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Kerendia Meets Primary Endpoint in Investigational Phase III FIND-CKD Study in Patients With Non-Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease
WHIPPANY, New Jersey, March 17 -- Bayer USA, an enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition, issued the following news:* * *
KERENDIA(R) (finerenone) Meets Primary Endpoint in Investigational Phase III FIND-CKD Study in Patients with Non-Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease
* KERENDIA(R) (finerenone) met its primary endpoint demonstrating a statistically significant improvement vs. placebo in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) slope from baseline to Month 32 - a surrogate endpoint for slowing kidney disease progression1
* FIND-CKD is the ... Show Full Article WHIPPANY, New Jersey, March 17 -- Bayer USA, an enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition, issued the following news: * * * KERENDIA(R) (finerenone) Meets Primary Endpoint in Investigational Phase III FIND-CKD Study in Patients with Non-Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease * KERENDIA(R) (finerenone) met its primary endpoint demonstrating a statistically significant improvement vs. placebo in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) slope from baseline to Month 32 - a surrogate endpoint for slowing kidney disease progression1 * FIND-CKD is thefifth consecutive Phase III clinical trial where KERENDIA met its primary endpoint, adding to a clinical trial program of more than 20,000 patients across multiple patient populations with heart and kidney diseases
* FIND-CKD is the largest Phase III study to date focused on non-diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) and now expands KERENDIA's clinical data in CKD to both diabetic and non-diabetic patients
* The clinical data from FIND-CKD will be presented at an upcoming scientific conference, and Bayer anticipates submitting the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to extend the indication of KERENDIA to this patient population
* KERENDIA is currently approved by the FDA for use in adults with CKD associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction (HF LVEF) 40%2
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The Phase III study FIND-CKD (NCT05047263) -- investigating the efficacy and safety of KERENDIA(R) (finerenone) versus placebo when added to standard of care in adult patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) -- has met its primary endpoint./1 The results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement versus placebo in the primary efficacy outcome of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) slope, defined as the mean annual rate of change from baseline to Month 32,/1 a validated surrogate endpoint for kidney disease progression./3 The safety profile of KERENDIA in the FIND-CKD study was consistent with its established safety profile./1
The FIND-CKD clinical trial data will be presented at an upcoming scientific conference. Bayer anticipates submitting the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to extend the indication of KERENDIA to non-diabetic CKD patients.
"Patients with chronic kidney disease have substantial risk for cardiovascular events and kidney failure, so new treatments are needed to help slow kidney disease progression and improve outcomes. The FIND-CKD topline results are encouraging because they now provide evidence for finerenone in a non-diabetic chronic kidney disease population, on top of its established evidence in diabetic chronic kidney disease."
- Hiddo L. Heerspink , Professor of Clinical Trials and Personalized Medicine, clinical trialist at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands, and Co-Chair of the study's Executive Committee
Since 2021, KERENDIA has been approved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure (HF), non-fatal myocardial infarction, sustained eGFR decline, and end-stage kidney disease in adult patients with CKD associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In July 2025, KERENDIA also received FDA approval for the treatment of heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction (HF LVEF) 40%./2
Approximately 850 million people worldwide are living with CKD, and those with non-diabetic CKD represent more than half of these cases./4,5,6 In the U.S., more than 35 million people are estimated to have CKD./7 In 2023, CKD accounted for over 1.4 million deaths, ranking as the ninth leading cause of death./8
"The FIND CKD findings mark the fifth consecutive Phase III trial in the KERENDIA clinical development program to meet its primary endpoint and represent a major milestone for people living with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease," said Carolina Aldworth, M.D., MSc, Executive Medical Director at Bayer. "When considered alongside the growing evidence base, this important trial adds to our understanding of KERENDIA across multiple patient populations with heart and kidney diseases."
KERENDIA is a non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (nsMRA) that selectively and potently blocks mineralocorticoid receptor overactivation in the heart and kidneys./2 FIND-CKD is the largest Phase III study to date focused on non-diabetic CKD and investigated KERENDIA in a population spanning different etiologies of non-diabetic CKD.
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About FIND-CKD
The Phase III FIND-CKD9 study investigated finerenone compared to placebo in addition to standard of care in more than 1,500 patients with non-diabetic CKD etiologies, of which etiologies included hypertension and chronic glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys' blood filters). Patients were randomized to receive either finerenone 10mg or 20mg, based on serum potassium levels and eGFR, or placebo on top of individually tolerated maximum labeled doses of a renin-angiotensin system (RAS)-blocking therapy such as an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). The primary endpoint was the mean annual rate of change in eGFR from baseline to 32 months. The safety endpoints were the occurrence of treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs), treatment-emergent serious AEs, and hyperkalemia AEs.
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About KERENDIA's Clinical Trial Program
KERENDIA's clinical trial program--called FINEOVATE--currently comprises 10 Phase III studies with dedicated programs in HF (MOONRAKER) and CKD (THUNDERBALL). The MOONRAKER program includes FINEARTS-HF10 as well as the ongoing, collaborative, investigator-sponsored studies REDEFINE-HF,11 CONFIRMATION-HF12 and FINALITY-HF.13 The THUNDERBALL CKD program consists of the completed studies FIDELIO-DKD,14 FIGARO-DKD,15 FINE-ONE16 and FIND-CKD17 as well as the ongoing investigational studies, FIONA18 and FIONA-OLE./19
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About Chronic Kidney Disease
CKD is a common and potentially deadly condition that is widely underrecognized. CKD progresses silently and unpredictably, with many symptoms not appearing until the disease is well-advanced. CKD affects 850 million people worldwide. In the U.S., 1 in 3 adults is at risk for the disease. At advanced stages of CKD, patients may need dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive. Healthy kidneys act as the body's filter, removing waste products from the blood. They also control how much water and electrolytes are in the body, regulating blood pressure. As kidney function goes down, patients may experience a range of symptoms including leg swelling, tiredness in the day, nausea, muscle cramps, joint pain, confusion, trouble focusing and memory problems. Major underlying causes of CKD include diabetes, hypertension and glomerulonephritis such as immunoglobulin A nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulonephritis and membranous nephropathy.
