Upwave
Upwave is a profitable, venture-backed brand outcomes measurement platform serving 1,000+ advertisers across CTV, digital, social, retail media, and audio, with AI-powered brand lift, reach, and optimization analytics powered by its Bayes agent.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Upwave does
Upwave is a brand outcomes measurement platform that quantifies the impact of upper-funnel advertising across channels including CTV, digital, social, linear, addressable, retail media, and streaming audio. The platform is built around three core measurement modules — Brand Lift (measuring campaign performance against KPIs such as awareness, recall, consideration, and the proprietary Purchase Propensity metric), Brand Reach (validating audience penetration using attitudinal data and machine learning), and Brand Optimization (providing Outperformance Indicators for mid-campaign budget reallocation) — and is supported by the Upwave Digital Network, a scalable survey infrastructure that delivers census-representative, self-reported attitudinal data via a triple-filtering quality approach. Bayes, Upwave's proprietary AI agent, powers AI Campaign Insights Sessions (conversational analysis) and AI Campaign Insights Reports (automated slide decks), and is layered on top of predictive and recommendation models that have been refined across more than one trillion measured ad impressions for over 1,000 advertisers. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, operates with 51-100 employees, and has been self-described as a profitable, growth-stage private company since its last priced round in 2018.
Upwave monetizes through a hybrid commercial model: quote-based enterprise subscriptions with annual billing for large brand advertisers, agencies, and media partners, alongside self-serve platform access at app.upwave.com with a 3 million impression minimum. Distribution extends through a self-serve product-led funnel and channel partnerships, most notably inclusion in The Trade Desk Measurement Marketplace and native integrations with MNTN, Comcast's AudienceXpress, Campaign Manager 360, and AWS Clean Rooms. Customers span consumer goods (Clorox, JM Smucker), retail media (Walmart Connect), financial services (American Express), streaming/CTV (Paramount, MNTN, Future Today, Crackle Connex, LG Ad Solutions), audio (Westwood One, Wondery), adtech (Viant, GumGum, Kargo, IRIS.TV, Ogury), and large consumer brands (Uber, Amazon Ads). The company is led by founder/CEO Chris Kelly with a full C-suite spanning finance (Ajey Bhir, CFO), revenue (John Bulgrin, CRO), technology (George London, CTO), marketing (Jess Armstrong, CMO), and research (Jon Stewart, CCO), and a board including representatives from Conductive Ventures, Ridge Ventures, and PivotNorth Capital.
Upwave firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Upwave
- Legal name
- Upwave, Inc.
- Website
- https://upwave.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Upwave is a profitable, venture-backed brand outcomes measurement platform serving 1,000+ advertisers across CTV, digital, social, retail media, and audio, with AI-powered brand lift, reach, and optimization analytics powered by its Bayes agent.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Upwave industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Advertising Analytics
- NAICS
- Media Buying Agencies (54183)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Attribution, Measurement, Analytics & Incrementality (BPAMALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- National TV & Cross-Platform Audience Measurement Panels (MPABAOAA), Podcast Analytics, Measurement & Attribution Platforms (MPAIADAL), Radio Audience Measurement & Analytics (Ratings, Attribution) (MPAIAEAK)
Keywords
Where Upwave is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Upwave business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations
Revenue model
- Brand Measurement SaaS Platform: Subscription-based access to Upwave's brand outcomes measurement platform including Brand Lift, Brand Reach, and Brand Optimization capabilities. Revenue derived from platform access fees based on campaign scope and features used.
- Enterprise Measurement Services: Custom measurement solutions for large advertisers requiring dedicated support, custom integrations, and specialized analysis. Includes professional services for campaign setup and ongoing optimization support.
- Marketplace Integration: Availability through The Trade Desk Measurement Marketplace provides additional distribution channel for self-serve customers accessing brand lift measurement capabilities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Platform Access |
| Subscription | Annual | Self-Serve Platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Upwave product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Upwave is a subscription-based SaaS platform that measures brand outcomes across CTV, Digital, Social, Linear, Addressable, Retail Media, and Streaming Audio. It sells three core measurement modules — Brand Lift, Brand Reach, and Brand Optimization — backed by the proprietary Bayes AI Agent and the Upwave Digital Network for census-representative attitudinal data collection. Customers are primarily large brand advertisers, media agencies, and media/publisher partners needing real-time, cross-channel brand measurement and mid-campaign optimization.
