BrightEdge is an enterprise SEO and content performance platform that turns the chaos of search into a measurable system of record. Founded in 2007 by Jim Yu and Lemuel Park, it built one of the largest proprietary data sets in marketing - billions of pages and keywords - and pairs it with an AI engine (DataMind) to power products like Data Cube, ContentIQ, Autopilot and AI Catalyst. Used by thousands of brands including a majority of the Fortune 100, BrightEdge has pivoted hard into measuring and optimizing for AI-driven search experiences like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Ross Hudgens is the founder and CEO of Siege Media, a content-led SEO agency he built from a one-person freelance operation in 2012 into a 100-person, Inc. 5000 honoree (six consecutive years) backed by private equity at an eight-figure valuation. A Chapman University marketing graduate, he cut his teeth as the first employee at Single Grain before going solo after Google's Penguin update reshaped the industry. Today he advises brands like Zapier, Casper, and Airbnb on organic growth, co-created the GrowthComet agency training course, angel-invested in SparkToro, and in 2026 published 'Generative Engine Optimization: The Definitive Guide to AI SEO' with Wiley — cementing his position at the forefront of AI-era search strategy.
Wildcard is a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform that helps e-commerce brands get their products discovered and purchased through AI shopping channels like ChatGPT Shopping, Google Gemini, Amazon Rufus, and Perplexity. Founded by Kaushik Mahorker and Yagnya Patel - both veterans of Scale AI, Tesla, and Amazon - Wildcard addresses the core problem that 67% of products lack the structured attributes AI engines need to recommend them. Their platform provides SKU-level analytics, catalog optimization, and content creation tools so brands can win in the emerging AI-first commerce landscape.