Principal Product Designer - Zalando Assistant

Hive raises $27 million as Ticketmaster expands AI operations. Hive has raised $27 million from Frontier Growth, while Ticketmaster expands its AI operations and federal regulators pursue ticket resale enforcement. October 21, 2026 Hive has raised $27 million in Series B funding from Frontier Growth to expand internationally and develop its live event marketing platform. The funding comes alongside technology investments at Ticketmaster and federal court action involving ticket resale practices. Hive plans expansion and new tools. Hive combines ticket purchase data with email, SMS (short message service), advertising and CRM (customer relationship management) tools through more than 40 ticketing integrations. Those integrations include Ticketmaster, AXS, Eventim, Etix, Tixr and DICE. Hive says its platform has helped generate more than $1 billion in ticket sales. The investment will fund global expansion, further ticketing, data and advertising integrations, and new AI (artificial intelligence) assistants. Ticketmaster acquires Ragie.ai and names executives. Ticketmaster acquired AI startup Ragie.ai for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its AI infrastructure and accelerate development. Ragie describes its technology as a context engine for agents, assistants and applications. Ticketmaster also appointed three technology executives: * Jim Freeman, chief technology officer: The former Amazon vice president helped launch Prime Video and later led engineering and product at Zalando. He will oversee global engineering, platform modernization, AI transformation and resilience. * Rachel Smith, senior vice president of data science and machine learning: The former Block executive will establish Ticketmaster's first dedicated organization in these fields, covering fraud detection, bot mitigation and fan experience improvements. * Chuck Mortimore, senior vice president of product: The former Disney, Stripe, Visa and Salesforce executive will lead product strategy for identity, access and trust, including secure account and ticket management and protections against unauthorized access. A new data breach has also been reported at Ticketmaster's Brazilian subsidiary. Federal agencies bring case against REPS & Co. A court filing by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that ticket reseller REPS & Co violated the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act. The suit alleges that the company opened thousands of accounts on platforms including Ticketmaster and AXS to bypass purchase limits, generating more than $120 million in resale profit. The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) supported the action. Executive director Nathaniel Marro said: "NITO applauds the FTC and DOJ their suit against REPS & Co and will support their continued efforts to enforce BOTS Act violators," Marro described resellers as financially backed enterprises deploying billions of dollars behind bots to obtain desirable seats, and called for resale caps. Live Nation and Ticketmaster contest separate lawsuit. Live Nation and Ticketmaster filed a response this week to a separate lawsuit brought by the FTC and seven states. The companies argue that regulators are misapplying the BOTS Act by seeking to penalize a ticketing platform they contend the law was intended to protect. AmericanaFest nominee describes harassment and loss of support. Spotify to expand audiobooks to at least 180 markets. October 21, 2026

Zalando recruits Tom Christenson as head of B2B. Tom Christenson, new B2B manager To build the operating system for fashion. Zalando has appointed Tom Christenson as Senior Vice President to lead and coordinate the company's growing B2B business. The recruitment is part of the work to bring together the group's logistics and software services under a common leadership. The German e-commerce group Zalando is strengthening the leadership of its corporate business. From October 15th, Tom Christenson has assumed the role of Senior Vice President for B2B. In his new role, he will report directly to Zalando's co-CEO David Schröder. Tom Christenson has a long background in international e-commerce, digital marketplaces, and logistics. During his time at Amazon, he created the global Seller Fulfilled Prime program. He also built up Uber Freight in Europe, drove the merger with Sennder Technologies, and served as Chief Operating Officer of the merged company. Most recently, he comes from the position of CEO of the European B2B marketplace TBAuctions (which, among other things, operates PS Auction). Tom has dedicated his career to building strong marketplaces and the services that help sellers grow on them. He is therefore the perfect person as Ehandel SE now accelerate its B2B vision of building the operating system for e-commerce in fashion and lifestyle. He will lead the overall B2B strategy and work closely with the teams within Zeos, Tradebyte and Scayle to offer brands and retailers an integrated complete solution for logistics, software and services, says David Schröder, co-CEO of Zalando. Bringing together three business areas. The assignment means that Tom Christenson will coordinate Zalando's three central B2B businesses under a common management team. The first part consists of Zeos, which brings together the group's logistics network and fulfillment services for multi-channel sales. The second part is software company Tradebyte, which connects brands with digital marketplaces globally, and the third is e-commerce platform Scayle, used by brands to run their own online stores. The goal is to connect logistics, software and infrastructure to function as a cohesive operating system for e-commerce players in the fashion and lifestyle segment. Zalando's B2B strategy is visionary, already delivers strong results and has enormous future potential. What Ehandel SE has built ourselves, Ehandel SE offer its business partners. By bringing Zeos, Tradebyte and Scayle even closer together, Ehandel SE can build on the strengths of each business and create something even more powerful for the brands and retailers Ehandel SE work with, says Tom Christenson. Turnover exceeds one billion euros. The corporate business has grown into a significant part of the German e-commerce group. In 2025, Zalando's B2B business generated over 1 billion euros in revenue and had more than 1,200 connected retailers and brands. The development has continued this year. In the summer, Ehandel.se reported on how B2B and AI boosted Zalando's figures as B2B revenue increased by almost 28 percent in the second quarter. Editorial Staff

