Ranking the 25 Top Venture-Backed Advertising Companies Growing Fast in 2025

Advertising is the bread and butter of all other industries, but it’s not an unchanging field. Today, GenAI innovations deliver on time and cost savings and drive startup funding overall toward new technologies that can shift the landscape of how and where companies pay to get seen.

Though funding is stagnating at 7.7% of overall marketing budgets in 2025, companies are still spending. However, they’re cautious, waiting to see which approaches deliver the ROI they’re after.

Which companies are coming out ahead in this environment?

We put our heads together and refined metrics on advertising companies that have received lots of funding and are funded in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. This ranking sheds light on the hottest advertising companies and allows for clear comparisons with similar funding and business models. It also applies the power laws to funding and company concentration in this space.

Top 25 Advertising Startups Ranking Table

We analyzed data from Crunchbase and Keywords Everywhere to uncover the top US advertising companies with top investors from Silicon Valley.

RankingCompanyGFD Tech100 Final Score*GFD Funding Score*GFD Website Score*GFD Branded Keyword Score*Private or Public?
1ShopMy87.187.265.157.7Private
2Klaviyo80.578.467.552.3Public
3AppLovin79.678.869.447.1Public
4Outbrain74.773.871.339.8Public
5AdsGency AI69.978.248.438.6Private
6RentVine68.761.564.452.5Private
7Legendary Entertainment67.467.352.848.4Private
8Integral Ad Science67.367.760.839.1Public
9Zeta Global66.567.552.745.2Public
10Foursquare65.459.463.747.0Private
11DoubleVerify65.364.856.443.1Public
12Sprinklr64.656.364.150.2Private
13Bluecore64.560.659.146.2Private
14MNTN63.656.056.655.1Private
15Innovid63.357.866.241.1Public
16Agentio62.755.959.649.9Private
17Demandbase62.659.952.948.1Private
18WME61.255.759.745.3Private
19Wunderkind61.256.855.647.2Private
20VidMob60.861.753.438.3Private
21Omneky60.547.552.866.5Private
22CallRail60.551.061.850.3Private
23VideoAmp60.561.651.739.1Private
24Ceros59.952.957.249.2Private
25Postscript59.854.459.044.4Private

*GFD’s Tech100 score is a final composite score of the Funding Score, Website Score, and the Branded Keyword score.

Key Takeaways:

  • The three hottest advertising firms in July 2025 are AppLovin, Klaviyo, and ShopMy due to the volume and freshness of their funding, the recent performance of their website, and the growth trends of their branded keyword.

Ranking the Top Startups by Funding Score

Funding is huge. This breakout highlights those firms that have raised the most venture capital rounds, ranked by a combination of date and volume. Note we are also including post-IPO raises as well. These are worth considering because they’re all part of the competitive system that all advertising startups are competing in.

RankingCompanyTotal Funding AmountMost Recent Funding AmountLast Funding DateGFD Funding Score*Private or Public?
1ShopMy$175M$70M10/22/202587.2Private
2AppLovin$5.12B$3.55B11/20/202478.8Public
3Klaviyo$1.35B$195M8/13/202578.4Public
4AdsGency AI$15M$12M10/20/202578.2Private
5Outbrain$1.03B$638M2/11/202573.8Public
6Prorata.AI$65M$40M9/5/202572.9Private
7Integral Ad Science$301M$30M6/18/202567.7Public
8Zeta Global$1.46B$205M9/4/202467.5Public
9Legendary Entertainment$3.58B$800M4/18/202367.3Private
10DoubleVerify$958M$408M8/7/202364.8Public
11HUMAN$301M$50M10/9/202462.3Private
12VidMob$240M$8M5/8/202561.7Private
13VideoAmp$607M$150M9/13/202361.6Private
14RentVine$78M$74M8/26/202461.5Private
15Bluecore$263M$25M11/12/202460.6Private

*GFD’s Funding Score captures funding volume and velocity by combing total funding with recent funding amount and recency.

Key Takeaways:

  • When accounting for funding volume and freshness, ShopMy leads the industry as it is the advertising firm with the highest and most recent funding.
  • Outbrain has become a promising firm in the advertising industry as they have received over $300M in funds within the past 6 months.
  • Industry leaders Klaviyo and Legendary Entertainment continue to lead as both have recently received +$100M funds within the past two years.

1. ShopMy

GFD Funding Score*: 87.2

Total Funding Amount: $175M

Most Recent Funding Amount: $70M

Days Since Last Funding: 10

 

Out of our 84 ranked Advertising companies, ShopMy ranks #1 in funding. The company’s total funding is $175M and the last time they were funded was on October 22, 2025 for $70M. The last funding type was Venture – Series Unknown. The total amount of investors that ShopMy has is 23 and their top investors are: Menlo Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Inspired Capital Partners, AlleyCorp.

  

2. AppLovin

GFD Funding Score*: 78.8

Total Funding Amount: $5.12B

Most Recent Funding Amount: $3.55B

Days Since Last Funding: 346

 

Out of our 84 ranked Advertising companies, AppLovin ranks #2 in funding. The company’s total funding is $5.12B and the last time they were funded was on November 20, 2024 for $3.55B. The last funding type was Post-IPO Debt. The total amount of investors that AppLovin has is 14 and their top investors are: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Streamlined Ventures, Employee Stock Option Fund, Webb Investment Network, Nimble Ventures.

