Blackstone Completes Previously Announced Acquisition of Sphera, Leading Provider of ESG Software, Data, and Consulting Services

NEW YORK and CHICAGO, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sphera today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE: BX, “Blackstone”) have completed their previously announced acquisition of Sphera, a leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) software, data and consulting services, from Genstar Capital. The transaction, which values the company at $1.4 billion, continues Blackstone’s thematic investment focus on the ESG sector and provides Sphera with capital to help accelerate its growth and product offerings.

Spanning over 80 countries with more than 3,000 customers, Sphera combines its software as a service solution with consulting services, underpinned by proprietary data, to support businesses globally to manage and mitigate ESG risk. This support is delivered through its three product lines: Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S); Operational Risk Management; and Product Stewardship.

As part of Sphera’s strategic growth efforts, the company is also announcing the appointment of Kimberly Kolb as chief human resources officer (CHRO). As CHRO, Kolb will be responsible for developing and supporting Sphera’s global workforce as the organization continues to grow its footprint worldwide. She brings over 30 years of human resources, consulting and marketing experience from technology, professional service and financial services firms to the position, and held senior leadership roles at Whittman-Hart, CME Group and XR Trading.

Paul Marushka, CEO and president at Sphera, said, “As we enter this new stage, we are excited to be able to partner with Blackstone. Our achievements to date are a result of the dedication, hard work and effort of the team at Sphera. I am proud to collaborate with such a dedicated team as we take Sphera, with Blackstone’s investment and support, to the next level. This partnership with and capital injection by Blackstone will facilitate the next evolution of innovation, cementing our position as leaders and allowing us to push ahead with our vision for ESG software integration with extensive data and world-class consultancy services.”

Eli Nagler, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said: “We are excited to partner with Paul Marushka and his team to build on Sphera’s strong momentum as a trusted leader in the ESG solutions space. We look forward to supporting the company in the next phase of its growth journey as they continue to expand their product offerings and innovate to best serve their global customer base.”

Note to editors

About Sphera
Sphera creates a safer, more sustainable and productive world. We are a leading global provider of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services with a focus on Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S), Operational Risk Management and Product Stewardship. Learn more about Sphera at www.sphera.com. Follow Sphera on LinkedIn.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $684 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Contact:

Sphera Solutions, Sphera@AspectusGroup.com

Peplink Enables Flawless Broadcast for Subaru Motorsports USA Rally Win

Peplink Enables Flawless Broadcast for Subaru Motorsports USA Rally Win

Subaru Motorsports USA just completed their first event since selecting Peplink’s SpeedFusion powered solutions to enable the team to deliver new capabilities that were previously impossible.

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Subaru Motorsports USA just completed their first event since selecting Peplink’s SpeedFusion powered solutions to enable the team to deliver new capabilities that were previously impossible.

Subaru Motorsports USA is the U.S. competition arm of Subaru, with the mission of testing and proving the capabilities of Subaru vehicles in stage rally, rallycross, record attempts, and more. Connectivity at these events is absolutely essential for their on-site crew of over 20 people to perform all kinds of tasks that keep the race team in the hunt for their next championship. From vehicle diagnostics, live broadcast, race event planning, social media, maps, weather, and even just checking in with someone’s family – connectivity at these events has become mission critical.

The Subaru Motorsports USA team has built an exciting brand that draws fans in from around the world. These fans have grown to expect constant updates, images, and live broadcasts from each event. However, the nature of these events brings the team into areas well outside of any single cellular network’s coverage, so things like live streams have been very unreliable – they work in one spot, but are impossible in others.

The Ojibwe Forests Rally in northern Minnesota is one that the team looks forward to every year. With race stages that deliver some of the most epic pictures and video, they were keen to improve their ability to keep fans connected as they journeyed back to the Minnesota forests for this year’s event. With the help of Peplink’s SpeedFusion, the Subaru media team was able to combine the bandwidth and coverage of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon and broadcast live from the most challenging rally stage, which is also the most challenging area to get a usable signal.

“We didn’t expect this to work – nobody’s phone works down there. We were amazed that Peplink’s SpeedFusion was able to deliver a flawless broadcast live to our social media channels. This opens up all kinds of new ideas for us to keep fans connected,” said William Stokes at Subaru of America, Inc.

Keith Chau, Peplink’s General Manager, said: “Our technology is able to combine the bandwidth of all the cellular networks so customers like Subaru can have the most stable and fastest connection possible, every time they need it. While customers with extreme requirements are always exciting, these kinds of results are something Peplink is able to deliver in commonplace business applications as well.”