Product overview
Upwave is The Brand Outcomes Measurement Platform - a unified platform that measures Brand Lift, validates Brand Reach, and surfaces Brand Optimization opportunities. The platform is built around three core measurement modules: Brand Lift (measuring campaign performance and KPIs like awareness, recall, consideration, and Purchase Propensity), Brand Reach (validating audience targeting and penetration), and Brand Optimization (providing actionable insights to increase ROI with Outperformance Indicators). The platform is powered by Bayes, Upwave's AI Agent, which enables AI Campaign Insights Sessions (conversational analysis) and AI Campaign Insights Reports (automated slide decks). Upwave's Digital Network provides census-representative attitudinal data using a triple-filtering quality approach. Key capabilities include Upwave Norms for benchmarking, Purchase Propensity (proprietary metric), and cross-channel measurement for CTV, Digital, Social, Linear, Addressable, Retail Media, and Streaming Audio.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bayes: Upwave's AI Agent that helps customers turn data into digestible, on-demand insights both in-platform and available to download.
Products and services
- Brand Lift Real-time, always-on measurement module that quantifies Brand Lift across upper- and mid-funnel KPIs including awareness, recall, consideration, purchase intent, and the proprietary Purchase Propensity metric. Provides cross-channel coverage across CTV, Digital, Social, Linear, Addressable, Retail Media, and Streaming Audio for brand advertisers, agencies, and media companies.
- Brand Reach Validation module that uses real attitudinal data and machine learning to verify whether a campaign is reaching the brand-specific audience beyond basic age and gender, breaking out reach by channel, media partner, programmatic segment, and other tactics.
- Brand Optimization Optimization module that provides actionable insights during campaigns to increase ROI, using purpose-built Outperformance Indicators so decision makers can identify over- and under-performing tactics and reallocate budget without requiring a statistician on staff.
- Bayes (AI Agent) Upwave's AI Agent that simplifies campaign analysis by proactively identifying what is working, uncovering optimization opportunities, and generating data-rich reports. Powers AI Campaign Insights Sessions (conversational interface available 24/7) and AI Campaign Insights Reports (100% AI-generated slide decks in Google Slides or PowerPoint).
- Upwave Digital Network Scalable data network that collects high-quality, census-representative, self-reported attitudinal data without owning a traditional panel, using a triple-filtering approach (validity checks, attention detection, and veracity verification) to ensure data quality at scale.
Quantifiable outcome
- 94% of MNTN campaigns generated positive statistical lift in at least one brand KPI
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Upwave
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Upwave technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability7 records
Feature8 records
Upwave partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- MNTNcoreExpanded architectural partnership integrating native brand lift tracking directly into MNTN's advertising software suite. The integration enables click-to-measure experience providing real-time insights on brand metrics during live CTV campaigns. Across nearly 50 campaigns, 94% generated positive lift in at least one brand KPI.
- The Trade DeskcoreLive integration in The Trade Desk Measurement Marketplace bringing brand campaign highlights, actionable optimization recommendations, and AI-generated reporting to advertisers using The Trade Desk platform.
- IRIS.TVcorePartnership providing AI Campaign Insights Reports revealing drivers behind campaign performance with Upwave Norms contextualization for IRIS-enabled contextual targeting campaigns.
- ViantcoreStrategic partnership enabling real-time brand insights connecting CTV exposure to brand outcomes. Provides granular insights to maximize brand investment through cross-channel measurement.
- ParamountcorePartnership demonstrating how Paramount's premium content and innovative ad formats drive real Brand Outcomes through transparent measurement data.
- WonderycorePartnership delivering user-level brand measurement for podcast advertising. Built first-ever user-level measurement solution for baked-in podcast ads and AI-supported insights reports.
- Westwood OnecorePartnership measuring brand outcomes for audio advertising. Focus on familiarity, brand associations, ad recall, and purchase intent metrics.
- GumGumcoreInnovation and collaboration partnership enabling smarter creative decisions, optimizing brand ROI, and building stronger campaigns through cross-platform measurement.
- KargocorePartnership providing real-time brand optimization for Kargo's cross-platform ad experiences and breakthrough creative advertising.
- LG Ad SolutionscorePartnership delivering brand measurement for CTV advertising on LG platforms with transparent insights into campaign performance.
- Crackle ConnexcorePartnership providing brand measurement insights for Crackle's streaming video inventory and connected TV advertising.
- AudienceXpresscoreComcast's AudienceXpress partnership elevating brand measurement with granular insights to optimize brand outcomes and prove brand-building power.
