Japan’s Leading Team Collaboration Platform Company, Cybozu Announces Asia Business Strategy

TOKYO, Mar 24, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Cybozu, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yoshihisa Aono; hereinafter "Cybozu") held a presentation on February 25, 2020, to announce its financial results for the previous fiscal year, as well as its business strategy for the current fiscal year highlighting its steady business performance and its future strategy for strengthening the sales system for kintone – Cybozu's flagship product – in the Asia Pacific region.

In January 2020, a new Business Strategy Office was established to strengthen the global deployment of Cybozu's sales expansion. In particular, kintone – a cloud-based app for work improvement – is seeing steady sales in the Asia Pacific region, where it is used as a platform by companies implementing the latest work styles. Going forward, Cybozu intends to continue to focus resources on this flagship product.

Strengthening activities with a view to establish a sales system in Cambodia within 2020:

To date, sales have started in major cities located in eight countries in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos). Cambodia will be the ninth country where partners are located. In addition, there is also a study underway to examine the establishment of local subsidiaries in these nine countries. Cybozu will strengthen activities aimed at establishing a globally common sales system and business model within three years.

Focusing on human resource development:

In order to strengthen activities in the Asia Pacific region, Cybozu will also actively recruit students from the Asia Pacific region and focus on developing human resources that may play active roles in their home countries in the future.

Comments from CEO Yoshihisa Aono:

"With 'creating a society brimming with teamwork' as our vision, Cybozu offers tools globally for creating information-sharing platforms for all kinds of teams. As the improvement of productivity and work efficiency is pursued everywhere, we strongly feel the need for tools that can achieve these goals in the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region. Cybozu, in particular, is well-versed in the software as a service (SaaS) business that utilizes cloud-based technology and has become the standard in recent years. We believe that we can lead the market in this business.

Looking at the future, cloud tools capable of communication regardless of location will become essential during emergencies such as a pandemic. In Japan, there are already cases of cloud tools being used as a platform for virtual offices. Going forward, we intend to take advantage of our knowledge to reach the global market and to further strengthen activities to improve work efficiency and teamwork with companies seeking new working styles or preparing for emergencies."

kintone's sales performance:

– Total number of companies in Asia Pacific region using kintone: 590 in fiscal 2019 (39% increase from the previous year)
– Examples of companies using kintone: Gojek in Indonesia, Seiko (Thailand) Co., etc.

Cybozu's consolidated sales in fiscal 2019 was approximately 13.4 billion yen (28% increase from the previous year), with more than 70% coming from cloud-related sales.

About kintone (www.kintone.com):

kintone is a platform provided by Cybozu, Inc. for developing work apps. It allows the development of work apps according to the customer's purpose, including sales management; customer management; project management; visualizing business progress; to-do lists and tasking of teams; and communication across departments.

Applications can be developed without programming. In Japan, kintone is used by 14,000 corporate customers and is also increasingly being utilized globally, mainly in the United States, China, and Southeast Asia. Currently, seeking to move from No. 1 in Japan to No. 1 in the world, efforts are being undertaken in product internationalization and global sales.

Company overview:

Since its establishment, Cybozu has been developing collaboration tools that can utilize Internet technologies. To date, Cybozu's products have been used by more than nine million people globally. Financial results have grown since the cloud service kintone was released in 2011, and currently, Cybozu's operating profit is growing 57% year-to-year.

For Cybozu's global business, sales in China are undertaken by its fully-owned subsidiary Cybozu IT Shanghai Inc., while the fully-owned subsidiary kintone Corporation (Cybozu U.S.) undertakes sales in the United States. kintone Corporation is also recognized by leading companies in Silicon Valley and continues to expand there, having already carried out implementation at the ride-sharing company Lyft, Inc. The Cybozu Asia Partnership Program has been rolled out in Southeast Asia to bring activities closer to the respective local regions.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Etsuko Nagayama, Business Marketing Division, Cybozu, Inc.
27F Tokyo Nihombashi Tower, Nihombashi 2-7-1, Chuo-ku
Tokyo, Japan 103-6027
Email: cybozu-global@cybozu.co.jp

* Product names stated are the registered trademark or trademarks of the respective companies. In addition, Cybozu's products may include work(s) of other companies. Please see the following link for notes regarding each trademark or work. https://cybozu.co.jp/logotypes/other-trademark/

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Edmodo, Subsidiary of NetDragon, Recommended by UNESCO for Distance Learning

HONG KONG, Mar 19, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited ("NetDragon" or "the Company", Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, is pleased to announce that Edmodo, a subsidiary of NetDragon, was one of the recommended distance learning applications and platforms by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in view of the disruption to education worldwide due to COVID-19. Edmodo is among the world's largest and most active learning communities with over 100 million registered users, covering approximately 400,000 schools in more than 190 countries and regions.