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About KERENDIA(R) (finerenone)/2
INDICATIONS:
KERENDIA (finerenone) is indicated to reduce the risk of:
* sustained estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, end-stage kidney disease, cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and hospitalization for heart failure in adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (10mg, 20mg tablets)
* cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and urgent heart failure visits in adult patients with heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction (HF LVEF) 40% (10mg, 20mg, 40mg tablets)
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
CONTRAINDICATIONS:
* Hypersensitivity to any component of this product
* Concomitant use with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors
* Patients with adrenal insufficiency
WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS:
* Hyperkalemia: KERENDIA can cause hyperkalemia. The risk for developing hyperkalemia increases with decreasing kidney function and is greater in patients with higher baseline potassium levels or other risk factors for hyperkalemia.
Measure serum potassium and eGFR in all patients before initiation of treatment with KERENDIA and dose accordingly. Do not initiate KERENDIA if serum potassium is >5 mEq/L. Measure serum potassium periodically during treatment with KERENDIA and adjust dose accordingly. More frequent monitoring may be necessary for patients at risk for hyperkalemia, including those on concomitant medications that impair potassium excretion or increase serum potassium.
* Worsening of Renal Function in Patients with Heart Failure: KERENDIA can cause worsening of renal function in patients with heart failure. Rarely, severe events associated with worsening renal function, including events requiring hospitalization, have been observed.
Measure eGFR in all patients before initiation of treatment or with dose titration of KERENDIA and dose accordingly. Initiation of KERENDIA in patients with heart failure and an eGFR <25 mL/min/1.73 m2 is not recommended. Measure eGFR periodically during maintenance treatment with KERENDIA in patients with heart failure. Consider delaying up-titration or interrupting treatment with KERENDIA in patients who develop clinically significant worsening of renal function.
MOST COMMON ADVERSE REACTIONS:
* CKD associated with T2D: From the pooled data of FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD, the adverse reactions reported in 1% of patients on KERENDIA and more frequently than placebo were hyperkalemia (14% vs 6.9%), hypotension (4.6% vs 3%), and hyponatremia (1.3% vs 0.7%).
* HF LVEF 40%: From FINEARTS-HF, the adverse reactions reported in 1% of patients on KERENDIA and more frequently than placebo were hyperkalemia (9.7% vs 4.2%), hypotension (7.6% vs 4.7%), and hyponatremia (1.9% vs 0.9%). Events related to worsening renal function were reported more frequently in the KERENDIA group (18%) compared with placebo (12%).
DRUG INTERACTIONS:
* Strong CYP3A4 Inhibitors: Concomitant use of KERENDIA with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors is contraindicated. Avoid concomitant intake of grapefruit or grapefruit juice.
* Moderate and Weak CYP3A4 Inhibitors: Monitor serum potassium during drug initiation or dosage adjustment of either KERENDIA or the moderate or weak CYP3A4 inhibitor, and adjust KERENDIA dosage as appropriate.
* Strong and Moderate CYP3A4 Inducers: Avoid concomitant use of KERENDIA with strong or moderate CYP3A4 inducers.
* Sensitive CYP2C8 Substrates at KERENDIA 40mg: Monitor patients more frequently for adverse reactions caused by sensitive CYP2C8 substrates if KERENDIA 40mg is co-administered with such substrates, since minimal concentration changes may lead to serious adverse reactions.
USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS:
* Lactation: Avoid breastfeeding during treatment with KERENDIA and for 1 day after treatment.
* Hepatic Impairment: Avoid use of KERENDIA in patients with severe hepatic impairment (Child Pugh C) and consider additional serum potassium monitoring with moderate hepatic impairment (Child Pugh B).
Please see the Prescribing Information for KERENDIA (https://labeling.bayerhealthcare.com/html/products/pi/Kerendia_PI.pdf).
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About Bayer's Commitment in Cardiovascular and Kidney Diseases
Bayer's legacy in cardiovascular care spans decades of scientific innovation and patient-focused research. As a long-standing leader in cardiology, Bayer has consistently advanced therapies that address the complex interplay between the heart and kidneys--two organs deeply connected in both health and disease. Today, that heritage continues to guide our commitment to developing innovative treatments for patients facing high unmet medical needs. With a growing portfolio of approved therapies and promising compounds in development, Bayer is shaping the future of cardiovascular care through precision medicine, scientific rigor, and a deep sense of purpose.
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About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. In line with its mission, "Health for all, Hunger for none," the company's products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2025, the Group employed around 88,000 people and had sales of 45.6 billion euros. R&D expenses amounted to 5.8 billion euros.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports, which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
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References
1./ Data on file.
2./ Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Kerendia (finerenone) [package insert]. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Available at: https://labeling.bayerhealthcare.com/html/products/pi/Kerendia_PI.pdf. Accessed March 4, 2026
3./ Research C for DE and. Table of Surrogate Endpoints That Were the Basis of Drug Approval or Licensure. FDA. Published online August 20, 2020. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/development-resources/table-surrogate-endpoints-were-basis-drug-approval-or-licensure
4./ Jager KJ, et al. Kidney Int. 2019;96(5):1048-1050.
5./ GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. The Lancet. 2018;392(10159):1789-1858
6./ Wanner C, et al. BMC Nephrol. 2025;26:1-11. / Webster AC, Nagler EV, Morton RL, Masson P. Chronic kidney disease. Lancet. 2017;389:1238-52.
7./ NIDDK. Kidney disease statistics for the United States. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Published 2023. Accessed March 4, 2026. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/kidney-disease
8./ GBD 2023 Chronic Kidney Disease Collaborators. The Lancet. 2025;406(10518):2461-2482.
