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Sony Network communications partners with Taboola
MUMBAI: Taboola, the world’s leading discovery platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Sony Network Communications, a group company of Sony Corporation. Under the partnership, Sony Network Communications will integrate Taboola News into Sony News Suite services to bring a personalized editorial experience to their broad consumer base. The goal of the partnership is to enable Sony to bring personalized and relevant content from Taboola’s global network of premium publishers to News Suite services.
In addition to increasing user engagement, Taboola News creates a new revenue stream for Sony Network Communications and provides Taboola’s publisher partners with a new audience growth engine, all while supporting quality journalism. Sony Network Communications will integrate the Taboola News feed directly on the News Suite, surfacing relevant, personalized news and content from its network of premium publishers.
Mobile carriers and mobile device manufacturers are utilizing Taboola News to surface content directly into their devices and news apps from the nearly 50 markets around the world where Taboola operates. Taboola is able to leverage its AI-driven personalization engine to showcase content users are most likely to be interested in consuming next.
Through the partnership, Sony Network Communications and Taboola will enable premium publishers to share curated content in an immersive news reading experience with millions of people and diversify their dependency on traffic sources. For brands, Taboola provides the unprecedented opportunity to be recommended side by side to some of the most innovative journalistic publishers reaching larger audiences without the ties of walled gardens.
"Taboola’s advanced deep learning technology and in-depth knowledge of users' preferences makes them the perfect innovation partner for Sony News Suite. Their discovery platform allows us to provide our mobile users across 200 countries and territories as a way to discover new and exciting content fully integrated with our Android mobile experience,” said Makoto Ishii, General Manager at Sony Network Communications. "We're thrilled to be teaming up with Taboola to deliver dynamic new content to our readers."
“Our focus over the next 10 years is to help bring quality journalism and news to all devices, and drive hundreds of millions of people back to the open web. Mobile usage, in particular, is increasing with today’s users checking their mobile phones nearly 100 times a day,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and Founder, Taboola. With smartphones becoming increasingly prominent in day-to-day experiences from browsing to shopping, Taboola brings readers back to the open web strengthening today's publishers by granting them direct access to their audiences, in the same way SEO did over the last 20 years. There is a massive opportunity for premium publishers, advertisers and smartphone manufacturers alike to engage with these audiences in a way that is deeply personal and creates long-term digital relationships that are based on value and trust. We are honored to collaborate on the journey with Sony Network Communications, and power those ‘moments of next’ where users are open to discover things they may like and never knew existed.”
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Bob Iger joins Thrive Capital as adviser after Disney exit
Former Disney CEO returns to VC firm, stays on as Disney adviser till 2026.
MUMBAI: From castles to capital, Bob Iger isn’t done building just changing the blueprint. Bob Iger has taken on an advisory role at Thrive Capital, marking a return to the New York-based venture firm he briefly joined in 2022. Founded in 2009 by Josh Kushner, Thrive Capital has been positioning itself at the intersection of technology and long-term value creation, an area where Iger’s experience in scaling global entertainment businesses is expected to add weight. Kushner, 40, welcomed Iger back, highlighting his ability to blend technology with human-centric storytelling, particularly in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
Iger is no stranger to Thrive. He had earlier joined the firm as a venture partner in September 2022, after stepping down as CEO of The Walt Disney Company and concluding his tenure as executive chairman in 2021. That stint, however, was short-lived. In November 2022, Disney’s board brought him back to steady the ship, replacing Bob Chapek following a turbulent period for the company.
Now, with his latest exit from Disney’s top job last month, Iger appears to be revisiting the venture world, this time with a clearer runway. Still, the Disney chapter isn’t entirely closed. Under his agreement with the company, he will remain until the end of 2026 as a senior adviser to new CEO Josh D’Amaro and will continue to serve on the board for his current term.
The move comes as venture firms increasingly seek operators with deep industry experience to navigate what Kushner described as “the most consequential technology shift” of the era, driven by AI. For Iger, whose career has hinged on blending creativity with scale, the transition from Hollywood to high-growth investing seems less like a pivot and more like a plot twist.
