Writ, a startup challenging traditional approaches to data utilization, announces $3.8M in Series Seed funding. Led by Gradient Ventures, the round reflects investor confidence in Writ's mission to redefine how companies leverage data for decision-making.

1. Founders' Background and Vision:
   - Co-Founders Adam Weinstein (CEO) and Jason McGhee (CTO) bring extensive experience from their previous venture, Cursor, acquired by DataRobot.
   - Weinstein emphasizes Writ's goal of using AI to streamline data workflows, eliminate manual tasks, and foster collaboration across teams.

2. Product Development and Partnerships:
   - Writ prioritizes core functionality development in collaboration with industry leaders and design partners.
   - The company plans to launch a beta program later this year, providing key partners with early access to the platform.

3. Investor Perspectives:
   - Gradient Ventures, Defy.vc, High Alpha, Toba Capital, and angel investors express confidence in Writ's potential to address data challenges.
   - Darian Shirazi from Gradient emphasizes Writ's role in enabling teams to make sense of disparate data and drive meaningful outcomes.

4. Addressing Data Challenges:
   - Despite declining data storage costs, many companies struggle to extract actionable insights from their data.
   - Writ aims to facilitate data sharing and discussion, empowering teams across organizations to harness data effectively.

5. Transforming Decision-Making:
   - Bob Rosin from defy.vc highlights Writ's innovative approach in transforming data into actionable insights.
   - By enabling effective collaboration and leveraging AI, Writ empowers companies to drive informed decisions and fuel growth.

Writ's successful Series Seed funding marks a significant milestone in its journey to revolutionize data-driven decision-making. With strong investor support and a clear vision, Writ is poised to reshape how companies utilize data, fostering collaboration and driving meaningful outcomes in the AI era.

The new solution will help companies build products people love and actually need by understanding and meeting their requirements 

Dovetail, the renowned customer insights hub, introduces Channels, a groundbreaking solution empowering product teams with real-time insights from extensive user feedback. Concurrently, Dovetail unveils its 'magic' features, leveraging AI to transform customer data into actionable insights, marking a significant leap in data-driven product development.

1. Introducing Channels:
   - Channels utilizes LLM and ML techniques to analyze large volumes of continuous user feedback, including support tickets, app reviews, and NPS/CSAT responses.
   - Benjamin Humphrey, CEO of Dovetail, highlights Channels' role in preemptively identifying patterns in customer feedback, enabling proactive product development prioritization.

2. Empowering Product Teams with AI Insights:
   - Dovetail's 'magic' features automatically transcribe, summarize, highlight, and search across diverse data formats, enhancing data analysis efficiency.
   - These features bridge the gap between technical expertise and customer-centricity, facilitating informed product strategy and competitive advantage.

3. User Testimonials and Industry Impact:
   - Taylor Pechacek from Atlassian praises Dovetail's role in discovery processes, emphasizing its comprehensive insights hub.
   - Karolina Kowalczyk, a UX Researcher at Appfire, highlights the benefits of magic features in streamlining research processes and uncovering deeper insights.

4. AI's Role in Data Analysis and Product Development:
   - Benjamin Humphrey underscores AI's significance in extracting value from vast customer data, emphasizing Dovetail's pioneering approach in leveraging AI for meaningful insights.

5. Insight Out 2024 Conference:
   - Dovetail's Channels will be officially unveiled at the Insight Out 2024 Conference in San Francisco, featuring speakers from Meta, Uber, Plaid, Okta, and more.
   - The event aims to explore how innovators harness insights to build transformative products and drive industry evolution.

Dovetail's launch of Channels and 'magic' features represents a paradigm shift in product discovery and data-driven decision-making. By harnessing AI-driven insights from extensive customer feedback, Dovetail empowers product teams to drive innovation and build world-changing products.

Contentful, a prominent player in the digital content management space, announces the appointment of Karthik Rau as its new Chief Executive Officer. Rau brings a wealth of experience in leadership and market creation, poised to lead Contentful into its next phase of growth and innovation.

Karthik Rau's Background and Vision:
- With over 20 years of leadership experience, Rau has previously served as the founder and CEO of SignalFx, a cloud monitoring company acquired by Splunk for $1.05 billion.
- Rau's tenure includes notable roles at VMware, where he played a pivotal role in the company's early growth and its landmark IPO in 2007.
- Expressing his vision for Contentful, Rau emphasizes the crucial role of content in modern digital strategies and foresees exponential growth driven by generative AI.