9./ Heerspink HJL, Agarwal R, Bakris GL, et al. Design and baseline characteristics of the Finerenone, in addition to standard of care, on the progression of kidney disease in patients with Non-Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease (FIND-CKD) randomized trial. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2025;40(2):308-319. doi:10.1093/ndt/gfae132
10./ Study to Evaluate the Efficacy (Effect on Disease) and Safety of Finerenone in Participants With Heart Failure and Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (Proportion of Blood Expelled Per Heart Stroke) Greater or Equal to 40% (FINEARTS-HF) Clinical trial registration No. NCT04435626. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04435626 Accessed March 4, 2026
11./ A Study to Determine the Efficacy and Safety of Finerenone on Morbidity and Mortality Among Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients (REDEFINE-HF). Clinical trial registration No. NCT 06008197. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06008197. Accessed March 4, 2026.
12./ A Study to Determine the Efficacy and Safety of Finerenone and SGLT2i in Combination in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure (CONFIRMATION-HF) (CONFIRMATION). Clinical trial registration No. NCT06024746. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06024746. Accessed March 4, 2026.
13./ A Study to Evaluate Finerenone on Clinical Efficacy and Safety in Patients with Heart Failure Who are Intolerant or Not Eligible for Treatment with Steroidal Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists (FINALITY-HF). Clinical trial registration No. NCT06033950. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06033950. Accessed March 4, 2026.
14./ Efficacy and Safety of Finerenone in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIDELIO-DKD) Clinical trial registration No. NCT02540993. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02540993. Accessed March 4, 2026.
15./ Efficacy and Safety of Finerenone in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Clinical Diagnosis of Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) Clinical trial registration No. NCT02545049 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02545049. Accessed March 4, 2026.
16./ A Study to Learn How Well the Study Treatment Finerenone Works and How Safe it is in People With Long-term Decrease in the Kidneys' Ability to Work Properly (Chronic Kidney Disease) Together With Type 1 Diabetes (FINE-ONE). Clinical trial registration No. NCT05901831. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05901831. Accessed March 4, 2026.
17./ A Trial to Learn How Well Finerenone Works and How Safe it is in Adult Participants With Non-diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease (FIND-CKD). Clinical trial registration No. NCT05047263. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05047263. Accessed March 4, 2026.
18./ A Study to Learn More About How Well the Study Treatment Finerenone Works, How Safe it is, How it Moves Into, Through and Out of the Body, and the Effects it Has on the Body When Taken With an ACE Inhibitor or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease and Proteinuria (FIONA). Clinical trial registration No. NCT05196035. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05196035. Accessed March 4, 2026.
19./ A Study to Learn More About How Safe the Study Treatment Finerenone is in Long-term Use When Taken With an ACE Inhibitor or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Over 18 Months of Use in Children and Young Adults From 1 to 18 Years of Age With Chronic Kidney Disease and Proteinuria (FIONA OLE). Clinical trial registration No. NCT05457283. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05457283. Accessed March 4, 2026.
20./ Data on file.
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Original text here: https://www.bayer.com/en/us/news-stories/kerendiar-meets-primary-endpoint
[Category: BizPharmaceuticals]
Cadence and NVIDIA Unveil Accelerated Engineering Solutions Purpose-Built for Agentic AI Chip and System Design
SAN JOSE, California, March 17 [Category: BizComputer Technology] -- Cadence Design Systems, a provider of electronic design automation and semiconductor intellectual property, issued the following news release:* * *
Cadence and NVIDIA Unveil Accelerated Engineering Solutions Purpose-Built for Agentic AI Chip and System Design
New agentic integrated circuit (IC) and physical AI accelerated solutions enable engineers to solve previously impossible chip, system and AI factory challenges
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Today, Cadence announced an expansion of its broad collaboration with NVIDIA to accelerate Cadence's Design ... Show Full Article SAN JOSE, California, March 17 [Category: BizComputer Technology] -- Cadence Design Systems, a provider of electronic design automation and semiconductor intellectual property, issued the following news release: * * * Cadence and NVIDIA Unveil Accelerated Engineering Solutions Purpose-Built for Agentic AI Chip and System Design New agentic integrated circuit (IC) and physical AI accelerated solutions enable engineers to solve previously impossible chip, system and AI factory challenges * Today, Cadence announced an expansion of its broad collaboration with NVIDIA to accelerate Cadence's Designfor AI and AI for Design strategy. The next generation of agentic AI design solutions includes autonomous, long-running agents that require accelerated, trusted, physics-grounded engines to translate design intent into automated flows, generate designs and debug errors, and manage long, complex, end-to-end workflows. Cadence's leadership in agentic AI is expanded by integrating its portfolio of industry-leading chip and system design solutions with NVIDIA's accelerated computing stack.
"The fusion of agentic AI and physics-based design is transforming how the world's most advanced chips are engineered," said Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence. "Through our expanded collaboration with NVIDIA, we're bringing together Cadence's expertise in agentic IC design and physics-driven optimization with NVIDIA's accelerated computing to advance a new era of AI-driven chip innovation. Together, we're enabling customers to design more intelligent, efficient silicon that will power the next generation of computing and AI infrastructure."
"AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout in history--spurring the creation of new chips, systems, and AI factories around the world," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Together, NVIDIA and Cadence have created the Cadence Millennium M2000--a revolutionary AI supercomputer built to tackle the immense scale and complexity of designing the world's next generation of infrastructure."
Broadest-Ever Portfolio of Accelerated Design Solutions
To give agents and engineers the tools they need, Cadence has expanded its design solutions accelerated with NVIDIA Grace CPUs and NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs--and as a turnkey deployment on the Cadence(R) Millennium(TM) M2000 Supercomputer--delivering up to 80X greater throughput and up to 20X lower power consumption. This expanded offering now spans analysis, optimization and design, with key solvers deeply optimized with NVIDIA CUDA-X. One example is the Cadence Clarity(TM) 3D Solver demonstrating that a Millennium M2000 system configured with 8X NVIDIA RTX pro 6000 GPU servers is up to 5X faster, or 4X better cost iso-performance, compared to an equivalent CPU-based solution, when extracting complex and large-scale designs.
Cadence accelerated solutions that will be available in 2026 include:
* Electronic Design Automation (EDA): The industry's leading place-and-route solution, Innovus (TM) Implementation System; chip, chiplet and 3D-IC analysis and optimization with Celsius (TM) Thermal Solver and Voltus (TM) IC Power Integrity Solution; advanced memory and circuit analysis with EMX (R) Planar 3D Solver and Liberate (TM) MX Memory Characterization; and Spectre (R) X Simulator and Quantus (TM) Field Solver for circuit analysis.
