MAM
The Big Stack Poker University joins hands with 9Stacks to produce professional poker players
The Big Stack, India’s first ever poker university, has collaborated with another gaming giant 9stacks to revolutionize the world of poker in their own unique way. With this partnership the aspiring poker players in the country will get a dedicated platform to acquire all the inimitable skills required to stand as a poker pro in the industry.
As a part of this tie-up, The Big Stack will play the role of training the poker enthusiasts on its eccentric platform packed with all inclusive and in-depth knowledge of the game. Whereas, 9stacks will offer the training ground/platform where these poker students can try and test their skills thereby turning into polished and refined poker players. This partnership intends to develop and bring forth the hidden talent spread across various parts of the country.
Rai Sahib Singh Khurana, Founder and CEO, The Big Stack said, “We are extremely delighted to announce our partnership with 9stack and are confident that our association will certainly revolutionize the world of poker. This first of its kind collaboration will help elevate the standard of poker in the country and will also give a boost to our business. We believe India as a market, holds huge potential for poker to emerge as a mainstream sport and we are all geared up to reap the benefits of the huge opportunity hidden in the industry.”
Under this endeavor, all students trained on The Big Stack platform will get Rs.2500 free to play on 9stacks and gain the required skills pertaining to poker. Both The Big Stack and 9Stacks will run cross promotions on their respective platforms by strategically placing “Learn” & “Play” links respectively. Besides, 9stacks will additionally offer Rs.15000 to the pokerlearners who will enroll under personalized coaching package on The Big Stack.
Sudhir Kamath, CEO & Co-founder of 9stacks, added, "We started 9stacks with the aim of taking poker to millions of new players across India. In the Big Stack Poker University, we're glad to have found a partner who shares the same mindset. At present we will start with a few hundred enthusiastic new poker players, but we're confident this will scale up manifold in the coming months and years. Further, by making the course entirely online and video-based with an added dash of testing and competition, I think they've cracked the code on designing an inherently scalable solution. I wish all the best to the Big Stack team in this much-needed endeavour."
The renowned poker platform 9stacks will also empower coaches from The Big Stack, by offering them meganonredeemable cash money for them to play and do hand history sessions, which will be recorded and made available for all students of the BigStack, the innovative training place for poker players.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
