TECH BULLETIN

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Tech Market Context: Macro Drivers

Key macro instruments that drive tech market movements: yields, dollar, risk appetite

Market Commentary

Today's Interesting Company News

Knot Expands Into Canada, Partnering With RBC

(LSE/AIM:FNEWS) Knot, the leading merchant connectivity platform, has announced its partnership with RBC, Canada's largest bank, to make RBC cards the default payment method for millions of cardholders wherever they spend. Using Knot's CardSwitcher, RBC cardholders can set their RBC card as the saved payment method at their favorite merchants directly from the RBC mobile app, without manually entering card details. The partnership marks Knot's first expansion beyond the United States, with Canada as Knot's first market beyond the U.S. RBC has more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S., and 27 other countries. RBC employs 101,000+ employees and is one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization. The company projects that bringing CardSwitcher to Canadian cardholders is the start of a longer roadmap, both for what Knot and RBC build together and for where Knot goes next.

Blackbaud Announces New Agents for Good™, Embedded AI Capabilities for a Reimagined Cloud-Native, AI-First Connected Platform

(NASDAQ: BLKB) Blackbaud announced multiple new agents within its Agents for Good™ suite, building on the success of the Development Agent, as well as several other AI-driven product enhancements, all of which are planned for delivery as part of a reimagined Blackbaud operating system for social impact. The Development Agent has a reply rate 76 times the industry average, a message open rate 10 points higher than the industry average, and leads to an attributable gift size that is 39% higher. Four new Agents for Good are planned for the coming month: Data Health Agent, Admissions Agent, Digital Marketing Agent, and Accounts Payable Agent. Blackbaud also announced AI-powered enhancements for Financial Edge NXT®, including AI Document Intelligence, Import Mapping Assistant, and AI Anomaly Detection & Reconciliation Assistants. Thousands of social impact professionals have already registered for the free, product-agnostic AI for Social Impact Certification Program.

Highway Holdings Announces Signed LOI with Guangdong Huahu New Energy Technology Company

(NASDAQ:HIHO) Highway Holdings Limited announced that it has signed a letter of intent ("LOI") with Guangdong Huahu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. for a proposed joint venture combining Highway Holdings' global manufacturing and commercial platform with Huahu's energy storage technology, with initial contributions valued at US$3.5 million. The joint venture would consist of approximately US$2.0 million in cash from Highway Holdings and approximately US$1.5 million in products and technology transfer from Huahu, with Highway Holdings owning 57% and Huahu owning 43%. The LOI contemplates the issuance by Highway Holdings to Huahu of up to an aggregate of 400,000 restricted shares upon achievement of certain milestones, and an additional 100,000 restricted shares if Huahu provides SKD business to Highway Holdings' factory in Myanmar. Highway Holdings will also issue additional restricted shares to Huahu for every $1,000,000 of component business provided, with this incentive program limited to 500,000 restricted shares in the aggregate. The parties intend to negotiate and complete definitive agreements within approximately one month, subject to due diligence, approvals, and other customary conditions. The company projects that the combination can convert existing market interest into meaningful projects and create a stronger, more diversified Highway Holdings. A market survey predicts that the present worldwide market value for battery storage systems is about US$89 billion annually, and is expected to more than double to about US$198 billion in the coming five years.

BTQ Technologies' QPerfect Subsidiary and the University of Strasbourg Partner to Support France's First Public Neutral-Atom Quantum Computing Platform

(NASDAQ:BTQ) BTQ Technologies Corp. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, QPerfect, has entered into a research collaboration with the University of Strasbourg in support of aQCess, France's first publicly accessible neutral atom quantum computing platform. The aQCess platform is targeting more than 400 qubits and is designed to give researchers and industry open access to state-of-the-art neutral atom hardware. QPerfect is building a hardware-accurate digital twin of the aQCess quantum processor using its MIMIQ™ simulation platform, with the first joint project delivering a cloud-based, hardware-accurate quantum digital twin of the aQCess processor. aQCess brings together 18 partners, including 7 multidisciplinary research institutes, 3 graduate schools, 4 international partners, and 2 quantum hubs, and is powered by ultracold ytterbium atoms with Rydberg-mediated interactions. QPerfect, founded in 2023, has received the i-Lab Grand Prix and provides technology to enable researchers, developers, and manufacturers to realize the full potential of quantum computers. The company projects that the aQCess platform will scale toward 400 qubits and beyond and that the digital twin will let users design, test, and validate quantum workloads before and alongside running on the physical system. The collaboration is supported by the French National Strategy for Quantum Technologies via the National Research Agency Equipex+ grant ANR-21-ESRE-0032.