* System Design Automation (SDA): Industry-leading advanced package and PCB optimization with the Allegro (R) X Design Platform, Clarity 3D Solver, Celsius EC Solver; system-level multiphysics analysis with Fidelity (TM) CFD Software; and Cadence MSC Actran (TM) for physical AI system analysis and optimization.
* Life Sciences / Bio: ROCS X is an AI-enabled virtual screening solution that enables scientists to conduct 3D searches of over 200 trillion drug-like molecules. Target X is a physics-based AI solution that detects potential druggable pockets, achieving a success rate of over 90%.
The Cadence Allegro X Design Platform and the Cadence Reality(TM) Digital Twin Platform also integrate with NVIDIA Omniverse libraries for photo-realistic visualization, critical for multi-disciplinary engineering and design. Cadence's MSC Virtual Test Drive(TM) (VTD) is being integrated with NVIDIA Cosmos and NVIDIA Omniverse NuRec for advancing the state of the art in physical AI.
Design for AI and AI for Design
Industry leaders use Cadence's full suite of accelerated agentic solutions to design the next generation of AI infrastructure. The Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform helps teams use physics-based models and AI to design and operate AI factories, accelerating deployment timelines and unlocking new revenue streams across the data center portfolio.
Cadence is advancing AI-driven engineering with its agentic AI solutions, led by the Cadence ChipStack(TM) AI Super Agent, to help engineers deliver higher quality, more complex designs. Cadence and NVIDIA are also collaborating on future agentic AI innovations in custom and analog design and building deep research and long-running agents for engineering NVIDIA NemoClaw, an open source stack that simplifies running OpenClaw always-on assistants, more safely, with a single command. As part of the NVIDIA Agent Toolkit, it installs the NVIDIA OpenShell runtime--a secure environment for running autonomous agents, and open source models like NVIDIA Nemotron.
From Silicon to Turbofan Engines, Customers Achieve the Previously Impossible
Cadence customers across semiconductors, automotive, aerospace and life sciences are using agentic AI, GPU-accelerated solutions and the Millennium M2000 Supercomputer to tackle design challenges that are not achievable with traditional approaches.
Honda is using Cadence Fidelity CFD Software, accelerated on the Millennium M2000 GB200 NVL72 system, to pursue time-accurate, full turbofan engine simulation--a grand challenge in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) previously impractical for routine design use.
"This capability opens the door to a more exploratory design methodology--one where our engineers can evaluate tradeoffs earlier and innovate with greater confidence as we develop the next generation of high-performance gas turbine engines," said Keiji Otsu, CEO, Honda R&D.
Micron is integrating GPU-accelerated Cadence design technologies and Cadence's agentic AI solution directly into its HBM memory design flow to accelerate iteration and maintain accuracy at leading-edge scale.
"As our HBM and next-generation memory designs grow in scale and complexity, reducing the cycle time for our most demanding verification and simulation steps has become essential," said Sanjay Mehrotra, Chairman, president and CEO, Micron. "Through our expanded collaboration with Cadence, we're integrating GPU-accelerated design technologies--powered by NVIDIA computing--and building agentic AI directly into our development environment."
Larsen & Toubro Semiconductor is using the Cadence Spectre X Simulator, accelerated up to 5X with NVIDIA GPUs, to shorten design cycles for next-generation AI and data center chips as the company advances India's sovereign semiconductor ambitions.
"Faster design iteration and verification directly translate into competitive advantage and time to market for the highly customized AI silicon we're building," said Sandeep Kumar, CEO, Larsen & Toubro Semiconductor. "GPU-accelerated performance from Cadence's Spectre X Simulator gives our teams the throughput to confidently move complex, AI-ready chips into production faster."
For more information, visit https://www.cadence.com/en_US/home/company/nvidia.html.
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About Cadence
Cadence is a market leader in AI and digital twins, pioneering the application of computational software to accelerate innovation in the engineering design of silicon to systems. Our design solutions, based on Cadence's Intelligent System Design(TM) strategy, are essential for the world's leading semiconductor and systems companies to build their next-generation products from chips to full electromechanical systems that serve a wide range of markets, including hyperscale computing, mobile communications, automotive, aerospace, industrial, life sciences and robotics. In 2024, Cadence was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the world's top 100 best-managed companies. Cadence solutions offer limitless opportunities--learn more at www.cadence.com.
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Original text here: https://www.cadence.com/en_US/home/company/newsroom/press-releases/pr/2026/cadence-and-nvidia-unveil-accelerated-engineering-solutions.html
Arkansas Customers Gain More Energy Control as SWEPCO Debuts Pay As You Go - Prepay Program for Customers
SHREVEPORT, Louisiana, March 17 -- Southwestern Electric Power, an American Electric Power company, issued the following news release on March 16, 2026:* * *
Arkansas Customers Gain More Energy Control as SWEPCO Debuts Pay As You Go - a New Prepay Program for Customers
On a recent weekday morning, an Arkansas woman picked up the phone hoping for just one thing - help she could trust. Like many families navigating tight budgets, she was worried about keeping her home powered and wasn't sure what options remained. But after more than a century of serving communities across Arkansas, SWEPCO's ... Show Full Article SHREVEPORT, Louisiana, March 17 -- Southwestern Electric Power, an American Electric Power company, issued the following news release on March 16, 2026: * * * Arkansas Customers Gain More Energy Control as SWEPCO Debuts Pay As You Go - a New Prepay Program for Customers On a recent weekday morning, an Arkansas woman picked up the phone hoping for just one thing - help she could trust. Like many families navigating tight budgets, she was worried about keeping her home powered and wasn't sure what options remained. But after more than a century of serving communities across Arkansas, SWEPCO'scustomer service team knew exactly how to support her.
What she found on the other end of the line wasn't a dead end, but a new beginning: SWEPCO's helpful prepay program, a flexible payment option made possible by the company's investment in advanced meter technology. With a modest initial payment, she could stay connected, manage her usage in real time, and pay in the way that worked best for her life with no credit checks, no fees, and complete control over how and when she added funds.
