COMMAND ALKON TO SHOWCASE CLOUD, AI SOLUTIONS AT REGIONAL EVENTS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Command Alkon, a software and solutions provider for the heavy building materials industry, will showcase its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions at two industry conferences in Australia and New Zealand in October.

In a statement, the company said it will participate in the 2026 IQA National Conference on the Gold Coast, Australia, from Oct 6 to 8, followed by the Concrete NZ Conference 2026 in Wellington, New Zealand, from Oct 21 to 23.

Command Alkon Vice President of Marketing, Lori Allen said the events provide an opportunity to demonstrate how production, dispatch and fleet operations can run on a connected platform, while showcasing the potential of Command Intelligence to support decision-making.

At the IQA National Conference, Command Alkon will highlight its Command Cloud platform, including Dispatch & Scale Ticketing for scheduling and ticketing, TrackIt for vehicle management, and Command Intelligence, its agentic AI offering that enables producers to query operational data and automate defined tasks.

Meanwhile, at the Concrete NZ Conference, the company will showcase Command Cloud's capabilities for concrete producers, including Batch for plant operations, Dispatch for sales, scheduling, delivery and billing, TrackIt for fleet management and Command Intelligence for AI-powered operational insights and task execution.

Command Alkon said the two events will bring together industry participants from the quarrying, concrete, building and construction sectors, providing opportunities to demonstrate its latest technology and engage with customers across the region.

-- BERNAMA

GENERAL ROBOTICS ADVANCES ROBOT DEPLOYMENT WITH SELF-ENGINEERING GRID PLATFORM

 

GRID, the robot intelligence platform from General Robotics, auto‑engineers the full lifecycle of a complex pouring skill — from creation and testing to deployment and real‑world evaluation in a biolab.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- General Robotics, a company developing an intelligence layer for physical artificial intelligence (AI), has advanced its GRID robot intelligence platform to automate key stages of robot deployment, reducing the time and specialised expertise needed to bring robots into production.

The company in a statement said GRID can now use AI to automate processes ranging from robot onboarding and AI model integration to the creation and deployment of new robotic skills.

General Robotics founder and chief executive officer, Ashish Kapoor said the platform brings robotics knowledge spanning research, software, AI models, simulations, data and hardware into a single agent-first system, enabling intelligence to compound with each deployment.

The latest development has reduced robot onboarding time from one month to as little as two hours, while model ingestion has been cut from three days to as little as 20 minutes. Skill transfer across different robot form factors now takes as little as 1.5 hours, while new skill creation and deployment can be completed in as little as two days.

General Robotics said GRID uses knowledge graphs to convert each deployment, task, model and failure into structured, reusable intelligence while protecting customer data and intellectual property.

The platform supports robots from different manufacturers and form factors, allowing customers to select systems suited to specific tasks. Its growing ecosystem includes industrial robotics maker FANUC and bimanual mobile manipulation company Galaxea Dynamics.

The company said GRID customers include global companies in automotive manufacturing, port operations, energy generation and food and beverage production, as well as government agencies.

General Robotics said the robotics industry faces shortages of specialised talent and a fragmented development stack that requires bespoke integration of software, communications protocols and programming systems, limiting the transition from pilot projects to production-scale deployments.

GRID is designed to address these constraints through a modular library of robotic skills, foundation models and classical techniques that can be used across different robot types and applications.

The latest version of GRID can determine the skills required for a task, select and combine relevant models and approaches, create and run simulations, and deploy and monitor AI skills. The platform then uses real-world performance and failures to determine further refinements, creating a continuous development loop across connected robots and tasks.

-- BERNAMA

SMARTSHEET EXPANDS APAC, JAPAN OPERATIONS WITH NEW LEADERSHIP

 

Smartsheet names new leaders across APAC and Japan for its next era of regional growth

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- Smartsheet has expanded its operations across Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Japan with new leadership appointments, as the enterprise software company seeks to accelerate customer adoption and organisation-wide artificial intelligence (AI) transformation in the region.

Smartsheet has promoted Jarrod Kinchington to Vice President and General Manager of APAC, covering Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and India, and appointed Takeshi Osawa as President of Japan.

