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Yoodli, A Startup Backed by Madrona Venture Group and the Allen Institute for AI (AI2), Applies AI to Life's Biggest Stress: Public Speaking

Yoodli

Yoodli, a startup leveraging AI to help people develop the necessary soft skills to present and communicate confidently, opened early access to their beta product at www.yoodli.ai. The founding team of Varun Puri, Esha Joshi, and Dr. Ehsan Hoque, alumni from GoogleX, Apple and the MIT Media Lab, brings a passion to a challenge that most people experience every day. The Company is also announcing it has already raised $1M in pre-seed funding from the Allen Institute for AI and Madrona Venture Group. “Many of us have struggled with public speaking and have been on the receiving end of poorly delivered presentations,” said Varun Puri, co-founder of Yoodli. “During my time in Silicon Valley, I met countless colleagues, often fellow immigrants, who didn’t receive the recognition they deserved because they struggled to communicate effectively. Our platform will be an incredible leveler enabling people to practice and get real time feedback based on science as well as from friends and coaches.” According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the fear of public speaking affects 73% of people. However, we all need to speak in group settings — remember the awkward wedding toasts, dull classroom presentations, and never-ending team meetings? Numerous studies have suggested that oral communication is the number one skill that college students find useful post-graduation and yet is not taught in a direct way while in school. “As a female engineer in a male dominated industry, I felt like I had to try even harder for people to take me seriously,” said Esha Joshi, co-founder and CTO of Yoodli. “The nerves and doubts before a presentation can be crushing, and the feeling of successfully expressing yourself in front of an audience is a huge confidence booster. Our platform takes you from the nerves to the confident persona you need to achieve your goals.” Puri previously ran special projects for the President of Alphabet and then led Africa operations for a GoogleX initiative that is expanding internet connectivity using invisible lasers. Joshi brings her expertise as an Apple engineering lead as well as her experience speaking at large gatherings such as the Grace Hopper Conference to the mission of Yoodli. Dr. Hoque, the co-lead of the Rochester Human Computing Interaction group and MIT 35 Innovators Under 35 awardee, adds decades of research experience building AI interfaces to upskill the workforce. His work has helped people with autism practice communication skills, doctors prepare for end-of-life conversations with patients, and Parkinson’s patients detect their condition directly from their computer screens. “We see a tremendous opportunity to use AI as a way to improve human social and cognitive skills,” said Matt Mcllwain, Managing Director of Madrona. “We like to back exciting teams from Day One and this team has the passion, technical and industry experience that inspires us to come to work every day. And give presentations!” Yoodli is hiring for applied AI engineers, fullstack developers and a Head of Growth. Reach out at info@yoodli.ai if you are interested and sign up at www.yoodli.ai to join the product waitlist. About Madrona Venture Group Madrona ( www.madrona.com ) is a venture capital firm based in Seattle, WA. With more than 25 years of investing in early stage technology companies, the firm has worked with founders from Day One to help build their company for the long run. Madrona invests predominantly in seed and Series A rounds across the information technology spectrum, and in 2018 raised the first fund dedicated to initial investments in acceleration stage (Series B and C stages) companies. Madrona manages over $2 billion and was an early investor in companies such as Amazon, Smartsheet, Isilon, Redfin, and Snowflake. About the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) AI2 was founded in 2014 with the singular focus of conducting high-impact research and engineering in the field of artificial intelligence, all for the common good. AI2 is the creation of Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, and is led by Dr. Oren Etzioni, a leading researcher in the field of AI. AI2 employs more than 100 top-notch researchers and engineers from across the globe. AI2 prides itself on the diversity and collaboration of our team and takes a results-oriented approach to complex challenges in AI. Learn more at allenai.org. Contact Details Yoodli Forrest Carman +1 206-859-3118 forrestc@owenmedia.com Company Website https://www.yoodli.ai/

October 07, 2021 09:01 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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ThreatModeler Announces Commitment to Global Cybersecurity Advocacy Efforts as a 2021 Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion

National Cyber Security Alliance

Automated Threat Modeling Leader Becomes Joins Worldwide Initiative to Reinforce the Importance of Proper Cybersecurity Protection Measures for Individuals and Organizations in an Increasingly Connected World ThreatModeler today announced its commitment to Cybersecurity Awareness Month, held annually in October, by signing up as a 2021 Champion and joining a growing global effort to promote the awareness of online safety and privacy. The Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champions Program is a collaborative effort among businesses, government agencies, colleges and universities, associations, nonprofit organizations and individuals committed to the Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme of ‘Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.’ “At ThreatModeler, we empower organizations to securely develop their most crucial applications and infrastructure.” said Archie Agarwal, Founder and CEO of ThreatModeler. “In line with Cybersecurity Awareness Month, ThreatModeler is proud to continue our work in championing industry best practices and ensuring organizations have the knowledge and the tools to stay well ahead of major vulnerabilities moving forward.” More than ever before, technology plays a part in almost everything we do. Connected devices have been woven into society as an integral part of how people communicate and access services essential to their wellbeing. Despite these great advances in technology and the conveniences this provides, recent events have shown us how quickly our lives and businesses can be disrupted when cyber criminals and adversaries use technology to do harm. Cybersecurity Awareness Month aims to shed light on these security vulnerabilities, while offering actionable guidance surrounding behaviors anyone can take to protect themselves and their organizations. Everyone has a responsibility to do their part in securing our interconnected world. This year, the Cybersecurity Awareness Month’s main weekly focus areas will revolve around: Understanding and implementing basic cyber hygiene, including the importance of strong passphrases, using multi-factor authentication, performing software updates and backing up data. Recognizing and reporting phishing attempts whether it’s through email, text messages, or chat boxes. Empowering individuals to not only practice safe online behavior, but consider joining the mission of securing our online world by considering a career in cybersecurity! Making cybersecurity a priority in business by making products and processes “secure by design” and considering cybersecurity when purchasing new internet-connected devices. If everyone does their part – implementing stronger security practices, raising community awareness, educating vulnerable audiences or training employees – our interconnected world will be safer and more resilient for everyone. Now in its 18th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues to build momentum and impact with the ultimate goal of providing everyone with the information they need to stay safer and more secure online. ThreatModeler is proud to support this far-reaching online safety awareness and education initiative which is co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For more information about Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2021 and how to participate in a wide variety of activities, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/. You can also follow and use the official hashtag #BeCyberSmart on social media throughout the month. About ThreatModeler ThreatModeler is an automated platform that provides a sustainable, self-service threat modeling practice for applications and infrastructure that evolves as your infrastructure grows. ThreatModeler encourages collaboration through its simple process flow diagram-based functionality that’s easy to use in the creation of threat models that identify, prioritize and mitigate threats, while communicating them broadly. ThreatModeler integrates with JIRA, Jenkins, and Azure Boards and Pipelines, with bidirectional web services API also unifying stakeholders in collaboration. Teams are empowered to code fearlessly and deliver new products with security built in as early as the design phase, which is based on global security and compliance standards. About Cybersecurity Awareness Month Cybersecurity Awareness Month is designed to engage and educate public- and private-sector partners through events and initiatives with the goal of raising awareness about cybersecurity to increase the resiliency of the nation in the event of a cyber incident. Since the Presidential proclamation establishing Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2004, the initiative has been formally recognized by Congress, federal, state and local governments and leaders from industry and academia. This united effort is necessary to maintain a cyberspace that is safer and more resilient and remains a source of tremendous opportunity and growth for years to come. For more information, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/ About National Cyber Security Alliance The National Cyber Security Alliance is a nonprofit alliance on a mission to create a more secure connected world. We enable powerful, public-private partnerships in our mission to educate and inspire individuals to protect themselves, their families and their organizations for the collective good. Our primary partners are the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and our Board of Directors, which includes representatives from ADP; AIG; Bank of America; Cofense; Discover; Eli Lilly and Company; ESET North America; Facebook; KnowBe4; La-Z-Boy; Lenovo; Marriott International; Mastercard; Microsoft; Mimecast; NortonLifeLock; Paubox; Proofpoint; Raytheon Intelligence & Space; Terranova Security; US Bank; VISA; Wells Fargo. The National Cyber Security Alliance’s core efforts include Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October); Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28); Identity Management Day; and CyberSecure My Business™. For more information on the National Cyber Security Alliance, please visit https://staysafeonline.org. Contact Details Mike Stolyar threatmodeler@luminapr.com Company Website https://www.threatmodeler.com