According to UNESCO, 85 countries have announced or implemented suspension of educational institutions, hindering approximately 777 million students' learning progress. UNESCO has updated a "Distance learning solutions" section on its website with a recommendation list attached to promote online learning through distance learning platforms. The recommended applications and platforms tend to have wide reach, a strong user base and evidence of impact. Most of the solutions are free and several support multiple languages.

During the suspension of various primary and secondary schools, NetDragon encourages teachers and students to engage in free online interactive learning through Edmodo for continuous learning progress. Prominent functions of Edmodo have gained popularity among teachers and students. Edmodo can be widely applied across multiple learning use cases, including lesson preparation, lesson delivery, as well as after-class studies and discussions, while providing extensive functions that include assignment distribution, quiz assessment, learning progress monitoring and teaching statistics. Embedded within a comprehensible interface similar to social media platforms, it is handy for teaching and self-learning to be combined and managed on a single platform. On top of that, Edmodo facilitates a swift interaction between teachers, students and parents. By raising or answering questions, sharing reading materials or intriguing videos and initiating discussions between teachers and students, it stimulates students to develop independent learning skills and areas of interest, and therefore, enhances mutual exchange of ideas with teachers. Apart from distance teaching, Edmodo also features remote student supervision, enabling teachers to monitor teaching data and further adjust their teaching tempo accordingly. Parents may also follow their children's learning progress and assist in keeping up with the learning schedule during the school suspension period.

Recently, NetDragon has also partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services in setting up contingency plans and providing free cross-border cloud services to suspended educational institutions in Hong Kong, so that teachers can easily upload and store teaching videos to cloud servers where local and cross-boundary school students can easily access the learning resources. Teachers can further assign homework or learning tasks to students and thus provide at-home learning support.

The recommendation by UNESCO is a recognition of Edmodo's endeavors to online education, as well as its capability in handling situations of different kinds. Edmodo has recorded a substantive increase in new registered users recently, with significant growth in new and active users from Italy and Spain in comparison with the same period last year. NetDragon will continue to utilize Edmodo's powerful strength in online education to provide distance learning support to users in affected countries and regions.

About NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users. These include China's number one online gaming portal, 17173.com, and China's most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless, which was sold to Baidu for US$1.9 billion in 2013 as the largest Internet M&A transaction in China.

Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the "classroom of the future" to every school around the world. For more information, please visit www.netdragon.com.

For investor enquiries, please contact:
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
Ms. Maggie Zhou
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Tel.: +852 2850 7266 / +86 591 8390 2825
Email: maggie@nd.com.cn
Website: ir.netdragon.com



Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Big Data World x Artificial Intelligence – 4th edition at Marina Bay Sands

SINGAPORE, Mar 10, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – After 3 successful years, Big Data World, Singapore will realign its focus to incorporate "artificial intelligence", and will be renamed Big Data & AI World in its 4th edition at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on 14th – 15th October 2020.

Aligned with the direction of the Singapore government to develop Singapore into an AI Hub, and with the roll-out of Singapore's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Big Data & AI World brings artificial intelligence to the forefront of this exhibition. This includes the development of a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Keynote Theatre featuring top AI experts in Asia who will share how companies can incorporate AI technologies for business success.

Over 5,000 industry professionals are expected to attend and explore offerings from over 90 global exhibitors including TIBCO, Altair, Denodo, H2O.ai, Keysight, Softserve, Teradata and more.

Dr Sean Lam, Head of Data Science with SingHealth Health Services Research Centre (HSRC), who spoke at the 2019 edition of Big Data World said, "It has been a great pleasure to witness the show evolve to meet industry needs. As we continuously leverage artificial intelligence and data science to deliver better healthcare outcomes, I'm excited to see how Big Data & AI World's new focus on artificial intelligence will further add value to the healthcare industry in the region."

Group Event Manager, Neil Halliday said: "It's an exciting time for us. Plans have been in place to develop the artificial intelligence space after feedback from our attendees last year. We aim to satisfy the gap in the market for a dedicated artificial intelligence exhibition, and can't wait to reveal the exciting developments that the event will bring this October!"


