONG KONG, SINGAPORE and SHANGHAI, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — China’s outbound travellers made 4.44 million mainland departures during Golden Week 2026, up 9.3% year on year, according to EternityX’s new Golden Week 2026 Chinese Outbound Travel Insights Report.

The headline number tells only half the story. Three days of annual leave bridged the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day into a 13-day travel window (25 September to 7 October), and travellers used the extra time to go further, stay longer and see more. The share of outbound package travellers taking trips of eight days or more rose to around 42%, up from around 29% in 2024.

“Golden Week 2026 signals a decisive shift: Chinese outbound travel is growing in value, not just volume. With departures up 9.3%, brands must focus on the longer, experience-led journeys shaping demand,” said Charlene Ree, Founder & CEO of EternityX.

“Brands must move beyond one-off destination campaigns. Build multi-stop experiences, win visibility through social and AI discovery, and simplify booking and payment. Success must be measured by conversions and traveller value, not campaign reach alone,” added Charlene.

With outbound travel near its all-time high, Golden Week 2026 is a clear signal for destinations and brands: the opportunity is shifting from capturing more visitors to capturing higher-value, more deliberate ones.

Outbound Travel Grew Steadily as Hong Kong and Macao Set Golden Week Records

4.44 million mainland outbound departures, up 9.3% year on year (1 to 7 October)15.46 million border crossings in total, averaging 2.21 million a day (+6.7%), with a peak of 2.40 million on 4 October1.41 million mainland visitors to Hong Kong (+9.4%), including a record 277,000 on the first day of the holiday, with hotels around 90% full972,000 mainland visitors to Macao, with daily arrivals up 19.6% (139,000 a day versus 116,000 in 2025) and hotel occupancy at 91.3%

(Sources: National Immigration Administration; Xinhua, October 2026)

Official outbound growth was steady and single-digit. The bigger shift was in where Chinese travellers went and how they travelled.

Longer, Multi-Stop Trips Grew Several Times Faster Than Departures
While departures rose 9.3%, longer and more complex journeys grew several times faster:

Multi-destination bookings rose 84%, with travellers visiting an average of 2.8 countries per multi-country trip.Pre-holiday bookings on long-haul routes of 8,000km or more climbed 30%, compared with around 4% for all outbound flights.More than half of outbound flights departed before 1 October, and peak-day domestic orders fell to 1.75 times the daily average (from 2.4 times in 2025), easing holiday price spikes.

(Sources: Trip.com Group; The Paper; Umetrip, October 2026)

Demand Shifted From Japan to Korea, Southeast Asia and Visa-Free Long-Haul Markets
Demand moved decisively from Japan towards Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Southeast Asia:

Korea was the top planned destination (20.1% of surveyed travellers), with Seoul flight bookings up 91%.Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bali featured across platform top-10 lists, while island destinations such as Cebu (+111%) and Phuket (+78%) surged.Japan dropped off most platform top-10 lists after ranking first in 2025, with Chinese arrivals down 56.7% from January to August 2026.Visa-free niches and Europe pulled long-haul demand: hotel bookings rose fivefold in Nevşehir, Türkiye, while bookings for Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Nepal and Finland doubled.

(Sources: Trip.com Group; Qunar; Dragon Trail International; Kyodo; JNTO, October 2026)

Experiences Overtook Sightseeing and Shopping as Travellers’ Priority
Chinese travellers overall are trading fast-paced sightseeing for slower, deeper journeys. Deep slow travel was the top stated preference (47.3%), and experience-led searches on Xiaohongshu for crafts, heritage and outdoor activities rose 48%, growing more than 1.6 times as fast as check-in searches.

(Sources: Xiaohongshu, 2026)

Spending followed the same path. On the first day of the holiday, overseas local-experience bookings rose 37% and airport transfers 43%. Shopping baskets, by contrast, continued to shrink, with spend per Chinese shopper at Lotte Duty Free in Korea down 19% for January to August, even as shopper numbers rose 74%.

(Sources: DT/Yicai survey; Xiaohongshu; Fliggy; Edaily, 2026)

AI Has Become the Travel Planner, While Social Platforms Still Spark the Trip
The Chinese travel decision journey is being rewritten. Social platforms spark the idea, AI assistants build the itinerary, and OTAs and mini-programs close the sale:

61.8% among Chinese travellers overall now use AI to plan itineraries, and 20.3% are already willing to book through AI.AI-guided flight and hotel bookings on one leading OTA assistant rose 110% month on month during Golden Week.More than 80% of Xiaohongshu’s 230 million-plus travel-interest users search for travel guides on the platform in 2025.

(Sources: DT/Yicai survey; Fliggy; Travel Daily, 2026)

Payment Platforms Have Become a Marketing Channel for Destinations
WeChat Pay data for 25 September to 5 October showed mini-programs driving cross-border spend, with duty-free mini-program transactions up 8.5 times, ferry tickets more than tripling and ride-hailing up more than 1.6 times. Europe accounted for 12 of the top 20 countries by transaction growth.

(Source: WeChat Pay, October 2026)

Destinations are already responding with payment-linked offers, such as wallet coupons and exchange-rate perks for Chinese travellers in Korea.

Outlook: 2026 Is Set to Be a Record Year, Making China a Must-Win Market for 2027
Mainland residents made 167.9 million outbound visits in 2025, up 15.1% on 2024. EternityX expects outbound growth of around 9–10% in 2026, adding roughly 15–17 million trips and taking the total to a record of around 183–184 million, surpassing the 2019 peak of 169 million.

(Sources: National Bureau of Statistics; EternityX estimate, October 2026)

“The volume is back. What has changed is the value of each trip. Chinese travellers are staying longer, travelling to more places and spending on experiences rather than shopping bags. Japan’s lost share is now in play for the rest of Asia Pacific, and visa-free access is opening new long-haul markets every year,” said Simon Zhong, Head of Insights & Product Innovation, EternityX.

“Brands and destinations need to go live six to eight weeks before the holiday, sell multi-stop, experience-led itineraries, and be visible where planning now happens, on Xiaohongshu, inside AI assistants and through payment mini-programs. Those that invest in visibility and easy booking now will be best placed to capture the next wave, starting with Spring Festival 2027,”  Simon added.

Golden Week 2026 confirms that Chinese outbound travel is not slowing but maturing. With the 2027 Golden Week expected to offer a shorter window, the brands that win will be those that plan earlier, build itineraries rather than one-off offers, and optimise their content for both social and AI search.

Download the full report here.

About EternityX Marketing Technology
At EternityX, we equip brands and businesses to master the realm of Chinese audiences through the Power of Three—PilotX, NaviX, and MediaX. These cutting-edge, AI-powered solutions enable precision targeting, providing data-driven insights that allow companies to connect with profitable audiences in key markets and beyond.

With 12,000+ successful cross-border campaigns for more than 1,000 brands, EternityX helps brands unlock growth, deepen audience connections, and drive long-term success. Our expertise bridges the gap between East and West, ensuring that brands can thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Learn more about us https://www.eternityx.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/eternityx-chinese-outbound-departures-rise-9-3-during-golden-week-2026-as-longer-multi-stop-trips-reshape-travel-trends-302907973.html

SOURCE EternityX