Partnership Announcement

Santa Clara – October 13, 2026 -- HCLTech has signed a Global Premier Partnership with Anthropic and will set up a dedicated Anthropic Business Unit with a Center of Excellence (CoE) to speed enterprise deployments of Claude, with a focus on safety, cybersecurity and governance in Agentic AI.

HCLTech's new unit will offer sandbox environments for Claude deployments

The unit will build Agentic AI solutions and provide secure sandbox environments for enterprise Claude deployments through FDEs. HCLTech's services teams will also build industry solutions and offerings powered by Claude, Cowork and Claude Code.

HCLTech will help clients adopt AI-native engineering practices, train their workforces and build the organizational capabilities needed to run Agentic AI safely at scale.

Menlo Park – October 12, 2026 -- Protiviti has been selected for Microsoft's AI Business Solutions 2026-2027 Inner Circle for the second consecutive year, placing the consulting firm among the top sellers in Microsoft's global partner network.

Membership is based on sales achievement. Protiviti ranks in the top echelon of Microsoft's AI Business Solutions partners worldwide, according to the announcement.

Inner Circle members get executive access to Microsoft through June 2027

Members are invited to the Inner Circle Summit in Spring 2027. They also take part in virtual meetings running from September 2026 through June 2027. These sessions give partners a forum to discuss strategy with Microsoft executives and peers, review Microsoft's road maps and future plans, and exchange best practices.

Arlington, Va. – October 12, 2026 -- Hyundai Translead has renewed its Silver Partnership with the Women In Trucking Association (WIT), extending a sponsorship tier it has held since 2016.

Hyundai Translead has backed WIT for 14 years

The trailer manufacturer has taken part in the association since 2012 and has supported WIT as a Silver Partner for the past decade. WIT said the renewal reflects Hyundai Translead's backing of its mission to promote the employment and advancement of women in trucking, build connections and recognize achievements.

Theresa Check, Vice President of Sales at Hyundai Translead, said the company wants to "help create opportunities for growth, learning, and connection" and to encourage more women to build careers in transportation.

Jennifer Hedrick, CAE, president and CEO of WIT, described Hyundai Translead as an innovative industry leader and a valued partner in advancing the association's mission.

Tokyo – October 12, 2026 -- NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc. will propose and sell Classiq's quantum software development platform to Japanese enterprises under a memorandum of understanding with Classiq Technologies G.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Classiq Technologies Ltd.

Partners split roles between platform supply and enterprise deployment

Classiq will supply the platform plus technical support on quantum algorithms and quantum software. NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, formerly NTT Communications Corporation, will bring its experience deploying advanced technologies in enterprise environments. Together they will help customers identify, develop and validate quantum computing use cases through joint engagements, build enterprise quantum readiness and facilitate access to quantum computing resources.

Mumbai – October 08, 2026 -- The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has extended its three-year partnership with Ara Lumière to Milan Fashion Week, bringing The Phoenix Circle initiative and artist Raghava KK's PASSPORT project to a global luxury audience.

The Leela ties its luxury brand to a three-year social impact campaign

The hospitality group, India's largest institutionally owned pure-play luxury brand with 15 operating properties backed by Brookfield, used the Milan platform to position its "True Indian Luxury" positioning around cultural and social initiatives rather than hospitality services alone.

The Phoenix Circle centers women survivors of acid and burn attacks in creative livelihood

Founded by philanthropist Kulsum Shadab Wahab, the initiative channels fashion and art into economic opportunity and creative expression for the women it supports, reframing their public narrative around agency rather than adversity.

Richmond, Va. – October 07, 2026 -- James Madison University has become Virginia's first R2 research university to join the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation's Lab-to-Launch initiative, extending a statewide technology-transfer program beyond its original six R1 universities. JMU President Jim Schmidt and VIPC President and CEO Joe Benevento signed a ceremonial Memorandum of Understanding in Richmond on October 6.

JMU gains access to Virginia's first standardized Fast-Track License

Through Lab-to-Launch, JMU can now use Virginia's first-ever Fast-Track License, a standardized agreement designed to cut the cost and time required for inventors to license university-held intellectual property and spin out startups. The license is backed by VIPC's new Lab-to-Launch grant program.

Prague – October 07, 2026 -- xFusion, a global provider of AI computing infrastructure, has joined the Linux Foundation as a Silver member, the company announced at Open Source Summit Europe.

xFusion enters SODA Foundation to shape AI infrastructure standards

As part of the membership, xFusion is participating in the SODA Foundation, the Linux Foundation community dedicated to data and AI infrastructure. The company plans to contribute technical expertise drawn from its computing systems and infrastructure efficiency work to open source projects focused on AI operations, observability and benchmarking.

Bethesda, Md. – October 06, 2026 -- Simply Soles has opened affiliate partnerships to editorial and media publishers on the Impact network, offering 12% commission on sales of its three heritage footwear brands.

Publishers earn 12% commission with a 14-day cookie window

Qualified fashion editors, gift guide writers, shopping teams and style newsletters can now apply through Impact to feature Patricia Green, Paul Mayer Attitudes and ByPaige shoes, all handmade by artisans in Spain or Brazil. Tracking, reporting and payouts are managed through the Impact platform, and the program is structured as invite-to-apply, favoring editorial and content publishers over coupon sites to protect brand value and partner earnings.

Taipei – October 05, 2026 -- Energenesis Biomedical Co., Ltd. (TWSE: 6657) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korea's Yoo Young Pharm. Co., Ltd. (YYP) to pursue development, registration, and commercialization of its diabetic foot ulcer drug candidate ENERGI-F703DFU in the Korean market.

MOU sets framework for Korea rights on ENERGI-F703DFU

Under the agreement, YYP would gain rights to develop, register, and commercialize ENERGI-F703DFU in Korea, leveraging Energenesis' clinical data package, including Phase III trial results, alongside YYP's regional commercial and clinical network. The MOU establishes a framework for continued negotiations; terms of a definitive agreement remain subject to further discussion between the two companies.

SYDNEY – October 05, 2026 -- Payward, the financial infrastructure platform behind Kraken, has partnered with Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) to enable round-the-clock settlement for institutional digital asset clients in Asia and the Gulf region.

Payward integrates SGB Net to eliminate banking cut-off times

Payward has connected to SGB Net, the bank's real-time multi-currency clearing network, allowing institutional clients of both firms to settle transactions instantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The offering initially covers US dollar transactions for a select number of clients, with plans to add more clients and currencies over time. Through SGB Net, an SGB client can deposit funds with Payward and deploy them immediately, at any hour, rather than waiting on traditional banking cycles that have historically taken days.