Veris AI, a platform that lets companies safely train and test AI agents through novel high-fidelity simulated experiences, emerged from stealth and has raised $8.5M in seed funding. Veris allows developers to train agents using experience rather than prompt engineering and human-generated data. Veris’ dynamic, realistic, simulated environments gives enterprises a safe space for reinforcement learning and continuous improvement, ultimately helping them deploy and scale more accurate AI agents. Mehdi Jamei, CEO and co-founder of Veris said, ”We are building Veris to unlock the potential of agentic AI for enterprises – both by solving existing problems and improving the speed and quality in which new agents can come into production.”
CSI partners digital engagement provider WaveCX to enable banks to deliver tailored marketing, tutorials and educational experiences based on user behavior directly within their banking apps
WaveCX, provider of personalized, digital product engagement solutions for financial institutions, announced a strategic partnership with CSI, provider of end-to-end financial software and technology. Through this integration, CSI clients using the NuPoint® and Meridian® core platforms are equipped to increase digital adoption and deliver more dynamic customer experiences directly within their banking applications. The partnership opens new possibilities for customer engagement within digital banking environments, allowing financial institutions to go beyond traditional marketing channels. With WaveCX, CSI clients can now: Deliver tailored in-app marketing and educational experiences based on user behavior; Promote awareness and adoption of underutilized digital features; Proactively guide users with contextual messages, tutorials and announcements at the point of need. Jon Tvrdik, CEO of WaveCX “By reaching users directly inside the app, banks and credit unions can increase adoption, improve education, and ultimately drive stronger engagement and loyalty.”
Clearstream partners Azimut to develop DLT-based private funds solution – providing broader access to private market strategies, along with a liquidity option that will allow investors to unlock the illiquidity premium embedded in private asset portfolios
Stablecoins are gaining traction in B2B payments, offering speed, cost-efficiency and U.S. dollar stability. They represent an emerging reality across emerging markets. Annualized at $36 billion as of February, B2B transactions are no longer just theoretical experiments but are serving as critical plumbing for modern financial flows. The total stablecoin volume over that same period was $94 billion, meaning that B2B transactions now make up the largest segment of stablecoin payment volumes, surpassing even peer-to-peer transfers and card-linked spending. where stablecoin B2B payments are thriving is where banking can often fail. Latin America and Africa, in particular, are hubs of real-world adoption. In Brazil and Colombia, platforms like Bitso and Conduit have enabled faster euro and U.S. dollar settlement, replacing clunky wire networks. In Kenya and Ghana, businesses use stablecoins to sidestep currency devaluation and cross-border delays. “Stablecoins are a great way to transfer value,” Conduit CEO Kirill Gertman told. BVNK and LianLian Global partnered to enable merchants to use major stablecoins to fund cross-border transactions illustrates, crypto continues pushing forward with innovations designed to streamline corporate spending. PayPal used its own native stablecoin to pay EY, while the President Donald Trump family’s new stablecoin was reportedly used for a $2 billion investment into Binance by Abu Dhabi’s MGX.
New Automated Underwriting System (AUS) purpose-built for the Non-QM lending market shifts underwriting decisions to the start of the loan lifecycle by using verified borrower data and aligning directly with investor-specific guidelines
Prudent AI has launched the industry’s first Upfront Automated Underwriting System (AUS) purpose-built for the Non-QM lending market. The new system shifts underwriting decisions to the start of the loan lifecycle by using verified borrower data and aligning directly with investor-specific guidelines, enabling lenders and brokers to scale confidently with fewer exceptions and greater certainty. Prudent AI’s Upfront AUS introduces a fundamental shift: moving critical underwriting logic upstream, where it can deliver the highest impact — enabling faster, cleaner, and more compliant decisions before loans enter underwriting queues. Purpose-Built for Modern Lending Prudent AI’s Upfront AUS: Uses verified income, credit, and asset data at submission; Applies investor-specific guidelines; Assess eligibility and conditions to clear; Offers a dual-phase review: upfront qualification and downstream consistency; Is built from the ground up to support the complexity and flexibility of Non-QM lending. Real Impact for TPOs and Lenders include: TPOs benefit from faster submissions, fewer conditions, and clearer investor alignment; Lenders gain efficiency, reduce rework, and expand underwriting capacity without adding headcount; Operational teams get cleaner data pipelines and scalable exception management.