The appointments come as Smartsheet expands its regional footprint, following the opening of offices in Sydney in 2020, Tokyo in 2023, and Singapore and India earlier this year.

“Customer demand continues to accelerate across APAC, fueling strong growth and reinforcing the region’s importance to our global strategy,” said Kinchington in a statement.

He said Smartsheet provides the visibility and governance needed to connect fragmented workflows across enterprises and scale AI responsibly, particularly amid stringent compliance requirements in the region.

Osawa brings more than 25 years of enterprise technology experience from Autodesk, SAP Fieldglass and Cloudera. Since establishing its Tokyo office, Smartsheet has grown to serve over 400 customers in Japan, with its business increasing by about 400 per cent.

Customer adoption has also accelerated across key APAC and Japan sectors, including technology, manufacturing and professional services, with the company reporting double-digit growth across its fastest-growing sectors over the past year.

Smartsheet said adoption of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server across the region has grown by more than 500 per cent since its launch in March 2026. Customers have also executed over 600,000 AI actions through integrations with AI tools, including Claude, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise.

The company said its platform is being used by organisations to centralise operations, automate processes and improve visibility, including EmberPoint, which has automated 70 per cent of its business process steps using Smartsheet, and Zalaris Consulting, which reported approximately 67 per cent productivity gains.

-- BERNAMA

ResourceWise Launches Compass, Its New Market Intelligence Platform

ResourceWise Compass platform vision: connecting ResourceWise Intelligence™ across markets through a modern, unified delivery experience.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., USA, Sep.07, 2026/Agility PR - AsiaNet/

New platform brings together pricing, market fundamentals, trade and plant data, analyst expertise, and AI-assisted discovery in a modern, connected experience.

ResourceWise today announced the launch of ResourceWise Compass™, its new market intelligence platform, together with ResourceWise IQ™, that enables users to explore ResourceWise intelligence through natural language questions.

Compass launches first with ResourceWise’s chemicals market intelligence, bringing together the deep expertise and market intelligence of Tecnon OrbiChem and Chemical Intelligence, previously delivered through OrbiChem360® and ChemEdge360®. The platform builds on that foundation, enhancing the way customers explore pricing, market fundamentals, trade, plant data, expert analysis, and market developments.

The platform is designed to make it easier and faster for chemical market professionals to explore related market signals, investigate changing conditions, and access the data, analysis, and expert insight relevant to their decisions.

“Our customers need immediate access to high-quality data to make critical business decisions,” said Pete Stewart, President and CEO of ResourceWise. “Compass brings together world-class human-driven intelligence carefully contextualized across dynamic global market. With connected supply, demand, production, trade, and pricing data, Compass gives customers a clearer view of what is shaping market direction and business risk, so they can make more informed commercial and strategic decisions.”

The launch marks the next stage in ResourceWise's broader strategy to modernize the delivery of its market intelligence. Compass is being built as a common platform for ResourceWise intelligence across the markets it serves, beginning with chemicals and expanding over time across the company's other verticals.

ResourceWise Compass brings chemical pricing, market trends, expert intelligence, and AI-assisted discovery together in a modern, interactive platform.

Understand What Is Driving the Market
Price movement is only one signal. To fully understand market direction, chemical market professionals need visibility into production, capacity, demand, trade, and the developments influencing those fundamentals.

Compass gives users a faster way to investigate those factors, add expert insights, and build a clearer view of current and emerging market conditions.

Users can explore the market from multiple angles, including:

• Track pricing and market direction with chemical pricing intelligence, historical trends, forecasts, analyst commentary, and filterable, exportable data views
• Understand the production landscape with plant-level information, global capacity, producer trends, and announced projects
• Follow global trade patterns through import and export flows, trading partners, historical trends, and geographic flow visualization
• Evaluate supply-demand fundamentals using demand trends, production, capacity, utilization, supply balances, and trade positions
• Add expert market context through analysis and commentary from ResourceWise chemical industry experts
• Explore intelligence more intuitively with ResourceWise IQ™ using natural-language questions to surface relevant ResourceWise data and analysis

“ResourceWise has built deep proprietary datasets and industry expertise across the markets we serve,” said Peter Coutu, Chief Operating Officer at ResourceWise. “Compass gives us a modern foundation for delivering that market intelligence and insight in a way that is easier to navigate, analyze, and apply. It also gives us a scalable platform for expanding both the depth of our market coverage and the ways customers can use ResourceWise Intelligence over time.”