Octacom, a Division of DATA Communications Management, Selected by Schedule I Canadian Bank to Launch Intelligent Document Processing Solution

(TSX: DCM) (OTCQX: DCMDF) DATA Communications Management Corp. announced that its Octacom division has been selected by a Schedule I Canadian bank to develop and launch a comprehensive digital mailroom solution powered by Octacom's proprietary AI-enabled data capture and workflow automation platform. The digital mailroom solution will automate the intake, classification, validation, extraction, and routing of inbound documents across the enterprise, replacing labour-intensive mail handling with an intelligent, end-to-end digital workflow. DCM completed the strategic acquisition of Octacom on July 9, 2026. DCM serves over 2,500 clients including 70 of the 100 largest Canadian corporations and leading government agencies. Richard Kellam, President and CEO of DCM, stated that this is the first client engagement since acquiring Octacom earlier this month. The company projects the ability to realize the anticipated financial and strategic benefits from the acquisition of Octacom, including client and customer retention, and the ability to continue to realize on Octacom's historical revenue growth rates and profitability levels in the future.

Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Announces New Contract; Signs Amalgamated Transit Union 726 to Novus 360 TPA 3-Year Recurring Services Agreement

(TSXV: CHS) (OTCQB: CMHSF) Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Inc. announced it has signed a 3-Year Recurring Third-Party Administrator ("TPA") agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726 Benefits Fund. Under the agreement, CHS will deploy its Novus 360 solution to modernize and administer the Fund's health and welfare and related benefit programs. This signing is the fourth new client agreement that CHS has signed since December 2025. The Company has a robust business development pipeline of over USD 20M as reported in the press release issued by the Company on March 5, 2026. CHS expects to continue to convert these prospects at its historical conversion rate of approximately 30%. The Novus 360 platform integrates benefits administration, claims processing, utilization management, case management, pension administration, and member engagement into a unified solution. CHS will leverage Novus 360's cloud-hosted infrastructure, mobile applications, and data analytics capabilities to provide real-time visibility into plan performance for ATU 726.

EnSilica: Follow on Satellite Orders

(AIM: ENSI) EnSilica plc announced follow-on chip orders worth €1.1 million from a European satellite communications customer for its ENS92040 distributed digital beamformer ASSP. The €1.1 million order comprises €350,000 for additional samples and €750,000 to contribute towards product enhancements. In February 2023, EnSilica announced funding of €5 million from the European Space Agency ('ESA') to develop the ENS92040 chip. In August 2023, EnSilica announced a €2.5 million order from the same customer for ENS92040, including an initial order for 50,000 of the ASSP. The satellite communications user terminal market has a Serviceable Addressable Market which is expected to grow by 5x, up from $650m in 2025 during initial deployment and growing to over $3bn alongside mass adoption in 2030. Supply revenue is expected to grow significantly from 2029, as this new generation of satellite constellations enter service. The ENS92040 is also one of the ASSPs identified for further investment as part of the Company's recently announced equity fundraising.

Transense Appoints Distributors for Translogik

(AIM: TRT) Transense Technologies plc has announced the appointment of Hamaton Ltd and Tyresure Ltd as authorised distributors for its Translogik tyre inspection products and TireTask tyre management software across Europe and the Middle East. The agreement provides Transense with its first authorised distribution partner with dedicated operations in mainland Europe. Hamaton Ltd is described as the European sales and support organisation for the Hamaton TPMS brand, while Tyresure Ltd is a specialist distributor of tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) and associated workshop technologies. The appointment is expected to improve product availability and customer service across key European markets through Hamaton's established logistics infrastructure, regional warehousing and multilingual sales and technical support. The Board believes the agreement comes at an important time for the European tyre industry, as regulatory developments including mandatory TPMS fitment on new commercial vehicles and trailers, together with the anticipated introduction of Digital Product Passport requirements and increasing adoption of RFID-enabled tyres, are expected to accelerate demand for digital tyre inspection and tyre management solutions. Transense will continue to sell directly to customers where appropriate and retains the flexibility to appoint additional complementary distribution partners in the future.

