The integration focuses on combining exceptional and compliant creative designs that can be beautiful and engaging yet personalized and scalable 

Category leaders in buyer and seller engagement come together to unify and tailor experiences across the customer lifecycle

Salesloft, the provider of the first and only AI-powered Revenue Orchestration Platform, today announced the acquisition of Drift, the buyer experience and Conversational AI company. The combination of Salesloft and Drift allows companies to orchestrate a personalized, omnichannel buyer journey powered by AI, providing an optimal buying experience that drives higher quality pipeline and revenue outcomes. 

“This acquisition will fundamentally change how B2B buyers and sellers engage, but also how sales and marketing teams come together to drive pipeline efficiency and revenue outcomes,” said David Obrand, CEO of Salesloft. “We are both focused on continued innovation, and together, our customers will experience improved consistency and repeatability throughout the entire buying journey all while allowing them to focus on what only they can do – guiding buyers, forming relationships, and establishing trust.”

Research shows typical buyers are 60 to 70% of the way through their journey before they ever talk to a seller. During that time, they’ve had several digital experiences via websites, online events, and ads. Sellers currently lack the technical capabilities to understand the buyer’s needs and timing across all those experiences. Salesloft and Drift will allow sellers to engage earlier, throughout the buyer journey, and across channels with tailored messages for a personalized buying experience that increases trust, conversion rates and ultimately revenue outcomes.

The combined company will have nearly 6,000 global customers and employees based in Atlanta, Boston, Tampa, San Francisco, London, Warsaw, Capetown, South Africa and Guadalajara, Mexico.

"Drift was founded to address an emerging market need for better B2B buyer experiences. Since then, buyer expectations have continued to grow and AI has changed how we work and interact with each other,” said Scott Ernst, CEO of Drift. “Salesloft shares our vision for the future of go-to-market, and together we will accelerate our ability to transform the entire customer experience."

This announcement comes on the heels of banner years for both companies. Salesloft released its newest AI innovation, Rhythm, which translates real-time buyer signals into a single prioritized workflow, and expanded its footprint in several large enterprises, including IBM. In October, Drift announced an evolution of its buyer engagement platform and introduced three new products – Drift Engage, Site Concierge, and Bionic Chatbots – that use AI to connect with and guide buyers and deliver significant outcomes for customers. The company was also named one of G2’s Best AI Products for 2024.

Logitix, a leader in live event ticketing technology and analytics, announced it has named longtime sports industry executive Kenny Koperda as Senior Vice President of Business Development and experienced marketer Lauren Ward as Director of Marketing & Revenue Operations. The company also promoted Ryan Sember, who transitioned from a successful career in team sports to Logitix in 2022, and now assumes the title of Senior Vice President of Partnerships.

Koperda brings extensive sports industry experience to Logitix, including his most recent position as the SVP of Ticketing & Premium Seating at BSE Global, the parent company of the Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Liberty. He spent more than six years with the New York Mets as Vice President of Ticketing, Premium, and Operations, where he was responsible for the organization's ticketing vertical. Prior to his time in New York, Koperda led New Business Development efforts with the Minnesota Timberwolves and started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. In his new position at Logitix, Koperda will work closely with the live events industry to help teams, properties, and promoters optimize ticket sales and revenue.

Ward joins Logitix with over 12 years of experience in various sectors, including the food and beverage industry, sports, and nonprofits. Her recent role at Foxtail Coffee involved leading marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships across 60 locations. She also spent five years with the United States Tennis Association, overseeing annual marketing campaigns and on-site activations at the US Open.

Sember's rise to Senior Vice President of Partnerships is his second promotion at Logitix since joining the company two years ago as Senior Director of Business Development. He works closely with Logitix partners across all sectors, including sports, entertainment, and performing arts. Before joining Logitix, Sember was part of the leadership teams at the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Hawks.

