Partnership showcases efforts to expand Darwinium’s Evolution Ecosystem of Partners, strengthening customer integrations

Darwinium, a leader in next-generation digital security and fraud prevention, today announces a collaboration to further enhance its customer insights by leveraging AtData’s industry-leading email address intelligence. Darwinium’s customers will now have access to AtData’s insights into the individuals behind an email address to power strategic risk decisions. When combined with Darwinium’s unique ability to deliver comprehensive visibility and orchestration across the entire customer journey, the partnership will serve as a force multiplier in fraud risk mitigation.

The move is part of Darwinium’s efforts to expand its Evolution Ecosystem of partners, which offers advanced intelligence via pre-integrated solutions to its customers. As a member of this ecosystem, AtData’s email-centric intelligence data is available through the Darwinium Marketplace and optimized through Darwinium’s open and flexible orchestration layer.

In today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape, fraudsters are using AI-powered fraud tools to accelerate new and more complex attack vectors. At the same time, email is still a key data element at the point of account creation, account management and payment transactions. By combining email address intelligence from AtData with layered native profiling of other digital and behavioral intelligence, Darwinium provides continuous risk assessment and actionable intelligence across customers’ entire web assets.

“Email has long been a key signal in establishing digital profiles and enabling confident online risk assessment,” said Jim Seymour, Darwinium’s global head of strategic alliances. “With increasingly complex AI-powered attacks, having the very best combination of intelligence in real-time is essential. By working with AtData, we can further enhance the decisions we drive with our customers."

“We are proud to collaborate with Darwinium, a company aligned with our commitment to customer service and anti-fraud efforts,” said AtData’s Chief Business Officer Phil Davis. “Darwinium's forward-thinking strategy, and relocating threat detection processes to the network edge, boosts customer agility and broadens visibility in the ongoing battle against emerging fraud. By combining AtData's email-centric intelligence, we elevate the accuracy of frictionless risk assessment, benefiting our shared customer base.”

Collective Audience, Inc. , a leading innovator of audience-based performance advertising and media, has appointed digital marketing industry veteran, Christopher Andrews, as chief operating officer.

Andrews brings to Collective Audience more than 21 years of business leadership experience, along with an exceptional talent for unlocking revenue opportunities and helping companies build world class IT and technology operations.

As a former Ogilvy Health and WPP chief technology and information officer, he also brings to Collective Audience an extensive record of achievement, including being part of the team that grew Ogilvy Health from $100 million to $700 million in revenues through technological innovation, unique client solutions, well-targeted tech stacks and efficient data management platforms.

“We welcome Chris’ know-how and deep experience in digital marketing, including the integration of technology, operational process, people and data that has driven profitable growth and positioned companies for long-term success,” stated company CEO, Peter Bordes. “His CIO and CTO experience, including managing WPP’s 320-member global team and growing its business, makes him a perfect fit for our vision and mission. We look forward to his contributions as Collective Audience builds a full stack integrated platform for audience-based performance advertising and media.”

Andrews also previously served as chief digital officer and COO of MediaJel, where he transformed its operations into a scalable digital marketing solution for regulated industries.

Commented Andrews: “I joined Collective Audience because I recognized it has a unique opportunity to disrupt the world of performance digital advertising by harnessing the collective intelligence of people, technology and audience data. Publishers and brands of all sizes will finally have a modern end-to-end solution to grow their audiences. They will be able to develop their audience data assets without wasting time and money on ineffective digital advertising or the wrong audience, or struggle with disparate siloed solutions and walled gardens. Collective Audience will provide a singular yet fully comprehensive modular platform that is built for today and tomorrow versus legacy systems.”

Andrews earlier served as the chief digital officer of Kubient, a cloud-based software platform for digital advertising, where he helped build and patent the industry’s first real-time bidding digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising solution that connects DOOH screens into the digital marketing ecosystem. This technology enables marketers and owners to increase audience reach, enhance access efficiency and maximize inventory fill rates.

Andrews also earlier served on the board of TenFour, a Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, until it was acquired by Acuative in March of 2022.

He is the founder and CEO of D&B Labs, where he has helped technology start-ups advance their go-to-market strategies and operational processes, enabling them to scale. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and MBA from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Atmosic's partnership with AONDevices will reduce product power consumption by reducing false detect wakeups, RF transmissions, and cloud time.

Atmosic Technologies, an innovator of ultra-low-power wireless IoT platforms such as the award-winning ATM33/e, today announced its strategic partnership with AONDevices, a pioneer in low-power application-specific edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) processors including the AON1120. The collaboration brings together low-power AI capabilities and ultra-low-power wireless technology, for innovative AIoT and wearable applications.

