NEW YORK, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Hudson Cloud Systems, a leading provider of cloud infrastructure for dental and healthcare organizations, today announced the appointment of Tom Nault as its new Chief Executive Officer. Company founder Behan Venter will transition to Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Board, focusing on product innovation, technology strategy, and long-term vision.

“Tom brings the leadership, experience, and vision needed to propel Hudson Cloud Systems into its next phase of growth,” said Behan. “Having known Tom personally since 2008, I’m confident he’s the right leader to guide our team and continue delivering transformational technology to our customers.”

A Proven Track Record of Leadership and Innovation

Nault is a seasoned technology executive and entrepreneur with more than four decades of experience in founding, growing, and leading high-performance companies. In 2003, Nault founded Dashlight Systems, LLC, an intellectual property holding and technology commercialization company focused on Bluetooth technology. The following year, Dashlight acquired Open Interface North America (OINA). As Chairman and later CEO, Nault led OINA to develop Bluetooth software incorporated into landmark devices such as Apple’s iPhone and Motorola’s RAZR. Under his leadership, OINA achieved several industry firsts, including the demonstration of Bluetooth and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) combined functionality. OINA was acquired by Qualcomm in 2007.

Following that success, Nault founded Middlerock Partners, LLC in 2016, focusing on corporate turnarounds and management consulting. He has served as a federal court-appointed corporate trustee for a decade and has held 17 board positions with companies spanning enterprise technology, finance, and consumer sectors. Notably, he served on the board of Numerix, Inc., which was acquired by Genstar Capital in 2022.

“This is an exciting time for Hudson Cloud Systems,” said Nault. “The company has built something truly unique at the intersection of cloud infrastructure and healthcare IT. I’m honored to join the team and help scale this platform to serve even more institutions and patients across the country.”

About Hudson Cloud Systems

Hudson Cloud Systems transforms dental education and practice with cutting-edge cloud solutions. Our Cloud Portal delivers scalable, high-performance infrastructure that supports digital dentistry, enhances clinical workflows, and streamlines operations for dental schools, DSOs, and group practices. Learn more at www.hudsoncloud.com.

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SOURCE Hudson Cloud Systems

Firefish, a bitcoin-collateralized lending marketplace, raised $1.8M in seed funding to expand its global reach. Backed by Braiins and Miton C, it offers instant USDC loans and supports EUR and CHF. With over $100M in volume and 10,000+ users, Firefish uses multi-sig escrow to eliminate counterparty risk and is scaling its institutional lending program.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Firefish, the open marketplace for bitcoin-collateralized loans, today announced the successful close of a $1.8 million seed funding round, marking a major milestone in its mission to make secure, trust-minimized Bitcoin-backed loans accessible worldwide. The company now offers instant USDC loans to users in the U.S. and across global markets, expanding access to stablecoin-based liquidity for Bitcoin holders.

The round was backed by a select group of investors, including Braiins, the world’s oldest Bitcoin mining pool and creators of the open-source mining software Braiins OS, and Miton C, a Prague-based venture capital firm focused on startups across Europe. With EUR already supported, Firefish now also offers the option of CHF loans and USDC instant loans to users in the U.S., Switzerland, and the rest of the world, where borrowers can secure liquidity in as little as 15 minutes.

“We’re not reinventing TradFi with Bitcoin on the surface—we’re rebuilding lending from the ground up using Bitcoin‘s core principles,” said Martin Matejka, Firefish CEO and Co-Founder. “This investment validates our vision and demonstrates that Bitcoin-native lending can be done at scale—without taking shortcuts. Firefish is where serious capital meets Bitcoin-native infrastructure, with open price discovery and zero rehypothecation.”

With over $100 million in transaction volume, 10,000+ users, and nearly 1,000 BTC in escrowed collateral, Firefish is rapidly establishing itself as a major force in Bitcoin-native finance. In March 2025, Firefish recorded triple-digit month-over-month growth, driven by thousands of Bitcoiners looking for loans and yield-seeking lenders attracted to its market-driven rates, compelling risk-reward profile, and a borrower-driven model that lets lenders pick the best deal.

Unlike the centralized crypto lenders that have historically operated in the industry, Firefish does not hold user assets, which are never rehypothecated. Bitcoin collateral is locked in on-chain escrow using multi-signature contracts, and fiat loans are settled directly between borrowers and lenders via standard bank transfers or stablecoins. Firefish’s advanced recovery feature allows for the Bitcoin collateral to still be recoverable in case of disastrous scenarios by using a pre-signed recovery transaction.

With Firefish, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals can deploy capital in bulk using fiat or stablecoins and be matched with qualified borrowers. These investments will soon be able to take place through traditional fund structures, which could enable even broader participation.

Braiins recently used Firefish to secure a $400,000 loan, leveraging their Bitcoin to expand the company’s operations without having to sell. “It took less than 24 hours to collateralize 8.75 BTC and borrow euros,” said Eli Nagar, CEO of Braiins. “This investment reflects our belief that Bitcoin holders don’t want counterparty risk. With Firefish, the rules are enforced by code, not third-party trust.” Braiins is also offering Bitcoin miners the option of purchasing their hardware using Bitcoin-backed loans powered by Firefish and is integrating it into its product suite.

Last year, Braiins and Firefish co-published “Bitcoin: The Ultimate Collateral“, a book that analyzes how lending is the natural next step for Bitcoin and how Bitcoiners can use it to their advantage. As outlined in the book, traditional finance companies can now earn yield in the Bitcoin credit market—all without having to touch Bitcoin or manage any infrastructure.