"I'm proud of the culture that we've built at Logitix to attract some of the best in our industry to work with us," said Logitix Chief Revenue Officer Travis Apple. "We are coming off of a record-setting 2023, and adding talent like Kenny and Lauren and elevating Ryan's role set us up for further success in 2024."

TaskUs, Inc., a leading provider of outsourced digital services and next-generation customer experience to the world's most innovative companies, announced today that it has integrated with Zendesk, Inc. giving organizations who work with Zendesk the ability to combine TaskUs’ Generative AI customer service solutions with their existing infrastructure.

TaskGPT is a powerful suite of products developed by TaskUs and fueled by Generative AI and Large Language Models. Through the integration, clients using Zendesk can easily configure their solutions to deliver Generative AI-fueled responses to simple or process-oriented customer service questions, increasing their efficiency and customer satisfaction scores. Each response is accompanied by a confidence score, indicating its reliability empowering front-line staff with the flexibility to customize the selected response according to ongoing customer interactions, ensuring conversations flow seamlessly.

Since TaskUs announced its TaskGPT pilot with MoneyLion last June, which is now in deployment after showing meaningful improvement in average handle times for both chat and voice support, 15 global clients are piloting the solution. For clients who are using TaskGPT, TaskUs is seeing significant improvements in both productivity and client satisfaction.

“We are thrilled to offer our clients the flexibility to integrate TaskGPT with Zendesk and other CX solution providers,” said Manish Pandya, Senior Vice President of Digital at TaskUs. “Flexibility is the key to our TaskGPT solution, which can connect with our clients’ existing systems to deliver superior service quickly and efficiently.”

The global working professional Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) has chosen Xpublisher as its multichannel publishing software. The association will use the cloud-based software to digitalize and optimize its publishing workflows.

Ability to use three XML schemas simultaneously tipped the scales in favor of Xpublisher

XML is indispensable for AMPP as a machine-readable standard format since it allows the association to create standardized content for use across multiple channels and platforms. As a mark-up language, XML also lays the groundwork for efficient multichannel publishing. Using Xpublisher, AMPP is automating previously manual processes and is particularly pleased with how the software handles XML. “You don’t need to be big to do big things: Thanks to smooth XML-workflows and software automation, we can manage large volumes of workloads with minimal resources and staff," says Mandy May, Director of Content Management at AMPP.

Collaboration of Ariza, Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), Access Innovations, and Xpublisher creates an optimized workflow

Xpublisher offers both an XML-first and a word-first approach. In close consultation with Ariza Content Solutions, efficient end-to-end workflows were designed, giving AMPP complete control of their content at all times. During the highly automated transformation and publishing process, the data transformation provider DCL is responsible for the word-to-XML conversion; Access Innovations enriches the XML-files with taxonomy. The high level of automation reduces the manual effort of the user to a minimum.

Xpublisher provides all data as a single source of truth, which means legacy content can be found quickly and is well protected thanks to the software’s access rights management system.

Expert Analysis and Projections for this Year’s API Trends at the Height of the AI Hype

Sensedia, a global leader in delivering API solutions for companies adopting a more digital, connected, and open strategy, today released a 2024 trends report on the API Economy in an AI-Driven World. The ten-page report, authored by API expert and former Gartner Analyst Paolo Malinverno, Sensedia’s Head of Strategy and Innovation, covers API trends related to generative AI, platform engineering, open banking, and nonhuman API consumption. Malinverno also offers recommendations, reveals an overview of his top 5 API trends, and takes a thoughtful look back at what businesses can learn from 2023. 

“If you don’t believe the world runs on APIs already, 2024 will convince you,” said Maliverno. “The explosion in consumption of Generative AI services in itself will convince a lot of people. And there is no AI without APIs. Companies are realizing the true value of platforms for internal and external interactions and engineering APIs to securely meet their needs and those of their business partners and customers. API management is already everywhere, and APIs will only continue to be the star player and ideal building blocks in connecting our increasingly digital and open world.”

