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International beach volleyball tournament brings together 83 teams from 52 countries in Bhubaneswar, India
BHUBANESWAR, India, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge 2026 concluded on 8 March 2026 at the Dutee Chand Athletic Stadium of KIIT Deemed to be University (https://kiit.ac.in/), Bhubaneswar, capping five days of international beach volleyball action featuring top teams from across the world.
The tournament, hosted by KIIT Deemed to be University, brought together 83 teams from 52 countries, with more than 300 players and officials participating in the championship. The event created a vibrant sporting atmosphere on the KIIT campus and attracted large numbers of spectators who witnessed high-level international competition.
In the Women's Gold Medal Match, the Japanese pair Shiba/Reika faced the United States duo Durish/Koenig. The American team demonstrated strong coordination and attacking play to secure a straight-set victory, winning 2–0 (21–18, 21–16) and claiming the gold medal. The Japanese pair finished with the silver medal after a competitive contest.
The much anticipated Men's Gold Medal Match featured Sepka/Dzavoronok of the Czech Republic against Vercauteren/Van Langendonck of Belgium. In a closely fought encounter, the Belgian team delivered a composed and skillful performance to win 2–0 (21–10, 22–20) and secure the championship title. The Czech team finished as runners-up with the silver medal.
The closing ceremony featured a welcome and congratulatory address by Prof. (Dr.) Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT, KISS and KIMS,(https://achyutasamanta.com/) Board Member of the Strategic Council of the Volleyball Foundation (FIVB), Chief Patron of the Volleyball Federation of India, and President of the Odisha Volleyball Association. He congratulated the winning teams and appreciated the high standard of competition displayed throughout the tournament.
"All 300 players and officials were accommodated at KIIT Campus. We made a very good arrangement for their stay inside the campus. All of them were happy with KIIT's hospitality," Dr. Samanta said.
A message from His Excellency Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, Hon'ble Governor of Odisha, was shared during the ceremony. A video message from Shri Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Hon'ble Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, was also played, congratulating the organisers and participants for the successful conduct of the prestigious international event.
Referees and officials associated with the tournament were felicitated in recognition of their contribution to the successful organisation of the championship.
The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. (Dr.) Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor of KIIT Deemed to be University, who expressed gratitude to the international teams, officials, organisers, volunteers and supporters who contributed to the success of the event.
KIIT University also achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first university in India to host an event of the FIVB Beach Pro Tour Challenge series. The tournament was formally inaugurated on March 4 by Shri Prithiviraj Harichandan, Hon'ble Minister for Law, Works and Excise, Govt. of Odisha in the presence of international delegates and sports officials.
Players and officials praised the world-class sports infrastructure, professional organisation, and hospitality provided by KIIT University. Many participants noted the excellent accommodation, food arrangements and supportive environment created for athletes and officials.
The tournament concluded with enthusiastic applause from spectators, marking a memorable celebration of international beach volleyball at KIIT University in Bhubaneswar.
International beach volleyball tournament brings together 83 teams from 52 countries in Bhubaneswar, India
BHUBANESWAR, India, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge 2026 concluded on 8 March 2026 at the Dutee Chand Athletic Stadium of KIIT Deemed to be University (https://kiit.ac.in/), Bhubaneswar, capping five days of international beach volleyball action featuring top teams from across the world.
The tournament, hosted by KIIT Deemed to be University, brought together 83 teams from 52 countries, with more than 300 players and officials participating in the championship. The event created a vibrant sporting atmosphere on the KIIT campus and attracted large numbers of spectators who witnessed high-level international competition.
In the Women's Gold Medal Match, the Japanese pair Shiba/Reika faced the United States duo Durish/Koenig. The American team demonstrated strong coordination and attacking play to secure a straight-set victory, winning 2–0 (21–18, 21–16) and claiming the gold medal. The Japanese pair finished with the silver medal after a competitive contest.
The much anticipated Men's Gold Medal Match featured Sepka/Dzavoronok of the Czech Republic against Vercauteren/Van Langendonck of Belgium. In a closely fought encounter, the Belgian team delivered a composed and skillful performance to win 2–0 (21–10, 22–20) and secure the championship title. The Czech team finished as runners-up with the silver medal.
The closing ceremony featured a welcome and congratulatory address by Prof. (Dr.) Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT, KISS and KIMS,(https://achyutasamanta.com/) Board Member of the Strategic Council of the Volleyball Foundation (FIVB), Chief Patron of the Volleyball Federation of India, and President of the Odisha Volleyball Association. He congratulated the winning teams and appreciated the high standard of competition displayed throughout the tournament.
"All 300 players and officials were accommodated at KIIT Campus. We made a very good arrangement for their stay inside the campus. All of them were happy with KIIT's hospitality," Dr. Samanta said.
A message from His Excellency Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, Hon'ble Governor of Odisha, was shared during the ceremony. A video message from Shri Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Hon'ble Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, was also played, congratulating the organisers and participants for the successful conduct of the prestigious international event.
Referees and officials associated with the tournament were felicitated in recognition of their contribution to the successful organisation of the championship.
The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. (Dr.) Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor of KIIT Deemed to be University, who expressed gratitude to the international teams, officials, organisers, volunteers and supporters who contributed to the success of the event.
KIIT University also achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first university in India to host an event of the FIVB Beach Pro Tour Challenge series. The tournament was formally inaugurated on March 4 by Shri Prithiviraj Harichandan, Hon'ble Minister for Law, Works and Excise, Govt. of Odisha in the presence of international delegates and sports officials.
