VideoAmp Startup Diligence Report
VideoAmp is positioned in the shift from legacy TV measurement to cross-platform media currency. Public evidence supports late-stage financing, active operations, recognizable publisher/agency relationships and technical/IP assets; underwriting should proceed only after financial, customer, regulatory and team-risk validation.
VideoAmp Startup Diligence Report
Eligible private-unicorn diligence target with strong public financing, product and partnership evidence, but investment-quality diligence remains gated by private financials, debt/cap-table documents, customer concentration, standards/privacy validation and post-2024 workforce stability.
Public sources verify financing but not current financial quality, debt terms, runway or cap table; 2024 news referenced layoffs and debt-paydown context.
Diligence request: Require audited financials, monthly accounts, bank statements, debt schedule/covenants, cap table and cash plan.
VideoAmp competes with Nielsen, Comscore, iSpot and internal tools; adoption depends on trust, standards and publisher/agency budgets.
Diligence request: Validate MRC/JIC status, buyer adoption, transacted spend, pricing and win/loss.
Public logos are strong but revenue concentration, minimums, data rights, exclusivity and renewal economics are private.
Diligence request: Review top-25 revenue, contracts, renewal calendar, churn and reference calls.
Identity, clean room and ad measurement data processing create privacy/standards exposure; MRC accreditation completion is not public.
Diligence request: Review privacy impact assessments, DPAs, data consents, breach history and audit materials.
Core products depend on first-party data, identity matching and integrations whose contracts, data quality and uptime are private.
Diligence request: Conduct architecture, data lineage, SOC/security, vendor and scalability diligence.
Founder/CEO transition and 20% workforce reduction may affect execution despite current leadership roster.
Diligence request: Review org chart, retention grants, engagement/attrition and succession plan.
Patent assets exist but assignment, encumbrance, trademark, OSS and FTO status require counsel review.
Diligence request: Have IP counsel review patents, assignments, licenses, OSS SBOM, trademarks and FTO.
Accessible public docket searches were limited and litigation, insurance and material contract schedules are private.
Diligence request: Counsel should run PACER/state/lien/regulatory searches and review legal/insurance/material contracts.
Financing and unicorn status are public; current financials, debt and cap table are private.
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Audited financial statements, backlog, AR aging and revenue breakdowns are not public; only historical revenue CAGR claim was found.
| signal | public evidence | status | private request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Historical growth | Company-stated >100% revenue CAGR before 2021 Series F | partially_verified | Audited revenue and ARR/NRR definitions |
| Current revenue/ARR | CB revenue field masked; no audited public revenue | not_publicly_verifiable | Monthly revenue, ARR, bookings, churn |
| Runway/debt service | 2024 news reported layoffs/debt-paydown context | partially_verified | Cash, burn, debt maturity/covenants |
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Forecasts, pricing assumptions, capex, working capital and external-financing assumptions are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
CB profile confirms Series G | Alive and total raised, but shares, holders, options, warrants, notes, debt and off-balance-sheet liabilities are private.
| stakeholder | public position | diligence caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Preferred investors | Series F/G investors named; $587.1M total raised profile | Need fully diluted cap table and liquidation stack |
| Debt/credit instruments | Crunchbase reports debt/equity history; 2024 news mentioned debt paydown context | Need debt schedule/covenants/liens |
| Founder/management | Ross McCray active founder/board member/shareholder; Tony Fagan CEO | Need ownership, option grants and employment agreements |
| Public-market status | CB profile says Series G | Alive; current 2026 announcement found | Counsel to confirm no IPO/acquisition process |
partially verified confidence: high
Public financing history is best supported; tax positions, accounting policies and revenue recognition are not public.
| date | round | participants | amount usd m | valuation usd m | source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-10-21 | Series F | Spruce House, D1, Tiger Global, EPIQ, Ankona | 275 | 1400 | VideoAmp/CB |
| 2023-09-13 | Series G | Vista Credit Partners | 150 | — | VideoAmp/Crunchbase |
| 2026-06-13 | Total raised profile | Multiple public investors | 587.1 | — | CB profile |
Round terms require financing documents.
