Known

What Known does

Known is an independent, science-led advertising agency founded in 2020 and headquartered at 5 Bryant Park, New York. The firm operates as a unified full-service agency combining media planning and buying, 360 creative services, research and strategy, and original content production, serving predominantly enterprise brands across entertainment, technology, financial services, healthcare, retail, and food & beverage — including Disney, SAP, JPMorgan Chase, McDonald's, Microsoft, Moderna, HP, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The company's central technical asset is Skeptic™, a proprietary AI/ML platform built and maintained by an in-house PhD data science team. Skeptic™ performs rapid scientific experimentation and persistent optimization across all media channels, and in 2025 was commercialized as a standalone licensed product whose revenue tripled year-over-year. Adjacent offerings include Known Originals (an originals division producing feature films and documentary series for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Roc Nation, and Universal Music Group) and Media Opportunity Analysis (AI-driven inefficiency mapping that delivered $333 million in client savings/incremental revenue in 2024).

Known monetizes through full-service agency retainers (quote-based, KPI-tied remuneration), Skeptic™ platform licensing (subscription/SaaS-like), and outcomes-based pricing tied to client KPIs. The firm projects 40% net revenue growth in 2025, added 24 new enterprise clients in the year, and has scaled leadership with senior poaches including a Chief Client Officer (ex-McCann Worldgroup), Chief Media Officer (ex-Universal McCann), and Global Executive Creative Director (ex-TikTok/Apple). Industry recognition includes Adweek 2025 Midsize Agency of the Year, three consecutive Ad Age A-List appearances (#3 in 2024, #6 in 2025), and three consecutive Ad Age Data & Insights Agency of the Year awards.

Name

Known

Legal name

Known Global LLC

Website

https://known.is

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Known is an independent, science-led advertising agency combining media, creative, data science, and its proprietary AI platform Skeptic™ to serve enterprise brands including Disney, JPMorgan Chase, McDonald's, Microsoft, and Moderna across full-service campaigns and licensed software.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising and Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Media Buying Agencies (54183), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAAAA

Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Full-Service Advertising Agencies

SECONDARYHDAAAGAC

Advertising, Marketing & Customer Personalization

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning/Recommender Systems & Personalization

SECONDARYBPAFAEAD

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Brand Strategy & Creative Services

SECONDARYHDAAAGAJ

B2B SaaS & Enterprise Personalization (CRM, Sales, Support)

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning/Recommender Systems & Personalization

Keywords

• Integrated marketing services
• Media planning buying
• Data driven advertising
• Creative agency services
• Marketing technology platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Full-Service Agency Fees: Known provides full-service integrated marketing services blending high craft and extraordinary talent. Their transparent, KPI-tied remuneration model proved successful with the agency projecting 40% net revenue growth in 2025.
2. Platform Licensing (Skeptic™): Clients license the proprietary Skeptic™ AI platform to enable and empower their internal teams to drive exceptional results. This represents a separate revenue stream as a software/product business.
3. AI-Integrated Agency Services: Emerging pricing approaches include proprietary AI product licensing, subscription-based 'talent and machine' packages, and outcomes-based pricing tied to specific KPIs or business results.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Known is a science-led, independent advertising agency that provides full-service integrated marketing including media planning and buying, 360 creative services, research and strategy, and original content production. The agency's differentiator is its proprietary AI platform Skeptic™, which uses machine learning to deploy rapid experimentation and persistent optimization across all media channels, and is now licensed commercially to clients as a standalone product.

Product overview

Known is a science-led, independent advertising agency that operates as a unified full-service platform combining media planning & buying, 360 creative services (social, production, design), and research & strategy capabilities. The agency's core differentiator is its proprietary AI platform Skeptic™, which uses machine learning and AI for rapid experimentation and persistent optimization across all media channels. This AI platform is both used internally to power client work and licensed commercially to clients as a standalone revenue-generating product. Additional offerings include Known Originals (original programming division producing films and series), Media Opportunity Analysis (AI-powered analytics for finding inefficiencies), and the company's unique transparent KPI-tied remuneration model. The company was founded in 2020 and has grown to serve major global brands including Disney, SAP, WeightWatchers, JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Known Originals: Original programming division developing and producing feature films and series for brands including Amazon Prime Video, Roc Nation, Universal Music Group, and others.
• Skeptic

Products and services

• Skeptic™
• Media Planning & Buying
• 360 Creative
• Research & Strategy
• Known Originals
• Media Opportunity Analysis (MOA)

