NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today EcoPlum®, a sustainable promotional products company in New York City, announced its national recertification for the sixth consecutive year by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBEC) Metro New York, a regional partner organization under the WBENC umbrella, conducted the review.

“The EcoPlum Sustainable Swag® business has benefited greatly from opportunities afforded us by our WBENC certification this past six years, including access to new clients and to so many fabulous women experts in their respective fields supporting each other,” said Gia Machlin, Founder and CEO EcoPlum.

The recertification process conducted by WBEC includes a rigorous annual review with validation of financial documents and business operations, including a periodic site review with EcoPlum this week. This prestigious national standard of certification confirms that the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of majority women-owned businesses in the U.S. The WBENC certification is one of the most widely recognized and respected credentials in the nation, accepted by hundreds of corporations and many federal, state, and local government agencies. Founded in 1997 to develop a women-owned standard accreditation, the nonprofit organization is the nation’s leading advocate for women-owned businesses as suppliers to America’s companies. Throughout the year, WBENC provides business development opportunities for member corporations, government agencies and thousands of certified women-owned businesses at events and other forums. WBENC is also an approved third-party certifier for the United States SBA (Small Business Administration) WOSB (Women-Owned Small Business) Federal Contracting Program.

WBEC Metro NY administers WBENC certification to an active community of over 1,700 certified women-owned businesses in New York, Northern and Central New Jersey, and Southern Connecticut. It is one of 14 WBENC Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) in the country and its primary mission is to further the success of its local members and build on the partnerships with Fortune 1000 corporations and other WBEs (Women’s Business Enterprises). As an advocate for certified WBEs, WBEC offers resources, information, educational programs, and opportunities for networking and collaboration.

EcoPlum is a nationally Certified B Corporation, has an EcoVadis Bronze Sustainability Rating, and is a Green America Gold Business. The socially responsible business sells unique, innovative, high-quality, best-in-class promotional merchandise that combines both style and function. It’s Shop by Purpose using environmental criteria or event type is located here.

About EcoPlum
EcoPlum is a nationally certified B Corporation that provides branded marketing solutions with its Sustainable Swag® line of promotional products. We curate best-in-class, eco-friendly gift items and customize them for clients with their logos, taglines, or messages. EcoPlum empowers companies to make responsible choices on their branded gifts – a visible symbol of their values – with a goal of reducing plastic and harmful waste in our landfills and oceans. The company upholds rigorous and transparent standards for ecological and social sustainability. Our product sourcing criteria include USDA organic, fair trade, biodegradable, renewable, recycled, reusable, Made-in-the-USA, handcrafted or artisan, and third-party eco-labels. We also seek out suppliers that are certified B Corporations (B Corps), women/minority-owned, socially conscious, and Fair Labor Association (FLA) members. 

Sustainable Swag® solutions at EcoPlum.com, https://ecoplum.com. For more information: info(at)ecoplum(dot)com, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EcoPlum, LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecoplum, EcoPlum Biz Blog, Twitter via @ecoplum, and Instagram via @ecoplum.

Contact: 

Marcia Robbins
ecoplum.com
1-888-730-9990 Ext. 3
marcia@ecoplum.com

Gia Machlin
ecoplum.com
1-888-730-9990 Ext. 1
gia@ecoplum.com

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ecoplum-recertified-for-sixth-year-by-nationally-recognized-wbenc-302675366.html

SOURCE EcoPlum

NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today EcoPlum®, a sustainable promotional products company in New York City, announced its national recertification for the sixth consecutive year by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBEC) Metro New York, a regional partner organization under the WBENC umbrella, conducted the review.

“The EcoPlum Sustainable Swag® business has benefited greatly from opportunities afforded us by our WBENC certification this past six years, including access to new clients and to so many fabulous women experts in their respective fields supporting each other,” said Gia Machlin, Founder and CEO EcoPlum.

The recertification process conducted by WBEC includes a rigorous annual review with validation of financial documents and business operations, including a periodic site review with EcoPlum this week. This prestigious national standard of certification confirms that the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of majority women-owned businesses in the U.S. The WBENC certification is one of the most widely recognized and respected credentials in the nation, accepted by hundreds of corporations and many federal, state, and local government agencies. Founded in 1997 to develop a women-owned standard accreditation, the nonprofit organization is the nation’s leading advocate for women-owned businesses as suppliers to America’s companies. Throughout the year, WBENC provides business development opportunities for member corporations, government agencies and thousands of certified women-owned businesses at events and other forums. WBENC is also an approved third-party certifier for the United States SBA (Small Business Administration) WOSB (Women-Owned Small Business) Federal Contracting Program.

