AAEON to Debut New Networking & Cybersecurity Solutions Powered by Intel Xeon 6 Processors at it-sa Expo&Congress 2026

AAEON’s comprehensive lineup of networking and security platforms will be on show throughout Europe’s leading IT security tradeshow.

Taipei, Taiwan – Oct 21: AAEON (Stock Code: 6579), a leading producer of networking and cybersecurity platforms will showcase a range of its most advanced products across multiple platforms at it-sa Expo&Congress.

Venue: NürnbergMesse, Germany

Date: 27 – 29 October 2026

Booth: Hall 6, Booth 301

Europe’s largest trade fair for IT security solutions, it-sa Expo&Congress has been operating since 2009 and saw a record 28,267 visitors from 64 countries and over 900 exhibitors during its 2025 edition. This year, visitors will see a broad selection of leading enterprises from the cybersecurity sphere exhibiting new and innovative platforms, while also hosting hundreds of forum sessions on key topics within the industry, ranging from AI and quantum security to governance and risk management.

In keeping with the exhibition’s theme, AAEON’s key product features will be from its Network Security Division, which will include the upcoming FWS-7700, a 1U Rackmount Network Appliance offering up to 80 cores of processing power through new Intel® Xeon® 6700/6500-series processors (formerly Granite Rapids), due to enter mass production in December of this year.

The event will provide a detailed insight into AAEON’s 2027 network security product roadmap, with a particular standout being the FWS-7550, a 1U Rackmount Network Appliance featuring Intel® Xeon® 6 processors and up to 10 RJ-45 ports alongside eight SFP28 ports offering 25GbE speeds. AAEON will also debut its first Rackmount Network Appliance powered by AMD Ryzen™ 9000 Series Processors, the NWR-1U2B6500.

On display from its Desktop Network Appliance portfolio will be the FWS-2290, FWS-2291 and FWS-2292, a trio of compact white box platforms available with three generations of Intel® Processor N-series SoCs (formerly Alder Lake-N, Amston Lake, and Twin Lake). In addition to this, visitors to Booth 301 can expect to see a number of upcoming NIM modules from AAEON, offering a variety of powerful networking expansion options.

​AAEON invites all interested parties to join them at it-sa Expo&Congress, where attendees can discuss their needs and discover the wide-ranging innovative technologies shaping the future of IT security and networking.

Optellum and RapidAI Bring AI-Supported Lung Nodule Management to the Rapid Enterprise™ Platform

Integration connects lung nodule identification, risk assessment, and follow-up with RapidAI’s clinical workflows, resilient infrastructure, and AI governance capabilities

OXFORD, United Kingdom and HOUSTON, October 21, 2026 

Optellum, the leader in AI-enabled lung cancer diagnostics, today announced that its Virtual Nodule Clinic (VNC) with Lung Cancer Prediction (LCP) AI is integrated with the Rapid Enterprise™ Platform from RapidAI, a global leader in enterprise clinical AI. VNC joins a portfolio of 50+ RapidAI-developed and third-party clinical solutions that support radiologists and care teams across the patient journey, extending the platform’s oncology coverage to the lung nodule pathway. RapidAI technology is used in more than 2,500 hospitals across 100+ countries.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide.¹ Many lung nodules are found incidentally on CT scans performed for other reasons, and 60% are lost to follow-up². Without a clear path to follow-up, the opportunity for earlier diagnosis can be missed.

Optellum VNC includes Patient Discovery AI, which automatically searches radiology reports for documented lung nodules and identifies patients for review. VNC’s workflow management tools support patient tracking and follow-up, and LCP AI analyzes CT images to assess a nodule’s cancer risk.

Together, these capabilities help care teams prioritize patients and reduce the risk of patients being lost to follow-up. VNC with LCP AI is the world’s first FDA-cleared and Medicare-reimbursed AI solution for image-based lung cancer risk stratification, reimbursed under named CPT 0721T/+0722T.

