Integrating advanced chips expands payment card design options and reduces environmental impact

LITTLETON, Colo., October 16, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CPI Card Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTS) (“CPI” or “the Company”), a payments technology company that provides a comprehensive range of credit, debit and prepaid card solutions, fraud tools, and digital solutions, including software-as-a-service based instant issuance, is poised to produce the latest advances in payment technology with a new contactless card design featuring SECORA Pay Green from Infineon. CPI began producing sample cards in September and has an internal inventory to work with publishers on pilots of this innovative technology.

Launched today, this all-in-one technology with integrated chip and antenna enables card manufacturers like CPI to expand card design options to include features such as card shape, colored core, transparent cards and environmentally focused materials. Additionally, the chip-plus-antenna design provides contactless payment technology without the need for a separate inlay in the card structure, ultimately reducing the card’s carbon footprint.

“SECORA’s Pay Green advances the way cards are built today,” said Toni Thompson, executive vice president of debit and credit solutions at CPI. “With this new all-in-one technology, we are ready to offer even more customized solutions to achieve our customers’ goals. This chip offers much more flexibility, from card design to environmentally focused solutions – our team is excited about the possibilities at our fingertips.

The use of the all-in-one technology extends CPI’s commitment to offering payment solutions with a lower environmental impact as it enables a reduction in carbon emissions. The all-in-one offering is a natural extension of CPI’s environmentally focused portfolio, which includes Second Wave® and Earthwise® cards. However, SECORA Pay Green is also compatible with any CPI card stock and offers the opportunity to reduce environmental impact across CPI’s product portfolio.

CPI is ready to support its customers’ sustainability and design goals with this technology and is now accepting orders to begin piloting the card with its partners. The company will offer card samples at Money 20/20, a global fintech trade show, October 27-30 in Las Vegas. For more information about CPI’s customized card solutions with SECORA Pay Green, visit https://get.cpicardgroup.com/eco-focused-suite.

About CPI Card Group^®

CPI Card Group is a payments technology company that offers a full range of credit, debit and prepaid card solutions, fraud tools and digital solutions including software-as-a-service based instant issuance. With a focus on building personal relationships and building trust, we help our customers navigate the ever-evolving world of payments, while delivering innovative solutions that create connections and support their brands. With our team of experienced, dedicated employees and our network of high-security manufacturing and card service facilities throughout the United States, we serve customers of all industries, sizes and scales. CPI is committed to exceeding our customers’ expectations, transforming our industry and improving the way people pay every day.

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Find out more at www.CPIcardgroup.com.

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Contacts

Andy Sedlak
Dix & Eaton
[email protected]
(740) 412-2189

Deeptech startup sallea announced a €2.38 million pre-seed funding round to help cultured food producers accelerate the production of high-quality whole cuts such as steaks and fillets without the need for animal husbandry. The sallea team has developed innovative edible scaffolds that promise to unlock the potential of cellular agriculture.

The pre-seed financing round was led by Founderful with participation from Kost Capital. This pre-seed round represents Sallea’s first capital investment and builds on $1.8 million in non-dilutive funding previously secured through research and startup grants.

Founded in November 2023 by an all-female founding team, Sallea’s technology enables the creation of precisely structured, edible and porous 3D grids – so-called scaffolds – that serve as the basis for cultivating structured whole cuts of meat and fish. These scaffolds are added to bioreactors containing cells. These cells then attach to Sallea’s scaffolds and grow into whole pieces in three dimensions, improving the nutritional profile and texture of the final product. Cultured food manufacturers can now tailor not only the size and shape, but also the nutritional profile of their scaffolds to the final product.

The company’s proprietary technology is based on research conducted at ETH Zurich by co-founders Dr. Nicole Kleger, CTO, and Simona Fehlmann, who were also joined by co-founder and CCO Anna Bünter (ex-McKinsey).

“Food grown was limited to sausages and minced meat. “Our technology has the potential to boost cellular agriculture by reducing time to market and reducing production costs for cultured whole cuts such as steaks and fillets.” said Simona Fehlmann, CEO and co-founder of sallea. “This round of funding allows us to advance our mission of setting the industry standard for edible scaffolds in cellular agriculture. We can now expand our production capabilities, enter into joint product development partnerships and double our development efforts.”

While cellular agriculture offers a sustainable and cruelty-free alternative to traditional animal husbandry – with the potential to reduce emissions from beef production by up to 90%, for example – the industry has so far been limited to low-margin, unstructured products such as sausages. Sallea’s scaffolding eliminates this limitation and helps the industry get to market faster.