About Subaru Motorsports USA
Subaru Motorsports USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc.MOTULKMC WheelsYokohama TiresDirtFish Rally SchoolKÜHLRECAROweBoost and Peplink. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/motorsports.

Follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, on TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa, and on Twitter @subarums_usa.

About Peplink

Peplink makes connectivity reliable. Peplink’s ecosystem, SpeedFusion technology and SD-WAN routers have been deployed around the world, helping thousands of customers from many industries increase bandwidth, enhance Internet reliability, reduce connectivity cost, or enable new deployment possibilities. Learn more about Peplink.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1e476ab-b9cf-41e8-982f-d29379ee5bd7

Contact:
Cassy Mak
Marketing Manager
marketing@peplink.com

20i Launches in USA With Plans to Shake Up the US Reseller Hosting Market

20i brings their alternative to cPanel into the US market

20i USA

NOTTINGHAM, England, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 20i, one of the UK’s leading web hosting companies, have announced the opening of their first US data center. Powered by a combination of autoscaling cloud hosting, proprietary technology and expert hosting support, 20i is planning to shake up a market dominated by cPanel hosts.

By developing their own hosting technology and control panel called ‘My20i’, 20i customers do not face the same performance limits and associated license fees as those who use cPanel. Unlike cPanel, which can only be hosted on a single server, 20i’s autoscaling hosting responds to traffic load and balances it across multiple servers as required.

20i is also bringing their unlimited Reseller Hosting to the USA. Uninhibited by any 3rd party licensing fees or technology restrictions, their Reseller Hosting customers can sell unlimited sites with unlimited bandwidth, webspace and databases across Linux, Windows and WordPress-optimized platforms.

Customers around the world can choose to host their sites at 20i’s UK data center or their brand new Dallas, Texas data center. Director Lloyd Cobb said, “The location of our first US location was a decision we gave a lot of thought, and ultimately, we identified Dallas as a key central internet hub for the US. The data center we chose is the most interconnected building in Texas – it’s got great latency to both East and West coasts as well as into South America.”

Founder of 20i Tim Brealey said, “I’m thrilled that we’re giving our Resellers in the UK the chance to expand into new markets and Resellers in the US the opportunity to build their business without any limits placed on how many websites they can host. They’ll be able to offer their clients a hosting platform that’s unbeatable by current US providers and manage both US and UK hosting from a single control panel – unavailable anywhere else.”

Co-founder Jonathan Brealey added, “With this US expansion, we can now compete with the biggest companies and still remain true to our principles of excellence in technology, innovation and support. And do all this while remaining independent.

Opening our data center in Dallas is just the start, and we couldn’t be happier. We welcome everyone who joins us on this exciting journey.”

20i Reseller Hosting is available for US customers for $1 for the first month, and $59.99 per month thereafter.

About 20i

20i is one of the UK’s leading web hosts and domain registrars. Currently rated the #1 web host on Trustpilot and the only UK host to be rated ‘Top Tier’ WordPress host by Review Signal, our Reseller Hosting, WordPress Hosting and VPS are the perfect choice for agencies, businesses, freelancers and side-hustlers.

Our mission is to provide word-class hosting experiences that surpass our customers’ expectations, by developing easy to use, intuitive and high-performance products backed by an expert support team.

Company contact: marketing@20i.com

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Solving COVID and Climate: ‘Innovation Without Borders’

The Lens Collective Action Project levels the playing field with universal access to innovation knowledge and the people and institutions that participate in innovation. Set to disrupt the knowledge industry – there’s no collective action without shared evidence.

The Lens Collective Action Project

CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Our crises are shared. So must be our solutions. Business as usual will not get us there. We need to jump-start inclusive and deliberate problem-solving that engages all the world’s people and institutions in evidence-driven partnerships. The Lens is set to enable this change.

Today, The Lens announces the launch of the Collective Action Project – a multi-year initiative to enable open innovation knowledge for solving problems together. Comprising a massive collection of over 134M global patents linked with 236M research publication records and hundreds of millions of genetic sequences extracted from patents, with powerful analytics, and institutional tools, The Lens is the world’s largest science and technology resource for both public sector, civil society and businesses, built on open data.

Developed in consultation with leadership at the WHO, WIPO, CEPI, World Trade Organization, UNEP, the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor of India, and leading universities, and guided by the Lens Equitable Access Program (LEAP), the project will ensure open access to shared innovation knowledge and inclusive institutional uses of the data and tools needed to solve our collective crises under terms that make it a community-supported platform.