Optellum is directly deployed at hundreds of clinical sites and has analyzed over 3 million cases to date. Integration with the Rapid Enterprise Platform will help accelerate that footprint, bringing Optellum’s capabilities to more care teams.

Through the integration, pulmonologists and clinic managers can access Optellum’s capabilities as part of a connected enterprise platform. Health systems can deploy Optellum on their existing RapidAI platform through a single IT deployment, supported by consistent clinical workflows, best-in-class clinical solutions, and shared AI governance capabilities that provide a central place to monitor performance and oversee AI use.

“Our collaboration with RapidAI makes Virtual Nodule Clinic available to the many health systems that already rely on the Rapid Enterprise Platform,” said Johnathan Watkins, PhD, CEO of Optellum. “Integrating VNC into the Rapid platform expands access, streamlines IT deployment, and accelerates putting clinically validated solutions in the hands of care teams. Together, we can help more patients with lung nodules get the right care sooner.”

The solutions support clinical decision-making, with qualified clinicians responsible for interpreting results and determining appropriate patient care.

Reliance on AI to Drive Tasks and Bolster Customer Experience Grows; Success Driven by Strong AI/SaaS Partnerships, Connected Data and Processes

Redwood City, Calif., October 21, 2026 – Propel Software, creator of the first product value management (PVM) platform that transforms how businesses create, market, sell, and service products, provides its annual business and technology predictions for the coming year. Propel CEO Ross Meyercord identifies five key trends for 2027. 

AI Shifts From SaaS Killer to SaaS Kingmaker

The SaaSpocalypse narrative will give way to a new reality: AI and SaaS grow stronger together. AI companies will find more value in partnering with established SaaS providers, while SaaS companies will use AI to create sharper, more valuable customer experiences. The gap will widen between platforms with deep, connected capabilities and those with cursory bolt-on features. SaaS providers that move quickly to connect their data, workflows, and AI strategy will be positioned for sustained growth. Those with disconnected data and processes will lose out on the next round of AI-driven growth. 

AI Evolves from Human in the Loop to Human in the Audit Trail

As experienced subject matter experts train AI on proven processes, their knowledge will become embedded in the systems teams use every day. Over time, newer employees may not have the same depth of experience to challenge AI recommendations. For established, repeatable work, organizations will increasingly trust AI to make the right call and complete tasks faster without constant human review. These tasks will be flagged as AI generated with detailed audit logs to allow for periodic reviews and audits by humans. Human expertise will remain essential for designing new processes, handling exceptions, and setting the standards AI follows. 

Care Continues its Move From Facilities to the Home

Healthcare delivery will continue shifting beyond hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers and into patients’ homes. An aging population, combined with advances in wearables, remote monitoring, connected implants, and home diagnostics, will make this model more practical, necessary and cost effective. MedTech companies will need to design products and product experiences for continuous use outside clinical settings. That requires reliable product data, connected teams, and a clear view of every change across the product lifecycle. AI-assisted monitoring of this data is a must as the volume of inbound data will overwhelm human teams. 

Manufacturers Rebuild Their Tech Stacks to Optimize AI

Companies will shift from adding AI that supports their systems to adding systems that support their AI. That means cleaning data, connecting sources, and investing in solutions AI needs to do useful work. AI and Model Context Protocol (MCP) connections will help bridge some systems, but they won’t replace missing data or capabilities. Expect manufacturers to invest in system of record solutions, such as product lifecycle management (PLM) and application lifecycle management (ALM), that give AI access to bills of materials, connect quality records to product changes, or link service history to engineering data. Investment will focus on giving AI reliable context, not simply adding another tool. 

AI Moves From Boardroom Sizzle to Everyday Results

AI priorities will shift from high-visibility demonstrations to practical applications that improve daily work. Manufacturers will focus less on occasional, headline-grabbing challenges and more on repetitive, cross-system tasks that consume time and slow operations. The next round of agents will automate routine engineering handoffs, verification tasks, and delivery workflows, with success measured by shorter cycle times, less rework, smoother delivery, and lower cost per change. Executive teams will judge AI by its impact on throughput, quality, risk, and margin, not the attention a pilot attracts.

