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WISeKey Reports FY 2021 Audited Consolidated Financial Results

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WISeKey Reports FY 2021 Audited Consolidated Financial Results

Schedules conference call for Friday, April 29 at 3:00 pm CET (9:00 am ET)

  • Revenue growth: 51% increase in FY 2021 revenue to $22.3 million, as compared to $14.8 million in FY 2020.
  • Increase in gross profit margin: FY 2021 gross profit margin increased to 41% from 37% in FY 2020.
  • Strong cash position: cash and cash equivalents together with restricted cash increased to $34.4 million at December 31, 2021, from $21.8 million at December 31, 2020.

Geneva, Switzerland, April 14, 2022 – Ad-Hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 of SIX Listing Rules– WISeKey International Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: WKEY / SIX: WIHN) (“WISeKey” or the “Company” or the “Group”), a leading cybersecurity and IoT company, announced today its audited consolidated financial results for full year (FY) 2021 (period ended December 31, 2021).

Carlos Moreira, WISeKey’s Founder and CEO, noted, “In 2021, demand for WISeKey’s products and services substantially increased. With a 51% increase in revenue, the Group is back on its growth path, supported by investments in R&D aiming to remain at the edge of technology, and investments focused on strengthening our sales force. A large part of our revenue increase came from the new AI revenue stream after the acquisition of a 51% controlling interest in arago GmbH (“arago”) in February 2021. During the year, we invested significantly in arago to streamline its operations and to try to get the company to improve its operational efficiencies.”

Mr. Moreira added, “2022 is set to be another strong year for WISeKey on several fronts. Demand for our IoT products remains very high and we have already started scheduling deliveries for 2023. While we continue to face semiconductors supply chain shortages, we are looking at every option to further shorten customer delivery times. WISeKey is positioning itself as a strong, reliable and customer-focused supplier. We are progressing well on our two new revenue streams with the launch of the first WISeSaT PocketQube Satellite in January 2022 and the expansion of the NFT portfolio available on our WISe.ART NFT platform which already includes over 300 artists.”

As regards to operational costs, in 2022 we will continue to invest strongly in research and development, following $7.0 million of investments made in 2021, as we have re-focused our efforts on software components that form the USP for our IoT products.

The final significant movement on the balance sheet is the increase in the balance of our convertible notes, which relates to the issuance of two new convertible bonds for a total of $22 million in June 2021. This balance has been currently reduced to just over $10 million, and under the terms of the agreement, we have an additional $11.5 million available to draw down.

WISeKey’s FY21 audited consolidated financial results are available at https://www.wisekey.com/company/investors/financial-reports/.

2021 KEY FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Revenue growth: 51% increase in revenue to $22.3 million for FY 2021, compared to $14.8 million in FY 2020.
  • Increase in gross profit margin: FY 2021 gross profit margin increased to 41% from 37% in FY 2020.
  • Strong cash position: cash and cash equivalents together with restricted cash increased to $34.4 million at December 31, 2021, from $21.8 million at December 31, 2020.
  • Acquired 51% controlling interest in arago GmbH (arago) on February 1, 2021: arago’s leading technology provides AI to enterprises, globally, through Knowledge Automation provides WISeKey with an opportunity to approach the fast-growing AIoT market. The combination of arago’s AI based Knowledge Automation and Data platform HIRO and WISeKey’s Cybersecurity, European Root of Trust and IoT/semiconductors technologies creates the AIoT offering that integrates semiconductors, smart sensors, IoT systems, Artificial Intelligence and a data cloud to deliver to customers a unique offering to power innovation and digital transformation. Using WISeKey’s cybersecurity technology and IoT network, data will be collected in HIRO where it can be processed and through automation acted upon in real time in a highly secure environment.
  • Development and launch of the WISe.ART NFT auction platform: an innovative platform where WISeKey adds identification to the emerging NFT trade market, therefore ensuring that NFTs sold on its platform are genuine. Our WISe.ART NFT platform provides the most secure and scalable blockchain back-end for creating real digital twins for valuable objects and trading high-value NFTs from the collectible and luxury space, incorporating vetting, provenance, proof of ownership, and follow-on monetization control into the NFTs. The revenue streams arising from WISeArt will be split across two key areas.
    • Firstly, we are charging commissions on the sales that are carried out on the WISeArt platform. This is a percentage of the total sale and will depend upon multiple factors but, ultimately, will be a relatively straight-forward revenue transaction.
    • Secondly, we are offering a white label version of the WISeArt platform that can be taken by clients that wish to have their own branded platform for auctions and sales. Here we would generate a one-off fee for the platform sale, as well as fees for the set-up and installation, with an ongoing hosting, maintenance and support packages being added with a separate annual fee. Our intention is that, with the hosting still being carried out by WISeKey, commission fees would also still apply to the sales on the platform.

