Category: Technology

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 across a wide range of markets, including automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, medical, semiconductor and telecommunications, today announced the appointment of Richard Rogoff to the newly created position of Vice President of Corporate Development effective October 1, 2021. Mr. Rogoff will be a member of the leadership team and report to inTEST’s President and CEO Richard N. “Nick” Grant, Jr. He will lead the development and execution of activities in support of the Company’s growth strategy, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), strategic partnerships and joint ventures, and other related activities.

“To effectively execute our strategy for growth, we have to establish the infrastructure from which we can scale and ensure we are investing in the resources needed for success. Rich’s strong background and vast expertise in business development, M&A pipeline generation, and strategic opportunity evaluation and integration, combined with broad international experience, makes him a valuable addition to our leadership team,” commented Mr. Grant. “Rich has an impressive track record of success and his addition will be vital as we continue to innovate creative test and process solutions for our targeted markets.”

 

With nearly 30 years of business development, operational, financial, and international expertise, Mr. Rogoff most recently has advised many clients on their M&A processes including working with inTEST over the last six months. Previously, he spent seven years with Onto Innovation Inc. (formerly Rudolph Technologies Inc.), a semiconductor capital equipment supplier. He held the positions of Vice President and Business Unit Manager for advanced packaging and flat panel display lithography systems and later managed the company’s newly formed M&A integration office as Vice President Strategic Initiatives and Integration Management Office. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years with ASML Inc., a semiconductor capital equipment supplier based in the Netherlands where he held a number of successively challenging positions including the Vice President Business Development & Business Unit Manager Optics and Vice President European Sales & Worldwide Account Support.

 

Mr. Rogoff holds a BS in Microelectronic Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, and an MBA for Executives from INSEAD in Paris, France.

 

About inTEST Corporation

inTEST Corporation is a global supplier of innovative test and process solutions for use in manufacturing and testing across a wide range of markets including automotive, defense/aerospace, medical, industrial, semiconductor and telecommunications. 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. The Company’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 our plans, strategies and intentions, or our future performance or goals, that are based upon management’s current expectations. Our 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” 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 impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations; indications of a change in the market cycles in the Semi Market or other markets we serve; changes in business conditions and general economic conditions both domestically and globally; changes in the demand for semiconductors; the success of our strategy to diversify our business by entering markets outside the Semi Market; our ability to successfully consolidate our EMS operations without any impact on customer shipments, quality or the level of our warranty claims and to realize the benefits of the consolidation; the possibility of acquisitions or dispositions and the successful integration of any acquired operations; our ability to borrow funds or raise capital to finance potential acquisitions; changes in the rates and timing of capital expenditures by our customers; and other risk factors set forth from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks to circumstances only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake 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

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Tel: (856) 505-8999

Investors:

Deborah K. Pawlowski

Kei Advisors LLC

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

NEWARK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — PROFIT is the first online business bank account that blends modern banking with accounting software in one platform – automatically completing your bookkeeping and accounting for free.

Founded by two software engineers who grew up in underserved areas (Newark, NJ & Union, NJ), Vin Montes & Frantz Romain personally know what it’s like to fend for themselves in an underserved financial business environment. Frantz Romain attended New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Vin Montes attended Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) in NJ. They recognized the help minority small business owners needed and built a banking platform to help them.

 

PROFIT’s founders include:

• Vin Montes, a prior business owner, US Air Force veteran, and software engineer who developed a global financial spend application for UPS.
• Frantz Romain, a prior business owner, and software engineer who worked with Mr. Montes for two years developing a global financial spend application for UPS. The technology he built with Mr. Montes was awarded Red Hat’s 2018 Global Innovation Award (prior winners include Barclays, Deutsche Bank, & BBVA)

 

PROBLEM

Minority small businesses continue to be underserved by banks. Lacking support from the financial industry, they struggle to access capital and easy-to-use financial tools. Overwhelmed with responsibilities, most minority business owners lack the time and financial background to manage complex accounting software.

 

THE PROFIT SOLUTION

PROFIT’s founders decided to build the first All-in-One business bank account with accounting technology that does their member’s bookkeeping and accounting for free.

 

“We personally know what it’s like to be left behind and fend for ourselves in an underserved environment. This motivated us to build a technologically advanced bank that would take some of the financial burdens away from underserved business owners so they could focus on growing their business the best way they can.” – CEO/Co-founder Vin Montes.

 

“It is hard for a business owner to know how their company is doing financially compared to their industry. To solve this problem we provide our members with real-time Profit & Loss statements that benchmark their net profit with their industry’s average. This helps the owner understand how their business is doing financially compared to their industry. – CTO/Co-founder Frantz Romain.