SuperX and Mercuria Asia Forge Strategic Partnership to Build Innovative AI Infrastructure Ecosystem

(NASDAQ: SUPX) SuperX AI Technology Limited and Mercuria Asia announced the establishment of a strategic partnership, with Mercuria Asia making a strategic investment in SuperX through a convertible note and warrant subscription agreement. The partnership will focus on global AI data center development, optimized allocation of power resources, and innovation in energy management. The collaboration aims to accelerate the implementation of overseas projects in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and other regions, establishing differentiated advantages in green computing power. SuperX offers a comprehensive portfolio including high-performance AI servers, 800-volt direct current (800VDC) solutions, high-density liquid cooling solutions, AI cloud services, and AI agents. Mercuria Energy Group operates globally across the energy value chain, including crude oil and refined products, natural gas and LNG, power, renewable energy, metals, and carbon markets. The company projects that the partnership will deliver more cost-competitive and sustainable AI factory solutions to customers worldwide.

Palo Alto Networks to Extend Leading Observability Platform With Innovative Digital Experience Monitoring

(NASDAQ: PANW) Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire Embrace, a leading provider of user-focused observability, to add high-fidelity Real User Monitoring (RUM) capabilities to the Palo Alto Networks Observability platform. The company is also introducing Synthetics, a new capability built with its Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) team, for proactively validating application performance from anywhere. Following the acquisition of Chronosphere in January 2026, Palo Alto Networks surpassed $300M ARR in Q3 FY26. The company was named a leader for the third consecutive year in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Observability Platforms and earned the top ranking for Observability Cost Control in the 2026 Gartner® Critical Capabilities™ report. Palo Alto Networks is trusted by 70,000+ customers and powered by Unit 42 threat intelligence. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Palo Alto Networks first quarter of fiscal 2027. The company projects that these new capabilities will extend Palo Alto Networks Observability to Digital Experience Monitoring and enable organizations to monitor user experiences and infrastructure health through a single interface.

ICF Awarded New $25 Million Agreement to Deliver Cyber Services to Army Research Lab

(NASDAQ: ICFI) ICF was recently awarded a new subcontract task order by Parsons Corporation to deliver cybersecurity technology and research and development (R&D) services to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The contract has a ceiling value of $25 million and a term of five years, including a 12-month base and four one-year options. ICF will support DEVCOM ARL's Computationally Augmented and Resilient: Situation Awareness, Intelligence, Planning, Mobility, and Defense (CARSIPMoD) mission of advancing secure, resilient tactical networks to strengthen military field operations. The company will provide technology services including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, network science and systems administration, as well as modeling, simulation and testing. ICF has supported ARL's cyber operations and R&D initiatives for nearly three decades and partners with multiple defense organizations to modernize the systems underpinning readiness and mission operations. ICF is a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 certified vendor.

Vision Marine Technologies Announces Next Phase of Its Marine Technology Strategy

(NASDAQ: VMAR; TSXV: VMAR) Vision Marine Technologies Inc. announced the next phase of its long-term strategy to advance and commercialize marine technologies through its operating platform. Over the past year, Vision Marine has integrated and expanded the Nautical Ventures platform, commercially launched and begun customer deliveries of its E-Motion™ 180 high-voltage electric propulsion system, expanded its intellectual property portfolio, continued optimizing its real estate and operating structure, and completed its previously announced at-the-market equity offering program. As previously disclosed, net cash provided by operating activities totaled approximately US$2.4 million for the nine-month period ended May 31, 2026. The Company currently has no active ATM program. Vision Marine intends to use its existing customer relationships, distribution channels and service infrastructure to evaluate and, where appropriate, commercialize complementary marine technologies.

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