Day: June 29, 2021

Kites Team to Help Enhance Zoom’s Machine Translation Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif. and KARLSRUHE, Germany, June 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions – Kites GmbH (“Kites”), a start-up dedicated to developing real-time Machine Translation (“MT”) solutions. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Kites was founded in 2015 and has academic roots with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where co-founders Dr. Alex Waibel and Dr. Sebastian Stüker are faculty members. Kites’ talented team of 12 research scientists will help Zoom’s engineering team advance the field of MT to improve meeting productivity and efficiency by providing multi-language translation capabilities for Zoom users.

“We are continuously looking for new ways to deliver happiness to our users and improve meeting productivity, and MT solutions will be key in enhancing our platform for Zoom customers across the globe,” said Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering at Zoom. “With our aligned missions to make collaboration frictionless – regardless of language, geographic location, or other barriers – we are confident Kites’ impressive team will fit right in with Zoom.”

“Kites emerged with the mission of breaking down language barriers and making seamless cross-language interaction a reality of everyday life, and we have long admired Zoom for its ability to easily connect people across the world,” said Dr. Waibel and Dr. Stüker. “We know Zoom is the best partner for Kites to help advance our mission and we are excited to see what comes next under Zoom’s incredible innovation engine.”

Dr. Stüker and the rest of the Kites team will remain based in Karlsruhe, Germany, where Zoom looks forward to investing in growing the team. Zoom is exploring opening an R&D center in Germany in the future. Dr. Waibel will become a Zoom Research Fellow, a role in which he will advise on Zoom’s MT research and development.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains express and implied “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 related to Zoom’s acquisition of Kites that involves substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, among other things, statements about the potential benefits of the transaction, our development of our MT solutions, our ability to integrate the Kites team, and potential growth opportunities. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “can,” “predict,” “potential,” “target,” “explore,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. By their nature, these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond our control, that could cause actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the statements. These assumptions, uncertainties and risks include that, among others, the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all, division of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities, potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, the ability to integrate Kites successfully, and other factors that may affect future results of Zoom. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2021. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to Zoom at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. Zoom assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, except as required by law.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

About Kites
Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions – Kites GmbH is a start-up company founded in 2015 by Dr. Sebastian Stüker and Dr. Alex Waibel with the express purpose of transforming the latest research in speech translation technology into viable products. Kites’ mission is breaking down language barriers and making seamless cross-language interaction a reality of everyday life. Kites aims to provide custom services to its customers in order to provide technology and services that fit and are operated and maintained at the necessary quality levels.

Zoom Press Relations
Colleen Rodriguez
Global Media Relations Lead
press@zoom.us

Zoom Investor Relations
Tom McCallum
Head of Investor Relations
investors@zoom.us

TEMECULA, Calif., June 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group (Group), a subsidiary of Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japan), is proud to announce the creation of Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases (SEA) Sdn. Bhd. effective 1^st July 2021. This company represents the combining of our two Malaysia business units: Cryogenic Industries and Cryoquip in a new joint facility.

This merger represents another step forward in the Group’s overall corporate growth strategy, emphasizing their ability to provide both global and regional support for sales and service. The name change emphasizes the support and strength of the larger Group; Clean Energy is the growth engine and Industrial Gases the core foundation.

The new, larger facility provides a strong support structure for future growth. Ideally placed within the region to support their key customers and provide an additional focus on clean energy, the 56,400 square foot facility is twice the size of their previous center. It has an improved capacity for loading flow and manufacturing for vaporizers, vacuum lines, process skid fabrication and assembly, refurbishment work, as well as pumps parts and service. In addition, it offers opportunities for sharing resources with other Nikkiso group companies (supporting Nikkiso Cryo or for fabrication of LEWA SEA and/or Geveke Malaysia skids).

According to Tim Born, the Vice President of Nikkiso CE&IG for South East Asia and Oceania;

“This new facility will provide a one-stop shop for the Nikkiso CE&IG Group’s cryogenic process equipment, installations and services. The amalgamation of our two businesses in Malaysia and the willingness to expand our facility and capabilities highlights our Group’s commitment to this region. Our new facility will provide timely local support for our complete range of products and services, and I look forward to working together with our customers and our talented local Nikkiso CE&IG team to provide the products and services this growing region needs.”

Nikkiso CE&IG (SEA) is responsible for business in South East Asia, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia, as well as Taiwan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and provides support to the Middle East, India, Africa and Australia.