 

PROFIT also captures receipts via text message & automatically matches them to the correct transaction. It then auto-reconciles all their accounts saving their members days of tedious accounting work.

 

PROFIT GIVES BACK

Black and Latino business owners are half as likely to be approved for bank loans than Whites. That was the case even when Black, Latino, and White applicants were all categorized as low credit risk, according to a 2020 Federal Reserve study. As further validation of the uphill battle Black & Latino’s face in getting the business help they need, Forbes published that 37.9% of Black businesses reported being discouraged from applying for a business loan, compared to 12.7% of white-owned businesses.

 

PROFIT’s founders experienced this first-hand when they were turned down for a business loan.

 

To help alleviate the problem, PROFIT offers all their members a 0% interest revolving line of credit. “We take a portion of our revenue and fund a revolving line of credit for all our members. We know what it’s like to be turned down for loans even if you have a good business. We do not ask for a credit check and the funds are available the next business day.” – CEO/Co-founder Vin Montes.

 

ASK

If you would like to help or support PROFIT’s cause in any way please contact info@bankwithprofit.com.

To sign up for a PROFIT business bank account or to learn more, visit www.bankwithprofit.com.

 

Contacts

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Vin Montes

CEO & Founder

info@bankwithprofit.com
Media Kit: https://www.bankwithprofit.com/post/media-kit

LOS ANGELES — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Demonstrating a very strong commitment to diversity and opportunity in the transportation sector, Los Angeles SkyRail Express (LASRE) is partnering with 33 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) as it performs pre-development work on an innovative monorail transportation solution for LA’s traffic-congested Sepulveda Pass/405 Corridor between the San Fernando Valley, Westside, and ultimately LAX.

Going beyond meeting minimum requirements called for in its Pre-Development Agreement (PDA) contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), LASRE is proactively affording every practicable opportunity for the DBE community to participate in the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.

 

“Diversity and inclusion are core values for the LASRE team,” said Teresa Maxwell, LASRE DBE Liaison Manager. “DBEs are an integral part of the team and the LASRE Academy workshops and DBE mentoring plan demonstrate our commitment to including small minority and women-owned firms and supporting them throughout every phase of the project so they are successful.”

 

The LASRE team is comprised of several of the nation’s and the world’s leading transportation, construction, engineering, finance, and technology companies. This predominantly local team is led by John Laing, Skanska, BYD, Gensler, HDR, ACI, and Innova.

 

Each firm is either headquartered in Los Angeles or has a major regional center here. Combined, the team employs over 2,300 workers in the Los Angeles metro area.

 

LASRE’s DBE Contracting Outreach and Mentoring Plan builds further upon this commitment by engaging individual DBEs as protégés in a customized Mentor-Protégé Program that addresses their unique needs and focuses on helping the DBE protégés meet strategic business objectives. Additionally, through the LASRE Academy, workshops will be offered to DBE teaming partners to ensure capacity building opportunities are available to small businesses on the project.

 

If ultimately selected as Metro’s preferred team and technology, LASRE proposes to link the historically underserved San Fernando Valley to the Westside transportation and education hubs, including options to connect directly with UCLA, with a straddle monorail system that runs on narrow guide beams that both support and guide the trains.

 

Straddle-type urban monorail is proven to provide safe, comfortable and reliable transportation in dense urban areas all over the world, with the International Monorail Association listing straddle-type urban monorail transit systems in 42 cities worldwide, moving millions of passengers per day.

 

LASRE team members have worked on several such projects. For example, the Team’s lead structural engineering firm, Innova, itself a certified DBE, has provided structural design services on new monorail systems under construction in some of the world’s largest cities, including Bangkok, Cairo, and Sao Paulo. Further, BYD has extensive experience with such systems, including 14 contracted straddle-type monorail and automated people mover systems in operation, construction, or planning, in both Asia and the Americas.

 

In addition, LASRE technology supplier BYD also is a member of two teams that have been short-listed to build advanced technology automated people mover projects on the East Coast. BYD is part of Liberty Integrated Connectors, a team vying to build, operate, and maintain a new AirTrain system at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey; and also is a member of The LaGuardia Connectors, a team vying to build, operate, and maintain an AirTrain system for New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

 

Finally, LASRE’s selected lead construction company, Skanska, has compiled a very strong track record of success in Los Angeles County, both as a builder of several of Metro’s rail rapid transit lines, and as the builder of many Caltrans and local highway and bridge projects, employing thousands of local construction workers and many DBE firms.

