43 LA Adtech Companies You Should Know
Digital commerce is strong and growing in Southern California, leading the way down new paths such as mobile, programmatic, and more. From industry mainstays to up-and-comers, here are LA-based adtech companies you should know.
Top LA Adtech Companies You Should Know
- Friendbuy
- System1
- Scorpion
- Advertise Purple
- Steelhouse
- Centerfield
- Hawke Media
- GumGum
- Nativo
- The Trade Desk
What they do: Foursquare equips companies with geo-spatial technology to locate audiences and personalize their branding experiences. With access to over 105 million points of interest, businesses can determine which markets to enter and where they can find the most customers.
How it’s changing adtech: To fine-tune business and marketing strategies, Foursquare helps companies craft detailed customer personas. Teams can leverage Foursquare’s data-rich insights to establish ideal store locations, increase mobile app engagement, and customize ad campaigns.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: NYC (Local offices in Century City)
Funding: $390.4M
What they do: To avoid wasting resources on ineffective ad campaigns, companies can leverage the comprehensive marketplace of The Trade Desk. The company’s platform and AI technology give businesses access to insights and data, allowing them to tailor campaigns to target audiences.
How it’s changing adtech: Instead of learning by trial and error, marketing organizations can inform each decision with a data-based approach. The Trade Desk’s platform helps companies determine how to allocate resources and determine the best channels for reaching customers. In addition, the company’s AI tool optimizes campaigns, drawing in more customers with personalized content.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Funding: $80M
What they do: System1 is a marketplace for pay-per-click advertising, analyzing billions of attributes and ultimately accessing consumer intent.
How it's changing adtech: System1 is all about making advertising a better experience for both consumers and advertisers.
Founded: 2013
Headquarters: Venice
Funding: $270M
What they do: MobilityWare creates fun and engaging mobile games that unleash the gamer in everyone.
How it’s changing adtech: Built on a culture of innovation and collaboration, MobilityWare’s games are backed by advertiser support and allow users to play for free by watching a short ad or having an advertisement placed somewhere within the screen.
Founded: 1990
Headquarters: Irvine, CA
What they do: Advertise Purple offers a full suite of market affiliate tools to help boost exposure for e-commerce companies.
How it's changing adtech: Advertise Purple’s suite of tools help e-commerce companies drive revenue from affiliate websites.The company’s platform uses data-driven strategy to help find the optimal affiliate to promote an e-commerce site’s promotions.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Santa Monica, Calif.
Funding: N/A
What they do: Through its proprietary network of content-rich websites, Centerfield helps businesses by providing a technology that allows them to target and acquire customers.
How it's changing adtech: The El Segundo-based startup's real time biddable media means businesses now have access to a smarter, more engaged audience.
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: El Segundo
What they do: Hawke Media is a marketing service that acts as an out-of-house CMO for companies. Whether executing new strategies or evaluating existing ones, the company helps clients save money, enhance efficiency and generate revenue.
How it's changing adtech: Hawke Media takes care of everything from branding to web design, helping companies without the resources to hire new talent fill marketing needs.
Founded: 2013
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: Undisclosed
How it's changing adtech: GumGum continues to roll out new offerings, including a new product that creates in-screen ads across multiple devices.
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $36.6M
What they do: The Mobile Majority offers an integrated platform that treats mobile ads like software and allows customers to create and target their campaigns in a one-stop shop.
How it's changing adtech: The Mobile Majority is rapidly expanding, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Sao Paulo. The company has also acquired Gimbal, a mobile engagement and location intelligence platform.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $21.46M
What they do: Founded in 2014, VideoAmp has its sights set on simplifying the cross-screen world in online advertising.
How it's changing adtech: VideoAmp's technology allows clients to transact across all devices, from TV to digital, with its screen optimization platform.
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $17.2M
What they do: The OpenX Technologies platform works for both publishers and ad buyers to sell and purchase ad space, respectively.
How it's changing adtech: OpenX has received a lot of attention recently as their ad marketplace has helped them exceed $100 million in revenue.
