What Keynes does

Keynes is a performance advertising platform for Connected TV (CTV), founded in 2018 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company enables direct-to-consumer brands, ecommerce companies, and performance marketers to execute measurable CTV advertising campaigns across premium streaming inventory including Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, Tubi, and Paramount+. Its core platform combines AI-driven optimization with transparent performance reporting, proprietary cross-device targeting technology, and custom audience modeling, and currently serves mid-market brands such as Faherty, Shady Rays, NEST New York, Chemical Guys, Net32, and TeePublic with documented outcomes including 2.8x sales lift and 91% revenue growth on named accounts.

The company operates a sales-led go-to-market with a direct enterprise field-sales organization supplemented by a self-serve platform at kortex.keynes.com for mid-market buyers. Monetization runs through performance-based CTV advertising fees on custom enterprise pricing with multi-year contracts. AI capabilities include a proprietary real-time budget optimization engine, predictive modeling for incremental Return on Ad Spend, and the DS-1 agentic advertising platform integrated via partnership with Dstillery and activated through The Trade Desk's DSP; this integration reduces campaign workflow time from 48 hours to five minutes through Model Context Protocol connectivity. Adjacent product modules include CTV Spec Check (free creative validation), One View Gallery (case-study showcase), a Knowledge Base, and the Media Meets event series.

In March 2026, Keynes secured a $40 million minority investment from Volition Capital to fund technology expansion, AI-driven data and measurement capabilities, and strategic hiring across engineering, data science, client success, and sales. The company appointed Sachin Telang as CTO in December 2025, bringing experience from Yahoo, Amobee, and SmartMedia Technologies. The U.S. CTV advertising market is projected to reach $37.95 billion in 2026, providing substantial tailwinds for the company's continued scaling.

Name

Keynes

Legal name

Keynes, Inc.

Website

https://keynes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Founded in 2018 in Austin, Keynes is a CTV performance advertising platform enabling DTC brands and ecommerce companies to run AI-optimized, measurable Connected TV campaigns across premium streaming inventory including Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Peacock.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Connected TV Advertising Platform

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Connected TV (CTV) & OTT Performance Advertising (BPAFACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Programmatic Display & Video (DSP/RTB) (BPAFACAC), Programmatic Media Buying & Trading Desks (DV360/TTD, RTB) (MPAAABAB)

Keywords

• Connected TV advertising
• CTV advertising platform
• Performance marketing
• Audience targeting
• Ad measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. CTV Advertising Fees: Performance-based CTV advertising model generating revenue through advertising fees. Advertisers pay for campaign activation across connected TV inventory with performance-based pricing tied to measurable outcomes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Keynes operates a performance advertising platform for Connected TV (CTV) that enables brands to find, target, and message key audiences on streaming platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, Tubi, and Paramount+. The platform combines AI-driven optimization, proprietary cross-device technology, custom audience modeling, and real-time budget allocation to deliver measurable, attribution-linked CTV campaigns for DTC brands, ecommerce companies, and performance marketers. Campaigns are activated through The Trade Desk's DSP and enhanced by Dstillery's DS-1 agentic AI capabilities.

Product overview

Keynes is a performance advertising platform for Connected TV (CTV) that provides a unified solution combining the core CTV advertising platform with supplementary tools and resources. The core platform enables precise audience targeting, AI-driven optimization, and transparent measurement across streaming TV inventory. Supporting modules include CTV Spec Check (creative validation tool), One View Gallery (results showcase), Case Studies (methodology documentation), and Knowledge Base (educational resources). The company also hosts the Media Meets networking event series. All components work together to help brands drive measurable growth through CTV advertising, from creative development through campaign optimization and performance analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Keynes CTV Advertising Platform Performance advertising platform for Connected TV (CTV) that enables brands to find, target, and message key audiences on streaming platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, Tubi, and Paramount+. Combines AI-driven optimization with transparent performance reporting and cross-device targeting capabilities. Campaigns are activated through The Trade Desk's DSP and enhanced by Dstillery's DS-1 agentic AI capabilities.
• CTV Spec Check Free standalone tool that allows advertisers to upload video creative files and verify whether they meet the technical specifications required for CTV advertising, including resolution, bitrate, frame rate, and format requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Projected CTV ad spending market expected to reach $37.95 billion by 2026

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DstillerycoreTechnology or IntegrationDstillery has an agentic partnership with Keynes for the DS-1 platform, enabling AI agentic advertising capabilities through data integration and technology collaboration.
• The Trade DeskcoreTechnology or IntegrationKeynes partnered with The Trade Desk for campaign activation, enabling seamless integration between the Keynes DS-1 platform and The Trade Desk's advertising technology for CTV campaign execution.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MNTN: MNTN is a self-serve CTV advertising platform serving mid-market and DTC advertisers with performance measurement — closely comparable to Keynes' dual enterprise/self-serve CTV motion.
• Tatari: Tatari is a CTV performance advertising platform focused on DTC and ecommerce brands with transparent measurement and reporting — directly overlapping Keynes' core offering, customer segment, and performance-based GTM.
• Innovid: Innovid provides CTV ad serving, measurement, and creative verification across streaming platforms — comparable to Keynes on the measurement, optimization, and cross-platform CTV delivery layer.
• Mediavine: Mediavine has expanded from publisher monetization into CTV advertising solutions for content creators and DTC-adjacent brands — a comparable emerging CTV performance player targeting a similar mid-market audience.

Broad incumbents

• Magnite: Magnite is the largest independent CTV SSP, providing the supply-side infrastructure Keynes indirectly relies on for streaming inventory — a broad incumbent in the same CTV ecosystem.
• Simpli.fi: Simpli.fi is a programmatic advertising platform with strong CTV and audience-targeting capabilities — a broad incumbent with overlapping addressable-targeting and real-time-optimization features.
• Viant: Viant operates a programmatic DSP with CTV capabilities and household-level data via its Adelphic platform — overlapping Keynes' programmatic CTV buying motion but at much larger scale and breadth.
• Roku: Roku operates a first-party CTV ad platform with deep audience data on the Roku OS — competing with Keynes for streaming-TV ad budgets and representing a walled-garden alternative to Keynes' aggregated model.
• The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is Keynes' activation DSP partner and a broader programmatic incumbent with extensive CTV buying tools. While a partner, TTD's CTV product roadmap overlaps materially with Keynes' value proposition.

Emerging players

• Dstillery: Dstillery is Keynes' AI partner and provides the DS-1 agentic advertising platform — overlapping in custom audience modeling and AI-driven targeting, with an emerging role as an agentic-AI infrastructure peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@keynesctvcompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keynes-tv
• Instagraminstagram.com/keynesctvcompany
• Xx.com/KeynesDigital

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Keynes