Dr. Peter Shor Anchors Prominent Group of Quantum Scientists Joining Zapata’s Advisory Board

New appointments of global quantum experts Shor, Paler, Devitt and Izmaylov further validate Zapata’s approach to quantum software

BOSTON, MA – October 21, 2026 – Zapata Quantum (OTCQB: ZPTA) (“Zapata”, “Zapata Quantum” or the “Company”), a pioneer in quantum computing application and algorithm development, today announced the appointment of Dr. Peter Shor and other notable scientists to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Shor is the MIT mathematician whose landmark 1994 algorithm, now known as Shor’s algorithm, showed how quantum computers could solve a major computational problem far faster than the best-known classical methods, helping launch the modern field of quantum computing.

“Quantum computers will only be as useful as the applications we run on them. As hardware matures toward fault tolerance, it’s critical that we discover and develop new algorithms to truly unlock the power of this new technology,” said Dr. Shor. “I’m excited about the work Zapata is doing in this area and look forward to helping guide those efforts.”

The new SAB members will advise on Zapata’s scientific and technical direction, including the further development of Quantum Pilot™, its hardware-agnostic platform combining decision intelligence and engineering to discover and develop quantum applications.

In addition to Dr. Shor, other distinguished scientists joining the SAB include Dr. Alexandru Paler, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Aalto University in Finland; Dr. Simon Devitt, Professor and Director of the Centre for Quantum Software and Information (QSI) at the University of Technology, Sydney; and Dr. Artur Izmaylov, Professor of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry at the University of Toronto.

“Dr. Shor’s work is the reason this entire field exists. His discovery of quantum algorithmic advantage is the foundational proof point the industry has been built upon, and having his guidance regarding our scientific direction is strong validation of our approach,” said Sumit Kapur, CEO of Zapata Quantum. “Together with Dr. Paler, Dr. Devitt and Dr. Izmaylov, our expanded SAB reinforces Zapata’s leadership across the most technically demanding layers of the quantum software stack.”

Dr. Peter Shor: The Scientific Foundation of Quantum Advantage

Dr. Shor is the Henry Adams Morss and Henry Adams Morss, Jr. Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT and one of the most decorated scientists in quantum computing. In 1994, he discovered Shor’s algorithm, proving a quantum computer could factor large integers — the mathematical problem underlying RSA encryption — exponentially faster than any classical computer, a breakthrough that ignited the field and made quantum-safe cybersecurity one of its highest-stakes challenges. In 1995, he introduced the first quantum error-correcting code, the foundational insight behind fault-tolerant quantum architectures. His honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, the Gödel Prize, and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

Shor’s appointment places the discoverer of quantum computational advantage as a key advisor regarding Zapata’s methodology and software, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to the scientific rigor of its solution for enterprise customers, government partners and the broader quantum ecosystem.

Paler, Devitt, Izmaylov to Support Critical Layers of the Software Stack

Each new member of the SAB brings expertise in some of the most important and technically challenging areas of Zapata’s quantum software platform, including algorithm benchmarking, error correction architectures and quantum resource estimation—key factors that determine when and how quantum applications become commercially viable.

• Dr. Paler specializes in quantum software, quantum circuit compilation, error correction, and simulation. He was previously a visiting fellow at the University of Texas, Dallas, where his research focused on quantum resource estimation. Dr. Paler also chaired the Quantum Resource Estimation Workshop organized at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture.

• Dr. Devitt’s work has centered on large-scale quantum computing architectures, quantum network systems design, quantum programming development, and quantum error correction. He was appointed as a member of Australia’s National Quantum Advisory Committee in 2022, and he is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of New South Wales.

• Dr. Izmaylov’s research focuses on quantum chemistry and methods to reduce the practical bottlenecks in today’s noisy quantum processors. Dr. Izmaylov has made significant contributions to Qubit Coupled Cluster theory and advanced quantum measurement strategies, which have earned him awards like the Google Quantum Research Award and the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Physical Chemistry Lectureship Award. 