For details on Big Data & AI World, please visit www.bigdataworldasia.com

For details on the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, visit www.smartnation.sg/why-Smart-Nation/NationalAIStrategy

For media enquiries, please contact Nic-cole Chia at n.chia@closerstillmedia.com.

About CloserStill Media

CloserStill Media specialises in international professional events chiefly in the technology markets, across five global territories. Its portfolio includes some of the UK's fastest-growing and award-winning events including Cloud Expo Europe and Data Centre World. Having delivered unparalleled quality and relevant audiences for all its exhibitions, CloserStill has been repeatedly recognised as a leading innovator with its teams and international events winning multiple awards in Europe and Asia including Best Marketing Manager – four times in succession – Best Trade Exhibition, Best Launch Exhibition, and Rising Star – two years in succession – among others.

For more information, visit www.closerstillmedia.com.

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

UniWorld Celebrates Launch of Ecosystem Focused on Making A.I., Blockchain, & Eco-Conscious Technology More Efficient

SINGAPORE, Feb 28, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – While many companies seem to be in a race to release the "next big thing" in AI, blockchain and other technologies, the reality is what's available now is hardly being used to its fullest potential. That's the foundation of the new tech ecosystem UniWorld. UniWorld is a breakthrough concept being executed by seasoned professionals with an inspiring vision – to harness the power of AI and blockchain, synthesize with another tech for the optimization of the Smart Society 5.0. Will this help businesses become the best version of themselves? Yes. But, as importantly, the company also sees this as a rare opportunity to help the disadvantaged and make the world a better place for all.

"Whatever best or brilliant technology as it sounds is just a useless piece of work if not put into practical use. At UniWorld, instead of selling an idea, we are demonstrating to the world the values of our already developed technology, through collaborating with partners and putting our technology into real-world everyday use cases. As such, this aligns with one of our core values, that is to 'bring technology that makes the world a better place'", commented Stephen Sim, the CEO of UniWorld.

Currently, the UniWorld ecosystem features products and services like:
Unibot, a personal 3D avatar and voice chatbot platform base with AI and deep learning built-in that can be customized to better serve customers in many diverse spaces;
UniChain, a cutting-edge blockchain platform that can be scaled to meet all kinds of client needs, and the ability to handle millions of transactions per second while remaining decentralized and providing maximum security;
UniLab, the Research and Development arm of the ecosystem, which has been hard at work since 2013, staying on top of the latest tech developments, focused on what can best benefit the UniWorld ecosystem;
UniGreen, a vital part of the project with biotechnology and IOT to make the environment cleaner and greener;
Mia Foundation, a transparent decentralized fund on the Blockchain network aimed at overcoming and reforming the health, education, environment, charitable and community activities required by the Smart Society 5.0; and much more.

Expect new elements to be added to the UniWorld ecosystem on a regular basis, without compromising the project or its leader's vision or commitment to quality and transparency.

Partners working with UniWorld stretch across all of the important areas of society with investing fund partners, media partners, government organization partners, exchange partners, and NPO – Society Organization partners, that are highlighted by some of the most respected names in their respected spaces.

The official launch of UniWorld points to a very large step forward in the Smart World 5.0 with nearly unlimited potential. Businesses, individuals, and potential investors interested in where this socially positive AI and blockchain technology revolution is heading are highly advised to keep a close eye on the ecosystem and its related websites. New developments are happening all of the time.

To learn more about UniWorld and the Smart Society 5.0 and the products and services being offered be sure to visit https://uniworld.io. It's the Re-Evolution for the Next Generation. If you would like more information on UniWorld, or if you would like to interview and ask more questions, please contact:

UniWorld Corporation
Address: Singapore 439432
Phone: +6596585831
Email: support@uniworld.io

Media Contact:
Mia.World / UniWorld Ecosystem
Contact: Media Team
Email: media@mia.world
Phone: +815058096161
Country: Japan
Website: https://mia.world/terms/about-us

Website: https://uniworld.io
Blog: https://blog.uniworld.io/
Mia: https://mia.world/uniworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/UniWorld.io
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/uniworldcorp
Twitter: www.twitter.com/UniWorldio
Instagram: www.instagram.com/uniworldbot/
Telegram channel: https://t.me/UniworldOfficial


Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Following US$11.7M Series-A Funding, RegTech Firm Tookitaki Appoints Industry Veteran as Advisor to Strengthen Its Presence in The U.S. And Asia-Pacific Region as Part of Expansion Plan

Colorado, USA, Feb 26, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Tookitaki Holding Pte. Ltd. (Tookitaki), a global next-generation regulatory technology company with solutions in Financial Crime, announced today that it has appointed industry veteran Joe Friscia, former President of NICE Actimize and BAE Systems as Advisor to the Company's Advisory Board. Joe brings over 25 years' extensive experience in the financial crime and enterprise software domains having handled roles of global scale. Joe will be helping Tookitaki scale its operations in the U.S., as well as advise around strategic inroads into the company's Asia-Pacific presence.

Abhishek Chatterjee, CEO and co-founder of Tookitaki shared, "Tookitaki is absolutely delighted to welcome Joe as part of the family. Our vision has always been to revolutionize regulatory compliance and ensure sustainable compliance programs for every financial institution in the world. With Joe at the helm, we are better placed to deliver on this vision by growing our presence significantly across the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region."

Tookitaki was founded by Mr Abhishek Chatterjee, its CEO, and Ms Jeeta Bandopadhyay, its COO. Abhishek, who was formerly employed at JP Morgan, observed the 2008 financial crisis first-hand and noted that regulators were stricter about financial checks and balances in a bid to maintain financial stability. Tookitaki was formed from this need to provide sustainable compliance programs in the banking and financial services industry (BFS), using solutions powered by machine learning, Big Data analytics, and distributed data-parallel architecture. The company strives to drive its proprietary technological innovation to help fuel its ongoing fight against money laundering and reconciliation issues.

Ensuring regulatory compliance can be expensive for financial services companies, with the average cost nearly doubled from US$16 million to US$30.9 million between 2011 and 2017 according to a survey. Meanwhile in 2017, over 900 agencies together issued over 200 regulatory updates each day, on average.

"As modern-day criminals thrive with the aid of new and advanced methods of conducting financial crimes, machine learning-based technology is rapidly gaining traction in helping future-proof and thwart these evolving threats. For this reason, I am both proud and excited to be part of the Tookitaki team and helping them make Sustainable Compliance a reality." commented Joe Friscia.

With his deep wealth of experience in the financial crime space, Joe's presence will be invaluable in building business momentum and driving growth for Tookitaki as it looks to expand its offerings around financial crime use cases. He will contribute to Tookitaki's strength in business and go-to-market strategy to help position Tookitaki as the leading RegTech company that helps banks detect sophisticated money laundering patterns with best-in-class enterprise software solutions.

Joe joins the current board that includes former CEO of online mortgage broker LendingTree, Tom Reddin and ex-Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, Inc., Shailesh Kekre. With the guidance of strategic advisors, Tookitaki is better positioned to deliver its vision in revolutionizing regulatory compliance and ensure sustainable compliance programs for financial institutions globally.

Tookitaki is a pioneer in launching explainable machine learning models in the compliance space and validating the same with global banks and reputed third-party consultants. It recently filed a patent on explainable AI and machine learning framework and models to bring transparency into the validation process and output interpretability by banking customers and regulators. Tookitaki's recent Series A round was co-led by Viola Fintech and SIG, followed by Nomura Holdings through its venture capital arm Nomura Incubation Investment Limited Partnership. Other investors include Illuminate Financial, Jungle Ventures and SEEDs Capital, an investment arm of the Singapore government. Its strategic fundraise, complemented with Joe's appointment, positions the company well to help banking and financial institutions stay "regulator ready", particularly in the face of rising financial crime complexities.

About Tookitaki

Tookitaki is innovating the regulatory compliance space by moving beyond rules-based applications and introducing software solutions to maximize efficiency and reduce risks in compliance processes. In the regulatory compliance space, the company's award-winning offerings include an Anti-Money Laundering Suite (AMLS) and a Reconciliation Suite (RS). Tookitaki has also successfully teamed up with Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) in utilizing their award-winning AI and ML technology to deliver a next-generation platform addressing industry-wide reconciliation, matching and exception processing inefficiencies. Incorporated in November 2014, the company is led by a core team with a cumulative 150-years' experience in finance, AI, Big Data Analytics and financial crime. It has offices in the US, Singapore and India. In 2019, Tookitaki won UBS Future of Fintech Challenge and the SG:D Techblazer Awards, along with the Technology Pioneer recognition by the World Economic Forum. Visit us at www.tookitaki.ai

Media Contacts:
KeKommunikation for Tookitaki in Asia-Pacific
Email: Tookitaki@kekommunikation.com; Tel: +65 6303 0567

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

NetDragon Partners with RYB Education to Develop Online Early Childhood Education

HONG KONG, Feb 20, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited ("NetDragon" or "the Company", Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a strategic agreement with RYB Education, Inc ("RYB Education"), joining forces to explore online early childhood education in China. This collaboration broadens NetDragon's online education product offerings and services in early childhood education and at-home education, as well as opening up such markets in China.