 

Disclaimer

Because Metro has not completed a CEQA review, the information contained herein does not constitute or evidence an approval by Metro of, or commitment of Metro to, any action for which prior environmental review is required under CEQA. Metro retains the absolute sole discretion to make decisions under CEQA, which discretion includes, without limitation (i) deciding not to proceed with the Project (known as the “no build” alternative) and (ii) deciding to approve the Project. There will be no approval or commitment by Metro regarding the development of the Project, unless and until Metro, as the Lead Agency, and based upon information resulting from the CEQA environmental review process, considers the impacts of the Project.

Contacts

Jim Skeen

Jim.skeen@byd.com

New ASTV Offers Remote Oversight of Redundant Chilled Water System

 

MONTVILLE, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #aerospace—Marotta Controls, a rapidly growing aerospace and defense supplier, announced the availability of its advanced Automatic Source Transfer Valve (ASTV) system designed to cool shipboard combat systems computing cabinets. The ASTV is a smart thermal management solution fully integrated with an electronic controller capable of communicating directly with shipboard mission control systems for simplified, remote utility management.

Power dissipation in large shipboard computing systems is mitigated by using circulated chilled water. Traditional chilled water systems are basic and inefficient, requiring manual monitoring and mechanical control at the site. Customers engaged Marotta to design and develop a modernized solution that would deliver benefits such as real-time, dynamic monitoring of system health and performance as well as remote control options.

 

The resulting design leverages the expertise of three Marotta technology disciplines: controller, firmware, and valve.

 

Smart Water Circulation via Smart Valves

The ASTV is a three-assembly system. It includes one electronic control panel and two valve/source assemblies for redundancy purposes.

 

The source assembly incorporates two Marotta proportional control valves, one managing water supply and the other water return. Each valve is equipped with sensors gauging valve position, temperature and differential pressure—information used by the control panel to modulate water flow through the computing cabinets’ exchangers.

 

Key features and capabilities include:

• Control panel monitoring status of both sources
• Automatic switch to alternate/redundant source if current source becomes non-compliant
• Configurable parameters
• Manual override ability
• Environmentally sealed for salt/fog, spray
• Major components top accessible for easy maintenance
• Qualified to military standards for naval combat systems (shock, vibration, corrosion, noise, etc.)

 

“We had initially developed the smart controller to replace mechanical relay logic with solid-state. This system ensured proper data processing performance by remotely monitoring everything from humidity and temperature to power draw and thermals,” said Brian Fly, Vice President, Marine Systems, Marotta Controls. “We then took that methodology and added it to the chiller system to complete the modernization of combat system thermal management. As a result, naval crew do not have to man the combat computers at their location, giving them the ability to deploy elsewhere as needed without sacrificing timely oversight of such a crucial system.”

 

For more information, visit Marotta’s Thermal Management Systems page.

 

About Marotta Controls

Founded in 1943, Marotta Controls is a fully-integrated solutions provider which designs, develops, qualifies and manufactures innovative systems and sub-systems for the aerospace and defense sectors. Our portfolio includes pressure, power, motion, fluid, and electronic controls for tactical systems, shipboard and sub-sea applications, satellites, launch vehicles, and aircraft systems. With over 200 patents, Marotta Controls continues to build on its legacy as a highly respected, family-owned small business based in the state of New Jersey. Twitter: @marottacontrols LinkedIn: Marotta Controls, Inc.

Contacts

Heather Ailara

211 Communications

+1.973.567.6040

heather@211comms.com

Katee Glass

Marotta Controls, Inc.

kglass@marotta.com

DALLAS & NEWARK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (“Spring Valley”) (Nasdaq: SV, SVSVW, SVSVU) and Dream Holdings, Inc. (“AeroFarms”) today provided an update on the closing process and related timeline for their previously announced business combination, which was approved by shareholders on August 30, 2021. Both parties are continuing to work diligently toward the transaction. Per the transaction agreements, absent any termination, the parties are permitted up to 30 additional days, expiring October 24, 2021 to close the transaction. Upon closing, the combined company’s stock and warrants would trade under the ticker symbols “ARFM” and “ARFMW”, respectively.

About Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.

Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. While Spring Valley may pursue an initial business combination target in any business or industry, it is targeting companies focusing on sustainability, including clean energy and storage, smart grid/efficiency, environmental services and recycling, mobility, water and wastewater management, advanced materials and technology enabled services. Spring Valley’s sponsor is supported by Pearl Energy Investment Management, LLC, a Dallas, Texas based investment firm that focuses on partnering with best-in-class management teams to invest in the North American energy industry.

