Jordan Bevan
2025 proved to be a defining year for consolidation, strategic growth, and capital deployment across mobile marketing, ad tech, retail media, and AI-driven engagement platforms. From major buyouts and acquisitions to standout funding rounds that signaled investor confidence, the industry experienced an active 12 months of transformative dealmaking. Below, we break down the top deals and fundraising events that moved markets and set the stage for 2026.
January 2025: Early Momentum Signals a Consolidation-Driven Year for AdTech
January opened with a clear signal that 2025 would be an active year for adtech consolidation and investment, as companies moved quickly to strengthen data, measurement, and high-growth media capabilities.
The month began with Precise TV raising $21 million in funding, underscoring continued investor confidence in performance-driven CTV and streaming advertising solutions. Momentum quickly accelerated as T-Mobile announced its $600 million acquisition of Vistar Media, marking a major expansion into programmatic digital out-of-home advertising.
Shortly thereafter, The Trade Desk acquired Sincera, a move aimed at strengthening supply-side intelligence and increasing transparency across the programmatic advertising ecosystem. As January progressed, Rokt acquired mParticle, bringing customer data infrastructure closer to commerce media activation. The month concluded with Publicis Media’s acquisition of Dysrupt, further enhancing the agency group’s data and analytics capabilities.
February 2025: Funding and Strategic Acquisitions Accelerate
February continued the strong start from January with a diverse set of funding rounds and acquisitions, reflecting investor confidence in adtech platforms and growing demand for data infrastructure, identity solutions, and digital media assets.
The month opened with StackAdapt raising $235 million, a significant growth capital round led by Teachers’ Venture Growth. This funding bolstered StackAdapt’s programmatic advertising platform and AI-driven automation tools, positioning the company for expanded product development and global scale.
Shortly thereafter, Kevel acquired Nexta, further strengthening its developer-focused API solutions for custom ad platforms and marking continued consolidation within the ad serving and monetization stack.
In the middle of the month, Skybound Entertainment acquired Maple Media, adding a robust mobile app portfolio to its media and entertainment offerings. The deal showcased diversification outside pure adtech, with entertainment and intellectual property assets becoming strategic drivers for audience engagement and monetization.
Capital markets interest remained elevated as Hightouch secured an $80 million Series C led by ICONIQ Growth. Closing out February, Publicis Groupe completed its acquisition of br media group, reinforcing the agency group’s global footprint and data-driven media capabilities.
March 2025: Identity, Data, and Market Intelligence Take Center Stage
March 2025 saw adtech deal activity increasingly focused on identity resolution, data enrichment, and advanced market intelligence, as platforms and holding companies moved to strengthen their foundations ahead of ongoing privacy and measurement shifts.
The month began with Viant acquiring Lockr, a privacy-first identity solution provider. The acquisition strengthened Viant’s authenticated identity capabilities, supporting addressability in a cookieless environment while aligning with growing regulatory and consumer privacy expectations.
Shortly after, Publicis announced its acquisition of Lotame, significantly expanding its global data and audience intelligence capabilities. By bringing Lotame’s data platform into its ecosystem, Momentum continued as Redbrick acquired Paved, adding newsletter and creator monetization technology to its portfolio.
March concluded with Sensor Tower’s acquisition of Video Game Insights, enhancing its app and gaming intelligence offerings.
April 2025: Retail Media Expansion and Privacy-Centric Data Partnerships
April’s deal activity was highlighted by strategic acquisitions that strengthened data interoperability, privacy-centric infrastructure, and retail media capabilities — reflecting continued market emphasis on first-party data and commerce-linked advertising.
The month opened with WPP’s acquisition of Infosum, a privacy-first data collaboration platform. Later in the month, Acadia acquired Crush to expand its retail media solutions.
May 2025: Strategic Acquisitions and Growth Capital Across Media, Gaming, and Data
May’s adtech and media deal flow was robust, marked by strategic buyouts, expansion into new content and commerce verticals, and significant growth financing.
The month opened with Publicis acquiring Adopt, expanding the group’s sports marketing reach, followed by Valnet’s acquisition of Polygon from Vox Media, bolstering its portfolio of digital media properties. Shortly after, Super League acquired Supersocial, amplifying its play-and-earn gaming ecosystem.
Investor confidence surfaced with Liftoff confirming a minority investment from General Atlantic at a $4.3 billion valuation, reflecting strong market demand for performance marketing platforms.
Stagwell continued M&A momentum by acquiring JetFuel, enhancing content and creator commerce capabilities. In gaming, Tripledot Studios acquired AppLovin’s games portfolio in an approximately $800 million deal aimed at global scale.
In adjacent tech infrastructure, Databricks acquired Neon, strengthening data and analytics capabilities foundational to adtech workflows. The month closed with Publicis Groupe expanding global influence through the acquisition of Captiv8, adding influencer and creator marketing technology to its global offerings.