WBEC Metro NY administers WBENC certification to an active community of over 1,700 certified women-owned businesses in New York, Northern and Central New Jersey, and Southern Connecticut. It is one of 14 WBENC Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) in the country and its primary mission is to further the success of its local members and build on the partnerships with Fortune 1000 corporations and other WBEs (Women’s Business Enterprises). As an advocate for certified WBEs, WBEC offers resources, information, educational programs, and opportunities for networking and collaboration.

EcoPlum is a nationally Certified B Corporation, has an EcoVadis Bronze Sustainability Rating, and is a Green America Gold Business. The socially responsible business sells unique, innovative, high-quality, best-in-class promotional merchandise that combines both style and function. It’s Shop by Purpose using environmental criteria or event type is located here.

About EcoPlum
EcoPlum is a nationally certified B Corporation that provides branded marketing solutions with its Sustainable Swag® line of promotional products. We curate best-in-class, eco-friendly gift items and customize them for clients with their logos, taglines, or messages. EcoPlum empowers companies to make responsible choices on their branded gifts – a visible symbol of their values – with a goal of reducing plastic and harmful waste in our landfills and oceans. The company upholds rigorous and transparent standards for ecological and social sustainability. Our product sourcing criteria include USDA organic, fair trade, biodegradable, renewable, recycled, reusable, Made-in-the-USA, handcrafted or artisan, and third-party eco-labels. We also seek out suppliers that are certified B Corporations (B Corps), women/minority-owned, socially conscious, and Fair Labor Association (FLA) members. 

Sustainable Swag® solutions at EcoPlum.com, https://ecoplum.com. For more information: info(at)ecoplum(dot)com, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EcoPlum, LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecoplum, EcoPlum Biz Blog, Twitter via @ecoplum, and Instagram via @ecoplum.

Contact: 

Marcia Robbins
ecoplum.com
1-888-730-9990 Ext. 3
marcia@ecoplum.com

Gia Machlin
ecoplum.com
1-888-730-9990 Ext. 1
gia@ecoplum.com

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ecoplum-recertified-for-sixth-year-by-nationally-recognized-wbenc-302675366.html

SOURCE EcoPlum

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The California Lawyers Association (CLA), consistent with its mission to promote fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law, expresses serious concern regarding federal law enforcement actions that raise constitutional and other legal questions.

Recent federal immigration enforcement operations in locations including Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Maine have raised questions about adherence to constitutional principles and the rule of law. Reports of warrantless home entries, detention practices without adequate judicial oversight, restrictions on access to legal counsel, and the use of force against individuals have prompted concern across the legal community about fundamental protections guaranteed to all persons under the United States Constitution.

CLA affirms that constitutional protections apply to all persons and are not negotiable in the pursuit of any policy objective. The Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless entries into private homes and requires probable cause for arrests and detention. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to legal counsel. The First Amendment protects the right to peacefully protest and to record law enforcement activity in public spaces. These constitutional safeguards form the bedrock of our democracy and must be upheld by all law enforcement agencies, regardless of their mission or jurisdiction.

In California, pursuant to California Rule of Court 9.7, as amended effective October 1, 2025, every attorney must annually reaffirm their oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California. This requirement underscores that our obligation to uphold constitutional principles is not merely aspirational; it is a recurring professional commitment that California attorneys renew each year. When government actions raise serious questions about constitutional compliance, attorneys have a heightened responsibility to ensure that the rule of law prevails.

CLA stands in solidarity with legal organizations nationwide in affirming that all law enforcement activity must be conducted within lawful authority, with transparency, accountability, and full respect for constitutional protections, including due process and equal justice under the law.

CLA calls on courts and oversight institutions to ensure independent review of actions that implicate civil liberties and due process. As lawyers and officers of the court, we have a duty to speak out when the rule of law is threatened and to affirm that constitutional limits on government power are essential to liberty, safety, justice, and the functioning of our democracy. CLA reaffirms the role of lawyers and legal institutions in maintaining public confidence in the justice system and the rule of law.

