News

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. – September 17, 2026 -- The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program has awarded funding for four quality improvement projects targeting metastatic prostate cancer (mPCA) care, backed by Pfizer Global Medical Grants (GMG).

Four institutions receive two-year grants to standardize mPCA treatment protocols

The selected projects, each set for completion within two years, will run at UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Northwestern University's Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Moffitt Cancer Center. Changchuan (Charles) Jiang, MD, at UT Southwestern will lead a biomarker action-loop initiative within a major U.S. safety-net cancer program. Paul Leger, MD, at Georgetown will implement multilevel interventions across the Medstar Health Network under the I-CARE PCA project.

San Jose, Calif. – September 17, 2026 -- GS Microelectronics U.S., Inc. (GSME) has officially joined TSMC's Open Innovation Platform (OIP) Value Chain Alliance (VCA) as a North American member partner, expanding its role in delivering full-lifecycle ASIC services from IP development through advanced packaging and testing.

GSME expands ASIC services across the full IC value chain

The partnership integrates GSME's design enablement tools with the broader OIP Ecosystem, covering front-end architecture, back-end physical design, wafer manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly and testing under a single execution framework.

Beijing – September 17, 2026 -- A 4-meter hydraulic-electric hybrid humanoid robot capable of carrying a 500 kg dual-arm payload while maintaining fingertip repeatability of ±0.05 mm has been unveiled by Beijing-based NeodraDynamics Robotics at the World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing. The machine, named Neo1, combines digital hydraulics with electric actuation, a pairing the company says eliminates the industry's long-standing trade-off between raw force and fine motor precision.

Neo1's core cylinder drives 1,000 kg at 1-micrometer precision

At the center of the robot's design is a micro digital hydraulic cylinder weighing 1.1 kg that can drive a 1,000 kg load with repeatability down to 1 micrometer. The company states the component withstands nuclear radiation, deep-sea pressure, extreme temperatures, heavy dust and intense vibration, conditions that typically degrade pure-electric actuators.

Seoul, South Korea – September 17, 2026 -- Yuyu Pharma has completed an 869-kilowatt (kW) solar installation at its Korean manufacturing facility, lifting total on-site solar capacity to approximately 1 megawatt (MW) and covering more than 30% of the plant's electricity needs.

New system adds to earlier 2020 and 2021 installations

The latest expansion builds on a 30 kW system installed in 2020 and a 96.6 kW system added in 2021. Combined, the three phases are expected to generate at least 1.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, with a projected output of approximately 30.96 million kWh over 25 years.

San Francisco – – September 17, 2026 -- Abstract, a provider of composable security operations technology, has appointed Jonathan Eller as its first Chief Revenue Officer, tasking him with scaling global sales as enterprises abandon monolithic SIEM platforms.

Eller will oversee sales, channel, customer success and revenue operations, reporting to CEO Colby DeRodeff.

He joins from Concentric AI, where he led global sales, and brings more than two decades of enterprise security sales experience from CrowdStrike, Proofpoint and AccessData.

Abstract raised $25 million in July, tripling its valuation and pushing total funding to nearly $50 million.

The company reported 380% annual recurring revenue growth, 264% net revenue retention, and a tripled customer base alongside that funding round.

Toronto and Tel Aviv – September 17, 2026 -- Qedma Quantum Computing has integrated its QESEM error mitigation software with NVIDIA's CUDA-Q platform, giving users the ability to run larger and more complex quantum workloads on Quantinuum hardware without altering existing programming workflows.

Qedma's QESEM software enters NVIDIA's hybrid computing ecosystem for the first time

The integration marks the first availability of Qedma's error reduction software within CUDA-Q, NVIDIA's hybrid quantum-classical computing platform. The capability is currently live for Quantinuum hardware, with Qedma stating other quantum platforms will follow.

Singapore – September 17, 2026 -- Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) liquidated its entire Ethereum position and part of its bitcoin treasury in August 2026, generating approximately US$13.9 million in cash that funded the repurchase of 13.6 million American Depositary Shares.

Canaan exits ETH position entirely, trims BTC holdings to fund buybacks

The company sold all 3,952 ETH it held along with 54 BTC at average prices of roughly US$2,400 per ETH and US$79,000 per BTC. Canaan deployed US$5.4 million of the proceeds to repurchase the ADSs in late August, lifting total shares repurchased since the start of the year to approximately 16.4 million. At month-end, Canaan held 1,868 BTC.

Doylestown, Pa. – September 17, 2026 -- SMB Franchise Advisors has secured a strategic minority investment from principals of Navigator Partners, a private equity group based in Summit, N.J., in a deal designed to scale the franchise consultancy's support services for emerging and maturing brands.

New Board Unites SMB and Navigator Leadership

The transaction establishes a new Board of Directors combining Steve Beagelman, Founder and CEO of SMB, and Brian Luciani, Chief Growth Officer at SMB, with Navigator Managing Partners Bernard Markey and William Stewart. SMB's existing leadership team retains control of strategic decision-making and day-to-day operations.

San Rafael, Calif. – September 17, 2026 -- BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) has appointed Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors, effective September 10, 2026.

Plenge brings nine-site global research oversight from Bristol Myers Squibb

Dr. Plenge currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Research Officer and Head of Research at Bristol Myers Squibb, directing scientific operations across nine research sites worldwide. He joined the company in November 2019 through its acquisition of Celgene Corp., where he had led the immunology and inflammation portfolio in research and early development.

Bentonville – – September 17, 2026 -- Traverse Group, a privately held retail group generating more than $1 billion in annual gross merchandise value, has launched ToyVerse, a new venture aimed at the global toy market. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company is already the largest toy supplier by dollar share into the Club channel worldwide, a position built largely on its management of the Pokémon trading card program.

Traverse Group leverages existing retail relationships with Walmart, Sam's Club, Target and Costco Global

Traverse Group, co-founded by JD Hayes and Clint Lazenby, has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for four consecutive years. Its existing infrastructure spans manufacturing, brand development, licensing, eCommerce, warehousing, fulfillment, logistics and supply chain execution, capabilities the company will now extend to its own toy brand rather than solely third-party programs.