June 2025: Commerce, In-Game Advertising, and Game Analytics Deals
June’s adtech and digital media activity continued the trend of strategic expansion, with transactions spanning commerce media, in-game advertising, and mobile game analytics.
The month opened with DoorDash acquiring Symbiosys, enhancing its retail media and advertiser solutions by integrating Symbiosys’ commerce-linked ad capabilities. Next, Amex Ventures backed Anzu to expand in-game advertising, signaling continued investor belief in gaming as a premium ad channel. Closing out June, Sensor Tower acquired Playliner, deepening its mobile game live-ops analytics and strengthening insights for marketers and developers operating in the dynamic gaming ecosystem.
July 2025: Analytics and Media Platform Expansion
July’s deal activity focused on strengthening analytics capabilities and platform reach within adtech and performance marketing.
The month began with Alliant acquiring AnalyticIQ, bringing enhanced analytics and audience targeting solutions into Alliant’s portfolio. Next, Linkby secured $15 million to expand its hybrid PR and affiliate platform in North America, underscoring investor interest in integrated performance and affiliate marketing technologies. Closing out the month, Brainlabs acquired Exverus Media, expanding its media and data optimization capabilities to support cross-channel performance for clients.
September 2025: Major Agency Mergers and Strategic AdTech Acquisitions
September saw high-profile consolidation and expansion across agency networks and programmatic ad tech.
The month opened with Empower and Ocean Media merging to form a $1.5 billion independent agency group, underscoring continued strategic consolidation among holding-independent networks. Next, Magnite acquired Streamr AI, enhancing SMB access to CTV advertising and furthering its footprint in connected TV monetization. Verve’s acquisition of Captify brought search intelligence into Verve’s demand-side offerings, strengthening audience insights. Closing the month, NovaCap agreed to acquire Integral Ad Science in a $1.9 billion all-cash deal, a marquee transaction reinforcing the value of verification and measurement technology in brand safety and performance.
October 2025: Funding and Strategic Investment in AI and Analytics
October’s adtech deal flow highlighted continued investor appetite for AI-powered automation and enhanced market intelligence.
The month began with Vibe.co securing $50 million in Series B funding, supporting expansion of its social engagement and creator-driven commerce tools. Shortly after, AI startup Adsgency raised $12 million to automate the entire ad workflow, underscoring growing interest in end-to-end AI solutions for campaign planning and execution. Closing the month, Sensor Tower secured a strategic investment from Shinhan Securities, bolstering its mobile intelligence platform and global expansion efforts.
November 2025: AI Expansion, AdTech Acquisitions, and Strategic Buyouts
November’s deal activity showcased a mix of significant funding rounds and strategic acquisitions that reinforced AI-driven platforms and expanded media capabilities across adtech.
The month opened with MoEngage raising $100 million to scale its AI-driven customer engagement platform globally, highlighting ongoing investor interest in personalization and automation. Life360 then moved to acquire Nativo in a $120 million deal, enhancing its advertising and engagement offerings through premium native ad placements.
Next, Agentio secured $40 million to expand its AI-infrastructure for creator-led advertising, underscoring momentum in creator economy tools. Adobe advanced a major strategic buyout with its planned $1.9 billion acquisition of Semrush, strengthening its portfolio with SEO and competitive intelligence capabilities. Closing out November, Broadsign expanded its global DOOH footprint with the acquisition of Place Exchange, reinforcing programmatic out-of-home inventory access and automation.
December 2025: Strategic Acquisitions and Major Funding Close Out the Year
December’s adtech landscape was defined by significant acquisitions and high-profile capital raises, underscoring continued investment in analytics, automation, and cross-platform media capabilities.
The month began with Wpromote acquiring Giant Spoon, strengthening its integrated media and performance offerings. Next, Cadent expanded YouTube capabilities with its acquisition of VuePlanner, enhancing planning and activation across connected video inventory. Pinterest then acquired tvScientific, extending its reach into connected TV advertising.
On the funding front, Databricks raised $4 billion at a $134 billion valuation, highlighting the ongoing strategic importance of unified data and AI infrastructure underlying modern adtech stacks. Closing out the year, Fluency secured $40 million in Series A funding to accelerate its AI-driven ad automation platform.
More 2025 Highlights from Mobile Marketing Reads
Beyond dealmaking activities, 2025 was a defining year for the broader adtech and mobile ecosystem. As part of our annual coverage, Mobile Marketing Reads also explored the industry’s most-read stories, key strategic takeaways, and standout partner contributions.
Our Top Mobile Marketing Reads of 2025 roundup highlights the stories that resonated most with our global audience, reflecting the themes and developments that captured industry attention throughout the year.
We also examined the biggest lessons of 2025 for mobile marketers and advertisers, breaking down how shifts in privacy, AI-driven advertising, retail media, and measurement reshaped strategies across channels.
In addition, our Top 10 MMR Partner Posts of 2025 showcased expert insights, data-driven analysis, and thought leadership from leading companies and industry voices that helped shape the conversation around mobile advertising and adtech innovation.
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