Category: Lifestyle

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Business Lifestyle Technology

The Atlantic Federal Credit Union selects Upstart for personal lending

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. & SAN MATEO, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Atlantic Federal Credit Union, a community-chartered credit union serving Essex and Union counties in New Jersey,  announced that it has partnered with Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST), a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending marketplace, to provide personal loans to new and existing members.

“We are a credit union focused on providing high quality service through digital automation, personal assistance, and market-leading products, which is why we chose to partner with Upstart,” said Jason Reed, Chief Operations Officer for The Atlantic Federal Credit Union. “Upstart has successfully provided our credit union with an opportunity to lend to a wider range of borrowers through an all-digital platform powered by AI and is helping us achieve our lending goals.”

 

As an Upstart lending partner since September 2021, The Atlantic Federal Credit Union (The Atlantic) is part of the Upstart Referral Network. With the Upstart Referral Network, qualified personal loan applicants on Upstart.com who meet The Atlantic’s credit policies will receive tailored offers as they seamlessly transition into an Atlantic Federal Credit Union-branded experience to complete the online member application and closing process.

 

“We are excited to be partnering with The Atlantic Federal Credit Union to provide a modern, all-digital personal lending experience to more people,” said Michael Lock, SVP of Lending Partnerships for Upstart. “Through the Upstart Referral Network, The Atlantic is leveraging Upstart’s AI lending platform to serve new and existing members while expanding access to affordable credit.”

 

To learn more about The Atlantic Federal Credit Union and the partnership with Upstart, please watch the webinar, “Driving Member Engagement & Growth during Uncertain Times with AI: A Case Study with The Atlantic Federal Credit Union.” To learn more about Upstart for Credit Unions and the Upstart Referral Network, please watch this video.

 

About Upstart

Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) is a leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart’s AI platform, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates for every race, ethnicity, age, and gender, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than two-thirds of Upstart loans are approved instantly and are fully automated. Upstart was founded by ex-Googlers in 2012 and is based in San Mateo, California and Columbus, Ohio.

 

About The Atlantic Federal Credit Union

The Atlantic Federal Credit Union was founded in 1935 as a not-for-profit financial cooperative to meet the savings and borrowing needs of Members. Today, The Atlantic Federal Credit Union exclusively serves Essex and Union counties in New Jersey with financial wellness resources, competitive rates and technology-driven solutions for personal and business banking needs. For full eligibility criteria and more information, visit AtlFedCU.com.

Contacts

press@upstart.com

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Business Lifestyle Technology

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center utilizes Aetrex Technology for Department of Defense Footwear Initiative

Cross-service effort focusing on design and fit improvements for female Warfighter combat and safety footwear

 

TEANECK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Aetrex, Inc. (“Aetrex”), the global market leader in foot scanning technology, orthotics and comfort & wellness footwear, today announced the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center’s (DEVCOM SC) rental of the brand’s Albert 2 Pro 3D foot scanner for use in their investigation of the need for – and potential impact of – combat and safety footwear designed for women, specifically. This is a cross-service effort between DEVCOM SC, the Navy Exchange Service Command’s Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility (NCTRF) and Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) to make design and fit improvements for combat and safety footwear for U.S. female Warfighters. After the rental period was over, NCTRF purchased an Albert 2 Pro 3D scanner and used it for the last test location.


The Army Combat Boot Improvement and cross-service Female Fit and Size efforts aim to bring the issue of fit to the forefront, as well as determine whether female Warfighters are adequately accommodated by the current combat and safety footwear.

 

Fit plays an all-important role in Warfighter footwear because improperly fitted boots can cause discomfort and impact performance. Improperly fitted boots can also increase the risk of injuries, including blisters and stress fractures. The goal of the footwear fit effort is to improve the fit of combat boots for female service members, ultimately improving Soldier performance, enhancing comfort, and preventing injuries.

 

With the help of the Albert 2 Pro, DEVCOM SC, NCTRF, and AFLCMC teams will be able to gain a better understanding of the unique requirements of female Warfighters’ feet. The effort will help to determine if there is a need for female-specific footwear “lasts” (the forms on which footwear is constructed) and which design and fit improvements are key.

 

“The Albert 2 Pro provides a streamlined process for accurately collecting scientific data, including 3D foot measurements, static pressure underfoot, and the dynamic pressure for gait analysis, in a matter of seconds,” said Larry Schwartz, CEO at Aetrex. “For the past 20 years, our scanners have performed over 40 million foot scans that have helped inform our footwear and orthotics designs. With the innovative capabilities of our premium scanner, we are confident that researchers will find the information needed to determine the best approach for their cross-service Female Fit and Size efforts.”

