TECH BULLETIN

Thursday, August 20, 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

CLPS Incorporation Sets Industry Benchmark With Completion of AI-Driven Modernization of a 30-Year-Old Legacy Banking System

(NASDAQ:CLPS) CLPS Incorporation announced the successful completion of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven modernization project for a 30‑year‑old mortgage loan system at a major international bank. The project was delivered by just over 20 developers in 16 months, compared with an initial estimate of 80 developers over approximately five years. The migration included converting 386 VB and MS Access programs (approximately 449,732 lines of code) and migrating 303 batch jobs, 315 reports, 114 letter templates, and 841 stored MS procedures (approximately 535,131 lines of code). Data migration involved rebuilding 1,124 database tables from MS SQL Server and VSAM into PostgreSQL. The modernized system comprises approximately 984,863 lines of code. CLPS deployed a localized, on-premises AI solution within the Client's environment to meet regulatory compliance and data security requirements. This project saved the Client millions of dollars in direct costs while substantially reducing future maintenance overhead.

Eightco Holdings Reports Total Holdings of Approximately $389 Million, Includes OpenAI, Beast Industries, More Than 16,000 ETH and Nearly 302 Million WLD Tokens

(NASDAQ: ORBS) Eightco Holdings Inc. repurchased approximately 14 million shares of its common stock under its previously announced $125 million share repurchase program. As of August 19, 2026, Eightco's treasury composition includes $90 million OpenAI equity (indirect), $18 million Beast Industries equity, 16,278 ETH, nearly 302 million WLD holdings, and $132 million cash and equivalents, totaling approximately $389 million. Eightco recently participated in World Foundation's $52.5 million funding round, led by Pantera with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Selini Capital, Susquehanna Crypto, and additional investors. Eightco holds nearly 302 million WLD, approximately 8.4% of circulating supply, the largest publicly disclosed institutional position globally and approximately 29% of the Eightco treasury's assets. Eightco has invested approximately $90 million in special purpose vehicles with exposure to equity interests in the parent company of OpenAI, representing approximately 23% of treasury assets. Eightco has invested $18 million in Beast Industries equity, approximately 5% of treasury assets.

Bandwidth Achieves ISO/IEC 42001 Certification for AI Management System, Reinforcing Leadership in Trusted AI Infrastructure

(NASDAQ:BAND) Bandwidth Inc. announced it has achieved ISO/IEC 42001 certification for its artificial intelligence management system. Bandwidth's certification comprehensively spans its products, processes and operations worldwide. The company's Communications Cloud covers approximately 70 countries and 90 percent of global GDP. Bandwidth owns and operates its global network, providing an integrated scope for its AI management system. Bandwidth's solutions are trusted by leaders in unified communications and cloud contact centers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco, Google, Microsoft, RingCentral, Zoom, Genesys and Five9, as well as Global 2000 enterprises and SaaS builders like Docusign, Uber and Yosi Health. Bandwidth is the first and only global Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) to offer a unique combination of composable APIs, AI capabilities, owner-operated network and broad regulatory experience.

Quarterhill Partners With PennDOT to Support Commercial Vehicle Monitoring Technology Infrastructure

(TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF) Quarterhill Inc. has secured a contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to provide ongoing maintenance, calibration, and support services for the Commonwealth's Weigh-In-Motion program. The agreement is valued at approximately $4.6 million over an initial three-year term with options to extend for an additional two years. Quarterhill will deliver scheduled maintenance, emergency repair services, and system calibration for PennDOT's network of planning and compliance WIM sites across the state, including support for new site installations, upgrades, and reporting integration with PennDOT's Field Operations Manager system. In 2026 alone, the Company has secured contracts with agencies in Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Each year, Quarterhill's platforms process billions of transactions, perform compliance and safety inspections on millions of commercial vehicles, and enable transportation agencies worldwide to optimize thousands of lanes of traffic.

Unisys and Refroid Partner to Advance Deployment of High-Performance AI Infrastructure

(NYSE:UIS) Unisys and Refroid Technologies have partnered to help organizations build, deploy and maintain the high-performance computing infrastructure AI workloads require. Gartner® forecasts worldwide AI spending will reach $2.59 trillion in 2026, with AI infrastructure accounting for more than $1.4 trillion of that total. The partnership combines Refroid's liquid cooling technologies with the global field services and delivery capabilities from Unisys, enabling organizations to maximize the performance and value of AI infrastructure investments. Refroid brings expertise in direct-to-chip cooling, immersion cooling, coolant distribution units and hybrid load-bank technologies designed for high-performance computing environments. Unisys complements these capabilities with specialized field services designed for high-performance computing environments, including deployment, commissioning and validation support, technical workforce enablement, and AI-powered service management and lifecycle support services delivered through its Digital Workplace Solutions. Additional benefits of the Unisys and Refroid partnership include simplified deployment and commissioning of AI-ready infrastructure environments, improved efficiency across increasingly energy-intensive computing environments, enhanced infrastructure reliability through global maintenance, technical support and lifecycle services, strengthened workforce readiness through specialized technician training and field-service expertise, and expanded AI-powered service management capabilities to support emerging AI infrastructure requirements.

Sharon AI Successfully Delivers AI Cloud Deployment for Global Technology Customer

(NASDAQ: SHAZ) SharonAI Holdings Inc. announced the successful delivery and customer acceptance of an initial AI Cloud deployment for a global technology company with a major Asia-Pacific presence. Customer acceptance marks the completion of a key milestone under the five-year AI Cloud infrastructure agreement, which has a total initial contract value of approximately US$950m. Acceptance also triggers release of cash security currently held in escrow. The deployment is the first phase of this customer contract and part of a series of additional NVIDIA GPU clusters that Sharon AI expects to deliver over the coming months. Sharon AI is deploying AI Cloud solutions across multiple data centers in Australia, with revenue expected to commence in stages across the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Sharon AI has secured 212MW of AI Factory capacity, of which 120MW is contracted under multi-year take-or-pay agreements. The accepted deployment represents further progress in bringing this secured and contracted capacity online.

PlaySide Studios Returns to Profit as MOUSE P.I. for Hire Drives Record Original IP Revenue

(ASX:PLY) PlaySide Studios returned to profit in FY26 as the launch of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire more than doubled original intellectual property (IP) revenue and helped lift group revenue above guidance. Revenue rose 13% to A$54.9 million from A$48.7m, exceeding guidance of A$50m to A$53m, while EBITDA improved to A$15.5m from a A$7.5m loss. Net profit after tax reached A$5.4m compared with a A$12.1m loss a year earlier, while positive operating cash flow of A$10.7m reversed a A$7.3m outflow in the previous year. Original IP revenue climbed 108% to a record A$34.7m, with MOUSE P.I. contributing about A$24m after selling 960,000 units during FY26 and generating US$28m in gross sales during the period. Since launch, MOUSE P.I. has surpassed 1.1 million unit sales and US$30m in gross sales, with downloadable content in development and PlaySide securing exclusive rights to a sequel. PlaySide reduced annualised overheads by about A$12m across restructuring measures, including around A$7m of savings from the April 2025 restructure and a further A$4.8m expected from the June 2026 changes. PlaySide finished FY26 with A$15.4m cash at bank after positive operating cash flow, higher capitalised development spending and funding from an equity raising, share purchase plan and an A$6m debt facility secured against its A$7.8m Digital Games Tax Offset claim for the 2025 financial year.

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