Contact Information:

Nikkiso Clean Energy and Industrial Gases (SEA) Sdn. Bhd. 199601016333
(formerly known as Cryoquip Sdn. Bhd. 388684-P)
Lot 862, Jalan Subang 8, Taman Perindustrian Subang
47600 Subang, Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8081 8330
Fax: +60 3 8081 8360
Email: sales.sea@nikkisoceig.com Website: www.nikkisoCEIG.com

ABOUT CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES
Cryogenic Industries, Inc. (now a member of Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) member companies manufacture engineered cryogenic gas processing equipment and small-scale process plants for the liquefied natural gas (LNG), well services and industrial gas industries. Founded over 50 years ago, Cryogenic Industries is the parent company of ACD, Cosmodyne and Cryoquip and a commonly-controlled group of approximately 20 operating entities.

For more information, please visit www.nikkisoCEIG.com and www.nikkiso.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Anna Quigley
+1.951.383.3314
aquigley@cryoind.com

Teledyne e2v’s Tetra Sensor

GRENOBLE, France, June 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Teledyne e2v, a Teledyne Technologies [NYSE: TDY] company and part of the Teledyne Imaging group, introduces Tetra, a low-cost, high-performance quad linear CMOS sensor family. The Tetra sensors are ideal for food sorting, recycling, logistics, pick-and-place, document scanning, and other machine vision applications that require cost-effective mono, color, and multispectral imaging.

Tetra sensors are available in a 2k resolution with a 14 μm x 14 μm pixel size, or 4k resolution with a 7 μm x 7 μm pixel size at a max line rate of 128kHz aggregate. The mono models can be configured to output one, two, or four rows and the color models provide RGB and mono outputs. Using wafer level coated dichroic filters, the sensor also provides spectrally independent RGB and NIR outputs for multispectral imaging.

Based on a synchronized shutter design, Tetra provide low read noise and high dynamic range with true correlated double sampling (CDS). Each channel has its own exposure control, resulting in easy-to-perform white balancing.

The ceramic LCC package also offers high performance and high reliability over a wide range of operating temperatures. The sensor data ports have high signal integrity and simple interfacing for quick system integration.

Florian Julien, Director of the Machine Vision Team at Teledyne e2v said, “The sorting industry has started to upgrade its traditional technology from color to multispectral imaging. With its unique RGB + NIR capability, Tetra has been designed as the next generation technology to enhance quality and safety in food sorting.”

Please visit the product page or contact us for more information.

Notes to Editors:
For media enquiries, please contact:
Jessica.Broom@teledyne.com

Teledyne e2v is part of the Teledyne Imaging Group. Their innovations lead developments in healthcare, life sciences, space, transportation, defense and security and industrial markets. Teledyne e2v’s unique approach involves listening to the market and application challenges of customers and partnering with them to provide innovative standard, semi-custom or fully custom imaging solutions, bringing increased value to their systems.

For more information, visit imaging.teledyne-e2v.com

Teledyne Imaging is a group of leading-edge companies aligned under the Teledyne umbrella. Teledyne Imaging forms an unrivalled collective of expertise across the spectrum with decades of experience. Individually, each company offers best-in-class solutions. Together, they combine and leverage each other’s strengths to provide the deepest, widest imaging and related technology portfolio in the world. From aerospace through industrial inspection, scientific research, spectroscopy, radiography and radiotherapy, geospatial surveying, and advanced MEMS and semiconductor solutions, Teledyne Imaging offers world-wide customer support and the technical expertise to handle the toughest tasks. Their tools, technologies, and vision solutions are built to deliver to their customers a unique and competitive advantage.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5382ca84-0ca0-42f3-a353-f37006835df6

Tech Industry Veteran to Lead Expansion of Zoom’s APAC Business

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced Ricky Kapur will join the company as the Head of APAC, effective June 21. Reporting directly to Zoom’s Head of International Abe Smith, Kapur will define and lead the company’s go-to-market strategy for key APAC markets: Australia and New Zealand, ASEAN, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Korea, and Taiwan — exclusive of Japan. Ricky will manage Zoom’s APAC business with supervision and alignment across all cross-functional roles.

Kapur comes to Zoom after five and a half years at Microsoft, where he was most recently Vice President of Sales and Marketing Operations for APAC. At Microsoft, he managed all segments, from SMB, Majors through Enterprise, and led a cross-functional team of sales, marketing, partner, and customer success professionals. Zoom is positioned for continued growth in APAC, and to capitalize on these new opportunities, it has expanded its leadership to lead the company through its next phase of expansion in the region.