Atmosic's ATM Series extreme low power wireless SoC includes integrated power management and energy harvesting capabilities, the RF radios to support standards-based protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy and 802.15.4 protocols such as Thread and Matter, memory, and the application processor along with a suite of peripherals including GPIO, ADCs, serial interfaces, keyboard scan matrices and more. AONDevices brings a suite of AI technology and their AON series of AI processors that are incredibly accurate even in the presence of high background noise or reverb conditions, offering reliable voice command recognition, sound and contextual awareness, and multi-sensor fusion. When used in voice control or situations requiring context detection, their technology supports speaker independence in always-on and multi-word detection scenarios with adaptive voice activity detection.

Atmosic has set a golden standard in IoT sustainability by reducing the power consumption of RF radios, and by leveraging harvested energy to power sensors, tags, remotes, and more. Atmosic's solution enables developers to create greener products by reducing reliance on batteries that can leach toxic chemicals into landfills and water tables when incorrectly disposed of. The partnership with AONDevices brings further power reductions by cutting energy used when sensors 'false detect'.

"When a sensor incorrectly triggers, additional power is consumed by the device itself and by the supporting cloud services as they process the invalid information," said Mouna Elkhatib, CEO of AONDevices. "Using AI to verify that a trigger was indeed valid before the downstream energy consuming events occur, helps reduce radio transmissions & re-attempts, and the processing/storage of data by cloud services."

Mike Fortin, SVP of Sales from Atmosic added, "In security applications, for example, if a sensor can accurately diagnose the sound of breaking glass, as opposed to sounds played on a television, then radios can remain in their sleep state extending the energy reserves in a sensor for when it is needed."

AI models can be created in only a matter of hours and both Atmosic and AONDevices offer comprehensive development kits that accelerate time-to-market for customers looking to create products for applications including headsets, wearables, game controllers, toys, or in vehicles, smart home appliances, smart buildings, or industrial applications.

Yottaa, Inc., the leading cloud platform for accelerating and securing digital commerce experiences, today announced that it has partnered with sports retailer PUMA, a global leader in designing, developing, selling, and marketing footwear, apparel, and accessories. This collaboration aims to enhance PUMA's eCommerce operations globally, ensuring top-tier site performance aligned with the brand's legacy of speed and excellence.

PUMA, synonymous with high-performance products for athletes worldwide, faced challenges managing its numerous eCommerce sites. The primary hurdle was the absence of a centralized site performance analytics portal, hindering its global teams from gaining comprehensive insights into site speed metrics, particularly Core Web Vitals scores.

To deliver an online customer experience as rich as its brand, PUMA has integrated numerous third-party technologies over the years. While these technologies enhanced customer engagement, they also slowed page load times. Seeking a unified solution offering both deep site performance visibility and optimizations for third-party technologies to improve site speed, PUMA turned to Yottaa.

After witnessing Yottaa's success with brands like YETI, PUMA selected Yottaa Standard Edition—a robust eCommerce acceleration solution. Yottaa Standard optimizes and controls the loading of all browser-based site elements, including third-party technologies, and provides in-depth analytics on third-party performance, Core Web Vitals metrics, and more.

Bettina Donmez, Senior Manager, Cloud Native Platforms, PUMA Group, stated, "Through Yottaa, we now have a centralized analytics dashboard that will help our eCommerce team achieve our site performance goals. This, combined with Yottaa’s optimization capabilities, has enabled us to significantly speed up our sites. This is critical to ensuring the best experience for our online customers."

Yottaa's deep functionality and fast deployment has propelled PUMA towards its ambitious site performance goals, which include a 20% improvement in Core Web Vitals scores. The Yottaa solution not only offers visibility into site performance but also deep optimization capabilities, contributing to a significant improvement in average site speed. This, in turn, has led to higher conversions on PUMA's eCommerce sites and has enabled the retailer to get more value from its Salesforce Commerce Cloud eCommerce platform.

Diane Gordon, Chief Customer Officer for Yottaa, expressed excitement about the partnership, saying, "By adding Yottaa to its tech stack, PUMA now has real-time visibility into how its eCommerce sites are performing as well as faster page load speeds that drive greater customer engagement and online revenue."

This collaboration underscores the mutual commitment to high performance, innovation, and an exceptional online shopping experience. As PUMA continues to set standards in sports and lifestyle, Yottaa is poised to support its digital growth journey.

Audiencerate, a company that operates in the data management sector for marketing and advertising, today announces its entry into the Microsoft partner ecosystem, stating the start of a strategic collaboration to promote the adoption of its Customer Data Platform to an increasingly broader audience of marketers, thus accelerating its global expansion and achieving a leadership position in the MarTech sector also thanks to Microsoft's digital innovation.

