KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- Proxima Fusion has raised 411 million euros (US$468 million) in a financing round, valuing the company at 2.4 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) and making it Europe's best-funded fusion energy company. (US$1=RM4.08)
The financing round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with German energy company RWE and Google participating as strategic investors.
According to Proxima Fusion, the funding will support the construction of Alpha, its net-energy stellarator demonstrator near Munich, Germany, and accelerate the development of technologies required for commercial fusion power plants.
Proxima Fusion co-founder and chief executive officer, Dr Francesco Sciortino said the investment demonstrates growing confidence in Europe's ability to develop globally competitive fusion technology companies.
“Investors recognise both the urgency and the opportunity of what we are doing and are backing us to develop a generational energy technology company,” he said in a statement.
The company said Alpha is being developed in partnership with the State of Bavaria, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and RWE to validate key technologies for future fusion power plants.
Proxima Fusion said the new funding will also support the completion of its Stellarator Model Coil, expansion of high-temperature superconducting cable and magnet production, and recruitment across engineering, manufacturing and operations.
-- BERNAMA
Tuesday, 7 July 2026
HELICAL FUSION, HAZAMA ANDO PARTNER ON FUSION PILOT PLANT
KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Helical Fusion Co Ltd (Helical Fusion) and Hazama Ando Corporation (Hazama Ando) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the future construction of Helix KANATA, Helical Fusion’s fusion pilot plant targeted for the 2030s.
The partnership also sees Hazama Ando joining the Helix Program as an Official Partner, strengthening the industrial and construction capabilities supporting Helical Fusion’s commercial fusion energy initiative.
Helical Fusion said the Helix Program, launched in April 2026, is designed to accelerate the development of commercially viable fusion power plants by bringing together industrial and engineering partners.
Helical Fusion Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Takaya Taguchi said the programme aims to deliver a new long-term energy source capable of sustaining future generations.
“The goal of the Helix Program is not only to realise commercial fusion power, but also to bring humanity a new source of energy that can sustain civilisation for generations to come,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Hazama Ando Representative Director and President, Kazuhiko Kuniya said the company would contribute its experience in power and energy infrastructure projects to support the development of fusion energy facilities.
Under the MoU, the two companies will study construction requirements and project execution approaches for future fusion energy facilities, including Helix KANATA and Helix HARUKA, an integrated demonstration device.
Founded in Japan, Helical Fusion is developing fusion power plants based on the Helical Stellarator approach, a magnetic-confinement fusion concept backed by decades of research at Japanese universities and public research institutions.
-- BERNAMA
The partnership also sees Hazama Ando joining the Helix Program as an Official Partner, strengthening the industrial and construction capabilities supporting Helical Fusion’s commercial fusion energy initiative.
Helical Fusion said the Helix Program, launched in April 2026, is designed to accelerate the development of commercially viable fusion power plants by bringing together industrial and engineering partners.
Helical Fusion Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Takaya Taguchi said the programme aims to deliver a new long-term energy source capable of sustaining future generations.
“The goal of the Helix Program is not only to realise commercial fusion power, but also to bring humanity a new source of energy that can sustain civilisation for generations to come,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Hazama Ando Representative Director and President, Kazuhiko Kuniya said the company would contribute its experience in power and energy infrastructure projects to support the development of fusion energy facilities.
Under the MoU, the two companies will study construction requirements and project execution approaches for future fusion energy facilities, including Helix KANATA and Helix HARUKA, an integrated demonstration device.
Founded in Japan, Helical Fusion is developing fusion power plants based on the Helical Stellarator approach, a magnetic-confinement fusion concept backed by decades of research at Japanese universities and public research institutions.
-- BERNAMA
Friday, 3 July 2026
8X8 BAGS 2026 METRISTAR TOP PROVIDER FOR CPAAS BY METRIGY
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Global business communications platform provider, 8x8 Inc has been named a 2026 MetriStar Top Provider for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) by Metrigy, an independent research and advisory firm.
The CPaaS recognition is part of a broader result in Metrigy’s 2026 MetriStar Award programme, with 8x8 also receiving the MetriStar Top Provider recognition for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS).
“Most of the companies we work with are not just looking for a messaging API; they need the whole chain: campaign management, AI, analytics, and a contact centre that talks to all of it.
“This recognition from Metrigy validates our approach helping organisations improve customer satisfaction, drive growth, and simplify operations at scale,” said 8x8 General Manager, CPaaS, Sylvain Chaperon in a statement.
