Day: May 4, 2026

Zoom Recognizes the Rise of AI-Powered Businesses of One with Inaugural Solopreneur 50

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New recognition program and proprietary research highlight how solopreneurs are using AI to replace traditional team functions and build scalable, independent businesses

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced the inaugural Zoom Solopreneur 50, a recognition and grant program honoring AI-powered businesses of one across the United States, and released new data from its “Rise of the Solopreneur” report. Together, the program and research highlight how independent professionals are using artificial intelligence to build and scale sustainable businesses without traditional teams, reflecting a broader shift in how work is structured and executed.

For decades, small business growth has been defined by increasing overhead and scaling operations through headcount. The emergence of AI-powered solopreneurs represents a different model: individuals using artificial intelligence and integrated platforms to replace functions historically handled by full teams. Instead of managing people and tools, these operators are assembling capabilities and automating communication, production, and workflows to run efficient, revenue-generating businesses independently.

This shift toward AI-powered businesses of one is enabled by a new class of platforms designed to reduce operational overhead and automate execution. Zoom’s platform, built as a system of action for modern work, helps solopreneurs turn conversations into completed work by embedding artificial intelligence directly into communication, workflows, and customer interactions.

“Headcount used to be the measure of scale,” said Kimberly Storin, Chief Marketing Officer at Zoom. “But AI is decoupling growth from hiring. We’re seeing a new generation of solopreneurs operate with the capabilities of full teams without the overhead. The Zoom Solopreneur 50 is an early signal of where entrepreneurship is going: smaller, faster, and fundamentally more efficient.”

About the Zoom Solopreneur 50 
Selected from nearly 3,000 U.S.-based applicants, the Zoom Solopreneur 50 recognizes individuals who leverage AI and digital tools to turn creative ideas into outcomes. Unlike traditional entrepreneurship awards, the program evaluated applicants based on originality, performance, impact, authenticity, and influence, focusing on how businesses are built rather than just how big they get.

Key details:

  • 50 honorees selected from ~3,000 U.S. applicants
  • 5 grant recipients awarded $30,000 each
  • 12 industries represented, including technology, wellness, education, and professional services

The following five honorees will each receive $30,000 grants to support continued growth:

  • Cierra Gross, Worklution: Connects face‑to‑face with clients through video meetings, enabling strong relationship building, critical to her deeply engaged clientele.
  • Derek McCracken, The Owl’s Nest: Uses AI note capturing tools to collaborate with Ambassador Teachers nationwide and gather real‑time classroom feedback while staying fully present during conversations.
  • Angela Morrison, Cakes by Angela: Runs her business entirely from a home office through digital tools, enabling her to build a global supply chain and an international audience and customer base.
  • Michael Odokara-Okigbo, NKENNE: Collaborates with teams, partners, and customers across five countries through integrated technologies and AI tools, enabling global product development, sales, and training as a single connected, distributed organization.
  • Dana Snyder, Positive Equation: Hosts virtual meetings, workshops, and intensives using AI-first collaboration tools, enabling her to deliver high‑touch education and scale impact globally without a large team.

Honorees were selected by a jury composed of leaders from business and academia:

  • Patrick Hendren, VP of Legal & Policy at Upwork
  • Lisa Scheiring, Global SMB Advisor at Zoom
  • Kim Storin, Chief Marketing Officer at Zoom
  • Selma Studer, COO of Capital Department
  • Anita Woolley, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business

The full list of honorees is available at: www.zoom.com/solo50

The Role of AI in Solopreneurship

There are more than 30 million small businesses in the U.S., and 82% operate without employees (US Chamber of Commerce). A growing share is being built with AI at the core. These businesses are not smaller versions of traditional companies—they are fundamentally different in how they operate, scale, and deliver value. Instead of hiring teams, solopreneurs are assembling capabilities—using AI to handle operations, communication, and production.

This shift is driven by platforms that integrate communication and execution into a single workflow. Zoom’s platform, including Zoom Workplace and Zoom AI Companion, is designed as a system of action that captures context from conversations and automatically generates next steps, follow-ups, and deliverables without requiring additional tools.

For solopreneurs, that means:

  • Client conversations that automatically generate next steps and follow-ups through Zoom AI Companion
  • Meetings that convert into deliverables and decisions within Zoom Workplace
  • AI embedded directly into communication workflows, eliminating the need for separate tools

As more professionals seek tools to run a business solo with AI, integrated platforms that combine communication, automation, and execution are emerging as a primary requirement. Instead of managing multiple tools, one person can run an entire business from a single workflow.

