HUMAN Raises $50M, Zeta Buys LiveIntent for $250M; Connatix & JW Merge; US Targets Google

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HUMAN Secures $50M to transform ad fraud detection into measurement solution

HUMAN, an ad fraud detection and verification company, raised over $50 million in a growth funding round to expand its platform into a comprehensive measurement solution, focusing on closed-loop attribution for e-commerce. The funding, led by WestCap, with support from Goldman Sachs, ClearSky, and others, will help unify HUMAN's media/ad tech and bot-mitigation data operations. Investments will go toward data infrastructure and machine learning, with plans to expand the company’s engineering, data science, and sales teams to support its growth.

AdTechGods View: Sure, why not! HUMAN might be raising some serious cash for an acquisition, but let’s be honest—a $50M raise isn’t buying IAS ($1.6B) or DV ($2.8B). So what's the strategy here? That $50M could be the first move in a larger acquisition plan or funding an all-stock deal? Maybe? It is possible they’re eyeing smaller players like Pixalate, which fits that price range. Either way, HUMAN’s gearing up for a move, and the AdTech market is about to get interesting.

AdExchanger

First Party Data deal: Zeta Global to acquire LiveIntent for $250M

Zeta Global to acquire LiveIntent for $250 million in cash and stock, enhancing its first-party data and AI capabilities.

Zeta Global helps brands analyze pre-purchase behaviors and identify similar consumers using AI and first-party data. LiveIntent specializes in cross-channel people-based marketing, helping publishers and brands optimize email and web inventory. The acquisition integrates LiveIntent's 235 million monthly hashed email addresses into Zeta's data cloud, bolstering identity resolution solutions. Zeta will also launch Publisher Cloud, leveraging LiveIntent’s publisher network. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2024, positioning Zeta for continued growth in the marketing space.

Ari’s View: LiveIntent’s data asset is very solid, coming from consumer email behavior. They had been trying to build a viable competitor to LiveRamp, but that was really hard. So instead they got snapped up by a big data company that needs its own identity story.

AdWeek

Connatix and JW Player merge

Connatix and JW Player are merging to form JWP Connatix, with a rebrand in progress. The merger aims to capitalize on the shift from linear to streaming, publishers’ need for monetization, and advertisers’ demand for transparency.

JW Player's video infrastructure technology complements Connatix’s ad server and SSP, allowing publishers to manage video content and ad delivery in one place. The merger is backed by LLR Partners and Court Square Capital Partners.

Ari’s View: Both companies ultimately sell to publishers looking to have more presence in the video world. JW is a SaaS play, while Connatix is more of an ad network. So overall this seems like a good fit. (I’m an investor in JW)

Read AdExchanger

U.S. Pushes to break up Google’s monopoly targets Chrome, Android, and AI

The U.S. Justice Department is considering forcing Google to divest parts of its business, such as Chrome and Android, to address its illegal monopoly in online search. A judge previously ruled that Google controls 90% of U.S. internet searches, building an unfair advantage. The proposed remedies could reshape how Americans access information, limit Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence, and curb its payments to maintain default search engine status on devices. Google, which plans to appeal, argues its success is due to product quality, not monopolistic practices.

The Justice Department will submit a detailed proposal by November 20.

Ari’s View: The DOJ seems to have just thrown in everything they could think of into the remedies. I think we have to wait and see what is discussed in the courtroom before we have a better sense of how this might shake out.

Read Reuters

Breaking down DOJ's Google antitrust remedies

Great post below from Adam Kovacevich who reviewed the DOJ's proposed antitrust remedies for Google search and created a chart outlining each remedy, along with the potential challenges they could encounter during the trial and appeals process. Important caveat, Adam works for an advocacy organization funded by Google, so is by no means an unbiased source.

🎉 Return to the Golden Era of Madison Ave 🎉

I can’t believe it’s finally over! After months of dedication from the incredible teams at MadTech, Aperiam, and Marketecture Media, we’ve wrapped up this event. We’re thrilled and proud of the amazing results. Pictures from the event will be exclusively available to subscribers of the Marketecture YouTube Channel so subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@marketecturetv

Stay tuned—more exciting events are on the way!

✨ VIP Sponsor:
🌟 Basis Technologies 🌟

✨ Platinum Sponsors:
🌟 Magnite – Cocktail Sponsor
🌟 LiveIntent, Inc. – Entertainment Sponsor
🌟 TransUnion – Blowout Bar Sponsor
🌟 Inmobi – Blowout Bar Sponsor
🌟 Zeta Global – Blowout Bar Sponsor
🌟 Fluency - Advertising Automation Platform – DJ Sponsor
🌟 AdRoll, a division of NextRoll – Food Sponsor

✨ Premier Sponsors:
⭐ HUMAN
⭐ Comscore, Inc.
⭐ Flashtalking by Mediaocean

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