The awards are based on Metrigy’s Customer Experience MetriCast 2026 study, which surveyed 1,437 customer experience (CX) leaders across 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
8x8 achieved above-average scores on both business success and customer sentiment, with particular strength in CSAT improvement, revenue growth, platform reliability, and no-code/low-code application quality.
Metrigy highlighted 8x8's integrated communications portfolio as a key differentiator, noting that the company is among a small number of vendors offering CPaaS, CCaaS, and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) within a single platform.
The research also highlighted 8x8's approach to treating CPaaS not as a standalone developer toolkit but as a programmable layer across the CX stack, expanding customer engagement capabilities beyond the contact centre to sales, field service, and frontline teams.
-- BERNAMA
The CPaaS recognition is part of a broader result in Metrigy’s 2026 MetriStar Award programme, with 8x8 also receiving the MetriStar Top Provider recognition for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS).
“Most of the companies we work with are not just looking for a messaging API; they need the whole chain: campaign management, AI, analytics, and a contact centre that talks to all of it.
“This recognition from Metrigy validates our approach helping organisations improve customer satisfaction, drive growth, and simplify operations at scale,” said 8x8 General Manager, CPaaS, Sylvain Chaperon in a statement.
The awards are based on Metrigy’s Customer Experience MetriCast 2026 study, which surveyed 1,437 customer experience (CX) leaders across 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
8x8 achieved above-average scores on both business success and customer sentiment, with particular strength in CSAT improvement, revenue growth, platform reliability, and no-code/low-code application quality.
Metrigy highlighted 8x8's integrated communications portfolio as a key differentiator, noting that the company is among a small number of vendors offering CPaaS, CCaaS, and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) within a single platform.
The research also highlighted 8x8's approach to treating CPaaS not as a standalone developer toolkit but as a programmable layer across the CX stack, expanding customer engagement capabilities beyond the contact centre to sales, field service, and frontline teams.
-- BERNAMA
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
NINE FUNDS EARN PERFECT SCORES IN GLOBAL SWF GSR SCOREBOARD
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Global SWF has published the seventh edition of its Governance, Sustainability, and Resilience (GSR) Scoreboard, with nine institutions achieving perfect scores in the 2026 assessment of state-owned investors.
“We are very satisfied with the increasing response and accountability of sovereign investors, which recognise the importance of adopting best practices and embracing change and evolution.
“This year, the nine perfect scorers from around the world demonstrated robustness and hardiness in the context of geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility,” said Global SWF Founder and Managing Director, Diego López in a statement.
The annual assessment covers the world's 200 largest sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds, which manage US$34.0 trillion on behalf of 76 countries, and is based on 25 governance, sustainability and resilience indicators using publicly available information. (US$1=RM4.07)
This year's edition introduced three revised indicators to reflect the growing importance of relative financial performance, carbon emissions reporting, and the adoption of and investment in artificial intelligence (AI).
On a like-for-like basis, the average GSR score across the 200 funds edged up to 60 per cent, with sustainability and resilience scores improving while governance, including transparency, remained unchanged.
Governments worldwide, including those in deficit economies, continue to establish new strategic investment vehicles, underscoring the importance of promoting industry best practices and strong institutional role models.
Nearly two-thirds of the assessed funds have adopted or invested in AI, with half reporting their first AI-related initiatives during the past 12 months. Institutions in Oceania recorded the strongest performance, followed by Europe and North America, while Asian funds scored just above the overall threshold.
Global SWF is an industry specialist that promotes greater understanding of state-owned investors through its data platform, research reports, consulting services, executive education programmes and industry events.
-- BERNAMA
“We are very satisfied with the increasing response and accountability of sovereign investors, which recognise the importance of adopting best practices and embracing change and evolution.
“This year, the nine perfect scorers from around the world demonstrated robustness and hardiness in the context of geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility,” said Global SWF Founder and Managing Director, Diego López in a statement.
The annual assessment covers the world's 200 largest sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds, which manage US$34.0 trillion on behalf of 76 countries, and is based on 25 governance, sustainability and resilience indicators using publicly available information. (US$1=RM4.07)
This year's edition introduced three revised indicators to reflect the growing importance of relative financial performance, carbon emissions reporting, and the adoption of and investment in artificial intelligence (AI).
On a like-for-like basis, the average GSR score across the 200 funds edged up to 60 per cent, with sustainability and resilience scores improving while governance, including transparency, remained unchanged.
Governments worldwide, including those in deficit economies, continue to establish new strategic investment vehicles, underscoring the importance of promoting industry best practices and strong institutional role models.