Product suite is publicly visible; performance, architecture, pricing and margins require diligence.
partially verified confidence: medium
VideoAmp publicly describes VXP, Measurement & Currency, VALID and Powered by VideoAmp, but product growth, market share, roadmap, cost structure and profitability are not public.
| product | audience | features | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| VXP Planning & Optimization | Advertisers/agencies | Cross-screen planner with first-party data | partially_verified |
| Measurement & Currency | Advertisers/agencies/publishers | Cross-platform audience/outcome measurement | partially_verified |
| VALID | Agencies/brands/publishers | Identity graph and patented clean room | partially_verified |
| Powered by VideoAmp | Enterprise integrations | APIs and dashboards | partially_verified |
| item | public evidence | status | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fees | No public rate card | not_publicly_verifiable | Pricing schedules and discounts |
| Currency/measurement fees | Partnership announcements without economics | not_publicly_verifiable | Fee model, minimums, revenue recognition |
| Data costs | VXP first-party data dependencies | partially_verified | Data-provider agreements and margin by product |
Public logos and relationships are strong, but concentration, churn, revenue by customer and supplier spend are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public evidence names GM/Carat/Paramount, Paramount, WBD and Weigel, but not top-15 ranking or spend.
| customer | source | use case | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM / Carat / Paramount | case study | Advanced audience/new currency | partially_verified |
| Paramount Global | partnership press | Measurement/currency; 40M household footprint | verified |
| Warner Bros. Discovery | blog/Business Wire | Currency partner and multi-year deal | partially_verified |
| Weigel Broadcasting | 2026 press | First alternative currency provider | verified |
partially verified confidence: medium
Paramount, WBD, dentsu, Horizon, Weigel and data-provider relationships are public; economics and data rights are private.
| partner | nature | evidence | gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paramount | Measurement/currency | 40M household footprint | Economics/exclusivity |
| WBD | Currency/multi-year | 2023 upfront + 2025 deal | Revenue/adoption |
| dentsu/Horizon | Agency currency activation | Public announcements | Spend/renewal |
| SiriusXM/NCM | Data providers | VXP expansion | Data rights/cost |
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Revenue by customer and any 5%+ concentration are not publicly verifiable.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
No severed customer, partner or supplier relationships were publicly verified; this requires company data.
partially verified confidence: medium
Supplier spend is private; public evidence indicates publisher data, identity/clean room and cloud/data infrastructure dependencies.
| dependency | role | evidence | risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher/network first-party data | Planning/measurement inputs | VXP integrations | Data-rights loss |
| Identity graph/clean room | Data matching | VALID and patents | Privacy and matching accuracy |
| Cloud/data infrastructure | Processing/analytics | Not publicly disclosed | Cost/SLA concentration unknown |
VideoAmp is a Nielsen challenger in a crowded alternative measurement market; standards trust and durable adoption are key.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public sources place VideoAmp against Nielsen, Comscore, iSpot and partner/in-house tools across standards trust, publisher coverage, data quality, integrations and price.
| competitor | segment | overlap | evidence | risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen | Legacy measurement | TV/video currency | Challenge Nielsen headline and MRC context | Incumbent trust |
| Comscore | Alternative measurement | TV/video measurement | Named in industry report | Budget competition |
| iSpot.tv | Ad measurement/outcomes | TV attribution | Named in industry report | Outcome-measurement overlap |
| Agency/publisher internal stacks | Workflow/data tools | Audience and planning | dentsu DELTA and publisher data examples | Partners may internalize |
| axis | videoamp position | pressure | evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standards trust | MRC audit phase | Accreditation expectations | MRC announcement |
| Publisher coverage | Major publisher/agency announcements | Must convert to budgets | WBD/Paramount/dentsu |
| Data/identity tech | VALID/VXP/patents | Data rights/privacy | Product and patent sources |
| Commercial resilience | Large financing but layoffs | Price/runway pressure | Series G and 2024 reports |
GTM is partner-led across agencies, publishers and advertisers; sales productivity and budget data are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public GTM evidence includes agency, publisher, advertiser case-study, API/dashboard and MRC-standard narratives.
| channel | region | evidence | gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agencies | U.S. | dentsu and Horizon | Spend/CAC |
| Publishers/media owners | U.S. | Paramount/WBD/Weigel | Contract economics |
| Advertiser case studies | U.S. | GM/Carat/Paramount | Reference calls |
| APIs/dashboards | not bounded | Powered by VideoAmp | Adoption metrics |
| signal | evidence | interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Funding narrative | 2021/2023 financing | Category leadership story |
| Partner PR | WBD/Paramount/dentsu/Horizon/Weigel | Enterprise proof points |
| Case studies/resources | Homepage/case study links | Content engine active |
| Standards PR | MRC audit | Trust-building but not complete |
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Major customer status and trends are visible only through announcements/case studies; pipeline and expansion are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public avenues include agencies, publishers, advertiser case studies and platform integrations.
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Sales compensation, quotas, cycles and hiring plan are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Marketing budget adequacy is not public; 2024 layoff/debt-paydown context increases need to verify spend capacity.
