What Raptive does

Raptive is a creator monetization platform formed in 2019 from the merger of CafeMedia (founded 2006) and AdThrive, operating under the legal entity CMI Marketing, Inc. The company manages programmatic advertising, yield optimization, and direct sales across a network of 6,500+ independent publisher websites, reaching 224-226 million unique monthly visitors and 1.3 billion social followers, and claims to manage approximately 15% of global digital ad dollars. Raptive serves three primary customer segments: independent creators and SMB publishers (acquired via a self-serve portal with a 25,000 monthly pageview minimum), enterprise publishers with 5M+ monthly pageviews (served by a dedicated direct sales team), and brand advertisers/agencies (served by a sales organization led by EVP Marla Newman).

The company's core technology stack includes AI-driven ad optimization, real-time bidding infrastructure, proprietary encrypted transaction IDs (eETIDs) being built into Prebid for early 2026 rollout, and Intent IQ identity resolution for cookie-based and ID-less environments. In June 2026, Raptive expanded into AI infrastructure with the acquisition of AlchemyAI and the launch of Raptive Intelligence, which packages creator content and consumer data for enterprise clients including CPGs, grocers, and AI platforms — initially focused on a food knowledge graph covering recipes, ingredients, and shopping intent with $1 trillion in grocery buying power. Additional products include Raptive Duet (AI-assisted content workflow), Raptive Unison (CTV access via Index Exchange), Raptive Represents (diverse-owned media with MAVEN certification), the SEO Workbook (analyzing 20B+ pageviews), and Grocers List for food creators.

Raptive operates on an ad revenue share model across four creator tiers (Insider up to $249K, Platinum $250K-$499K, Platinum Elite $500K-$999K, Luminary $1M+ in annual ad revenue), with a 15% minimum RPM uplift guarantee for qualifying creators. The company has cumulatively paid out $4 billion to creator and publisher partners and is ranked a top 10 global digital media company per Comscore December 2025 data, with #1 rankings in Food, Home/DIY, and Lifestyle. Go-to-market combines self-serve SMB acquisition with enterprise direct sales under SVP Walt Dublin, supported by a tiered service model with dedicated creator partnerships managers, ad specialists, and business strategy reviews for top-tier creators.

Name

Raptive

Legal name

CMI Marketing, Inc.

Website

https://raptive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Raptive is a private creator monetization platform managing programmatic advertising and AI-driven yield optimization across 6,500+ independent publisher sites. It serves SMB creators, enterprise publishers, and brand advertisers, and has cumulatively paid $4 billion to creator partners since 2019.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Ad Monetization & Media Technology

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Sponsorship & Brand Deal Monetization Tools (MPACAFAG)

Keywords

• Creator monetization platform
• Programmatic ad management
• Publisher ad revenue optimization
• Enterprise ad tech services
• Digital media advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Programmatic Advertising Revenue Share: Raptive manages ad inventory across its network of 6,500+ publisher sites through programmatic auctions and direct sales, taking a revenue share while paying out the remainder to creators and publishers. This is the core revenue stream, generating $4 billion in total payouts to date.
2. Direct Sales and Brand Partnerships: Raptive operates a dedicated direct sales team that secures premium brand deals, custom-built ad campaigns, and exclusive advertiser partnerships for top-tier creators, delivering premium CPMs above programmatic rates.
3. Raptive Intelligence Enterprise Products: New revenue stream through licensed data access, real-time intelligence products, and agentic commerce infrastructure sold to CPGs, grocers, retailers, and AI platforms seeking trusted creator expertise and consumer intent signals.
4. Video Ad Revenue: High-earning optimized video player generates additional ad revenue streams for creators through premium video ad inventory.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Raptive provides a creator monetization and ad management platform that combines AI-driven programmatic ad optimization across 6,500+ premium publisher sites with premium direct sales, SEO tools, and creator support services. The company takes an ad revenue share from publishers and offers tiered support (Insider through Luminary) plus enterprise services, Raptive Intelligence data products for CPGs/grocers/AI platforms, and diverse-owned media buying through Raptive Represents.

Product overview

Raptive is a creator monetization and media company offering a platform-plus-services model. The core platform provides ad management and monetization for independent creators (via Raptive Creator Dashboard) and enterprise publishers (Enterprise Ad Management). Key products include: Raptive Intelligence (AI-powered advertising targeting and commerce intelligence), Raptive Duet (AI workflow tool for content automation), Raptive Unison (CTV and programmatic audience access), Raptive Represents (diverse creator media solution), SEO Workbook (traffic growth tool), and Grocers List (email/subscriber tool). The June 2026 launch of Raptive Intelligence and acquisition of AlchemyAI expanded the platform into AI-powered infrastructure for food intelligence and commerce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Raptive Represents: Turnkey ad solution unlocking premium, diverse creator media at scale with MAVEN Diversity certification partnership for DE&I media buying
• Raptive Intelligence
• Raptive Duet
• Remarkable Voices
• Keep it Real
• The Raptive Report