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% net revenue growth projected in 2025, software business tripling, media practice more than doubling year-over-year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers32 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• M&C SaatchiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Executives from Known participated in Adspeak by ADWEEK panel alongside M&C Saatchi and Team Epiphany to discuss agency model reinvention.
• Team EpiphanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Known executives participated in panel discussion on agency model reinvention alongside Team Epiphany and M&C Saatchi.
• Lynn LewiscoreOthers · 16 April 2026Lynn Lewis, formerly chief marketing officer at McCann Worldgroup, appointed as Known's first Chief Client Officer to support bigger global briefs.
• McDonald'scoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2026Known initiated the 'Meal Ticket' documentary project for McDonald's, telling the story of the All-American Game. The project was produced without direct payment from McDonald's as a brand storytelling initiative.
• Disney AdvertisingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2026Known and Instinct are among the first collaborators testing Disney's new video generation tool at CES 2026. This represents a strategic partnership for AI-powered advertising innovation.
• DisneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnown works with Disney on large global briefs. Disney is one of the major accounts added in 2025. The partnership involves strategic and creative work across Disney's streaming platforms and brand initiatives.
• SAPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAP is one of the major global brands added as a client in 2025, working with Known on marketing initiatives.
• WeightWatcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeightWatchers is one of the major accounts added in 2025, indicating a significant partnership for health and wellness marketing.
• JPMorgan ChasecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor financial services account added in 2025, working with Known on brand and marketing initiatives.
• U.S. Olympic CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor sports organization added as client in 2025, partnering with Known for Olympic-related marketing and brand campaigns.
• Amazon Prime VideocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnown Originals produced 'Meal Ticket' documentary greenlit by Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Also worked on Inspiration4 documentary released on Netflix.
• Roc NationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnown Originals partnered with Roc Nation and Creative Control to present the definitive story of the McDonald's All-American Games documentary.
• Universal Music GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UMG for 'Deep Dive' documentary series and other original programming giving access to Universal's vast music archive.
• Time StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-picture deal with TIME Studios as part of Known Originals' ambitious original series and films slate.
• Toys"R"UsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFox Alternative, Known Originals, and Toys R Us prepping new family competition format.
• NetflixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced 'Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space' documentary series, Netflix's first-ever real-time series chronicling the space mission. Also produced 'jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy'.
• iHeart MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with iHeart Media to produce the 'Future Legends of Advertising' podcast featuring top marketers from Nike, GM, Netflix, Uber and more.
• TikTokcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnown is TikTok's strategic and creative agency, having produced award-winning campaigns like '#ItStartsOnTikTok' and hired former TikTok executive Todd Triplett as first Global Executive Creative Director.
• Coodie & ChikecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnown Originals partnered with filmmakers Coodie & Chike (known for jeen-yuhs) on multiple documentary projects including the McDonald's All-American Game film.
• Instinct Pet FoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstinct Pet Food is among the first collaborators testing Disney's new video generation tool alongside Known at CES 2026.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MediaMonks: MediaMonks (S4 Capital / Monks) is a digital-first, data-driven marketing and production company offering creative, media, and technology services globally. Comparable to Known in its science-led, full-service approach and proprietary technology platforms that differentiate it from traditional agency networks.
• R/GA: R/GA is an independent, technology-led creative agency that combines design, data, and emerging tech to build brand experiences and digital products. Like Known, it operates outside the holding-company system, emphasizes data science and engineering, and serves enterprise clients seeking integrated creative-plus-technology solutions.
• 72andSunny: 72andSunny is an independent creative agency that integrates cultural strategy, brand creative, and media. Comparable to Known as an independent shop recognized on Ad Age and Adweek A-List rankings, serving similarly global enterprise brand portfolios.
• Huge Inc. Huge is an independent experience-driven agency combining strategy, design, marketing, and technology. Like Known, it positions at the intersection of data science, creative, and engineering for enterprise clients and competes for the same digital-transformation RFPs.
• Droga5: Droga5 is an independent, creatively-led agency known for high-craft campaigns for enterprise brands. It overlaps with Known in targeting premium global clients (e.g., Disney, Amazon) and is cited alongside Known on industry A-List rankings.

Broad incumbents

• WPP (GroupM / Ogilvy): WPP is the world's largest advertising holding company, housing agencies like GroupM (media buying), Ogilvy, and VMLY&R that compete directly with Known across media planning/buying and integrated creative services for the same enterprise clients.
• Publicis Groupe (Publicis / Digitas): Publicis operates a broad portfolio of creative, media, and data-driven agencies (Publicis, Digitas, Sapient) competing with Known across integrated services. Its Marcel AI platform represents a holding-company response to independents like Known with proprietary AI.
• Omnicom (OMD / BBDO / Goodby): Omnicom is a global advertising holding company with media (OMD, PHD) and creative (BBDO, Goodby Silverstein) networks that overlap with Known's full-service offering. Competes for the same AOR relationships with the same enterprise clients.
• Stagwell (Assembly / Anomaly): Stagwell is a publicly traded holding company focused on digital transformation, with agencies like Assembly (media) and Anomaly (creative) that compete with Known in data-led, integrated services. Its digitally native portfolio targets the same growth-mandated enterprise clients.

Others

• Adobe Advertising (Adobe Experience Cloud): Adobe Experience Cloud is a leading martech platform with advertising and personalization capabilities that overlap with Skeptic's optimization and experimentation functionality. As Known licenses Skeptic externally, Adobe represents a potential competitor and ecosystem partner for the platform business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/knownglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/knownis
• Instagraminstagram.com/known
• Xx.com/Knownis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Known