EDGECONNEX BREAKS GROUND ON AI-READY HYPERSCALE CAMPUS IN GREATER OSAKA

Sam Lee, Managing Director, Market & Commercial Development for EdgeConneX APAC performing the ground‑breaking ritual during the Shinto ceremony.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- EdgeConneX, a pioneer in global Build-to-Suit and Build-to-Density data centre solutions, has commenced development of its first 200-megawatt (MW), artificial intelligence (AI)-ready data centre campus in Greater Osaka.

The milestone project, in partnership with Kagoya Asset Management, reinforces the company's commitment to the Japanese market and aims to meet the region’s growing demand for secure, resilient, and advanced digital infrastructure.

“Breaking ground on our first data centre campus in Japan is a landmark moment for EdgeConneX and a significant step in our strategy to bring advanced, AI-ready infrastructure to this critical market.

“With a combined 350MW of capacity planned for the Greater Osaka region, we are well-positioned to support the next wave of cloud and AI adoption, helping to establish Osaka as a top destination for cutting-edge IT infrastructure,” said EdgeConneX Managing Director, Market & Commercial Development APAC, Sam Lee.

Meanwhile, Kyotanabe City Mayor, Takashi Kamimura welcomed the project, expressing confidence that the facility will contribute to the regional economy and support sustainable community development.

According to EdgeConneX in a statement, the new hyperscale campus will span 130,000 square metres, with a 200MW power capacity, and is located approximately 30 kilometres from Osaka’s central business district.

The first phase is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2028, following the company’s January 2025 market entry and local team expansion.

Designed for high-density AI workloads, the Osaka campus will feature a liquid-cooling-capable architecture offering flexibility, modularity, and mission-critical resilience. The facility will fully comply with Japan’s stringent building and seismic codes to ensure operational reliability.

-- BERNAMA

Bitget Invites Affiliates to Split "The Missing 40%" Revenue Plus $1 Million USDT Prize Pool

VICTORIA, Seychelles, March 18 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitget, the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), is inviting traders and content creators to claim their share of revenue that most exchanges keep to themselves. The Missing 40% campaign launches today with a $1 million USDT prize pool, built around a single premise: guaranteed 40% of the fees generated by an affiliate's community go back to the affiliate.

The program paid out more than $20M in commissions to over 300k registered affiliates globally, with $600+B in trading volume attributed to affiliate-referred users in the past 30 days. The Missing 40% campaign is designed to bring in the next wave of creators, community managers, and active traders who have yet to claim the revenue they are already generating for someone else.

The split is straightforward. Once a referred user reaches $10,000 in trading volume within their first 30 days, the affiliate earns a 40% commission on every trade that user places for life. At 40% from day one, it is the highest starting rebate in the industry. For retail traders who do not run a public community, Bitget also offers a self-affiliate option — a way to reclaim 40% of their own trading fees without needing an audience at all.

Affiliates manage their share through a personalized dashboard with monthly analytics reports covering conversions, commissions earned, and user behavior insights — giving a clear, ongoing picture of how referred activity translates into income.

Application process is designed to be fast. Applicants need either 100 social media followers or 500 community members to qualify, with a 24-hour review turnaround. Bitget structured the entry requirements this way deliberately. Most competing programs set thresholds that shut out smaller creators before they have a chance to grow, leaving real revenue on the table for both sides.

"Content creators and community builders put real work into growing their audiences, and that work directly drives trading activity on our platform. The least we can do is make sure they see a meaningful return to it. The Missing 40% campaign is our way of saying we take that partnership seriously, a permanent 40% split from day one, lifetime earnings on every referred user, and no hoops to jump through to get there," said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget.

The $1 million USDT prize pool supports campaign rewards, activation bonuses, and milestone incentives throughout the program. Affiliates who submit their application during the campaign period will receive a 600 USDT futures experience voucher package upon approval. The launch follows Bitget's Boost Month initiative in November 2025, which drove meaningful growth in affiliate sign-ups and community engagement across the platform.

Full program details and applications are available HERE.

About Bitget

Bitget is the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), serving over 125 million users and offering access to over 2M crypto tokens, 100+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals such as gold. The ecosystem is committed to helping users trade smarter with its AI agent, which co-pilots trade execution. Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships with LALIGA and MotoGP™. Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget currently leads in the tokenized TradFi market, providing the industry's lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions worldwide.

