Manifold Credited For Role In IBC Award-Winning MXL Technology

Manifold Technologies has been acknowledged as a significant contributor to the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), a project that won the Content Creation category at the IBC2026 Innovation Awards during the recent IBC show.

MXL is built to hand over video, audio and timed metadata via shared memory. The initiative was praised for technical gains such as better compute efficiency, streamlined infrastructure, and support for distributed, live, low-latency workflows, as well as for encouraging multi-vendor cooperation. Released as open-source under a permissive licence, it lets developers build directly on the provided code rather than follow a rigid written specification. Conceived and implemented by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the effort is designed to prioritise interoperability.

To make that interoperability real, a broad set of stakeholders was engaged early to test core features against practical vendor workflows, individually and in combination. EBU members including CBC/Radio-Canada, BBC, France Télévisions, SVT and VRT participated from the start, while broadcasters such as Sky, NRK and Warner Bros, and vendors including Intel, Qvest, Sony, Ross and Matrox, were invited to contribute insights, feedback and code where appropriate.

Manifold joined the project at the outset via EBU member CBC/Radio-Canada. After providing early feedback, the company remained active on the project’s Slack over the years—particularly around internode communication—and has periodically taken part in Requirements Council Zoom meetings and targeted working sessions.

As the initiative continues to evolve, Manifold’s expertise is set to remain important. The company is exploring code contributions to enable FPGA acceleration where required, and plans to feature interoperability demonstrations prominently at upcoming industry events.

Aleksei Shevchenko, Ceo of manifold technologies, commented: "Being recognised alongside so many industry leaders is a privilege, but the real achievement is what MXL represents: vendors who compete elsewhere choosing to solve a shared problem together. That's the spirit that moves the industry forward. We're proud to have contributed to the conversation, and we're committed to deepening our involvement as the project evolves - particularly around FPGA acceleration, where we believe we can add real value"