16 Fast-Growing Adtech Startups to Watch in 2024

Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the best adtech startups of 2024 that startup lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.

Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.

• Location: New York, New York
• Founders: Brendan Grove, David Metz, Matthew Denham, Richard Blankenship
• Founded In: 2019
• Funding: Corporate Round, $37.5 Million
• Investors Include: RiverPark Ventures, Anchor Capital GP

Prizeout is making money withdrawal work for the advertising industry. They partner with global brands and offer special deals to people who choose to spend their money with the brands. In this respect, Prizeout works much like a bank does, but instead of only having one option for withdrawal, customers will have a range of choices on which to spend their money. People can also withdraw their funds in the form of a gift card that can be delivered instantly through electronic means. So far, Prizeout has partnered with Dunkin Donuts, Dominoes, Amazon, Uber Eats, and more.

• Location: San Francisco, California
• Founders: Rolan Reichel, Pablo Munoz De Cote
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Seed, $500,000
• Investors Include: ARCADIAN Fund, Cosmos Global Holdings

Arrow is an AI-powered B2B SaaS platform that automates social media content creation and management for businesses. With features like ready-to-use posts, custom content channels, and dedicated user success managers, Arrow helps busy professionals seamlessly post engaging content, grow their following, and build credibility.

• Location: Durham, North Carolina
• Founders: James Avery
• Founded In: 2010
• Funding: Series C, $22.2 Million
• Investors Include: Fulcrum Equity Partners, Commerce Ventures

Kevel is changing the accessibility to advertising platforms by building ad-serving APIs to assist developers in building server-side platforms. Using this tech, any company can build a high-revenue, custom ad platform they have full control over. Companies no longer have to rely on the mercy of other ad platforms that may or may not allow them access, and they don’t have to worry about the quality of service because they can customize it as they please. With this product, developers are able to focus on their core product while still being able to generate ad revenue for their business.

• Location: Singapore
• Founders: Miron Mironiuk
• Founded In: 2014
• Funding: Series A, $27 Million
• Investors Include: Tiga Investments, OTB Ventures

Utilizing the power of AI, Cosmose integrates offline and online channels for ecommerce to influence how customers are shopping in the modern world. Although online ads are able to capture data from customer behavior, no such product has allowed online ads to capture offline behavior until Cosmose. No hardware and no installation are necessary for store owners in retail shops. Accuracy is possible within 2 meters, and all smartphones can be used for this purpose. Using this tech, companies can finally understand how their competitors are doing and compare it to other stores nearby.

• Location: Los Angeles, California
• Founders: Agnes Kozera, David Kierzkowski
• Founded In: 2019
• Funding: Seed, $2.2 Million
• Investors Include: Alumni Ventures, Correlation Ventures

Podcast media has seen a large increase in viewership over the years, and Podcorn is helping podcasters develop relationships with advertisers for native sponsorships. The platform works as a marketplace connecting podcasters with brands who are willing to pay for sponsorships. This way, podcasters can get paid for their content without relying on traditional forms of advertising such as pre-roll or post-roll ads. Instead, they can work with brands to create native sponsorships integrated into the actual content of the podcast.

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• Location: Stockholm, Sweden
• Founders: Niklas Bakos
• Founded In: 2016
• Funding: Convertible Note, $3.8 Million
• Investors Include: EASME, Pontus Dahlstrom

Adverty is changing advertising by reaching audiences that have traditionally been unreachable and tapping into a comprehensive monetization stream. The company uses the largest exclusive network of seamless advertising in games, esports, and other brands. They've built APIs for developers and concentrated on the gaming market to produce advertisements that connect with the Gen Z audience. Their multi-patented proprietary tech tracks eye movement and behaviors such as viewability, impressions, and fraudulent traffic.

• Location: New York, New York
• Founders: Alex Collmer, Craig Coblenz, Jason Donnell
• Founded In: 2014
• Funding: Series D, $231.6 Million
• Investors Include: ID Fund, PROOF Fund

VidMob brings advertising to clients by giving them complete control over the creative process. Using the platform, clients can take advantage of creative intelligence, analytics, automation, scoring, and studio and network resources. The company focuses primarily on nonprofits that do not traditionally have the resources or manpower to create high-quality ads. However, anyone is able to use the platform to create better video content for their business.

• Location: Basingstoke, United Kingdom
• Founders: Nick Halstead
• Founded In: 2016
• Funding: Series B, $88.1 Million
• Investors Include: Chrysalis Investments, Ascential

Infosum is more of an information platform than it is an advertising platform, but that's because it attempts to remove the barriers between progress and privacy. It's a decentralized platform that powers full-scale first-party data collaboration. There are no risks and no limits in the data clean room. Infosum attempts to make non-movement of data reality with its core five technologies. Companies no longer have to be worried about competitors getting their hands on sensitive information and can instead freely share information without worry.

