In London, insight agency Verve has announced five appointments to the team delivering its fast-growing synthetic personas proposition, VIPS. Chloe Stevens steps into the new role of Growth Director, while Tana-Maria Botezat, Nicole Seow, Benjamin Huaraka and Daniel Zhang also join the team. More.

YouGov has launched an AI-powered qual tool called BrandIndex Voices, which collects and analyses consumer conversations on a quant scale to reveal why brand perceptions change. More.

In the US, healthcare intelligence company Konovo has announced the acquisition of Rare Patient Voice (RPV), which recruits patients with rare, chronic and complex conditions for participation in market and UX research, as well as clinical trials. More.