Antonia Albert, Director at Founderful, commented: “Sallea unlocks the potential of cultured meat and paves the way for a sustainable, cruelty-free future. With the cultured meat market expected to exceed $370 billion by 2030, we are excited to partner with Simona, Anna and Nicole as they redefine the future of food.”

Sallea’s technology comes at a pivotal time for the cellular agriculture industry. As the sector shifts from fully integrated value chains to an ecosystem where specialist components such as cell media and scaffolds are sourced externally, scaffolds in particular are increasingly recognized as a complex but essential element. Farmers are actively seeking partnerships with companies that can offer these specialized solutions.

“While the potential of cellular agriculture is clear, scaling it effectively requires not only capital and expertise, but also innovative solutions like Sallea’s that enable the production of high-quality products that can accelerate the path to price parity and fully meet consumer expectations .” added Robin Matthew, CEO of the Elsa Group (Migros Industrie), a leading group in the Swiss dairy and alternative protein industry.

With this new funding, Sallea aims to accelerate product development and initiate pilot projects with cultivation companies around the world. The company’s goal is to become the leading scaffold provider and accelerate the transition to more sustainable animal protein production. As sallea continues to grow, the team remains focused on its mission to set the standard for sustainable, cruelty-free and safe meat and fish production by providing the missing link in cellular agriculture.

“At Kost, we care about bringing better food to more people and we are proud to support Sallea.” said Bodil Sidén, General Partner at Kost Capital. “With the strong leadership of Simona, Anna and Nicole, combined with groundbreaking technology that aims to set a new standard in sustainable meat production, sallea is on the path to success.”

Sustainability and finance

Pedro further emphasized that sustainability must be treated with the same importance as finance due to increasing pressure from CEOs to commit to renewal and decarbonization. He further explained how sustainability needs to be integrated into business operations to advance internal goals and external regulations, such as the increasing pressure on companies to disclose their carbon emissions in addition to their financial information.

“The mindset shift is about treating sustainability with the same care as financial management,” explained Pedro.

Pedro used the example of SAP’s “green ledger” to highlight how the organization enables companies to track both their financial transactions and their carbon emissions, and to monitor their financial performance and environmental impact.

The path to real-time sustainability

Pedro pointed out that companies previously viewed sustainability as a distant concern, but stressed the importance of treating this issue as a current issue to be prepared for now. He further highlighted how organizations risk suffering further consequences if they fail to adapt to the changing sustainability landscape.

He further emphasized the urgency with which companies must begin these preparations and warned organizations of the potential financial impact they could face if they avoid implementing these changes. Pedro gave the example of transport company Merck, which has to pay “millions of dollars” due to carbon regulations in the EU that affect its transport activities.

Pedro began to delve into a topic that is becoming increasingly important in many industries: AI. He began to explain how he believed the future of sustainability would be driven by data, with technologies such as AI allowing companies to predict their emissions throughout their supply chain. In turn, he discussed how this could prepare companies to manage their carbon footprint with the same rigor and efficiency with which they handle their finances.

“AI can automate the allocation of emissions factors and produce ESG reports with the same precision and reliability as financial accounting systems,” emphasized Pedro.

Diploma

Overall, Pedro emphasized the urgency for organizations to integrate sustainability into their operations to thrive in the future of our evolving industry. He explained how companies can navigate the complexities of ESG regulation by ensuring that sustainability is incorporated into existing digital transformation efforts, that data flow is automated and that technology is used to meet changing needs.

Pedro left the audience with a powerful thought to ponder: “In a world full of answers and solutions, the true catalyst for innovation and change lies not in what we already know, but in our courage to ask the right questions.”

CNN
—

Rock guitarist Jake E. Lee, who played with heavy metal heavyweight Ozzy Osbourne, was hospitalized early Tuesday morning after being shot “multiple times” in Las Vegas, a representative for the musician said in a statement to CNN.

“Lee is fully conscious and doing well in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Las Vegas. He is expected to make a full recovery,” the representative said.

The shooting occurred while Lee was walking his dog outside and is believed to be “completely random.”

According to a statement from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, “Officers responded to a shooting incident in the 11000 block of Alora Street” at approximately 2:42 a.m. Tuesday.

“Officers arrived and located a male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. “The man was transported to the hospital,” the statement said.

The investigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests at this time, police said.

Lee, 67, is a veteran rock guitarist who spent time playing with Osbourne in the 1980s.