2022 KEY GROWTH AREAS

  • The launch of the WISe.ART NFT platform in 2021 is expected to provide new WISe.ART revenue streams in the shape of commissions on the sales carried out on the platform, and the sale of a white label version of the WISe.ART platform for clients that wish to have their own branded platform for auctions and sales.
  • The launch of the first WISeSaT PocketQube Satellite in January 2022 is the result of the investment of WISeKey in FOSSA Systems to integrate their picosatellite technology into the WISeKey IoT Connect & Trust model and improve IoT communication in remote and poor connectivity areas.
  • New strategic partnerships to strengthen its position as IoT cybersecurity provider and to develop new use cases based on our established technologies (refer to page 29 of the financial report for details).
  • Investments in post-quantum cryptography that are resistant against quantum cryptanalysis so as to anticipate future cybersecurity threats, working in collaboration with the American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).
  • Planned significant investment into new equipment to increase the production volume of semiconductors.
  • Investment in R&D to expand its patent portfolio.

FY 2021 RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL
Carlos Moreira, CEO and Peter Ward, CFO will host a conference call on Friday, April 29, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. CET / 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss these results, recent business developments and growth initiatives. A Q&A session will follow the prepared remarks.

Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing:

United States (Toll) 877-445-9755
United States (Toll Free) 201-493-6744
Spain (fixed) ATT: 900 834 236
Spain (mobile) ATT: 900 834 876
United Kingdom (fixed) ATT: 0 800 756 3429
France (fixed) ATT /excl. Monaco: 0 800 912 848
Switzerland (fixed) ATT: 0 800 835 525
Switzerland (mobile) ATT: 0 800 891 374
Italy (fixed) ATT: 800 791 612
Italy (mobile) ATT: 800 796 508
Netherlands (fixed) ATT: 0 800 023 4340
Netherlands (mobile) ATT: 0 800 022 3580
Germany (fixed) ATT: 0 800 182 0040
Germany (mobile) ATT: 0 800 184 4713

                
To access the call, please dial-in approximately five minutes before the start time. The call will also be simultaneously webcasted over the Internet via this link and such link will also be made available in the “Investor Relations” section of WISeKey’s website http://wisekey.com/investors/.

An archived version of the webinar will be available on WISeKey’s website following the live presentation. For any questions regarding the event, please email [email protected].

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL & OPERATIONAL DATA

FY 2021 Key Financials – WISeKey Group

(Million US$)  
US GAAP 2021 2020
Net sales 22.3 14.8
Gross profit 9.1 5.5
Operating loss as reported (26.7) (18.5)
Net income attributable to WISeKey as reported (20.3) (28.7)
     
Non-GAAP 2021 2020
EBITDA (25.7) (16.9)
Adjusted EBITDA (20.7) (15.8)
     
Total Cash and restricted cash 34.4 21.8

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) [as reported]

  12 months ended December 31,
USD’000 2021   2020   2019
           
Net sales 22,258   14,779   22,652
Cost of sales (12,869)   (8,578)   (12,871)
Depreciation of production assets (301)   (736)   (325)
Gross profit 9,088   5,465   9,456
           
Other operating income 183   43   180
Research & development expenses (7,007)   (6,012)   (6,422)
Selling & marketing expenses (10,226)   (7,355)   (7,929)
General & administrative expenses (18,726)   (10,673)   (15,789)
Total operating expenses (35,776)   (23,997)   (29,960)
Operating loss (26,688)   (18,532)   (20,504)
           
Non-operating income 8,638   1,127   1,918
Debt conversion expense (325)        
Gain on derivative liability   44   214
Gain / (loss) on debt extinguishment     (233)
Interest and amortization of debt discount (1,057)   (458)   (742)
Non-operating expenses (4,755)   (11,079)   (3,670)
Loss from continuing operations before income tax expense (24,187)   (28,898)   (23,017)
           