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) is a member-driven, mission-focused organization dedicated to the professional advancement of attorneys practicing in the state of California.

Established in 2018, CLA is a nonprofit, voluntary bar association serving thousands of licensed attorneys throughout California. We are the premier statewide voice for the legal community, advocating on behalf of our members before the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Executive Branch, and the State Bar of California, which is the licensing and disciplinary regulator of our industry.

Contact: Alicia Pilmore, Marketing and Communications Department Head
communications@calawyers.org

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/california-lawyers-association-statement-on-upholding-constitutional-principles-and-rule-of-law-in-federal-immigration-enforcement-302675337.html

SOURCE California Lawyers Association

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The California Lawyers Association (CLA), consistent with its mission to promote fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law, expresses serious concern regarding federal law enforcement actions that raise constitutional and other legal questions.

Recent federal immigration enforcement operations in locations including Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Maine have raised questions about adherence to constitutional principles and the rule of law. Reports of warrantless home entries, detention practices without adequate judicial oversight, restrictions on access to legal counsel, and the use of force against individuals have prompted concern across the legal community about fundamental protections guaranteed to all persons under the United States Constitution.

CLA affirms that constitutional protections apply to all persons and are not negotiable in the pursuit of any policy objective. The Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless entries into private homes and requires probable cause for arrests and detention. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to legal counsel. The First Amendment protects the right to peacefully protest and to record law enforcement activity in public spaces. These constitutional safeguards form the bedrock of our democracy and must be upheld by all law enforcement agencies, regardless of their mission or jurisdiction.

In California, pursuant to California Rule of Court 9.7, as amended effective October 1, 2025, every attorney must annually reaffirm their oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California. This requirement underscores that our obligation to uphold constitutional principles is not merely aspirational; it is a recurring professional commitment that California attorneys renew each year. When government actions raise serious questions about constitutional compliance, attorneys have a heightened responsibility to ensure that the rule of law prevails.

CLA stands in solidarity with legal organizations nationwide in affirming that all law enforcement activity must be conducted within lawful authority, with transparency, accountability, and full respect for constitutional protections, including due process and equal justice under the law.

CLA calls on courts and oversight institutions to ensure independent review of actions that implicate civil liberties and due process. As lawyers and officers of the court, we have a duty to speak out when the rule of law is threatened and to affirm that constitutional limits on government power are essential to liberty, safety, justice, and the functioning of our democracy. CLA reaffirms the role of lawyers and legal institutions in maintaining public confidence in the justice system and the rule of law.

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) is a member-driven, mission-focused organization dedicated to the professional advancement of attorneys practicing in the state of California.

Established in 2018, CLA is a nonprofit, voluntary bar association serving thousands of licensed attorneys throughout California. We are the premier statewide voice for the legal community, advocating on behalf of our members before the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Executive Branch, and the State Bar of California, which is the licensing and disciplinary regulator of our industry.

Contact: Alicia Pilmore, Marketing and Communications Department Head
communications@calawyers.org

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/california-lawyers-association-statement-on-upholding-constitutional-principles-and-rule-of-law-in-federal-immigration-enforcement-302675337.html

SOURCE California Lawyers Association

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zilliz, the company behind the leading open-source vector database Milvus, today announced the open-source release of its Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model, an industry-first AI model designed to dramatically reduce token usage and improve answer quality in production RAG-powered AI applications.

This highlighting model introduces sentence-level relevance filtering, enabling AI developers to remove low-signal context before sending prompts to large language models. This approach directly addresses rising inference costs and accuracy issues caused by oversized context windows in enterprise RAG and RAG-powered AI deployments.

“As RAG systems move into production, teams are running into very real cost and quality limits,” said James Luan, VP of Engineering at Zilliz. “This model gives developers a practical way to reduce prompt size and improve answer accuracy without reworking their existing pipelines.”

Traditional Highlight VS Semantic Highlight

Key Innovations and Technical Breakthroughs

  • Bilingual relevance by design: Optimized for both English and Chinese, the model addresses cross-lingual relevance challenges common in global RAG deployments. It is built on the MiniCPM-2B architecture, enabling low-latency, production-ready performance.
  • Sentence-level context filtering: Rather than scoring entire document chunks, the model evaluates relevance at the sentence level and retains only content that directly supports a user query before sending it to the LLM.
  • Lower token usage, higher answer quality: Zilliz reports that sentence-level filtering significantly compresses prompt size while improving downstream response quality, helping teams reduce inference costs and improve generation speed in production environments.