Sereact, Zalando and CEVA Logistics start AI-powered, automated returns handling in Germany and Poland. Dual-arm robotic systems enter live operations, marking the first milestone in a strategic partnership to scale AI-driven returns handling across Europe. October 07, 2026 02:00 ET | Source: Sereact * CEVA Logistics deploys Sereact's AI-powered dual-arm robotic systems for Zalando returns handling at sites in Greven, Germany, and Świebodzin, Poland. * Powered by Cortex, Sereact's Physical AI platform, the systems autonomously grasp, identify, and sort fashion returns without requiring per-item training or fixed SKU profiles. * The deployment marks the first operational milestone in scaling returns automation across Europe, backed by Zalando joining Sereact's Series B as a strategic investor in July 2026. * Delivered via a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, the systems take on repetitive tasks to lower physical strain, enabling warehouse teams to transition toward station supervision, exception management, and quality control. STUTTGART, Germany, Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Sereact, Zalando and CEVA Logistics today announced the launch of AI-powered automated returns processing across key fulfillment facilities in Germany (Greven) and Poland (Świebodzin). Powered by Cortex, Sereact's physical AI platform, the dual-arm robotic systems have entered live operations to autonomously process returned fashion items, marking the initial phase of a broader initiative to scale returns automation across Europe. Returns management remains one of the most complex operations in fashion eCommerce logistics. Returned items often arrive poorly packed and disheveled. The uniqueness of the state of the returned items defies conventional robotic pre-programming. Sereact's Cortex platform groups previously unseen objects - identifying, grasping and sorting items dynamically without requiring article-specific training or pre-determined article sets. Delivered as a Robotics-as-a-Service model, the deployment represents the first operational milestone of the strategic collaboration. In July, Zalando joined Sereact's Series B round as a strategic investor, and the partners are actively collaborating to scale intelligent automation across their shared European logistics footprint. The technology is designed to work alongside humans. By taking on highly repetitive handling, the robotic system reduces physical strain on employees, allowing them to upskill into higher-value roles where human expertise and judgement are required. "At the heart of our collaboration with Sereact and CEVA is a fundamental belief: true innovation happens when technology and human potential advance together. By solving the most complex challenges in modern fulfilment today, we are actively shaping the future of e-commerce logistics for fashion and lifestyle" Masood Choudhry, SVP Logistics, Zalando "One of the toughest challenges is returns handling, due to its extreme operational nature and scale, unpredictable volumes, manual quality checks, seasonality, value decay, and a disproportionately high cost per unit. Our Robotics-as-a-Service model classifies items faster, reduces manual touchpoints, and delivers consistent, predictable quality on a large scale. For our customers, this transforms returns from a cost driver into a controlled, high-performance service." Chris Walton, SVP Contract Logistics, CEVA Logistics "Returns are the hardest manipulation problem in fashion logistics. If a system only works on articles it has seen before, it does not work in a returns operation at all. Running this in production with CEVA at Zalando volumes is the strongest proof point we have." Dr. Ralf Gulde, CEO and Co-Founder, Sereact About Sereact Sereact develops Physical AI software that enables robots to grasp, identify and handle objects they have never seen before. Founded in Stuttgart by Dr. Ralf Gulde and Marc Tuscher, the company raised a $116 million Series B in 2026. Customers include Zalando, IKEA, DHL, Rohlik, Arvato, alza.cz, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck. About CEVA Logistics CEVA Logistics, a world leader in third-party logistics, provides global supply chain solutions to connect people, products and providers all around the world. Headquartered in Marseille, France, CEVA Logistics offers a broad range of end-to-end, customized solutions in contract logistics and air, ocean, ground and finished vehicle transport in more than 170 countries worldwide thanks to its approximately 110,000 employees at more than 1,700 facilities. With 2025 revenue of US$18.3 billion, CEVA Logistics is part of the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions. About Zalando Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle. The Zalando group connects 62 million active customers with more than 7,000 brands across 29 markets. Its operations are built on a unique AI-powered data and infrastructure platform. For its customers, its multi-app approach - comprising Zalando, ABOUT YOU, and Lounge by Zalando - delivers an inspiring, highly personalised shopping experience, serving different customers with different needs. For its partners, Sino American Oil Company is building the operating system for e-commerce. Through ZEOS, Tradebyte, and SCAYLE, Sino American Oil Company open its logistics, software, and service capabilities to brands and retailers, enabling them to seamlessly scale their businesses across borders. Press contacts