Income tax expense 93   (9)   (13)
Loss from continuing operations, net (24,094)   (28,907)   (23,030)
           
Discontinued operations:          
Net sales from discontinued operations     1,934
Cost of sales from discontinued operations     (791)
Total operating and non-operating expenses from discontinued operations     (1,801)
Income tax recovery from discontinued operations     42
Gain on disposal of a business, net of tax on disposal     31,100
Income / (loss) on discontinued operations     30,484
           
Net income / (loss) (24,094)   (28,907)   7,454
           
Less: Net income / (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests (3,754)   (248)   (733)
Net income / (loss) attributable to WISeKey International Holding AG (20,340)   (28,659)   8,187
           
Earnings per share          
Earnings from continuing operations per share – Basic (0.34)   (0.68)   (0.64)
Earnings from continuing operations per share – Diluted (0.34)   (0.68)   (0.64)
           
Earnings from discontinued operations per share – Basic     0.84
Earnings from discontinued operations per share – Diluted     0.81
           
Earning per share attributable to WISeKey International Holding AG          
Basic (0.28)   (0.67)   0.23
Diluted (0.28)   (0.67)   0.23
           
Other comprehensive income / (loss), net of tax:          
Foreign currency translation adjustments (1,534)   1,729   516
Change in unrealized gains related to available-for-sale debt securities 1,965   5,385  
Defined benefit pension plans:          
Net gain (loss) arising during period 1,572   1,189   (2,199)
Reclassification adjustments (7,350)    
Other comprehensive income / (loss) (5,347)   8,303   (1,683)
Comprehensive income / (loss) (29,441)   (20,604)   5,771
           
Other comprehensive income / (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 186   (95)   (127)
Other comprehensive income / (loss) attributable to WISeKey International Holding AG (5,533)   8,398   (1,556)
           
Comprehensive income / (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests (3,567)   (343)   (860)
Comprehensive income / (loss) attributable
to WISeKey International Holding AG
(25,874)   (20,261)   6,631
           

The notes are an integral part of our consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Balance Sheets [as reported]

  As at December 31,
USD’000 2021   2020
ASSETS      
Current assets      
Cash and cash equivalents 34,249   19,650
Restricted cash, current 110   2,113
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts 3,261   2,900
Notes receivable from employees 68   37
Available-for-sale debt security   9,190
Inventories 2,710   2,474
Prepaid expenses 1,435   649
Deferred charges, current   836
Other current assets 677   814
Total current assets                        42,510   38,663
       
Noncurrent assets      
Notes receivable, noncurrent 190   183
Deferred income tax assets 6   3
Deferred tax credits 848   1,312
Property, plant and equipment net of accumulated depreciation 587   1,000
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization 9,186   9
Finance lease right-of-use assets 171   246
Operating lease right-of-use assets 3,706   2,502
Goodwill 30,841   8,317
Deferred charges, noncurrent   169
Equity securities, at cost 501  
Equity securities, at fair value 1   301
Other noncurrent assets 258   176
Total noncurrent assets 46,295   14,218
TOTAL ASSETS 88,805   52,881
       
LIABILITIES      
Current Liabilities      
Accounts payable 16,448   13,099
Notes payable 6,249   4,115
Convertible note payable, current   5,633
Deferred revenue, current 487   302
Current portion of obligations under finance lease liabilities 55   119
Current portion of obligations under operating lease liabilities 950   601
Income tax payable 11   3
Other current liabilities 552   1,105
Total current liabilities 24,752   24,977
       
Noncurrent liabilities      
Bonds, mortgages, convertible note payable and other long-term debt 458   646
Convertible note payable, noncurrent 9,049   3,710
Deferred revenue, noncurrent 100   19
Finance lease liabilities, noncurrent   67
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent 2,878   1,901
Indebtedness to related parties, noncurrent 2,395  
Employee benefit plan obligation 4,769   6,768
Deferred income tax liability 2,906  
Other deferred tax liabilities 62   38
Other noncurrent liabilities 57   329
Total noncurrent liabilities 22,674   13,478
TOTAL LIABILITIES 47,426   38,455
       
