Applications
Vida unveils agentic AI-powered media factory at IBC 2025
LONDON: Vida, the London- and Los Angeles-based cloud-native media management outfit, has launched Media Factory, an agentic AI-powered workflow automation engine set to debut at IBC 2025.
Billed as a “smarter, faster way” to run the digital media supply chain, Media Factory integrates directly into Vida’s content OS and ships with more than 300 pre-built connectors, from AI tagging and transcription to compliance checks and delivery to fast channels, YouTube and social platforms. What once took weeks of bespoke software coding can now be built, tested and deployed in hours.
“Media Factory is about giving teams the tools to connect content, configure any workflow, and integrate with any business system. The possibilities are mind-blowing,” said Vida managing director Symon Roue.
The tool uses a visual drag-and-drop interface to let both humans and AI models orchestrate ingest, metadata packaging, age-appropriateness flagging, analytics integration, and trigger-based delivery. Workflows can be fired by events, webhooks, asset changes or file activity. Unlike legacy systems demanding top-tier software engineers, Media Factory is pitched at operations and technology teams asked to do more with less.
Vida’s customers already manage over 43m assets and 26 petabytes of content on its platform. The new engine will be available to enterprise clients and partners from September 2025. Demonstrations will run at IBC 2025 in Hall 5, stand 5.D50.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