 

To learn more about Albert 2 Pro and Aetrex’s technology suite, please visit www.aetrex.com.

 

About Aetrex

Aetrex Worldwide, Inc. is widely recognized as the global leader in foot scanning technology, orthotics, and comfort and wellness footwear. Aetrex has developed state-of-the-art foot scanning devices, including Albert, Albert 2 Pro, a CES 2022 Innovation Award Honoree, and iStep, designed to accurately measure feet and determine foot type and pressure points. Since 2002, Aetrex has placed over 10,000 scanners worldwide that have performed more than 40 million unique customer foot scans, currently averaging more than 2.5 million scans a year.

 

The company is renowned for its over-the-counter orthotics – the worlds #1 premium foot orthotic. With fashion, function and quality at the forefront, Aetrex also designs and manufactures stylish, performance footwear. Based in New Jersey, Aetrex is consistently named one of New Jersey’s Top 100 Privately Held Companies and was also included in NJBIZ’s Top 30 Manufacturing Companies. It has remained privately owned by the Schwartz family for three generations. For additional information, visit www.aetrex.com.

Contacts

Media
Rajira Hernandez

Matter Communications

978-225-8082

aetrex@matternow.com

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Business Lifestyle

11:11 Systems to acquire recovery business of Sungard Availability Services

Acquisition Will Establish 11:11 Systems as Leading Provider of Cyber Resiliency and Disaster Recovery Solutions

 

FAIRFIELD, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#PE—11:11 Systems (“11:11”), a managed infrastructure solutions provider, today announced that it has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire Sungard Availability Services’ (“Sungard AS”) Recovery Services business. The parties anticipate receiving bankruptcy court approval of the sale by mid-October, and the transaction is expected to close later this fall alongside 11:11 Systems’ simultaneous acquisition of Sungard AS’ Cloud and Managed Services (CMS) business.

Once completed, acquiring these two Sungard AS businesses will cement 11:11 Systems as one of the largest and most experienced cyber resiliency and disaster recovery providers. At the beginning of 2022, 11:11 Systems announced the acquisition of both Green Cloud Defense and iland, two market leaders in the cyber resiliency and disaster recovery space.

 

Once the two Sungard AS acquisitions are complete, the combined resources, experience, talent, solution offerings and customer and partner ecosystems will be brought together to establish an in-depth, comprehensive and global cyber resiliency and disaster recovery practice within 11:11.

 

Further, the addition of Sungard AS’ infrastructure recovery, backup and vaulting, managed recovery and consulting services will perfectly complement 11:11’s cloud, backup, disaster recovery and managed security solution suite. This combination of solutions, services and expertise form the most complete cloud, recovery and resiliency offering available regardless of the customer use case or where data resides.

 

“We know that more than half of all companies today have experienced some sort of cyber-attack within the past 18 months. With these strategic acquisitions, 11:11 Systems is the best option on the market for helping customers of any size – no matter how simple or complex their needs are – prepare for and defend against cyber-attacks and other business interruptions,” said Brett Diamond, CEO, 11:11 Systems. “We are bringing together the market’s best players in cyber resiliency, harnessing their experience and strength and will add to it an innovation platform that will not only convey our combined customer ecosystem safely into the future, but also will optimize their environments for efficiency, cost and availability.”

 

Collectively, the companies integrating into the 11:11 Systems platform have been recognized for the following:

  • iland named a Leader and Sungard AS named a Visionary in key analyst report for Disaster Recovery as a Service
  • Sungard AS cited as a Leader and iland cited as a Strong Performer in key Disaster-Recovery-As-A-Service Providers report
  • VMware Cloud Verified status achieved by Green Cloud, iland and Sungard AS
  • Veeam Cloud & Service Provider Impact Partner of the Year, North America: iland named in 2021 for the sixth time
  • Zerto Cloud Partner of the Year Award: iland named in 2020 for the fourth time
  • Zerto Alliance Partner – Gold Partner status achieved by iland and Sungard AS

 

Further Sungard AS has been recognized for the following:

  • Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Hall of Fame
  • Amazon Web Services Storage Competency Status, Managed Service Provider Partner Status, and Advanced Consulting Partner in the AWS Partner Network- Sungard AS

 

As a part of this transaction, 11:11 will gain a large team of highly skilled employees as well as 13 new cloud points of presence, which when combined with the 13 cloud points of presence included in 11:11’s acquisition of Sungard AS’ CMS business totals 26 new cloud points of presence for 11:11’s customers.

 

“Our goal is to enhance the cyber resiliency and disaster recovery team within 11:11 Systems by combining the best talent from the industry’s top data protection providers to expand options for our existing customers and blaze the path for business resiliency in the future,” said Justin Giardina, CTO, 11:11. “The well of experience, expertise and solution excellence is deep, and we intend to fully optimize this unique opportunity to the benefit of our customer and partner ecosystem.”