October 07, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Altais To Acquire Los Angeles-Based Family Care Specialists

Altais

Altais Clinical Services (ACS), a division of the healthcare services company Altais, has signed an agreement to acquire Family Care Specialists Medical Corporation (FCS). FCS was founded in 1988 and provides all-age family healthcare to communities in the eastern and northern Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is comprised of a medical group with more than 120 staff, an independent physician association with more than 340 primary care physicians and specialists, and a nationally recognized family-medicine residency program. After completion of the deal, FCS management and brand will remain in place. Altais is a healthcare services company pioneering integrated, scalable technology solutions and business models that are designed to enhance the patient experience, improve health outcomes, reduce cost, and drive professional gratification among physicians. ACS invests directly in physician practices, clinics, and related business models. In 2020, Brown & Toland Physicians, a network of 2,700+ independent physicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the ACS family of companies. ACS also opened two independent primary care clinics serving essential civic employees and educators in the Monterey-Salinas market. FCS was formed by six Latinx physicians who still lead the group. They are all native Angelenos from the East Los Angeles community. Their aims for FCS were to provide high-quality and affordable healthcare and cultivate future generations of physicians for their community. “We founded Family Care Specialists with the goals of giving back to the community, in both healthcare services and medical education,” said Dr. Hector Flores, co-founder and medical director of FCS. “Our residency program continues to be an incubator for independent physicians who are committed to care for families in underserved communities. We believe the new relationship with Altais will provide FCS access to greater resources and technology. Driven by the power of our common cause, we’ll enhance healthcare for the community at large.” "Altais’ mission is to ignite an exceptional healthcare system that cultivates the health and well-being of physicians, patients, and the clinical community,” said Altais CEO Dr. Jeff Bailet. “And one of our primary goals in the pursuit of that mission is to support physician practices in delivering high-quality patient care and better health outcomes at lower costs. Family Care Specialists has done an outstanding job providing comprehensive healthcare to underserved communities in the Los Angeles area and developing future generations of family-medicine physicians through its residency program. Our organizations’ aligned missions make us a perfect fit for bolstering value-based community healthcare to the residents of Los Angeles.” As part of ACS, FCS will continue to provide coordinated care to ensure its physicians spend time doing what they do best – caring for patients. This includes integrating Altais’ sophisticated clinical tools and a technology management platform to enhance clinical and service quality for physicians and their patients. * * * About Altais Altais is a healthcare services company that helps physicians and the clinical community maximize the health and well-being of their patients in an affordable and sustainable way. Altais has two divisions. Altais Clinical Services offers a range of affiliation and employment models for physicians, and high-quality, affordable care for patients. Altais Health offers a broad platform of clinical support tools and technology, along with high-touch support. Ultimately, Altais seeks to enhance the vibrancy of physician practice and strengthen the heart of medicine – physicians connecting with patients and providing personalized, high-quality care. For more information about Altais, please visit www.altais.com. About Family Care Specialists The Family Care Specialists (FCS) Medical Corporation, aka FCS Medical Group, and the FCS IPA collectively serve approximately 30,000 beneficiaries comprised of Medi-Cal, Medicare, Commercial and Covered California coverage and 5% who are uninsured. The FCS Medical Group is dedicated to improving the health status of its patients, their families and the entire community. FCS utilizes culturally and linguistically competent services and deployment of performance standards that reduce or eliminate health disparities. The FCS medical group is also the founding partner of the Adventist Health White Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program. The residency program is nationally recognized for its academic success, placement of more than 70% of graduates in medically underserved areas, and for contributing to diversity in the health professions. More than 65% of its graduates come from groups known to be under-represented in medicine. For more information about Family Care Specialists, please visit www.fcsmg.com. ### Note: In this transaction, Synergy Advisors, LLC, served as exclusive financial advisor to Family Care Specialists Medical Corporation and its principal physicians, and Kaufman Hall served as exclusive financial advisor to Altais and Altais Clinical Services. Editors, please note: Photos and interviews are available by contacting Robin Carr at (415) 971-3991 or Altais@landispr.com. Contact Details Landis Communications Inc. Robin Carr +1 415-971-3991 Altais@landispr.com Company Website https://altais.com/

October 07, 2021 05:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Industrial Defender and Fetch Automation Partner to Deliver Operational Technology Cybersecurity and Compliance Solutions for Australia

