Kevel

Kevel, Inc.
FormerlyAdzerk, Inc. (2010–2020)
Company typePrivate
IndustryAdvertising technology, Retail media
Founded2010 (2010) in Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
FounderJames Avery
HeadquartersDurham, North Carolina, U.S.
Key people
James Avery (CEO)
ProductsRetail Media Cloud, Kevel Ad Server, Kevel Audience, Kai, Kevel Console
Websitekevel.com

Kevel, Inc. (formerly Adzerk, Inc.) is an American advertising technology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Founded in 2010 by James Avery, the company provides application programming interface (API)-based ad serving infrastructure.[1] Its Retail Media Cloud platform is used by retailers and marketplaces to operate retail media advertising networks.[2][3]

Originally operating under the name Adzerk, the company rebranded to Kevel in December 2020.[4] The company has raised over $44 million in venture capital funding across multiple rounds, led primarily by Fulcrum Equity Partners.[5]

Kevel gained public attention when its founder James Avery testified as a government witness in United States v. Google LLC, the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case against Google's advertising technology business, in both the initial trial in September 2024 and the remedies phase in late 2025.[6][7]

History

James Avery, a software engineer, began developing ad serving technology in the late 2000s after acquiring a small advertising network focused on .NET software developers.[8] Concluding that operating an ad network was not viable, Avery decided to build ad serving infrastructure instead, incorporating Adzerk in Durham, North Carolina in 2010.[1][9]

Adzerk initially offered JavaScript-based ad serving but pivoted to a server-side, API-based approach.[10] Early customers of Adzerk included Stack Overflow, the developer question-and-answer platform.[11] For its first decade, the company grew without significant venture capital investment, a strategy Avery described as "seed strapped."[1][12]

In December 2020, the company rebranded from Adzerk to Kevel.[13][14] Avery said the "Ad" in Adzerk caused confusion, as potential customers assumed the company was an advertising network rather than an infrastructure provider.[1] Between 2020 and 2024, the company raised funding in Series A, B, and C rounds totaling over $44 million, led by Fulcrum Equity Partners with participation from investors including Commerce Ventures, Dunnhumby Ventures, and others.[12][5]

In 2022, Kevel acquired Velocidi, a digital marketing company with operations in Porto, Portugal, that specialized in customer data platforms and machine learning-powered audience segmentation.[15] Following the acquisition, Velocidi's technology was integrated into Kevel's retail media platform to provide enhanced audience and data capabilities.[16]

In July 2023, Kevel formed an independent working group to develop an OpenRTB (Open Real-Time Bidding) programmatic advertising standard for retail media.[17] The group was led by Shamim Samadi, co-founder of Beeswax, and operated in cooperation with the IAB Tech Lab, which maintains the broader OpenRTB specification. The stated goal was to create a standardized protocol for programmatic buying across retail media networks.[18]

In October 2023, Kevel signed a deal with Lyft to power the ride-hailing company's ad server.[19][20]

In February 2025, Kevel acquired Nexta, a Danish company founded in 2017 that developed automated advertising solutions for off-site retail media channels.[21] The acquisition added off-site advertising across platforms including TikTok and Meta Platforms to Kevel's product line.[22]

In November 2025, Kevel expanded into the Asia-Pacific market, establishing operations in Australia and appointing Chris Woodworth as regional director for the Asia-Pacific region.[23][24]

DOJ v. Google antitrust trial

Kevel's founder James Avery testified as a government witness in United States v. Google LLC, the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit alleging that Google illegally monopolized the digital advertising technology market. The case was heard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia before Judge Leonie Brinkema.[25]

Avery appeared on the first day of the trial in September 2024, testifying that Adzerk had been unable to compete with Google's DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad server because publishers required access to Google's AdX advertising exchange, which was only fully available through Google's own ad server.[26] Avery stated that this dynamic led the company to exit the open web publishing market and shift to retail media.[27]

On April 17, 2025, Judge Brinkema ruled that Google had illegally monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets.[28] Avery's testimony was cited multiple times in the court's memorandum opinion.[29] Avery testified again during the remedies phase of the trial, which ran from September through November 2025, supporting structural remedies that would separate Google's ad server from its exchange.[30]

Products and services

Kevel develops advertising infrastructure software for retailers and marketplaces. Its main offering is the Retail Media Cloud, a software-as-a-service platform for building and operating retail media networks.[31][32] The platform provides ad serving and campaign management technology through application programming interfaces.[33] Adweek has described the company as a competitor to Criteo in the retail media market.[34]