Android adds support for OpenID standards to make handling digital credentials easy and secure by allowing any app to potentially become a “credential holder” and perform additional due-diligence steps required to verify any digital document
Google has given Android an OpenID upgrade to make handling digital credentials like virtual driving licences much easier and more secure. With native support for OpenID standards, Android apps and services can talk the same language when it comes to verifying who you are digitally. This update uses Android’s DigitalCredential API to bring in support for OpenID4VP (for showing your credentials) and OpenID4VCI (for getting new ones issued). It’s all part of Android’s push towards using open standards to ensure you’re not locked into one company’s way of doing things for your digital identity. The most obvious use people are talking about is digital identity documents like driving licences, passports, or national ID cards. But the potential goes way further. Google expects developers to get creative, using this tech for all sorts of things you might need to prove digitally. We’re talking education certificates, insurance details, gym memberships, event tickets, work permits – you name it. And it’s not just about official ‘wallet’ apps like Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet holding these credentials. Any app can potentially become a “credential holder.” Once you’ve picked, say, your digital driving licence, Android securely passes the request over to the wallet app that holds that specific licence. That app finishes the process, showing the credential to the verifier. This method also gives the wallet app a chance to “perform any additional due-diligence steps it needs to perform prior to releasing the credential to the verifier,” adding an extra layer of checks if needed. Receiving and storing new digital credentials is also getting standardised using the OpenID4VCI protocol. When someone needs to issue you a digital credential they can use this standard. To make sure Android knows what’s where when it’s time to show a credential, wallet apps need to tell the Credential Manager a bit about the credentials they hold. This info helps Android quickly find the right options for you when a request comes in.
Crypto companies “actively reassessing potential opportunities” in the U.S after “the recent shift towards a more favorable regulatory stance on crypto”
Dubai-based Deribit is “actively reassessing potential opportunities” in the U.S., CEO Luuk Strijers said, after “the recent shift towards a more favorable regulatory stance on crypto in the U.S.” Deribit joins a wave of crypto companies from Europe and Asia aiming to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s pledge to make the U.S. the global digital assets hub. The crypto exchanges OKX — based in the Seychelles — and Bulgaria’s Nexo are both planning to open U.S. offices, as are Switzerland’s Wintermute and Dubai’s DWF Labs, two of the sector’s biggest market makers. Crypto companies had for the past few years been shifting their focus away from the U.S. due to a regulatory crackdown by agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the downfall of the FTX exchange. Trump, however, has courted the crypto industry, promising to “make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world,” with the SEC having halted or ended several high-profile cases since the election, and the Department of Justice disbanding its cryptocurrency enforcement unit. “I think the entire market feels good about regulatory clarity,” David Rutter, CEO of British blockchain firm R3, told. “The Trump memecoin was a big signal that things had changed for the U.S. in a pretty sizable way.”
Google Wallet deploys Zero-Knowledge Proof age verification technology uses blockchain to process the condition (age) in encrypted form, generating a proof that can be verified by an external service through public keys
Google has introduced Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology to its Google Wallet service, allowing users to verify their age without sharing personal information. This cryptographic technology is a significant turning point for online privacy protection, as it eliminates the risk of privacy violations and identity theft. The system uses blockchain technology to process the condition (age) in encrypted form, generating a proof that can be verified by an external service through public keys. Unlike traditional methods, the ZKP system maintains total control over users’ information. Bumble, a popular dating app, will use digital IDs issued through Google Wallet to verify their age, while the confirmation will be managed through the ZKP system. This will improve the user experience and increase trust in the platform. The adoption of ZKP technology by Google could mark a decisive turning point, attracting attention from developers, companies, and investors in the decentralized privacy sector. The future of age verification and digital identity could be marked by a greater balance between security and privacy. If successful, the adoption of systems based on ZKP could lead to a safer and more respectful internet for individuals.
Cantaloupe’s Smart Aisle like Amazon Go is relying on 3D cameras, AI, and weighted-shelf technology to analyze motion and keep track of transactions
Self-service commerce company Cantaloupe is debuting new products designed to promote frictionless retail at the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) Show. The Go Micro kiosk is Cantaloupe’s newest self-service micro market kiosk, designed with affordability, versatility and seamless management in mind. Its compact footprint, integrated barcode scanner and five-inch touchscreen provide a seamless checkout experience for consumers and enables operators to manage all their markets regardless of size. The Cantaloupe Smart Aisle is a 24/7 frictionless retail experience that operates without an attendant, relying instead on 3D cameras, AI, and weighted-shelf technology to analyze motion and keep track of transactions. Customers provide a payment method to enter, and while inside they can grab any item, which is added to their virtual cart in real time. Customers verify their cart before leaving, and the transaction is completed and payment method charged upon exit. Cantaloupe will also be displaying its self-service payment solutions: HABCO will feature a Cooler Café unit with Cantaloupe’s P30 card reader and Smart Lock connect technology; AVS will highlight the Go Micro kiosk and a lineup of Cantaloupe card readers; IDW will showcase the Go MiniX and a Cooler Café unit; ID TECH will display the Go Plus100 kiosk and Imbera will show the Go MiniX kiosk equipped with the P30 card reader. Lastly, Cantaloupe will provide demonstrations of its latest product releases within the Seed software suite, including powerful new tools that bring AI into operators’ everyday platform experience.