Availability

The Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model is available today as an open-source release. To learn more about the training methodology and performance benchmarks, visit the Zilliz Technical Blog.

Download: : zilliz/semantic-highlight-bilingual-v1

About Zilliz

Zilliz is the company behind Milvus, the world’s most widely adopted open-source vector database. Zilliz Cloud brings that performance to production with a fully managed, cloud-native platform built for scalable, low-latency vector search and hybrid retrieval. It supports billion-scale workloads with sub-10ms latency, auto-scaling, and optimized indexes for GenAI use cases like semantic search and RAG.

Zilliz is built to make AI not just possible—but practical. With a focus on performance and cost-efficiency, it helps engineering teams move from prototype to production without overprovisioning or complex infrastructure. Over 10,000 organizations worldwide rely on Zilliz to build intelligent applications at scale.

Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Zilliz is backed by leading investors, including Aramco’s Prosperity 7 Ventures, Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Hillhouse Capital, 5Y Capital, Yunqi Partners, Trustbridge Partners, and others. Learn more at  Zilliz.com.

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zilliz-open-sources-industry-first-bilingual-semantic-highlighting-model-to-slash-rag-token-costs-and-boost-accuracy-302675291.html

SOURCE Zilliz

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zilliz, the company behind the leading open-source vector database Milvus, today announced the open-source release of its Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model, an industry-first AI model designed to dramatically reduce token usage and improve answer quality in production RAG-powered AI applications.

This highlighting model introduces sentence-level relevance filtering, enabling AI developers to remove low-signal context before sending prompts to large language models. This approach directly addresses rising inference costs and accuracy issues caused by oversized context windows in enterprise RAG and RAG-powered AI deployments.

“As RAG systems move into production, teams are running into very real cost and quality limits,” said James Luan, VP of Engineering at Zilliz. “This model gives developers a practical way to reduce prompt size and improve answer accuracy without reworking their existing pipelines.”

Traditional Highlight VS Semantic Highlight

Key Innovations and Technical Breakthroughs

  • Bilingual relevance by design: Optimized for both English and Chinese, the model addresses cross-lingual relevance challenges common in global RAG deployments. It is built on the MiniCPM-2B architecture, enabling low-latency, production-ready performance.
  • Sentence-level context filtering: Rather than scoring entire document chunks, the model evaluates relevance at the sentence level and retains only content that directly supports a user query before sending it to the LLM.
  • Lower token usage, higher answer quality: Zilliz reports that sentence-level filtering significantly compresses prompt size while improving downstream response quality, helping teams reduce inference costs and improve generation speed in production environments.

Availability

The Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model is available today as an open-source release. To learn more about the training methodology and performance benchmarks, visit the Zilliz Technical Blog.

Download: : zilliz/semantic-highlight-bilingual-v1

About Zilliz

Zilliz is the company behind Milvus, the world’s most widely adopted open-source vector database. Zilliz Cloud brings that performance to production with a fully managed, cloud-native platform built for scalable, low-latency vector search and hybrid retrieval. It supports billion-scale workloads with sub-10ms latency, auto-scaling, and optimized indexes for GenAI use cases like semantic search and RAG.

Zilliz is built to make AI not just possible—but practical. With a focus on performance and cost-efficiency, it helps engineering teams move from prototype to production without overprovisioning or complex infrastructure. Over 10,000 organizations worldwide rely on Zilliz to build intelligent applications at scale.

Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Zilliz is backed by leading investors, including Aramco’s Prosperity 7 Ventures, Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Hillhouse Capital, 5Y Capital, Yunqi Partners, Trustbridge Partners, and others. Learn more at  Zilliz.com.

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zilliz-open-sources-industry-first-bilingual-semantic-highlighting-model-to-slash-rag-token-costs-and-boost-accuracy-302675291.html

SOURCE Zilliz

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zilliz, the company behind the leading open-source vector database Milvus, today announced the open-source release of its Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model, an industry-first AI model designed to dramatically reduce token usage and improve answer quality in production RAG-powered AI applications.

