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Anime Creator and Culture Brand Azuki Taps Steve Chung as New COO

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Former FOX and CJ ENM executive Chung joins Azuki with over two decades of experience across Hollywood, Korean entertainment and Silicon Valley

LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Azuki, an anime community platform and digital art collection, today announced the hiring of Steve Chung as the company’s inaugural Chief Operating Officer. Chung is a veteran media and technology executive with nearly two decades of experience driving growth for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, Korean media and Silicon Valley. In this new role, Chung will spearhead the growth and expansion of Azuki as one of the hottest start-ups in the rapidly growing anime industry, helping to shape its vision for the future of anime entertainment.

“Even as a new entrant, Azuki already has a proven track record of building a passionate community and has a clear vision of how to build IP and experiences tailor made for anime fans, working alongside some of the greatest creators in the industry to achieve something that’s never been done before,” said Chung. “I am thrilled to join this world-class team to develop the next generation powerhouse in the industry as anime content and consumers quickly expand to become an ever more important and mainstream segment of global media.”

Under Chung’s leadership, Azuki will expand its presence in both the anime and entertainment industries, with a strong roadmap of new content and products. Central to this effort will be leveraging his expertise in web2 traditional media to bridge Azuki’s web3 brand into this new market. As the transition from web2 to web3 accelerates, Chung will play a pivotal role in positioning Azuki to capitalize on this new media landscape. He will lead key growth initiatives for Azuki, leveraging his extensive knowledge of media and brand development to secure partnerships and collaborations with anime creators as well as other leading brands in entertainment.

Chung will also separately be signing up as a contributor and be closely involved with the launch of AnimeChain, a blockchain network designed for and by anime fans that will act as the first step in redefining anime community engagement.

Prior to joining Azuki, Chung served as the Chief Global Officer for CJ ENM, one of the largest Korean mass media companies that has created hit K-dramas, television series, movies and musicals, also serving as the CEO of America to drive the “K-wave” expansion in North America. Chung also has extensive experience working in Hollywood, serving as the Chief Growth Officer for Fox and was responsible for incubating strategic projects and launching new products in direct-to-consumer streaming experiences. Starting his career at Goldman Sachs in New York, he previously served as Executive Producer of a prime-time talk show in China for the Shanghai Media Group and has experience taking a start-up from founding to a publicly-traded company in Silicon Valley.

Chung is recognized as one of the most influential media executives in the industry today and is currently a member of the Gold House A100 List, a list of the most impactful Asian Americans working in media and tech. Chung holds an MBA from Stanford University, with an undergraduate degree from Harvard where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

About Azuki

Azuki is an anime brand revolutionizing the future of anime by developing decentralized IPs and enriching the fandom experience with innovative blockchain products. Founded at the intersection of art, technology, and culture, Azuki emphasizes co-creation with its community, ownership of collectibles, and aims to shape and expand anime culture to all corners of the world.

Contact:
Azuki@mgroupsc.com

 

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SOURCE Azuki

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TVA GROUP INC. ANNOUNCES ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

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MONTREAL, May 6, 2025 /CNW/ – In accordance with the TSX Company Manual, TVA Group Inc. (TSX: TVA.B) is issuing this news release to disclose the voting results for the election of its directors obtained at its Annual Meeting of shareholders held earlier today.

All of the proposed nominees were duly elected as directors of the Corporation by shareholders present or represented by proxy at the meeting. The voting result was as follows:

NAME OF NOMINEES

VOTES

FOR

%

VOTES

WITHHELD

%

Jacques Dorion

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

Nathalie Elgrably-Lévy

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

Sylvie Lalande

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

Régine Laurent

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

A. Michel Lavigne

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

Daniel Paillé

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

Marie-Pierre Simard

4,318,523

99.99

60

0.01

TVA Group

TVA Group Inc., a subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is a communications company engaged in broadcasting, film production and audiovisual services, international production and distribution of television content, and magazine publishing. TVA Group Inc. is North America’s largest broadcaster of French-language entertainment, information and public affairs programming and one of the largest private-sector producers of French-language content. It is also the largest publisher of French-language magazines and publishes some of Canada’s most popular English-language titles. Its Class B shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TVA.B.

SOURCE TVA Group

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Lightricks Launches 13B Parameters LTX Video Model, Breakthrough Rendering Approach Generates High-quality, Efficient AI Video 30X Faster Than Comparable Models

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JERUSALEM and NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Lightricks, a leader in AI-driven content creation technology, today announced the release of its LTX Video 13-billion-parameter model (LTXV-13B) – which may be the most advanced and efficient AI video generation model to date. This substantial upgrade dramatically increases quality while maintaining LTXV’s unparalleled speed generating AI videos. The 13B model is available within the company’s flagship storytelling platform, LTX Studio, shared with the open community and is being integrated across the Lightricks portfolio.

LTXV-13B introduces “multiscale rendering,” a major technical breakthrough that delivers both speed and quality through a layered process. The model drafts in lower detail first to capture coarse motion using fewer resources. This draft then guides the next stages, where the model progressively adds structure, lighting, and micro-motion (and spending time where it matters most). The result is high-fidelity video built through deliberate, multi-scale generation, with render times that can be more than 30X faster than comparable models – without compromising visual realism.