Parloa’s low-code interface gives businesses the ability to create AI agents equipped with prebuilt or custom skills for tasks such as routing, authentication and handling frequently asked questions
Agentic artificial intelligence for customer experience startup Parloa GmbH announced that it has raised $120 million in new funding on a $1 billion valuation to accelerate its expansion across North America and Europe, enhance its Agent Management Platform and hire international talent. Parloa offers the AI Agent Management Platform, a platform that allows enterprises to design, deploy and manage AI-powered customer service agents across various communication channels, including voice, chat and messaging. The platform works via a low-code interface that gives businesses the ability to create AI agents equipped with prebuilt or custom skills for tasks such as routing, authentication and handling frequently asked questions. The agents are flexible by design and can be tailored to specific business needs, including integration with existing systems such as Salesforce Inc., ServiceNow Inc. and Zendesk Inc. for real-time access to relevant data. To complement its core offering, Parloa provides tools, such as large-scale testing and behavior evaluation, to fine-tune responses before deployment. Once live, a customer analytics dashboard delivers the ability to monitor key performance metrics for the continuous improvement of customer interactions. Parloa’s platform also assists human agents with features like real-time translation and suggested responses. The augmentation enhances agent productivity and ensures consistent customer service quality across different languages and regions.
Mistral’s platform enables enterprises to build AI agents tailored to their operations and gain full control over the AI stack—from infrastructure and platform features to model-level customization and user interfaces without vendor lock-in
AI startup Mistral unveiled Le Chat Enterprise, a unified AI assistant platform designed for enterprise-scale productivity and privacy, powered by its new Medium 3 model that outperforms larger ones at a fraction of the cost (here, “larger” refers to the number of parameters, or internal model settings, which typically denote more complexity and more powerful capabilities, but also take more compute resources such as GPUs to run). Available on the web and via mobile apps, Le Chat Enterprise is like a ChatGPT competitor, but one built specifically for enterprises and their employees, taking into account the fact that they’ll likely be working across a suite of different applications and data sources. It’s designed to consolidate AI functionality into a single, privacy-first environment that enables deep customization, cross-functional workflows, and rapid deployment. Among its key features that will be of interest to business owners and technical decision makers are: Enterprise search across private data sources; Document libraries with auto-summary and citation capabilities; Custom connectors and agent builders for no-code task automation; Custom model integrations and memory-based personalization; Hybrid deployment options with support for public cloud, private VPCs, and on-prem hosting. Le Chat Enterprise supports seamless integration into existing tools and workflows. Companies can build AI agents tailored to their operations and maintain full sovereignty over deployment and data—without vendor lock-in. The platform’s privacy architecture adheres to strict access controls and supports full audit logging, ensuring data governance for regulated industries. Enterprises also gain full control over the AI stack—from infrastructure and platform features to model-level customization and user interfaces. Mistral’s new Le Chat Enterprise offering could be appealing to many enterprises with stricter security and data storage policies (especially medium-to-large and legacy businesses). Mistral Medium 3 introduces a new performance tier in the company’s model lineup, positioned between lightweight and large-scale models. Designed for enterprise use, the model delivers more than 90% of the benchmark performance of Claude 3.7 Sonnet, but at one-eighth the cost—$0.40 per million input tokens and $20.80 per million output tokens, compared to Sonnet’s $3/$15 for input/output. Benchmarks show that Mistral Medium 3 is particularly strong in software development tasks. In coding tests like HumanEval and MultiPL-E, it matches or surpasses both Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT-4o models. According to third-party human evaluations, it outperforms Llama 4 Maverick in 82% of coding scenarios and exceeds Command-A in nearly 70% of cases. Mistral Medium 3 is optimized for enterprise integration. It supports hybrid and on-premises deployment, offers custom post-training, and connects easily to business systems.