This highlighting model introduces sentence-level relevance filtering, enabling AI developers to remove low-signal context before sending prompts to large language models. This approach directly addresses rising inference costs and accuracy issues caused by oversized context windows in enterprise RAG and RAG-powered AI deployments.

“As RAG systems move into production, teams are running into very real cost and quality limits,” said James Luan, VP of Engineering at Zilliz. “This model gives developers a practical way to reduce prompt size and improve answer accuracy without reworking their existing pipelines.”

Traditional Highlight VS Semantic Highlight

Key Innovations and Technical Breakthroughs

  • Bilingual relevance by design: Optimized for both English and Chinese, the model addresses cross-lingual relevance challenges common in global RAG deployments. It is built on the MiniCPM-2B architecture, enabling low-latency, production-ready performance.
  • Sentence-level context filtering: Rather than scoring entire document chunks, the model evaluates relevance at the sentence level and retains only content that directly supports a user query before sending it to the LLM.
  • Lower token usage, higher answer quality: Zilliz reports that sentence-level filtering significantly compresses prompt size while improving downstream response quality, helping teams reduce inference costs and improve generation speed in production environments.

Availability

The Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model is available today as an open-source release. To learn more about the training methodology and performance benchmarks, visit the Zilliz Technical Blog.

Download: : zilliz/semantic-highlight-bilingual-v1

About Zilliz

Zilliz is the company behind Milvus, the world’s most widely adopted open-source vector database. Zilliz Cloud brings that performance to production with a fully managed, cloud-native platform built for scalable, low-latency vector search and hybrid retrieval. It supports billion-scale workloads with sub-10ms latency, auto-scaling, and optimized indexes for GenAI use cases like semantic search and RAG.

Zilliz is built to make AI not just possible—but practical. With a focus on performance and cost-efficiency, it helps engineering teams move from prototype to production without overprovisioning or complex infrastructure. Over 10,000 organizations worldwide rely on Zilliz to build intelligent applications at scale.

Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Zilliz is backed by leading investors, including Aramco’s Prosperity 7 Ventures, Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Hillhouse Capital, 5Y Capital, Yunqi Partners, Trustbridge Partners, and others. Learn more at  Zilliz.com.

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zilliz-open-sources-industry-first-bilingual-semantic-highlighting-model-to-slash-rag-token-costs-and-boost-accuracy-302675291.html

SOURCE Zilliz

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zilliz, the company behind the leading open-source vector database Milvus, today announced the open-source release of its Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model, an industry-first AI model designed to dramatically reduce token usage and improve answer quality in production RAG-powered AI applications.

This highlighting model introduces sentence-level relevance filtering, enabling AI developers to remove low-signal context before sending prompts to large language models. This approach directly addresses rising inference costs and accuracy issues caused by oversized context windows in enterprise RAG and RAG-powered AI deployments.

“As RAG systems move into production, teams are running into very real cost and quality limits,” said James Luan, VP of Engineering at Zilliz. “This model gives developers a practical way to reduce prompt size and improve answer accuracy without reworking their existing pipelines.”

Traditional Highlight VS Semantic Highlight

Key Innovations and Technical Breakthroughs

  • Bilingual relevance by design: Optimized for both English and Chinese, the model addresses cross-lingual relevance challenges common in global RAG deployments. It is built on the MiniCPM-2B architecture, enabling low-latency, production-ready performance.
  • Sentence-level context filtering: Rather than scoring entire document chunks, the model evaluates relevance at the sentence level and retains only content that directly supports a user query before sending it to the LLM.
  • Lower token usage, higher answer quality: Zilliz reports that sentence-level filtering significantly compresses prompt size while improving downstream response quality, helping teams reduce inference costs and improve generation speed in production environments.

Availability

The Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model is available today as an open-source release. To learn more about the training methodology and performance benchmarks, visit the Zilliz Technical Blog.

Download: : zilliz/semantic-highlight-bilingual-v1

About Zilliz

Zilliz is the company behind Milvus, the world’s most widely adopted open-source vector database. Zilliz Cloud brings that performance to production with a fully managed, cloud-native platform built for scalable, low-latency vector search and hybrid retrieval. It supports billion-scale workloads with sub-10ms latency, auto-scaling, and optimized indexes for GenAI use cases like semantic search and RAG.