R&D signals include public product pages, technical leadership, VXP/VALID roadmap, MRC audit and patents; internal budget and staffing are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public bios identify experienced product/engineering leaders, but R&D org chart, budget and staffing are not public.
| name | role | background | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Fagan | CEO | Former Google data science/engineering ad products leader | leadership page |
| Josh Hudgins | Chief Product Officer | Former Google ad measurement/product leader | leadership page |
| Dustin Jackson | Chief Technology Officer | Former Google Ads Planning engineering leader | leadership page |
| Sharon Lee | Chief Legal Officer | Legal/privacy affairs and compliance | leadership page |
partially verified confidence: medium
Public pipeline signals include MRC audit, VXP data expansion, VALID clean room and patent grants; costs and release dates are private.
| initiative | status | date or signal | verification |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRC audit | audit phase | public announcement | milestone only |
| VXP expansion | announced | SiriusXM/NCM data | partially_verified |
| VALID clean room | marketed/patented | product page/patents | partially_verified |
| APIs/dashboards | marketed | Powered page | partially_verified |
Current leadership is visible, but 2024 CEO transition and workforce reduction make retention/execution diligence central.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public leadership page identifies executives but not formal org chart or board composition.
Reporting lines are inferred from titles only.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Headcount is private; public signals include 2024 20% workforce reduction and limited current jobs page.
| signal | evidence | interpretation | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 reduction | ~20% workforce reduction reported | restructuring risk | headcount bridge |
| Jobs page | no open positions plus future roles | limited public hiring | approved reqs |
| Leadership roster | CEO/CPO/CLO/CRO/CTO/CFO listed | executive bench visible | org chart |
verified confidence: medium
Company-authored bios verify current leadership roster and backgrounds.
| name | role | background | diligence need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Fagan | CEO | Google ad products/data science | employment/scorecard |
| Ross McCray | Active Founder, Board Member & Shareholder | Founder/former CEO | ownership/governance |
| Bryan Goski | Chief Revenue Officer | Buy/sell-side partner revenue | sales metrics |
| Dustin Jackson | Chief Technology Officer | Google Ads Planning engineering | architecture/org health |
| Brett Hughes | Chief Financial Officer | Finance/capital allocation/operations | runway/debt controls |
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Compensation and benefit plans are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Option plans and equity incentives are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
No employee-relations problems were publicly verified; HR/legal records are private.
partially verified confidence: high
Turnover rates are private; public reports verify CEO transition and 20% workforce reduction.
| event | date | evidence | risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross McCray CEO transition | 2024-01 | industry reports | leadership continuity |
| ~20% workforce reduction | 2024-01 | industry reports | retention/execution |
| Ross McCray active founder/board/shareholder | 2026-06-13 | company page | governance clarity |
Patent and privacy/MRC evidence is public; litigation, contracts, insurance, regulatory enforcement and full IP schedules remain private or access-limited.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
No pending lawsuits against VideoAmp were verified from accessible public docket sources; access limitations prevent an absence conclusion.
| case | court or source | status | diligence note |
|---|---|---|---|
| No pending lawsuit verified | CourtListener/Justia attempts | not_publicly_verifiable | Counsel-run searches required |
| Employment/customer/IP disputes | private records | not_publicly_verifiable | Request litigation schedule |
Not evidence of no lawsuits.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
No company-initiated lawsuits were verified from accessible public docket sources.
| case | court or source | status | diligence note |
|---|---|---|---|
| No initiated lawsuit verified | CourtListener/Justia attempts | not_publicly_verifiable | Counsel search required |
| IP enforcement/collections | private records | not_publicly_verifiable | Request open matters |
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
No public environmental/safety liabilities were identified for the software/adtech business; layoff/workplace compliance requires private review.
partially verified confidence: high
Google Patents shows 21 VideoAmp assignee results and representative granted patents; full IP/trademark/license/OSS schedule requires counsel.
| asset | jurisdiction | status | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US12075134B2 Cross-screen measurement accuracy | US patent | Granted 2024-08-27 | Google Patents |
| US12277113B2 Data clean room | US patent | Granted 2025-04-15 | Google Patents |
| US11856272B2 Targeting TV advertising slots | US patent | Granted 2023-12-26 | Google Patents |
| VIDEOAMP / VALID trademarks and licenses | USPTO/license schedules | not_publicly_verifiable | counsel schedule needed |
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Insurance policies, limits, exclusions and claims history are not public.
| topic | public evidence | status | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | No policies public | not_publicly_verifiable | D&O, E&O/cyber, media liability, claims history |
| Customer/publisher contracts | announcements without terms | not_publicly_verifiable | top contracts and data-rights addenda |
| Employment/incentives | leadership roster and layoff reports only | not_publicly_verifiable | employment agreements and option plan |
not publicly verifiable confidence: high
Public relationship announcements do not disclose material contract terms.
inconclusive confidence: medium
Regulatory posture is inconclusive: MRC audit and privacy policy are public, but completed accreditation and enforcement histories are not verified.