 

11:11 is backed by Tiger Infrastructure Partners, a middle-market private equity firm that invests in growing infrastructure platforms.

Q Advisors, a global TMT investment banking boutique, acted as exclusive financial advisor to 11:11 in connection with this transaction. Perkins Coie acted as legal advisor to 11:11. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

ABOUT 11:11 SYSTEMS

11:11 Systems is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that holistically addresses the challenges of next-generation managed cloud, connectivity and security requirements. The 11:11 model empowers customers and partners to “Rethink Connected,” which includes fully-integrated, fully-automated services, activities and delivering increased performance, optimization and savings. Learn more at 1111Systems.com.

 

ABOUT TIGER INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS

Tiger Infrastructure Partners is an innovative, middle-market private equity firm that invests in new and growing infrastructure platforms. Tiger Infrastructure targets investments in communications (digital), energy transition, transportation, and related sectors, primarily located in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.tigerinfrastructure.com.

Contacts

Candice Mayan

cmayan@1111systems.com
440-879-8643

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Business Culture Lifestyle Travel & Leisure

New Jersey Transit Innovation Team named winner in Second Annual IDC Best in Future of Digital Innovation Awards

NEEDHAM, Mass. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #DigitalInnovation–International Data Corporation (IDC) today announced winners of the second annual IDC Future Enterprise Best in Future of Digital Innovation North America Awards. Winning projects successfully showcased the ability to source, augment, develop, and/or distribute software IP (intellectual property) to deliver differentiation, disrupt the market through external products or services, or have a significant positive impact on internal operations. Winners will be recognized during a live, virtual event on November 2nd at 2 pm U.S. Eastern Time. To register, please visit HERE.

 

  • Check out our Future of Digital Innovation eBook HERE.

The Best in Future of Digital Innovation North America Award winners for 2022 include:

 

 

Overall Winner

New Jersey Transit – Innovation Train: NJ TRANSIT’s Innovation Train project is a multi-phase initiative spanning R&D, implementation, and specification development that overhauls outdated technologies used in the transit industry to connect all NJ Transit Assets (vehicles, stations, track) to provide situational awareness, command, control, financial, and communications operations. No current single product can fulfill NJT’s goals. As a result, NJT “invented” the future — a “single stack” configuration of hardware, software, and standard operating procedures. The team-built technology delivers: a private mesh network that integrates NJT assets; 10G/s backbone providing internet access to the mesh; edge computing for video upload and analytics; onboard and station Wi-Fi; automated passenger analytics; UWB-based wayfinding; and IoT-based elevator/escalator monitoring. To accomplish this goal, NJ Transit built a laboratory at NJT headquarters and deployed the technologies for integration and testing. After confirming the technology, the Innovation Team installed the configured objects in four train stations and two trains. As a result, the time to offload video from vehicles dropped from 48 hours to 10 minutes – a reduction of 99.65%, which increased video storage length by 333%, allowing NJT to reduce false insurance claims by up to $4-5 million annually.

 

Edge Innovation Category Winner

PCL Constructors Inc. – Job Site Access: Job Site Access (JSA) is a cloud-based access control tracking platform designed and built in 2021 by PCL’s Business Technology department specifically to support the tracking, management, and control of workforce access on job sites promoting site security, safety, and efficient operations management. JSA is designed to scale to meet the demands of varying project sizes and configurations and provides flexible options based on specific construction, regional, security, or operational requirements. Projects can choose the type of monitoring access method from cost effective QR printed badges to innovative facial recognition biometric authentication methods as well as various hardware integration options from industrial grade turnstile gate structures, guard operated checkpoints, or self-service reader stations. The JSA solution enables field operations teams to be connected through remote mobile functions with the JSA Site Mobile app for iOS or Android devices. From simple worker tracking to complex authorization and security, Job Site Access is the security solution for smart connected construction sites providing a safer work environment by restricting unauthorized access, reducing opportunities for job site theft, and tracking time on site as a source to verify payroll or labor costs.

 

Innovation in Information Management Winner

National Fire Protection Association – NFPA LiNK: Developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), NFPA LiNK is an application-based platform containing real-time code information and situational content. Subscribers can add personalized notes in addition to bookmarking and sharing specific sections of code. With the flexibility to be used online or offline via mobile, tablet, laptop, or desktop devices, NFPA LiNK provides quicker access to crucial content while transforming the way information is delivered and used in the codes and standards industry. People around the world have turned to NFPA codes and standards to do their jobs efficiently and effectively for more than a century, but in recent years NFPA has seen a shift in the ways that people learn and do their jobs. Today’s workers do not find a physical book or a static digital version of a book to be the best means to help solve problems on a real-time basis. Instead, they want to connect the dots on safety and glean real-world, real-time understanding. With 54% of NFPA LiNK subscribers being first time NFPA customers, the platform has successfully reached a broad range of customers. Not only does NFPA LiNK support individuals, but the application also supports the differing needs of small businesses and large organizations.