Zilliz is built to make AI not just possible—but practical. With a focus on performance and cost-efficiency, it helps engineering teams move from prototype to production without overprovisioning or complex infrastructure. Over 10,000 organizations worldwide rely on Zilliz to build intelligent applications at scale.

Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Zilliz is backed by leading investors, including Aramco’s Prosperity 7 Ventures, Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Hillhouse Capital, 5Y Capital, Yunqi Partners, Trustbridge Partners, and others. Learn more at  Zilliz.com.

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zilliz-open-sources-industry-first-bilingual-semantic-highlighting-model-to-slash-rag-token-costs-and-boost-accuracy-302675291.html

SOURCE Zilliz

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zilliz, the company behind the leading open-source vector database Milvus, today announced the open-source release of its Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model, an industry-first AI model designed to dramatically reduce token usage and improve answer quality in production RAG-powered AI applications.

This highlighting model introduces sentence-level relevance filtering, enabling AI developers to remove low-signal context before sending prompts to large language models. This approach directly addresses rising inference costs and accuracy issues caused by oversized context windows in enterprise RAG and RAG-powered AI deployments.

“As RAG systems move into production, teams are running into very real cost and quality limits,” said James Luan, VP of Engineering at Zilliz. “This model gives developers a practical way to reduce prompt size and improve answer accuracy without reworking their existing pipelines.”

Traditional Highlight VS Semantic Highlight

Key Innovations and Technical Breakthroughs

  • Bilingual relevance by design: Optimized for both English and Chinese, the model addresses cross-lingual relevance challenges common in global RAG deployments. It is built on the MiniCPM-2B architecture, enabling low-latency, production-ready performance.
  • Sentence-level context filtering: Rather than scoring entire document chunks, the model evaluates relevance at the sentence level and retains only content that directly supports a user query before sending it to the LLM.
  • Lower token usage, higher answer quality: Zilliz reports that sentence-level filtering significantly compresses prompt size while improving downstream response quality, helping teams reduce inference costs and improve generation speed in production environments.

Availability

The Bilingual Semantic Highlighting Model is available today as an open-source release. To learn more about the training methodology and performance benchmarks, visit the Zilliz Technical Blog.

Download: : zilliz/semantic-highlight-bilingual-v1

About Zilliz

Zilliz is the company behind Milvus, the world’s most widely adopted open-source vector database. Zilliz Cloud brings that performance to production with a fully managed, cloud-native platform built for scalable, low-latency vector search and hybrid retrieval. It supports billion-scale workloads with sub-10ms latency, auto-scaling, and optimized indexes for GenAI use cases like semantic search and RAG.

Zilliz is built to make AI not just possible—but practical. With a focus on performance and cost-efficiency, it helps engineering teams move from prototype to production without overprovisioning or complex infrastructure. Over 10,000 organizations worldwide rely on Zilliz to build intelligent applications at scale.

Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Zilliz is backed by leading investors, including Aramco’s Prosperity 7 Ventures, Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Hillhouse Capital, 5Y Capital, Yunqi Partners, Trustbridge Partners, and others. Learn more at  Zilliz.com.

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zilliz-open-sources-industry-first-bilingual-semantic-highlighting-model-to-slash-rag-token-costs-and-boost-accuracy-302675291.html

SOURCE Zilliz

At Northern Trust, a career isn’t just a job, it’s a journey.

From the moment someone joins us, they’re supported with opportunities to learn, build skills, grow into new roles and shape long-term careers. Our Quarter Century Club, a tradition dating back to our founder Byron L. Smith, celebrates employees who have reached remarkable milestones on that journey.

We welcomed 288 new members in 2025 – the largest-ever class of employees to reach their 25-year anniversary, joining a community of nearly 1,600 colleagues who have built decades-long careers here.

“I’m so proud that nearly 1,600 partners have been with Northern Trust for over 25 years. That longevity and institutional knowledge is just one of many elements that makes Northern Trust an incredible place to work.” – Chairman and CEO Mike O’Grady.

Learn about some of our Quarter Century Club members below.

Steven Krause

Meet Steven Krause

After 46 years and six offices, Steven Krause, senior trust advisor on the Wealth Management team, has built a legacy of dedication and connection at Northern Trust. From Lake Bluff, Illinois to Sarasota, Florida (where he is now located), Krause’s journey is defined by his commitment to clients and colleagues.