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
Common stock – Class A 400   400
CHF 0.01 par value      
           Authorized – 40,021,988 and 40,021,988 shares      
Issued and outstanding – 40,021,988 and 40,021,988 shares      
Common stock – Class B 4,685   2,490
CHF 0.05 par value      
           Authorized – 138,058,468 and 63,234,625      
           Issued – 88,120,054 and 47,622,689      
           Outstanding – 80,918,390 and 42,839,554      
Share subscription in progress   1
Treasury stock, at cost (7,201,664 and 4,783,135 shares held) (636)   (505)
Additional paid-in capital 268,199   224,763
Accumulated other comprehensive income / (loss) 1,407   6,940
Accumulated deficit (238,160)   (217,820)
Total shareholders’equity attributable to WISeKey shareholders 35,895   16,269
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries 5,484   (1,843)
Total shareholders’equity 41,379   14,426
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 88,805   52,881

The notes are an integral part of our consolidated financial statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In managing WISeKey’s business on a consolidated basis, WISeKey management develops an annual operating plan, which is approved by our Board of Directors, using non-GAAP financial measures. In measuring performance against this plan, management considers the actual or potential impacts on these non-GAAP financial measures from actions taken to reduce costs with the goal of increasing our gross margin and operating margin and when assessing appropriate levels of research and development efforts. In addition, management relies upon these non-GAAP financial measures when making decisions about product spending, administrative budgets, and other operating expenses. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when coupled with the GAAP results and the reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of the Company’s results of operations and the factors and trends affecting WISeKey’s business. We believe that they enable investors to perform additional comparisons of our operating results, to assess our liquidity and capital position and to analyze financial performance excluding the effect of expenses unrelated to operations, certain non-cash expenses related to acquisitions and share-based compensation expense, which may obscure trends in WISeKey’s underlying performance. This information also enables investors to compare financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance and allows for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management.

These non-GAAP financial measures are provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. The presentation of these and other similar items in WISeKey’s non-GAAP financial results should not be interpreted as implying that these items are non-recurring, infrequent, or unusual. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable measures calculated in accordance with GAAP are provided in the financial statements portion of this release in a schedule entitled “Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Results (unaudited).”

Non-GAAP to GAAP Reconciliations

Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Results (unaudited) 12 months to December 31,  
(Million US$) 2021 2020
Operating loss as reported (26.7) (18.5)
Non-GAAP adjustments:    
      Depreciation expense 0.5 1.0
      Amortization expense on intangibles 0.5 0.6
EBITDA (25.7) (16.9)
Non-GAAP adjustments:    
Stock-based compensation 3.8 0.4
Expenses settled in equity 0.1
M&A-related legal fees 0.9 0.5
M&A-related professional fees 0.1
Listing-related professional fees 0.1 0.1
Adjusted EBITDA (20.7) (15.8)
GAAP to Non-GAAP Cash and Cash Equivalents As of December 31,
(Million US$) 2021 2020
Cash and cash equivalents as reported 34.3* 19.7
Restricted cash, current as reported 0.1 2.1
Total Cash and restricted cash 34.4 21.8
* Rounded up    

About WISeKey

WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing shaping today’s Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.).  WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens.

Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey’s Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (“RoT”) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

Press and investor contacts:

WISeKey International Holding Ltd
Company Contact:  Carlos Moreira
Chairman & CEO
Tel: +41 22 594 3000
[email protected]
WISeKey Investor Relations (US)
Contact:  Lena Cati
The Equity Group Inc.
Tel: +1 212 836-9611
[email protected]

Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

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Artificial Intelligence

CUBE acquires global regulatory intelligence businesses from Thomson Reuters

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LONDON, May 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — CUBE, a global leader in Automated Regulatory Intelligence (ARI) and Regulatory Change Management (RCM), announces today its acquisition of the Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden products and businesses.

