{
  "title": "The AI Exposure Index: Marketing",
  "vertical": "marketing",
  "reviewed": "2026-07-31",
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-07-31",
      "change": "Removed the per-vendor `vector` field and its `vectorMeaning` labels. Verdicts, practices, companies, sources and figures are unchanged."
    }
  ],
  "field": {
    "companies": 122,
    "shown": 122
  },
  "verdictMeaning": {
    "replaced": "Your client can get this deliverable without you, so the work moves in-house.",
    "repriced": "Your client still needs you to run the AI, so you keep the work and bill fewer hours.",
    "defensible": "The billed work has no AI substitute; only the prep hours under it get repriced."
  },
  "url": "https://upshiftco.com/for/marketing-agencies/ai-exposure-index",
  "downloads": {
    "json": "https://upshiftco.com/data/ai-exposure-index/upshift-ai-exposure-index-marketing-2026-07-31.json",
    "csv": "https://upshiftco.com/data/ai-exposure-index/upshift-ai-exposure-index-marketing-2026-07-31.csv"
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/",
  "attribution": "Upshift LLC (upshiftco.com). Licensed CC BY-ND 4.0: cite it with attribution to “The AI Exposure Index: Marketing” and a link to the Index URL. No derivatives: do not republish a modified or rebranded copy.",
  "feedback": "Corrections and additions welcome (missing company, wrong verdict, better primary source) with a URL: shawn@upshiftco.com. Subject line: AI Exposure Index: Marketing - correction or addition.",
  "practices": [
    {
      "practice": "Creative & graphic design",
      "group": "Creative & production",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "AdCreative.ai",
          "sells": "Self-serve generation of conversion-focused ad creatives, social visuals, and ad copy, sold to businesses of all sizes and SMBs directly (also markets to agencies).",
          "figure": "Acquired by Appier for $38.7M in Feb 2025 (prior ~$585K seed).",
          "url": "https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/02/14/appier-acquires-adcreative-ai-for-38-7m-to-expand-generative-ai-in-advertising-and-marketing/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Adobe Firefly (Enterprise / Firefly Services)",
          "sells": "Commercially-safe generative AI and custom brand models for enterprise marketing teams to produce on-brand creative at scale, sold directly to brands.",
          "figure": "Adobe product; named enterprise users MAC, Amazon Fresh, Gatorade; Adobe’s own campaign cut time-to-market 60%.",
          "url": "https://news.adobe.com/news/2025/03/adobe-firefly-services-custom-models-unlock-on-brand-content-production"
        },
        {
          "name": "Canva (Magic Studio)",
          "sells": "AI design suite (Magic Design, Dream Lab, Magic Write) sold to SMBs, marketers, in-house teams, and consumers directly to make their own brand assets and social creative.",
          "figure": "~$42B valuation; ~$4B ARR (2026); Magic Studio used 16B+ times; 260M MAU / 29M paid.",
          "url": "https://tsginvest.com/canva/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Recraft",
          "sells": "Brand-controlled AI image/design platform sold to designers, marketers, and product teams, named in-house buyers include Amazon, NVIDIA, Salesforce, Uber.",
          "figure": "$30M Series B led by Accel (Apr 2025); 4M+ users.",
          "url": "https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250430996607/en/Recraft-Raises-$30M-Series-B-to-Bring-Creative-Quality-and-Brand-Control-to-Generative-AI-Design"
        },
        {
          "name": "Ideogram",
          "sells": "Text-accurate AI image generation sold self-serve to marketers, creators, brands, and consumers directly.",
          "figure": "$80M Series A led by a16z (Feb 2024); ~$1.2B valuation; millions of users.",
          "url": "https://www.maginative.com/article/ideogram-raises-80-million-to-advance-its-ai-image-generation-tech/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Midjourney",
          "sells": "AI image generation sold self-serve to creators, brands, and consumers directly (subscription).",
          "figure": "$300M revenue in 2024, profitable, no outside funding; ~19M users; ~$500M revenue 2025.",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/midjourney/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Creatopy",
          "sells": "AI-driven ad design and creative automation (multi-size ad production at scale), ‘more than 5,000 global brands and agencies’ use it.",
          "figure": "$10M Series A from 3VC and Point Nine (Oct 2023); 5,000+ brands and agencies.",
          "url": "https://www.adexchanger.com/ai/creatopy-uses-10-million-in-series-a-funding-to-make-better-ai-creative/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Superside",
          "sells": "AI-first Creative-as-a-Service delivering graphic/brand design directly to brands, named clients Google, Meta, Amazon, Salesforce, Coinbase.",
          "figure": "$39.5M total raised ($30M Series A co-led by Prosus Ventures & Lugard Road); 450+ brands; 5,000+ AI creative projects.",
          "url": "https://www.superside.com/blog/superside-30-million"
        },
        {
          "name": "Typeface",
          "sells": "Personalized generative AI platform that ingests a brand’s assets to produce on-brand images, ads, and copy, sold to enterprise marketing teams directly.",
          "figure": "~$165M-$206M raised; $1B valuation (Series B led by Salesforce Ventures, 2023).",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/typeface-announces-100m-in-new-funding-to-fuel-global-expansion-of-its-personalized-generative-ai-platform-for-enterprises-301866644.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Photoroom",
          "sells": "AI product-photography and photo-editing app/API sold to e-commerce sellers, SMBs, and businesses directly.",
          "figure": "$43M Series B (Mar 2024) at ~$500M valuation, led by Balderton; 5B+ images/year; 150M+ downloads.",
          "url": "https://www.balderton.com/news/photoroom-secures-43m-in-series-b-funding-launches-next-generation-ai-photo-editing-features-for-businesses/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Pencil (Brandtech Group)",
          "sells": "Generative AI ad-creative platform that produces and predicts ads for brands, Pencil Pro sold to global brands (Unilever, Bayer among first partners).",
          "figure": "Acquired by The Brandtech Group (Jun 2023); 5,000+ brands, 1M+ AI-generated ads.",
          "url": "https://www.adexchanger.com/ai/the-brandtech-group-snatches-up-generative-ai-ad-platform/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Market & audience research",
      "group": "Strategy & brand",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Simile",
          "sells": "AI ‘agent twins’ / digital clones of real people that replace focus groups and surveys, sold to brands and enterprise insights teams to run research in-house.",
          "figure": "$100M Series A led by Index Ventures (Feb 2026), then $200M Series B at a $2B valuation (July 2026); Stanford spin-out",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/30/synthetic-user-startup-simile-raises-200m-at-2b-valuation-5-months-after-100m-series-a/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Aaru",
          "sells": "AI agents that simulate statistically representative populations (voters, consumers) to predict behavior, sold to enterprises and consultancies as a market-research substitute.",
          "figure": "~$88M raised at a $1B ‘headline’ Series A valuation led by Redpoint Ventures; clients EY, Accenture, McDonald’s, Bayer",
