Valid Raises $5.5 Million to Build the AI-Enabled Ad Agency of the Future
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Valid, the AI-enabled ad agency transforming digital advertising, today announced $5.5 million in seed funding led by Canaan Partners. Neo, J Ventures, and strategic investors, including Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and search ads pioneer Scott Banister, also participated in the round. This latest funding brings Valid’s total raised to $7.3 million and fuels its mission to make sophisticated advertising strategies accessible to businesses of all sizes.
“Innovation in adtech has long meant incrementally differentiated point solutions with diminishing ROI. Valid’s is a totally new approach: a fully superior service,” said Jared Newman, principal at Canaan. “Traditional ad agencies rely on manual insights to optimize campaigns, but Valid’s technology enables businesses to achieve superior results at a fraction of the cost. We see a massive opportunity for Valid to redefine how digital advertising is executed entirely.”
Bringing AI-Enabled Advertising to Businesses of All Sizes
While advertising technology has advanced dramatically, running effective ad campaigns still requires deep expertise and significant manual effort. Today, 80% of ad spend flows through agencies that rely on human-intensive processes, creating inefficiencies and limiting accessibility. Valid is changing that by replacing these outdated agency models with AI-enabled systems that manage everything from attribution to ad delivery.
“Advertising powers 2% of global GDP, yet the industry still operates with archaic methods,” said Rahul Bhardwaj, co-founder and CEO of Valid. “We founded Valid to automate the complexity of running ads, so businesses – whether a corner store or a venture-backed startup – can compete on a level playing field. Our vision is an ad agency that isn’t constrained by human bandwidth, but one that scales infinitely through AI.”
Since its launch, Valid has already unlocked millions of dollars in revenue for dozens of mobile apps, B2B SaaS companies, and e-commerce brands, including Aragon AI, Julius AI, TapTapSend, Fuelin, and many more. Early customers have leveraged Valid’s AI-powered platform to:
- Grow from TestFlight to 100,000 users;
- Increase return on ad spend (ROAS) by 2x; and
- Reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) by 80%.
“Valid executes ad campaigns with the precision of a founding team and the analytical rigor of engineers. Their data-driven approach ensures every decision is backed by metrics and every campaign is optimized for results,” said Wesley Tian, CEO of Aragon AI.
Building an Agency That Lasts 100 Years
Advertising agencies have evolved alongside every significant shift in media, from print to television to digital. AI represents the next transformation, and Valid is pioneering a new model designed to last for the next century. Unlike traditional agencies, Valid’s platform isn’t limited by human bandwidth. Instead, it scales dynamically, allowing any business to run high-performing campaigns regardless of size.
With this funding, Valid plans to accelerate research and development, expand its customer base, and hire top engineering, AI, and marketing talent.
About Valid
Valid is an AI-enabled ad agency transforming digital advertising by automating campaign management, optimization, and performance tracking. By leveraging AI, Valid enables businesses of all sizes to achieve scalable, cost-effective advertising results without relying on traditional agency models. Founded by industry veterans, Valid is backed by top investors, including Canaan Partners, Neo, J Ventures, and strategic angels such as Steve Huffman and Scott Banister. Learn more at valid.co.
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