The acquisition of these global businesses represents a major step forward in CUBE’s growth plans. It will deliver significant scale across many of the world’s leading and systemically important financial institutions. CUBE’s existing global customer base will be expanded to total approximately 1,000 customers in banking, insurance, asset and investment management, payments and adjacent regulated industries.
CUBE’s global employees will expand to 600, of which close to 250 are highly qualified regulatory subject matter experts, legal and compliance professionals.
Ben Richmond, founder and CEO of CUBE said: “Thomson Reuters is known to be the biggest and best in the industry for providing regulatory expert analysis and subject matter expertise, alongside world-leading journalism and news. The combination of CUBE’s purpose-built AI, with the years of content curated by Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden expert analysts, will accelerate innovation. Together, we will deliver regulatory transformation capabilities for our global customers that could only have been imagined before.”
Richmond continues: “This combination will provide tremendous scale and depth across CUBE’s regulatory content and technology. It is a significant step toward creating an industry-defining regulatory compliance and risk platform that will benefit all customers and elevate the industry as a whole.”
Through this acquisition, CUBE will provide an expanded and comprehensive selection of specialized regulatory intelligence and regulatory change services, committed to excellence, quality, and highly contextualised and meaningful regulatory content for customers. By combining cutting-edge technology and subject matter expertise at scale CUBE will set a new bar for the industry in regulatory automation and content.
Chris Maguire, General Manager, Risk and Fraud, Corporates, Thomson Reuters said: “It was clear to us that CUBE had established itself as a leading regulatory intelligence provider for global enterprise clients in the financial services and insurance sectors. We wanted to ensure our customers and employees could work with an organisation that would continue to innovate and significantly invest in solutions like Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden. We are working tirelessly to ensure a seamless and value-enhancing transition for customers and employees, and we are looking forward to working with the CUBE team during this transition.” 
Christopher Fielding, Hg, said: “We’re delighted to further extend our market reach, bringing in two high quality and complementary global businesses to the CUBE platform.”
Thomas Martin, Hg, added: “We see these acquisitions as enabling further innovation in the regulatory intelligence and change management sector, leading to strengthened demand for these quality solutions across the globe.”
The terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
About CUBE
CUBE provides a highly comprehensive and robust source of classified, and meaningful AI-driven regulatory data to power its Automated Regulatory Intelligence (ARI) and Regulatory Change Management (RCM) solutions. CUBE’s purpose-built regulatory technology including its AI engine (RegBrain) and software platform (RegPlatform) tracks, analyses, and monitors laws, rules, and regulations in every country and in every published language to create an always up-to-date regulatory footprint that transforms visibility and compliance capability for customers across the globe.
With operations across Europe, North America, Canada, Asia, and Australia, CUBE serves a diverse and global base of customers and partners including the largest financial institutions in the world who leverage CUBE’s platform to streamline their complex regulatory intelligence and change management processes.
Following the strategic partnership with Hg in March 2024, CUBE announced the acquisition of US-based Reg-Room in May 2024.
About Hg
Hg supports the building of sector-leading enterprises that supply businesses with critical software applications or workflow services, delivering a more automated workplace for their customers.
This industry is characterised by digitisation trends that are in early stages of adoption and are set to transform the workplace for professionals over decades to come. Hg’s support combines deep end-market knowledge with world class operational resources, together providing compelling support to entrepreneurial leaders looking to scale their business – businesses that are well invested, enduring and serve their customers well.
With a vast European network and strong presence across North America, Hg’s 400 employees and around $70 billion in funds under management support a portfolio of around 50 businesses, worth over $140 billion aggregate enterprise value, with over 110,000 employees, consistently growing revenues at more than 20%.
About Regulatory Intelligence
Regulatory Intelligence is a proactive, connected, and comprehensive solution that tracks and analyses regulatory changes within ~2,000 regulatory bodies and rulebooks for more than 20 countries. It enables banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sectors to manage exposure to operational, regulatory, and compliance risk.
About Oden
Oden State Rules and Regulations (SR&R), Oden Policy Terminator/Sentry PT, and OdenTrack provide repositories and automated solutions for complying with state rules and regulations on the provisioning of Personal and Business Insurance in the US.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cube-acquires-global-regulatory-intelligence-businesses-from-thomson-reuters-302147604.html

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Artificial Intelligence

Cayman Enterprise City Publishes Socio-Economic Impact Assessment by Economist and Leading Advisor on the Caribbean, Marla Dukharan

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The Impact of Cayman Enterprise City’s Socio-Economic Development Project Nears USD $1 Billion
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, May 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) has released a Socio-Economic Impact Assessment by Marla Dukharan. The report illustrates that CEC is increasing its impact by supporting higher earnings for Caymanians and is driving a shift towards a knowledge-based economy by focusing on high productivity sectors. The release by Dukharan reads, “Caymanian resourcefulness and private sector-led innovation have been the driving force behind the islands’ outstanding socio-economic success. Cayman Enterprise City underpins the next generation of Cayman innovation and dynamism.”