 

About AeroFarms

Since 2004, AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corporation with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company two years in a row and one of TIME’s Best Inventions in Food, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever versus traditional field farming. AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow all year round, using vertical farming for elevated flavor. In addition, through its proprietary growing technology platform, AeroFarms has grown over 550 varieties and has developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help uniquely solve agriculture supply chain needs. For additional information, visit: https://aerofarms.com/.

 

On March 26, 2021, AeroFarms announced a definitive business combination agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: SV). Upon the closing of the business combination, AeroFarms will become publicly traded on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “ARFM”. Additional information about the transaction can be viewed here: https://aerofarms.com/investors/.

 

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “contemplate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including those regarding Spring Valley’s proposed acquisition of AeroFarms and pursuit of additional capital are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the respective management of AeroFarms and Spring Valley and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AeroFarms and Spring Valley. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political, and legal conditions; the inability of the parties to successfully or timely consummate the proposed transaction, including the risk that any regulatory approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the proposed transaction or that the approval of the stockholders of Spring Valley or AeroFarms is not obtained; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; risks related to the expansion of AeroFarms’ business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on AeroFarms’ business; the ability of Spring Valley or AeroFarms to issue equity or equity-linked securities or obtain debt financing in connection with the proposed transaction or in the future, and those factors discussed in Spring Valley’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, final prospectus dated November 25, 2020 and definitive proxy statement/prospectus dated July 26, 2021 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Spring Valley has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that neither Spring Valley nor AeroFarms presently know, or that Spring Valley nor AeroFarms currently believe are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Spring Valley and AeroFarms anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ assessments to change. However, while Spring Valley and AeroFarms may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Spring Valley and AeroFarms specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Contacts

AeroFarms Contacts

Investor Relations:

Jeff Sonnek

ICR

Jeff.Sonnek@icrinc.com
1-646-277-1263

Media Relations:

Marc Oshima

AeroFarms

MarcOshima@AeroFarms.com
1-917-673-4602

Acquisition propels Gupshup into global leadership in RCS (Rich Communications Services), solidifying its IP-based conversational messaging platform.

Dotgo will also help Gupshup accelerate growth into Africa.

 

SAN FRANCISCO & BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Gupshup, the leader in conversational messaging, today announced that it has acquired New Jersey based Dotgo. Dotgo is the global industry leader in RCS business messaging (RBM), with award-winning technologies such as the RichOTP®, RichSMS™, Bot Store®, and MaaP (Messaging as a Platform) that foster the growth of RCS Business Messaging. A strong partner of Google, Mavenir, Synchronoss, Vodafone, and Orange, Dotgo manages RBM in several markets, and operates the world’s largest RBM Hub with global connectivity to RCS users across the world. Dotgo is uniquely positioned to help brands integrate, with simple APIs, the RCS channel into their customer communications, whether for sales, support, services, or other business processes.

Dotgo, powered by a founding team with a rich history of tech innovation, is a Cohort 6 graduate of the IIT Startups accelerator. Dotgo grew rapidly in 2021 as RCS gained traction in North America, Europe, India, Brazil, and Nigeria. Dotgo’s MaaP, offered in partnership with, and pre-integrated with, Google Jibe platform, has been selected to operate RCS business messaging at several mobile operators. Dotgo has been a leading contributor at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum and GSMA in defining standards and processes for RCS business messaging.

Dotgo will significantly strengthen Gupshup’s conversational messaging platform that enables businesses and developers to build rich customer experiences. Gupshup also plans to leverage Dotgo’s strong experience and presence in Africa to expand there.

“Conversational experiences are becoming the key to business-customer interactions, and the RCS messaging channel is a critical enabler,” said Beerud Sheth, co-founder and CEO, Gupshup. “Dotgo’s product innovation, market traction, and thought leadership in the RCS ecosystem is truly impressive. Together, we’ll be able to offer a broader range of conversational messaging solutions to businesses and developers. We are excited to welcome them to the Gupshup family.”

Inderpal Singh Mumick, co-founder and CEO of Dotgo, said, “RCS business messaging is destined to change the way businesses communicate with their customers. We started Dotgo to create APIs that make it easy for brands and other players in the ecosystem to adopt RCS, while taking care of and hiding all the backend complexity from our customers. With the addition of RCS, Gupshup will undoubtedly be the strongest IP messaging company, and thus helps us accelerate our mission.”

Johanna Kollar, Partnerships Lead, Communication Products, Google, said, “We congratulate Dotgo and Gupshup on this acquisition. We have worked closely with Dotgo, and are very impressed by the quality of their products and services. We look forward to growing our relationship as the Dotgo team becomes a part of Gupshup.”