“Zoom has scaled its operations and business impressively across APAC markets, announcing a Technology Center in India and a Research and Development Center in Singapore within the past year,” said Ricky Kapur, Head of APAC at Zoom. “I am excited to join a company that continues to redefine the way organizations and individuals connect, from breaking barriers for education and healthcare with virtual-learning and telehealth to becoming critical technology for enterprises as they quickly evolved and adapted to a hybrid working model.”

“We are thrilled to have Ricky Kapur lead our go-to-market strategy for all of APAC, a region where we are seeing accelerated growth,” said Abe Smith, Head of International at Zoom. “APAC is a critical region for Zoom, as we invest in infrastructure and expand the presence of our sales, marketing, and research and development teams to best enable organizations of all sizes with seamless and reliable video communications.”

About Ricky Kapur
Ricky Kapur is Head of APAC for Zoom, bringing over 25 years of experience to his role. Prior to joining Zoom, Kapur was Vice President of Sales and Marketing Operations at Microsoft APAC. In his role, he managed all segments, from SMB and Majors up to Enterprise and led a cross-functional team of Sales, Marketing, Partner and Customer Success and Operations professionals. Before joining Microsoft, Kapur served as Managing Director at Google where he was responsible for overseeing growth of Google Cloud Platform across APJ. Prior to that, Kapur held the position of Vice President, ASEAN Technology Sales at Oracle. He also worked at Siebel Systems, Unica Corporation, and Chordiant Software. Kapur is a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India and holds an MBA from the University of Melbourne.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

Zoom Public Relations
Hayley Yap
APAC PR Lead
press@zoom.us

Digiday awards Best Publisher Platform to Sophi.io, a suite of artificial intelligence-powered automation, optimization and prediction tools developed by The Globe and Mail

TORONTO, June 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sophi.io, The Globe and Mail’s artificial intelligence-based automation and prediction engine, won the 2021 Digiday Media Award for Best Publisher Platform, which recognizes technology that is most successful in helping publishers achieve their goals.

“AI is an essential technology for helping publishers add authentic value to stories — extending their measure of success beyond page views and virality. For example, Sophi is able to provide data on how much each article on The Globe and Mail contributes to subscriber retention, acquisition, registration potential and advertising dollars. Additionally, to effectively deploy machine learning, around 10% of The Globe and Mail’s workforce is now data scientists and engineers, hired to develop Sophi and grow the strategy even further,” Digiday said.

The awards honour companies, technologies and campaigns that have stood out throughout the media over the past year. “This year, the competition was fierce and the programs robust. Innovation and big ideas expanded the playing field for many of the winners, even in a year when quarantines limited where and how people could work — and play,” according to Digiday.

Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail, commented: “It’s an honour to be chosen as the winner of Digiday’s Media Award for Best Publisher Platform. We aren’t often up against companies in both the media and marketing industries but our investments in Sophi have been driven by the understanding that our technology can directly drive performance and economic growth for companies across a large range of industries.”

The other finalists in the Best Publisher Platform category were: Piano, Connatix, Insticator, Duration Media and Adapex LLC.

Sophi is an artificial-intelligence system that helps publishers identify and leverage their most valuable content. It has powerful predictive capabilities – using natural language processing, Sophi Dynamic Paywall is a fully dynamic, real-time, personalized paywall engine that analyses both content and user behaviour to determine when to ask a reader for money or an email address, and when to leave them alone.

Sophi Site Automation autonomously curates digital content to find and promote the most valuable articles. It places 99% of the content on all of The Globe and Mail’s digital pages, including its homepage and section pages. Sophi has been so successful that it is now being used for print laydown as well. Sophi is available to publishers across the globe to enable their content producers to focus on creating the best content possible.

Earlier this month, Sophi won the 2021 International News Media Association (INMA) Global Media Awards for Best in Show in North America and Best Use of Data to Automate or Personalize. Sophi has also won the Online Journalism Award (OJA) for Technical Innovation in the Service of Digital Journalism, handed out by the Online News Association (ONA), and both the World Digital Media Award and the North American Digital Media Award awarded by The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in the category of Best Digital News Start-up.

About Sophi.io

Sophi.io (https://www.sophi.io) is a suite of AI-powered optimization and prediction tools that helps content publishers make important strategic and tactical decisions. Sophi solutions range from Sophi Site Automation and Sophi for Paywalls to Sophi Analytics, a decision-support system for content publishers. Sophi is designed to improve the metrics that matter most to any business, such as subscriber retention and acquisition, engagement, recency, frequency and volume.

Contact

Jamie Rubenovitch
Head of Marketing, Sophi.io
The Globe and Mail
416-585-3355
jrubenovitch@globeandmail.com