Following the initial chemical market launch, ResourceWise plans to bring additional ResourceWise markets onto Compass, including forest products, pulp and paper, and low-carbon fuels as development progresses.

To learn more about ResourceWise Compass, visit www.resourcewise.com/platforms/compass .

About ResourceWise
ResourceWise provides price reporting, market intelligence, analytics, and strategic consulting across the chemicals, forest products, pulp and paper, and low-carbon fuels industries. The company combines proprietary data, industry expertise, and analytical tools to help customers understand complex, changing markets and make better-informed business decisions.
For more information, visit www.resourcewise.com .

Media Inquiries
Angela Rockwell
Director of Marketing
info@resourcewise.com
+1 (704) 540–1440

SOURCE: ResourceWise

--BERNAMA

PU Prime Mobilises Earthquake Relief Efforts for Affected Community in Chocó, Colombia

• PU Prime responds to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake with emergency relief support in Chocó.
• 34 families receive essential supplies, including support for 14 families with babies.
• The initiative is delivered through the PU Prime Dream Fund and ABACO.

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Sept 4 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia, PU Prime has mobilised emergency relief supplies for affected communities in Chocó, where access to assistance remains challenging.

Through the PU Prime Dream Fund, the company's Colombia team sourced and prepared essential supplies, including baby care products, hygiene items, and sleeping materials. The contribution was handed over through ABACO – Asociación de Bancos de Alimentos de Colombia for onward delivery to the Wounaan community of Pichimá, in the municipality of Litoral del San Juan.

The relief effort began on 19 August, with the PU Prime team sourcing essential items across Bogotá to address immediate needs identified in the affected community. This initiative supplies essential items to 34 families, including 14 with babies.

“People had lost their homes, and some families were spending the night outdoors, so we focused on items that could be used immediately—a sleeping mat, a blanket, hygiene essentials, and supplies for babies,” said Ms. Doris Rodríguez, Corporate Relations Manager at Banco de Alimentos de Bogotá ABACO. “This was a modest contribution in the context of a much larger emergency, but everyone involved wanted to make sure the supplies were prepared properly and placed in the hands of a partner that could take them where they were needed.”

From Bogotá, ABACO coordinated the onward movement of the supplies to Quibdó, where they are currently awaiting the final leg of the journey to Pichimá, Litoral de San Juan. With access to the remote community dependent on limited local transport connections, arrangements for the final leg are currently underway.

The Wounaan community of Pichimá is located in a remote area of Chocó that can only be reached through a combination of land and river transport. The impact of the earthquake is not always immediately visible from a distance, as wooden homes can appear structurally intact while closer inspection reveals missing roofs, damaged supports, and interiors exposed to the elements.

PU Prime would like to express its deepest sympathies to all those affected by the earthquake and stands with the people of Colombia during this difficult time. Through the PU Prime Dream Fund, the company supports community initiatives that create meaningful opportunities and provide practical support where it is needed. In Colombia, this response reflects that commitment by helping address immediate needs following the earthquake.

About PU Prime
Founded in 2015, PU Prime is a leading global fintech company and trusted CFD broker. Today, it offers regulated financial products across forex, commodities, indices, shares, and bonds. Operating in over 190 countries with more than 40 million app downloads, PU Prime provides innovative trading platforms and an integrated copy trading feature, empowering traders worldwide to achieve financial success with confidence.

About ABACO
ABACO - Asociación de Bancos de Alimentos de Colombia is the national association of Colombia's food banks, bringing together a network of 26 food banks across the country. ABACO works to strengthen food security and nutrition for vulnerable communities by coordinating resources, partnerships and donations through its network of food banks.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/484ced00-3f02-4ecd-8293-623f1deaa31e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/af935ffe-d487-4088-9ec6-55b85f459b64

For media enquiries, please contact: media@puprime.com

SOURCE: Pacific Union Seychelles Limited

DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.