New Report: The Rise of the Solopreneur

To highlight the growth and preferences of this influential group, Zoom released the inaugural “Rise of the Solopreneur” report, based on insights from the nearly 3,000 applicants, offering a comprehensive look at this emerging segment of the workforce.

Most Solopreneurs Are Already Running Revenue-Generating Businesses:

  • 62% of applicants are operating active, revenue-generating businesses
  • Median founding year is 2022, indicating rapid, recent growth
  • Nearly half cite prior professional or industry experience

AI Is Replacing Core Business Functions

  • Client communication and meetings: 82%
  • Automation and operational efficiency: 78%
  • Collaboration with partners and contractors: 71%
  • Delivering services or products virtually: 46%
  • Content creation and audience building: 46%

Adoption Spans Industries and Geographies

  • California (13%) and New York (10%) lead by state, followed by Georgia (9%) and Texas (9%)
  • Atlanta leads all cities (8%), followed by New York (7%)
  • Representation spans 12 industries, led by Services & Consulting (20%), Health & Wellness (14%), and Social Impact (12%)

Together, the data indicate that solopreneurship is shifting from a side-hustle model to a primary, technology-enabled form of business creation.

Zoom’s Solopreneur 50 and accompanying report position this emerging segment within a broader shift toward AI-powered, independent work, where platforms that can turn interaction into execution define the next generation of business infrastructure. To explore these trends in full, access the “Rise of the Solopreneur” report at https://click.zoom.com/resources/rise-of-the-solopreneur.

About Zoom
Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) is a system of action for modern work, turning live collaboration into completed results. From entrepreneurs to global enterprises, customers choose Zoom to seamlessly collaborate, communicate, and drive outcomes across meetings, phone, contact center, and more — all with the built-in assistance of Zoom AI Companion. Founded in 2011, Zoom is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information, visit zoom.com.

Media Contact
[email protected]
[email protected]

 

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9711706

OTC Markets Group Appoints JP Chan to Lead Asia-Pacific Growth in Hong Kong

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NEW YORK, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OTC Markets Group (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for more than 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced the appointment of JP Chan as Senior Vice President and Regional Head, Asia-Pacific. Chan will lead OTC Markets’ regional team out of Hong Kong, overseeing Asia-Pacific, and working with issuers, market participants and investors to efficiently access US capital markets via OTC Markets Group.

Asia-Pacific cross-traded dollar volume on OTC Markets reached $206.6 billion in 2025, up 53.4% year over year and the highest growth rate of any region. The region accounts for more than a third of the company’s $609.5 billion in total international cross-traded volume, which itself represents 88% of OTC Markets’ total dollar volume.

“The world’s investors want access to Asia-Pacific companies, and Asia-Pacific companies want access to U.S. capital. OTC Markets is the infrastructure that connects them. Establishing a permanent presence in Hong Kong, with a team led by JP Chan, is how we make that connection work at the scale this market demands,” said Cromwell Coulson, President and CEO of OTC Markets Group.

Chan has spent more than two decades in Hong Kong building institutional relationships with the CFOs, IROs, and capital markets professionals who are OTC Markets’ core target audience across Asia-Pacific. He most recently served as Sales Director at Visible Alpha covering Greater China and ASEAN, and previously held senior roles at IHS Markit, S&P Capital IQ, Dealogic, and Thomson Reuters. At OTC Markets, he will lead a regional team responsible for issuer development, partner engagement, and data distribution as demand for cross-border market intelligence continues to grow.

“There has never been a more direct path for companies in this region to reach U.S. investors. OTC Markets is that path. My job is to open the door for issuers to connect into the U.S. market and assist APAC investors in accessing global names via our 24×5 markets,” said JP Chan.

Asia-Pacific companies on OTC Markets include Singapore Exchange (SGX), Metaplanet Inc., ranked #2 on the 2026 OTCQX Best 50, and Fortescue Ltd., one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, all quoted on OTCQX Best Market.

The Hong Kong office also anchors OTC Markets’ overnight trading strategy in the region. The investor landscape is shifting and the numbers reflect it: MOON ATS® dollar volume was nearly 6 times higher in Q1 2026 compared to Q4 2025.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our public markets: OTCQX® Best Market, OTCQB® Venture Market, OTCID™ Basic Market, and Pink Limited™ Market.

Our OTC Link® Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading. Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.

OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, OTC Link NQB, and MOON ATS® are each an SEC-regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC-registered broker-dealer, member SIPC.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc.
Phone: (212) 896-4428
Email: [email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9709571

EarthDaily Advancing Daily Global Measurement of Planetary Change with Six Satellites Launched

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EarthDaily Satellite Deploys

An EarthDaily satellite deploys during the May 3 CAS500-2 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare launch. Image Courtesy of SpaceX.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn., May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EarthDaily Analytics (EarthDaily) today announced the successful launch of six EarthDaily Constellation satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission, confirming initial contact with satellites EDC-02 through EDC-07. The milestone significantly advances the company’s goal of delivering daily, consistent measurement of planetary change at global scale.

The launch, executed on May 3, 2026, delivered all six satellites to low Earth orbit. Telemetry confirms successful deployment, stable performance, solar array deployment, and power-positive status. Each satellite has transitioned into its expected operational configuration, continuing EarthDaily’s disciplined approach to on-orbit validation first demonstrated with EDC-01.

This second launch builds on the successful commissioning of EarthDaily’s first satellite and reinforces the company’s ability to deploy and operate a calibrated, AI-ready Earth observation system. With additional satellites now in orbit, the EarthDaily Constellation will be entering commercial operations late this summer, further strengthening EarthDaily’s existing portfolio of data and analytics products already supporting governments and commercial customers across agriculture, mining, insurance, and defense.

As the constellation expands, these offerings will be enhanced by a consistent, daily stream of calibrated measurement, enabling greater scale, accuracy, and automation across customer workflows. This evolution is closely tied to EarthDaily’s investment in AI and foundation models, designed to transform continuous global measurement into predictive intelligence. Trained on a unified, high-quality time series dataset, these models will enable faster insights, improved confidence, and more precise decision-making across mission-critical applications.

This capability is made possible by the design of the EarthDaily Constellation itself, purpose-built for broad-area change detection. By combining high-frequency revisit, wide-area coverage, and consistent measurement, each satellite, equipped with 16 imaging systems across 22 spectral bands, operates as part of a single, coordinated measurement platform.

“Most Earth observation systems were built to capture images,” said Don Osborne, Chief Executive Officer of EarthDaily. “We built EarthDaily to measure change. With this second launch and successful contact across multiple satellites, we are moving quickly toward delivering a consistent, daily understanding of the planet that customers can rely on to act with confidence.”

Customers will move beyond fragmented datasets to a unified, AI-ready source of truth, where calibrated measurement powers predictive intelligence. Governments can maintain high-confidence situational awareness and continuously update critical datasets, while commercial users can model risk, forecast outcomes, and optimize operations with greater precision.

“The world doesn’t need more imagery. It needs trusted, consistent measurement,” Osborne added. “With each satellite we bring online, we are closing the gap between data collection and decision-making, delivering the foundation for AI-ready geospatial intelligence at scale.”

With an eighth satellite set to launch later this summer, EarthDaily is accelerating into its next phase: delivering a new standard for how the planet is measured.

About EarthDaily

EarthDaily is a global Earth observation company focused on delivering science-grade data and analytics designed for broad-area change detection and decision-centric intelligence. With the EarthDaily Constellation, the company is building a foundation for daily, globally consistent Earth intelligence to support governments and enterprises operating in complex, high-impact environments.

To learn more, visit earthdaily.com and follow EarthDaily on LinkedIn (@EarthDaily) and X (@EarthDailyA).

Contacts
Tanya Cross
Vice President, Global Marketing and Communications
EarthDaily
[email protected]

Alliance Advisors IR
[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/63895f31-922c-451d-894e-110f2f640ad9

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9712244

What is the best internet solution for business travel? Why Holafly for Business is becoming the preferred choice for global companies

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Why Holafly for Business is becoming the preferred choice for global companies

A business traveler stays operational from the moment they land, reflecting the growing importance of seamless mobile access for global teams.

DUBLIN, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — For IT teams, one of the biggest risks when an employee travels is not the flight itself, but what happens upon arrival: landing without reliable internet access. This goes far beyond lost time, as it often translates into lack of access to critical tools, reliance on unsecured public WiFi networks, and decisions being made without real-time information.

As global workforces become increasingly distributed, companies are rethinking how they support their teams abroad, moving away from fragmented solutions towards more integrated approaches. In this shift, solutions like Holafly for Business are emerging as a foundational layer that allows IT departments to regain control, visibility, and security, ensuring that employees can access mobile data the moment they land without dependency on external networks.