 

“Winners in our annual Best in Future of Digital Innovation Awards represent those modern organizations that have successfully transformed from digital technology consumers to large-scale digital innovators,” said Nancy Gohring, research director, Future of Digital Innovation at IDC. “We are thrilled to shine a spotlight on the organizations operating as digital innovation factories, building differentiating products and services to create greater value for customers and the business.”

 

For more information on the IDC Future Enterprise Awards Program, please contact Heather Ball at hball@idc.com.

 

About IDC’s Future of Digital Innovation Research Practice

Leveraging a framework that illustrates the interdependencies among three core components of digital innovation – defined business outcomes, an innovation foundation, and a flywheel of innovation, IDC’s Future of Digital Innovation research practice helps organizations generate the sustainable momentum necessary for the continued development of innovative digital products and services.

To learn more about IDC’s Future of X research practices, please visit https://www.idc.com/FoX

 

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC’s analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

Contacts

Sarah Murray

Attune Communications

781-378-2674

sarah@attunecommunications.com

Mary Conroy

IDC

508-935-6964

mconroy@idc.com

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Art & Life Business Lifestyle

VeeFriends launches collectible characters exclusively for Macy’s and Toys”R”Us

Move takes Gary Vaynerchuk’s IP from digital to physical collectibles

The first-ever limited collection of plush and vinyl characters is available at Toy”R”Us at all Macy’s nationwide, on Macys.com and internationally through shop veefriends.com

 

NEW YORK — (BUSINESS WIRE) — VeeFriends, created by serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, will launch its first-ever limited series of collectible characters exclusively at Macy’s and Toys”R”Us®. The collection will be available for pre-sale starting today, launching on October 17.

 

This is the first step in bringing the VeeFriends characters to life, from digital NFT collectibles to physical collectibles, giving access to any consumer to own a VeeFriends character – expanding beyond its robust NFT community and NFT holders. In addition, each product will come with a printed QR code that leads to 3D animated heartfelt short films and other character songs.


VeeFriends was developed around characters, all of which Vaynerchuk imagined, created, and drew himself, with traits that he admires and believes will lead to happiness and success. Vaynerchuk’s vision is to scale his ideas through the characters and the traits they represent.

 

Ranging in price from $9.99 to $29.99, the collection features plush and/or vinyl character sets designed by London-based entertainment company, Toikido, that will be exclusively available at macys.com/toysrus.com, the Macy’s mobile app, at all Toy”R”Us at Macy’s stores nationwide, and on shop.veefriends.com for international consumers.

 

Vaynerchuk curated the ten special characters out of the 283 characters in VeeFriends for this first collection. “This partnership means way more to me than you could ever imagine. The thought that VeeFriends will be in Macy’s and Toys”R”Us simultaneously is incredible,” said Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO & Creator of VeeFriends. “I fondly remember growing up in Edison, New Jersey, walking down these stores’ aisles as a kid. We chose characters that we think embody exciting features for first-time collectors, much like some of the toys I picked up on the shelves of Toys”R”Us the first time. I can’t wait to see them in-store and on the shelves – it’s a full circle moment for me and a very big step for the company.”

 

Each VeeFriends figure and plush character has a unique story behind their bespoken trait including Practical Peacock, Willful Wizard, Genuine Giraffe, Adventurous Astronaut, Gratitude Gorilla, Patient Panda, Empathy Elephant, Common Sense Cow, Heart Trooper, and Be the Bigger Person. You can learn the story of each VeeFriends character through the printed QR code that leads to 3D animated heartfelt short films and other character songs.

 

“Gary Vaynerchuk has created an extraordinary digital community. We are excited to partner with Gary and VeeFriends to bring his signature NFT characters to life exclusively at Macy’s, reaching a new set of fans for us,” said Stephen Moore, SVP of Merchandising at Macy’s. “VeeFriends collectible plush and vinyl sets have unique stories and design, and we can’t wait for both parents and children to enjoy.”

 

In celebration of the launch of the collection, Vaynerchuk will be having two in-store appearances: in Chicago on October 17th and in New York City on October 21st, where he will also participate in Macy’s Live. Macy’s Live is the retailer’s streaming show that offers exclusive offers and content live from their new studio located at the flagship Herald Square store in New York. VeeFriends will share further information on how to join the in-store events on their website: veefriends.com.