Lee later formed the heavy metal group Badlands with former Black Sabbath members Ray Gillen and Eric Singer. In 2013 he founded his own band Red Dragon Cartel.

After news of the shooting broke, friends and fans took to social media on Tuesday to wish the musician a smooth recovery.

“I’m thinking about Jake E Lee and praying for him,” said Mark Strigl, who hosts an Ozzy Osbourne channel on SiriusXM.

“I wish my friend Jake E. Lee a full and lasting recovery,” Agent David Maida said in a post on X.

“I just heard about Jake E Lee. Glad to hear he’s doing well,” Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis said in a social media post on Tuesday. “My thoughts are with you, buddy!”

“Love and prayers to my buddy Jake E. Lee – get well soon bro,” musician Matt Gibson posted. “You got that!”

CNN’s Lisa Respers France contributed to this report.

John Lewis, a high-end department store chain in the UK, has briefly listed a new Kindle that isn’t available at anyone else. It’s the upcoming 12th generation Kindle eReader, which Amazon hasn’t announced yet, although its information was already leaked a few times before Lewis prematurely published a listing for it. Although this entry is no longer online, Good e-reader And The edge We were able to take screenshots and note the technical specifications of the device. In the retailer’s description, Amazon referred to the Kindle as the 12th generation.

Its frontlight is 25 percent brighter at maximum setting than previous versions, and it has a higher contrast ratio, but you still can’t adjust the light cooler or warmer like you could on more expensive Kindles. However, the device allows for faster page turning than previous Kindles and has a new dark mode feature that inverts the colors of the e-ink display, it says The edge. If you prefer listening to your books, you can launch Audible on the new Kindle and connect your headphones or speakers to it via Bluetooth too.

In addition to the basic 12th generation Kindle, John Lewis also released the listing for its Kids Edition version. It’s the same device, except it comes with a colorful case and includes a free six-month subscription to Amazon Kids+. Previous Kids Edition Kindles came with a one-year free membership to the subscription service, but this model required you to pay $6 per month to continue access to curated books, videos, and games for kids after half a year. For the 12th generation Kindle itself, the John Lewis listing says it costs £95 ($124), around £10 more than the previous version. Meanwhile, the Kids Edition will cost you a bit more as the retailer has it listed for £115 ($150).

The easy scapegoat for any Bears team has always been the offensive coordinator.

In other cities, it might be the defensive coordinator. But other cities lack the tradition of defensive success that the Bears have enjoyed.

Of course, the Bears haven’t had much success on offense, and that’s largely because they were missing a quarterback. Even a bad offensive coordinator could look better with a good quarterback.

NEW YORK – You have to play near-flawless baseball to get to the World Series, and the Cleveland Guardians have been anything but in the two games of the American League Championship Series. The New York Yankees won Game 2 (NY 6, CLE 3) on Tuesday night and led the best-of-seven series 2-0. The series continues Thursday at Progressive Field.

The Yankees opened Game 1 with a solo homer by Juan Soto and ended it with a solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton. In between, New York scored three runs, all aided by wild pitches. In the third inning we scored twice on wild pitches. An inning later, wild pitches (plural) moved the runner to second And Third before a sacrifice fly brought him home.

Joey Cantillo’s four wild pitches in Game 1 are the second-most ever in a postseason game behind Rick Ankiel’s five in his NLDS Game 1 in 2000, and the Yankees were the first team ever to do so in a postseason game Runs scored on several wild pitches. They did it in the same inning. They did it in six pitches! The Guardians kept giving away 90 feet.

“He seemed a little quicker at first, but then it looked like he was having trouble finding the strike zone,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Cantillo after Game 1.

Additionally, the Guardians issued seven walks in Game 1, including four in a span of six batters in the third inning. Those three wild pitch-assisted runs? All three runners initially reached the finish while walking. The seven walks in Game 1 were Cleveland’s most in a nine-inning game since August 22. “We just have to attack the zone better, and we didn’t do that tonight,” Vogt said.

The self-inflicted damage continued into Game 2. In the bottom of the first inning Gold Glove finalist Brayan Rocchio dropped an infield popup from Aaron Judge with runners on the corners, allowing a run to score and also extending the inning. Tanner Bibee needed 27 pitches to get the first three outs of the game, which contributed at least in part to his exit in the second inning.

Even when the Guardians did something right, it ended up backfiring. With the bases loaded and a base out in the fourth inning on Tuesday, Vogt went for the big hit, pinch-hitting David Fry for starting catcher Bo Naylor. Fry threw a first-pitch fastball into foul territory on the third base side, and Cleveland did not score in the inning.

