KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23): Catcha Digital Bhd (Catcha) has appointed the founder of its recently-acquired company — Ittify Sdn Bhd, Tan Guan Sheng as its head of innovation, the group said in a statement on Monday.

The appointment is in line with the group’s efforts to spearhead its Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives related to digital media.

“We are thrilled to announce Guan as our Head of Innovation and look forward to working with him to unlock the power of AI for our group.

“We believe this can create significant value for our customers, allowing us to offer even better marketing solutions to all our clients,” Catcha Digital CEO Eric Tan said.

To recap, earlier this month, the group announced the acquisition of the remaining 49% equity interest in Ittify not already owned by the group for a cash consideration of RM3.43 million.

It also announced the acquisition of 30% equity interest in Headline Media Sdn Bhd for RM1.24 million, with an option to acquire another 50% stake within 36 months.

Headline Media owns and operates WeirdKaya, an English language website in Malaysia, as well as emerging Malay and Chinese language sites, WeirdKaya BM, LokLokWords and EzLokal.

Meanwhile, Guan said Catcha Digital is committed to pushing the boundaries of what AI could contribute to the company.

Notably, Guan also acquired 1.14 million shares in Catcha, representing approximately 0.32% of Catha’s total outstanding shares as at October 16, 2023.

Shares in Catcha closed two sen or 4.35% lower at 44 sen, giving it a market capitalization of RM154.92 million.

Since the beginning of the year, the stock has soared more than double from merely 20 sen in early January.