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Pasadena
Funding: $76.42M
What they do: Taboola helps companies reach new users through their predictive and personalized digital marketing methods. Taboola streamlines the traffic monetization process by exposing its customers to over one billion users each month.
How it's changing adtech: Major companies like Expedia, Nissan and Ben & Jerry’s entrust Taboola to engage wider userbases and expand brand awareness.
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: New York (With offices in Downtown Los Angeles)
Funding: $160M
What they do: Formerly known (and known well) as Shopzilla, this digital marketing company officially changed its name to Connexity in 2014. Connexity is leveraging its long experience in the e-commerce game to help retailers better understand their customers through data.
How it's changing adtech: In 2015, Connexity acquired the audience-based insights company Hitwise, which will operate as a division within the company and allow Connexity to provide deeper insights into audience demographics and behavior on mobile devices to retailers.
Founded: 2004
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Funding: $74.5M
What they do: Ace Metrix provides solutions and insights for evaluating video advertising. With 50,000 ads tracked since 2010, the company has the largest database of digital video and television advertisement assessments.
How it's changing adtech: Ace Metrix allows marketers to have data about their ad as well as all other ads within 24 hours of run time, providing insights into an advertisement's impact.
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: El Segundo
Funding: $24.98M
What they do: adQuadrant helps advertisers drive leads and grow revenue through social media networks. The service takes charge of every step of the campaign, from strategy and copywriting to media buying and reporting.
How it’s changing adtech: adQuadrant has been responsible for over $500 million in digital media ad purchases on behalf of clients like eHarmony, ProFlowers, Bankrate and General Assembly.
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Costa Mesa
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: MomentFeed develops an integrated marketing program specifically built for the mobile age. It brings together Google, Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare and more in one place.
How it's changing adtech: Momentfeed's phenomenal fundraising and convivial corporate culture have made the company one of the fastest-growing startups in Los Angeles.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $11.23M
What they do: Viant streamlines the process for launching exceptional digital marketing campaigns, creating the ability to reach consumers across channels where they are paying the most attention.
How it’s changing adtech: The self-service platform combines programmatic capabilities with automation to seek out and communicate with audiences that become more identifiable through the company’s technology.
Founded: 1999
Headquarters: Irvine
What they do: Pathmatics brings a mammoth creative library and remarkable transparency to digital advertisers, allowing clients and industry players to learn from each other's successes.
How it's changing adtech: The Pathmatics approach seems to have legs. The company is staffing up after raising $3 million in early 2016.
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $4.7M
What they do: Friendbuy is a digital marketing and customer acquisition platform focused on referral programs and email. The company has split-tested and tracked their way to a powerful position on a very competitive landscape.
How it's changing adtech: Despite its cheeky name, Friendbuy takes email marketing seriously and has built a strong reputation and client list in a fairly short time. Customers friendly with Friendbuy include Warby Parker and LA's own Dollar Shave Club, lifestyle brands internationally celebrated for their groundbreaking marketing strategies.
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Funding: $1.5M
What they do: Scorpion offers a suite of internet marketing products that help businesses reach wider customer bases.
How it's changing adtech: Scorpion’s marketing tools include website design, SEO, social media marketing and reporting analytics, just to name a few. The company has helped thousands of legal, franchise and healthcare firms reach a wider audience with their optimized marketing tools.
Founded: 2001
Headquarters: Valencia
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Nativo provides a complete native technology stack to simplify selling, deploying and optimizing native ads across their media properties, creating a non-interruptive experience for their audiences.
How it's changing adtech: Native advertising is fast becoming a preferred method for brands, and the El Segundo company has not only raised over $31 million since launching in 2010 but also launched an office in London to expand its global reach.
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: El Segundo
Funding: $31.3M
What they do: ConsumerTrack provides clients with multiple marketing solutions, helping brands connect with their audiences through in-depth engagement.
How it's changing adtech: In addition to building brand awareness and creating content for other enterprises, ConsumerTrack operates its own websites, GOFreeCredit, GOBankingRates and RewardandTravel.