For her, it was relief. For SWEPCO, it was another example of how modern technology and a long-standing commitment to customer care can come together to make a meaningful difference.
SWEPCO's new customer-focused bill solution for Arkansas customers is designed to give more control over how and when customers pay for electricity.
Pay As You Go with SWEPCO allows customers to pay for electricity in advance, similar to adding funds to a gift card. This approach helps customers avoid surprise bills by deducting energy usage from their prepaid balance, with reminders to add funds when their balance runs low.
Key Features:
* No Deposit Needed: Customers can enroll without a security deposit or a credit check.
* Support for Past Due Balances: 20% of pre-payments will go towards past due balances, while 80% covers future usage.
* Real-Time Balance Updates: Receive daily notifications about account balances and energy usage.
* Flexible Payment Methods: Make payments online or in person, without a standard monthly bill.
Eligibility extends to most customers with qualifying smart meters (AMI).
"We designed Pay As You Go to meet customers where they are," said Paul Pratt, Vice President of Customer Experience & New Business Development at SWEPCO. "This program gives people the tools to track their usage, manage their budget day by day, and stay in control. It's all about providing flexibility and making it easier for customers to stay connected on their terms."
* For more details and enrollment, visit SWEPCO.com/PayAsYouGo
* To find additional payment assistance options, visit SWEPCO.com/billhelp
* To learn about incentives and cost saving energy efficiency programs, visit SWEPCOsolutions.com.
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Original text here: https://www.swepco.com/company/news/view?releaseID=10807
[Category: BizEnergy]
Adobe and NVIDIA Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver the Next Generation of Firefly Models and Creative, Marketing and Agentic Workflows
SAN JOSE, California, March 17 -- Adobe Inc., a computer software company, issued the following news on March 16, 2026:* * *
Adobe and NVIDIA Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver the Next Generation of Firefly Models and Creative, Marketing and Agentic Workflows
* Adobe will use NVIDIA's advanced computing technology and libraries to deliver the next generation of foundational Adobe Firefly models that offer best-in-class precision and control for creativity and marketing pipelines.
* Adobe and NVIDIA will collaborate to deliver breakthrough agentic creative and marketing workflows for ... Show Full Article SAN JOSE, California, March 17 -- Adobe Inc., a computer software company, issued the following news on March 16, 2026: * * * Adobe and NVIDIA Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver the Next Generation of Firefly Models and Creative, Marketing and Agentic Workflows * Adobe will use NVIDIA's advanced computing technology and libraries to deliver the next generation of foundational Adobe Firefly models that offer best-in-class precision and control for creativity and marketing pipelines. * Adobe and NVIDIA will collaborate to deliver breakthrough agentic creative and marketing workflows forcontent, campaign and production speed.
* Adobe will build a cloud-native, brand identity-preserving 3D digital twin solution purpose-built for marketing, built on NVIDIA Omniverse libraries.
* Adobe Firefly Foundry to integrate NVIDIA's advanced computing and AI technologies to power enterprise grade custom AI that delivers commercially safe content at scale.
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Adobe and NVIDIA today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate AI-powered creation, production and personalization, including delivering the next generation of foundational Adobe Firefly models and agentic workflows.
The partnership will bring together Adobe's creative and marketing workflows, models and technology and NVIDIA's open models, libraries, research and accelerated computing, as demand for content continues to surge and generative AI reshapes creative and marketing workflows.
Through this partnership, Adobe and NVIDIA will advance the creative industry by developing next-generation Firefly models that will deliver best-in-class creative precision and control for creativity and marketing pipelines. The models will be built on NVIDIA's advanced computing technology and tap into NVIDIA CUDA-X(TM),NVIDIA NeMo(TM) libraries, NVIDIA Cosmos(TM) open models and NVIDIA Agent Toolkit software to enable the interactive, high-quality creation customers expect.
"Content creation is exploding, and our partnership with NVIDIA is grounded in a shared vision to reinvent creative and marketing workflows with the power of AI," said Shantanu Narayen, chair and CEO, Adobe. "As AI transforms how marketing teams and media and entertainment studios work, Adobe and NVIDIA will bring together our Firefly models, CUDA libraries into our applications, 3D digital twins for marketing, and Agent Toolkit and Nemotron to our agentic frameworks to deliver high-quality, controllable and enterprise-grade AI workflows of the future."
"AI is giving every industry the ability to redefine what's possible," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. "For more than 20 years, NVIDIA and Adobe have partnered to push the boundaries of design and creativity. Today, we are taking that partnership to a new level -- uniting our research and engineering teams to accelerate Adobe's beloved applications with NVIDIA CUDA and jointly build state-of-the-art world foundation models that reimagine creativity and transform customer experiences."
Adobe and NVIDIA will collaborate to deliver breakthrough agentic creative and marketing workflows for content, campaign and production speed. Adobe will explore NVIDIA Agent Toolkit software and NVIDIANemotron(TM) open models to power these agentic workflows.
Adobe and NVIDIA will also work together on NVIDIA NemoClaw-- an open source stack that simplifies running OpenClaw always-on assistants more safely, with a single command. As part of the NVIDIA Agent Toolkit, it installs the NVIDIA OpenShell runtime -- a secure environment for running autonomous agents and open source models like NVIDIA Nemotron.
In partnership with NVIDIA, Adobe is launching a cloud-native, brand identity-preserving 3D digital twin solution (public beta). The solution creates virtual replicas of physical products that act as permanent digital identities for marketing and commerce experiences. Integrating NVIDIA Omniverse(TM) libraries into Adobe technologies, the collaboration expands support for 3D digital twin workflows built on OpenUSD for marketing content automation.
With seamless interoperability across tools, brands can generate everything from consistent pack shots and lifestyle imagery to configurable 3D product experiences and immersive virtual try-ons.
Adobe will also harness NVIDIA AI infrastructure, AI libraries, services and models to accelerate and optimize every layer of its AI-powered tools across creativity, productivity and customer experience orchestration -- including Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Frame.io, Adobe Firefly Foundry, Adobe GenStudio and Adobe Experience Platform.