 

Beginning on October 4 through October 18, VeeFriends is offering token holders with specific characters a free figure that they can claim. “VeeFriends wants to bring value to our NFT community – not only will they get first access to claim the collection, they also get priority at the in-store events. It’s just one more way we want to connect with our NFT holders and show them how we are developing the IP behind the characters,” Andy Kraniak, President of VeeFriends. Token holders of both VeeFriends Series 1 and Series 2 will be able to claim their figure through https://series2.veefriends.com/experiences/macys-claim.

 

About Macy’s

Macy’s, the largest retail brand of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M), serves as the style source for generations of customers. With one of the nation’s largest e-commerce platforms powered by macys.com and mobile app, paired with a nationwide network of stores, Macy’s delivers the most convenient and seamless shopping experience, offering great values in apparel, home, beauty, accessories and more. Macy’s gives customers even more ways to shop and own their style through an off-price assortment at Macy’s Backstage and at our highly curated and smaller store format, Market by Macy’s. Each year, Macy’s provides millions with unforgettable experiences through Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® and helps our customers celebrate special moments, big and small. We’re guided by our purpose—to create a brighter future with bold representation—that empowers more voice, choice and ownership for our colleagues, customers and communities.

 

About TOYS”R”US®

For more than 70 years, Toys”R”Us has been the global leader in the toy category celebrating the joys of childhood and play with kids of all ages. Geoffrey the GiraffeTM, the beloved mascot of Toys”R”Us, is adored by millions of kids and their families around the world. Toys”R”Us today has over 1,000 stores and e-commerce businesses in more than 25 countries. Toys”R”Us is owned by WHP Global, a leading brand management firm with a portfolio of consumer brands that generate over USD$4.5 billion in retail sales.

 

About VeeFriends

An NFT project that brought to life Gary’s ambitions of building a community around his creative and business passions using NFT technology and their smart contract capabilities. There are 283 VeeFriends all of which Gary imagined, created, and drew himself. Each character represents traits and qualities Gary admires and hopes to inspire in others. Every VeeFriends token is admission to VeeCon 2022, 2023, and 2024. For more information, visit https://veefriends.com/ and join the discord channel.

 

About Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX and the CEO of VeeFriends. Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture,relevance, and the internet. Known as “GaryVee,” he is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business – he acutely recognizes trends and patterns early to help others understand how these shifts impact markets and consumer behavior. In addition, Gary understands how to bring brand relevance to the forefront, whether it’s emerging artists, esports, NFT investing, or digital communications. He is a prolific angel investor with early investments in Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase, and Uber.

 

Contacts

Media: Julissa Bonfante and Gillian Boyland, communications@macys.com
Investors: Pam Quintiliano, investors@macys.com

Categories
Culture Lifestyle Local News

Annual NJ Senior Citizen Art Show now open

The public is invited to enjoy the 56th annual New Jersey Senior Citizen Art Show now on display in the hall galleries of the main building at Meadow Lakes Senior Living, 300 Meadow Lakes, East Windsor.

 

The exhibit, featuring more than 270 works of art created by New Jersey artists over the age of 60, will remain on display through Thursday, Oct. 27. Artists from 18 of New Jersey’s 21 counties have work on display in this year’s exhibit, the first in-person show since 2019.

 

The exhibit, with artwork by both professional and non-professional artists in 11 categories (acrylic, craft, digital imagery, mixed media, oil, pastels, photography, print, sculpture, watercolor, and works on paper), was juried by a three-person judges panel of professional artists who selected first-, second- and third-place winners and honorable mentions in each category. This year, exhibiting artists range in age from 60 to 101.

 

This year, Lisa Hendrickson’s (Burlington County) mixed media, Wary: Living with Scarcity, was named Best in Show/Professional, and Susan Lauricella’s (Middlesex County) watercolor, She is Fragile and Beautiful, was selected as Best in Show/ Non-Professional.

 

The annual exhibit, a co-sponsored project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Mercer County’s Division of Culture & Heritage, caps a year of county-based Senior Citizen Art Shows throughout the state.