          "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/06/17/aaru-cofounder-ned-koh-ai-startup-sales-pitch-do-not-trust-us/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Quantilope",
          "sells": "Automated, AI-powered consumer-intelligence platform (brand tracking, conjoint, concept testing) sold to brands’ in-house insights teams.",
          "figure": "$40M total funding over 7 rounds; $28M Series B led by Digital+ Partners (Jan 2024)",
          "url": "https://www.quantilope.com/press/series-b-investment-round"
        },
        {
          "name": "Remesh",
          "sells": "AI-moderated live research platform that runs conversations/polls with up to 1,000 participants at once and synthesizes insight, sold to enterprise insights and strategy teams.",
          "figure": "$42.7M total funding; $25M Series A2 led by General Catalyst",
          "url": "https://www.research-live.com/article/news/remesh-in-25m-funding-round/id/5066612"
        },
        {
          "name": "Brandwatch",
          "sells": "Consumer-intelligence and social-listening platform (audience insight, trend and brand monitoring) sold directly to brands and their marketing teams.",
          "figure": "~$65M raised pre-acquisition; acquired by Cision for $450M (2021); ~$100M ARR after the Crimson Hexagon merger",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/26/brandwatch-is-acquired-by-cision-for-450m-creating-a-pr-marketing-and-social-listening-giant/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Attest",
          "sells": "No-code ‘research-as-a-service’ survey platform tapping a 110M-consumer panel across 49 countries, sold to brands’ insights and marketing teams to self-run studies.",
          "figure": "$60M growth round (2021); panel of 110M consumers in 49 countries",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/27/attest-raises-60m-to-expand-its-no-code-approach-to-research-surveys-as-a-service-which-taps-110m-consumers-in-49-countries/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Evidenza",
          "sells": "Full-service synthetic B2B market research (synthetic CMO/exec audiences, 72-hour turnaround) sold to Fortune 500 marketing teams, and also partnered with agencies (Dentsu).",
          "figure": "Named enterprise clients BlackRock, Microsoft, JP Morgan, Salesforce; Dentsu strategic partnership (June 2025); funding undisclosed",
          "url": "https://www.dentsu.com/news-releases/dentsu-partners-with-evidenza-to-integrate-synthetic-audiences-into-next-gen-media-planning"
        },
        {
          "name": "Yabble",
          "sells": "Generative-AI research platform with ‘Virtual Audiences’ (synthetic respondents) and automated theming/summarization, sold to brands’ insights teams; now part of YouGov.",
          "figure": "Acquired by YouGov (Aug 2024) as a synthetic-research pioneer; Virtual Audiences subscription from ~$800/month",
          "url": "https://www.mrweb.com/drno/news37076.htm"
        },
        {
          "name": "Delve AI",
          "sells": "Automated buyer/competitor/audience persona generation from analytics and web data, sold to marketers and businesses directly (with a separate agency tier).",
          "figure": "7,000+ businesses in 80+ countries; paid plans from ~$89/month; HubSpot marketplace integration",
          "url": "https://www.delve.ai/pricing"
        },
        {
          "name": "Fairgen",
          "sells": "AI that generates statistically accurate synthetic survey responses (‘FairBoost’ doubles under-sampled segments), sold to brands, insights teams, and research buyers.",
          "figure": "$8M seed led by Maverick Ventures Israel (with Tal Ventures, IGNIA, Creator Fund)",
          "url": "https://www.fairgen.ai/press-releases/fairgen-raises-8m-for-statistically-accurate-ai-generated-survey-responses"
        },
        {
          "name": "Wynter",
          "sells": "On-demand B2B audience research and message testing against a verified panel of B2B professionals, sold directly to B2B marketing and product teams.",
          "figure": "Proprietary panel of 80,000+ LinkedIn/corporate-email-verified B2B professionals; results in 12-48 hours (funding not disclosed)",
          "url": "https://wynter.com/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Video production & editing",
      "group": "Creative & production",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Synthesia",
          "sells": "AI avatar video platform for enterprise communications and marketing, enterprises generate their own videos from text, sold directly to brands.",
          "figure": "$200M Series E (Oct 2025) at $4B valuation; ~$150M ARR.",
          "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2025/10/29/ai-video-startup-synthesia-valued-at-4-billion-in-new-200-million-raise/"
        },
        {
          "name": "HeyGen",
          "sells": "AI avatar and UGC video generation sold self-serve to businesses, marketers, creators, and SMBs directly.",
          "figure": "$60M Series A led by Benchmark at $500M valuation (2024); $100M+ ARR and 100,000+ paying customers (2025).",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/heygen/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Runway",
          "sells": "Gen-4 AI video generation sold to creators, filmmakers, brands, and enterprises via app and API.",
          "figure": "$315M Series E (Feb 2026) at $5.3B valuation, led by General Atlantic; $121.6M revenue in 2024.",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/ai-video-startup-runway-raises-315m-at-5-3b-valuation-eyes-more-capable-world-models/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Arcads",
          "sells": "AI-actor UGC video ads from a text script, sold to marketers and DTC brands running paid social (also to agencies).",
          "figure": "$16M seed led by Eurazeo (2024); 6,000+ clients, 100,000+ ad assets/month.",
          "url": "https://www.arcads.ai/blog/arcads-raises-16m-seed"
        },
        {
          "name": "Captions",
          "sells": "AI video creation and editing app (AI Creator generates talking videos) sold self-serve to creators, marketers, and businesses.",
          "figure": "$60M Series C led by Index Ventures at $500M valuation (Jul 2024); $100M total raised.",
          "url": "https://www.maginative.com/article/captions-announces-60m-series-c-hits-500m-valuation/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Creatify",
          "sells": "End-to-end AI ad agent that turns a product link into video ads, sold to marketers, e-commerce, and brands (Alibaba, Comcast, Binance).",
          "figure": "$15.5M Series A (WndrCo & Kindred, 2025); $9M ARR; 1.5M marketers, 10,000+ teams.",
          "url": "https://pulse2.com/creatify-15-5-million-series-a-raised-for-ai-ad-agent-for-video/"
        },
        {
          "name": "OpusClip",
          "sells": "AI short-form video repurposing (long video into social clips) sold self-serve to creators, media companies, and marketers.",
          "figure": "$20M from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (Mar 2025) at $215M valuation; $50M total; 10M+ users.",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/opusclip/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Descript",
          "sells": "AI video/audio editing (transcript-based editing, AI features) sold self-serve to creators, podcasters, and marketing teams.",
          "figure": "$50M Series C led by OpenAI Startup Fund at ~$550M valuation (2022); $100M total raised.",