With Adobe Firefly Foundry, Firefly's commercially safe AI models are deeply tuned with a company or IP owner's unique, proprietary brand or franchise content, which is critical for media and entertainment studios. Adobe Firefly Foundry will integrate NVIDIA's advanced computing and AI technologies to power enterprise grade custom AI that delivers commercially safe content at scale.
Key areas of the strategic partnership include:
* Deliver the next generation of Adobe Firefly models: Adobe will use NVIDIA's advanced computing and AI technologies to deliver the next generation of Adobe Firefly models designed for creativity, productivity and marketing. The models will be built on NVIDIA's advanced computing technology, and NVIDIA CUDA-X(R) and NeMo libraries.
* Adobe agentic AI innovation: Adobe will explore NVIDIA OpenShell(TM) and Nemotron -- part of NVIDIA Agent Toolkit -- as foundations for hybrid, long-running agentic loops in a personalized, secure and cost-efficient environment. Adobe will also evaluate Agent Toolkit and Nemotron for large-scale agentic workflows powered by Adobe Experience Platform. NVIDIA will provide engineering expertise, early access to software and targeted go-to-market support.
* Transform marketing content creation with high-fidelity, cloud-native 3D digital twins: By unifying NVIDIA accelerated computing, NVIDIA Omniverse libraries for OpenUSD universal data interchange, NVIDIA RTX(TM) rendering and NVIDIA Omniverse Kit App Streaming for real-time cloud streaming with Adobe's generative AI and workflow platforms, Adobe's solution will produce cloud-native, brand-identity-preserving, 3D digital twins for marketing content automation.
* Unlock deep-tuned creative possibilities for enterprises at scale: Using NVIDIA accelerated computing, CUDA-X acceleration libraries and open models, Adobe will deliver faster, higher-performing and more flexible proprietary and IP-protected Firefly Foundry models across image, video, audio, vector and 3D to brands and franchises.
* Advance business productivity with AI document intelligence: Adobe Acrobat is the productivity and collaboration platform to help customers get their best work done. Adobe will bring NVIDIA Nemotron capabilities to Adobe Acrobat to further elevate the quality of AI output and increase productivity for business professionals, consumers and enterprises.
* Accelerate creative workflows in the cloud: Frame.io is Adobe's single platform to centralize content, people and feedback across the creative process to accelerate quality output. Adobe will accelerate Frame.io's scalable cloud content management and workflows, media decoding and intelligence with NVIDIA CUDA(R) -- powering fast semantic search, generative creation and insights across image, video, 3D and other creative media types at scale.
* Develop joint go-to-market strategy: Adobe and NVIDIA will develop a joint go-to-market strategy that drives access and adoption of these AI innovations by enterprise customers worldwide with Adobe Firefly Foundry.
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Adobe Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including those related to Adobe's strategic partnership with NVIDIA, including to deliver the next generation of Adobe Firefly models and creative, marketing and agentic workflows and accelerate AI-powered creation, production and personalization, and the expected focus, timing and benefits thereof. Each of the forward-looking statements made in this press release involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions based on information available to Adobe as of the date of this press release. Such risks and uncertainties, many of which relate to matters beyond Adobe's control, could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: due to the non-binding nature of the agreement, there are no assurances that Adobe will successfully negotiate and executive definitive documentation with NVIDIA on favorable terms or at all, failure to realize the anticipated benefits and goals of the strategic partnership with NVIDIA or any other partnerships, investments or acquisitions; failure to innovate effectively and meet customer needs; issues relating to development and use of AI; failure to compete effectively; damage to Adobe's reputation or brands; service interruptions or failures in information technology systems by Adobe, NVIDIA or third parties; security incidents; failure to effectively develop, manage and maintain critical third-party business relationships; risks associated with being a multinational corporation and adverse macroeconomic conditions; complex sales cycles; failure to recruit and retain key personnel; litigation, regulatory inquiries and intellectual property infringement claims; changes in, and compliance with, global laws and regulations, including those related to information security and privacy; failure to protect our intellectual property; changes in tax regulations; complex government procurement processes; risks related to fluctuations in or the timing of revenue recognition from our subscription offerings; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; impairment charges; our existing and future debt obligations; catastrophic events; and fluctuations in our stock price. Further information on these and other factors are discussed in the section titled "Risk Factors" in Adobe's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Adobe's most recently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The risks described in this press release and in Adobe's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should be carefully reviewed. Adobe undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
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NVIDIA Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the CPU driving the model; AI giving every industry the ability to redefine what's possible; NVIDIA and Adobe taking the partnership to a new level -- uniting research and engineering teams to accelerate Adobe's beloved applications with NVIDIA CUDA and jointly build state-of-the-art world foundation models that reimagine creativity and transform customer experiences; the benefits, impact, performance, and availability of NVIDIA's products, services, and technologies; expectations with respect to NVIDIA's third party arrangements, including with its collaborators and partners; expectations with respect to technology developments; expectations with respect to AI and related industries; and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic and political conditions; NVIDIA's reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test NVIDIA's products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to NVIDIA's existing product and technologies; market acceptance of NVIDIA's products or NVIDIA's partners' products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of NVIDIA's products or technologies when integrated into systems; NVIDIA's ability to realize the potential benefits of business investments or acquisitions; and changes in applicable laws and regulations, as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company's website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
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About Adobe
Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) empowers everyone to create through industry-leading platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
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About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in AI and accelerated computing.
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Original text here: https://news.adobe.com/news/2026/03/adobe-and-nvidia-announce-strategic-partnership
[Category: BizComputer Technology]
Accenture Named Official Partner of Leading Golf Governing Body, The R&A
NEW YORK, March 17 -- Accenture, a global professional services company, presented the following news release on March 16, 2026:* * *
Accenture Named Official Partner of Leading Golf Governing Body, The R&A
ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND, UK - The R&A and Accenture today announced a new six-year partnership which will see Accenture become the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner of The R&A as well as an Official Patron of some of golf's most iconic championships--The Open, AIG Women's Open, and ISPS HANDA Senior Open until 2031.
