According to GeekWire, Seattle startup Scowtt has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Inspired Capital. Founded just this year in 2024, the 10-person company already claims $3.2 million in annual recurring revenue by helping advertisers analyze their first-party CRM data to predict who will convert and how valuable they’ll be. Founder and CEO Eduardo Indacochea, a former VP at Meta with over 13 years at Microsoft, says the tool sends these predictions to ad platforms to boost returns without changing a marketer’s existing workflow. The funding round also included LiveRamp Ventures and Angeles Investors, bringing Scowtt’s total funding to $13 million. This comes as U.S. internet ad revenue hit $258.6 billion in 2024, growing nearly 15%.
How Scowtt works and why it matters
So here’s the basic pitch: instead of just relying on broad ad platform targeting, Scowtt plugs into your CRM—your system of record for customers and leads—and uses AI to figure out which profiles are actually worth chasing. It then feeds those “enhanced signals” back into your Google, Meta, or other ad buys. The promise is a better return on ad spend because you’re theoretically targeting lookalikes of your proven high-value customers, not just generic demographics. It’s a clever play on two huge trends: the death of third-party cookies pushing everyone toward first-party data, and the industry’s desperate search for the next AI-powered performance hack.
The broader ambition and the hurdles
Now, the long-term vision is where it gets interesting. Indacochea talks about building an “operating system for growth” that connects marketing and sales. That’s a big, buzzy idea. Using AI to not just target ads but also interact with prospects and schedule calls? That starts to sound like a full-stack automation layer. But here’s the thing: that’s a crowded and complex space. Every martech company under the sun is now an “AI company.” The real challenge for Scowtt won’t be the concept; it’ll be execution, integration depth, and proving tangible lift beyond what a savvy marketing team could already piece together. Can they move fast enough from a clever ad optimization tool to that broader “OS”?
Why this funding makes sense right now
Look, the timing is practically perfect. Privacy regulations are tightening, big ad platforms are begging for quality first-party data signals, and every CMO has a mandate to “do more with AI.” For enterprise advertisers focused on lead gen, a tool that promises to bridge the notorious gap between marketing spend and sales pipeline—using data they already own—is a compelling story to sell. The team’s pedigree from Microsoft, Google, and Meta doesn’t hurt either. It gives them credibility in the very rooms they need to be in. Basically, they’re selling a shovel during a gold rush where the new gold is first-party data and AI efficiency. The $12 million war chest from a market that’s still growing will help them scale that story fast.
