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Ross Video acquires ioversal to offer clients immersive experience solutions
OTTAWA: Ross Video is buying ioversal, the German creator of Vertex, a platform for immersive audiovisual experiences that has powered interactive exhibits and large-scale productions worldwide. The deal, announced on Thursday, marks the Canadian firm’s first serious push into experiential technology, extending its reach beyond traditional broadcast and live sports production.
Vertex unifies video, audio, lighting and control systems into a single suite, allowing production teams to orchestrate complex installations—from projection mapping spectacles to interactive museum displays—without wrestling with multiple incompatible systems. The platform has earned its stripes through high-profile deployments, though Ross declined to disclose financial terms or specify which installations.
“Vertex gives our customers a powerful new way to tell their stories,” said David Ross, chief executive of Ross Video, the family-owned firm his father founded in 1974. “It extends our live production solutions into the experiential world, opening creative possibilities that inspire audiences everywhere.”
The acquisition fits Ross’s strategy of building an end-to-end production ecosystem that spans broadcast studios, sports venues, corporate events and cultural institutions. For customers already using Ross’s switchers, graphics systems and production control gear, Vertex offers a natural extension into permanent installations and experiential work—areas where margins can be fatter than in the commoditised broadcast kit business.
Jan Hüwel and Martin Kuhn, ioversal’s co-founders, will join Ross along with their team, bringing decades of expertise in media servers and interactive control systems. “Joining Ross Video is a natural next step in our journey,” said Hüwel. “Ross shares our passion for empowering customers and our belief that innovation should always serve creativity.”
Kuhn added that the tie-up would help Vertex reach a broader audience. “From the beginning, our mission has been to simplify complex audiovisual productions so creators can focus on storytelling,” he said. “Together, we’ll unlock incredible new possibilities for experiential media.”
Ross Video, headquartered in Ottawa, has been on an acquisition spree in recent years as it seeks to fend off competition from software-defined production tools and cloud-based workflows. The privately held company does not disclose revenues but is estimated to generate several hundred million dollars annually from sales of production switchers, graphics systems and robotics to broadcasters and live-event producers.
The firm plans to showcase Vertex through demonstrations and events in coming months, highlighting how the platform integrates with Ross’s existing production kit. Whether customers—many of whom are wrestling with tighter budgets—will embrace yet another platform remains to be seen. But Ross is betting that simplifying the chaos of experiential productions will prove irresistible to creative teams tired of duct-taping incompatible systems together.
eNews
PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