  

3. Klaviyo

GFD Funding Score*: 78.4

Total Funding Amount: $1.35B

Most Recent Funding Amount: $195M

Days Since Last Funding: 80

 

Out of our 84 ranked Advertising companies, Klaviyo ranks #3 in funding. The company’s total funding is $1.35B and the last time they were funded was on August 13, 2025 for $195M. The last funding type was Post-IPO Secondary. The total amount of investors that Klaviyo has is 19 and their top investors are: Accel, Sands Capital Ventures, Lone Pine Capital, Employee Stock Option Fund, Irving Investors.

  

GFD Website Score Breakdown

Website traffic and traffic growth is important but doesn’t always line up perfectly with other attributes and events like funding. We were curious as to which of these companies saw the strongest website traffic and growth. The website score we captures the volume of recent website visits and combines it with the companies’ website growth trends.

RankingCompanyLast Month Total VisitsAverage Visits (6 Months)Monthly Visit GrowthGFD Website Score*Private or Public?
1Brave518.3M463.6M0.95%76.4Private
2AppsFlyer133.9M208.1M-3.81%73.3Private
3Outbrain80.2M103.1M-10.94%71.3Public
4Roku36.9M35.2M1.70%69.9Private
5Tubi39.4M38.8M-5.11%69.6Private
6AppLovin37.6M35.0M-5.92%69.4Public
7SEMrush24.2M21.3M3.37%68.9Private
8Klaviyo11.4M8.5M13.81%67.5Public
9InVideo11.1M13.3M-7.21%66.5Private
10PubMatic4.0M4.0M29.02%66.2Private
10Innovid9.4M10.7M-5.68%66.2Public
12ShopMy5.4M4.7M3.43%65.1Private
13Solv2.9M2.5M17.38%64.5Private
14RentVine1.0M964K62.15%64.4Private
15Sprinklr4.1M4.6M-6.28%64.1Private

*GFD’s Website Score captures the volume of recent website visits and combines it with the companies’ website growth trends.

Key Takeaways:

  • Brave is the industry leader in terms of website visits as it has on average over 436M visitors in the last six months.

1. Brave

GFD Website Score*: 76.4

Last Month’s Total Visits: 518.3M

Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 463.6M

Monthly Visit Growth: 0.95%

 

Out of our 84 ranked advertising companies, Brave ranks #1 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 518.3M total visits and increased by 0.95% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 463.6M.

  

2. AppsFlyer

GFD Website Score*: 73.3

Last Month’s Total Visits: 133.9M

Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 208.1M

Monthly Visit Growth: -3.81%

 

Out of our 84 ranked advertising companies, AppsFlyer ranks #2 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 133.9M total visits and decreased by -3.81% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 208.1M.

  

3. Outbrain

GFD Website Score*: 71.3

Last Month’s Total Visits: 80.2M

Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 103.1M

Monthly Visit Growth: -10.94%

 

Out of our 84 ranked advertising companies, Outbrain ranks #3 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 80.2M total visits and decreased by -10.94% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 103.1M.

  

Advertising Startups with Strongest Branded Search Growth

A great way to measure brand growth is by analyzing keyword growth for the company across a period of time. We sourced Google Search keyword data for companies on the list and ranked by a score that accounted for total keyword search as well as search volume change over the last year.

RankingCompanyTotal Keyword Search VolumeAverage Monthly Search Volume Change (1 Year)1 Year Trend Positive or Negative?GFD Company Keyword Ranking*Private or Public
1Omneky4K829.79+66.5Private
2ShopMy50K4395.80+57.7Private
3MNTN1.8M-10034.9755.1Private
4RentVine33K1625.87+52.5Private
5Klaviyo301K1346.15+52.3Public
6CreatorIQ15K832.52+51.5Private
7SEMrush1.0M-33951.0550.4Private
8CallRail27K903.50+50.3Private
9Sprinklr91K865.38+50.2Private
10Agentio2K187.41+49.9Private

*GFD’s Branded Keyword Ranking is a metric that combines monthly branded keyword search volume with a 1-year linear trend that is observed weekly and adjusted by search volume.

Key Takeaways:

  • ShopMy is the fastest growing branded keyword with an average monthly search increase of about 3395 searches.
  • Industry leader SEMRush has seen a decrease in their 1 year trend for branded keyword search volume.

1. Omneky

GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 66.5

Total Keyword Search Volume: 4K

Average Weekly Search Volume Change: 829.79

 

Out of our 84 ranked advertising companies, Omneky ranks #1 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 4K. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was 829.79, indicating an increase in their 1-year trend.

  

2. ShopMy

GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 57.7

Total Keyword Search Volume: 50K

Average Weekly Search Volume Change: 4395.8

 

Out of our 84 ranked advertising companies, ShopMy ranks #2 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 50K. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was 4395.8, indicating an increase in their 1-year trend.

  

3. MNTN

GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 55.1

Total Keyword Search Volume: 1.8M

Average Weekly Search Volume Change: -10034.97

 

Out of our 84 ranked advertising companies, MNTN ranks #3 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 1.8M. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was -10034.97, indicating a decrease in their 1-year trend.

  

Methodology and Sources

  • Methodology: We collected data for 10k+ companies from Crunchbase and aggregated it into a set of scores through the use of quantitative transformations and expertly curated weighted averages.
  • Sources: Crunchbase and Google Trends
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