Industrial Defender

Industrial Defender, an operational technology (OT) security pioneer, today announced a new partnership with Fetch Automation, a leading distributor of software solutions for the Australian marketplace, to provide a comprehensive OT cybersecurity and compliance solution to critical infrastructure companies in Australia. Fetch Automation will offer Industrial Defender’s industry-leading platform as part of their software portfolio to provide the highest level of cyber resilience possible for Australian organizations and support these companies in achieving compliance with new Australian cybersecurity regulations such as the Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework (AESCSF). “Fetch Automation’s specialized market knowledge, combined with our powerful OT security and compliance platform will greatly improve the cybersecurity posture of companies operating industrial control systems in Australia. We’re enthusiastic about this partnership and look forward to serving the Australian market together,” said Jim Crowley, CEO of Industrial Defender. “Fetch Automation is immensely proud and excited to be named Industrial Defender's Preferred Distributor in Australia and New Zealand. With recent cybersecurity regulations and incentives set by the Australian government, Industrial Defender's mature cybersecurity products and OT focus will help strengthen and protect Australia's critical infrastructure and systems of national significance. Additionally, their compliance and reporting will be a huge asset for enhancing national cyber defense for threats that continue to expand and evolve every day,” said Mark Davies, Managing Director of Fetch Automation. To learn more about this partnership, reach out to Fetch Automation at www.fetchautomation.com.au or Industrial Defender at www.industrialdefender.com. About Industrial Defender Since 2006, Industrial Defender has been solving the challenge of safely collecting, monitoring, and managing OT asset data at scale, while providing cross-functional teams with a unified view of security. Their specialized solution is tailored to complex industrial control system environments by engineers with decades of hands-on OT experience. Easy integrations into the broader security and enterprise ecosystem empower IT teams with the same visibility, access, and situational awareness that they’re accustomed to on corporate networks. Learn more at www.industrialdefender.com. About Fetch Automation For years, Fetch Automation has been dedicated to providing solutions supported to securely monitor, manage, and connect diverse automation devices and software applications. Fetch Automation was appointed the Preferred Australian Distributor for the Kepware range of software products in 2013, and more recently, in 2020, Fetch Automation entered into an alliance with Direct Automation Pty Ltd, to better serve clients within niche Industrial Automation industries. Fetch continues to empower growth with real data throughout Australia and Oceania. For more information, visit www.fetchautomation.com.au Contact Details Erin Anderson +1 772-207-1867 eanderson@industrialdefender.com Company Website https://www.industrialdefender.com

October 06, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Mobile Driver’s License Standard Approved and Published

