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Solve Media builds an advertising platform that ingeniously repurposes CAPTCHA, a common online security measure, into a branded consumer engagement opportunity. Through its TYPE-IN™ ad platform, the company transforms these essential verification steps into interactive advertisements across display, video, pre-roll, and mobile formats. This approach enhances brand message delivery and recall rates for advertisers, while simultaneously creating new monetization avenues for publishers from previously un-monetized web placements. The technical solution lies in embedding advertisements within the user verification process, ensuring high visibility and interaction.
Founded in 2009 by Ari Jacoby, Stu Libby, and Todd Lieberman, Solve Media emerged from an insight into the pervasive yet untapped potential of online user interactions. The founders, some of whom had prior experience with technologies like VoiceStar, recognized the significant user attention dedicated to CAPTCHA challenges. Their vision was to evolve this often-mundane security protocol into a valuable advertising space, providing a less intrusive and more engaging alternative to traditional ad formats. This innovative perspective on online engagement formed the bedrock of the company’s inception.
Solve Media primarily serves advertisers seeking improved brand visibility and engagement, along with publishers looking to generate revenue from their web traffic. By integrating brand messages into the CAPTCHA experience, the company provides a unique channel for advertisers to connect with audiences at a moment of focused attention. Ultimately, Solve Media's vision is to facilitate more effective and engaging digital advertising, ensuring that brands not only reach their target customers but also actively capture their interest and participation within the digital landscape.
Solve Media has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round.
Solve Media has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Solve Media is a technology company specializing in performance-based online advertising, best known for its proprietary TYPE-IN™ platform that integrates brand messaging into CAPTCHA challenges, display, video, pre-roll, and mobile formats.[1][2][3] It serves advertisers seeking higher message delivery, recall rates, and ROI, while creating revenue for publishers from unmonetized inventory and improving consumer experiences by replacing standard CAPTCHAs with engaging ads.[1][3] The platform guarantees campaign performance and brand lift, positioning Solve Media as a pioneer in CAPTCHA-based advertising that blends security with monetization.[2][4]
Acquired by Adiant in 2015, Solve Media's technology now operates within a larger digital media network, enhancing fraud-free, measurable solutions across screens for blue-chip clients like Merck, British Airways, and P&G.[4] With around 51-200 employees historically and revenue around $14 million, it focuses on innovative Internet advertising and security solutions founded by veteran entrepreneurs.[1][2]
Solve Media was founded by veteran entrepreneurs and technologists focused on innovative Internet advertising and security solutions, though specific founder names are not detailed in available records.[2] The company emerged around the early 2010s, developing the TYPE-IN™ platform to transform standard CAPTCHA interactions into branded engagement opportunities.[1][2] Backed by prominent investors including First Round Capital, New Atlantic Ventures, AOL Ventures, and Bullpen Capital, it gained early traction in New York City and Philadelphia.[2]
A pivotal moment came in November 2015 when Adiant, a digital media technology company founded in 2008, acquired Solve Media's advertising business unit and TYPE-IN™ platform.[4] This integration expanded its reach across Adiant's network of over 550 million monthly global uniques, combining Solve Media's ad formats with Adiant's scale for broader advertiser access.[4]
Solve Media rides the trend of converging advertising with user verification technologies, capitalizing on the ubiquity of CAPTCHAs to create "unskippable" brand interactions amid rising ad-blocker usage and fraud concerns.[1][3][4] Timing was ideal in the early 2010s ad-tech boom, when publishers sought new revenue from security gates, and advertisers demanded better engagement metrics over impressions.[2] Market forces like mobile proliferation and native ad preferences favored its multi-format approach, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering CAPTCHA monetization—now integrated into larger platforms like Adiant for sustained scale.[4]
It contributes to ad-tech evolution by proving interactive formats can enhance security and revenue, inspiring similar innovations in gamified or contextual ads while addressing consumer fatigue with traditional interrupts.[3]
Solve Media's TYPE-IN™ remains a clever niche player in ad-tech, but its 2015 acquisition by Adiant suggests a shift toward integrated native advertising rather than standalone growth.[4] Next steps likely involve deeper AI enhancements for personalization or expanded anti-fraud features, aligning with trends like privacy-first advertising (e.g., post-cookie eras) and rising demand for verifiable engagement.[1][4] As digital ad spend grows toward interactive and secure formats, its influence could expand within Adiant's portfolio, potentially powering more immersive brand experiences—echoing its original promise of turning security hurdles into revenue goldmines.[2][3]
Solve Media has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Solve Media's investors include Bowery Capital, BoxGroup, Brainchild, Curie.Bio, FirstMark Capital, IA Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, Lazerow Ventures, Mayfield, Operator Partners, Scribble Ventures, Ben Porterfield.
Solve Media has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $7.0M Series B in June 2013.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2013 | $7.0M Series B | Bowery Capital, BoxGroup, Brainchild, Curie.Bio, FirstMark Capital, IA Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, Lazerow Ventures, Mayfield, Operator Partners, Scribble Ventures, Ben Porterfield, Chris Ahearn, Freada Kapor Klein, Moshe Lifschitz, Neill Occhiogrosso |