Audiencerate enters the AI Cloud Partner Program, which allows each partner to leverage a complete portfolio of value-added solutions and technologies by exploiting Artificial Intelligence and the power of the Microsoft Cloud platform. The AI Cloud Partner Program integrates the entire partner business cycle, from onboarding, skilling, go-to-market and co-selling projects, adding access to new specific offers and AI-specific benefits. Audiencerate also participates in Microsoft's ISV Success program, offering personalized support, technical expertise and resources for business development and growth through Microsoft marketplace. Thanks to its presence in the Microsoft marketplace, Audiencerate aims at scaling globally, improving accessibility and bringing the advanced solutions of its CDP to an increasingly wider audience.

The agreement also includes the integration of generative AI solutions, which will allow Audiencerate to offer even more sophisticated and customized solutions for different market segments, helping to strengthen their presence on the MarTech market.

Marco del Tongo, CEO of Audiencerate says: “I am excited about this strategic partnership, which will help us grow in the marketer’s data platform market. This collaboration will allow us to develop new versions of the CDP, incorporating the use of AI and thus opening up new business opportunities such as the development of specific solutions for vertical markets, fintech for example."

Gianluca Leotta, business lawyer and main investor of Audiencerate, comments: “The partnership with Microsoft will allow us to improve the levels of security and reliability of Audiencerate's new Customer Data Platform, guaranteeing compliance with the regulations in force in the various countries of the world using the Azure cloud. The implementation and development of new versions of the CDP that will leverage Microsoft's AI and BI will guarantee an even more effective and valuable use of data by Audiencerate's client companies."

"We are happy to support Audiencerate in its growth path in the global market. The partner ecosystem has always played a crucial role as a driver for the digital transformation of the country and an accelerator of innovation. The programs dedicated to partners represent valuable tools to accompany the realities of the supply chain in the acquisition of new skills, in the development of new solutions and in the creation of new projects for the benefit of all. Together we can help the local realities to face today's challenges" explains Vincenzo Esposito, CEO of Microsoft Italy.

The adaptive AI digital human provides always-on, real-time sales assistance and customer support to help brands bring the best of the in-store customer experience online

Firework, the world's leading video commerce and engagement platform built for brands and retailers, today unveiled a powerful AI-generated video sales assistant purpose-built for commerce — AVA (short for AI Virtual Assistant). Powered by Firework's own proprietary fine-tuned large-language model (LLM) and rendered as a lifelike, digital human avatar, AVA brings a face to e-commerce, helping brands fully transform cold e-commerce sites into connected virtual stores. Customizable and powered by adaptive intelligence, AVA serves as an always-available brand and product expert, capable of answering customers' questions, offering guidance based on past purchase history, and even demoing products in real time — all in a way that is consistent with each Firework customer's unique brand identity. AVA will be available to all Firework customers as of today.

Developed by Firework's team of in-house experts, AVA represents a sea change in digital experience for both retailers and consumers. It gives retailers an edge in the market by seamlessly integrating advanced AI video technology with their websites, and catering to consumer demand for a seamless CX with prompt, customizable assistance. Consumers who miss the personal touch and guidance of in-store shopping, can enjoy the convenience of online browsing with the benefits of speaking to a digital human that can inform, recommend, and guide their purchases.

"With AVA, we are offering brands a truly transformative advantage in the marketplace," said Firework Co-Founder and President Jerry Luk. "By seamlessly integrating our advanced AI technology with their own websites, brands can fundamentally reshape the digital customer experience — bringing the best aspects of in-store shopping online, while doubling down on the inherent advantages of ecommerce. This combination of convenience, accessibility, and personalized assistance defies traditional notions of the physical-digital divide; bringing the industry one step closer to a truly integrated customer experience."

In developing AVA, Firework adopted a strategic approach to AI-generated content (AIGC) development — which focuses on the confluence of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and model fine-tuning. The result is an intelligent digital human that is uniquely suited to meet both brands' and consumers' growing demand for cutting-edge digital video content that is not only engaging, but also highly personalized.

It is this approach that allows AVA to grow and adapt over time — learning from a variety of inputs and information, including customer questions and feedback, engagement outcomes, sales data, and more. AVA is also able to draw upon live data — such as promotions, reviews, videos, and FAQs — to deliver accurate, informed responses to customers in real-time. Not only do these capabilities improve AVA's performance and drive conversions, but they also give brands unprecedented visibility into the questions, concerns, and needs of their customers.

"AVA is not just an advancement in AI technology; it's a visionary step towards personalized digital commerce," said Firework Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Yang. "With AVA, we are redefining customer engagement by providing a 24/7 virtual sales assistant that understands the unique needs of each brand and consumer. This level of personalization and real-time interaction is the cornerstone of our commitment to bring the human touch to e-commerce, ensuring that every customer's experience is not only seamless but also genuinely connected and informed."