This transformation is closely tied to the evolution of business travel itself. According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), global business travel spend is expected to reach $1.69 trillion in 2026, reflecting a structural shift towards more geographically distributed ways of working, where the ability to operate seamlessly from anywhere is a baseline expectation.

The operational impact of connectivity gaps is already measurable, with GBTA data indicating that business travelers lose an average of 5.2 productive hours per trip due to connectivity-related challenges. At the same time, security has moved to the center of the conversation. With the average cost of a corporate data breach reaching $4.88 million, according to IBM Security, relying on public WiFi networks is no longer a viable option for many organizations.

Alongside these challenges, the way companies manage data services internally is also a challenge itself. Platforms like Holafly Business Center allow IT teams to centralize eSIM management, monitor usage in real time, and automate billing processes, reducing operational complexity while providing the level of visibility required to manage distributed teams effectively. According to Gartner, organizations that adopt automation in IT operations can reduce management costs by up to 30%, reinforcing the value of more scalable solutions.

Cost predictability when it comes to roaming fees is another factor driving this shift, as traditional roaming models continue to generate unexpected and difficult-to-forecast expenses, solutions like Holafly for Business can reduce these costs by up to 85%, offering both savings and the financial stability that global operations increasingly demand.

“Companies are no longer asking whether their teams will be online when they travel, but how reliably and securely they can operate from anywhere,” said Ricardo Rodriguez, Head of Sales at Holafly for Business.

About Holafly
Holafly is the global leader in eSIMs for travelers, offering coverage in over 200 destinations. With an outstanding 4.6/5 rating on Trustpilot and more than 15 million satisfied users, it has become the preferred eSIM choice for international travelers. Its unlimited data offering ensures peace of mind anywhere in the world.

Contact: [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ff9372ad-41f6-4acc-8266-5578d80cc425

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1001179705

What is the best internet solution for business travel? Why Holafly for Business is becoming the preferred choice for global companies

by
Why Holafly for Business is becoming the preferred choice for global companies

A business traveler stays operational from the moment they land, reflecting the growing importance of seamless mobile access for global teams.

DUBLIN, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — For IT teams, one of the biggest risks when an employee travels is not the flight itself, but what happens upon arrival: landing without reliable internet access. This goes far beyond lost time, as it often translates into lack of access to critical tools, reliance on unsecured public WiFi networks, and decisions being made without real-time information.

As global workforces become increasingly distributed, companies are rethinking how they support their teams abroad, moving away from fragmented solutions towards more integrated approaches. In this shift, solutions like Holafly for Business are emerging as a foundational layer that allows IT departments to regain control, visibility, and security, ensuring that employees can access mobile data the moment they land without dependency on external networks.

This transformation is closely tied to the evolution of business travel itself. According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), global business travel spend is expected to reach $1.69 trillion in 2026, reflecting a structural shift towards more geographically distributed ways of working, where the ability to operate seamlessly from anywhere is a baseline expectation.

The operational impact of connectivity gaps is already measurable, with GBTA data indicating that business travelers lose an average of 5.2 productive hours per trip due to connectivity-related challenges. At the same time, security has moved to the center of the conversation. With the average cost of a corporate data breach reaching $4.88 million, according to IBM Security, relying on public WiFi networks is no longer a viable option for many organizations.

Alongside these challenges, the way companies manage data services internally is also a challenge itself. Platforms like Holafly Business Center allow IT teams to centralize eSIM management, monitor usage in real time, and automate billing processes, reducing operational complexity while providing the level of visibility required to manage distributed teams effectively. According to Gartner, organizations that adopt automation in IT operations can reduce management costs by up to 30%, reinforcing the value of more scalable solutions.

Cost predictability when it comes to roaming fees is another factor driving this shift, as traditional roaming models continue to generate unexpected and difficult-to-forecast expenses, solutions like Holafly for Business can reduce these costs by up to 85%, offering both savings and the financial stability that global operations increasingly demand.

“Companies are no longer asking whether their teams will be online when they travel, but how reliably and securely they can operate from anywhere,” said Ricardo Rodriguez, Head of Sales at Holafly for Business.

About Holafly
Holafly is the global leader in eSIMs for travelers, offering coverage in over 200 destinations. With an outstanding 4.6/5 rating on Trustpilot and more than 15 million satisfied users, it has become the preferred eSIM choice for international travelers. Its unlimited data offering ensures peace of mind anywhere in the world.

Contact: [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ff9372ad-41f6-4acc-8266-5578d80cc425

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1001179705