 

All work on display represents first-place winners from the county shows. Work may also be viewed on the New Jersey Senior Citizen Art Show website at www.njseniorarts.com

 

The show is open to the public Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups of six or more are asked to contact Meadow Lakes in advance by calling 609-448-4100. For more information, contact Mercer County Division of Culture & Heritage, 609-278-2712 or tfagan@mercercounty.org

 

The New Jersey Senior Citizen Art Show is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Mercer County Division of Culture and Heritage. It receives additional support from the County of Mercer, Meadow Lakes (a Springpoint Senior Living Community) and the New Jersey Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Categories
Business Lifestyle Science Technology

Velodyne Lidar acquires AI software company Bluecity

Acquisition Bolsters Velodyne’s Lidar Solutions for Intelligent Infrastructure

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — $VLDR #ai—Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) today announced the company has acquired Bluecity, a Montreal-based artificial intelligence (AI) software company whose next-generation, lidar-based solutions solve safety, traffic and infrastructure issues. The all-stock acquisition reinforces Velodyne’s commitment to enabling customer success by delivering industry-leading, AI-powered autonomous vision solutions. The addition of Bluecity is expected to be immaterial to operating expenses and cash usage. Bluecity’s executive, software development and sales teams will join Velodyne.


Velodyne and Bluecity have been partnering for many years to deliver lidar-based solutions for smart city applications. Velodyne’s Intelligent Infrastructure Solution (IIS) combines the company’s award-winning lidar sensors and Bluecity’s AI software. IIS delivers traffic monitoring and analytics to improve road safety and efficiency, and helps cities plan for smarter, greener transportation systems. The solution is deployed across four continents with 74 installations, including systems rolled out domestically in California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Texas, Nevada and Michigan and internationally in Canada, China, UAE, India, Finland, Germany and Australia.

 

“We are excited to welcome Bluecity as full members of the Velodyne team. They are an exceptionally talented group of innovators with game-changing AI and analytics software that perfectly complements our lidar sensors and Vella software,” said Dr. Ted Tewksbury, CEO, Velodyne Lidar. “The customer response to Velodyne’s lidar-based system solutions has been incredibly positive. Customers are using our lidar and AI-powered analytics to obtain business insights and improve safety, sustainability, efficiency and transportation equity in ways that were never possible with traditional cameras or radar alone. Our acquisition of Bluecity further affirms that a system solutions approach integrating software and hardware is a major competitive advantage for Velodyne across all our end markets.”

 

“Bluecity is a big believer in Velodyne’s vision of being the leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vision systems,” said Dr. Asad Lesani, Co-Founder and CEO, Bluecity. “Our experience working with Velodyne’s world-class lidar sensors has shown the power their solutions can bring in making communities safer and more efficient. Our team is thrilled to now be part of Velodyne.”

 

Velodyne Expands Full-Stack Solutions Portfolio

Velodyne will continue to expand its Intelligent Infrastructure Solution’s capabilities, including monitoring flows of people and vehicles to create a range of new full-stack infrastructure solutions for applications such as parking, retail, casinos and stadiums. According to Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group, the smart infrastructure market for lidar will grow from $108M in 2021 to $1.1B in 20271. To serve these growing markets, Velodyne will integrate Bluecity’s robust AI and analytics software, delivered in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, with Velodyne’s Vella lidar perception software. This integration will facilitate the creation of new Velodyne lidar-based software solutions for industrial, robotics and intelligent infrastructure, enabling the acceleration of customers’ time to market with autonomous vision systems for these markets.

 

Vella software translates lidar data into actionable information so that autonomous systems can observe and understand the environments they are operating in. Vella’s real-time data enables autonomous systems to make decisions and take action, such as a robot or vehicle moving safely, and provide analytics, for example a traffic solution helping communities understand root causes of near-miss collisions, red light running and other road user behavior.

 

1Source: LiDAR 2022 – Focus on Automotive and Industrial Report, Yole Intelligence, 2022

 

About Velodyne Lidar

Velodyne Lidar (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) ushered in a new era of autonomous technology with the invention of real-time surround view lidar sensors. Velodyne, the global leader in lidar, is known for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies. Velodyne’s revolutionary sensor and software solutions provide flexibility, quality and performance to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including robotics, industrial, intelligent infrastructure, autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Through continuous innovation, Velodyne strives to transform lives and communities by advancing safer mobility for all.

 

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, without limitation, all statements other than historical fact and include, without limitation, statements regarding Velodyne’s target markets, new products, development efforts, and competition. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “can,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside Velodyne’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include uncertainties regarding government regulation and adoption of lidar, the uncertain impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Velodyne’s and its customers’ businesses; Velodyne’s ability to manage growth; Velodyne’s ability to execute its business plan; uncertainties related to the ability of Velodyne’s customers to commercialize their products and the ultimate market acceptance of these products; the rate and degree of market acceptance of Velodyne’s products; the success of other competing lidar and sensor-related products and services that exist or may become available; uncertainties related to Velodyne’s current litigation and potential litigation involving Velodyne or the validity or enforceability of Velodyne’s intellectual property; and general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Velodyne’s products and services. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Velodyne’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Velodyne’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Velodyne as of the date hereof, Velodyne undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

 

Contacts

Investor Relations
Jim Fanucchi

Darrow Associates, Inc.