GET Group North America

The eagerly anticipated ISO/IEC 18013-5 International standard for Mobile Driver’s License (mDL) and Mobile IDs (mID) was unanimously approved for publication on August 18, 2021 and is now available at https://www.iso.org/standard/69084.html. Publication clears the way for global ID and Driver’s License Issuers to confidently deploy mDL solutions, and for Verifiers around the world to implement or adopt mDL readers. Businesses, Federal and State Agencies, and other public entities verify government-issued ID documents to quickly approve transactions every day. mDL gives the holder control of their ID data on their mobile device, while allowing acceptance via a tap or scan. This global mDL standard was the result of over six years of effort through an open collaboration of Issuers, Technology Providers, Regional Authorities (such as AAMVA, EReg, AustRoads, and the African Tripartite), and businesses that accept identity documents to approve transactions. Quarterly meetings were held on every continent during these years to ensure inclusivity and transitioned to fully virtual for 2020 and 2021. ISO/IEC 18013-5 for Mobile IDs and Mobile Driver’s Licenses overcomes the insecurity of showing a card on a phone screen and offers a host of benefits for Cardholders and the Verifiers who accept ID cards and Driver’s Licenses: A comprehensive global standard for sharing identity document information, matured during several test events held on nearly every continent during the last two years. Multiple Ways to Interact. A secure device-to-device protocol for sharing identity information that supports multiple transmission technologies, so that mDL Holders can tap or allow a scan to share their information and Verifiers can accept mDLs quickly according to their customer flows. Increased privacy for mDL users than physical cards: Share Only Relevant Data. Support for data minimization (e.g., to share only the fact that one is older than 21 rather than one’s full date of birth) built into the standard. Consent to Share. Controls that allow the mDL holder to release only some of the data elements requested by a relying party and only after explicit consent. Phone Stays in Your Control. The phone never leaves your hand, unlike ID cards. Know when Your Data is Stored. Explicit notification to an mDL holder if a Verifier intends to retain their information. Verifiers can avoid the liability of retaining data. Resistant to Tracking. There is no unique identifier to see where you’ve used your mDL. Difficult to forge. Stored and shared documents are cryptographically protected against counterfeit, adding resistance to the creation of fake IDs. Verifiers can easily check authenticity. Works when devices do not have connection. When either the mDL device or the Verifier device does NOT have a network connection, data can be shared between devices (offline). Provides privacy best practices for Issuing Authorities and Verifiers in the accompanying Privacy Annex with requirements for maximizing mDL Holder privacy. Chrissy Nizer, Chair of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators Board of Directors said, “This standard will provide the necessary components to support mDL security and interoperability across the globe while ensuring the privacy and safety of the mDL holder.” “TSA considers ISO standards for personal identification documents to be a cornerstone for greater security and privacy,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “The new standard for mobile driver’s licenses represents a significant step forward and will eventually help ensure a more touchless and efficient airport screening experience for all travelers.” “ Austroads would like to commend the International Standards working group for ISO 18013/5 Mobile Driver Licence. This standard was developed through strong partnership with global industry leaders in identity as well as global issuing authorities of credentials. This standard will create the foundation for not just digital driver’s licences to be trusted and accepted across state and national borders but enables the underlying identity to be used securely by citizens of participating jurisdictions to seamlessly access products and service across business, industry and government entities.” Servi Beckers, Chairman of the Association of European Vehicle and Driver Registration authorities (EReg) said, “this standard is a good example of industry and public administration cooperating to enhance our citizens lives. It places the driving licences in our modern times where we are already used to use our mobile phones for almost anything. The great advantages I see from a citizen’s perspective are: better privacy protection, up to date driver capabilities (and thus room for tailored solutions), easier travelling (worldwide standard), and room for innovative ideas in digital services where driving licences are used.” About GET Group North America GET Group North America provides the Mobile Driver’s License for the State of Utah and is a leading contributor to ISO/IEC 18013-5 Personal identification — ISO-compliant driving license — Part 5: Mobile driving license (mDL) application. GET Mobile ID has implemented all interaction modes available in this International mDL Standard and meets all privacy requirements in Annex E: Privacy and security. GET Mobile Verify is an application for iOS and Android that reads and verifies all compliant mDLs and mIDs. Contact Details Jordan Bouclin +1 401-490-9700 jordan.bouclin@svmpr.com Company Website https://getgroupna.com/

October 06, 2021 10:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ADDING MULTIMEDIA: FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING ENTERS THE METAVERSE WITH LAUNCH OF FINE ICONIC PACK NFT

Fine Hygienic Holding

Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH), the leading wellness group and manufacturer of reusable protective masks and hygienic paper products, has created its first ever NFT (Non-Fungible Token) collectible, an animated digital art piece has gone live for open auction on OpenSea, the marketplace for rare digital items and crypto collectibles, from September 26 until October 14. The Fine Iconic Pack collectible, which will be available to the highest bidder, will include a 17-second digital animated file of the iconic brand plus a physical gold-plated Fine Facial Tissue holder as unlockable content. The digital animated file showcases the transformation of the iconic Fine branding, a much-loved logo familiar to households across the region for over 60 years. FHH CEO James Michael Lafferty said: “Fine Hygienic Holding is a brand of the future, we are not afraid to embrace change as customers will already know through our move into reusable Fine Guard face masks, and other products including hand sanitizers and wipes which incorporate innovative technology. “The launch of the NFT underlines our credentials as a brand of the future. We are confident that there are many potential buyers out there in the region who would be interested in a digital collectible that evokes a sense of nostalgia and heritage, while also showcasing the progress and growth of the business and the virtual world.” The sole owner of the NFT will be granted a royalty-free license to use, copy and display the NFT for personal, non-commercial use, as well as the right to resale the NFT as a digital file. For more information on FHH's NFT auction, visit: https://opensea.io/assets/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/44489654802199576746768233299675622972679876205981352264859019804128938295297/ About Fine Hygienic Holding: Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH), one of the world’s leading wellness groups and the MENA’s leading manufacturer of hygienic products, serves consumers in more than 80 countries around the world. Originally established as a paper manufacturer, FHH has transformed into a wellness company dedicated to enhancing global health and wellbeing. With its commitment to becoming “the shining star of the Arab FMCG business world,” the Group focuses on wellness, sustainability, state-of-the-art production processes, pioneering CSR programs, and award-winning products. The company offers a diverse array of products including sterilized facial tissues, napkins, kitchen towels, toilet paper, baby diapers, adult briefs, jumbo rolls, as well as away-from-home products to accommodate all types of private and public institutions, in addition to innovative personal protective equipment (PPE), long lasting germ protection solutions and natural nutritional supplements. Contact Details Salma Khalifa +971 55 554 1994 salma.k@actionprgroup.com Company Website https://www.finehh.com/