Founded: 2004
Headquarters: El Segundo
In an era where we’re connecting with others on social media to get the latest on — literally — anything and everything, it’s no surprise that brands have begun using social media as a way into our hearts and minds. Trying to responsibly harness this trend, Venice-based Heartbeat connects its network of 200,000 millennial and Gen Z influencers with brands that reflect its community. The bottom-up mentality that has guided Heartbeat looks to steer the adtech company into 2019 as it continues to scale.
What they do: Wpromote helps companies grow their market share, and increase their customer lifetime values through their suite of digital marketing tools.
How it's changing adtech: Wpromote helps global brands like Toyota and Verizon enrich their customer’s product knowledge and grow their customer base. The company advises in SEO, email marketing, strategy and paid search media to help businesses get the most out of their marketing campaigns.
Founded: 2001
Headquarters: el Segundo
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Matchcraft is a marketing platform that allows companies to sell and manage search, display and social campaigns for their advertisements.
How it's changing adtech: Being around for almost 20 years, Matchcraft is a pioneer in local search marketing and can now be found managing campaigns across 42 countries supporting 23 languages.
Founded: 1998
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Bridg helps retailers and restaurants “bridge the gap” with customers. The platform finds potential loyalty members, drives new online orders, re-engages lapsed customers and discovers first-timers.
How it's changing adtech: According to Bridg, 80% of retailer and restaurant visitors are not signed up for emails or loyalty programs, and the company aims to fix that. Bridg drives sales for well-known restaurants like Chipotle, HuHot, Gordon Biersch, Hungry Howie’s, Rock Bottom and Noodles & Company.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Funding: $11M
What they do: Pasadena’s Red Ventures connects companies with a wider customer base through a multitude of marketing avenues.
How it's changing adtech: Red Ventures personalizes each adtech experience based on a company’s needs. The company offers services and consultancy in categories such as SEO, data analytics and ecommerce to help businesses draw in more customers and increase profits.
Founded: 2000
Headquarters: Fort Mill, South Carolina (But with an office in LA!)
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Building buzz around a brand is difficult. Markett helps brands scale their ambassador programs in order to build awareness and grow customer base.
How it's changing adtech: Influencers are becoming more important to a brand’s image and companies like Airbnb and Fanduel entrust Markett to grow their ambassador programs.
Founded: 2016
Headquarters: Venice Beach, CA
Funding: $2M
What they do: ReachLocal, Inc. builds digital marketing software with an eye toward small businesses, including its own patented lead-conversion technology.
How it's changing adtech: ReachLocal has been growing for years. Its free digital health check showcases two of its core competencies at once: thoroughly understanding its own landscape, and drawing in new leads without old-school high-pressure shenanigans.
Founded: 2004
Headquarters: Woodland Hills
Funding: $68.7M
What they do: For more than a decade, Amobee has honed its expertise in display, video, email and social, demonstrating a versatility that makes it highly adaptable in a market that changes by the hour.
How it's changing adtech: As it has matured, Amobee continues to grow and staff up. It prides itself on embracing mobile workers, indicating its strong digital faith — a company that is helping make new rules for advertising is also helping make new rules for work culture.
Founded: 2005
Headquarters: Foster City (office in Santa Monica)
Funding: $72M
What they do: Naritiv powers vertical content specifically created for Snapchat. Because Snapchat is a unique platform, it requires a unique content structure. Backed by big names like Disney and Mucker Capital, the Naritiv team operates out of their headquarters on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.
How it’s changing adtech: The company’s owned and operated channels amass more than 20 billion views a month and has snapped with brands like Coca-Cola, Target, Freeform and L’OREAL.
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Venice
Funding: $4.32M
What they do: Bringhub builds digitally integrated shopping experiences for the always-on era. It spans sectors, from shoes to travel and is noted for its swanky office space.
How it's changing adtech: Bringhub isn't solely about streamlining the checkout process; it aims to turn almost any piece of online content into a point of sale without alienating the ad-skeptical.
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Funding: $3.5M
What they do: AdColony is a mobile video ad network that offers their Instant-Play technology to companies looking for fullscreen, crisp video ads.
