The US and Canada are officially sanctioned over tariffs between the two countries, but the Toronto-based tech company has announced major funding led by its own VC. Programmatic advertising startup StackAdapt says it has raised $235 million in equity funding through Teacher Venture Growth (TVG), the investment arm of Ontario’s teacher pension plan.
Intrepid Growth Partners, a company based between Toronto and London, is also taking part, with four other unnamed investors.
Funding is important both in terms of size and focus.
In terms of size, this is one of the biggest funding rounds for startups from Canada so far, but not the biggest. Recently, Fintech Clio has raised $900 million. Cohere raised $500 million last year, while Tenstorrent raised $700 million.
Funding to Canadian startups primarily reflects trends unfolding in other markets. The total number of transactions in 2024 fell in the previous year, with companies working in the field of artificial intelligence making up a large portion of what is being invested.
Stackadapt describes it as a company that “harnesses the power of AI,” but it is definitely part of this trend. The company was launched in 2014 and was more or less grown as a quietly bootstrapped company. That was until 2022, when a $300 million investment was made by a summit partner. Pitchbook data shows that at least a portion of that $300 million was in the form of secondary investments. From what we understand, you would think it is a minority investment and that would valuate the company over $600 million.
The company has not disclosed its valuation for this current round, but sources say it has around $2.5 billion in revenue of $500 million per year.
The size of this round and rating shows not only the size of the company today, but how it funds the next stage of growth, especially with local support.
Programmatic advertising is virtually a component of how all digital advertising works, accounting for more than 90% of the market. The reason is to provide a way for marketers to measure how advertising works more effectively. People who see those ads. Publishers also offer more automated ways to bring more advertising to content.
In the case of StackAdapt, the company will work with various business vertical customers, including political campaigns, retailers, B2B, travel, healthcare, financial services, and more, to help place ads in front of viewers trying to reach. Masu. Its inventory includes native ads (sponsored content), displays, videos, connected televisions, audio, games, and more.
Developments like the rise of AI (along with other types of automation) have changed the landscape of programmatic advertising, leading to potentially high incidents of advertising fraud. Another problem facing programmatic ads is the increased difficulty in controlling brand safety and data protection, given the amount of data used to target ads.
That’s the challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for companies like Stackadapt.
“Following the lull from 2022 to 2023, companies are focusing on growth and increased investment,” said Vitaly Pecherskiy, CEO who co-founded the company with Yang Han and Ildar Shar in a statement from TechCrunch. states. “That being said, growth is no longer a priority. Companies are looking for solutions that will drive their businesses forward, while prioritizing cost-effectiveness through automation and AI. As a result, strong demand for our products is increasing. You can see it.”
He said Stackadapt built AI into “10 years of experience analyzing advertising traffic patterns and understanding its evolution.”
“We’re committed to providing a great opportunity to help you,” said Rick Prostko, senior managing director at TVG. “The company was able to demonstrate consistent growth and profitability while building the future of advertising and marketing technologies. We are committed to their outstanding team, visionary leadership and customer value. I was impressed by the less-than-focused focus on offerings.”
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