- OgurycorePartnership quantifying real-time Brand Lift across key KPIs using Ogury's person-based targeting data combined with Upwave's measurement platform.
- Amazon AdscoreCustomer and partner leveraging Upwave's brand measurement to demonstrate impact of advertising across Amazon's inventory and audience.
- American ExpresscoreCustomer utilizing Upwave's measurement capabilities to validate brand building effectiveness of advertising investments.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Upwave competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Nielsen: Nielsen is the dominant cross-platform audience measurement and ratings provider. Both companies measure advertising effectiveness and audience reach across TV and digital, but Nielsen's scale and legacy panel-based approach make it the established incumbent Upwave positions against with its AI-native methodology.
- Kantar Millward Brown: Kantar (via Millward Brown) is the global leader in brand tracking and ad effectiveness research. Both companies measure brand lift, awareness, and consideration metrics for advertisers, but Kantar's established Link and AdReaction products compete directly with Upwave's Brand Lift platform.
Direct peers
- comScore: comScore provides cross-platform media measurement and audience analytics. Upwave's CRO John Bulgrin previously held leadership at comScore, indicating direct competitive overlap in outcomes measurement for brands and agencies. Both serve advertisers with audience validation and campaign effectiveness metrics.
- Dynata: Dynata is a major first-party data and panel research provider serving ad effectiveness measurement. Upwave's CRO John Bulgrin previously held leadership at Dynata, and both companies power brand lift studies and audience measurement through online panel methodologies.
- iSpot.tv: iSpot.tv provides TV and CTV ad measurement and attribution in real-time. Both companies serve advertisers seeking cross-platform measurement with a strong emphasis on CTV, competing for the same brand advertiser budgets in the connected TV space.
- VideoAmp: VideoAmp provides cross-screen media measurement and currency-grade analytics for TV and digital advertising. Both compete in CTV-focused brand outcomes measurement, offering advertisers alternatives to legacy Nielsen ratings and panel-based methodologies.
Emerging players
- DoubleVerify: DoubleVerify focuses on ad verification and brand safety but has expanded into performance and outcomes measurement. Both serve large brand advertisers with measurement products, though DoubleVerify's strength is verification rather than brand lift specifically.
- Samba TV: Samba TV provides TV viewership data and cross-screen measurement using ACR (automatic content recognition) technology. Both companies compete in cross-platform brand outcomes measurement, with Samba TV offering an alternative data-driven methodology to Upwave's survey-based approach.
- System1 (formerly BrainJuicer): System1 provides emotional measurement and brand effectiveness research. Both companies serve advertisers seeking brand lift and creative effectiveness measurement, though System1 focuses on emotional response while Upwave uses attitudinal survey methodology.
Others
- Integrals Ad Science (IAS): IAS is an existing Upwave partner (clean rooms integration with AWS) focused on ad verification and media quality. Both serve brand advertisers in the measurement ecosystem with complementary capabilities, making IAS more of an ecosystem partner than direct competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Upwave social profiles
Digital presenceUpwave compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Upwave financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Upwave leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Upwave funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Upwave M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Upwave
What does Upwave do?
Upwave is a subscription-based SaaS platform that measures brand outcomes across CTV, Digital, Social, Linear, Addressable, Retail Media, and Streaming Audio. It sells three core measurement modules — Brand Lift, Brand Reach, and Brand Optimization — backed by the proprietary Bayes AI Agent and the Upwave Digital Network for census-representative attitudinal data collection. Customers are primarily large brand advertisers, media agencies, and media/publisher partners needing real-time, cross-channel brand measurement and mid-campaign optimization.
Is Upwave a public or private company?
Upwave is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Upwave founded?
Upwave was founded in 2012. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Upwave based?
Upwave is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Upwave make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Brand Measurement SaaS Platform is the primary driver. The others are enterprise Measurement Services and marketplace Integration.
Who are Upwave's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Nielsen and Kantar Millward Brown. Direct peers are comScore, Dynata, iSpot.tv and VideoAmp. Emerging players are DoubleVerify, Samba TV and System1 (formerly BrainJuicer). Integrals Ad Science (IAS) is listed as an others.
Does Upwave have an API?
No public API is recorded for Upwave.
What industry is Upwave in?
Upwave's product category is Advertising Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMALAF, Attribution, Measurement, Analytics & Incrementality, with a secondary code of MPABAOAA, National TV & Cross-Platform Audience Measurement Panels. Its NAICS code is 54183 and its SIC code is 7370.