Malinverno brings a wealth of experience in guiding companies to harness the full potential of technology for business advancement. His impressive career includes 23 years at Gartner, a renowned global research and advisory firm, where he served as a senior industry analyst, shaping industry perspectives through influential reports such as Magic Quadrants and Hype Cycles.

Readers will unlock actionable insights for each trend and discover overarching recommendations for the upcoming year, including in-depth discussions on the following:

• Infusing AI capabilities into your existing and new applications
• Designing platforms for the specific needs of the ecosystem
• Dealing with financial institutions through a platform to keep up with today’s pace of business
• Finding solutions that can administer more than one API management platform
• Deciding whether or not nonhuman API consumption is acceptable

"APIs stand as the foundational pillars for modern businesses. Sensedia is thrilled to present the API Trends Report, enabling innovative companies to thrive in a more digital, connected, and open world," said Kleber Bacili, CEO of Sensedia. "In a time of unprecedented digital acceleration and openness, acquiring a comprehensive understanding of emerging trends is crucial for organizations to strategically navigate the swiftly evolving landscape this year. This report is a testament to Sensedia's mission – empowering businesses with the knowledge and tools needed to embrace and excel in the ever-changing digital era."

Rebrands from Lendsmart to ATTUNE to Reflect Expanded Product Offering

ATTUNE, formerly known as Lendsmart, today announced the successful closure of its seed funding round, raising $2,225,000. This milestone marks the company's evolution from a primarily lending-oriented organization to an all-encompassing Engagement Banking Platform, enabling financial institutions to digitize their service lines and intelligently engage with customers at key moments.

The seed round was led by Tribeca Early Stage Partners, with significant contributions from CastleCreek Launchpad, ICBA, and Mike Roffler. The new funding will accelerate ATTUNE's growth, allowing the company to expand its team across sales, marketing, and technology.

Founder & CEO of ATTUNE, AK Patel, shared his vision, "ATTUNE is poised to redefine Engagement Banking by streamlining digital interactions and personalizing customer experiences for banks and credit unions of all sizes. Our platform is not just a tool; it acts as a bridge for banks and credit unions to better connect with their customers, driving growth and efficiency in today's competitive market. We are thrilled to partner with investors who understand our vision and will support us as we enter this next phase of growth."

The platform attracts banks and credit unions through intuitive, user-friendly digital tools, enhancing operational efficiencies and increasing conversions with new revenue channels.

"We believe there's a substantial market opportunity for ATTUNE as financial institutions look to modernize their core systems and engage with their customers more effectively," said David Levy, member of the Investment Committee of Tribeca Early Stage Partners. "ATTUNE's platform enables banks to quickly and inexpensively deploy account onboarding, lending, mortgage and any other financial products workflows that are fast, simple and personalized, reducing obstacles and enhancing customer enrollment."

"AK and the ATTUNE team have achieved impressive traction. With expansion into onboarding, their robust customer engagement platform is enabling broad digital transformation at banks," said Launchpad Capital Partner Jurgen van de Vyver. "ATTUNE simplifies often overwhelming choices, with a versatile digital platform that can readily integrate new modules as fintech advances."

ATTUNE's rebranding from Lendsmart reflects its expanded product portfolio, including the launch of several new solutions to meet evolving market demands and offer enhanced support to clients. ATTUNE's suite of products includes:

• Digital Lending: Streamlining the lending process with real-time underwriting.
• Digital Onboarding: Transforming customer onboarding for accounts and credit cards.
• Upsell & Cross Sell: Personalized product and service recommendations.
• Digital Insurance: Offering automated underwriting and personalized product recommendations.
• Digital Connect: Enabling marketing teams to engage and convert customers in real time.
• Digital Support: Empowering customer service teams to increase sales opportunities and deliver exceptional experiences.

Startup veterans with deep knowledge across media, advertising and tech - Robert DeMeulemeester, Vanessa Eng, Benjamin Abbatiello, Matthew Cannizzaro and Allys Ton - join the Qortex team