"In a dynamic retail landscape centered on personalized digital interactions, customers crave new ways to connect with their favorite brands online," said Chris Rupp, Chief Customer Officer at Victoria's Secret & Co. "Emerging technologies such as Firework's AVA are poised to offer a uniquely approachable digital shopping experience, mirroring the welcoming touch of being in a physical store, reimagined for the online consumer."

In addition to being independently adaptive, AVA will continue to be trained and refined at the model level. Firework's ongoing AI innovation efforts have also benefited from their collaboration with Google Cloud, which has brought together Google Cloud's retail innovation team and Firework to accelerate testing, prototyping and go-to-market initiatives using Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform —  an AI platform for the development and training of AI and machine learning models.

"With AVA, Firework is showing  that AI has the ability to humanize and personalize the online shopping experience in ways most never thought possible." said Chris Colyer, Head of Retail Industry Partnerships at Google Cloud. "We're excited to see how our partners such as Firework are utilizing Google Cloud's AI to build impactful tools, and bring tangible value to retailers, empowering them to forge deeper connections with their customers."

"Firework's AVA transforms the essence of online shopping, turning each click into a human-centered interaction. It is a stellar example of how AI can redefine online shopping and foster genuine human connection," said Tamar Kosowsky, Investment Vice President at SoftBank Investment Advisers. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led Firework's Series B funding round. Kosowsky continued: "Through their unwavering dedication to innovation, Firework continues to be a trailblazer in reshaping the e-commerce landscape and we are excited to support their vision."

ZenBusiness™, an all-in-one platform to start, run, and grow a successful business, announced the appointment of Zachary Rippstein as its new chief marketing officer, effective immediately. Under Rippstein’s leadership, ZenBusiness will continue harnessing the latest technology, including AI, to drive efficiency and effectiveness both internally and for its customers. His vision for the brand includes a renewed commitment to understanding and meeting the needs of small business owners, ensuring ZenBusiness bolsters its position as a trusted partner for businesses at every stage of their journey and fostering a culture of innovation.

An integral part of the ZenBusiness journey since its inception, Rippstein was one of the early members who joined the team and has since played a pivotal role by supporting a number of functions for the business across marketing, product development, and growth strategies. His journey with ZenBusiness is a testament to his commitment to the company's mission of helping small businesses succeed. Rippstein’s appointment as CMO is a new chapter in his professional journey and a reflection of the ZenBusiness commitment to nurturing talent from within and building a leadership team that truly understands the heart of the entrepreneurial experience.

Ross Buhrdorf, co-founder and CEO of ZenBusiness, expressed his enthusiasm for Rippstein's appointment, stating, "Zach’s remarkable leadership and innovative approach in marketing have been instrumental and vital to our success. His expertise and vision are exactly what ZenBusiness needs to elevate our presence and impact in the market. I am confident that we will continue to grow under Zach's direction and take our business to new heights."

As a leader, Rippstein is deeply committed to inclusivity and empowerment, championing initiatives that foster a supportive and innovative work environment. His approach to marketing is deeply rooted in his understanding of the challenges and aspirations of small business owners. He brings a unique blend of strategic vision and practical execution skills to his new role as CMO. This unique perspective is invaluable as ZenBusiness continues to evolve and provide accessible tools and technology to small business owners.

"I am excited to step into this role, focusing on bringing small business owners the essential tools and support they need to succeed," said Rippstein. “At ZenBusiness, the aim is to empower small businesses by offering tools and services that streamline the often complex and time-consuming operational aspects of running a business. By handling the operational intricacies, ZenBusiness ensures that these entrepreneurs can devote their energy and resources to what they do best growing their businesses.”

Before joining the team at ZenBusiness, Rippstein played a key role in shaping marketing strategies and leadership at innovative startups like Offers.com and Software Advice. His involvement was instrumental in steering these companies towards their successful acquisitions, showcasing his talent for driving growth in competitive industries. Rippstein's experience extended further during his time at Gartner Digital Markets, where he earned recognition as a skilled leader in digital marketing strategy, managing a team of 20 across multiple business units. Holding an executive MBA and a BBA in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin, Rippstein's educational background compliments his extensive professional experience, marking him a seasoned expert.

Acquisition will enhance First Insight’s Platform of store and online sales conversion programs through expanded Marketing Automation Capabilities

First Insight, Inc., a global leader in Voice of the Customer (VoC) retail solutions, today announced its acquisition of SnapRetail, a Pittsburgh-based, digital marketing platform aimed at boosting in-store traffic and online sales programs for retailers and brands. Details were not disclosed.