OpenX vs Virtual Minds

Supply-Side Targeting Spend Doubles as Buyers Move Beyond Inventory Curation

OpenX announces that supply-side targeting spend has doubled as buyers move beyond inventory curation.

OpenX Appoints John Rogers as SVP of Global Publisher Development

OpenX announced the appointment of John Rogers as SVP of Global Publisher Development, a key leadership hire to drive publisher growth.

OpenX Names John Rogers SVP of Global Publisher Development

OpenX, the advertising technology company, has appointed John Rogers as Senior Vice President of Global Publisher Development. Rogers will lead the company's global publisher development strategy, focusing on strengthening relationships with publishers and driving growth. He brings extensive experience in the ad tech industry, having previously held senior roles at major platforms. This appointment is part of OpenX's broader commitment to enhancing its supply-side offerings and supporting publisher partners.

• OpenX appoints John Rogers as SVP of Global Publisher Development.
• Rogers to lead global publisher development strategy.
• Appointment announced on 2026-10-01.

Paistry founder Alen Nazarian wants to make publisher content dynamic with AI

In an interview with MEEDIA, Alen Nazarian, founder of Paistry and former CTO of SevenOne Media, discusses his startup's mission to make the open web fit for the AI era. Paistry develops a platform that allows publishers and brands to transform their content into intelligent, interactive user experiences, including interactive journalism, new ad formats, and personalized product advice. The company has already conducted pilot projects with two publishers and tested AI agents with various brands. Nazarian emphasizes the importance of publishers retaining control over their content and monetization, rejecting robots.txt as ineffective, and advocating for a federated data network to enable controlled, paid access for external AI systems. He predicts a shift from attention-based advertising to monetizing concrete user needs, with AI agents potentially handling purchases in the future.

• Paistry is a startup founded by Alen Nazarian, former CTO of SevenOne Media, aiming to make publisher content dynamic with AI.
• Paistry has conducted pilot projects with two publishers and tested AI agents with various brands.
• The platform enables interactive journalism, new ad formats, and personalized product advice.

Virtual Minds: Building Interoperable Operating Model for Total Video

Virtual Minds argues that true convergence between linear TV and CTV advertising requires an interoperability layer rather than replacing existing systems, preserving the strengths of each environment. Managing Director Ricarda Jebsen and Business Development Manager Max Deyerl highlight that while audiences already consume video seamlessly, planning and measurement remain siloed. The company cites progress in Austria, where broadcasters under JIC AGTT have adopted digital buying logic, CPMs, and real-time HbbTV signals (Teletest 2.0) to optimize linear TV via Virtual Minds' Media Manager. The approach aims to extend this model to all video channels, including mobile and DOOH, and emphasizes that AI will only improve workflows if data silos are integrated first. Virtual Minds advocates for industry-wide collaboration to establish common standards and avoid fragmentation, positioning its infrastructure as the solution for a converged 'Total Video' operating model.

• Virtual Minds proposes an interoperable convergence layer for linear TV and CTV integration, preserving strengths of each environment.
• Since 2024, AGTT/Teletest members in Austria use Virtual Minds Media Manager for dynamic linear TV optimization using CPMs and real-time HbbTV signals.
• Ricarda Jebsen is Managing Director of Virtual Minds and d-force, while Max Deyerl is Manager Business Development.

European netID Exec Discusses Deterministic IDs and AI's Impact

In an interview, Daniel Dagehus, CTPO of the European netID Foundation, discusses the evolving role of deterministic identifiers in the open web. He argues that while AI and probabilistic models are useful for planning and simulation, deterministic IDs remain essential for campaign activation and delivery to real people across devices. netID has integrated with major ad tech platforms, including The Trade Desk, enabling advertisers to target deterministic segments. Dagehus emphasizes the importance of publisher login relationships to maintain direct user contact and independence from tech providers, especially as AI chatbots change the customer journey. He also highlights FedCM as a standard that can simplify logins and support publisher strategies for direct audience relationships.

• Daniel Dagehus is CTPO of the European netID Foundation.
• netID has integrated with The Trade Desk, allowing booking of netID and Utiq segments in its Data Marketplace.
• netID is a deterministic identifier tied to user accounts and email addresses, providing cross-device identity.