How it's changing adtech: After its initial success, the company was acquired by Opera in June 2014, but they continue to operate as a stand-alone brand.
Founded: 2011
What they do: SteelHouse has created a cloud-based marketing platform called SteelHouse Advertising Suite to simplify a variety of marketing needs, like retargeting and look-alike solutions.
How it's changing adtech: After tripling revenues in 2015, SteelHouse is seen by many as the fastest-growing company in advertising.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Culver City
Funding: $70.5M
What they do: Helping advertisers and publishers find common ground, true[X] media pioneered what it calls "the commercial break for interactive media."
How it's changing adtech: Perhaps the best evidence of what true[x] can do for brands is what it has done for its own. Always a prolific fundraiser, true[x] was acquired by 21st Century Fox in 2014, and continues to drive efficiency and conversations in the ever-changing adtech landscape.
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Funding: $49.77M
What they do: W4 was founded by veterans of the cost-per-acquisition digital ad industry. It helps advertisers find appropriate publishers and increase their conversions.
How it's changing adtech: W4's portfolio includes The Wall Street Journal and Microsoft, along with internet natives such as LivingSocial, Audible and eHarmony. With its experience in a high-stakes market, it would be wise to keep an eye on how it navigates ad-blocking software and other current challenges.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $10M
What they do: The Rubicon Project has engineered the Advertising Automation Cloud to help automate the buying and selling of advertising on a global level.
How it's changing adtech: Rubicon went public in 2014 and turned their first annual profit in 2015, raising their GAAP revenue by 98 percent to $249M.
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Playa Vista
Funding: $67M
What they do: The Search Agency has worked in SEO, SEM and online customer experience since the early days of the art.
How it's changing adtech: The Search Agency may be one of the older competitors in its field, but it's no slouch. With the company's longevity has come trust and a list of well-established clients including Viking Cruises, Philips and 1-800-DENTIST.
Founded: 2002
Headquarters: Santa Monica
What they do: The world's premier mobile-first influencer platform has an office in Beverly Hills. Influential connects brands with the social media powerhouses best positioned to promote.
How it's changing adtech: Sometimes social media marketing is rocket science. Influential uses IBM Watson technology, boasts a network of over 7000 influencers and, after a $5 million Series A round, is living up to its name.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Beverly Hills and Las Vegas
Funding: $9M
What they do: Convertro builds tools for tracking online activity without cookies, making it ready for enhanced browser privacy settings. Its large data sets facilitate precise analysis and it focuses on efficiency, not just revenues.
How it's changing adtech: Convertro also builds tools to measure the impact of TV marketing. Local stars such as Loot Crate aren't the only ones impressed with the Convertro team's scientific approach — the company was acquired in 2014 by AOL.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $5M
What they do: engage:BDR is one of the leading cross-device video and display advertising solution providers in the game today.
How it's changing adtech: In 2014 the company underwent a massive pivot, transitioning from 85 percent display ad revenues to 85% video revenues in just a few months.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: West Hollywood
What they do: Zefr provides video technology for some of the biggest content platforms and channels around, ensuring their audience’s interests are aligned with the advertisements delivered to them.
How it's changing adtech: Zefr is part of the strategy for such industry leaders as AMC, Paramount, Universal, "Saturday Night Live," Netflix and Fox, among other globally known companies and organizations.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Venice
Funding: $58.5M
What they do: Approaching online advertising from a storytelling perspective, Fieldtest has become a powerful player in its space in just a few years. It isn't entirely new as its team built and sold IndieClick Media Group, a strong influence on display ads.
How it's changing adtech: Fieldtest's work brings together two of adtech's most significant trends: high-touch content marketing and high-reach programmatic delivery.
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Los Angeles
What they do: Vertebrae's native advertising platform matches brands and agencies with virtual reality developers and 360° video creators. With the company's analytics and distribution tools, brands can monetize the use of VR content.
How it's changing adtech: Vertebrae is currently working on a standards and formats guideline for VR advertising, securing its reputation as a leader in the emerging industry.
Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Funding: $10M