Leveraging the achievements and advantages of NetDragon's education technologies and products, while integrating with the platform resources from RYB Education, this strategic cooperation aims to provide early childhood education platforms and products, and also to explore the online-to-offline ("O2O") model of early childhood English education. In addition, NetDragon plans to exploit its know how and experience in gamification of education products to offer upgraded and enhanced versions of RYB Education's family and parenting course contents, in order to increase competitiveness. Moreover, this cooperation in early childhood education will carry out at both ToB and ToC levels.

RYB Education is a leading early childhood education service provider in China, focusing on early childhood education for children from infancy to 6 years old. Through direct operation and franchising, RYB Education currently covers approximately 500 kindergartens and 1,300 play-and-learn centres across more than 300 cities nationwide, providing early childhood education guidance and services to cumulatively millions of families. With its high-quality early education platform and products, RYB Education's number of students and registered users has continued to rise. Furthermore, the integration of online and offline education contents and resources by making use of RYB Education's diverse set of education services and products, and NetDragon's technical and professional expertise in online education, will result in more possibilities for early childhood education in China.

Dr. Simon Leung, Vice Chairman of NetDragon and CEO of NetDragon Huayu Education, commented, "We are delighted to enter into this strategic cooperative partnership with RYB Education. We believe this partnership aids the Company in establishing a solid foundation in the early childhood education market. The Company will leverage its advantages of content resources and its expertise in fields such as informatization of education as well as the integration of education and technology, to collaborate with RYB Education. We firmly believe that we can share strong synergies through NetDragon's powerful digital curriculum and online course solutions, as well as RYB Education's strong resource base of students, teachers and parents. We also hope that our collaboration will lead to innovation and equality in education."

"We are excited about this strategic relationship with NetDragon, a strong advocate for education innovation in the internet industry. By leveraging NetDragon's pool of established online learning platforms and digital learning technologies, such as VR and AR, we are well-positioned to develop competitive early childhood education products and platforms suitable for online education," said Ms. Yanlai Shi, CEO of RYB Education. "There will be strong synergy between our extensive student and parent network and NetDragon's digital curriculum, tools and solutions. We look forward to working closely with the NetDragon team and believe we will bring about more educational innovations and make early childhood education services and contents more flexible and accessible, better serving the needs of parents and children."

About NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users. These include China's number one online gaming portal, 17173.com, and China's most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless, which was sold to Baidu for US$1.9 billion in 2013 as the largest Internet M&A transaction in China.

Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the "classroom of the future" to every school around the world. For more information, please visit www.netdragon.com.

About RYB Education, Inc
Founded in 1998, RYB Education, Inc focuses on the quality early childhood consultations and services of children from infancy to 6 years old and families, covering approximately 1300 play-and-learn centres and 500 prestige kindergartens across China. On 27 September 2017, RYB Education (NYSE:RYB) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For investor enquiries, please contact:
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
Ms. Maggie Zhou
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Tel.: +852 2850 7266 / +86 591 8390 2825
Email: maggie@nd.com.cn
Website: ir.netdragon.com


Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

JumpStart, Subsidiary of NetDragon, Collaborates with Beach House Pictures To Develop First-Ever Neopets Animated TV Series

HONG KONG, Feb 14, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited ("NetDragon" or "the Company", Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, JumpStart, a leader in learning-based games for children, collaborated with Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Studios company on an exclusive deal to develop the first-ever Neopets animated TV series based on the hugely successful virtual pet universe that is a global sensation beloved by generations of kids the world over. This collaboration definitely marks another milestone of NetDragon and JumpStart teams' efforts in rebranding and promotion of Neopets since it joined the JumpStart family in 2014.



