Applications
ABU Digital Radio Convention to focus on complete digital transition
MUMBAI: The second edition of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Digital Radio Convention will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 14 to 17 August.
The speakers at the convention will speak to radio broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region on when to make the complete digital transition.
The speakers lined-up for the convention include: KBS-BTRT director Shinil Chung, Factum Electronics / WorldDAB Forum MD Kenneth Lundgren, Broadcast Systems, STRL, NHK principal research engineer Koichiro Imamura, International Broadcast Business Development Ibiquity Digital Corp director Perry Priestley, Broadcast Electronics Chuck Kelly, AMP Radio GM Michael Blackburn, Dalet director of marketing Nicolas Hans and NPR Labs VP CTO and executive director Mike Starling.
The four day convention and workshops not only provide updates on digital radio developments, but concentrates on the implementation and application issues – the myriad of decisions on business factors, content production facilities, transmission standards/systems, receiver developments, consumer take-up and switch-over issues.
According to an official release, around 40 experts from Asia and around the world will contribute to the event by way of presentations, panel discussions and facilitating the in-depth, interactive workshops.
Sponsors and exhibitors of the ABU Digital Radio Convention brings in big names, which include: principal sponsor Harris; AMP, Broadcast Electronics, Broadcast Australia, iBiquity Digital Corporation, Thomson Broadcast & Multimedia AG, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), Commercial Radio Australia, THL Australia Pty Limited, Go-Mobile Pte Ltd, WorldSpace, VT Communications, Klotz Digital, Digital Integrated System Sdn Bhd (DIS), on and DMB.
“We are delighted to be supporting this major convention which keeps broadcasters in tune with the developments in digital radio,” says Harris Broadcast Communications director, Radio Products & Strategy Rich Redmond.
“The ABU Digital Radio Convention is the key venue for broadcasters, manufacturers and others who want the full picture of the region‘s burgeoning digital future. DRM is excited to play an active role in this year‘s convention, and we look forward to meeting the participants in Kuala Lumpur. The ABU is a long-time member of the DRM consortium, and we are proud of its leadership in promoting digital solutions to its own members,” Deutsche Welle director and DRM chairman Peter Senger adds.
“An increasing number of radio broadcasters in the region are embracing the transition to digital transmission. This convention will provide an excellent platform for broadcasters and industry players to network and understand the business issues as well as new technical developments. We would particularly like to address those issues that seem to be holding up the wide scale adoption of digital radio technologies in the Asia-Pacific,” points out ABU secretary general David Astley.
Applications
Canva acquires animation and AI startups Cavalry and MangoAI
The deals strengthen Canva’s push into enterprise and AI-led design workflows
AUSTRALIA: Global visual communication platform Canva has stepped up its acquisition drive, buying UK-based 2D animation platform Cavalry and US-based AI startup MangoAI to deepen its AI-powered creative stack.
Cavalry, whose tools are used by brands including Amazon, Meta, Google and Netflix, will strengthen Canva’s motion design capabilities. The deal builds on Canva’s 2024 acquisition of Affinity, which has crossed four million downloads since launch. With Cavalry, Canva now counts seven Europe-based acquisitions, underscoring its global expansion strategy.
MangoAI, an early-stage startup focused on video advertising optimisation, will integrate its reinforcement learning systems into Canva AI. The move aims to enable brands to generate personalised marketing content in real time, cutting production cycles while improving campaign performance. MangoAI co-founder Vinith Misra will join Canva as reinforcement learning lead in its research lab.
Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht said the acquisitions reflect the company’s ambition to make professional-grade creative tools more accessible without sidelining human creativity. The goal, he said, is to bring everything from vector to motion design into a single, integrated suite.
The company now reports 265 million active users, including 31 million paid subscribers, and $4 billion in annualised revenue, up 36 per cent year on year. The latest buys further position Canva against rivals such as Adobe and Apple’s Creator Studio as it pushes deeper into enterprise workflows.
Canva head of pro design marketing Liam Fisher, said AI is intended to act as a creative assistant rather than a replacement, reinforcing the primacy of craft and individual design judgement.