The platform comprises multiple components, including the Kevel Ad Server for ad decisioning and campaign management; Kevel Audience, a customer data platform derived from the company's 2022 acquisition of Velocidi;[35][16] Kai, a suite of machine learning tools for ad targeting and performance optimization launched in July 2024;[36] and Kevel Console, a campaign management interface based on the company's 2025 acquisition of Nexta.[37]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "After 10 Years Bootstrapping, Ad Server Adzerk Rebrands As Kevel And Raises $11M". AdExchanger. December 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Kevel Takes Aim at Criteo With Its Retail Media Cloud". Adweek. 2023.
  3. ^ Lundstrom, Kathryn (August 15, 2025). "Meet the Retail Media Adtech Players Vying for Criteo's Business". Adweek.
  4. ^ "Adzerk Rebrands to Kevel, Raises $11 Million". Business Wire. December 8, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Kevel - 2026 Company Profile & Team - Tracxn". tracxn.com. 2026-03-07. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  6. ^ McCabe, David (2024-09-09). "U.S. Argues Google Created Ad Tech Monopoly". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  7. ^ Schiff, Allison (2024-10-14). "What Was It Like Testifying In The Google Ad Tech Antitrust Trial? We Asked Kevel's CEO". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  8. ^ "Adzerk". Business of Software. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  9. ^ AdExchanger (2012-01-09). "Apps For Ad Serving Make Sense For Publishers Of All Sizes Says Adzerk CEO Avery". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  10. ^ Biggs, John (2013-05-30). "How Adzerk Made It Big (With Reddit's Help)". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  11. ^ Wauters, Robin (2011-07-12). "Ad Serving Technology Startup Adzerk Secures $650,000". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  12. ^ a b Ehlinger, Maija (2020-12-08). "Following brand refresh and an $11 million Series A, Kevel is helping companies run in-house advertising". Hypepotamus. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  13. ^ Schiff, Allison (2022-09-15). "Kevel Rolls Out APIs That Aim To Replace The Ad Exchange". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  14. ^ Johnson, Lauren. "A digital ad firm just raised $11 million to help brands like United Airlines and Ticketmaster build their own ad businesses". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  15. ^ "Daily Research News Online no. 33556 - Portuguese Customer Data Platform Velocidi Acquired". www.mrweb.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  16. ^ a b "Durham adtech Kevel acquires Portuguese firm to accelerate growth". Triangle Business Journal. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  17. ^ "Kevel Establishes OpenRTB Protocol for Retail Media - ExchangeWire.com". Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  18. ^ Hercher, James (2023-10-12). "New Working Group Wants To Expedite Retail Media OpenRTB Standards". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  19. ^ "Lyft Strikes Deal With StackAdapt to Funnel More Programmatic Demand to Its Ad Network". 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  20. ^ "Lyft Media teams with StackAdapt for programmatic in-app advertising | Marketing Dive". www.marketingdive.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  21. ^ Hercher, James (2025-02-11). "Kevel Extends To Walled Garden Retail Media With Nexta Acquisition". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  22. ^ Wolf, George (2025-02-14). "Kevel + Nexta, New Retail Media Capabilities | Street Fight". streetfightmag.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  23. ^ Cambosa, Teddy (2026-01-30). "Kevel expands into Australia, appoints Chris Woodworth as APAC regional director". MARKETECH APAC. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  24. ^ "Performance marketing people: Former The Trade Desk staffer joins StackAdapt and Kevel invests in APAC expansion". www.performancemarketingworld.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  25. ^ Davis, Wendy. "Google Antitrust Trial Kicks Off With Testimony From Ad Industry Veterans". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  26. ^ Schiff, Allison (2024-09-10). "Your Day One Recap: DOJ vs. Google Goes Deep Into The Ad Tech Weeds". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  27. ^ Sheena, ByJasmine. "Divestiture and AI take center stage at day 2 of Google's ad-tech antitrust trial remedy phase". Marketing Brew. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  28. ^ Bellan, Rebecca (2025-04-17). "Judge rules Google illegally monopolized adtech, opening door to potential breakup". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  29. ^ "Memorandum Opinion, United States v. Google LLC, No. 1:23-cv-00108" (PDF). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
  30. ^ Schiff, Allison (2025-08-20). "Here's Who's Testifying During The Remedy Phase Of Google's Ad Tech Antitrust Trial". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  31. ^ "Top 5 adtech tools this week: eBay, Footballco, Impact.com, Kevel and Mintegral". www.performancemarketingworld.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  32. ^ "Ad Serving via Google Ad Manager: Benefits, Risks & Alternatives". www.adbutler.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  33. ^ "Kevel Rolls Out APIs That Aim To Replace The Ad Exchange". AdExchanger.
  34. ^ "The Retail Media Adtech Players Vying for Criteo's Business". 2025-08-15. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  35. ^ "Kevel Launches Kevel Audience CDP". CRM Magazine. 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  36. ^ "Kevel Launches Kai to Boost Performance Optimisation, Relevance & Revenue for Retail Media Networks". ExchangeWire. July 9, 2024.
  37. ^ "Kevel Acquires Nexta, Bolsters Retail Media Capabilities". Street Fight. February 14, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.