October 06, 2021 07:22 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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National Poll Shows Public Trust in Big Tech is Falling Fast

Public Affairs Council

A new Public Affairs Council/Morning Consult poll finds the pharmaceutical industry has remained the least-trusted sector in American business — despite supplying life-saving COVID-19 vaccines for hundreds of millions of people. It has now ranked last of nine sectors for five straight years. But the sector with the sharpest drop in trust over the past five years is the technology industry, which has seen its trust ranking slip from first place to sixth place. The annual Public Affairs Pulse survey of 2,199 adults, conducted Sept. 2-6, 2021, explores the intersection of business, government and society. In addition to the trust deficit, this year’s poll examines racism in America, reliable sources of political news, the most highly valued democratic principles, and who should take the lead on vaccine mandates. Business sector trust rankings Technology, considered the most trustworthy sector in the U.S. as recently as 2017, has dropped to sixth place out of nine industries rated. Thirty-two percent (32%) now consider the tech sector to be less trustworthy than other industries. Forty-six percent (46%) of the public say pharmaceutical companies are less trustworthy than other major companies. Only 13% believe they are more trustworthy. The pharmaceutical sector is also considered the most under-regulated industry, with 40% saying it has too little regulation. The health insurance industry is the next lowest-ranking sector, with 41% calling it less trustworthy than other industries. It is right behind pharmaceuticals on the list of the most under-regulated sectors. The public has the most trust in the Food & Beverage sector with just 14% saying it is less trustworthy than other industries and 21% saying it is more trustworthy. “These low-trust rankings remind me of the old saying, ‘No good deed goes unpunished,’” said Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham. “Despite the efforts of the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries to protect the public from the pandemic, and though their scores did improve over last year, deep-rooted distrust is slow to change.” Are Democrats becoming more pro-business? While 51% of Democrats trust political information they receive from major companies, only 44% of Republicans trust political information from Corporate America. When it comes to promoting COVID-19 vaccinations, 78% of Democrats support corporate efforts but only 42% of Republicans support such efforts. While 65% of Democrats approve when the business community speaks out against racism, only 28% of Republicans favor those actions. Racism is getting worse, and companies aren’t making a major impact Despite growing support for Black Lives Matter and changes in corporate diversity practices, 40% of Americans believe the U.S. is becoming more racist. Only 13% think it is becoming less racist. Seventy-one percent (71%) of Americans consider racism a somewhat or very serious problem. Only 8% believe racism is not at all serious. While Democrats are more likely to be pessimistic about racism, more than twice as many Republicans (33%) believe racism is getting worse than believe it is getting better (15%). Just 22% of the public say major companies are playing a positive role in reducing racism (down from 28% last year), and 18% say they are playing a negative role (up from 14%). Strong majority of Americans support free and fair elections When asked about the value of actions to promote democratic rights, Americans give the highest ratings to support of free and fair elections (74%) and freedom of speech (72%). Just 59% believe protecting freedom of the press is very important to the country. The strongest support for freedom of the press comes from Americans aged 65 and older. Among 18-34-year-olds, however, only 50% consider protecting freedom of the press to be very important. Just 26% of Americans say Congress is doing a good or excellent job of supporting democracy compared to 41% who say the same about President Biden. People trust “friends and family” for political news For 73% of the public, friends and family are the most trusted source of political news. The next most trusted sources are trade and professional associations (44%) and businesses (43%). Only 41% trust the news media for political information, and more than half of Americans (52%) have “not too much” or no trust in political information coming from the news media. While 66% of Democrats trust the news media, only 26% of Independents and 23% of Republicans do so. Other notable findings A slim majority of Americans say vaccines should be mandated at the federal (36%) or state level (16%). More than one in three people (36%) oppose mandates at either level. Significantly more Republicans (57%) than Democrats (15%) or Independents (42%) oppose mandatory vaccinations. When it comes to financing political campaigns, 71% find self-funded campaigns acceptable, 68% approve of contributions from individual citizens and 53% approve of PAC contributions. Further down the list of choices are super PACs (39%) and using federal tax dollars (34%). Visit our website to view the full Public Affairs Pulse survey results: pac.org/pulse About the Public Affairs Council Both nonpartisan and nonpolitical, the Public Affairs Council is the leading global association for public affairs professionals. The Council’s mission is to advance the field of public affairs and to provide its 700 member companies, nonprofits and universities with the executive education and expertise they need while maintaining the highest ethical standards. Learn more at pac.org. Contact Details Curley Company for the Public Affairs Council Lydia Niles +1 773-677-5327 lydia@curleycompany.com Company Website https://pac.org/