Contentful's Growth Trajectory and Future Outlook:
- Contentful's Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Sascha Konietzke, highlights Rau's track record in market and value creation, praising his leadership qualities and people-centric approach.
- Under Steve Sloan's leadership, Contentful has experienced significant growth, with annual recurring revenue soaring from under $40 million to nearly $200 million, and a customer base surpassing 4,000.
- The company's global team has expanded from 250 employees primarily based in Berlin to nearly 800 worldwide, reflecting Contentful's commitment to scaling and innovation.

Acknowledgment and Transition:
- Konietzke expresses gratitude to Steve Sloan for his dedicated leadership over the past four years, acknowledging his role in driving Contentful's growth and success.
- As Sloan steps down, Rau assumes the helm, poised to leverage his expertise and leadership to capitalize on the exciting opportunities ahead for Contentful.

With the appointment of Karthik Rau as CEO, Contentful looks forward to a new chapter of growth and innovation in the digital content management landscape. Rau's proven leadership and vision are expected to propel Contentful to new heights, delivering value to customers and driving forward in an evolving digital era.

SOCi Continues to Bolster Leadership Team with Decades of Enterprise Technology Experience to Drive Forward Innovation 

SOCi, a prominent player in the CoMarketing Cloud space for multi-location enterprises, announces the appointment of Paul Betlem as its new Senior Vice President of Engineering. With nearly two decades of experience in engineering leadership at industry giants like Adobe and Oracle, Betlem brings a wealth of expertise in product development, enterprise solutions, and data intelligence to SOCi's growing team.

Aiming for Engineering Excellence:
- Alo Sarv, SOCi's Chief Technology Officer, expresses enthusiasm for Betlem's appointment, citing his proven track record of driving innovation and engineering leadership.
- Betlem's role will focus on elevating SOCi's engineering capabilities, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and data intelligence, to enhance customer engagement and strategic decision-making.

Vision for SOCi's Future:
- Betlem envisions vast opportunities to integrate AI and data-driven approaches into SOCi's solutions, positioning the company as a leader in the martech industry.
- His arrival comes at a pivotal moment for SOCi as it expands its suite of solutions for multi-location enterprises, aligning with Betlem's commitment to innovation and customer intelligence.

Driving Innovation Through Experience:
- Betlem's career journey includes significant contributions to digital innovation at Adobe, where he led engineering efforts in the Flash platform organization and contributed to projects like the Digital Publishing Solution.
- At Oracle, Betlem led the Customer Data Platform team, focusing on harnessing customer data and intelligence to deliver personalized experiences, aligning with SOCi's mission to empower marketers with data-driven solutions.

With the appointment of Paul Betlem as Senior Vice President of Engineering, SOCi reinforces its commitment to innovation and customer value. Betlem's wealth of experience and expertise in product development, enterprise solutions, and data intelligence position him as a valuable asset in driving SOCi's engineering excellence and pushing the boundaries of innovation in the martech industry.

At Vision 2024, Intel goes all-in on open and more secure enterprise AI with new customers, partners and collaborations across the AI continuum.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Intel unveiled a comprehensive AI strategy for enterprises, with open, scalable systems that work across all AI segments.

• Introduced the Intel® Gaudi® 3 AI accelerator, delivering 50% on average better inference¹ and 40% on average better power efficiency² than Nvidia H100 – at a fraction of the cost.

• Intel announced Gaudi 3 availability to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) – including Dell Technologies, HPE, Lenovo and Supermicro – broadening the AI data center market offerings for enterprises.

• Announced new Intel Gaudi accelerator customers and partners, including Bharti Airtel, Bosch, CtrlS, IBM, IFF, Landing AI, Ola, NAVER, NielsenIQ, Roboflow and Seekr.

• Intel announced the intention to create an open platform for enterprise AI together with SAP, RedHat, VMware and other industry leaders to accelerate deployment of secure generative AI (GenAI) systems, enabled by retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).

• Through the Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC), Intel is leading open Ethernet networking for AI fabric. The company introduced an array of AI-optimized Ethernet solutions, including the AI NIC (network interface card) and AI connectivity chiplets.

