EUVC VC | E513 | Rich Ashton on Backing AdTech’s Trillion Dollar Niche with FirstPartyCapital
Jul 5, 2025
Rich Ashton, Founder of FirstPartyCapital and expert in AdTech and MarTech investments, discusses the overlooked trillion-dollar potential of the ad tech sector. He debunks the myth of Facebook and Google's dominance, sharing insights on why most funds miss these opportunities. Rich highlights successful case studies like The Trade Desk and AppLovin, and emphasizes the importance of a strong LP network. The conversation also touches on AI's role in the future of advertising and the need for specialized knowledge to navigate this complex landscape.
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Huge Untapped Ad Tech Market
- Global ad spend has exceeded a trillion dollars, yet only about five specialist VC firms focus on ad tech.
- This discrepancy shows a vast underserved investment opportunity in the complex ad tech ecosystem.
Google & Facebook Don't Own All
- Many investors avoid ad tech, believing Google and Facebook dominate it entirely.
- However, these two capture only about 50% of the market, leaving hundreds of billions for other players.
Google Breakup & AI Evolution
- Google's breakup could unlock tens or hundreds of billions for other ad tech companies by opening up inventory access.
- AI's impact in ad tech will be significant but more evolutionary, enhancing existing machine learning-driven optimizations.