RTB Debuts on Nasdaq: AI/DeFi Media Platform "Roundtable" to Trade as RTB
Roundtable begins trading on Nasdaq, CEO James Heckman Announces Nasdaq Approval, Full Compliance and Closing of the RYVYL Merger as RTB Begins Trading on Nasdaq
SEATTLE, WA, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RTB Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTB) announced today the successful closing of its merger with RYVYL Inc. (NASDAQ:RVYL), and the commencement of trading of the combined company's common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. RTB is the world's only full-stack enterprise media platform, The platform represents what the Company describes as a multi-generational leap in technology, engineered to transform the global media industry from Web1 to Web4.
"We have been building and refining our media platform for 30 years," said James Heckman, CEO of RTB Digital. "The big leap came when we combined assets with DeFi inventor, Eyal Hertzog and his brilliant ‘DeWeb' team, uniting as AI technologies began to extract value from media at an existential level." As our brand suggests, Roundtable was purpose-built for elite media: we use AI to protect, human-created content, eliminate operational costs, and deliver net-zero payments with immutable, transparent reporting, ensuring publishers secure assets while creating new ones."
Additionally, RTB's full-stack enterprise platform combines AI, DeFi, and Web3 infrastructure to provide professional media - decentralized publishing, data encryption and IP protection, syndication, revenue optimization, AI-based business intelligence, management and operations, and custom network applications.
"The merger provides RYVYL shareholders the opportunity to partner with leading visionaries in AI, DeFi and Web3 publishing technologies," said George Oliva, current CEO of RYVYL Inc. and incoming CAO of RTB. "This team has consistently proven to be years ahead of the industry, and their latest platform is no exception. It's no surprise 99% of voting shareholders supported this transformative opportunity."
Chairman Walton Comer, CEO/Founder James Heckman, Co-Founder Eyal Hertzog
RTB Platform is now Live, Serving Hundreds of Premium Media Clients
The AI/DeFi B2B2C platform is live, driving millions in revenue and consumers for enterprise clients -- which includes brand partners like Yahoo and TheStreet -- and powers a network of independent sports journalists, including the recent migration of Sports Illustrated's top revenue-producing team publishers to Roundtable. The company's working capital provides a resilient, decentralized financial foundation designed to autonomize payments, modernize publishing infrastructure, and empower the next generation of global media brands.
Vision: Leading $200 Billion Premium Media Marketplace from Web1 to Web4
Despite the scale of the market, enterprise media remains structurally underserved at the infrastructure layer, with companies forced to operate across disconnected systems that impede revenue capture, audience ownership and operational efficiency. At the same time, AI platforms are increasingly extracting value and user engagement from hundreds of billions invested in human-created content, while opaque data practices and fragmented monetization systems continue to disadvantage publishers and journalists.
Roundtable's AI-driven DeFi and Web3 platform is designed to solve this structural gap through a single enterprise integration, spanning the full media operations stack, positioning RTB as the connective infrastructure layer for the next generation of professional media.
"Our latest platform brings together decades of the founder's major digital media experiences, on top of technology the market never dreamed possible, architectured by true visionaries in the space," noted RTB Chair and co-founder Walton Comer.
Nasdaq Listing and Merger Highlights
- RYVYL shareholder approval of merger with ~ 99% of votes cast in favor.
- Combined Entity will operate as RTB Digital, Inc., trade on Nasdaq as "RTB".
- Share Structure: ~13.2 million shares outstanding, with 11.2 million (~85%) subject to one-year lock-up, then staged 12-month release. ~2 million shares trading.
- Capital Position: Balance sheet sufficient to support operations for more than one year.
- Strategic Partnerships: Company has entered a yet to be disclosed, binding agreement with a major media company, which includes a non-refundable $10 million deposit; current strategic partnerships include Yahoo, TheHockeyNews, TheStreet, Arena and 200 sports team publishers formerly operating for Sports Illustrated.
- Going forward. The Company plans to execute the same strategy of forming platform partnerships with major and professional media companies. Previous ventures led by James Heckman resulted in three public companies, acquisitions by News Corp and Yahoo (twice), and thousands of platform clients. RTB's sales team will engage the same media ecosystem and business model, now powered by what the Company believes is the industry's most modern, efficient and economically advantaged platform.
