What Soundwave Digital does

Soundwave Digital is a B2B programmatic advertising agency headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with a regional presence in New York City. Founded as a private LLC domiciled in Virginia and operating with 11–50 employees, the firm serves mid-market to enterprise clients through consultative direct sales of managed programmatic advertising services paired with proprietary AI technology. Its customer base spans more than 20 named brands across professional and collegiate sports (Houston Rockets, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Orioles, UCLA Bruins, UNC, VCU Rams), financial services (Klarna, MetLife), consumer electronics (Vizio), automotive (Delphi Sun, Imperial), hospitality (MGM Resorts), healthcare (VCU Health, PDOH), pet food (Nom Nom), government/lottery (Virginia Lottery), fashion (Worn), and non-profit (Greyston).

The company's core technology is Amplifi™, a proprietary AI-powered audience modeling platform that builds custom digital personas from seven data indicators: first- and third-party data, browsing, geographic, psychographic, demographic, purchase, and social engagement data. Amplifi™ is coupled with a demand-side platform (DSP) that automates ad buying and placement across six channel offerings: display and native, online video (OLV), connected TV (CTV), audio streaming, digital out-of-home (DOOH), and social media buying. The product surface is augmented with expert trading, brand safety controls aligned to IAB and DAA protocols, GDPR and CCPA data compliance, and real-time optimization and reporting.

Soundwave Digital goes to market via direct, consultative B2B sales with bespoke strategy building per client and no public pricing tiers; contracts are structured as multi-year managed-service engagements. Revenue is generated through managed service fees for campaign strategy, execution, and optimization, with pricing tailored to each client's needs and scale rather than through packaged media buying or SaaS subscriptions. Leadership consists of President Holland Rhoads, co-founder and COO Richard Rhoads, and VP of Trading Operations Jon Kim (joined May 2023 from Cognitiv).

Name

Soundwave Digital

Legal name

SOUNDWAVE DIGITAL LLC

Website

https://soundwavedigital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Soundwave Digital is a Richmond, Virginia-based B2B programmatic advertising agency serving mid-market and enterprise clients with AI-powered audience modeling (Amplifi™) and managed campaigns across display, online video, connected TV, audio, digital out-of-home, and social media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Programmatic Advertising Services

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Ad Tech & Programmatic Audio Platforms (MPAIADAH)

Keywords

• Programmatic advertising
• Digital media buying
• Audience targeting
• Demand-side platform
• Ad campaign management

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Programmatic Advertising Management: The company provides programmatic advertising services including campaign strategy, execution, and optimization across multiple digital channels. Revenue is generated through managed service fees for campaign management and media buying, with pricing tailored to each client's needs and scale.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Soundwave Digital provides managed programmatic advertising services, executing and optimizing digital ad campaigns across display, online video, connected TV, audio streaming, digital out-of-home, and social media channels. Campaigns are powered by the company's proprietary AI audience modeling platform Amplifi™, which builds custom digital personas from seven core data indicators, combined with an in-house Demand-Side Platform for automated media buying and real-time optimization.

Product overview

Soundwave Digital is a programmatic advertising company offering a unified platform combining its proprietary AI-powered audience modeling tool Amplifi™ with a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) that automates digital ad buying and placement. The core offering consists of Amplifi™ (which creates custom digital personas using seven data indicators) paired with managed services and cross-channel DSP capabilities. The product portfolio spans multiple advertising channels: Display & Native Advertising, Online Video Advertising (OLV), Connected TV Advertising (CTV), Audio Streaming Advertising, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH), and Social Media Buying—all accessible through the DSP platform with real-time reporting and optimization. Additional services include expert trading, search optimization, brand safety, ad operations, and one-on-one client service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amplifi™ AI Audience Modeling Platform Proprietary AI-powered audience modeling solution that uses seven core data indicators (first- and third-party, browsing, geographic, psychographic, demographic, purchase, and social engagement) to create custom digital personas based on customers' online and offline behaviors, enabling maximum buying efficiency and precision targeting for the agency's managed services.
• Demand-Side Platform (DSP) In-house software platform that automates the purchase and placement of digital ads across multiple channels, using data and algorithms to deliver optimal targeting and results for Soundwave Digital's managed campaigns.
• Display & Native Advertising
• Online Video Advertising (OLV)
• Connected TV Advertising (CTV)
• Audio Streaming Advertising
• Digital Out-of-Home Advertising (DOOH)
• Social Media Buying

Named customers20 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MiQ: MiQ is a global programmatic media partner combining managed services with proprietary data and AI-driven audience technology, serving mid-market to enterprise brands. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Soundwave Digital given its similar managed-services-plus-DSP model and AI audience-modeling emphasis.
• AdRoll: AdRoll is a programmatic ad platform focused on display, video, CTV, and retargeting for mid-market and e-commerce brands. Comparable to Soundwave Digital as a multi-channel programmatic competitor serving similar brand sizes, though AdRoll emphasizes self-serve and e-commerce verticals.
• Cognitiv: Cognitiv is an AI-powered programmatic media buying platform focused on deep learning–driven audience targeting and bidding. Directly comparable to Soundwave Digital's Amplifi™ approach because both center on proprietary AI for audience modeling; Soundwave's VP of Trading Operations joined from Cognitiv, reinforcing the adjacency.
• StackAdapt: StackAdapt is a self-serve programmatic DSP with AI-driven audience targeting and native, display, CTV, audio, and DOOH inventory. Comparable to Soundwave Digital because both compete in multi-channel programmatic with proprietary AI targeting, though StackAdapt's model is productized self-serve versus Soundwave's managed services.
• Adtaxi: Adtaxi is a digital marketing agency specializing in programmatic advertising, paid media, and data-driven audience targeting for mid-market and enterprise clients. Comparable to Soundwave Digital because both sell AI-assisted cross-channel programmatic solutions with a focus on custom audience strategies rather than packaged media plans.
• Basis Technologies (Centro): Basis Technologies provides programmatic advertising software and managed services across display, video, CTV, DOOH, and audio for agencies and advertisers. It is a direct peer to Soundwave Digital given its DSP-plus-services hybrid targeting enterprise advertisers with multi-channel campaigns.
• Tinuiti: Tinuiti is a large independent performance marketing agency offering programmatic, paid social, CTV, and search across channels. It is comparable to Soundwave Digital because both sell cross-channel managed programmatic services to enterprise brands, though Tinuiti operates at materially greater scale.

Broad incumbents

• The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is the largest independent demand-side platform, offering self-service programmatic buying across CTV, audio, display, video, and DOOH. It is a broad incumbent against Soundwave Digital: the same advertisers evaluating Soundwave often compare against TTD's AI targeting, inventory breadth, and reporting capabilities.
• Google Display & Video 360: Google's Display & Video 360 is the dominant enterprise DSP, integrated with YouTube, Google AdExchange, and BigQuery. It competes with Soundwave Digital for enterprise programmatic budgets and is increasingly embedding AI-driven audience features similar to Amplifi™, putting margin pressure on smaller managed-service competitors.
• MediaMath: MediaMath is an enterprise DSP with AI-driven audience targeting and a global supply footprint. Comparable to Soundwave Digital as a competing programmatic buying infrastructure layer for enterprise advertisers, though MediaMath sells primarily through agencies and as a self-serve platform rather than as a managed-service partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soundwave-digital

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Soundwave Digital