With an economic impact of USD $130 million in 2023, contributing just under USD $1 billion to the local economic activity in 12 years since inception, “CEC is helping the nation to diversify economically, in terms of sectors and jobs, ensuring locals have economic and employment opportunities that match the nation’s progress,” the report reads.
The CEC socio-economic development project is now home to 352 Special Economic Zones Companies (SEZCos), many of which are globally recognised institutions led by top executives and industry experts. “CEC member companies are providing high-value employment with salaries exceeding those typically found outside of the special economic zone,” said Charlie Kirkconnell, Chief Executive Officer at CEC. “The CEC community is fully invested in Cayman and the report illustrates that the CEC socio-economic development project is making a very significant impact on Cayman’s economy and community.”
“As CEC continues to grow, it continues to create significant employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for Caymanians and we encourage anyone that might be interested in finding out how they might get involved, whether as a member of the community and/or as a volunteer in our Enterprise Cayman non-profit organisation (NPO).”
77% of Caymanian-held jobs at CEC member companies, are in sectors with high social returns and increasing global demand. “By putting skills first and prioritizing learning, CEC is enabling new industries to take root,” the release by Dukharan reads.
CEC, through its Enterprise Cayman NPO, is a first-mover in private sector-facilitated education and training in the Caribbean, making it a leading force to boost youth participation in the economy. By offering training in specialised skills, Enterprise Cayman is helping to close the gap in higher education and earnings for Caymanians. “Through Enterprise Cayman we’ve set out to strategically support meaningful employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for Caymanians, by providing internship and mentorship opportunities, by hosting skill-building and career focused training, and by providing invaluable networking and community engagement opportunities,” said Kirkconnell.
In 2023 individuals took advantage of 4,226 opportunities to participate in education, training, and career development events and, since launching entrepreneurial programming in 2021, Enterprise Cayman has worked with 41 new Cayman-born business ventures. “We’re helping to develop a local talent pool that meets the demand of Cayman’s growing digital innovation and technology sectors while, in parallel, offering exciting opportunities for individuals to launch new business ventures within an innovative business environment,” said Kirkconnell.  
With CEC’s new campus and state-of-the-art facilities, Signal House, the project “holds the promise of deep, continued economic impact,” the report concludes.
To access CEC’s economic impact assessments and Enterprise Cayman’s annual reports please visit https://www.enterprisecayman.ky/reports. For more information on how to get involved and for upcoming programmes and events visit www.enterprisecayman.ky. 
Website: www.caymanenterprisecity.com LinkedIn: @CaymanEnterpriseCityTwitter:  @CEC_CaymanInstagram: @CaymanEnterpriseCityFacebook: @CaymanEnterpriseCityYouTube: @ceccayman
About Cayman Enterprise City 
Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) is an award-winning development project which consists of three special economic zones (SEZs) focused on attracting knowledge-based and specialised-services businesses to set up a genuine physical presence in the Cayman Islands. The zones included within CEC are Cayman Tech City, Cayman Commodities & Derivatives Centre, and Cayman Maritime & Aviation City. With a dedicated Government Authority, licensing fee concessions and guaranteed fast-track processes, CEC enables international companies to quickly and efficiently establish a Cayman Islands office, which in turn enables them to generate active business income within a tax neutral environment.
About Enterprise Cayman 
Enterprise Cayman is a non-profit organisation (NPO) powered by Cayman Enterprise City in partnership with Cayman Islands’ special economic zone companies (SEZCos). The organisation, which applies the Theory of Change (TOC) methodology, provides Caymanians and residents with access to high-quality learning experiences and opportunities to develop and launch new business ventures, to pursue careers within the technology and innovation sectors, and to join a dynamic network of industry professionals. Let’s grow the next generation of Caymanian innovators and entrepreneurs with Enterprise Cayman!
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:Contact: Kaitlyn Elphinstone  Email: [email protected]  

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Strava Unveils New Chapter of Accelerated Product Development at Brand’s Flagship Event

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The Company introduces increased product velocity, leveraging advancements in Artificial Intelligence, in service of its vision of a world connected through movement 
LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Strava, the leading digital community for active people with more than 125 million athletes, today showcased its latest initiatives and product developments at its annual event, Camp Strava. With the theme of Progress, Together company leaders announced how the platform will empower its global community to make progress in the way they explore, move, and connect on Strava.

