SINGAPORE, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- YYForce Inc. (NASDAQ:YFOR), Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Singapore on Stevens today announced a partnership to introduce service robots across the hotels’ 772-room precinct and advance AI and humanoid robotics development. The collaboration will combine a confirmed operational rollout with research informed by hotel workflows, aiming to improve guest service and develop future hospitality capabilities.

YYForce and Novotel/Mercure representatives at the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony

YYForce and Novotel/Mercure representatives at the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony.

The collaboration creates a real-world operating environment spanning 772 guestrooms, restaurants and event spaces. The hotels will contribute hospitality operating expertise and an environment in which the technology can be evaluated, while YYForce will provide robotics capabilities and technical support as it develops an integrated human, AI and robotics workforce model. The operating objective is to improve service consistency while reducing repetitive delivery, transport and cleaning work so hotel Heartists can devote more time to guest-facing service.

An initial pre-deployment comparison projects approximately 10% lower monthly operating costs across selected housekeeping, concierge and food and beverage operations, including the robot costs reflected in the model. Actual costs, productivity and guest-service outcomes will be evaluated after rollout.

"In a hotel, every journey to deliver an item and every repetitive task takes time. We want to use robotics thoughtfully, so our teams can focus their attention where it matters most to the guest," said Piotr Kupiec, General Manager of Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Singapore on Stevens.

"Across two hotels, the opportunity is to rethink how work moves through the operation. Our measure of success will be whether we deliver more consistent service and make everyday work more manageable for our Heartists."

The confirmed first phase will introduce specialized service robots for guest deliveries, food and beverage logistics, scheduled cleaning and concierge support. Deployment preparations include lift integration, route mapping, network requirements and guest arrival notifications. The rollout is intended to establish an operating environment in which YYForce can evaluate robotics across hotel logistics, facilities and guest-facing services.

A separate second phase is intended to focus on YYForce’s humanoid system and future iterations. Selected housekeeping and banquet workflows will inform development of robotic hardware, software and AI systems through permitted observations and agreed operational data-use arrangements.

"Working in an operating hotel environment gives us the opportunity to move robotics development from controlled demonstrations toward real-world workflows," said Mike Fu, Chief Executive Officer of YYForce. "This collaboration connects technologies that can be deployed today with the operational learning required to develop the next generation of workforce solutions."

"Our objective is to build the technology, operational knowledge and permitted training data needed for a future in which people, AI, specialized service robots and humanoid robots work together across hospitality, facility management and other service-intensive industries. This is a practical step toward YYForce’s 2030 Vision and our commitment to Forging Forward Together."

Together, the partners aim to build practical knowledge of how people, AI and robotics can improve hospitality operations. The collaboration connects the hotels’ focus on guest service and more manageable work for Heartists with YYForce’s 2030 Vision for an integrated workforce ecosystem. The accompanying factsheets set out the deployment scope, AI research programme and longer-term strategy.

About YYForce Inc

YYForce Inc. (NASDAQ:YFOR) is a technology-enabled provider of workforce solutions and integrated facility management services. The Company is developing a workforce ecosystem combining human talent, on-demand staffing, artificial intelligence, autonomous robotics, humanoid robotics and smart facility management technologies. Through its operating businesses and technology platforms, YYForce seeks to improve workforce productivity, operational efficiency and service delivery across hospitality, commercial facilities and other service-intensive industries.

Visit www.yyforce.ai

About Novotel

Novotel Hotels, Suites & Resorts offers destination hotels designed as comforting and energizing places where guests can ‘press pause’ and take time to enjoy the moments that really matter. The brand’s wide array of hotels, suites and resorts offer a multitude of services for business and leisure guests alike, including spacious, modular rooms with natural and intuitive design; 24/7 catering with nutritious choices; dedicated meeting spaces; attentive and proactive staff; family zones for the youngest guests; multi- purpose lobbies; and accessible fitness centers. Novotel, which has over 540 locations in more than 65 countries is part of Accor, a world leading hospitality group counting over 5,500 properties throughout more than 110 countries. Novotel is also a participating brand in ALL - Accor Live Limitless – a lifestyle loyalty program providing access to a wide variety of rewards, services and experiences.

novotel.com | all.com | group.accor.com

About Mercure

Inspired by Mercury, the Roman god of travelers, Mercure hotels offer so much more than a place to find comfort and sleep – they are a portal to discovery, a springboard to exploration. Since its founding in 1973, Mercure prides itself on offering high-quality standards with a true take on locality. Through its "Discover Local" program, Mercure welcomes guests – be it in Rio, Paris, Bangkok or any other destination globally – and instantly immerses them in a locally inspired atmosphere. Everything from the decorative design to our passion for local food and beverage discoveries is rooted in the unique features of each destination. Mercure hotels are conveniently located in city centers, by the sea or in the mountains, with more than 960 hotels in 65+ countries. Mercure is part of Accor, a world leading hospitality group counting over 5,500 properties throughout more than 110 countries, and a participating brand in ALL - Accor Live Limitless – a lifestyle loyalty program providing access to a wide variety of rewards, services and experiences.

Mercure Singapore on Stevens offers 518 locally inspired guestrooms near Orchard Road and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, providing a base to "Discover Local" through Singapore’s neighbourhoods, food and culture. www.mercure-singapore-stevens.com.

Media and investor enquiries

YYForce Inc.

Jason Zhi Yong Phua

Chief Financial Officer

enquiries@yyforce.ai

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yfor@thepiacentegroup.com

Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Singapore on Stevens

Elsa Kimy Yue

Director of Marketing & Communications

Elsa.yue@accor.com | +65 8338 8942

Annex A Deployment and operating context

The service robotics rollout is confirmed for Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Singapore on Stevens. Deployment has not yet begun. The applications below describe the planned scope; individual robot assignments and operating arrangements will be finalised before launch.