          "url": "https://voicebot.ai/2022/11/15/openai-leads-50m-raise-for-ai-video-editor-descript/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Pika",
          "sells": "AI video generation sold self-serve to creators, marketers, and consumers directly.",
          "figure": "$80M Series B led by Spark Capital (Jun 2024); ~$135M total raised; ~$470-700M valuation.",
          "url": "https://www.maginative.com/article/pika-labs-secures-80m-in-series-b-funding/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Google Veo 3",
          "sells": "Text-to-video generation (with audio) sold to advertisers, brands, and enterprises via Vertex AI and the Gemini API, plus creators in the Gemini app.",
          "figure": "Google DeepMind product; rolled out globally Jul 2025 across Gemini app + Vertex AI to all Google Cloud customers (no standalone funding figure).",
          "url": "https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/veo-3-available-for-everyone-in-public-preview-on-vertex-ai"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Influencer marketing",
      "group": "Social & influence",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "CreatorIQ",
          "sells": "Enterprise influencer platform (discovery, campaign execution, measurement) sold directly to the world’s largest in-house brand marketing teams",
          "figure": "$80M raised over 5 rounds; $56.9M revenue; 1,300+ brands/agencies (Disney, Sephora, Unilever, H&M)",
          "url": "https://www.creatoriq.com/blog/series-c-announcement"
        },
        {
          "name": "GRIN",
          "sells": "Creator-management platform (gifting, affiliate tracking, payouts, attribution) sold directly to ecommerce brands",
          "figure": "$144M raised ($113M Series B, Lone Pine Capital); SKIMS, Warby Parker, Allbirds, Mejuri",
          "url": "https://tracxn.com/d/companies/grin/__hGDZCiiHTydSIkd68UtUMec3K_Yyqx2pfmEesm-obEg"
        },
        {
          "name": "Aspire (aspire.io)",
          "sells": "Influencer/ambassador/affiliate platform sold directly to ecommerce brands to build and manage creator communities",
          "figure": "$24M raised; reportedly $100M+ revenue; 400+ brands (Glossier, Bombas, Samsung, HelloFresh)",
          "url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aspireio"
        },
        {
          "name": "Modash",
          "sells": "Influencer discovery + program management (380M+ creator index) sold to in-house ecommerce/Shopify brand teams, with an API for agencies",
          "figure": "$14M raised ($12M Series A, Change Ventures/henQ); Airbnb, Victoria’s Secret, Google",
          "url": "https://www.modash.io/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Captiv8",
          "sells": "End-to-end influencer platform (discovery, activation, measurement) sold directly to brands; now owned by an agency holding company",
          "figure": "Acquired by Publicis Groupe (2025); 15M-creator network; Honda, Dr Pepper, Nissan, Fox",
          "url": "https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/news/press-releases/publicis-groupe-acquires-captiv8-to-build-the-world-s-most-powerful-connected-influencer-platform"
        },
        {
          "name": "Influencity",
          "sells": "AI influencer-marketing platform (200M+ creator search, campaign management) sold to both brands and agencies",
          "figure": "EUR2M funding; 2,000+ customers in 60 countries (Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Samsung)",
          "url": "https://influencity.com/platform/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Arcads",
          "sells": "AI actors that generate UGC-style video ads from a script (1,000+ AI creators), sold directly to DTC brands and performance marketers",
          "figure": "$16M seed led by Eurazeo; $15M ARR; 6,000+ clients, 100,000+ assets/month",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/arcads.ai"
        },
        {
          "name": "Creatify",
          "sells": "AI avatar/UGC video-ad generator and ‘AdMax’ end-to-end ad agent, sold directly to marketers and brand teams",
          "figure": "$23M total ($15.5M Series A, WndrCo/Kindred); $9M ARR; 1.5M marketers, 10,000+ teams (Comcast, Binance)",
          "url": "https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250528506486/en/Creatify-Crosses-$9M-ARR-Raises-$15.5M-Series-A-to-Launch-the-First-End-to-End-AI-Ad-Agent-for-Video"
        },
        {
          "name": "Icon (icon.com)",
          "sells": "‘AI Admaker’ that turns brand assets and human/AI UGC into finished creator ads with one-click launch, sold directly to DTC brands",
          "figure": "$9.2M seed led by Founders Fund (2024); 288+ DTC brands (Mudwtr, Obvi, JustFoodForDogs)",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/icon/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Social media management",
      "group": "Social & influence",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Sprout Social",
          "sells": "AI social publishing, listening, and ‘Generate Posts’ copy tools sold directly to in-house brand and enterprise social teams",
          "figure": "$457.55M revenue (2025), up from $405.91M (2024); public (NASDAQ: SPT)",
          "url": "https://investors.sproutsocial.com/news/news-details/2025/Sprout-Social-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-2024-Financial-Results/default.aspx"
        },
        {
          "name": "Hootsuite (OwlyWriter AI)",
          "sells": "OwlyWriter AI generates social copy/captions inside Hootsuite’s scheduler, sold directly to brands and social marketers",
          "figure": "$350M ARR (2024), ~18M customers, $690M valuation",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/hootsuite"
        },
        {
          "name": "Buffer (AI Assistant)",
          "sells": "AI Assistant that drafts, repurposes, and schedules posts, sold directly to SMBs, solopreneurs, and creators",
          "figure": "$22.5M ARR (2025), 57.5K customers, ~$25 ARPU",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/buffer"
        },
        {
          "name": "Vista Social",
          "sells": "AI-assisted scheduling, inbox, and reporting sold both to agencies (white-label) and directly to SMBs, freelancers, and creators",
          "figure": "30,000+ brands and agencies; $500K Y Combinator seed",
          "url": "https://vistasocial.com/agencies/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Simplified",
          "sells": "All-in-one AI content suite (design, writing, social scheduler) sold directly to marketers, brands, and creators",
          "figure": "$2.2M seed led by Craft Ventures; 100,000+ brands, 10M+ creators",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/simplified-is-bringing-automated-content-creation-to-marketers-and-raised-2-2-million-to-do-it-301309205.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Lately.ai",
          "sells": "AI that splices long-form content into social posts in a brand’s voice, sold directly to consumer/D2C brands and their in-house teams",
          "figure": "$2.2M total seed funding; 20,000+ businesses over the decade",
          "url": "https://www.lately.ai/press/lately-raises-750-000-in-latest-oversubscribed-series-seed-ii-round-bringing-total-to-2-2-million"
        },
        {
          "name": "Predis.ai",
          "sells": "AI social-post and ad generator with content/hashtag recommendations, sold directly to brands and influencers",
          "figure": "$155K seed round (2022, Anicut Capital / First Cheque)",
          "url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/predis-ai"
        },
        {