At the Intel Vision 2024 conference, Intel introduces the Gaudi 3 accelerator, marking a significant advancement in enterprise generative AI (GenAI). Alongside a suite of new open scalable systems and strategic collaborations, Intel aims to address the challenges businesses face in scaling AI initiatives.

1. Introducing Intel Gaudi 3 for AI Training and Inference:
   - The Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerator promises enhanced performance, openness, and choice for enterprise GenAI applications.
   - With support for tens of thousands of accelerators connected via Ethernet, Gaudi 3 offers 4x more AI compute for BF16 and a 1.5x increase in memory bandwidth.
   - Gaudi 3 delivers a substantial leap in AI training and inference capabilities, enabling global enterprises to deploy GenAI at scale.

2. Addressing the GenAI Gap:
   - Intel's latest offerings aim to bridge the gap between AI pilots and production deployment, providing performant and cost-efficient solutions.
   - Enterprises require readily available solutions like the Gaudi 3 accelerator to navigate complexity, fragmentation, and compliance requirements while scaling GenAI initiatives.

3. Collaborations and Deployments:
   - Intel showcases collaborations with industry leaders like NAVER, Bosch, IBM, and others, demonstrating the adoption of Intel Gaudi accelerator solutions for innovative GenAI applications.
   - Partnerships with Google Cloud, Thales, and Cohesity leverage Intel's confidential computing capabilities, ensuring trusted execution environments for AI models and algorithms.

4. Expanded AI Roadmap and Ecosystem Approach:
   - Intel outlines updates to its next-generation products, including the Intel Xeon 6 processors and Intel Core Ultra client processors, empowering businesses with enhanced AI capabilities.
   - Through collaborations with Anyscale, RedHat, VMware, and others, Intel spearheads the development of an open platform for enterprise AI, fostering innovation and value creation.

Intel's introduction of the Gaudi 3 accelerator and its comprehensive suite of AI solutions reaffirms the company's commitment to making AI accessible, open, and secure for enterprises worldwide. By addressing key challenges and fostering collaboration within the ecosystem, Intel is poised to lead the AI revolution, unlocking unparalleled value for businesses in diverse industries.

16 new content categories covered under DoubleVerify's expanded post-bid brand safety and suitability measurement on TikTok 

DoubleVerify, a prominent software platform for digital media measurement and analytics, announces the rollout of 16 new brand safety and suitability categories for TikTok advertisers. These enhancements aim to empower advertisers to navigate the complex digital landscape on TikTok with precision and confidence, ensuring their brand promotion aligns with suitable content on the platform.

Enhanced Brand Safety Controls:
- The release includes five new content categories for the Category Exclusion control, such as Gambling & Lottery, Youth Content, Violent Video Games, and Combat Sports. This expanded selection offers advertisers enhanced measurement insights and increased protection across sensitive topics.
- Additionally, 11 vertical-based categories are introduced for the Vertical Sensitivity inventory filter. These categories, including Pets, Food, Beauty, Fashion, and others, allow advertisers to exclude vertical-related content that may be misaligned with their brand positioning.

Partnership with TikTok:
- Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, expresses excitement about expanding the partnership with TikTok to support advertisers on the platform. The new categories enable advertisers to leverage AI-powered classification for brand equity protection and align their advertising with suitable content based on specific brand needs.
- DV’s Universal Content Intelligence, an industry-leading classification engine, powers the new categories on TikTok. It employs a holistic approach by analyzing various content elements, ensuring accurate classification and broad protection at scale.

TikTok's Perspective:
- Chen-Lin Lee, Global Head of Measurement and Data Partnerships at TikTok, emphasizes the platform's commitment to building and refining brand safety and suitability solutions for advertisers. TikTok collaborates with trusted third-party measurement providers like DoubleVerify to empower advertisers with effective tools to connect with the community.

Continuous Innovation and Partnership:
- DV's continuous innovation and partnership with TikTok highlight their commitment to ensuring media quality and campaign success. The expansion of brand safety and suitability controls underscores the importance of independent, third-party verification in authenticating media quality and boosting advertiser confidence.

DoubleVerify's introduction of 16 new brand safety and suitability categories for TikTok advertisers reflects its dedication to enhancing advertiser control and ensuring brand alignment with suitable content. By leveraging AI-powered classification and robust partnership with TikTok, DV continues to support advertisers in maximizing campaign effectiveness and ROI while maintaining media quality standards.

