A 15 percent surge in total franchise transactions underscores a robust first half of 2026 for Richmond-based Empower Brands. As aging residential infrastructure drives consumer demand for maintenance and repairs, the franchisor is leveraging this market shift to scale its portfolio of ten home and commercial service brands.
At the Rūdininkai training grounds in Lithuania, the Viper autonomous strike platform took to the sky before military officials from the Baltic states. The demonstration during the VANGUARD 2026 exercise highlighted a shift toward integrating high-precision, long-range unmanned systems into NATO’s eastern flank defense infrastructure.
Redwood City-based Array Labs has closed a $21 million strategic funding round anchored by Mitsubishi Electric, signaling a significant push into defense and security markets. The capital injection coincides with a new partnership aimed at deploying satellite-based maritime and aircraft tracking services across the Asia-Pacific region.
Security teams currently face a grim trade-off: slash log ingestion costs to stabilize budgets or maintain full telemetry to ensure threat coverage. Realm Security is attempting to bridge this gap ahead of Black Hat USA 2026 by launching tools that verify detection integrity while keeping excluded data instantly searchable.
Colorado Springs-based NetAlly is embedding three decades of troubleshooting data into its portable diagnostic tools. The new Ally Intelligence service provides field technicians with step-by-step resolution workflows, aiming to bypass costly escalations to senior engineering teams by turning raw test results into actionable, verified fixes on the spot.
Advertisers can now pull high-performing creative assets from Meta and TikTok directly into Google Ads campaigns. This integration, powered by Sensor Tower’s Pathmatics platform, allows brands to reuse existing image and video content within Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns without switching between multiple browser tabs.
Pleasanton-based Cowbell has launched OMNI, an AI-native decision intelligence system designed to overhaul the underwriting of complex specialty insurance. By integrating specialized AI agents with human oversight, the platform aims to slash turnaround times for small and medium-sized enterprise policies from weeks to minutes, while scaling global operations.
Five students pursuing careers in massage therapy have been awarded $2,500 grants as part of Massage Envy’s ongoing national scholarship sweepstakes. The monthly initiative aims to lower financial hurdles for aspiring therapists entering the field, marking a significant milestone in the company's broader educational support program.
Two brands centered on digital-first engagement are converging in New York City this summer. Luckin Coffee is partnering with the language-learning platform Duolingo to launch a series of limited-edition beverages and merchandise, marking the coffee chain's first major collaborative effort since entering the U.S. market last year.
A single five-week treatment protocol using the Collagen P.I.N. microneedling device and a 12% TCA Reveal Peel secured the $1,000 grand prize for Wyandotte-based medical esthetician Jeanette Marie. Her submission outperformed a nationwide field of entrants in a competition tracking clinical efficacy in aesthetic skin rejuvenation.
A decade of advocacy reaches a crescendo on September 23, 2026, as FCancer hosts its 100th event at the Academy Nightclub in West Hollywood. The organization, which prioritizes early detection and prevention, will feature headliners Dillon Francis, Diplo, and DJ Pauly D to celebrate a movement built on community support.
Michigan State University and the University of Arkansas will face off at Little Caesars Arena on Thanksgiving Day, headlining the 2026 CareSource Invitational. The matchup aims to spotlight adolescent mental health under the banner "It's OK to not be OK," bringing two iconic programs to the Detroit court.
The grass at the Wappinger soccer pitch, where U.S. Men's National Team star Tyler Adams once cut his teeth, has been entirely reclaimed. On July 22, the midfielder joined Scotts to officially reopen his namesake field, a project aimed at revitalizing local youth sports infrastructure through the company’s Keep It Real initiative.
After five decades of driving minority business development, the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council has rebranded as the 360 Business Council. The move, executed by agency LUDWIG+, aims to consolidate a sprawling portfolio of economic initiatives under a single identity while maintaining the organization's long-standing institutional credibility.
Sally Beauty is taking its COLORfest campaign directly to college quads this August, partnering with Her Campus Media to reach Gen Z students. Following a successful spring pop-up in Los Angeles, the retail chain plans a five-stop campus tour across Florida, Alabama, and Texas to promote DIY beauty.