Nearly two-thirds of the assessed funds have adopted or invested in AI, with half reporting their first AI-related initiatives during the past 12 months. Institutions in Oceania recorded the strongest performance, followed by Europe and North America, while Asian funds scored just above the overall threshold.
Global SWF is an industry specialist that promotes greater understanding of state-owned investors through its data platform, research reports, consulting services, executive education programmes and industry events.
-- BERNAMA
ATON LAUNCHES AI-POWERED FAMILY SAFETY PLATFORM AMID BULLYING CONCERNS
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- ATON Inc has launched FamGuard, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered family safety platform designed to help parents monitor children's digital activities and identify potential signs of online risks, as concerns over school bullying and cyberbullying continue to grow in Singapore.
The launch comes amid heightened public attention to child safety following the widely reported Sengkang Green Primary School bullying case, which sparked broader discussions on student protection and the early identification of behavioural warning signs.
ATON said FamGuard combines real-time location tracking with AI-powered Conversation Insights and Friend Scoring to help parents better understand changes in their children's communication patterns and social interactions, enabling earlier conversations when unusual behaviour is detected.
“Technology cannot replace parents, but it can help families stay connected earlier and start conversations sooner,” an ATON representative said in a statement.
The platform also offers parental control features, including Screen Time Management, App Usage Monitoring and App Controls, to help families encourage healthier digital habits and oversee smartphone usage.
The company said growing use of messaging applications, social media and online group interactions has broadened expectations for family safety services beyond location tracking to include greater visibility into children's digital environments and behavioural patterns.
The launch follows research indicating that one in four upper primary school students in Singapore has experienced bullying, while many parents remain concerned about children's exposure to cyberbullying and other online risks.
ATON said FamGuard was developed to support families seeking additional tools to strengthen digital safety while complementing parental engagement and communication.
-- BERNAMA
The launch comes amid heightened public attention to child safety following the widely reported Sengkang Green Primary School bullying case, which sparked broader discussions on student protection and the early identification of behavioural warning signs.
ATON said FamGuard combines real-time location tracking with AI-powered Conversation Insights and Friend Scoring to help parents better understand changes in their children's communication patterns and social interactions, enabling earlier conversations when unusual behaviour is detected.
“Technology cannot replace parents, but it can help families stay connected earlier and start conversations sooner,” an ATON representative said in a statement.
The platform also offers parental control features, including Screen Time Management, App Usage Monitoring and App Controls, to help families encourage healthier digital habits and oversee smartphone usage.
The company said growing use of messaging applications, social media and online group interactions has broadened expectations for family safety services beyond location tracking to include greater visibility into children's digital environments and behavioural patterns.
The launch follows research indicating that one in four upper primary school students in Singapore has experienced bullying, while many parents remain concerned about children's exposure to cyberbullying and other online risks.
ATON said FamGuard was developed to support families seeking additional tools to strengthen digital safety while complementing parental engagement and communication.
-- BERNAMA
Tuesday, 30 June 2026
CIRCEUS LAUNCHES WITH EBRD EQUITY INVESTMENT
KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Circeus, an artificial intelligence (AI)-native holding company, has launched with an equity investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), alongside participation from other investors.
According to a statement, the launch introduces Circeus as the group's holding company brand, reflecting the broader business-to-business (B2B) software portfolio with AI embedded across its operations.
The investment will help expand its central AI engineering capability and support future acquisitions. The group has completed 18 acquisitions over the past four years and serves more than 200,000 businesses worldwide.
“As AI evolves software from passive tools into systems that act and execute, the addressable market for technology is expanding several-fold. We are building the platform to capture this shift.
“We were not running a fundraising process, as we are profitable and well capitalised, but we chose to make space for EBRD given their institutional standing and to lean further into a market that presents several attractive opportunities,” said Circeus Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Luca Cartechini.
Meanwhile, EBRD investor Bruno Lusic said the bank is backing Circeus as it brings AI to mission-critical software, adding that the company's long-term growth model aligns with the EBRD's investment mandate.
Circeus grows through a repeatable acquisition model, acquiring software businesses and integrating them into a central AI capability that embeds AI into products, automates operations, and reuses infrastructure, data, and insights across its portfolio.
The company said founders who sell their businesses to Circeus retain their brands, teams, and customer relationships while gaining access to the group's AI engineering, growth expertise, and centralised back-office support.
Looking ahead, Circeus aims to accelerate AI adoption by embedding advanced AI capabilities into the mission-critical software used by businesses across multiple industries.
-- BERNAMA
According to a statement, the launch introduces Circeus as the group's holding company brand, reflecting the broader business-to-business (B2B) software portfolio with AI embedded across its operations.