Seedtag, a prominent contextual advertising company, announces the appointment of Kara Ullmann as Head of Political in the US. With extensive experience in digital media and a focus on the political category, Kara will lead Seedtag's efforts to provide privacy-compliant targeting solutions for political agencies and organizations.

Kara Ullmann's Background:
- Kara brings over 15 years of experience in digital media, having worked with agencies and brands across various industries and markets, including the political category.
- She has been actively involved with the American Association for Political Consultants (AAPC) and served as a judge for the prestigious Pollie Awards.

Seedtag's Strategic Focus:
- Brian Danzis, President of North America at Seedtag, emphasizes the importance of strengthening the leadership team with top industry talent. Kara's expertise in both political and digital media will be instrumental in delivering privacy-compliant targeting solutions through Seedtag's contextual AI capabilities.
- Seedtag continues to innovate within the contextual advertising space, providing new ways for political campaigns to connect with voters effectively.

Innovation in Contextual Advertising:
- Seedtag's AI platform, Liz, enables political advertisers to identify topics and keywords resonating with key audiences. This empowers them to craft compelling narratives and reach specific voters with greater relevance.
- Kara highlights the significance of Seedtag's "issue-based targeting," which bridges the gap between advertisers and politically engaged individuals without relying on cookie-based targeting. This approach is especially valuable in reaching persuadable voters during election years.

Kara Ullmann's Vision:
- Kara expresses excitement about joining Seedtag and leveraging its AI-driven contextual targeting to empower candidates and causes. She emphasizes the value of personalized engagement at scale, especially as political campaigns seek alternative targeting methods without cookies.

Kara Ullmann's appointment as Head of Political at Seedtag US marks a significant milestone in the company's efforts to innovate within the contextual advertising space. With her extensive experience and expertise, Kara is poised to drive impactful strategies that enable political agencies and organizations to engage voters effectively using Seedtag's contextual AI capabilities.

Suite of innovative media and analytics capabilities announced at ShopAble 2024 spans commerce display, social commerce, incrementality measurement, next-generation performance optimization, a Gen AI copilot to unlock data and insights within Skai Decision Pro, and more 

Skai, a leading omnichannel advertising platform, announced groundbreaking advancements at ShopAble 2024, aimed at reshaping commerce media and analytics. These innovations offer marketers powerful tools to capitalize on the evolving landscape of retail media and drive full-funnel campaigns across various channels.

Evolution of Commerce Media:
- Skai highlights the transformation of retail media beyond onsite ad placements, with a significant portion of advertisers incorporating social commerce and offsite ads into their strategies. The 2024 State of Retail Media Report by Skai and Path to Purchase Institute underscores the importance of leveraging retailers' first-party data to execute full-funnel campaigns effectively.

1. Commerce Display: Skai introduces advanced audience analysis insights and management capabilities, enabling advertisers to reach the right consumers across platforms such as Amazon Ads, Instacart Ads, Microsoft Invest, and Walmart Connect. Enhanced audience targeting and performance insights enhance campaign effectiveness.
   
2. Social Commerce: Anticipating the rise of social commerce, Skai offers comprehensive campaign management across social publishers like TikTok and Snap. Marketers can optimize campaigns with personalized creatives and gain insights into consumer behavior, streamlining the shopping experience.

3. Commerce Incrementality: Skai addresses the challenge of incrementality measurement with its new hub, allowing advertisers to configure, track, and analyze various incrementality indicators. Clients can leverage pre-configured experiments and receive actionable recommendations for optimizing campaign performance.

4. Next-Generation Commerce Optimization: Skai introduces AI-driven workflows for customizable algorithmic optimizations, enabling advertisers to align strategies with specific performance goals across channels and campaigns. This next-generation approach enhances efficiency and effectiveness in media management.

5. Executive Copilot: With Skai Decision Pro and the addition of Executive Copilot, media leaders gain a conversational AI-powered interface to interact directly with data, uncover insights, and facilitate smart decision-making. This functionality enhances coordination and insights for media activation teams.

Skai's suite of full-funnel innovations represents a significant leap forward in commerce media and analytics. By empowering marketers with advanced capabilities across display, social, incrementality measurement, optimization, and executive oversight, Skai is poised to redefine the landscape of omnichannel advertising and drive unprecedented results for brands, agencies, and retailers.