          "name": "ContentStudio",
          "sells": "AI-assisted writing, captions, and image generation plus scheduling, sold to brands and marketers as well as agencies",
          "figure": "16,500+ customers worldwide (bootstrapped; $34.7K seed)",
          "url": "https://contentstudio.io/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Cloud Campaign (CloudStudio)",
          "sells": "White-label social management + AI-assisted ‘social fulfillment’ sold TO marketing agencies and freelancers to run client accounts under their own brand",
          "figure": "$5M Series A (2021, Oregon Venture Fund/Access VP); 7,600+ companies, 420 agency customers",
          "url": "https://www.cloudcampaign.com/blog/cloud-campaign-closes-5-million-series-a"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Email marketing & lifecycle / CRM",
      "group": "Lifecycle & comms",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Klaviyo",
          "sells": "B2C CRM and AI marketing platform (email/SMS generation, segmentation, product feeds) sold directly to ecommerce brands to run their own campaigns.",
          "figure": "Publicly traded (NYSE: KVYO); all paying customers now have Email AI; default email platform for $500K+ ecommerce brands",
          "url": "https://www.klaviyo.com/products/email-marketing/ai-for-email-marketing"
        },
        {
          "name": "Attentive",
          "sells": "AI SMS + email platform that generates and automates targeted lifecycle campaigns, sold directly to retail/ecommerce brands.",
          "figure": "$436.5M raised across 9 rounds; ~$6.9B peak valuation; 8,000+ businesses; powered $29B+ in customer revenue (year ending Sep 2025)",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/attentive/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Omnisend",
          "sells": "AI email/SMS suite (AI copywriting, plain-language segment builder, product recs) sold directly to ecommerce brands, especially Shopify merchants.",
          "figure": "$55M ARR (2024); 100K+ ecommerce customers; bootstrapped/profitable (took only ~$160K angel, repaid it)",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/omnisend"
        },
        {
          "name": "Customer.io",
          "sells": "Lifecycle messaging/automation platform with AI send-time and content features, sold directly to product and marketing teams to run their own lifecycle programs.",
          "figure": "$93.7M total raised; ~$100M ARR (Sep 2025, +37% YoY)",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/customerio/"
        },
        {
          "name": "beehiiv",
          "sells": "Newsletter/publishing platform with AI writing and an AI site builder, sold directly to creators, publishers, and brands to produce and send their own newsletters.",
          "figure": "$49.7M total raised; $33M Series B (NEA, 2024); $30M ARR (Jun 2025)",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/30/beehiiv-newsletters/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Braze",
          "sells": "Customer-engagement platform with BrazeAI generative copy/creative and decisioning, sold directly to consumer brands to orchestrate their own email/lifecycle messaging.",
          "figure": "Publicly traded (NASDAQ: BRZE); used by consumer brands across retail, ecommerce, media, financial services, travel",
          "url": "https://www.braze.com/product/email"
        },
        {
          "name": "Intuit Mailchimp (Intuit Assist)",
          "sells": "Generative-AI email content generator and marketing assistant embedded in Mailchimp, sold directly to SMBs and small in-house marketing teams.",
          "figure": "Owned by Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU); 20+ AI/data-science features in-app; Intuit Assist positioned across 100M+ Intuit customers",
          "url": "https://mailchimp.com/newsroom/introducing-intuit-assist/"
        },
        {
          "name": "HubSpot (Breeze)",
          "sells": "Breeze AI assistant generates and refines marketing email content inside HubSpot’s CRM, sold directly to businesses’ marketing/sales teams.",
          "figure": "Publicly traded (NYSE: HUBS); Breeze AI rolled out platform-wide (2024) with content generation embedded in the email tool",
          "url": "https://knowledge.hubspot.com/ai/use-breeze-assistant"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Content writing & copywriting",
      "group": "Content & search",
      "verdict": "replaced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Jasper",
          "sells": "AI marketing-copy and content generation (blogs, ads, campaigns) sold directly to brand marketing teams and enterprise in-house marketers",
          "figure": "$125M Series A at ~$1.5B valuation (Oct 2022, led by Insight Partners); 850+ enterprise customers, ~20% of the Fortune 500 by 2024",
          "url": "https://www.jasper.ai/blog/jasper-announces-125m-series-a-funding"
        },
        {
          "name": "Copy.ai",
          "sells": "AI content and GTM copy generation (blogs, emails, social, sales copy) sold to marketers, GTM teams and enterprises (Lenovo, ServiceNow, Siemens)",
          "figure": "~$19.8M raised (Craft Ventures, Wing, Sequoia, Tiger); 480% revenue growth in 2024; hit $10M ARR in 2022",
          "url": "https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241211916269/en/Copy.ais-Go-To-Market-AI-Platform-Sees-480-Revenue-Growth-in-2024"
        },
        {
          "name": "Writer",
          "sells": "Full-stack enterprise generative-AI platform for on-brand content and workflows, sold to Fortune 500 in-house teams (Vanguard, L’Oreal, Uber, Qualcomm)",
          "figure": "$200M Series C at $1.9B valuation (Nov 2024, co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, ICONIQ)",
          "url": "https://writer.com/blog/series-c-funding-writer-press-release/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Anyword",
          "sells": "Performance-driven AI copywriting with predictive scoring, sold to performance/growth/demand-gen marketers and brands (Ted Baker, Conde Nast)",
          "figure": "$21M Series B (led by Innovation Endeavors); ~$30M total raised",
          "url": "https://www.anyword.com/blog/series-b-funding-round"
        },
        {
          "name": "Typeface",
          "sells": "Enterprise generative-AI ‘content factory’ for personalized on-brand marketing content, sold to Fortune 500 brands (Salesforce/Google-backed and partnered)",
          "figure": "~$206M raised incl. $141M Series B (Jun 2023) at $1B valuation; ~$34M est. ARR",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/29/typeface-which-is-building-generative-ai-for-brands-raises-100m-at-a-1b-valuation"
        },
        {
          "name": "Writesonic",
          "sells": "AI content generation for SEO-optimized articles and marketing copy, sold to SMBs, marketing teams, freelancers AND agencies",
          "figure": "~$2.6-3M seed (Y Combinator-backed); ~$8M ARR (2023)",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/writesonic.com"
        },
        {
          "name": "Hypotenuse AI",
          "sells": "AI product-content and ecommerce copywriting platform sold directly to ecommerce brands and Fortune 500 ecommerce teams",
          "figure": "Y Combinator-backed (~$150-170K seed, 2025 reported); ~$2.4M revenue; company reports 500K+ ecommerce users",
          "url": "https://www.extruct.ai/hub/hypotenuse-ai/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Paid media & performance marketing",
      "group": "Media & performance",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Meta Advantage+",