Seventy-nine miles of grueling mountain terrain will serve as the engine for a new $79 million research initiative. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging are launching the Move the Mountain campaign to establish a foundation dedicated to mapping the biological mysteries of women’s longevity.
Nashville-based Revance is broadening its PanOxyl skincare line, moving into the high-growth sulfur market while reinforcing its position in benzoyl peroxide treatments. The launch of the Pore Refining Acne Mask and Acne Clearing Spot Treatment signals a shift toward specialized, dermatologist-backed solutions for diverse acne-prone skin needs.
With a strategic eye on Taiwan’s robust clinical research landscape, Houston-based IntelliGenome has named Yu Shing Bio-Tech the exclusive distributor for its CRISPR-TB blood diagnostic platform. The agreement focuses on navigating local regulatory hurdles while integrating the gene-editing-based test into the country's existing tuberculosis control framework.
Duane Maas spent decades working in the shadows of the spirits industry, shaping the standards for brands like Seagram's and Chartreuse. Now, his son Tom and grandson Nick are honoring that legacy with the launch of Stillman's Sonder, a new 10-year whiskey collection distilled in Indiana and perfected in Wisconsin.
Legal professionals can now leverage agentic AI to navigate more than 2.5 billion state trial court records, as Trellis launches new connectors for ChatGPT and Claude alongside its native Trellis Chat platform, shifting the focus from simple text generation to complex, multi-step litigation research.
While Georgia recently enacted Senate Bill 403 to automate the return of small-balance funds, approximately $3.3 billion remains sitting in state coffers. Despite the legislative effort to simplify the recovery process, thousands of residents have yet to claim significant financial assets ranging from uncashed checks to dormant accounts.
For the seventh year running, Verona-based systems integrator ACS has been named a Best Place to Work by the Best Companies Group, a recognition arriving shortly after the firm secured the 2025 Gold Safety Award from the Construction Association of Michigan for maintaining a zero-injury workplace throughout the year.
A 46% year-to-date jump in direct mail revenue has propelled Clearwater-based PostcardMania to a 16% revenue increase in the second quarter of 2026. As digital advertising fatigue sets in among consumers, the company’s data suggests that physical mail is reclaiming its role as a primary driver for small business customer acquisition.
Per Scholas has appointed veteran executive Lowell Robinson and EY Principal Fredric Cibelli to its Board of Directors, aiming to bolster the organization's governance as it targets training 25,000 professionals annually by 2030. The new members bring expertise in financial oversight, AI, and large-scale digital transformation.
More than 25% of U.S. internet households now utilize gigabit speeds, signaling a shift in the mature broadband market. As connectivity reaches saturation, providers are increasingly turning to skinny bundles, AI-driven support, and managed Wi-Fi services to differentiate their offerings and improve long-term customer retention strategies.
With a database of 350 million video records, the vision-AI startup PetPeotalk has been acquired by LIMPID Corp. to bolster its Kinfora platform. The deal brings PetPeotalk founder Ryan Kwon into the LIMPID executive suite as CTO, aiming to transform routine pet monitoring into a proactive, clinical-grade digital health system.
With roughly 1 in 8 Americans now utilizing GLP-1 medications, the surge in users creates a significant digestive strain that often goes unaddressed. To help bridge this nutritional divide, Austin-based Mía Wellness Corp. has partnered with Truemed, allowing customers to purchase its signature gut-health shake using pre-tax health savings dollars.
As the U.S. mental health provider shortage deepens, Lavender Psychiatry has reached a significant operational threshold with 300,000 completed appointments across 40 states. The milestone arrives alongside the induction of co-founder Dr. Pritma Dhillon-Chattha as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, validating a model built entirely on clinician ownership.
With over 300 million fans now connected to its infrastructure, Miami startup Link.Me has emerged as the quiet victor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. By serving as the centralized social hub for tournament updates and ticketing, the platform proved that dynamic commerce engines can outperform static link-in-bio directories.
A joint study between AI-native platform Predoc and Brooklyn-based JVS Health has slashed medical record retrieval times from 13 days to just two. This rapid documentation turnaround has proven critical for enrolling patients in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ GUIDE dementia care model, achieving a 99 percent acceptance rate.