October 05, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Facebook and Disney execs raise $4.5m for 100ms to build live video infrastructure for the world

100ms

Live video infrastructure platform 100ms has announced a $4.5M seed round of funding led by Accel with participation from Strive.vc. 100ms provides infrastructure that allows any company to add Zoom-style video conferencing inside their app within hours. It was founded by the team that built live video infrastructure powering billions of video minutes a day at Facebook and Disney. In the pandemic, people’s lives moved to Zoom for studying, consulting doctors, meetings, even hanging out. However, users’ experience remained broken as consumers had to juggle between different apps and Zoom. As a result developers rushed to try and add live video inside their apps to provide a seamless user experience. However, adding live video to apps with current developer platforms is a long, cumbersome and expensive process. Current developer platforms that enable live video take months to integrate. And video still doesn’t work at Zoom-quality. Kshitij Gupta, Aniket Behera and Sarvesh Dwivedi solved these problems while building some of the world’s largest live video infrastructure deployments at Facebook and Disney. They launched 100ms in October 2020 with a view to democratise access to live video infrastructure for everyone. Having operated in beta for a long period, they launched powerful but fully customizable software development kits (SDKs) that allow developers to add Zoom-quality video to their apps in hours, instead of months. 100ms has quickly signed up clients like Paytm Insider, BookMyShow Townscript, Circle among others and were voted #1 product of the day on producthunt. “Being a video engineer all my life, I understand the complexity of adding live video at scale. For a long time, this infrastructure has only been available to very few developers. We started 100ms to build live video infrastructure for the world. Our SDKs are supported on all platforms including ios/android/web and are equipped to build high quality video along with all the edge cases in just a few lines of code. Our infrastructure is designed to handle the scale and offers super low latency across the world," commented Kshitij, co- founder and CEO, 100ms. The market for live audio/video infrastructure services is forecast to grow from $4.2B in 2019 to $17.7B in 2024. The rapid growth is being driven by enterprises across industries who are unbundling Zoom - edtech, telehealth, retail, gaming, fitness, social networks, virtual events. Audio rooms - which is all the rage after clubhouse, didn’t exist as a category before the pandemic. Aniket, co-founder and COO added: “Zoom is getting unbundled. Huge markets are being unlocked which are now leveraging white labelled video/audio - edtech, telehealth, gaming retail, fitness, audio rooms among others. 100ms aims to be the infrastructure layer for all these industries.” The funds raised will be used to build the world’s best video engineering team and product enhancement creating 100s of templates of live use cases, simplifying video access for companies across the world. On leading the investment round Abhinav Chaturvedi, Partner at Accel, said, “We believe all apps in the future will have video and audio embedded in them. 100ms is the best team to create the best in class developer product to enable this.” "An open extendable platform, built by experts in audio/video streaming, and supported by a budding engaged community instantly convinced us that the 100ms team is building a global-leading dev infra company,”said, Nikhil Kapur, Partner at STRIVE.vc who also participated in the investment round. About 100ms 100ms provides infrastructure that allows any company to add Zoom-style video conferencing inside their app in hours. The founding team built live video infrastructure powering billions of minutes a day at Facebook and Disney. About Accel Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Accel has been operating in India since 2008, and its investments include companies like BookMyShow, Browserstack, Flipkart, Freshworks, FalconX, Chargebee, Clevertap, Cure Fit, Musigma, Moneyview, Myntra, Moglix, Ninjacart, Swiggy, Stanza Living, Urban Company, Zetwerk, and Zenoti, among many others. We help ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. For more, visit www.accel.com or https://twitter.com/Accel_India. About Strive.vc STRIVE is a B2B/SaaS-focused fund with over 80 investments across India, Southeast Asia, and Japan, and managing over $200M in AUM. The firm has invested in several dev infra and SaaS companies in India including Hasura, Testsigma, and Classplus. Contact Details 100ms Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com