As the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, March 17 -- Accenture, a global professional services company, presented the following news release on March 16, 2026: * * * Accenture Named Official Partner of Leading Golf Governing Body, The R&A ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND, UK - The R&A and Accenture today announced a new six-year partnership which will see Accenture become the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner of The R&A as well as an Official Patron of some of golf's most iconic championships--The Open, AIG Women's Open, and ISPS HANDA Senior Open until 2031. As the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partnerof The R&A, Accenture will provide business transformation and management consulting services to support its strategic priorities across governance, championships and development of the sport by harnessing deep expertise in digital, cloud, data and artificial intelligence. The partnership will accelerate the use of technology in golf - enhancing insights, operations, and fan and player experiences - to help open the game to more people, in more places, around the world.
Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: "Accenture has a renowned reputation worldwide for its expertise in technology, data and innovation and we see this partnership as a valuable opportunity to support our strategic priorities in golf and help shape the future of the sport.
"As both an Official Patron of our major championships and our Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner, Accenture will work closely with us to help modernize how we govern and deliver the game, while sharing our ambition to inspire people through world-class championships and showcase golf as a sport for everyone to enjoy."
Through the partnership, Accenture will provide consultancy support to help modernize how the sport is governed, delivered and experienced, building on its track record of working with major global sports organizations to drive innovation at scale.
Mauro Macchi, CEO of Accenture in EMEA, said: "Golf is one of the world's great global sports, with a rich history and an exciting future. We're proud to partner with The R&A as its Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner, as well as an Official Patron of its most iconic championships.
"Together, we will apply technology, data, and AI to help open the game to an even wider audience - strengthening the sport's foundations, enhancing experiences on and off the course, and supporting The R&A's mission to grow and evolve golf for generations to come."
Accenture will also collaborate with The R&A to activate its Patron status across The Open, AIG Women's Open, and ISPS HANDA Senior Open, supporting the storytelling, heritage and global reach of golf's most prestigious championships.
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About Accenture
Accenture is a leading solutions and services company that helps the world's leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise, bringing together the talent of our approximately 784,000 people, our proprietary assets and platforms, and deep ecosystem relationships. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. Through our Reinvention Services we bring together our capabilities across strategy, consulting, technology, operations, Song and Industry X with our deep industry expertise to create and deliver solutions and services for our clients. Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we measure our success by the 360 value we create for all our stakeholders. Visit us at accenture.com.
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Original text here: https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/2026/accenture-named-official-partner-of-leading-golf-governing-body-the-r-a
[Category: BizConsulting]
Accenture Completes Acquisition of Faculty
NEW YORK, March 17 -- Accenture, a global professional services company, presented the following news release:* * *
Accenture Completes Acquisition of Faculty
Dr. Marc Warner assumes role as Accenture's Chief Technology Officer
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LONDON - Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed the acquisition of Faculty, a leading UK based AI company known for its deep technical expertise and pedigree in applying AI safely across public and private sectors to help clients improve services and deliver growth.
With the acquisition completed, Faculty CEO and co-founder Dr. Marc Warner expands his role to also ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, March 17 -- Accenture, a global professional services company, presented the following news release: * * * Accenture Completes Acquisition of Faculty Dr. Marc Warner assumes role as Accenture's Chief Technology Officer * LONDON - Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed the acquisition of Faculty, a leading UK based AI company known for its deep technical expertise and pedigree in applying AI safely across public and private sectors to help clients improve services and deliver growth. With the acquisition completed, Faculty CEO and co-founder Dr. Marc Warner expands his role to alsobecome chief technology officer of Accenture and joins the company's Global Management Committee.
"Now that Faculty is part of Accenture, we will further advance our strategy to be our clients' reinvention partner of choice and lead in the safe, widespread adoption of AI," said Julie Sweet, Accenture Chair and CEO. "I look forward to working with our new CTO Marc Warner to shape our technology strategy and execution and attract the best talent in the world to meet our clients' needs."
The acquisition expands Accenture's capabilities to help clients reinvent core and critical business processes with safe, secure and outcome-driven AI solutions. As a result of the acquisition, more than 400 AI native professionals from Faculty--including highly qualified data scientists and AI engineers--join Accenture to help scale world class AI capabilities for clients.
"As AI advances rapidly, the next few years will be hugely consequential for the world," said Dr. Warner. "For any company that isn't AI-native, thriving will mean a difficult process of adaptation. To succeed, they need partners with an unusual set of capabilities: deep technical expertise, plus the ability to deliver transformation at scale. Together with Accenture, we have created one of the few organizations in the world equipped to lead this historical transition."
Founded in 2014, Faculty is one of Europe's leading and longest standing applied AI companies. Its services--which include AI strategy, AI safety and the design, build and implementation of high performance AI systems--support the scaled and safe adoption of AI by client organizations.
Their PhD-heavy team of technical experts has delivered innovative AI systems for public and private sector organizations in the U.K. and globally. For example, Faculty built the UK National Health Service's (NHS) Early Warning System during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faculty's enterprise decision intelligence product, FrontierTM, joins Accenture's suite of products that help organizations make better, faster decisions by connecting data, AI models and business processes into a unified system. Accenture and Faculty are already working together to support life sciences companies, such as Novartis, to transform the economics of clinical trial planning and execution.
Accenture's Chief Strategy and Services Officer Manish Sharma added, "By combining our AI capabilities with Faculty's highly skilled AI talent and products like FrontierTM, we will help clients safely apply and scale AI to reinvent their operations--connecting data, processes, and people to drive faster value and increase competitiveness."
Terms of the transaction, which Accenture announced on Jan. 6, were not disclosed.
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Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "aspires," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook," "goal," "target" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture's results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for the company's solutions and services including through the adaptation and expansion of its solutions and services in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI, including advanced AI, could harm the company's business, damage its reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action; if Accenture is unable to match people and their skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with its ecosystem partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company's results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer due to pricing pressure, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture's debt obligations could adversely affect its business and financial condition; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and strategy to continue to grow in key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture's global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture's solutions or services infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations.