Players and officials praised the world-class sports infrastructure, professional organisation, and hospitality provided by KIIT University. Many participants noted the excellent accommodation, food arrangements and supportive environment created for athletes and officials.
The tournament concluded with enthusiastic applause from spectators, marking a memorable celebration of international beach volleyball at KIIT University in Bhubaneswar.
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USA and Belgium Win Gold as FIVB Beach Pro Tour Challenge 2026 Concludes at KIIT University
- Led by AI Pioneer Yann LeCun, AMI Brings Together Top Talent from Meta and Google to Build Next-Generation "World Models"
- Advancing "Practical Intelligence" That Operates in Real-World Industrial Environments, Accelerating Transformation Across Manufacturing and Robotics
- SBVA to Serve as Strategic Bridge Between Global AI Leadership and Asia's Industrial Ecosystem
SEOUL, South Korea, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SBVA (CEO: JP Lee) announced today that it has committed a total of €30 million in the seed round of AMI (Advanced Machine Intelligence), a global frontier AI lab founded by Professor Yann LeCun, one of the world's foremost pioneers in artificial intelligence.
The round includes participation from leading global institutional investors such as Greycroft Partners, Cathay Innovation, and Hiro Capital, as well as NVIDIA. In addition, prominent figures in the global technology industry, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, have also contributed capital to the round.
SBVA's investment was made through its existing 2023 Alpha Korea Fund and Alpha Intelligence Fund, alongside its newly established Alpha AI Architecture Fund. Notably, the new fund includes prominent domestic and global corporations and institutions, including Coupang and Doosan, as limited partners (LPs), establishing a collaborative foundation to accelerate the adoption of next-generation AI architectures.
Yann LeCun, who leads AMI, was the founding director of Meta's Facebook AI Research (FAIR) and a recipient of some of the world's most prestigious honors in science and engineering, including the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and the ACM Turing Award. Widely recognized as a foundational figure in modern deep learning, LeCun is joined at AMI by leading researchers and engineers from Meta, Google DeepMind, and other globally renowned technology organizations. Together, they are building a global frontier AI research lab.
AMI is developing a next-generation World Model architecture centered on self-supervised learning and Joint Embedding Predictive Architectures (JEPA). Its goal is to enable AI systems to understand and reason about the world more like humans, realizing what the team describes as "practical intelligence" capable of operating in real-world environments.
SBVA will serve as a strategic partner connecting AMI with Asia's industrial ecosystem. Through proof-of-concept (PoC) initiatives with major corporations, SBVA aims to support real-world industrial innovation. At the same time, it plans to foster technological collaboration across its portfolio companies in robotics, manufacturing, and AI, enabling Korean startups to adopt next-generation World Model architectures early and expand jointly into global markets.
"We are grateful for SBVA's support and for its commitment to long-term scientific work," said an AMI official. "It reflects our global vision and ambition and underscores our commitment to building deep partnerships in Korea and across Asia."
"AMI is a leading pioneer of 'world model' AI designed to understand the physical world," said JP Lee, CEO of SBVA. "As the AI paradigm shifts toward physical AI, we believe this investment represents a pivotal moment to strategically connect the industrial ecosystems of Korea and Asia with next-generation AI technologies."
SEOUL, South Korea, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SBVA (CEO: JP Lee) announced today that it has committed a total of €30 million in the seed round of AMI (Advanced Machine Intelligence), a global frontier AI lab founded by Professor Yann LeCun, one of the world's foremost pioneers in artificial intelligence.
The round includes participation from leading global institutional investors such as Greycroft Partners, Cathay Innovation, and Hiro Capital, as well as NVIDIA. In addition, prominent figures in the global technology industry, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, have also contributed capital to the round.
SBVA's investment was made through its existing 2023 Alpha Korea Fund and Alpha Intelligence Fund, alongside its newly established Alpha AI Architecture Fund. Notably, the new fund includes prominent domestic and global corporations and institutions, including Coupang and Doosan, as limited partners (LPs), establishing a collaborative foundation to accelerate the adoption of next-generation AI architectures.
Yann LeCun, who leads AMI, was the founding director of Meta's Facebook AI Research (FAIR) and a recipient of some of the world's most prestigious honors in science and engineering, including the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and the ACM Turing Award. Widely recognized as a foundational figure in modern deep learning, LeCun is joined at AMI by leading researchers and engineers from Meta, Google DeepMind, and other globally renowned technology organizations. Together, they are building a global frontier AI research lab.
AMI is developing a next-generation World Model architecture centered on self-supervised learning and Joint Embedding Predictive Architectures (JEPA). Its goal is to enable AI systems to understand and reason about the world more like humans, realizing what the team describes as "practical intelligence" capable of operating in real-world environments.
SBVA will serve as a strategic partner connecting AMI with Asia's industrial ecosystem. Through proof-of-concept (PoC) initiatives with major corporations, SBVA aims to support real-world industrial innovation. At the same time, it plans to foster technological collaboration across its portfolio companies in robotics, manufacturing, and AI, enabling Korean startups to adopt next-generation World Model architectures early and expand jointly into global markets.
"We are grateful for SBVA's support and for its commitment to long-term scientific work," said an AMI official. "It reflects our global vision and ambition and underscores our commitment to building deep partnerships in Korea and across Asia."
"AMI is a leading pioneer of 'world model' AI designed to understand the physical world," said JP Lee, CEO of SBVA. "As the AI paradigm shifts toward physical AI, we believe this investment represents a pivotal moment to strategically connect the industrial ecosystems of Korea and Asia with next-generation AI technologies."
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
SBVA Invests €30 Million in Yann LeCun-Founded AMI to Pioneer the Era of World Models