          "sells": "Platform-native AI that automates audience targeting, budget allocation, creative selection and bidding for Meta ad campaigns, sold directly to advertisers/brands inside Ads Manager (no agency required to run it).",
          "figure": "Meta’s end-to-end AI ad solutions (Advantage+ suite) surpassed a $60B annual revenue run rate in 2025; Advantage+ Sales grew 70% YoY to a $20B+ run rate in Q4 2024.",
          "url": "https://about.fb.com/news/2026/01/2026-ai-drives-performance/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Google Performance Max / AI Max",
          "sells": "Google’s AI campaign type that automates bidding, budget, placement and creative assembly across all Google inventory, sold directly to advertisers in Google Ads.",
          "figure": "1M+ advertisers on PMax as of April 2025, reported at 4M advertisers by April 2026; automated bidding now ~87% of Google Ads spend.",
          "url": "https://www.adexchanger.com/ai/google-touts-its-ai-ad-tech-adoption-and-new-ai-max-features/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Smartly.io (Smartly)",
          "sells": "AI cross-channel social ad automation (creative production + buying + optimization) sold to brand, performance and creative teams as well as agencies, spanning Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, Amazon and CTV.",
          "figure": "$22.8M raised (Lifeline Ventures, Highland Europe); 650+ brands incl. eBay and Uber; acquired by Providence Equity Partners.",
          "url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/smartly-io"
        },
        {
          "name": "AdCreative.ai",
          "sells": "Generative AI that produces conversion-focused ad creatives for social, search and display, sold to businesses of all sizes (SMBs, brands) and agencies directly.",
          "figure": "Seed funding from Inventram and Koc Holding (Oct 2023); acquired by Appier Technologies Feb 2025.",
          "url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/adcreative-ai"
        },
        {
          "name": "Creatify",
          "sells": "End-to-end AI ‘ad agent’ that generates, tests and optimizes video ads, sold to marketers and brands directly (1.5M+ marketers).",
          "figure": "$15.5M Series A (May 2025, WndrCo/Kindred; total ~$23M); crossed $9M ARR; 10,000+ teams incl. Alibaba.com, Comcast, Binance.",
          "url": "https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250528506486/en/Creatify-Crosses-$9M-ARR-Raises-$15.5M-Series-A-to-Launch-the-First-End-to-End-AI-Ad-Agent-for-Video"
        },
        {
          "name": "Madgicx",
          "sells": "Autonomous AI media buyer and budget optimizer for Meta/Instagram ads, sold to e-commerce DTC brands and performance agencies.",
          "figure": "~$14.5M raised (Series B, Jan 2021); positioned for DTC brands/agencies spending $20K-$100K+/mo on Meta.",
          "url": "https://madgicx.com/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Amanda AI",
          "sells": "Autonomous ‘advertising robot’ that sets up and optimizes ads across Google, Meta and Bing, sold to both brands and agencies.",
          "figure": "~$678K funding, ~$11.3M valuation; used by 600+ brands and agencies incl. GroupM and Toyota.",
          "url": "https://amandaai.com/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Omneky",
          "sells": "AI ad-generation and omnichannel orchestration platform that creates, launches and optimizes ads across channels, sold to brands/marketers directly.",
          "figure": "$10M total seed funding (latest Nov 2022); ~$80M valuation on a 2025 StartEngine raise.",
          "url": "https://www.trysignalbase.com/news/funding/omneky-secures-10m-in-seed-funding-to-revolutionize-ai-driven-advertising-campaigns"
        },
        {
          "name": "Pencil (Brandtech Group)",
          "sells": "Generative AI ad creator that produces and predicts performance of ad creative, sold to enterprise brands (piloted by Unilever, Bayer).",
          "figure": "$4.1M raised (pre-Series A, Sequoia/Entrepreneur First); acquired by The Brandtech Group June 2023; predictions built on $1B+ media-spend data across 4,000 brands.",
          "url": "https://www.marketingdive.com/news/brandtech-acquires-ai-saas-platform-pencil/653400/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "SEO services",
      "group": "Content & search",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Surfer SEO",
          "sells": "AI content-for-SEO optimization (real-time content scoring, briefs, writing) sold to SEOs, agencies AND in-house/brand teams (Shopify, FedEx, ClickUp)",
          "figure": "Bootstrapped to ~$16M ARR (~$48M valuation); 150,000+ users; acquired by France’s Positive Group (Jan 2025)",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/surfer"
        },
        {
          "name": "Clearscope",
          "sells": "Content-first SEO optimization (real-time grading vs. top results) sold to in-house marketing and editorial teams",
          "figure": "Bootstrapped, ~$1.5M revenue with a 14-person team (2025); founded 2016",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/clearscope.io/funding"
        },
        {
          "name": "MarketMuse",
          "sells": "AI content-strategy and optimization (content audits, topic clusters, gap analysis) sold to content/marketing teams and agencies",
          "figure": "$2.5-3M Series A (Mar 2020, led by Informa Ventures); ~$8.9M revenue / 150 customers (2024); acquired by Siteimprove (Oct 2024)",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/marketmuse"
        },
        {
          "name": "Frase",
          "sells": "AI SEO content briefs and writing (analyzes top-ranking pages) sold to marketers, SEO pros and content teams, customers span agencies (Digitas, Merkle) and brands (Oracle, GitLab)",
          "figure": "Bootstrapped, ~$1.8M ARR (2025); tens of thousands of teams; founded 2017",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/frase.io"
        },
        {
          "name": "Semrush ContentShake AI",
          "sells": "AI SEO writing tool combining Semrush keyword data with generation, sold to SMBs, solo marketers and small teams (‘team of one’)",
          "figure": "Semrush (NYSE: SEMR) FY2024 revenue $376.8M / $411.6M ARR, 118,000 paying customers; ContentShake at $60/mo used by thousands of bloggers",
          "url": "https://www.semrush.com/news/310272-give-your-content-an-extra-seo-boost-with-contentshake-ai-new-feature/"
        },
        {
          "name": "AirOps",
          "sells": "AI content-operations platform for SEO and GEO (workflows, brand-visibility monitoring, page generation) sold on annual contracts to in-house marketing, SEO and growth teams",
          "figure": "$15.5M Series A (Oct 2024, Unusual Ventures); $40M Series B (Nov 2025) at ~$225M; ~$118M total raised",
          "url": "https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241001021956/en/AirOps-Secures-$15.5M-to-Empower-Marketers-with-AI-Driven-Growth-Playbooks"
        },
        {
          "name": "SEObot",
          "sells": "Fully autonomous AI SEO agent (keyword research, competitor analysis, long-form posts, publishing) sold to founders, startups and marketers",
          "figure": "~$1M raised; founded by John Rush and Vitalik May",
          "url": "https://www.startuphub.ai/startups/seobot"
        },
        {
          "name": "daydream",
          "sells": "AI-native agency for organic search (SEO/AEO) selling the SEO deliverable directly to brands, human experts plus AI agents",
