Swivel AI

Swivel, Inc. is an ad technology company that builds an agentic orchestration layer for publisher-side ad operations. The platform sits across the ad servers, SSPs and DSPs a seller already runs and translates operator-defined monetization logic into continuous automated action, spanning campaign creation through optimization. Its agents interpret context, evaluate live conditions and execute decisions inside operator-set boundaries, with each action presented as explainable, auditable and governed by the customer's own rules rather than hidden algorithms.

The product is organized around three automation tracks: trafficking (pulling and swapping creatives, adjusting targeting and pushing campaigns live across systems), yield and revenue optimization (real-time price floor tuning, bid density and queries-per-second adjustments, and pacing against goals), and analytics and insights (anomaly detection, delivery diagnostics and recommended fixes). Deployment is phased: the system first shadows existing team workflows step by step, then shifts those tasks to a 24/7 cadence, then extends into optimizations that would be impractical manually, such as tuning floors across dozens of partners simultaneously. The company positions the offering as no-code and additive to a customer's existing stack rather than a rip-and-replace, and has stated it will not build its own ad server.

Founding story

The company was founded by SpringServe co-founders Joseph Hirsch, Matt Dearborn and Rich Lin, together with Frans Vermeulen, a longtime programmatic startup advisor and former FreeWheel executive who connected with the group when he joined SpringServe as an advisor in 2020. The founders had discussed a yield optimization product drawing on their experience building ad servers, but the SpringServe founders were required to remain at Magnite for roughly two years following Magnite's 2021 acquisition of SpringServe; once free to leave, the four began building the startup. It launched as PilotDesk, focused initially on automating trafficking, after the founders concluded that ad ops staff spent more time fighting systems than optimizing yield.

Business model

B2B software sold to publishers and sellers of advertising, delivered as a SaaS platform that integrates with customers' existing ad servers, SSPs, DSPs and reporting systems.

Revenue is primarily subscription software fees, per the company's president as of mid-2025.

Traction

Reported metrics include $8.8 million raised, 20 employees and 15 publisher clients (eight of them publicly traded) as of June 2025; 40,000-50,000 daily automated actions per client; more than 6 million automated actions and an estimated 25,000 staff hours freed at LG Ad Solutions; and over 170,000 tasks automated across 30-plus demand partners at Telly. The company's website cites approximately $1.43 billion in budgets under automation and 855 live agents.

Latest developments

Following the May 2025 rebrand and $5.8 million Series A, the company said proceeds would fund team expansion and development of AI-driven orchestration tools including unified analytics and deeper integrations with ad servers and SSPs. Stated next priorities include complex compliance workflows, advanced machine-learning-driven capabilities, expansion beyond CTV into other publisher categories, and entry into UK and European markets.