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About Accenture
Accenture is a leading solutions and services company that helps the world's leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise, bringing together the talent of our approximately 784,000 people, our proprietary assets and platforms, and deep ecosystem relationships. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. Through our Reinvention Services we bring together our capabilities across strategy, consulting, technology, operations, Song and Industry X with our deep industry expertise to create and deliver solutions and services for our clients. Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we measure our success by the 360 value we create for all our stakeholders. Visit us at accenture.com.
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Original text here: https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/2026/accenture-completes-acquisition-of-faculty
[Category: BizConsulting]
APS to Seek License Renewal for Palo Verde Generating Station's Nuclear Units
PHOENIX, Arizona, March 17 -- Arizona Public Service Co. issued the following news:* * *
APS to Seek License Renewal for Palo Verde Generating Station's Nuclear Units
Arizona Public Service (APS) has officially notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of its intent to renew the operating licenses for all three units at Palo Verde Generating Station, which could extend operations from the mid-2040s through the mid-2060s.
Located west of Phoenix, Palo Verde is the heart of APS's diverse energy mix, playing a vital role in supporting Arizona's economic development by providing 24/7 reliability. ... Show Full Article PHOENIX, Arizona, March 17 -- Arizona Public Service Co. issued the following news: * * * APS to Seek License Renewal for Palo Verde Generating Station's Nuclear Units Arizona Public Service (APS) has officially notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of its intent to renew the operating licenses for all three units at Palo Verde Generating Station, which could extend operations from the mid-2040s through the mid-2060s. Located west of Phoenix, Palo Verde is the heart of APS's diverse energy mix, playing a vital role in supporting Arizona's economic development by providing 24/7 reliability.With the capacity to produce 4,200 megawatts of clean, carbon-free electricity for four million homes and businesses, Palo Verde is the largest power generator in the western United States.
"Palo Verde Generating Station is essential to our customers, a strong contributor to Arizona's economy and a cornerstone of our energy future," said Ted Geisler, APS President and CEO. "Delivering safe, reliable and affordable energy in the desert Southwest for decades, Palo Verde provides the foundation for the around-the-clock service our customers count on every day and especially during the extreme heat of Arizona summers. Our notice to the NRC is another step in ensuring Arizonans and the region continue to benefit from this critical resource for many more years to come."
NRC License Renewal
* In the 1980s, the NRC licensed Palo Verde's nuclear units to operate for 40 years.
* In 2011, the NRC approved APS's renewal application to extend the operating licenses 20 years, allowing the three units to operate through the mid-2040s.
* On March 13, 2026, APS filed a Notice of Intent to submit a Subsequent License Renewal Application to the NRC in late 2027. The application will seek to renew Palo Verde's operating license for an additional 20 years, allowing Unit 1 to operate through 2065, Unit 2 through 2066 and Unit 3 through 2067.
* After APS files the application, the NRC will evaluate Palo Verde's strategy to maintain the plant over time, plan for environmental protection and ability to operate safely. Public participation is an important part of the license renewal process, and the NRC will hold public meetings to share information and seek input.
As nuclear power continues to support the nation's energy needs, a license renewal for APS would extend Palo Verde's life to 80 years. APS is following the NRC's established license renewal process, which has resulted in renewing licenses to 80 years for 10 stations across the country. The NRC is currently reviewing applications for three stations.
"Nuclear power plants harness energy from atoms to produce electricity. It's one of the most rigorously regulated and carefully monitored energy sources in the country, and these facilities are designed with multiple layers of safety," said Adam Heflin, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer at Palo Verde Generating Station for APS. "Palo Verde Generating Station operates reliably and provides stable generation - helping keep the grid dependable and long-term energy costs more affordable for customers."
The Future of Nuclear Power
As Arizona continues to grow and energy needs increase, in addition to seeking license extensions for Palo Verde, APS is assessing new nuclear technologies and leading a collaborative effort with Salt River Project (SRP) and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to explore and advance additional nuclear generation in the state. In 2025, the utilities teamed up to apply for a grant with the U.S. Department of Energy for funding to support the evaluation of possible sites. While awaiting a decision, the three utilities continue to move forward with their siting efforts as they consider many types of nuclear energy solutions, including small modular reactors and large reactor projects.
APS and Palo Verde Generating Station's History of Service to Arizona
Across high-country forests, desert cities and rural communities, this year marks a significant milestone as APS celebrates 140 years of powering people's lives. As an original Arizona company, APS is committed to the communities it serves and dedicated to the state's success. Palo Verde has served the state for 40 of those years, underscoring the invaluable impact nuclear power has had on shaping society and enabling economic development in the state.
Palo Verde Generating Station Quick Facts:
* Largest energy producer in the U.S. for nearly 40 years.
* Three of the nation's 94 nuclear units are located at Palo Verde.
- The NRC issued an operating license for Unit 1 on June 1, 1985.
- Unit 2 received its license on April 24, 1986.
- Unit 3 was licensed on Nov. 25, 1987.
* Palo Verde is unique as the only nuclear power plant in the world that does not have access to a surface body of water. It uses 100% recycled wastewater from surrounding cities for cooling.
* Employs approximately 2,100 full-time workers and 800 to 1,000 seasonal contractors.
* Contributes more than $2.6 billion to local economies and is the largest single Arizona taxpayer with nearly $56 million paid annually in property taxes.
* Generates electricity to serve four million homes and businesses in Arizona, West Texas, New Mexico and Southern California.
* Operated by APS and owned by seven utilities: APS, SRP, El Paso Electric, Southern California Edison (SCE), Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
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APS serves 1.4 million homes and businesses in 11 of Arizona's 15 counties and is a leader in safely delivering reliable, affordable electricity in the Southwest. APS maintains a diverse range of energy resources, including nuclear from Palo Verde Generating Station, natural gas, coal, solar, wind and energy storage - a mix that's about 58% clean. With 140 years of experience serving Arizona, APS is the main subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW).
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Original text here: https://www.aps.com/en/About/Our-Company/Newsroom/Articles/APS_Seeks_to_Renew_Palo_Verde_Generating_Station_Licensing
[Category: BizEnergy]