This release features the largest increase in patent and scholarly capability data and analysis in Lens’ 20-year history, leading to new clarity in global patenting. Using global patent status analysis, Lens has found that of the nearly 14 million granted patents that are currently ‘in force’ worldwide, almost 99% of them have rights in fewer than 20 countries. Fewer than 1% of patents have any rights at all in countries across the Global South. This observation shifts the narrative around patents towards its original purpose of putting knowledge in the public domain to stimulate innovation.

Collective Action needs Connected Actors.

Science, however remarkable, does not solve problems by itself. It must be well integrated with many diverse capabilities, and bound by shared incentives and knowledge. These capabilities – including business, law, policy, and more, are typically found in guilds of practice with distinct types of knowledge.

The Collective Action Project will enable bridging these domain and expertise boundaries and removing roadblocks to science- and technology-enabled problem-solving and the partnering it requires. Building on its newly released Report Builder features, Lens CAP will lead to cooperative mapping of the partnerships, opportunities, risks and trajectories needed to achieve the massive scale and speed we need to cope with crises.

Summary of key points:

  • The Lens launches the Collective Action Project (CAP), a new multi-year initiative to replace closed, proprietary innovation knowledge with open, reusable and shareable public knowledge.
  • Discovery and analysis of innovation knowledge is a multi-billion dollar industry that uses closed data, charging exorbitant fees to find public knowledge, keeping innovators in silos and excluding most of the world from accessing this knowledge.
  • The Lens is a global platform that will reverse this situation, dropping costs, saving the public sector 100s of millions of dollars and making ‘open’ a default
  • The Lens Equitable Access Program (LEAP) ensures a level playing field.
  • LEAP guarantees every human free and unsurveilled use of Lens.org and its open data.
  • LEAP guarantees every institution will have access to an Institutional Toolkit with low tiered fees leading to community-supported sustainable open infrastructure.
  • Public-good institutions in 130 countries across the Global South will get Institutional Toolkits free of cost.
  • The Lens releases a massive upgrade to provide the world’s first integrated open research and patent platform with over 120 searchable fields, powerful analytics, APIs and global patent legal status.
  • Nearly 99% of all granted patents are only in force in the richest 10-20 countries. For the rest of the world, these patents are public domain.

View the full Press Release, read more about the Collective Action Project or watch the accompanying launch video. For more information, please contact info@lens.org


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The Lens Collective Action Project – Press Kit.pdf

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New Teledyne Geospatial combines world-leading expertise of CARIS & Optech to deliver comprehensive solutions for land and sea

CZMIL SuperNova

CZMIL SuperNova first solution from the newly formed Geospatial group

VAUGHAN, Ontario, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Teledyne announces the launch of a geospatial group with the unification of its Optech and CARIS businesses. The new Teledyne Geospatial group will offer holistic solutions to seamlessly map land and sea through the integration of industry-leading lidar sensors combined with world-renowned software workflows.

Teledyne Optech has been a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of advanced lidar instruments for more than 45 years. And for over four decades, Teledyne CARIS has developed market-dominating software for the marine GIS community.

This collaboration provides customers with a competitive edge in mapping and delivering data products inside of one complete workflow. Ease of collection and processing, through to final product, is enhanced with efficiency-driving AI algorithms and real time quality control. Ongoing collaborations with other Teledyne businesses extends the geospatial capabilities even further.

The CZMIL SuperNova, the first product from Teledyne Geospatial, integrates Optech’s bathymetric lidar with CARIS’ comprehensive processing software providing the highest performing bathymetric lidar system in the world.

Andy Hoggarth, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Teledyne Geospatial explains: “Businesses today are increasingly expected to offer a more comprehensive suite of services. Bringing Optech and CARIS together allows us to leverage the world-leading expertise of both companies, ensuring customers can fully realize the competitive advantages provided by our ability to deliver holistic solutions for land and sea.”

Join us at Intergeo, September 21-23 in Hannover, Germany, at Hall 020 booth C16.

Teledyne Geospatial unifies the hardware and software expertise of two unique companies in the geospatial arena. The new group provides customers with innovative integrated solutions. Offerings will include turnkey systems, lidar and sonar integrated workflows and a range of systems and solutions that support holistic, precision data collection.

Notes to Editors:
For media enquiries, please contact:
Jennifer Parham
Jennifer.Parham@teledyne.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8db7b45b-0e5d-4ac2-ae34-831a808bae40