InvestorRelations@velodyne.com

Media
Jane Maynard

Velodyne Lidar

PR@velodyne.com

Categories
Business Culture Lifestyle

CoreLogic: US mortgage delinquencies decline for 16th consecutive month year over year in July

Foreclosures rose slightly from July 2021 in about two-thirds of metro areas, but the national rate remains near an all-time low

 

IRVINE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #Foreclosure–CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for July 2022.


For the month of July, 3% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 1.2 percentage point decrease compared to 4.2% in July 2021.

 

To gain a complete view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency. In July 2022, the U.S. delinquency and transition rates, and their year-over-year changes, were as follows:

 

  • Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 1.3%, up from 1.1% in July 2021.
  • Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.4%, up from 0.3% in July 2021.
  • Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 1.3%, down from 2.8% in July 2021 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020.
  • Foreclosure Inventory Rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.3%, up from 0.2% in July 2021.
  • Transition Rate (the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due): 0.7%, up from 0.6% in July 2021.

 

Although overall U.S. mortgage delinquencies crept up again in July from earlier in 2022, they declined for the 16th straight month year over year and remained near historic lows. The national foreclosure rate has held steady at 0.3% since March but rose by 0.1 percentage point from July 2021. This slight bump mirrors metro-level trends, with almost two-thirds of areas that CoreLogic tracks posting small annual foreclosure gains. The minor uptick in foreclosures may be due to mortgage forbearance periods and moratoriums ending for some homeowners, while the increase in delinquencies could indicate that inflation is negatively impacting others’ abilities to make monthly payments.

 

“Early-stage delinquencies are showing a small but clear increasing trend on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. “While the share of mortgages that are 30 to 89 days past due remains below the pre-pandemic level, the slight increase is occurring in most areas of the country and could indicate that more borrowers are having trouble making their monthly payments.”

 

State and Metro Takeaways:

  • In July, all states posted annual declines in their overall delinquency rates. The states with the largest declines were Hawaii and Nevada (both down 2.3 percentage points), New Jersey (down 2.1 percentage points) and New York (down 2.0 percentage points), the third consecutive month that these states have led the country for delinquency declines. The remaining states, including the District of Columbia, registered annual delinquency rate drops between 1.9 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points.
  • All but eight U.S. metro areas posted at least a small annual decrease in overall delinquency rates, with increases in those metros ranging from 0.1 percentage points to 0.4 percentage points.
  • All U.S. metro areas posted at least a small annual decrease in serious delinquency rates, with Odessa, Texas (down 4.7 percentage points), Laredo, Texas (down 3.7 percentage points) and Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii (down 3.6 percentage points) posting the largest decreases.

 

The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on October 27, 2022, featuring data for August 2022. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Intelligence Blog: www.corelogic.com/intelligence.

 

Methodology

The data in The CoreLogic LPI report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through July 2022. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. CoreLogic has approximately 75% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data.

 

Source: CoreLogic

The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient’s publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient’s parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data, contact Robin Wachner at newsmedia@corelogic.com. For sales inquiries, contact sales@corelogic.com. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources.

 

About CoreLogic

CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company’s combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

 

CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

Robin Wachner

CoreLogic

newsmedia@corelogic.com

Categories
Business Lifestyle

inTEST expands funding for greater financial flexibility

MT. LAUREL, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — inTEST Corporation (NYSE American: INTT), a global supplier of innovative test and process solutions for use in manufacturing and testing in key target markets which include automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences, security, and semiconductor, announced today that it has executed an amendment to its loan agreement with M&T Bank to expand the existing non-revolving delayed draw term loan facility by $25.5 million to $50.5 million. After borrowings of $20.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, this amendment raises the remaining available funding under the term loan facility to $30 million. The maturity date for draws under the expanded term loan facility has been extended to September 2027. This extension also applies to the existing $10 million line of credit, which has no borrowings.

Duncan Gilmour, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, commented, “The expanded term loan facility provides greater financial flexibility to execute our organic and inorganic growth initiatives that are an integral part of our 5-Point Strategy.”

 

inTEST expects to use the term loan facility to fund its acquisition and growth strategy. Interest rates under the term loan facility are based on SOFR or a bank-defined base rate plus an applicable margin, depending on leverage. Currently, this equates to a rate of approximately 5.1%.