Products and services

• Enterprise Ad Management Full-service ad management powered by advanced technology, expert analysis, premium demand access, and data-driven insight, enabling enterprise publishers to build sustainable, predictable revenue across 6,500+ websites.
• Creator Ad Monetization (Insider, Platinum, Platinum Elite, Luminary tiers) Ad revenue share service for independent creators offered across four tier levels (Insider up to $249K, Platinum $250K-$499K, Platinum Elite $500K-$999K, Luminary $1M+) providing ad code optimization, SEO tools, email growth support, video monetization, payment guarantees, and dedicated account management.
• Raptive Intelligence AI business unit packaging creator content and consumer data for enterprise clients, providing AI answer grounding, product recommendations, commerce intelligence, and agentic consumer journey support to CPGs, grocers, retailers, and AI platforms, powered by the AlchemyAI food knowledge graph.
• Raptive Duet AI-assisted workflow tool that helps creators automate parts of the publishing workflow while preserving human authorship, analyzing existing content to create new distribution assets and improve content visibility across platforms like Pinterest and Google Discover.
• Raptive Unison Enables advertisers to access verified, high-quality creator audiences across programmatic channels including Connected TV (CTV), with AI-driven optimization and transparent curation reaching over 226 million unique visitors.
• Raptive Represents Turnkey advertising solution unlocking direct access to premium, diverse creator media at scale, with MAVEN Diversity platform certification that enables brands to spend on certified diverse-owned creators and receive credit through supplier diversity reporting.
• Raptive Creator Dashboard Creator analytics and management platform providing dashboards, reporting, RPM tracking, and business performance tools for 6,500+ creator sites across the Raptive network.
• AlchemyAI (Food Knowledge Graph) Agentic food-intelligence platform that maps relationships among recipes, ingredients, products, preferences, techniques, substitutions, nutrition, and shopping intent, integrated into Raptive Intelligence for AI grounding.
• SEO Workbook SEO tool that helps creators prioritize content updates and grow organic traffic faster by turning search data into clear next steps, including keyword tracking, content planning, and ranking monitoring.

Quantifiable outcome

• 47% average two-week revenue increase after switching to Raptive
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IAB Tech Lab Programmatic Governance CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Raptive is a founding member of the IAB Tech Lab Programmatic Governance Council addressing transparency and governance in the $200B U.S. programmatic advertising market, alongside Dentsu, Omnicom Media Group, WPP, Disney, Magnite, PubMatic, Hearst, News Corp, Yahoo, Amazon Ads, The Trade Desk, and Mediavine.
• Intent IQcoreTechnology or Integration · 3 February 2026Intent IQ, a privacy-first identity resolution company, partnered with Raptive to deploy its Bid Enhancement offering across Raptive's publisher network in early 2026. The integration improves bid performance and monetization in both cookie-based environments (Chrome) and ID-less environments (iOS), supporting US and international markets including GDPR-regulated regions.
• ElcanocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Elcano partnered with Raptive and Index Exchange to launch Raptive Unison, a product enabling advertisers to access verified, high-quality creator audiences across programmatic channels including Connected TV (CTV). The collaboration enhances audience targeting and inventory management through AI-driven optimization and transparent curation, reaching over 226 million unique visitors.
• Index ExchangecoreTechnology or Integration · 11 December 2025Index Exchange partnered with Raptive and Elcano to launch Raptive Unison, integrating Raptive's premium creator inventory into Index Exchange's programmatic CTV marketplace for broader advertiser access.
• MAVEN (Media Framework)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Partnership with Media Framework's MAVEN (Media Advertising Vendor Encoding & Nomenclature) Diversity platform to directly certify Raptive creators as diverse-owned businesses, enabling brands to confidently spend on diverse-owned media and receive credit for those expenditures through supplier diversity reporting.
• BOMESIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Partnership with BOMESI to unlock large-scale investment in diverse-owned media, powering the Raptive Represents diversity advertising solution alongside MAVEN certification.

Scale indicators24 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights9 records

Direct peers

• Freestar: Header bidding and ad monetization partner for publishers, cited by name in Raptive customer testimonials as a previous vendor. Overlaps in website count and tier of publisher targeted.
• Mediavine: Direct competitor providing ad management and monetization for independent content creators and publishers. Closely comparable on customer base (independent sites in food, lifestyle, home verticals), revenue share model, and tiered creator program.
• Playwire: Publisher monetization platform serving independent sites with programmatic and direct demand. Comparable mid-market publisher focus.
• Monumetric: Creator ad management platform serving small to mid-sized publishers, similar tier structure (Pro, Premium, Elite) and revenue-share model.
• Snigel: Programmatic ad optimization provider for publishers, comparable in targeting mid-sized independent sites and offering header bidding/AI optimization.
• Ezoic: AI-driven ad testing and monetization platform for independent publishers. Comparable on technology-led yield optimization and target creator base.
• Sovrn: Publisher monetization platform offering ad exchange, affiliate, and demand tools. Comparable supply-side offering and engineer Ryan Chichirico moved to Raptive from Sovrn's ad exchange business.
• Newor Media: Creator-focused ad management platform with revenue share model and tier structure targeting publishers outside the largest networks.

Broad incumbents

• Taboola: Native content/feed monetization platform serving open-web publishers. Michael Lombardi moved to Raptive from Taboola where he scaled supply-side from "pre-revenue to over $1B." Overlap on publisher partnerships and demand access.
• Google Ad Manager: Google's broad ad server/exchange serving publishers of all sizes. Largest walled-garden alternative; competes for header bidding auctions and premium demand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/weareraptive
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ctrlaltask
• Facebookfacebook.com/WeAreRaptive
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/weareraptive
• Instagraminstagram.com/weareraptive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles35 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Raptive