Informatica has launched a pair of free and pay-as-you-go data integration services aimed at companies that want to bring “power of data to the masses.” This makes them an interesting new passenger on the product-led-growth bandwagon, as well as positioning them to take advantage of self-service access to cloud data stores. So many buzzwords, so little time!
Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company that buys used cars from dealerships and rents to customers via a subscription model, has raised $100 million in equity and debt from a wide range of investors. According to the company, the new financing, comprised of equity, credit facility and debt, will rapidly scale its business and provide a million cars globally to people excluded from traditional car financing.
“Artificial intelligence” – perhaps you’ve heard of it? It’s no longer news when a company offers an AI-based product, but automatically creating advertising assets still is worth a whisper. Google has opened a public beta test for its tool to do that for search ads, based on materials the AI finds on the client’s landing page, website, existing advertisements and ad group keywords. Remember: good artists borrow, great artists steal.
It’s tough to get brand safety right, but the industry keeps trying. IPG Mediabrands announced a new set of tools to find and block inappropriate ad placements, while IAS expanded its suitability measurements to include standards from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). Meanwhile, DoubleVerify admitted a mistake made brand safety on X/Twitter look worse than it really was in October 2023 and March 2024.