Why We Invested: PilotDesk
by Phil Herget
Today, we are excited to announce our participation in PilotDesk’s Seed round. PilotDesk is revolutionizing the ad-ops industry by automating repetitive, time-consuming, and resource-heavy tasks through innovative AI-driven “pilots.”
The Right Team
PilotDesk is led by an exceptional team with deep roots in AdTech. Ardent was first introduced to the company’s founders in 2020 when SpotX invested in their previous venture, SpringServe. The company was a streaming video ad-serving platform, and I was an investor in SpotX. At the time, I recall former SpotX CEO and current Ardent CEO Partner Mike Shehan expressing his admiration for the SpringServe team and their supply-side ad server platform. Since then, we have had a front-row seat watching founders Joe Hirsch, Matt Dearborn, and Richard Lin grow SpringServe and recognize their impressive technical prowess and visionary approach.
In 2021, Magnite acquired SpotX and subsequently purchased SpringServe. Post-acquisition, the founders stayed on for over two years, integrating SpringServe into Magnite and growing the division. When Joe and the team started their new venture, Mike highly recommended we consider an investment in the company. The PilotDesk team has a proven track record of building impactful technology solutions in AdTech, and they are on a mission to create and dominate a new category. At Ardent, we target companies that have founder-market fit, fit our thesis, and strive to be category leaders, so it was a no-brainer for us to invest.
Market Opportunity
The market for ad operations is massive and presents an opportunity for significant efficiency gains. With over 250,000 professionals worldwide performing entry-level ad operations, the annual employee cost is $25 billion, not including outsourcing. PilotDesk’s target customers include streaming companies, large video publishers, and ad agencies. The company also plans to expand to holding companies/agencies, ad tech platforms, outsourcers, and station groups/multichannel video program distributors.
Currently, ad operations involve numerous workflows that are still done manually. The ad ops and account management processes in the online advertising landscape create billions of hours of repetitive tasks, currently outsourced or done by entry-level analysts. Consequently, advertising companies face a linear relationship between scaling revenue and adding more personnel. As these companies seek to improve margins by reducing headcount, PilotDesk offers a compelling solution.
The PilotDesk Advantage
Our investment in PilotDesk is rooted in our ‘AI agents’ thesis, which posits that enterprise software will be supplanted by LLM-based software capable of autonomously performing complex workflows and decision-making traditionally handled by human employees. Ad Ops is a textbook application of this thesis. While outsourcing providers handle repetitive ad ops tasks, PilotDesk’s AI-powered automation solutions offer a superior alternative to costly outsourced labor. Currently, two large enterprise customers are already seeing significant revenue uplifts with PilotDesk’s solutions.
Additionally, PilotDesk is well-positioned to tackle future industry challenges presented by the adoption of AI by freeing up skilled teams to focus on the creative aspects of advertising that humans excel at, while purpose-built technology handles the more routine tasks it’s well-suited for.
Looking Ahead
PilotDesk represents a significant opportunity to revolutionize ad operations through AI-powered automation. The company’s veteran founders, strong market positioning, and innovative technology offer immense potential to streamline workflows, reduce costs, and drive profitability for its clients. We are thrilled to support the company as it leads the charge in transforming the ad ops landscape.