Beach House Pictures is developing a new Neopets TV series, based on JumpStart Games' successful kids property, shown above, and adding to a wave of new games, content and licensed merchandise launching for the brand



As part of the agreement, Beach House Pictures is developing new characters and stories, tapping into the Blue Ant Studios animation team in Canada, to expand the storytelling and bring added dimension to the Neopets kid- and family-friendly brand. Beach House Pictures and Blue Ant Studios will be looking for co-production and platform partners over the coming months.

This agreement is the latest development for Neopets as the brand expands on multiple platforms and increases its reach in the global kids and family market. In 2020, JumpStart is unveiling the reimagined Neopets website, releasing an all-new mobile game for smartphones and tablets, and providing fans opportunities to bring the brand home through a curated line of licensed merchandise. First launched in 1999, Neopets has delighted millions of kids with game play centred around expressing themselves through the care of their virtual pets and being part of a global community in the digital world of Neopia.

Donovan Chan, Creative Director, Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Studios company, said, "Bringing a new Neopets series to the market has been a passion of mine for many years and seeing it come to life is a dream come true. We're looking forward to collaborating with the Blue Ant Studios team in Canada and JumpStart to create stories and characters for devoted, long-time fans, while introducing Neopets to a new generation of kids."

Jim Czulewicz, CEO of JumpStart said, "Extending Neopets into an animated series is the perfect way to give our millions of fans another new platform to discover and enjoy the brand. Beach House Pictures' passion for the Neopets brand, and its track record of producing premium content for international audiences, makes them a great partner to build on a new wave of Neopet products and storytelling we are launching in 2020."

Neopets is a virtual world where players can be their real selves and make friends while they explore stories, play games and care for their virtual pets like family. Players personalize their pets as they collect, purchase, and trade highly valuable items – all while engaging with a global community. Launched in 1999, Neopets became part of the JumpStart family in April 2014, where the brand continues to amass loyal fans globally. Available in multiple languages, Neopets regularly adds new content and activities to its collection of hundreds of games and puzzles, including annual events, tournaments, and narratives. As with all JumpStart products, Neopets is a completely safe and secure online community.

About NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users. These include China's number one online gaming portal, 17173.com, and China's most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless, which was sold to Baidu for US$1.9 billion in 2013 as the largest Internet M&A transaction in China.

Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the "classroom of the future" to every school around the world. For more information, please visit www.netdragon.com.

About JumpStart
JumpStart is the leader in learning-based games for kids. Since 1991, JumpStart has set the standard in kids' educational games by making learning genuinely fun. JumpStart produces creative, educational mobile and multiplayer online games under its flagship brands – JumpStart, Jumpstart Academy, Math Blaster and School of Dragons – as well as with partners such as DreamWorks Animation. Over its 20-year history JumpStart has remained dedicated to producing high quality learning-based products, earning the trust of millions of teachers, parents, and respected organizations such as Common Sense Media and the National Parenting Center. Formerly owned by Knowledge Holding, Inc., JumpStart is now a subsidiary of NetDragon, a global leader in building internet communities. JumpStart is based in Los Angeles, California.

About Blue Ant Studios
Blue Ant Studios is a leading international studio and production business. The business' production companies are based in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and produce content in multiple genres, including Scripted, Documentary, Kids, Adult Animation, Factual Entertainment and Natural History. Blue Ant Studios works with all the major international streaming, cable and broadcasting companies as well as regional players in the markets it operates in. Blue Ant Studios, a subsidiary of Blue Ant Media, is based in Los Angeles with offices in New York.

About Beach House Pictures
Beach House Pictures (BHP), a Blue Ant Studios production company, is one of Asia's largest independent rocks. Headquartered in Singapore and operating in the US and China, Beach House Pictures specializes in factual and unscripted programming for international streamers and cable networks, creating the high-profile series Ed Stafford: First Man Out, Wild City, Masterchef Singapore, Raffles: Remaking an Icon and China From Above. Other BHP divisions include children's arm Beach House Kids who are behind scripted series My Buddy Bonemasher and the live action puppetry show Teddies; Beach House Entertainment produces formats and general entertainment programs like Record Rides and Cesar's Recruit; Beach House Labs who experts in digital and branded content; and Beach House Academy, which offers outreach programs and skills training to established and aspiring producers throughout Asia. BHP launched its foray into scripted production in 2019, acquiring the rights to iconic Asian properties such as the 1970s action heroine Cleopatra Wong and Mr. Midnight, a best-selling kids horror fiction book series.