“The Dotgo team members were visionaries in recognizing the potential of RCS at a time when it had little adoption. We congratulate them on building industry leading products that are being adopted by customers across the world, just as RCS is taking off. Their bet proved prescient, and combining with an exceptional company like Gupshup will create a far stronger value proposition in the market,” said Naren Gupta, Managing Director, Nexus Venture Partners.

RCS will be a key messaging channel in Gupshup’s Conversational Messaging Platform, supplementing 30 other messaging channels available to customers via Gupshup’s Single API for messaging. RCS, a part of the 5G standard, is the next generation of SMS that includes pictures, audio, video, and presence, combined with enhanced security and encryption. RCS messages are delivered to native messaging apps such as Google Business Messages and Samsung Messages on Android phones. RCS Business Messaging uses the rich and interactive features of RCS to enable branded and secure business messaging. RCS is available globally with over 600M monthly active users, including about 20% of India’s smartphone users.

About Dotgo

Dotgo®, a global leader in RCS, is building the APIs and cloud platforms needed in a world where every business must have a presence inside messaging apps, just as they have web sites and smartphone apps. Dotgo’s APIs and services enable brands and developers to build conversational experiences that transform customer interactions, and help mobile operators to launch, manage, and monetize RCS business messaging. Dotgo is the provider of the Dotgo Bot Store®, world’s first and largest directory of RCS and WhatsApp bots, Dotgo MaaP, RichOTP®, RichSMS™, and the RBM Hub. Dotgo is a Google partner, a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, and a member of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum. For more information, visit www.dotgo.com. Bot Store, Dotgo, and RichOTP are registered trademarks of Dotgo Systems Inc. in USA and other jurisdictions.

About Gupshup

Gupshup enables better customer engagement through conversational messaging. Gupshup is the leading conversational messaging platform, powering over 6 billion messages per month. Across verticals, thousands of large and small businesses in emerging markets use Gupshup to build conversational experiences across marketing, sales and support. Gupshup’s carrier-grade platform provides a single messaging API for 30+ channels, a rich conversational experience-building tool kit for any use case and a network of emerging market partnerships across messaging channels, device manufacturers, ISVs and operators. With Gupshup, businesses have made conversations an integral part of their customer engagement success. Gupshup is present in India, LATAM, South East Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and the United States. Visit www.gupshup.io. Converse with the Gupshup bot.

Contacts

Press
Richard Laermer

RLM PR | gupshup@rlmpr.com | (212) 741-5106 x 216

Brewed with hops grown indoors by AeroFarms and its proprietary vertical farming technology platform

 

NEWARK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Goose Island UK and AeroFarms^®, a certified B Corporation and leader in indoor vertical farming have unveiled today Hail Hydro – a brand new session IPA made from groundbreaking hydroponic hops grown indoors by AeroFarms, who is focused on elevating agriculture around the world and helping address some of our most pressing agriculture supply-chain challenges.

Hail Hydro is the latest beer in Goose Island’s Impossible IPA series – a new selection of beers which embrace the creation of new recipes using innovative hops and techniques. The 4.7% hazy session IPA utilizes hydroponic hops grown at AeroFarms’ global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A., where AeroFarms has over 100,000 square feet of indoor vertical farming for both commercial and R&D production, utilizing methods that can yield up to 390 times greater productivity annually, while using up to 95% less water and zero pesticides versus traditional field farming.

Skipping the soil, the hydro-cascade hops are submerged in a growing medium that supports and nourishes the roots of the plant with nutrient-rich water through AeroFarms’ indoor vertical farming technology platform. This method allows hops to be grown anywhere in the world, at any time of the year with consistent results, and to generate higher yields with fewer resources. With growing seasons and outdoor climate conditions in a major flux right now, hydroponic hops grown in AeroFarms indoor vertical farms for elevated resilience and flavor are undoubtedly the future, and a groundbreaking development in the beer world.

In terms of flavor notes, the beer packs a refreshing citrus punch with hints of lemon and lime, hitting all the right notes when it comes to Session IPAs, clocking in at a delicious 4.7% abv. Fresh and zingy, it tastes as bright as the future of agriculture. Consumers will be able to scan a QR code on the can’s packaging that will take them to a farm tour of AeroFarms’ unique growing indoor vertical technology.

Hail Hydro is available in limited supply now, only on the Goose Island UK Webstore. www.gooseislandshop.com

“Hydroponically cultivated hops are an exciting prospect, and the potential innovation opportunities and sustainable benefits are exciting for the craft community,” said Joe Bevan Innovation Brewer Goose Island UK. “Brewing with the cascade was a new experience for us! We saw zingy lime, soft lemon, and a subtle resinous from the hydroponically grown hops.”