Leadership
James C. Heckman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, is a media infrastructure architect creating business models and coalitions at the intersection of media, technology, and capital markets. He founded and led Maven (NYSE:AREN), growing it to a nine-figure public SaaS platform, operating hundreds of professional brands, including SI, History.com, and TheStreet. Previously, Heckman ran Global Media Strategy at Yahoo!, creating the platform and initial coalition of what became the $200 Billion premium digital marketplace, partnering originally with AOL, MSN, Yahoo and dozens of major brands. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the first data-targeted social advertising platform, forming a market-changing $1 billion ad alliance between Google and Myspace, and led the team that created Hulu's original business model. He is the founder of NFL Exclusive, Rivals.com, Scout.com, 5to1, Maven/Arena and now RTB Digital - each profitable, sustainable, market-changing platforms.
Eyal Hertzog, CTO, Co-Founder, is best known as inventor of fundamental DeFi (decentralized finance) technology including automated market making (AMM) and the decentralized liquidity pool. He founded DeWeb Ltd which developed the ground-breaking Web3 community, publishing and monetization platform, operating on a DeFi platform, which Roundtable acquired. Prior to DeWeb, he co-founded and architected the pioneering DeFi company Bancor and co-founded video-sharing service MetaCafe, predating YouTube.
Walton Comer, Chairman, Co-Founder, is co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of XBTO Group, and founding investor/advisor in Deribit, recently sold to Coinbase for $3B. His deep experience in quantitative finance includes tenure as Research Director for Thornhill Partners, Quantitative Analyst for SAC Capital, and co-founder and Director of research technology company Lucid.
Aly Madhavji, CFO, Co-Founder, is a globally recognized blockchain investor, chartered finance professional, and Managing Partner of Blockchain Founders Fund, invested in more than 200 blockchain infrastructure companies across global markets. Madhavji brings a rare convergence of institutional finance and deep native blockchain expertise to RTB, and is credentialled as a CA, CPA, CMA, CIM, MBA from INSEAD (Senior Blockchain Fellow), and Schwarzman Scholar from Tsinghua University, and served on University of Toronto's Governing Council.
"After diligencing and investing in hundreds of blockchain infrastructure teams, this is the one that stands apart," said Madhavji at the time of his appointment. "Our platform gives publishers what they've wanted for years: real-time revenue, transparent reporting, and control of their data, audiences, and IP-- only possible by combining DeFi and AI."
Bill Sornsin, COO, Co-Founder
Sornsin co-founded and served as COO of Maven (later Arena Group), servicing 300 brands including Sports Illustrated, History.com, and TheStreet. Earlier Bill led MSN's Core Technology team, before co-founding Rivals.com and Scout.com – serving as CTO for both. With Scout's 2005 acquisition by Fox Interactive Media, he joined Fox as VP of engineering and operations for that unit. He later served as CTO of online advertising platform 5to1 (acquired by Yahoo!). He returned to Scout in 2013 as CTO (later COO), directing a massive technological renovation focused on mobile and video. Sornsin holds a bachelor's in electrical/computer engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
About Roundtable (RTB Digital, Inc.)
Transforming the $200B Premium Media Industry from Web1 to Web4. Roundtable is the only full-stack enterprise platform combining AI and Web3 infrastructure, including decentralized publishing, DeFi payments and reporting, data encryption and IP protection, syndication, revenue optimization, AI-based business intelligence, management and operations, custom network applications, and a real-time blockchain-based payment and reporting system. The platform represents a multi-generational leap in technology. For more information, visit RTB.io.
Information contained in the company website is not being incorporated by reference herein and is being provided for informational purposes only.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs, assumptions and expectations regarding future events, which in turn are based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements that are characterized by future or conditional words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," and "continue" or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations and plans, which contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition or state other forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the timing and effects of the merger transaction and the integration of the business of RTB into the combined post-merger company and the effects of the overall merger transaction and future operations of the post-merger company. By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements, such as the post-merger company being able to maintain its listing on Nasdaq for the common stock, having sufficient capital for its operations and planned business expansion, and developing its business and capturing users for its services. Other risk factors affecting the Company are discussed in detail in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.
Investor Relations Contact:
Richard Land, Alliance Advisors Investor Relations
973-873-7686, rland@allianceadvisors.com
Public Relations Contact:
Mehab Qureshi, RTB Digital, Inc.
+91 90289 77198, press@roundtable.io
