Soros Fund Management

Yext Appoints Cynthia Paul to Board

Yext, Inc. announced the appointment of Cynthia Paul as an independent director on its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Paul is Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Lynrock Lake LP and brings more than two decades of portfolio management experience in technology investing, including a long tenure at Soros Fund Management (2000–2017). Yext CEO and Board Chair Michael Walrath welcomed Paul, citing her insights as valuable to the company’s strategy to accelerate profitable growth. The release notes Paul has founded Lynrock Lake (January 2018) and has served on public and private company boards since 2013.

NBCU's Upfront: New Era Post-Yaccarino Amid Vice's Bankruptcy

AdExchanger's roundup covers NBCUniversal's upfront at Radio City Music Hall, where NBCU acknowledged Linda Yaccarino's departure as head of global advertising. NBCU touts Peacock's reach of 160 million monthly viewers with only 10% duplication and emphasizes measurement that ties ad exposures to sales. Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is expected to be sold to a lenders' group for about $225 million; the company carries roughly $834 million in debt. Roblox faces CARU scrutiny for unlabelled in-game ads targeting under-13s; about 43% of its 66.1 million daily active users were under 13 in Q1, and Roblox will block ads to under-13s starting June 15, following a 2022 FTC complaint over Nikeland. The roundup also notes broader platform moves, including Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal.

Fast Pay Partners Looking To Shorten Receivables Cycles Says Partners Simon And Yee

Fast Pay Partners, founded by Jed Simon (Founder & Partner) and Patrick Yee (Partner), aims to accelerate liquidity in the online advertising ecosystem by financing advertiser receivables. Positioned as asset-based lending rather than traditional factoring, the firm targets a broad client base including content publishers, ad networks, exchanges, DSPs, agencies, social apps, marketers, and affiliates, with social gaming highlighted as a key DR segment. The service addresses extended payment terms (net 30 to net 90-120) and the operational burden on payables teams by providing upfront funds against outstanding invoices and monetizing signed insertion orders. The funding process typically proceeds from simple application through diligence and formal agreement to funding within about a week, with advances ranging from tens of thousands to several million dollars. There are no application fees; a nominal setup fee is deducted from the first advance, plus nominal discounts on invoice value. The fund is backed by hedge fund and private equity capital in Los Angeles.