As the only US-based publicly traded, pure-play quantum software company and only organization to have participated across all technical areas of DARPA’s original Quantum Benchmarking program, Zapata views scientific governance and methodological rigor as core to its responsibility in shaping the quantum software ecosystem.

“The path to large-scale commercially viable quantum applications depends on solving critical bottlenecks in resource estimation, error correction and algorithm design,” said Yudong Cao, CTO of Zapata Quantum. “Dr. Paler, Dr. Devitt and Dr. Izmaylov each bring deep expertise in these exact layers of the stack. Their perspective strengthens our ability to relieve the constraints that limit practical quantum computing today and positions Zapata to play a leading role as the industry transitions to scalable quantum execution.”

Dr. Shor, Dr. Paler, Dr. Devitt and Dr. Izmaylov join Zapata’s existing Scientific Advisory Board members, Dr. Alireza Shabani, Dr. Austin G. Fowler and Dr. Jeff Grover.

Bringing Better Software to Banks and Businesses Everywhere

Extend is on a mission to bring better finance tools to banks and the businesses they serve—and Mastercard is helping accelerate that vision. 

Businesses today expect more from their company cards than a way to pay. When it comes to running their financial operation, a small or mid-sized business can easily end up juggling too many platforms across banking, accounting, payroll, bill pay, and expenses—and owners report spending about 20 hours a week on accounting tasks. Every tool added to the stack means another login, another data silo, and another manual handoff. What businesses want is fewer tools that do more.

We saw this early. When we started Extend, virtual cards were quickly proving how much more a business payment could do: beyond control and security, every card carried data that could automate approvals, reporting, and reconciliation. We saw the wave of neo-issuers and cloud-based processors with their rip-and-replace mentality around financial infrastructure—but their software-first approach and new infrastructure fueled a new generation of financial technology development. The best rose to the top and proved what a better experience could look like for businesses. Now traditional banks are working out how to deliver that same experience to the customers they already serve.

Banks have the relationships. Now they need the software.

Banks start with an advantage that’s hard to compete with. Large banks have historically served about 85% of the small business card market, and businesses trust them with their deposits, their credit, their treasury solution expertise, and ultimately, their business.

But the card itself is becoming a commodity. Issuing cards and adding program benefits is no longer enough to set a program apart. As the Nilson Report noted last December, commercial card issuers have been losing business to software-first providers. Businesses aren’t leaving for a better card—they’re leaving for better tools.

That puts banks in a race. To compete for, win, and keep business customers, they need to deliver a modern software experience on top of the card programs they already run, and they need it now.

Extend and Mastercard are delivering it.

That’s the gap our partnership with Mastercard closes. Mastercard has selected Extend as one of its financial operations platform partners that will bring modern spend and expense management to issuing banks and their existing commercial card programs across the US and Canada. 

For banks, it’s an out-of-the-box, software-first experience for the card programs they already offer. For businesses, it means world-class software from the bank they already work with: instant access with the cards they already have, virtual cards, automated month-end reconciliation, AI agents, and real-time visibility into team and vendor spend—all in one place.

“Mastercard is steadfast in its commitment to small and mid-sized businesses and its decision to bring Extend to issuers is an exciting moment for our company—and for the industry. No business should have to choose between a trusted bank and better operational solutions.” — Andrew Jamison, CEO and Co-Founder, Extend

“We work closely with our issuing banks to understand and serve the needs of business customers. The message is simple: they want tools that make their job easier, and Extend does just that.” — Ginger Siegel, Head of North America Small and Mid Market Business, Mastercard

When the software comes with the bank, how will neo-issuers compete?

For years, modern spend and expense management solutions came with one big condition: switch your card, and often your trusted bank, to get it. That’s no longer an issue. With Mastercard bringing Extend to issuers across its network, the best software is no longer something businesses have to leave their bank to find—and that changes the game. 

When the experience that once required switching to a neo-bank comes standard with the bank they already trust, businesses can choose a financial partner for the reasons that have always mattered: trust, credit, service, and a relationship that grows with them.