Pinching Fry was the right move. The Guardians were down 3-0 at the time and with the bases full, it was a chance to up the scoreboard and get back into the game. And really, the swing on the first pitch was fine too. It was a fastball in the zone and Fry narrowly missed it. Often the first pitch is the best one to hit, and Fry did it. That’s baseball sometimes.

Fry’s hit for Naylor forced light-hitting backup catcher Austin Hedges into the game and the big spot found him an inning later. The Guardians loaded the bases again, this time scoring two runs in the fifth and knocking Gerrit Cole out of the game. With the bases loaded and two outs, Hedges came in with his .152/.203/.220 season slash line and struck out to end the threat.

Hedges also made it to the finale of Game 1 after coming off the bench late. Again, hitting Fry for Naylor in Game 2 was the right move, but it just didn’t work, and things got worse when Hedges came to the plate in a big spot an inning later.

The Guardians capped their sloppy play in Game 2 when right fielder Will Brennan swept Anthony Rizzo’s double off the sidewall not once, but twice. He tried to pick up the ball with his bare hand, dropped it, picked it up, dropped it again, and finally brought it into the infield. The two bobbles allowed Anthony Volpe to score from first base after initially being pinned at third base.

Brennan also dropped Volpe’s line drive with one out in the eighth inning, turning one out into a single. This one didn’t come back to bite the Guardians (Volpe was stranded) and it was a difficult play (Brennan had to slip), but still, it’s a play a major leaguer should make, and it wasn’t made. It was a free baserunner, more stress on the pitching staff, and so on and so forth.

To be fair to Cleveland, the Yankees played sloppy baseball in Game 2 as well. Cole walked four batters in 4 1/3 innings and trailed all night. And in the sixth inning, the Yankees found themselves on the bases with two outs. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rizzo were both caught straying too far from second base, sabotaging a potentially big inning.

John Sterling, on his maiden voyage as a Yankees radio host, made a splash in this inning:

The Yankees gave the Guardians two poison outs in that sixth inning – inexplicable baserunning errors, in fact – but Cleveland gave them much more in the two ALCS games. Four wild pitches, seven walks and three gift runs in Game 1. A dropped pop up, a double-bobbled double and Hedges at-bats in Game 2. Free outs, free bases, free runs.

The ALCS hasn’t played well yet. Both teams made their fair share of mistakes, errors and blunders, but Cleveland’s were more costly. Their mistakes immediately caused runs to falter and now the Guardians are down 2-0 in the series and need to win four times in their next five games. It’s doable, they’re a very good team, but these mistakes have to be cleaned up for it to happen.

Only South Carolina has managed to sack LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier in six games.

Defensive end Kyle Kennard got a solo sack on Nussmeier and combined with linebacker Bam Martin-Scott for another sack, but the Tigers rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Gamecocks on September 14 at Williams-Brice Stadium with 36:33.

Those are the only two sacks allowed by LSU.

Ole Miss entered the game last Saturday night at LSU leading the SEC with 24 sacks and leaving the game with the same number as the Tigers staged another comeback in a conference game, winning 29-26 in overtime.

“We’re really good at that,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said of protecting Nussmeier. “We are exceptional pass blockers.”

It helps to have offensive linemen who have made a combined 128 career starts, led by 31 each for left tackle Will Campbell, a preseason All-American, and right guard Miles Frazier.

The no.

LSU never led against Ole Miss until the final play of the game, when Nussmeier found Kyren Lacy for a touchdown pass on the Tigers’ only offensive snap in overtime before fans stormed the field.

Lacy, who had 5 catches for 111 yards, received a single coverage on his game-winning 25-yard touchdown.

“It’s not a 50:50 ball,” Nussmeier said. “That’s a 100-to-nothing ball.”

Nussmeier’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Anderson brought LSU to 23-22 with 23 seconds left. Kelly chose to kick an extra point to tie the game rather than try to win with a 2-point conversion.

“I just felt like our guys worked too hard to get back in the game and I didn’t want to go for two in an all-or-nothing situation,” Kelly said.

Kelly’s call was fine with LSU linebacker Whit Weeks.

“I was happy to get to play more ball,” Weeks said. “Shoot, we can’t play again until next Saturday. I like to play more football.”

The victory over then-No. 9 Ole Miss moved the Tigers up from No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and better positioned LSU to secure a spot in the expanded 12-team playoffs. Ole Miss fell to 18th.

“We are serious,” said Nussmeier. “The Tigers are real. I think we’ve proven that. There were problems and mistakes, but we found a way to win the game.”