Besides accelerating its global expansion, the funding will be used to further scale Firefish Prime institutional lending program. Firefish joins Prague’s long-standing Bitcoin tradition alongside pioneering companies like SatoshiLabs, Braiins, General Bytes, Confirmo and Coinmate—cementing the city and the country’s status as a global hub of Bitcoin innovation.

ABOUT FIREFISH

Firefish is the open marketplace for bitcoin-collateralized loans. Drawing on decades of experience in banking and capital markets, Martin Matejka and Igor Neumann founded Firefish to offer Bitcoin holders a simple and secure way to borrow cash against their Bitcoin without relying on a custodian. Using on-chain escrow and peer-to-peer matching, Firefish allows users to use their Bitcoin without having to sell and trigger capital gains taxes. Learn more at firefish.io

ABOUT BRAIINS

Braiins is a pioneer in bitcoin mining software and hardware, including the widely renowned Braiins OS. Headquartered in Prague, Braiins is committed to making bitcoin mining more accessible, efficient, and profitable for miners worldwide. For additional information, visit braiins.com.

Media Contact

Jesse, Firefish, 1 3127769278, jesse@bitcoincomms.com, firefish.io

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SOURCE Firefish

Balancing economic and social value for the future of manufacturing through advanced technologies.Promoting sustainable manufacturing by enhancing workforce efficiency, boosting productivity, and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.Empowering people through data-driven decision making with manufacturing intelligence, AI & automation and digitalization.

STUTTGART, Germany, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — OMRON Corporation (TSE:6645) and Cognizant (NASDAQ:CTSH) have signed a strategic partnership to integrate Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) in the manufacturing industry. The collaboration includes Cognizant being chosen as the engineering partner for OMRON’s Industrial Automation Business (IAB) products.

OMRON, known for its advanced automation technology, and Cognizant, with expertise in IT-OT convergence, will offer a unique, one-stop solution for digital transformation. The partnership combines OMRON’s OT products, such as sensors, controllers, servo motors, safety equipment and robots, with Cognizant’s IT capabilities, including cloud, AI, IoT, and digital twin technologies.

Through this collaboration, the companies provide a distinctive capability to achieve flexible and agile operational excellence. This includes consultancy, on-site implementation, operation, and maintenance. Target sectors for the joint capability include Automotive, Semiconductor, Electronics, Industrial Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Consumer Goods industries.

Combining the capabilities of both companies, OMRON and Cognizant strive to establish a unique business model that addresses on-site and management issues through continuous IT-OT analysis and improvements. This IT-OT integration will leverage both companies’ strengths to help promote sustainable manufacturing, enhancing productivity, improving workforce efficiency and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

OMRON’s broad product lineup (more than 200,000 SKUs) gathers high-quality field data for Cognizant’s Asset Performance Excellence (APEx) platform and its Industry 4.0/5.0 maturity assessment tool OnePlant™. This data, combined with management information, helps analyze IT-side issues and prioritize improvements from a management perspective. Results can be fed back via OMRON’s control application and the i-BELT data utilization service, working with customers to address on-site challenges linked to management issues in a comprehensive manner.

“OMRON is the only manufacturer of control equipment in the world that owns all the equipment used in the production line. Cognizant, on the other hand, is one of the world’s leading global IT services companies supporting the digital transformation of a wide range of industries with advanced digital technologies such as AI, IoT, and cloud,” said Junta Tsujinaga, CEO of OMRON Corporation. “Through this partnership, we will promote the integration of IT and OT to solve urgent issues faced by manufacturing sites, such as significantly improving productivity, reducing operational losses, and speeding up management decisions. The two companies will work together to promote sustainable cutting-edge manufacturing of the future.”

“Clients are looking for a Strategic Partner with deep industry and domain expertise, end to end capabilities and the ability to manage complex technologies at various layers of digital factory,” said Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant. “We are excited to partner with OMRON in taking integrated value propositions and capabilities to transform manufacturing for our clients globally. OMRON’s expertise in OT data and systems, combined with Cognizant’s digital manufacturing and IT/OT integration capabilities, will enable manufacturers to make quicker, more reliable decisions using real-time data. Together, we are committed to advancing manufacturing by leveraging emerging technologies and integrating IT and OT systems to realize a state of manufacturing in the future that is connected, intelligent, autonomous, sustainable, and resilient,” he added.

About OMRON Corporation 
OMRON Corporation, as a leading automation company with its unique “Sensing & Control + Think” technology at its core, is engaged in control equipment, healthcare, social systems, and electronic components. The company is also developing a data solution business that utilizes a wide variety of data acquired through these businesses. Founded in 1933, OMRON now employs approximately 28,000 people worldwide and provides products and services in more than 130 countries, contributing to the creation of a better society. For more information, https://www.omron.com/jp/ja/ please visit: OMRON Global

About Cognizant
Cognizant (Nasdaq-100: CTSH) engineers modern businesses. We help our clients modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences so they can stay ahead in our fast-changing world. Together, we’re improving everyday life.
See how at www.cognizant.com or @cognizant.

For media inquiries, please contact:

OMRON: Global Corporate Communications and Engagement – Ankur Bhat, ankur.bhat@omron.com ; +81-75-344-7175

Cognizant: GlobalPR@cognizant.com

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SOURCE Cognizant Technology Solutions