“AeroFarms is proud to have partnered with Goose Island UK and the broader Anheuser-Busch InBev team for more than a year to demonstrate our unique growing capabilities,” commented David Rosenberg, Co Founder & CEO of AeroFarms. “We have succeeded in growing mature hops as well as propagating high-quality rhizomes, designed to improve field production of hops. The hops used in Hail Hydro were grown in our completely controlled environment, hydroponically with no pesticides, using blue and white lights in place of sunlight to grow the best plants possible. It has been an incredible partnership, bringing their long-time expertise in quality brewing to our research commercialization collaboration. Together, AeroFarms’ R&D group and Goose Island UK are demonstrating the promise of a new premium product, pairing master brewing with premium hops that can be grown year-round indoors.”

About Goose Island

Established in Chicago in 1988, Goose Island is known for award winning, expertly crafted beers. From flagship brews like the award-winning Goose IPA to Bourbon County Brand Stout, Goose Island endeavors to brew beers worthy of conversations, debates and celebrations – we don’t need to be the only beer you drink, we just want to be the best beer you drink.

About AeroFarms

Since 2004, AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corporation with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company two years in a row and one of TIME’s Best Inventions in Food, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever versus traditional field farming. AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow all year round, using vertical farming for elevated flavor.^™ In addition, through its proprietary growing technology platform, AeroFarms has grown over 550 varieties, has innovated in speed breeding, and has developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help uniquely solve agriculture supply chain needs. For additional information, visit: https://aerofarms.com/.

On March 26, 2021, AeroFarms announced a definitive business combination agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: SV). Upon the closing of the business combination, AeroFarms will become publicly traded on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “ARFM”. Additional information about the transaction can be viewed here: https://aerofarms.com/investors/.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction in connection with a proposed potential business combination among Spring Valley and AeroFarms or any related transactions, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction where, or to any person to whom, such offer, solicitation or sale may be unlawful. Any offering of securities or solicitation of votes regarding the proposed transaction will be made only by means of a proxy statement/prospectus that complies with applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or pursuant to an exemption from the Securities Act or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “contemplate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including those regarding Spring Valley’s proposed acquisition of AeroFarms are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the respective management of AeroFarms and Spring Valley and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AeroFarms and Spring Valley. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political, and legal conditions; the inability of the parties to successfully or timely consummate the proposed transaction, including the risk that any regulatory approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the proposed transaction or that the approval of the stockholders of Spring Valley or AeroFarms is not obtained; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; risks related to the expansion of AeroFarms’ business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on AeroFarms’ business; the ability of Spring Valley or AeroFarms to issue equity or equity-linked securities or obtain debt financing in connection with the proposed transaction or in the future, and those factors discussed in Spring Valley’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, final prospectus dated November 25, 2020 and definitive proxy statement/prospectus dated July 26, 2021 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Spring Valley has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that neither Spring Valley nor AeroFarms presently know, or that Spring Valley nor AeroFarms currently believe are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Spring Valley and AeroFarms anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ assessments to change. However, while Spring Valley and AeroFarms may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Spring Valley and AeroFarms specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Contacts

Goose Island Media Contact at The Zeitgeist Agency – Elliot.Mitchell@zeitgeist.co.uk
AeroFarms Media Contact – MarcOshima@AeroFarms.com
AeroFarms IR Contact – Jeff.Sonnek@icrinc.com

Swedish Multinational Networking and Telecommunications Company is Also a Customer

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #applicationprotection—TrueFort, the zero trust application protection company, today announced it has secured a strategic investment from Ericsson Ventures as part of its recent $30M Series B round of financing. The global networking and telecommunications company is also using the TrueFort Fortress platform to protect its applications from security threats.

“TrueFort has developed a new approach that addresses a missing link in enterprise security by focusing on application, not infrastructure, protection,” said Albert Kim, Vice President and Head of Ericsson Ventures. “We were impressed with the company’s management team and the large addressable market for Zero Trust security they are serving.”

Traditional security products have focused on protecting underlying IT infrastructure from threats but the success of attackers in executing ransomware, supply chain and phishing attacks shows that there are still significant gaps in security coverage. TrueFort fills this void, offering Zero Trust protection for enterprise applications and workloads that are the gateway to sensitive data and, increasingly, the target of attackers. The company’s Fortress platform leverages patented behavioral analysis and machine intelligence to help organizations better understand their applications’ trusted behaviors to fend off attacks in real-time.

“In addition to being an early TrueFort customer, the decision by Ericsson to invest in our latest financing round is powerful validation that they consider our technology a strategic asset to their business,” said Sameer Malhotra, co-founder and CEO of TrueFort. “We are extremely pleased to have Ericsson as a customer and welcome them as an investor.”