--BERNAMA

AM BEST RETAINS STABLE OUTLOOK FOR TAIWAN NON-LIFE INSURANCE

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has maintained a stable outlook on Taiwan’s non-life insurance segment amid the implementation of Taiwan Insurance Solvency (TIS), IFRS 17, and consistent premium expansion across retail and commercial lines.

Also underpinning the stable outlook are non-life insurers’ conservative asset allocation and moderate equity exposure, which should help protect their overall profitability in the event domestic stock market volatility impacts the segment’s investment results.

According to the Best’s Market Segment Report, “Market Segment Outlook: Taiwan Non-Life Insurance”, implementation of TIS and IFRS 17 enhances cross-market comparability and elevates the strategic importance of capital management and earnings volatility analysis.

In a statement, AM Best said TIS has had a limited impact on the segment’s overall capitalisation, although market-risk capital requirements have increased moderately.

Meanwhile, the transition to IFRS 17 has been favourable to the segment’s reported capital position, with industry-wide reported shareholders’ equity increasing by approximately 10 per cent at year-end 2025.

Taiwan’s non-life insurance market remains mature and competitive, with demand for commercial lines coverage growing, supported by investments in high-technology manufacturing plants, renewable energy projects, and major infrastructure development.

The credit rating agency added that Taiwan’s non-life insurers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to streamline underwriting, automate claims processing and detect fraud.

“AI adoption among Taiwan’s non-life insurers is likely to remain gradual and tightly controlled, with insurers prioritising internal operational and risk management tasks while maintaining continued oversight over customer-facing decisions,” said AM Best director of analytics, James Chan.

These changes should enhance operating efficiency, refine risk selection and help insurers better manage losses over time.

-- BERNAMA

PU Prime Launches Australian Operations under ASIC Licence

• PU Prime officially launches operations in Australia through its ASIC-regulated local entity, PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd.
• With ASIC regulation and local operations in place, PU Prime is strengthening its presence and commitment to the Australian market.

SYDNEY, Australia, Sept 3 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PU Prime, a global multi-licensed online brokerage, today announced the official launch of its operations in Australia through its local entity, PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd holds Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) No. 410681

After obtaining its ASIC licence, PU Prime invested in the resources and infrastructure needed to support Australian clients, including local operations, a dedicated customer support team, and systems aligned with regulatory requirements. The launch reflects the company's commitment to delivering a seamless and compliant trading experience in the Australian market.

“This launch marks the beginning of our long-term commitment to the Australian market. We will meet our obligations under the ASIC framework and deliver transparent and regulated services to our Australian clients,” says Mr Cristian Moreno, Director at PU Prime.

With the launch, Australian clients can now onboard directly through PU Prime's ASIC-regulated entity, reinforcing the company's commitment to operating within established regulatory frameworks while expanding access to its trading products and services. The milestone further strengthens PU Prime's global regulatory footprint and long-term growth strategy.

Important Notice: Trading derivatives carries significant high risks. It is not suitable for all investors and if you are a wholesales client, you could lose substantially more than your initial investment. When trading CFDs, you do not own the underlying assets and have no rights to them. Past performance is no indication of future performance and tax laws are subject to change. Before acquiring any financial products, please ensure that you read the relevant legal documents and are fully aware of the associated risks.

About PU Prime
Founded in 2015, PU Prime is a leading global fintech company and trusted CFD broker. Today, it offers regulated financial products across forex, commodities, indices, shares, and bonds. Operating in over 190 countries with more than 40 million app downloads, PU Prime provides innovative trading platforms to support traders worldwide in accessing global financial markets.

PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 410681), is a separate legal entity incorporated in Australia and regulated by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd is the issuer of CFD products to Australian residents only. Any information provided is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

The ASIC license held by PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd does not apply to, extent to, or cover any products or services offered by other PU Prime entities. References to PU Prime's global brand, group presence or international operations are for general information only and should not be taken as an offer, invitation or recommendation by any offshore entity to provide financial products or services in Australia.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b40cdf76-3349-4456-b6fc-f605f85fdd3e

For media enquiries, please contact: media@puprime.com

SOURCE: Pacific Union Seychelles Limited

DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.

--BERNAMA