          "figure": "$15M Series A (led by WndrCo), ~$21M total; reports ~$70M ARR with under 20 staff",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/daydream-raises-15m-series-a-to-build-the-worlds-best-ai-native-agency-for-seo-302732302.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Rankability",
          "sells": "AI SEO/AEO content-optimization platform built agency-first (per-client seats, included white-label reporting) sold to agencies to service multiple clients faster",
          "figure": "No disclosed VC funding; agency-plan pricing $79-$399/mo; reports 7,290+ AI-search professionals; founded 2024 by Nathan Gotch (Gotch SEO)",
          "url": "https://www.rankability.com/about/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Web design & development",
      "group": "Creative & production",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Durable",
          "sells": "AI website builder that generates a full business site in ~30 seconds, sold directly to solo entrepreneurs and small service businesses (the client builds and runs the site themselves).",
          "figure": "$14M Series A (Dec 2023, led by Spark Capital); ~$26.5M total raised; 6M+ websites built",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/12/durable-cements-14m-to-build-ai-powered-tools-for-small-businesses-in-service-industries/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Framer",
          "sells": "No-code / AI web design and publishing platform sold to businesses, marketers, and in-house designers to design and ship production websites directly.",
          "figure": "$100M Series D at $2B valuation (Aug 2025); surpassed $50M ARR",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/28/no-code-website-builder-framer-reaches-2b-valuation/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Lovable",
          "sells": "AI ‘vibe-coding’ builder that generates web apps and sites from a prompt, sold directly to founders, SMBs, and non-technical builders who ship the product themselves.",
          "figure": "$330M Series B at $6.6B valuation (Dec 2025); $200M ARR; ~8M users",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/18/vibe-coding-startup-lovable-raises-330m-at-a-6-6b-valuation/"
        },
        {
          "name": "v0 by Vercel",
          "sells": "Generative-UI tool that produces working front-end/site code from natural language, sold to developers and product teams (including brands’ in-house teams) to generate the build directly.",
          "figure": "~$42M ARR (Feb 2025), 3.5M+ users, 100M+ apps generated; Vercel raised $300M Series F at $9.3B valuation (Sep 2025)",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/vercel/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Webflow",
          "sells": "Visual web-development platform, now AI-driven (added Intellimize personalization + AI site tooling), sold to businesses and in-house designers to build and optimize sites directly.",
          "figure": "$336M total raised; ~$4B valuation; approached $100M ARR; acquired Intellimize (2024)",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/19/webflow-intellimize-acquisition-web-development-ai"
        },
        {
          "name": "Wix (AI Site Generator / ADI)",
          "sells": "AI site generator that builds a tailored website in ~60 seconds, sold directly to SMBs and consumers who create and manage the site themselves.",
          "figure": "Publicly traded (NASDAQ: WIX); full-year 2023 revenue $1.56B (+13% YoY); majority of new users use at least one AI tool",
          "url": "https://openai.com/index/wix/"
        },
        {
          "name": "10Web",
          "sells": "AI WordPress website builder and hosting that recreates/generates sites automatically, sold directly to SMBs and site owners (now also via API).",
          "figure": "~$5M seed raised (Sierra Ventures, AI Fund); reports profitability",
          "url": "https://siliconangle.com/2025/05/08/10webs-generative-ai-website-builder-now-accessible-via-api/"
        },
        {
          "name": "B12",
          "sells": "AI website builder plus client-management tooling sold specifically to professional-services firms (lawyers, accountants, consultants) to launch and run their own web presence.",
          "figure": "$28.1M total raised over 2 rounds; 150,000+ businesses on platform",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/b12-commits-to-helping-professional-services-thrive-by-introducing-a-free-version-of-its-website-builder-and-the-new-firm-of-the-future-award-301654209.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Relume",
          "sells": "AI sitemap and wireframe generator that outputs component-based layouts, sold TO designers and agencies to accelerate the planning/wireframing/build stage (exports to Webflow, Figma, React).",
          "figure": "50,000+ designers on the platform; founded 2021; no disclosed VC funding (adoption figure and paid subscription model only)",
          "url": "https://www.relume.ai/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Conversion rate optimization & landing pages",
      "group": "Media & performance",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Mutiny",
          "sells": "No-code AI platform that detects visitor account/industry/intent signals and serves personalized website experiences to convert traffic, sold to in-house B2B marketing teams.",
          "figure": "$50M Series B at a $600M valuation (Tiger Global, Insight, Sequoia); customers incl. Notion, Snowflake, Ramp, Brex, Amplitude.",
          "url": "https://www.salesforge.ai/directory/sales-tools/mutiny"
        },
        {
          "name": "Unbounce",
          "sells": "AI landing-page builder plus Smart Traffic, which auto-routes each visitor to the variant most likely to convert; sold to marketers and agencies.",
          "figure": "US$39.1M raised; 15,000+ paying customers, 120,000+ total, 1.5B+ conversions powered.",
          "url": "https://unbounce.com/product/smart-traffic/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Instapage",
          "sells": "AI landing-page platform that generates page content (headlines, copy, CTAs) and automates post-click A/B testing, sold to brands/advertisers directly.",
          "figure": "$18M total funding ($15M Series A led by Morgan Stanley, 2018); 15,000+ brands incl. Verizon, eBay, Vimeo; acquired by airSlate Oct 2023.",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/10/instapage-morgan-stanley/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Coframe",
          "sells": "AI-managed platform that autonomously generates, tests and evolves website copy/visuals/code via multi-armed-bandit optimization, sold to companies/brands directly.",
          "figure": "$9.3M raised (Khosla Ventures, NFDG, Y Combinator); reported +42% average CTR in trials, up to +352% in some segments.",
          "url": "https://dig.watch/updates/ai-startup-coframe-secures-9-3m-to-boost-site-performance"
        },
        {
          "name": "Intellimize (Webflow)",
          "sells": "AI website personalization and conversion-rate-optimization platform that auto-tests page variants, sold to brands/marketers.",
          "figure": "$50M+ raised (Cobalt, Addition, Amplify, Homebrew); customers incl. Sumo Logic, Dermalogica, ZoomInfo; acquired by Webflow (2024).",
          "url": "https://webflow.com/blog/webflow-acquires-intellimize"
        },
        {
          "name": "Evolv AI",
          "sells": "Autonomous experimentation and personalization platform that automates A/B testing and CRO for websites and apps, sold to enterprise brands.",