The investment will help expand its central AI engineering capability and support future acquisitions. The group has completed 18 acquisitions over the past four years and serves more than 200,000 businesses worldwide.
“As AI evolves software from passive tools into systems that act and execute, the addressable market for technology is expanding several-fold. We are building the platform to capture this shift.
“We were not running a fundraising process, as we are profitable and well capitalised, but we chose to make space for EBRD given their institutional standing and to lean further into a market that presents several attractive opportunities,” said Circeus Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Luca Cartechini.
Meanwhile, EBRD investor Bruno Lusic said the bank is backing Circeus as it brings AI to mission-critical software, adding that the company's long-term growth model aligns with the EBRD's investment mandate.
Circeus grows through a repeatable acquisition model, acquiring software businesses and integrating them into a central AI capability that embeds AI into products, automates operations, and reuses infrastructure, data, and insights across its portfolio.
The company said founders who sell their businesses to Circeus retain their brands, teams, and customer relationships while gaining access to the group's AI engineering, growth expertise, and centralised back-office support.
Looking ahead, Circeus aims to accelerate AI adoption by embedding advanced AI capabilities into the mission-critical software used by businesses across multiple industries.
-- BERNAMA
Monday, 29 June 2026
MAVENIR WINS DEUTSCHE TELEKOM'S PARTNER AWARD FOR NETWORK INNOVATION
KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- Mavenir, the software company building cloud-native, artificial intelligence (AI)-by-design mobile networks, has won the Deutsche Telekom Partner of the Year Award for Best Network Innovation.
The recognition underscores Mavenir’s pivotal role in the Most Energy Efficient Core (MeeC) initiative, a flagship collaboration with Deutsche Telekom built on its Horizontal TelCo Cloud, the company’s own cloud architecture and a blueprint for the telecommunications industry.
According to Mavenir in a statement, MeeC has redefined energy efficiency in 5G Core networks, delivering up to a 65 per cent reduction in energy consumption during low-traffic periods while maintaining uncompromised performance and service quality.
“Winning Deutsche Telekom's Partner Award is a tremendous honour for the entire Mavenir team. MeeC is a compelling demonstration of what becomes possible when cloud-native architecture, AI-driven automation, and genuine partnership combine.
“Sustainable networks are not a future ambition - they are an operational reality, and we are proud to have helped Deutsche Telekom prove that at scale,” said Mavenir Chief Executive Officer, Pardeep Kohli.
Launched in 2025, MeeC applies advanced AI-driven traffic analysis and predictive workload optimisation to identify and eliminate energy waste across 5G Core functions without compromising network performance or service quality.
The project demonstrated that significant energy reductions are achievable at a commercial scale in live network environments. Its key achievements include AI-powered traffic prediction and real-time scaling, dynamic workload consolidation across cloud-native functions, and proven deployment in a live Tier-1 production network.
Presented by Deutsche Telekom's senior leadership at the Telekom Campus Fair 2026, the Telekom Partner Awards recognise outstanding contributions by the company's partners in network technology, operations and sustainability.
-- BERNAMA
The recognition underscores Mavenir’s pivotal role in the Most Energy Efficient Core (MeeC) initiative, a flagship collaboration with Deutsche Telekom built on its Horizontal TelCo Cloud, the company’s own cloud architecture and a blueprint for the telecommunications industry.
According to Mavenir in a statement, MeeC has redefined energy efficiency in 5G Core networks, delivering up to a 65 per cent reduction in energy consumption during low-traffic periods while maintaining uncompromised performance and service quality.
“Winning Deutsche Telekom's Partner Award is a tremendous honour for the entire Mavenir team. MeeC is a compelling demonstration of what becomes possible when cloud-native architecture, AI-driven automation, and genuine partnership combine.
“Sustainable networks are not a future ambition - they are an operational reality, and we are proud to have helped Deutsche Telekom prove that at scale,” said Mavenir Chief Executive Officer, Pardeep Kohli.
Launched in 2025, MeeC applies advanced AI-driven traffic analysis and predictive workload optimisation to identify and eliminate energy waste across 5G Core functions without compromising network performance or service quality.
The project demonstrated that significant energy reductions are achievable at a commercial scale in live network environments. Its key achievements include AI-powered traffic prediction and real-time scaling, dynamic workload consolidation across cloud-native functions, and proven deployment in a live Tier-1 production network.
Presented by Deutsche Telekom's senior leadership at the Telekom Campus Fair 2026, the Telekom Partner Awards recognise outstanding contributions by the company's partners in network technology, operations and sustainability.
-- BERNAMA
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