TrueFort is coming off a strong year of market demand and industry accolades. The company experienced year-over-year bookings growth of 650% and a 260% growth in ARR. The company was recently named a 2021 finalist in the Black Unicorn Awards which recognize companies with the potential of being valued at $1 billion, as well as a Top 25 Cybersecurity Company, and a Red Herring North America Top 100 company. The TrueFort Fortress platform has also won multiple awards, including the 2021 Global InfoSec Award at the RSA Conference for Cutting Edge Vendor in Cloud Workload Protection and the Gold 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Award for Cloud Workload Protection.

About TrueFort

TrueFort is the leader in delivering zero trust protection for critical applications. Leveraging unique real-time, adaptive trust, and cloud-to-ground capabilities, TrueFort’s Fortress platform detects and contains security threats before they become business risks. Founded by former IT executives from Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, leading global enterprises trust TrueFort to deliver unprecedented application visibility and security. For more information visit https://truefort.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Marc Gendron

Marc Gendron PR for TrueFort

617.877.7480

marc@mgpr.net

Leveraging product catalog insights and shopper profiles, Birdzi’s VISPER tool helps local grocers drive an incremental lift in revenue of over 15%

 

ISELIN, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #Groceryshop2021—Birdzi, the supermarket industry’s most comprehensive customer intelligence and engagement ecosystem, today announced the most recent results from its clients’ VISPER personalization campaigns. Part of Birdzi’s customer intelligence platform, VISPER leverages a retailer’s entire product catalog and customer insights to create specific offers, discounts and communication tailored to each shopper. Since its launch in October of last year, VISPER has benefited major retailers like Weis Markets, Coborn’s and County Market, proving to be a more effective alternative to the weekly ad circular.

Across all Birdzi customers, over 8% of shoppers who receive strategically targeted VISPER offers buy one or more items versus the 4.5% of shoppers who buy one or more items from weekly circulars. This results in an incremental lift of over 15% versus the less than 1% generated by weekly circulars. In addition, Birdzi customers have seen a significant return on investment from VISPER campaigns, which is driven by increases in customer engagement and shopper behavior. Results include:

• 38.2% growth in the number of categories shopped
• 23.6% growth in the number of trips per shopper
• 16.6% growth in the spend per shopper
• 12.1% growth in shoppers who activated an offer for the first time
• 11.8% growth in the number of shoppers

 

Leveraging big data and machine learning, VISPER helps retailers create one-to-one personalized customer experiences via email, direct mail or even print-on-receipt. Key benefits include:

• Entire product catalog access: Use the entire store product catalog as the “offer pool,” making use of more than 40,000+ products on average across the store.
• Retailer-funded discounts: Assume responsibility for marketing efforts, while increasing return on investment to help fund personalized discounts.
• Automated processes: Automate each step of the VISPER process, from audience creation to recommended promotions for each customer to campaign execution.
• Individualized strategies: Grow lifetime value and engagement by leveraging custom customer audiences and deconstructing shopper profiles to strategically grow value.

 

“At Birdzi, we’re passionate about helping grocers re-create the personalized experience of the past using the AI-powered technology of the future,” said Shekar Raman, CEO and founder, Birdzi. “VISPER has been a key tool to meeting this goal, delivering savings customers truly desire while providing real financial value for our retail customers.”

 

Raman spoke about how VISPER and strategic, automated personalized marketing is transforming the grocery industry during “The Path to Retail 4.0: Get Ready or Get Left Behind,” a Center for Advancing Retail (CART) event during the NGA Show on Sunday, Sept. 19 from 1:00 – 3:30 pm MT. Raman will also join Gary Hawkins, strategic advisor at Birdzi and CEO at CART, and Ron Bonacci, VP of marketing and advertising at Weis Markets, for “Workshop: Data and Personalization: Effective Personalization Tactics” at GroceryShop on Monday, Sept. 20 from 9:55 – 10:35 am MT.

 

About Birdzi

Birdzi was founded with a vision to make the shopping experience “Smart, Personal and Seamless” for the shopper, while empowering retailers and brands to easily and intelligently connect with the shopper at the right time and place with the right message. For more information, visit: https://www.birdzi.com.

Contacts

Kirsty Goodlett

Ketner Group Communications (for Birdzi)

kirsty@ketnergroup.com
(203) 249-5994

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — ImageCare Centers is unveiling its new “PINK Better Mammo” service with the addition of ProFound AI^® for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT). ProFound AI^® was the first artificial intelligence (AI) software for DBT, or 3D mammography, to be FDA cleared; the software is clinically proven to improve accuracy and efficiency for radiologists reading mammography.ⁱ The technology will be rolled out to all of ImageCare’s mammography centers this October.