          "figure": "$23.3M total funding ($10M Series A 2019 + $13.3M 2023); customers incl. Verizon, DIRECTV, Celebrity Cruises.",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolv-ai-raises-13-3m-to-fuel-enhanced-generative-ai-capabilities-301983087.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Optimizely Opal",
          "sells": "Agentic AI layer across Optimizely’s CMS/CMP/Experimentation that can autonomously ideate, build, run and ship winning experiments, sold to enterprise in-house marketing/digital teams.",
          "figure": "Optimizely is an established enterprise DXP (Insight Partners-owned); Opal ‘University’ participants built 375 AI agents in 5 days, signaling enterprise adoption.",
          "url": "https://www.optimizely.com/company/press/opal-workforce/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Kameleoon",
          "sells": "AI-driven personalization and A/B testing platform that tailors website experiences per visitor, sold to marketers and product owners at major brands.",
          "figure": "Relied on by 450+ major companies (leading European AI-personalization SaaS); customers incl. Toyota, Renault, Lidl, Rakuten, AXA.",
          "url": "https://www.kameleoon.com/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Marketing analytics & reporting",
      "group": "Lifecycle & comms",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Improvado",
          "sells": "AI marketing-analytics platform that unifies data, automates reporting, and answers performance questions via an AI agent, sold to both large enterprises and agencies.",
          "figure": "$22M Series A (led by Updata Partners); 1,000+ data-source connectors; used by Fortune 500 and global agencies",
          "url": "https://improvado.io/blog/improvado-series-a-funding"
        },
        {
          "name": "Supermetrics",
          "sells": "Marketing data integration and AI reporting/analysis agents, sold to in-house marketers, enterprises, and agencies to automate reporting.",
          "figure": "$47M Series B (~$92.9M total raised); $89.5M revenue (2024); 15%+ of global ad spend reported through it",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/supermetrics"
        },
        {
          "name": "Triple Whale",
          "sells": "AI analytics/attribution ‘operating system’ for ecommerce (Triple Pixel, Moby AI agent), sold directly to DTC and retail brands.",
          "figure": "$50M+ venture funding plus strategic investment from Shopify",
          "url": "https://www.triplewhale.com/about"
        },
        {
          "name": "Northbeam",
          "sells": "ML-based multi-touch attribution and MMM+ platform sold directly to brands/advertisers to measure and optimize their own ad spend.",
          "figure": "~$30M raised ($15M Series A 2022 + $15M growth 2025, Silversmith / HighPost)",
          "url": "https://www.northbeam.io/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Recast",
          "sells": "Automated Bayesian marketing-mix-modeling and forecasting platform sold directly to marketing teams/brands to replace manual data-science reporting.",
          "figure": "~$7.86M total raised ($3.4M seed led by Lerer Hippeau)",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/recast-raises-3-4-million-for-automated-marketing-data-science-platform-301703759.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Adverity",
          "sells": "Marketing data-integration and analytics platform (AI insights across sources) sold to marketing, sales, and ecommerce teams as well as agencies.",
          "figure": "$165M+ total raised; $120M Series D (2021, SoftBank Vision Fund 2)",
          "url": "https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/marketing-analytics-startup-adverity-pockets-120m-series-d"
        },
        {
          "name": "AgencyAnalytics",
          "sells": "White-label client-reporting and dashboard platform sold exclusively TO marketing agencies to automate the client reports they deliver.",
          "figure": "Founded 2010; ‘the only reporting platform designed specifically for marketing agencies’; 85+ native integrations; $12/client/mo (private/bootstrapped, no disclosed funding)",
          "url": "https://agencyanalytics.com/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "AI-search & answer-engine visibility (GEO)",
      "group": "Content & search",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Profound",
          "sells": "Answer-engine optimization / AI-visibility platform (how ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews describe a brand) sold to brand marketing teams (Indeed, MongoDB, Ramp)",
          "figure": "$20M Series A (Jun 2025, led by Kleiner Perkins); ~$96M total raised across rounds",
          "url": "https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/series-a"
        },
        {
          "name": "Scrunch AI",
          "sells": "GEO / Agent Experience Platform for AI-answer visibility and technical audits, sold to enterprise brands and Fortune 500 (Lenovo, Skims, Headspace)",
          "figure": "~$19M raised incl. $15M Series A (led by Decibel); acquired by Sitecore for ~$225M; 500+ brands",
          "url": "https://www.adweek.com/media/sitecore-snaps-up-geo-startup-scrunch-for-225m/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Peec AI",
          "sells": "AI-search analytics / GEO monitoring (brand visibility, sentiment, sources in AI answers) sold to brands AND agencies (Zalando, Hugo Boss; DEPT, Seer Interactive)",
          "figure": "$21M Series A (Nov 2025, led by Singular), ~$29M total; >$4M ARR in 10 months; 1,300 companies and agencies",
          "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/17/as-consumers-ditch-google-for-chatgpt-peec-ai-raises-21m-to-help-brands-adapt/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Bluefish AI",
          "sells": "Generative Engine Optimization platform to make brands visible to AI crawlers, sold to large brands, 80% of customers Fortune 500 (Adidas, Tishman Speyer)",
          "figure": "$20M Series A (Aug 2025, led by NEA, with Salesforce Ventures); ~$68M total reported",
          "url": "https://www.adexchanger.com/marketers/ai-marketing-platform-bluefish-raises-19m-in-series-a-funding/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Evertune",
          "sells": "GEO / AI-brand-index platform measuring and improving brand visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, sold to brands",
          "figure": "$15M Series A (Aug 2025, led by Felicis); ~$20M total; founded 2024 by ex-Trade Desk execs",
          "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/news/evertune-raises-15-million-series-170000394.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Athena (AthenaHQ)",
          "sells": "GEO platform to improve how brands appear in AI-generated responses, sold to brands (80+ companies incl. Coupons.com, Checkr, Ollie)",
          "figure": "$2.2M launch funding, Y Combinator-backed; founded by ex-Google Search / DeepMind engineers",
          "url": "https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/athena-raises-2m-to-track-how-brands-appear-in-ai-responses/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Media planning & buying",
      "group": "Media & performance",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "The Trade Desk (Kokai)",
          "sells": "AI-driven DSP ‘copilot’ that handles audience buying, bid allocation, scoring and optimization across display, video, audio and CTV, licensed to both agencies and brands/in-house media teams.",
          "figure": "Publicly traded (NASDAQ: TTD); 70%+ of client spend running through Kokai by Q2 2025; early adopters saw ~24% lower cost per conversion.",
