Scibids is a Paris‑founded technology company that builds customizable, privacy‑first artificial intelligence to optimize programmatic advertising and media buying, and was acquired by DoubleVerify in 2023 after raising roughly $5.5M since its 2016 founding[2][1].
High‑Level Overview
- Summary: Scibids builds AI-powered bid engines and decisioning systems that plug into demand‑side platforms (DSPs) and media stacks to improve campaign performance without relying on third‑party cookies or PII[1][2].
- What product it builds: A machine‑learning‑driven bidding/decisioning platform for programmatic advertising that determines optimal bid prices and media placements in real time[2][1].
- Who it serves: Advertisers, global brands, media agencies and DSPs seeking programmatic performance gains[1][3].
- What problem it solves: Increases return on ad spend (ROAS) and campaign efficiency by using predictive, customizable models to bid more effectively at scale while maintaining a privacy‑first approach[1][2].
- Growth momentum / status: Founded in 2016, Scibids expanded internationally with multiple offices, reported fast year‑over‑year growth in early years, attracted investors including Iris Capital and BlackSheep Ventures, raised about $5.51M total, and was acquired by DoubleVerify in July 2023[3][1][2].
Origin Story
- Founding year and founders: Scibids was founded in Paris in 2016 by Rémi Lemonnier and Julien Hirth[1][3].
- Founders’ background / idea emergence: The company was created from technical expertise in algorithmic media trading and machine learning (founders drew on advanced technical backgrounds to build an algorithmic bid engine) and sought to automate bid decisioning across the programmatic stack[6][2].
- Early traction / pivotal moments: Early recognition included industry awards and shortlists (e.g., AdExchanger Programmatic Power Players nomination and Drum/The Drum APAC recognitions) and rapid international expansion with multiple offices as the product was adopted by advertisers and agencies[1][3].
- Exit: Scibids was acquired by measurement company DoubleVerify in July 2023, marking a strategic consolidation with a major ad‑verification and measurement player[2].
Core Differentiators
- Privacy‑first ML architecture: Built to optimize without third‑party cookies or PII, enabling performance in privacy‑constrained environments[1].
- Customizable, publisher‑agnostic decisioning: Offers customizable model workflows that integrate into leading DSPs and media stacks rather than a closed ad exchange[1][2].
- Focus on programmatic performance: Engine specifically optimized for bid price determination and campaign outcome lift rather than only analytics or verification[2].
- Industry credibility and integrations: Adopted by global agencies and brands and recognized by industry publications and awards, indicating practical performance and market acceptance[1][3].
- International footprint and scalability: Rapid global expansion from Paris into several offices supporting multinational campaigns[1][3].
Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
- Trend alignment: Scibids rides the convergence of machine learning, programmatic advertising, and privacy regulation — demand for server‑side, first‑party and model‑based targeting has grown as cookies disappear[1][2].
- Timing: The post‑third‑party cookie era and heightened brand demand for measurable ROI made automated predictive bidding tools more valuable to advertisers and agencies[1][2].
- Market forces in their favor: Increasing programmatic ad spend, emphasis on performance marketing, and the need for privacy‑safe optimization create sustained demand for ML bidding solutions[1][2].
- Influence: By enabling DSPs and agencies to retain performance without depending on identifiers, Scibids contributed to practical privacy‑first programmatic practices and helped validate model‑based decisioning in large media buys[1][2].
Quick Take & Future Outlook
- Near term / after acquisition: Integration into DoubleVerify’s suite likely aims to combine measurement/verification with decisioning to create tighter feedback loops between outcomes and bidding, increasing advertiser value[2].
- Key trends shaping the journey: Continued enforcement of privacy rules, growth of first‑party data, rising demand for deterministic measurement and tighter campaign performance attribution will favor integrated ML decisioning plus verification solutions[1][2].
- How influence may evolve: If integrated successfully with measurement and verification, Scibids’ technology can help shift programmatic budgets toward systems that optimize for verified, outcome‑driven metrics rather than cookie‑based targeting—strengthening ROI‑focused programmatic adoption[2][1].
Quick reminder: acquisition and funding details and much of the company profile above are drawn from industry profiles and investor pages noting Scibids’ founding in 2016, investors such as Iris Capital and BlackSheep, and its July 2023 acquisition by DoubleVerify[2][1][3].