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SOURCE: Bitget Limited

--BERNAMA

AM BEST ASSIGNS RATINGS TO STRONGHOLD INSURANCE IN PHILIPPINES

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has assigned a financial strength rating of B (Fair), a long-term issuer credit rating of “bb” (Fair) and a Philippines National Scale Rating of a.PH (Excellent) to Stronghold Insurance Company Inc (Stronghold).

In a statement, AM Best said the outlook assigned to these credit ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Stronghold’s strong balance sheet strength, adequate operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.

The company’s risk-adjusted capitalisation, measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, is expected to remain at least strong over the medium term. Stronghold’s investment portfolio is low-to-moderate risk, with the majority allocated to cash, deposits, and Philippine government bonds, supported by a reinsurance programme of generally good credit quality.

Operating performance remains adequate, with a five-year average return on equity of 5.7 per cent (fiscal years 2020 to 2024). The company has shown marginal improvement in combined ratios, supported by steady business growth and generally benign loss experience.

In addition, investment income, primarily from interest and rental returns, remains stable and contributes positively to overall earnings, with 2025 operating results staying in positive territory due to consistent underwriting and investment performance.

Stronghold is among the top 10 non-life insurers in the Philippines, with approximately four per cent market share. Key business lines include fire, surety and motor insurance, with premium growth driven in part by large fire policies.

AM Best notes that certain risk exposures, particularly to natural catastrophes such as typhoons and floods, exceed current risk management capabilities, though improvements are expected over time.

-- BERNAMA

OXFORD NANOPORE PARTNERS A.D.A.M. INNOVATIONS TO ADVANCE GENOMIC SEQUENCING IN JAPAN

From left to right: Dr. Iri Sato Baran, Genesis Healthcare (A.D.A.M Innovations), Vice Chair of the Board Ambassador Julia Longbottom, British Embassy Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Michel Mommejat, Genesis Healthcare (A.D.A.M Innovations), CEO and Executive Director Gretchen Weightman, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Senior Vice President Commercial and General Manager APAC, Dr. Toshiharu Furukawa, LDP, Chair of Medical Information Policy and Genomic Medicine, House of Councillors, Hirokazu Shimoda, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Senior Director

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Oxford Nanopore Technologies and A.D.A.M. Innovations (Japanese corporate name Genesis Healthcare Co) announced an international collaboration to accelerate advanced genomic sequencing and medicine applications in Japan.

The partnership aims to develop and deploy comprehensive nanopore sequencing technology across the Japanese genetic testing market, according to Oxford Nanopore in a statement.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Vice President Commercial and General Manager APAC, Gretchen Weightman commented that the joint force will help bring rapid, scalable sequencing directly into clinical pathways and strengthen scientific ties between the United Kingdom (UK) and Japan.

Meanwhile, A.D.A.M. Innovations President, Michel Mommejat noted that Oxford Nanopore’s innovative platform opens new possibilities for clinical genomics in Japan and is intended to enhance diagnostic capability and advance the nation’s genomic precision medicine.

The initial phase will establish Oxford Nanopore’s information-rich, real-time sequencing technology within A.D.A.M. Innovations’ advanced genetic testing portfolio. This integration is expected to enable rapid and precise genomic testing across multiple disease areas.

The long-term goal is to introduce new clinical workflows validated under Japan-specific standards, supporting scalable sequencing of DNA fragments of any length. Sequencing that captures complete genomic information is poised to expand testing accuracy beyond existing technologies.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the British Embassy in Tokyo, in an event supported by His Majesty’s Ambassador to Japan, Julia Longbottom.

The initiative aligns with the UK-Japan Health Memorandum of Cooperation and reflects a broader increase in bilateral life sciences collaboration, strengthening industrial cooperation and accelerating translational research for patient benefit.

-- BERNAMA

PERSONA AI APPOINTS MICHAEL PERRY AS HEAD OF COMMERCIAL STRATEGY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Persona AI, a pioneering robotics company, has appointed Michael Perry as Head of Commercial Strategy, signalling the company’s shift toward commercial deployment as it builds infrastructure to bring humanoid automation to markets such as shipyards, steel mills, and construction sites globally.

“We are building Persona to solve real problems in some of the hardest industrial environments. Now we need someone who has taken robots from the lab to the factory floor and built the commercial engine to sustain it,” said its Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Nicolaus Radford.