The new 13B model represents a significant leap forward in Lightricks’ generative AI capabilities, offering creators the ability to produce videos with stunning detail, coherence, and control. It utilizes the latest advancements in academia and the open source community, including unsampling controls and spatiotemporal guidance for video editing, and kernel optimization for running speeds.

Unlike other models that demand enterprise-grade GPU (and long rendering times), LTXV-13B delivers studio level video at unmatched speed, even on devices that creators already own, which differentiates LTX Video in the marketplace.

“The introduction of our 13B parameter LTX Video model marks a pivotal moment in AI video generation with the ability to generate fast, high-quality videos on consumer GPUs,” said Zeev Farbman, co-founder and CEO of Lightricks. “Our users can now create content with more consistency, better quality, and tighter control. This new version of LTX Video runs on consumer hardware, while staying true to what makes all our products different – speed, creativity, and usability.”

While developing and refining the 13B model, Lightricks entered into a strategic partnership with leading media asset provider Getty Images. In December 2024, Lightricks entered an agreement with Shutterstock to leverage their licensed content. These kinds of collaborations have given Lightricks access to an extensive library of high-quality video assets for model training, reinforcing its mission to build ethically trained, visually compelling, and commercially safe generative tools.

The LTXV-13B model now empowers creators with even more control and flexibility, seamlessly supporting all of the platform’s advanced creative tools, including:

Keyframe editingCamera motion controlCharacter and scene-level motion adjustmentMulti-shot sequencing and editing

In support of startups and small businesses, Lightricks is offering the 13B model free to license for enterprises with under $10 million in annual revenue. This initiative and the release of all LTXV models in open source reflect Lightricks’ commitment to making cutting-edge generative AI accessible to the next generation of creative companies and innovators. Open source versions of LTXV are available on Hugging Face (LTX-Video) and GitHub (LTX-Video).

“By consistently refining our models and working with the open community, we’ve built an AI system that generates physically natural movement while preserving artistic control,” added Yoav HaCohen, Director of LTX Video at Lightricks.

Since launching LTX Video in November 2024, Lightricks has collaborated with researchers and open-source contributors to improve motion consistency, scene coherence, and creative adaptability. Key open-source advancements in LTXV-13B include:

VACE Model Inference – advanced video generation and editing tools, including reference-to-video (R2V). Details on GitHubUnsampling Controls for Video Editing – Tools that reverse noise and refine frame granularity. Details on GitHub.Kernel Optimization – Efficient Q8 kernel usage allows performance scaling on lower-resource devices. Details on GitHub and HuggingFace.

With a growing library of models designed for diverse creative needs and a commitment to open development, Lightricks is shaping the future of generative AI video, bridging research-driven breakthroughs with real-world application. For more information about Lightricks, its products, technology, and open-source initiatives, visit www.lightricks.com.

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SOURCE Lightricks

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CREDIT CARD VETERAN RODNEY YODER JOINS COIGN AS CFO

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MCLEAN, Va., May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Coign, a leading fintech company, is proud to announce the appointment of Rodney Yoder as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). With over three decades of financial leadership in banking, fintech, and high-growth companies, Yoder brings outstanding expertise to Coign’s executive team.

For more than a decade Yoder held senior leadership roles at Barclays, cultivating deep expertise in global payments, private banking, and credit. He also oversaw forecasting, risk management, and innovation strategies while leading a global finance team of 70 professionals. His earlier positions at Swift Financial and Bank of America/MBNA underscore his ability to build robust financial infrastructures, manage multibillion-dollar portfolios, and drive both cost efficiencies and revenue growth.

“Throughout his career Rodney has be a leader at Fortune 500 financial institutions, offering a unique perspective on credit, markets, and strategic vision,” said Rob Collins, CEO of Coign. “As we continue to scale and evolve as a fintech platform, his experience navigating complex transformations and delivering results across diverse markets will be incredibly valuable.”

“I’m excited to join Coign at this pivotal moment,” said Rodney Yoder, CFO of Coign. “The opportunity to shape the company’s next chapter of growth—by building strong financial foundations, optimizing capital strategy, and fostering innovation—is exciting. I look forward to collaborating with the leadership team to deliver long-term value for our customers, employees, and investors.”

Yoder’s career is marked by significant achievements, including spearheading financial planning for large-scale portfolio programs, assembling global finance teams, and developing systems and models that have driven successful audits, strategic transactions, and sustained growth initiatives.

Most recently, as CFO of Sunlight Financial, Yoder orchestrated a strategic transformation, guiding the company through its transition from public to private status. He played a pivotal role in evaluating strategic alternatives, securing $90 million in debt and $65 million in equity financing, negotiating loan agreements to enable $2.5 billion in forward flow loan financing, and implementing interest rate hedge programs to mitigate risk.

About Coign
Coign is the premier fintech platform for conservative Americans, offering credit cards and financial solutions designed to align with their values. Through a leading center-right media strategy, low customer acquisition costs, and a commitment to trust, Coign is building the largest conservative community in U.S. history, uniting millions to strengthen America’s  foundations.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/credit-card-veteran-rodney-yoder-joins-coign-as-cfo-302447661.html

SOURCE Coign

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