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Waymark develops an AI-powered video ad platform that allows businesses to generate high-quality video advertisements rapidly. The core product leverages generative artificial intelligence to transform existing brand assets, such as website content and visual identity, into professional video creatives. Key capabilities include instant branding, AI scriptwriting, intuitive editing, AI voiceovers, and the ability to produce variations in different aspect ratios, lengths, and languages, significantly streamlining the ad creation process.
The company was founded in 2010 by Jay Gierak and Nathan Labenz. Their insight centered on democratizing video production and making high-quality commercial creation accessible to a broader range of businesses. By automating complex aspects of video ad creation, Waymark aimed to remove technical and resource barriers, enabling faster campaign launches and scalable creative output for its users.
Waymark’s platform serves various professional teams, including sales teams seeking to fuel demand with personalized spec ads, creative departments aiming to scale production, and tech providers looking to empower advertisers with self-serve creative tools. The company’s vision is to help businesses convert creative concepts into measurable growth by providing an efficient, AI-driven solution for producing compelling video advertisements that drive revenue and expand market reach.
Waymark has raised $129.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Waymark has raised $129.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Waymark is an advertising technology company that builds an AI-powered platform for creating professional video ads. It enables sales teams, media companies, and agencies to generate broadcast-ready commercials in seconds using a business's website URL, brand assets, logos, and natural-language inputs, solving the problem of slow, expensive video production for local SMBs and broadcasters.[1][3][4][5] The platform serves media outlets like CBS, Fox TV Stations, Spectrum Reach, E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, and others, powering spec ad sales, customized creative, and scalable production to boost revenue in competitive advertising markets; since its 2023 platform launch, Waymark has achieved rapid growth, earning a spot on the Financial Times' list of fastest-growing U.S. companies in 2024.[1][4]
Waymark, originally known as Stik, was founded in 2012 in Detroit, Michigan, at the intersection of media, design, and emerging technology.[1][4] The company relaunched as Waymark in 2017 under CEO Alex Persky-Stern and VP of Revenue Hayden Gilmer, who lead a team focused on AI-driven video tools; it evolved from early video ad production to a generative AI platform in 2023, incorporating a patented ensemble of 13 AI models for scriptwriting, visuals, voiceover, and editing.[1][3][4][5] Pivotal traction came from partnerships with major broadcasters like CBS across 27 U.S. stations, followed by deals with Spectrum Reach, Fox, Scripps, Sinclair, Cox Media, Gray Media, Beasley, Nine Entertainment in Australia, and National World in the UK, fueling national rollouts and recognition as a high-growth firm.[1][3]
(Note: Distinct from unrelated entities like Waymark Tech for AI regulatory compliance in finance/life sciences or Waymark in healthcare data science.[2][6][7])
Waymark rides the generative AI wave transforming advertising, where tools like its platform address video creative bottlenecks amid declining traditional ad spends and rising demand for personalized, scalable content for TV, streaming, and digital.[1][3] Timing aligns with AI adoption in media—post-2023 launch, it capitalizes on broadcasters' needs for SMB-targeted ads in fragmented markets, with partnerships amplifying reach across U.S., Australia, and UK outlets.[1] Market forces like AI cost reductions and radio/streaming convergence favor it, enabling stations to compete with digital giants by offering instant, bundled creative that drives local revenue; Waymark influences the ecosystem by democratizing pro-grade production, boosting sales efficiency, and setting standards for AI-media integrations.[3]
Waymark is poised to expand its AI video platform into more global media networks and digital channels, leveraging its FT-recognized growth to integrate advanced features like deeper personalization or multi-platform optimization. Trends in generative AI refinement, SMB digital shifts, and media consolidation will propel it, potentially evolving from sales-tool leader to full ad-tech stack provider. As AI empowers "anyone who can type" to rival agency output, Waymark's trajectory underscores how targeted tech revives local advertising vitality.[3][4][5]
Waymark has raised $129.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Waymark's investors include Lux Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, CVS Health Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Oak HC/FT, Playground Global.
Waymark has raised $129.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $42.0M Debt / Other Equity in October 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2023 | $42M Debt Financing | LUX Capital | Andreessen Horowitz, CVS Health Ventures, NEW Enterprise Associates | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2023 | $42M Series U | LUX Capital | Andreessen Horowitz, NEW Enterprise Associates, OAK HC/FT, Playground Global, CVS Health Ventures | Announced |
| Jan 1, 2022 | $45M Series A | Andreessen Horowitz, NEW Enterprise Associates, A16z Scout Fund | OAK HC/FT, Playground Global, LUX Capital | Announced |