October 05, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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CSG Accelerates Growth, Expands Career Opportunities and Community Partnerships Across India with Flexible, Employee-Centered Work Philosophy

CSG

CSG (NASDAQ: CSGS) today announced the continued growth of its workforce in Bangalore, India, the largest office across the more than 20 countries where the company operates. CSG’s India technology centers of excellence, employ over 1,500 world class technologists, of which 500 were hired in the last year. The company continues to significantly invest and grow in India with up to 500 new hires to come in the next 18 months. Today, the office serves as a primary center for CSG product development, technology innovation and research. “At CSG, we create career opportunities where every day our employees can pursue their passions, show up as their true selves, and deliver unmatched value and results for our customers," said Sudhansu Panigrahi, head of India operations at CSG. "To unlock the full potential of our people, we’ve cultivated a culture that values authenticity and encourages every employee to dream big, fail fast, and constantly evolve. CSG is committed to delivering game-changing technologies that lead to extraordinary outcomes for our customers, and our growing team across India is at the heart of driving our innovation." CSG is reimagining what today’s workplace is like and how it should be, for both current employees and new hires. The company’s workplace of the future philosophy supports work-life integration and employees' diverse needs, providing flexibility and personal choice so employees can do their best work from anywhere in India. Today, CSG employees can work from their home offices, one of the CSG offices or a mix of both, letting them flourish in a workspace most conducive to their productivity and supporting each employee’s needs. Additionally, the company continues to emphasize and promote personal wellness and well-being by providing the resources and means to enable worldwide collaboration and personal connection across its over 5,000 employees. CSG’s commitment to inspire and deliver impact extends beyond its corporate walls and into the communities where its people live and work. In India, CSG works with the Udayan Shalini Fellowship Program (USF) and Prerana Nurturing Merit, two local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to empower women through higher education, mentoring, training and employability. CSG’s focus on gender diversity and equitable gender representation in the workplace, has led to over 40% of new hires and 36% of the total CSG India employee base being women. CSG plans to engage with additional NGOs and expand its community partnerships in the future. CSG employees are also encouraged and supported with volunteer paid time off to give back to their communities in ways that are meaningful and impactful to each individual. To learn more about careers at CSG and our company culture, visit CSG careers. About CSG CSG is a leader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management and payments solutions that make ordinary customer experiences extraordinary. Our cloud-first architecture and customer-obsessed mindset help companies around the world launch new digital services, expand into new markets, and create dynamic experiences that capture new customers and build brand loyalty. For nearly 40 years, CSG’s technologies and people have helped some of the world’s most recognizable brands solve their toughest business challenges and evolve to meet the demands of today’s digital economy with future-ready solutions that drive exceptional customer experiences. With 5,000 employees in over 20 countries, CSG is the trusted technology provider for leading global brands in telecommunications, retail, financial services and healthcare. Our solutions deliver real world outcomes to more than 900 customers in over 120 countries. To learn more, visit us at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Copyright © 2021 CSG Systems International, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“CSG”). All rights reserved. CSG® is a registered trademark of CSG Systems International, Inc. All third-party trademarks, service marks, and/or product names which are referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners, and all rights therein are reserved. CSG Contacts Jordy Spitale Public Relations 1 (504) 615-8820 Jordy.spitale@csgi.com John Rea Investor Relations +1 (210) 687-4409 john.rea@csgi.com Contact Details Tammy Hovey +1 917-520-2751 tammy.hovey@csgi.com Company Website https://www.csgi.com

October 04, 2021 08:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time

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