Application	Planned role
In-room delivery	Delivering guest amenities and in-room dining orders. Preparations include lift integration, mapped routes and guest arrival notifications.
Food and beverage logistics	Supporting restaurant and banquet logistics, including item transport and selected service and clearing tasks. Food Exchange and Winestone feature in the operational planning.
Cleaning	Scheduled cleaning of selected public areas, lobbies and guest corridors, with restaurant cleaning also included in operational planning.
Concierge support	Supporting guest directions and basic enquiries. Check-in assistance remains subject to separate assessment and approval.

Deployment preparation

Preparations will address robot route mapping, lift configuration, network requirements and guest notifications. Tasks and operating areas will be matched to the robots’ capabilities and the hotels’ service requirements. Technical readiness will determine the implementation sequence.

Technology and support

YYForce will provide hardware, software updates, maintenance and technical personnel under the MOU. The scope of support and commercial arrangements will follow the parties’ final agreements.

Why operational capacity matters

Singapore’s hotel sector recorded average occupancy of 81.9% in 2025, up from 81.4% in 2024, while international visitor arrivals reached 16.9 million, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. These sector-wide figures provide context for the partnership’s focus on service capacity and productivity.

Source: Singapore Tourism Board, 3 February 2026, "Record Singapore tourism receipts from January to September 2025".

Operating objectives

The initial comparison projects approximately 10% lower monthly costs for selected operations with robotics support, including the robot costs listed in the model. This estimate applies to the operations covered by the comparison. A separate planning assumption estimates a potential 5% reduction in rooms-department overtime costs. The estimates use different bases and do not represent a combined saving. Both are subject to the model’s cost scope, operating coverage and service assumptions; actual results will be assessed after deployment. Proposed performance measures include delivery turnaround, tasks completed per labour hour, reliability, colleague workload and guest feedback.

Annex B AI and humanoid robotics development

Research into future hotel applications

The collaboration envisages a second phase focused on training and developing YYForce’s humanoid robotic system and future iterations. The intended research uses hospitality workflows to help the company understand the physical tasks and service requirements that future humanoid systems would need to handle.

How hospitality workflows inform AI development

The programme is intended to connect observation of selected hospitality tasks with the development of robotic hardware, software and AI systems. YYForce’s humanoid units are expected to train alongside hotel personnel in agreed settings, helping researchers understand how people move, handle tasks and adapt to different service environments.

Housekeeping research.

Selected room-attendant workflows would be observed to map movements, physical environments and spatial requirements. This work is intended to help YYForce understand complex housekeeping tasks and translate them into future automated room-cleaning capabilities.

Banquet and guest-service research.

Selected banquet workflows would help researchers understand movement requirements, service protocols and adaptability to event settings. These observations are intended to support future banquet and guest-service applications.

YYForce intends to use permitted observations and agreed operational data to refine robotic hardware, software and AI systems. The research concerns future capabilities; it does not establish that humanoid systems are ready to clean occupied guestrooms or operate banquets independently.

An operating environment for technology development

Hotels bring together housekeeping, logistics, food and beverage, facility management and guest services. The collaboration is designed to move YYForce’s robotics strategy beyond demonstrations and allow the company to evaluate how specialised service robots and future humanoid systems can work alongside people across these functions. YYForce expects the insights to contribute to applications that could be adapted to other service-intensive environments.

Research data and intellectual property

The parties’ agreed contractual arrangements will govern research activities, permitted data use and ownership of research outputs. YYForce’s objective is to develop proprietary robotics know-how and operational datasets from permitted research, while the hotels retain rights to their operational protocols, confidential business information and brand assets. Any use of guest or employee personal data would require separate review and appropriate safeguards.

Additional YYForce commentary

"We can deploy specialized robots for tasks that can already be automated while simultaneously training humanoid systems to understand more complex hospitality activities such as housekeeping and banquet operations."

Mike Fu, Chief Executive Officer, YYForce Inc.

Annex C YYForce 2030 Vision and corporate statements

YYForce 2030 Vision

The collaboration aligns with YYForce’s 2030 Vision to develop an integrated future workforce ecosystem combining:

• Human workforce solutions and on-demand staffing

• Artificial intelligence

• Autonomous service robotics

• Humanoid robotics

• Smart facility management technologies

• Data-driven workforce and operational management systems

The Company’s long-term objective is for automation to handle selected repetitive, logistics-intensive and physically demanding activities, while people focus on service, decision-making and customer engagement. YYForce expects insights from hospitality operations to support applications that may be adapted to other service-intensive environments.

The Company believes hospitality offers an important environment in which this human-and-machine workforce model can be developed and evaluated. The initiative is intended to build operational knowledge and robotics capabilities that may support future commercial applications across service industries.

"This collaboration represents another step toward YYForce’s 2030 Vision and our commitment to Forging Forward Together."

Mike Fu, Chief Executive Officer, YYForce Inc.

Forward looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company bases these forward-looking statements on its expectations and projections about future events, which the Company derives from the information currently available to it. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "may," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "contemplates," "estimates," "believes," "plans," "projected," "predicts," "potential," or "hopes" or the negative of these or similar terms. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about the Company and a number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, the Company's goals and strategies; the Company's future business development, financial condition and results of operations, including the introduction of new products and services, expected changes in the Company's revenues, costs and expenditures, anticipated customer growth, and demand for and market acceptance of the Company's products and services; and industry, market and regulatory conditions, including competition, government policies and regulations affecting the Company's industry, and other factors that may affect the Company's financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. For a more detailed discussion of risk factors, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's most recent annual report on Form 20-F, as amended.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/376335e5-7ac5-4266-83c2-a881bc3c5fcc