TrillerVerz Going Public Through Reverse Merger With SeaChange International

Digital advertising firm SeaChange International and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered social media platform Triller Hold Co. announced in a Wednesday (Dec. 22) press release that they have agreed to merge, and their combined company will have a valuation of about $5 billion.

When the deal is finalized, SeaChange, a publicly traded company, will change its name to TrillerVerz Corp. and update its Nasdaq ticker symbol from SEAC to ILLR, the release stated. The TrillerVerz combination has been approved by boards from both companies and is expected to become officials in the first quarter of 2022. TrillverVerz CEO Mahi de Silva will lead the new company and become the new chairman of the Board. Peter Aquino, president and CEO of SeaChange, will join the TrillerVerz team.

“In our short history, we have evolved from a disruptive social media platform and creator of content to one of the world’s most successful platforms where creators, commerce and culture meet,” said de Silva in the release.

TrillerVerz’s services “enable creators of all kinds (artists, athletes, influencers, public figures, and brands) to engage and build audiences across all open platforms with unique channels of communication they can control” through 750 million monthly interactions with consumers, according to the release.

TrillerVerz is working to expand its global footprint and making investments in new growth opportunities across the U.S. and around the world through acquisitions, the release stated.

“The business combination with TrillerVerz represents a tremendous opportunity to invest in the future of creativity,” Aquino said in the release. “We believe that TrillerVerz’s unmatched social media reach, Gen Z engagement, and the opportunity to meaningfully expand its global multiplatform presence across content, commerce, creators, and being at the forefront of eCommerce, adtech and NFTs, including the metaverse, is a compelling investment with the potential to create significant value.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering adopting new rules and guidelines to tackle data privacy concerns and algorithmic discrimination.

Read more: FTC Mulls New Artificial Intelligence Regulation to Protect Consumers

FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan wrote in a letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal that the commission is considering rulemaking to address “lax security practices, data privacy abuses and algorithmic decision-making that may result in unlawful discrimination.”