For investor enquiries, please contact:
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
Ms. Maggie Zhou
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Tel.: +852 2850 7266 / +86 591 8390 2825
Email: maggie@nd.com.cn
Website: ir.netdragon.com


Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

NetDragon’s Multiple Online Education Products Support Continuous Online Learning amid No-School Period

HONG KONG, Feb 11, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited ("NetDragon" or "the Company", Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, acknowledges that the novel coronavirus has recently been a major concern for many. In order to support the call of China's Ministry of Education ("MoE") to "build online cloud classes to ensure students can study at home when face-to-face classes are not allowed", NetDragon announces that, as a part of upholding corporate social responsibility, the Company's online education platform One Stop Learning is introducing a new service plan to provide live-streaming of courses for over 10 million users free of charge. Meanwhile, NetDragon also offers online interactive education platform and resources to teachers and students in Hong Kong and Macau to continue virtual schooling for free.





On 1 February, the Fuzhou Bureau of Education published the "Guidelines on proper management of education for primary, secondary, and vocational schools amidst postponement of school semesters". The guidelines state that NetDragon's One Stop Learning is chosen as the official platform in support of Fuzhou's "Continuous Learning amid School Suspension" mandate. NetDragon's One Stop Learning platform will facilitate online learning of over one million teachers and students as well as several million parents, showcasing technical capabilities of NetDragon and its One Stop Learning platform in sustaining quality service.

On top of Fuzhou, One Stop Learning platform has also been aiding the Department of Education of Hubei Province. In collaboration with Hubei Province, NetDragon established the "Hubei Education Cloud Platform", which has gradually rolled out free education services, including online lectures, online teaching videos and micro lessons, to over a million teachers and students in Hubei Province. The construction and testing of the platform were completed in merely three days and live trials were conducted in three cities, including Macheng, Xiantao and Yangxin on 30 January. The platform received enthusiastic support from the Center for Educational Technology of Xiantao City. One Stop Learning platform will extend its services to support online live stream schooling for nearly 30 cities, counties and districts in Hubei Province and ensure "Continuous Learning amid School Suspension" is well-implemented.

The service of One Stop Learning platform's "Continuous Learning amid School Suspension" not only provides the latest information of the novel coronavirus and public health measures, but also supports features including teachers' class preparation and teaching, online assignments and exams, live-communication between schools and parents, academic research, and operational management that allows users to efficiently accomplish their daily work.

In addition to One Stop Learning, NetDragon is offering its integrated software for lesson preparation and delivery, 101 Education PPT, to all teachers in China free of charge, to facilitate easy online lesson preparation and delivery. Supported on multiple platforms including PC, iOS and Android, 101 Education PPT is an integrated teaching software which comes with millions of readily-available teaching materials. Besides, Kami English, an oral English teaching and learning assistant system for K-12 students introduced by NetDragon's subsidiary Chivox, is opening all online VIP-exclusive services free of charge to all students and teachers in primary and secondary schools across the country, as well as extending VIPs' subscription period, to ensure students can carry on with their English learning during this school suspension period.

In Hong Kong and Macau, classes are also tentatively suspended until March or later. As such, Edmodo, a subsidiary of NetDragon, will continue to support online interactive learning during the period. On the Edmodo platform, teachers can share reading materials and educational videos with the class, along with online discussions to encourage independent learning among students, such that they can keep up with their learning progress. On the other hand, the Company also uses Amazon Web Services ("AWS") to provide a free "cloud-based learning platform" to serve as a short-term solution for schools in Hong Kong with cross-border students who may encounter issues when commuting between Hong Kong and mainland China. This cloud can be utilised as a platform for teachers to share their lecture recordings and for students to retrieve learning materials; and coupled with the support of assignment delivery function on Edmodo, students can make use of these tools to facilitate their daily learning at home.

In the face of the novel coronavirus, we will continue our full support towards both students and teachers by rolling out more online education services. Knowledge is the key to a brighter future, and at NetDragon, we uphold this especially during such tough times.

About NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users. These include China's number one online gaming portal, 17173.com, and China's most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless, which was sold to Baidu for US$1.9 billion in 2013 as the largest Internet M&A transaction in China.

Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the "classroom of the future" to every school around the world. For more information, please visit www.netdragon.com.

For investor enquiries, please contact:
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
Ms. Maggie Zhou
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Tel.: +852 2850 7266 / +86 591 8390 2825
Email: maggie@nd.com.cn
Website: ir.netdragon.com



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