• Location: San Francisco, California
• Founders: Inna Ushakova, Yuriy Yashunin
• Founded In: 2016
• Funding: Series A, $7.5 Million
• Investors Include: OTB Ventures, TMT Investments

Using machine learning, Scalarr is able to detect mobile ad fraud and other security solutions for a new connected world. Companies are able to utilize visibility, early threat detection, and fraud protection across cyber-critical systems. Scalarr aims to protect and secure the world of interconnectedness from cyber attacks and threats immediately. Any companies using Edge, IoT/OT, and mobile can employ Scalarr's services to remain secure and protected.

• Location: San Francisco, California
• Founders: Brendan Eich, Brian Bondy
• Founded In: 2015
• Funding: $42.3 Million
• Investors Include: Foundation Capital, Digital Finance Group

Brave is a new type of browser that is designed for both speed and privacy. The browser blocks ads and trackers by default so that users are not bombarded with irrelevant advertisements. Users can also opt-in to view privacy-respecting ads that help support content creators. With Brave, there is a new way to browse the internet without worrying about data being collected and sold to the highest bidder. Using this model, Brave can help content creators gain more ad revenue share instead of the platforms taking a majority of the revenue.

• Location: Toronto, Canada
• Founders: Aanikh Kler, Swish Goswami
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Seed, $5.4 Million
• Investors Include: Moneta Ventures, MAGIC Fund

While most advertising uses consumer data without their expressed permission, Surf employs a better strategy by compensating consumers for their data. Marketed toward consumers, Surf is a new type of browser that puts privacy first but rewards those that opt-in to give out their data. Customers can browse the internet as they normally would, and when their data is collected, users get Surf points. Clients are able to manage their data at any time and receive discounts and rewards from popular brands.

• Location: New York, New York
• Founders: Ben Barokas, Brian Kane, Geir Magnusson, Jeroen Seghers, Matt Adkisson, Maxwell Newbould
• Founded In: 2015
• Funding: $5.4 Million
• Investors Include: Arrowroot Capital Management, Accel

As data collecting becomes more controversial, Sourcepoint is taking a proactive stance by creating a platform that offers privacy technology for digital marketers. It utilizes privacy tools that are built specifically for transparency and consumer experience. The platform is independent and flexible, giving marketers the ability to choose what data they collect and how it's used. Digital marketers can use analytics to integrate and optimize only the tools they need, regardless of evolving technology and privacy regulations.

• Location: South Yarra, Australia
• Founders: Maxwell Hertan
• Founded In: 2012
• Funding: N/A
• Investors Include: N/A

Popular in Australia, Megaphone is one of the largest digital media firms in the country. They focus on advanced marketing techniques in Facebook advertising, PPC, and conversions. Megaphone is able to generate over $100 million every month using a series of tests that help them optimize their advertisements for clients. Their model is proven and repeatable for a number of businesses and services, including social media marketing, lead generation, organic search, email marketing, and content creation.

• Location: London, United Kingdom
• Founders: Mathieu Roche, Pierre-Antoine Durgeat, Scott Menzer
• Founded In: 2017
• Funding: Series A, $7.2 Million
• Investors Include: 360 Capital, Alliance Entreprendre

ID5 has created a unique independent identity structure for ad tech platforms and publishers. The platform solves the complexities around identification by developing privacy-first user recognition and measurement capabilities. As a result, clients can use ID5 to operate efficiently and monetize assets in all digital advertising environments. Companies can still identify their users and improve match rates in a privacy-compliant way to increase their programmatic revenue.

• Location: Cwmbran, United Kingdom
• Founders: Jonno Hulford-Funnell, Tanya Field, Tom Wills
• Founded In: 2019
• Funding: Seed, £4 Million
• Investors Include: N/A

Another company that is helping the privacy-first approach of new technology, Novatiq enables telcos, publishers, and brands to verify and reach audiences with advertisements. The verified IDs used in Novatiq are all built with consented first-party intelligence from telco networks. This helps to fuel personalized digital services that can ultimately lead to a better user experience.

• Location: London, United Kingdom
• Founders: Joe Root, Tim Spratt
• Founded In: 2013
• Funding: Series C, $105 Million
• Investors Include: Softbank Vision Fund, EQT Ventures

Permutive allows advertisers and publishers to plan, build, and activate cohorts while keeping everyone's data safe. The privacy-safe infrastructure helps publishers and advertisers reach their audiences safely and in real time. The platform is built with Edge technology and is fast and purpose-built. Permutive emphasizes first-party data gathering, which removes the need to identify everyone and still allows for personalization.

Recommended: Check out our full list of the top startups to watch!