 

About inTEST Corporation

inTEST Corporation is a global supplier of innovative test and process solutions for use in manufacturing and testing in key target markets which include automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences, and security, as well as both the front-end and back-end of the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Backed by decades of engineering expertise and a culture of operational excellence, inTEST solves difficult thermal, mechanical, and electronic challenges for customers worldwide while generating strong cash flow and profits. inTEST’s strategy leverages these strengths to grow organically and with acquisitions through the addition of innovative technologies, deeper and broader geographic reach, and market expansion. For more information, visit www.intest.com.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements do not convey historical information but relate to predicted or potential future events and financial results, such as statements of the Company’s plans, strategies and intentions, or our future performance or goals, that are based upon management’s current expectations. These forward-looking statements can often be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “plans,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “anticipates,” “targets,” “estimates,” or similar terminology. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

 

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, any mentioned in this press release as well as the Company’s ability to execute on its 5-Point Strategy, realize the potential benefits of acquisitions and successfully integrate any acquired operations, grow the Company’s presence in the life sciences, security, industrial and international markets, manage supply chain challenges, convert backlog to sales and to ship product in a timely manner; the success of the Company’s strategy to diversify its markets; the impact of inflation on the Company’s business and financial condition; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations; indications of a change in the market cycles in the semi market or other markets served; changes in business conditions and general economic conditions both domestically and globally; changes in the demand for semiconductors; the ability to borrow funds or raise capital to finance potential acquisitions or for working capital; changes in the rates and timing of capital expenditures by the Company’s customers; and other risk factors set forth from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company in this press release is based only on information currently available to management and speaks to circumstances only as of the date on which it is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Contacts

inTEST Corporation
Duncan Gilmour

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Tel: (856) 505-8999

Investors:
Deborah K. Pawlowski

Kei Advisors LLC

dpawlowski@keiadvisors.com
Tel: (716) 843-3908

Categories
Business Environment Lifestyle Technology

GrowGeneration announces planned opening of new hydroponic garden center in Richmond, Va.

New Richmond, Virginia Location Scheduled to Open September 26, 2022

Newly Signed Leases in Mount Holly, New Jersey and Hazelwood, Missouri will Expand Current Operations to 17 States in late 2022

 

DENVER — (BUSINESS WIRE) — GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ: GRWG) “(GrowGen” or the “Company),” the largest chain of specialty hydroponic and organic garden centers with 60 locations across 15 states, today announced the opening of a new hydroponic garden center to serve the emerging Virginia hydroponics market. The new store in Richmond becomes the first in the state and is scheduled to open September 26, 2022.


Additionally, the Company has signed two new leases in Mount Holly, New Jersey and Hazelwood, Missouri. These stores are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will expand Company operations into 17 states (including the new location in Virginia announced herein).

 

Darren Lampert, CEO of GrowGeneration stated, “Our new 9,000 square foot store in Richmond, Virginia is the first of many GrowGen Hydroponic garden centers that will capture the emerging markets across the Southeastern United States. Virginia legislation allows for unlimited medical cultivation licenses and home growing making it an ideal market for GrowGen’s one-stop shop that provides new and existing cultivators seed to harvest solutions, including turnkey facility design, cultivation room design, and on-site project consultation, as well as access to the Company’s successful private label products. Additionally, Virginia is emerging as a prime market to supply indoor controlled environmental agriculture and vertical gardening to food agriculture. This new store continues GrowGen’s tradition of having the largest product selection, best service, and most knowledgeable grow professionals in the industry to deliver solutions for all types of growers, and to become the leading hydroponics retailer in the states where it operates.”

 

Lampert continued, “Additionally, we are announcing two new store leases in Mount Holly, New Jersey and Hazelwood, Missouri that are the first of many the Company expects to announce to increase our reach in new and emerging markets. These new stores will feature vertical farming demonstrations and educational support for new growers to set up and maintain state-of-the-art grow operations that will help them maximize their investments in vertical farming. In addition to new store leases, we continue to build out our distribution capabilities on a regional basis to deliver our products to new and existing growers efficiently and profitably.”

 

About GrowGeneration Corp:

GrowGen owns and operates specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening centers. Currently, GrowGen has 60 stores, which include 23 locations in California, 6 locations in Colorado, 6 locations in Michigan, 5 locations in Maine, 5 locations in Oklahoma, 3 locations in Washington, 4 locations in Oregon, 1 location in Arizona, 1 location in Rhode Island, 1 location in Florida, 1 location in Nevada, 1 location in Mississippi, 1 location in New Mexico, 1 location in Massachusetts, and 1 location in Virginia. GrowGen also operates an online superstore for cultivators at growgeneration.com. GrowGen carries and sells thousands of products, including organic nutrients and soils, advanced lighting technology and state of the art hydroponic equipment to be used indoors and outdoors by commercial and home growers.

Contacts

Investor:

ICR, Inc.

GrowGenIR@icrinc.com