What was your first job at Northern Trust and what do you remember about it?
I started my career at Northern Trust by being grandfathered in from The First National Bank of Lake Forest, which Northern Trust acquired. I was originally hired at the Lake Bluff office to be a lender, but in a small office of about 20 employees, I wore many hats. The close-knit environment meant everyone pitched in wherever needed.

What’s one piece of office tech or process that totally changed since you started?
Computers! Before personal computers arrived, our work was primarily done on paper ledgers. The introduction of PCs revolutionized how we worked, making everything faster and less reliant on paper.

Do you remember your first day? What surprised you the most?
I vividly remember my first day in Lake Bluff. Living on the north side of Chicago without a car, I reverse commuted on the train – no express trains, so it took over an hour each way.

It was crisp autumn day in October 1979, and I could smell burning leaves as I stepped off the train. I love that smell; it reminds me of home, which made me feel more relaxed than anxious about my first day.

I also recall being the youngest in the office (a big change from now, where I’m the oldest!). The environment was friendly and inviting.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the company or industry over the years?
One of the biggest and most meaningful changes for me has been the growth and strength of our employee-led Business Resource Councils.

Back in 1996, I was co-chair of the Diversity Council, which focused on confronting prejudice, treating everyone fairly, promoting cultural understanding and educating coworkers about minority groups. I’m proud of how Northern Trust has continued to evolve, making inclusion a core part of our culture. It all stems from our partners and how we celebrate and recognize everyone.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out at Northern Trust?
You’ve stepped into the door of the best. Bring your “A” game every day and give as much as you want Northern Trust to give back to you.

Catherine Duffy

Meet Catherine Duffy

Catherine Duffy, Ireland operations manager based in Limerick, recently celebrated her 36th year with Northern Trust. Over the decades, she’s seen the company and industry evolve in remarkable ways, from color-coded pens to digital transformation.

What was your first job at Northern Trust and what do you remember about it?
My first role at the company was on a team handling daily bank reconciliations.

Back then, we had a color-code system: blue pen for figures that matched, red for those that didn’t and green for mysterious ones we couldn’t recognize. It was a simple way to keep things in check and definitely added some color to the workday!

Thankfully the reconciliation process has come a long way – no more color-coded pens, just streamlined systems that actually make life easier.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the company or industry over the years?
For me, the biggest shift has been the digital transformation. Technology now powers nearly everything we do. It’s been incredible to watch innovation reshape how we work, communicate and create.  

Do you remember your first day? What surprised you the most?
I remember my first day so clearly. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, kind and very willing to help get me up to speed. One thing I distinctly remember was that there was a new coffee machine on the floor – everyone was gathered around trying to figure out how to use it!

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the company or industry over the years?
For me, the biggest shift has been the digital transformation. Technology now powers nearly everything we do. It’s been incredible to watch innovation reshape how we work, communicate and create.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out at Northern Trust?
Ask loads of questions, take advantage of our internal Northern Trust University courses and get yourself a mentor who you can lean on.

Bert Rebelo

Meet Bert Rebelo

Bert Rebelo, head of Asia Pacific institutional client group based in Melbourne, Australia, recently celebrated his 26th year with Northern Trust. From London to Melbourne, Bert’s journey is filled with memorable moments, global moves and a deep commitment to growth and connection.

What was your first job at the company?
I started as a business risk and compliance analyst in the London office. At the time, our team covered all of Northern Trust’s business risk and compliance efforts in London, and I was the third member to join.

What’s one piece of office tech or process that’s totally changed since you started?
I think the biggest change has been the ability to easily connect with people via Teams during COVID. I still remember the big clunky phones on everyone’s desk!

Do you remember your first day? What surprised you the most?
I came from the asset management arm of a very conservative U.K. insurance-based company. What struck me most was how approachable and friendly everyone was at Northern Trust and how the organization didn’t feel overly hierarchical. 

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the company or industry over the years?
The growth of the business, especially Northern Trust Asset Management international.

One of my first tasks after joining Northern Trust Asset Management in London was helping to establish NTGIL, which is the primary legal entity based in London.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out at Northern Trust?
Be curious. Don’t hesitate to lean into areas of interest as opportunities arise when you extend yourself.

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