          "url": "https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/critics-say-the-trade-desk-is-forcing-kokai-adoption-but-apparently-its-up-to-agencies/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Basis Technologies (Compass)",
          "sells": "Agentic AI that turns a campaign brief into a full omnichannel media plan (audience personas, channel mix, budget allocation) and activates it across programmatic, direct, paid search and paid social; sold to agencies and in-house brand marketing teams.",
          "figure": "Independent platform (formerly Centro); Compass launched April 2, 2026; early adopters are mid-to-large agencies and in-house brand teams reporting faster turnaround.",
          "url": "https://basis.com/news/agentic-ai-solution-for-faster-omnichannel-media-strategy-planning-and-activation"
        },
        {
          "name": "Cognitiv",
          "sells": "Deep-learning media-buying technology delivering custom performance-buying algorithms and LLM contextual segments across all DSPs, sold to advertisers directly.",
          "figure": "Reported 7.5x client-base growth; integrated with Index Exchange, Magnite, PubMatic and Xandr (funding history small/dated ~$450K, but adoption is documented).",
          "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cognitiv-increases-client-7-5x-130000938.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Chalice AI (Chalice Custom Algorithms)",
          "sells": "Software that lets advertisers apply their own data to build and deploy custom real-time ad-buying algorithms across all major DSPs, sold to brands/advertisers directly.",
          "figure": "Funded by The Trade Desk’s VC unit (undisclosed); named AdExchanger ‘Best Supply Side Tech’ 2022 and powered AdWeek ‘Best Use of Programmatic’ 2023 Media Plan of the Year.",
          "url": "https://www.chalice.ai/about"
        },
        {
          "name": "Scope3",
          "sells": "Agentic advertising platform whose AI agents enrich bids with media-quality, brand-suitability and emissions data; sold to ad-tech platforms, agencies, curators and publishers to build agentic media products.",
          "figure": "$25M in new funding (Oct 2024); founding member of the Ad Context Protocol (AdCP).",
          "url": "https://digiday.com/media-buying/scope3-aims-to-upend-ad-tech-with-an-agentic-platform-for-effective-responsible-advertising/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Swivel",
          "sells": "Agentic ad-ops orchestration layer that connects buyer and seller AI agents for direct programmatic transactions, bypassing the traditional bidstream; sold to ad-ops and publisher/seller-side teams.",
          "figure": "$5.8M Series A (April 30, 2025, Tribeca/Ardent); powered the first agent-to-agent media transaction at the AdCP launch (Nov 2025); founding AdCP member.",
          "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/swivel-ushers-in-the-agentic-era-of-ad-operations-with-new-brand-identity-and-expanded-platform-capabilities-302605729.html"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "PR & communications",
      "group": "Lifecycle & comms",
      "verdict": "repriced",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Muck Rack",
          "sells": "AI PR platform (journalist database, pitching, media monitoring, Generative Pulse measurement, now GlobeNewswire distribution) sold to both in-house comms teams and agencies.",
          "figure": "$180M Series A (2022, Susquehanna Growth Equity); ~$108M ARR (Apr 2026, +25% YoY)",
          "url": "https://sacra.com/c/muck-rack/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Cision (CisionOne / PR Newswire)",
          "sells": "AI-powered media monitoring, journalist outreach, analytics, and press-release distribution, sold to in-house PR/comms teams and agencies.",
          "figure": "Serves 75,000+ companies including 84% of the Fortune 500; PR Newswire reaches 440,000+ newsrooms/subscribers; median contract ~$12,677/yr",
          "url": "https://www.cision.com/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Meltwater",
          "sells": "Enterprise media intelligence, social listening, journalist database, and AI analytics (Mira Studio), sold to PR teams, marketers, and agencies.",
          "figure": "Publicly traded (Oslo, IPO 2020); ~$462M annual revenue; 27,000+ customers in 120+ countries",
          "url": "https://www.meltwater.com/en/products/media-monitoring"
        },
        {
          "name": "Signal AI",
          "sells": "AI media-intelligence and reputation/risk platform sold directly to enterprise communications, reputation, and risk teams.",
          "figure": "$268M total raised over 8 rounds; $165M growth round (Sep 2025, led by Battery Ventures)",
          "url": "https://siliconangle.com/2025/09/24/signal-ai-lands-165m-redefine-risk-reputation-intelligence/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Prowly (Semrush)",
          "sells": "AI PR/CRM platform (media database of 1M+ journalists, pitching, online newsrooms, press-release distribution) sold to companies of all sizes and PR pros.",
          "figure": "Acquired by Semrush (2020); 75,000+ stories published; 1M+ journalist/influencer database; part of NYSE-listed Semrush",
          "url": "https://www.semrush.com/news/242972-semrush-acquires-fast-growing-saas-pr-tech-company-prowly/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Propel",
          "sells": "AI media-relations ‘PRM’ platform (journalist database, engagement scoring, outcome attribution) sold to both brands and agencies.",
          "figure": "~$5M raised ($4.5M seed led by NFX, 2022); 500+ customers including Microsoft, NPR, and agency Real Chemistry",
          "url": "https://propel-ai.com/newsroom/propel-raises-4-5-million-seed-round-led-by-nfx-to-reimagine-earned-media"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "practice": "Brand strategy & identity",
      "group": "Strategy & brand",
      "verdict": "defensible",
      "vendors": [
        {
          "name": "Looka (Logojoy)",
          "sells": "AI logo + brand-identity generator that builds a full Brand Kit (logo files, business cards, social templates, letterheads, simple website), sold directly to entrepreneurs and small businesses, who self-serve the identity work.",
          "figure": "$8M revenue and 5M+ customers across 188 countries in 2024 (up from $840K in 2020); ~$6M venture funding, Series A led by Real Ventures",
          "url": "https://getlatka.com/companies/looka"
        },
        {
          "name": "Tailor Brands",
          "sells": "AI branding platform (logo, brand assets, marketing collateral, plus LLC formation) sold directly to small-business owners and new founders who run the branding themselves.",
          "figure": "$90M+ raised total (incl. $50M Series C led by GoDaddy); used by ~700,000 new businesses/month; 45M+ logos created",
          "url": "https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3913079,00.html"
        },
        {
          "name": "Brand.ai",
          "sells": "A ‘brand operating system’ that runs AI brand audits, synthesizes strategy/standards, and automates brand-consistency checks, sold to brand builders, agencies, AND Fortune 500 in-house brand teams.",
          "figure": "$6.2M raised (founded 2024, San Francisco); investors Designer Fund, K5 Global, Offline Ventures; SOC 2 Type II, Fortune 500 workflows",
          "url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/brand-ai"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}