Nussmeier completed 22 of 51 passes for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Ole Miss led 23-16 when Nussmeier led LSU on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with his scoring pass to make it 5-8 to Anderson.

Nussmeier completed 43.1% of his passes. His last two throws were for touchdowns, increasing his SEC-leading total to 18.

This is Junior Nussmeier’s first season as a starter. He sat behind Jayden Daniels, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, who is starting for the Washington Commanders.

“I thought Garrett had grown [against Ole Miss] than ever before,” said Kelly, who is 25-8 in his third season at LSU. “This was a growth game for him…The growth he was able to show through this game and in the end will serve him well.”

Lacy is LSU’s leading receiving threat with 30 receptions for 463 yards and 6 touchdowns. Tight end Mason Taylor has 33 catches for 323 yards and 1 touchdown.

Nussmeier is averaging 331.5 passing yards, fueling an offense that has difficulty passing the ball consistently.

The Tigers average 123.3 rushing yards, ranking 100th nationally. Their leading rusher is Caden Durham, who has 41 carries for 249 yards.

“We also need to be exceptional run blockers, and we are capable of that,” Kelly said. “But we need some help.”

Weeks, who had 18 tackles and forced a fumble, was the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.

“We are a stubborn bunch. “We’re going to keep fighting until the end,” Weeks said. “We knew the whole game, we weren’t going to lose this ballgame.”

Bradyn Swinson was the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. He had 8 tackles, including 2 sacks, and intercepted 2 passes. He leads the Tigers with 7 sacks for 56 yards.

LSU held Ole Miss to three field goals in the second half and overtime. The Rebels led 17-13 at halftime.

“When you stop them from scoring touchdowns for two quarters of the second half and overtime, you feel like you’ve won that battle,” Kelly said.

Kelly praised Missouri-hired defensive coordinator Blake Baker for using multiple looks to keep the Rebels off balance. The Tigers sacked Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart six times.

“At no point did we give them a unified look,” Kelly said. “We felt the most important thing was to mix up the coverage.

“If we gave them a unified view of anything, we felt that would be the problem. In other words, they checked, we checked, and during the game a kind of chess game developed over who would get the last check-in. Sometimes they did, but sometimes we did too.”

LSU has won five straight since opening, including a 27-20 loss to Southern Cal in Las Vegas.

“Proud of our team for how we kept fighting,” Kelly said. “Our players were confident they were prepared and would find a way to win the game.

“If you think you can win these games, you just keep fighting.”

Mark Cuban sees some encouraging signs for the future direction of the NBA.

After the league agreed to a new $77 billion media rights deal a few months ago, the Dallas billionaire and minority owner of the Mavericks said he sees many positives in the current state of professional basketball. He attributed this to the NBA’s current competitive balance.

“I think competitively it’s the best it’s ever been,” Cuban said Tuesday on ESPN First recording. “I remember meetings and small market teams just coming and begging for revenue share and this and that. Now everyone is competitive. There will be teams pushing for Cooper Flagg, so that might not work out as well as the NBA wants. But there are still a lot of really good teams.”

Cuban, who sold his majority stake in the Mavericks at the end of 2023, also provided a realistic look at some of the issues the league still faces. He specifically addressed how Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the regional Bally Sports networks, terminated its contract with the league.

Cuban said the Mavericks lost a major contract and there was no way to replace the revenue unless other sources were available.

“How that impacts the actual cap next year will be interesting, even if the big TV deals take effect,” Cuban said. “I don’t think the cap will rise nearly as much as people expect.”

Cuban also expressed his thoughts on how the NBA will fare sharing a television audience with the NFL on Christmas Day. He told Shannon Sharpe and others that television wasn’t the be-all and end-all of ratings.

Both Sharpe and Cuban agreed that the NBA has an advantage over the NFL on short-form platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X/Twitter.

To conclude his appearance, Cuban addressed some of the concerns fans may have when the NBA regular season begins in about a week. His topics of conversation included streaming gaming and load management.

“I think there will be concerns among fans that the NBA needs to be really proactive in educating people about where they can get their favorite games,” Cuban said. “That being said, when it comes to load management, I don’t think people realize that the game is getting bigger, stronger and faster. It’s just brutal on the guys’ bodies.”

When Stephen A. Smith asked what Cuban would think if someone like Joel Embiid said he wouldn’t play in back-to-back regular-season games this year, the entrepreneur responded immediately.

“As long as the second game is directly against the Mavs, I love it,” Cuban said.

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.