In his new role, Perry will focus on building Persona AI’s commercial framework, engaging strategic partners, enabling early adopters and scaling customer engagements, including working with clients to deploy their first humanoids focused on heavy industrial tasks.

Perry’s appointment comes on the heels of Persona’s agreements with HD Hyundai and POSCO Group to advance humanoid automation in shipyards and steel manufacturing, as well as a pilot programme with the state of Louisiana targeting active heavy-industry environments.

A seasoned robotics and automation executive, Perry has a distinguished track record in driving commercial growth, strategic partnerships, and market expansion for advanced robotics technologies.

Persona AI in a statement said Perry’s experience across DJI, Boston Dynamics, and Dexterity AI has focused on scaling promising robotic and physical AI technology with enterprise customers.

Operating across Houston and Pensacola, Persona AI is backed by leading investors in robotics and industrial technology. The company develops humanoid robots designed to use standard industrial tools such as welding torches, grinders and power tools in human-scale environments.

Persona AI will exhibit at NVIDIA GTC 2026 from March 16 to 19 in San Jose, California, where attendees can meet the team and learn more about the company’s approach to industrial humanoid deployment.

In addition, Radford will appear as a speaker at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas, sharing insights on the rise of humanoid robotics, physical AI and the future of automation in real-world industrial environments.

-- BERNAMA

EXPEREO NAMES KEVIN BROWN AS COO TO DRIVE GLOBAL OPERATIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Expereo, a leading global Managed Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, has appointed Kevin Brown as Chief Operating Officer (COO), reinforcing its focus on operational integration, efficiency, and scaling customer and supplier-facing functions worldwide.

In a statement, Expereo Chief Executive Officer, Ben Elms said that Brown’s appointment provides a single point of executive ownership, enabling faster decision-making, clearer operational integration, and stronger execution, marking a key milestone in the company’s next phase of growth.

Meanwhile, Brown said: “I am joining Expereo because it sits at the centre of one of today’s most critical business needs – secure, resilient global connectivity.

“I look forward to driving operational excellence, accelerating transformation, and strengthening the customer experience.”

Brown will oversee operational strategy, transformation delivery, and performance across all customer and supplier-facing functions, working closely with Expereo’s Digital Office to advance its digital transformation.

He brings extensive global leadership experience across telecom, cybersecurity, and Software as a Service (SaaS), most recently serving as NCC Group Global COO, where he built and scaled operating models to drive customer experience, efficiency, and growth.

Previously, Brown led BT’s cybersecurity business, establishing a strong track record of transforming operations into engines of value creation at scale.

-- BERNAMA

HORIZON QUANTUM UNVEILS ANTICIPATED BOARD MEMBERS, CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- Horizon Quantum Holdings Ltd (Horizon Quantum) has announced expected new members of its board of directors and a key addition to its leadership team.

Following the completion of Horizon Quantum’s merger with dMY Squared Technology Group Inc (dMY), the company expects to appoint Danielle Lambert, formerly of Apple Inc; Peter Oey of Grab Holdings Ltd; Jill Turner of Broadcom Inc; and Harry You, Chairman of dMY, to its board of directors.

Meanwhile, Horizon Quantum will also strengthen its leadership team by adding Catherine Fitzsimons, currently of Fidelity International Ltd, as the company’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and company secretary.

“Bringing world-class appointments to our board and leadership team strengthens the company and enhances our ability to achieve our mission of unlocking the full potential of quantum computers,” said Horizon Quantum Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Dr Joe Fitzsimons in a statement.

Previously Apple Vice President of Human Resources, Lambert helped build teams behind several Apple products and played a pivotal role in the founding of Nest Labs Inc, while Oey is Grab Chief Financial Officer and previously held several finance leadership roles at Activision Blizzard Inc.

Turner has more than 20 years of experience in global human resources leadership roles at Fortune 500 technology companies, while You is an experienced public company officer who has held Chief Financial Officer roles at Accenture plc and Oracle Corporation.

Separately, Fitzsimons will join the company in May. At Fidelity, she is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives and previously served as Head of Global Product Legal.

Horizon Quantum’s mission is to unlock broad quantum advantage by building software infrastructure that enables developers to use quantum computing to solve complex computational problems.

-- BERNAMA