TechCrunch reports: “Chatbots and other kinds of AI agents may feel like a dime a dozen these days. But the truth is that, for both businesses and consumers, some may be infinitely more useful (and perhaps less dystopian) than others. Today, a startup that’s built a successful business around that concept is announcing a major growth round to expand its business.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Talent agencies have spent years exploring other businesses that are adjacent to the core business of agenting, and now CAA is adding another new offering to its portfolio: An advisory business tailored specifically to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices.”
Variety reports: “The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has gone into business with artificial-intelligence powerhouse OpenAI. The Post said it entered into a “strategic partnership” with OpenAI to make the newspaper’s content “more accessible” in ChatGPT. Under the agreement, ChatGPT will display summaries, quotes and links to original reporting from the Washington Post in response to relevant search queries.”
Engadget reports: “Roblox has adapted its payment system to allow for regional pricing. This means that the software will automatically adjust the cost of an in-game item to match the local economy of the buyer. The company says this will make it easier for active community members to “better adapt to local market conditions and maximize earnings.”
TV Technology reports: “Samsung Ads, the advanced advertising division of Samsung Electronics, has announced the availability of its Optimal Reach solution for advertisers across all verticals. Building on Samsung Ads’ opt-in based ACR footprint and data signals, Optimal Reach is a suite of solutions that provides actionable insights into audience reach across both linear and in-app streaming, the company said.”
VGC reports: “Indie publisher Devolver Digital has revealed which of its IPs has generated the most revenue, as its shares its strategy for the future. One of the slides in the company’s latest investor presentation shows the lifetime revenue of 10 of its most successful first-part and third-party franchises.”
Martech Cube reports: “Infinite Reality™ (iR), an innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and ecommerce through extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and other immersive technologies, announced today the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Touchcast, a pioneering agentic AI company for $500 million in a combination of cash and stock. The acquisition is Infinite Reality’s largest yet, and the transaction agreement values the company at $15.5 billion.”
GamesBeat reports: “Aethir, a provider of decentralized GPU cloud compute, announced the launch of AI Unbundled, an industry-wide alliance for the development of artificial intelligence in Web3. The initiative brings together top decentralized infrastructure providers, blockchain networks, and investment firms, including 0G Labs, Biconomy, Polyhedra, Oasis Protocol Foundation, ChainGPT, IoTeX, iExec, Geodnet, Flock.io, Alpha Neural AI, DeAgent AI, and OORT.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Apple has opened a new Apple Music studio in Tokyo, marking the company’s first such facility in Asia and its seventh globally. The new production hub, unveiled Monday (April 21), joins Apple Music’s existing facilities in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London, Paris, and Berlin.”
IMDb reports: “Hollywood comms giant The Lippin Group and marketing firm Infinitize have partnered on a new PR and integrated marketing offering targeting clients with fandoms across genres including gaming, K-pop, anime, true crime, horror, animation, comics and graphic novels. Additionally, Infinitize has launched gaming division Vendetta, which is “built to champion indie rebels and fan-first studios.”