“Strava is gaining momentum to realize our vision of a world connected through movement,” said Michael Martin, chief executive officer of Strava. “We are focused on two fundamental shifts to accelerate how we deliver value to 125 million people globally– building for women and leveraging Artificial Intelligence – which will unlock new community-and-partner-powered experiences across the platform.”
A New Era of Product VelocityStrava, with new leaders at the helm, is ushering in its next era of product velocity. The company listened closely to feedback from its global community and announced three of the most requested features coming to the platform by the end of the year.
The first of these updates, AI-enabled Leaderboard Integrity, will harness machine learning to automatically flag irregular, improbable, or impossible activities recorded to the platform. Trained by millions of activities, this feature allows all users on Strava to play fair and have more fun.
Additionally, the company announced a new Family Plan Subscription, the sister of the company’s Student Plan. With Family Plan, it’s easier to make a fitness commitment with your community by sharing an annual subscription with up to three other people – friends, family, or fitness family. Launching in select countries this summer, with plans to roll out globally by the end of the year, Strava’s newest annual subscription option offers the best value for groups (up to four), with a discount off the regular subscription price for each member.
Strava also implemented an updated design system, an initiative that is integral in driving a heightened pace of product innovation at the company. Through this work, Strava announced the launch of one of the company’s most requested features, Dark mode. Dark mode will improve the in-app experience for all users, reducing eye strain and improving accessibility while they record activity or scroll through the feed. Athletes can expect a rollout later this summer with options to keep their mobile settings always dark, always light, or match their device settings.
Company leaders highlighted several other features and updates to current products like Flyover, with its next iteration offering an overlay with activity stats and off-platform sharing capabilities. The overlay is available today for Strava subscribers and an off-platform sharing option will be released later this year.
Build for Her, Build for ManyStudies show that women of all ages participate in sports at a far lower rate than men, and overall, despite wanting to be active, find less time to dedicate to an active lifestyle. As the company continues on its mission to motivate people to live their best active lives, building for women on the platform will ultimately serve everyone in the Strava community. Several new features and initiatives were announced as a part of this strategic focus, which includes:
Night Heatmaps: Night Heatmaps show only activities between sundown and sunrise – so athletes can get an idea of which roads, trails, and paths are well-trafficked after hours. Since Night Heatmaps filter for after-hours routes, it can be a helpful tool for female athletes training before sunrise and after sunset.Quick Edit: For active women, having control over what is shared with the Strava community that cheers them on – like what time a run is logged – is important. Quick Edit makes it easier to make the most common edits – like activity name, and privacy settings so you can hide your start time, your map, or other workout stats.Strive for More®: The company announced a new phase of its Strive for More® initiative, created in 2022 to promote and support women in movement and sport. Today, Strava unveiled an official partnership with media company TOGETHXR to encourage more women to watch – and play – women’s sports. As part of the partnership, Strava will also donate $100,000 to the Alex Morgan Foundation, started by co-founder of TOGETHXR, Alex Morgan, to support their mission to help girls and women find confident paths forward in sports and life.Athlete IntelligenceToday, Strava announced the start of an accelerated product roadmap, outlining how Strava will implement the latest technological enhancements in AI and machine learning, to transform the athlete experience.
One key advancement to the platform includes the company’s latest development, Athlete Intelligence. Strava is introducing its beta AI-powered feature which turns each subscriber’s training data into an easily digestible summary that contextualizes their accomplishments and fitness goals. Unlike other AI-powered training services, Strava connects with thousands of devices, wearables, and fitness apps, so an athlete’s insights can consider their entire fitness story across multiple sports and modalities.
The features shared at Camp Strava will be released on a rolling basis through the end of the year. To view the full list of product releases and further details, visit www.press.strava.com.
For more information on Strava, to create a free account, or to start a free subscription trial visit www.strava.com.
About Strava Strava is the leading digital community for active people with more than 125 million athletes, in more than 190 countries. The platform offers a holistic view of your active lifestyle, no matter where you live, which sport you love and/or what device you use. Everyone belongs on Strava when they are pursuing an active life. Join the community, find motivation and discover new experiences with a Strava subscription. 
Visit www.strava.com for more information and connect with Strava on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Media Contact: [email protected]
 
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