| domain | action or signal | date | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRC | audit phase entered | 2026-06-13 | completed accreditation not public |
| Privacy/data | privacy policy discloses personal-information processing | 2025-06-30 | policy exists; effectiveness not verified |
| Enforcement searches | comprehensive search not completed due access limits | 2026-06-13 | inconclusive |
| ID | Claim | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC-001 | CB Insights unicorn tracker lists VideoAmp at $1.40B valuation, joined 2021-10-21, United States/Los Angeles Enterprise Tech, with selected investors Simon Equity Partners, Wavemaker Partners and Anthem Venture Partners. | verified high | SRC-001 |
| EC-002 | CB Insights profile states VideoAmp was founded in 2014, is Stage Series G | Alive, based in Los Angeles, and has total raised $587.1M. | verified high | SRC-002 |
| EC-003 | VideoAmp announced $275M Series F funding at a $1.4B valuation and stated revenue CAGR over 100% for the prior five years. | verified high | SRC-003 |
| EC-004 | VideoAmp announced $150M Series G funding led by Vista Credit Partners in September 2023. | verified high | SRC-004 |
| EC-005 | Crunchbase News reported VideoAmp had raised more than $450M in debt/equity before the Series G and framed it as challenging Nielsen. | partially verified medium | SRC-005 |
| EC-006 | VideoAmp publicly positions itself as media measurement software with Planning & Optimization and Measurement & Currency products for agencies, brands and publishers. | verified high | SRC-006SRC-009 |
| EC-007 | VALID claims VideoAmp Linked Identity + Data, an identity graph and a patented clean room for privacy-forward measurement across linear TV, streaming and digital. | partially verified medium | SRC-007 |
| EC-008 | VXP claims cross-screen planning using census-level first-party data from leading networks/publishers including Disney, Paramount, Fox and Snap. | partially verified medium | SRC-008 |
| EC-009 | Powered by VideoAmp claims workflow integrations through APIs and dashboards for planning, measurement, attribution and optimization. | partially verified medium | SRC-010 |
| EC-010 | VideoAmp leadership page names Tony Fagan as CEO, Ross McCray as active founder/board member/shareholder, and senior product/legal/revenue/technology/finance executives. | verified high | SRC-011 |
| EC-011 | VideoAmp jobs page is active but states there are no open positions while listing future/select roles, making hiring/headcount only partially public. | partially verified medium | SRC-012 |
| EC-012 | Industry news reported in January 2024 that Ross McCray stepped down as CEO and VideoAmp planned or executed a roughly 20% workforce reduction. | verified high | SRC-022SRC-023 |
| EC-013 | VideoAmp case study names General Motors, Carat and Paramount in an advanced-audience/new-currency use case. | partially verified medium | SRC-013 |
| EC-014 | Paramount extended a VideoAmp measurement/currency partnership with a 40M-household VideoAmp footprint. | verified high | SRC-014 |
| EC-015 | WBD announced VideoAmp as a currency partner for 2023-2024 upfronts and a 2025 Business Wire release announced a multi-year WBD deal. | partially verified medium | SRC-015SRC-016 |
| EC-016 | Dentsu, Horizon and Weigel announcements support public agency and publisher traction for VideoAmp currency. | verified medium | SRC-017SRC-018SRC-019 |
| EC-017 | VideoAmp expanded VXP with first-party data from SiriusXM Media and National CineMedia, spanning linear TV, streaming, digital, audio and cinema. | verified medium | SRC-020 |
| EC-018 | VideoAmp publicly entered the Media Rating Council audit phase; completed accreditation was not publicly verified. | verified high | SRC-021SRC-026 |
| EC-019 | Google Patents returned 21 VideoAmp assignee results including cross-screen measurement and data clean-room patents. | verified high | SRC-024 |
| EC-020 | VideoAmp privacy policy discloses collection, use and sharing of personal information, including marketing, advertising and measurement services. | verified high | SRC-025 |
| EC-021 | Detailed audited financials, current revenue, cap table, debt terms, customer concentration, pricing, contracts, insurance and employee records are not publicly verifiable. | not publicly verifiable high | SRC-002SRC-003SRC-004 |
| EC-022 | Public docket searches were access-limited; lawsuit and regulatory enforcement absence cannot be verified from accessible public sources. | not publicly verifiable medium | SRC-027 |
| EC-023 | Eligibility screen: VideoAmp appears private, alive and operating, with no IPO, acquisition or shutdown evidence found in the public sources reviewed. | verified high | SRC-001SRC-002SRC-006SRC-016SRC-019 |
This report is a public-evidence diligence snapshot, not investment advice. Important financial, legal, technical, and contractual facts remain non-public and should be verified directly with management and primary documents before any investment decision.