PINK Breast Center, the women’s health services arm of ImageCare Centers, has been using ProFound AI since September 2019. The technology has improved workflow and reading accuracy at the facility since adoption, offering benefits to both clinicians and patients. ProFound AI not only reduced the rate of false positives and unnecessary recalls for women, it decreased the amount of biopsies and increased the chance the biopsies performed were needed.

 

“We are always striving to adopt the latest in cutting-edge technology – we were among the first in our communities to adopt DBT and ProFound AI,” according to Lisa Sheppard, MD, founder of PINK Breast Center. “As soon as we implemented ProFound AI, we started using it on all of our DBT breast cancer screenings. It greatly improved our workflow and enabled us to get back to rapid reads and offered the opportunity to provide results for patients in real-time.”

 

DBT, or 3D mammography, offers many advantages over 2D mammography, including increased cancer detection rates with fewer false positives that lead to unnecessary and costly recalls, but it also increases reading time almost two-fold, compared to 2D mammography alone. While 2D mammography typically yields four images for each screening patient, DBT produces hundreds of images for each patient, thus substantially increasing the daily workload for clinicians. DBT is especially useful for women with dense breasts because breast cancer and breast tissue both appear white on a mammogram, making it difficult for the radiologist to read. DBT improves the radiologist’s ability to find cancers and can reduce the need for biopsies.

 

Built with the latest in deep-learning technology, ProFound AI rapidly analyzes each DBT image, or slice, detecting malignant soft tissue densities and calcifications with unrivaled accuracy. Certainty of Finding and Case Scores are assigned to each detection and each case respectively. These scores represent the algorithm’s confidence that a detection or case is malignant, providing crucial information for radiologists that may assist them in clinical decision making.

 

“ProFound AI is revolutionizing the way mammography is read. With superior performance and sensitivity, the software offers unrivaled accuracy and time-savings benefits,” according to Stacey Stevens, President of iCAD, the manufacturer of ProFound AI. “As one of the latest tools in the fight against breast cancer, we are pleased that it will soon be available to more women in New Jersey.”

 

ProFound AI for DBT was clinically proven in a large reader study to increase radiologists’ sensitivity by 8 percent, minimize the rate of false positives and unnecessary recalls by 7 percent and reduce reading time by 52.7 percent.ⁱ ProFound AI was also clinically proven to slash reading time by up to 57.4 percent for radiologists reading cases of women with dense breasts.ⁱⁱ

 

“When ProFound AI highlights an area, we know it’s something to investigate. It’s much more selective than other CAD technologies and offers a remarkable improvement in terms of the focus,” says Dr. Sheppard. She adds, “This technology has made a tremendous impact on patient care at PINK Breast Center. It helps to ensure that the biopsies we perform are more likely to be cancer, and we also now have fewer false positives and callbacks.”

 

To schedule an annual mammogram, please visit www.imagecarecenters.com/for-patients/request-appointment/.

 

About ImageCare Centers

ImageCare Centers is committed to providing the most advanced medical diagnostic imaging to their patients, so they are comfortable and at ease. With their caring and compassionate staff, and team of skilled radiologists, they offer a wide array of State-of the-Art Radiology services including Open and Closed MRIs, Sedation MRIs, CT scans, Ultrasounds, X-rays, DEXA Bone Density Scans, 3D Mammograms with Artificial Intelligence, Pediatric Radiology and PET/CT scans. ImageCare has centers conveniently located throughout North and Central New Jersey in Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren Counties.

 

For more information, please visit www.imagecarecenters.com.

 

About iCAD, Inc.

Headquartered in Nashua, NH, USA, iCAD is a global medical technology leader providing innovative cancer detection and therapy solutions. For more information, visit www.icadmed.com.

ⁱ Conant, E et al. (2019) Improving Accuracy and Efficiency with Concurrent Use of Artificial Intelligence for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis. Radiology: Artificial Intelligence. 1(4). Accessed via https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/ryai.2019180096

ⁱⁱ Hoffmeister, J. (2018). Artificial Intelligence for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis – Reader Study Results. [White paper]. Accessed via https://www.icadmed.com/assets/dmm253-reader-studies-results-rev-a.pdf

Contacts

Tim Dwyre, Director of Marketing

tdwyre@imagecarecenters.com
(973) 723-1696

Jessica Burns, Director of Public Relations and Content Strategy, iCAD

jburns@icadmed.com
(201) 423-4492