Podcast Summary: AdTechGod Pod

Episode 110: "From Spin off to Smart Auctions: Tal Shaked on Building Rise and the Future of Agentic Ad Tech"

Guest: Tal Shaked, Chief Business Officer & Co-Founder, Rise
Host: AdTechGod
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a deep-diving conversation with Tal Shaked, Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Rise, a company spun out of IronSource. The dialogue traces Tal's unconventional path in ad tech, Rise’s unique journey as a spin-off, the evolving ad tech landscape in the age of AI and LLMs, and the growing importance of agentic advertising technologies. The episode is equally infused with personal anecdotes and industry wisdom, culminating in a reflective take on why strong relationships still matter in ad tech.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Tal Shaked’s Unconventional Road into Ad Tech

• Early Background & International Experience

  • Born in Israel, moved to the U.S. due to father's Harvard scholarship.
  • Studied International Relations & Spanish at BU; initially pursued global non-profit work.
  • Early career included setting up a university program in Peru, then moving to Tel Aviv at the start of the internet boom.

• First Steps in Ad Tech [05:32]

  • Joined Hot Bar, pioneering ad-supported toolbars; learned the value of online advertising through strategic partnerships and early exits.
  • "It was a great experience in terms of online advertising school for me and it was really my first foray into the space." — Tal Shaked [06:02]

• Babylon & Monetization Evolution [08:07]

  • Shifted Babylon from software sales to ad-supported freemium, increasing ad revenues to 72% of the company’s total.
  • "By the time I left, the ad revenue accounted for 72% of Babylon's revenue. It actually ended up going public while I was there." — Tal Shaked [10:15]

• Jumping to Entrepreneurship & IronSource [10:53]

  • Founded consulting company; joined After Download, which later sold to IronSource, where Tal became CBO.
  • IronSource grew through M&A, embracing mobile as the industry shifted from desktop.

The Birth & Growth of Rise

Spin-Off Origins & Early Struggles [15:49]

• Rise was spun out of IronSource due to IPO necessities—focusing IronSource’s narrative on mobile game tech.
• Residual division focused only on web (due to non-competes), which was initially challenging but became a "blessing in disguise" as it allowed deep focus on web display innovations.

Building Technological Differentiation [19:55 – 25:19]

• Rise leveraged machine learning from day one, evolving into advanced AI-powered "Smart Auction Management Platform" (SAM).
• Early investments in data science and smart auction technology positioned Rise as a leader in traffic shaping and supply path optimization.
• "We're really a tech layer that sits on top of the supply. Our AI and our algorithms really are focused on two main things: floor price optimization...and supply path optimization. Moving forward, it's all about traffic shaping for us." — Tal Shaked [23:15]

The AI & Agentic Future in Ad Tech

Market Shifts Driven by LLMs and AI [15:07 – 22:42]

• The host and Tal discuss major shifts, such as the waning of search-driven traffic in favor of LLM/chat-based interfaces (e.g., ChatGPT), leading to traffic losses, especially for long-tail publishers.
• Rise transitioned to Google Cloud for superior AI infrastructure, handling 3 trillion monthly requests (21PB data).
• "Our systems right now are seeing supply shift... We're going to need to find a new way to generate some new initiatives around these new LLM models that are the entry points." — Tal Shaked [20:44]

Agentic Advertising: How Agents Will Transform the Ecosystem [25:57 – 30:16]

• Tal envisions a future where autonomous software agents handle many aspects of campaign creation and delivery, negotiating and fulfilling buys across platforms.
• "That agent goes out all over…the open web and interacts with a whole bunch of other agents. Publishers may have created agents able to talk with buy side agents, and then they'll be able to transact and exchange details." — Tal Shaked [28:10]
• AI won't replace people but will eliminate grunt work, freeing teams for higher-value, creative, and relationship-driven roles.

Standing Out in a Crowded, Evolving Market

Rise’s Unique Value Proposition [22:42 – 25:19]

• Deep focus on supply side and technology; now extending value add to demand side, specifically via traffic shaping and demand KPIs.
• SAM delivers precise domain-level optimizations, striving for cleaner bid streams and adaptive traffic management tailored for each demand partner.

The Enduring Importance of Human Relationships

Human Connections in Ad Tech [31:08 – 35:14]

• Despite tech advances, both Tal and the host agree genuine relationships can’t be automated. Clients crave authentic, personal communication, especially in tough moments.
• "So many times I’ll get these, 'hey, what do you think? Maybe I should write that.' And I'm like, is this created by some robot or something? There is no personalization. There is no soul." — Tal Shaked [32:21]
• Personal trust and deep understanding of the people you do business with remain key.
• "In order to create trust, you need to get really, really personal… If you don’t know who these people are... yeah, there’s some level of business you do, but once you go deep, the sky’s the limit." — Tal Shaked [34:03]

Operating Internationally and Building Presence

Remote Work & US Engagement [35:14 – 37:05]

• Rise's US presence is mostly Tal himself, acting as a "Secretary of State" between Israeli tech and US clients.
• Regular, prolonged visits to NYC and US events turbocharge deals, networking, and relationship-building.
• "The amount of things I was able to get done—meetings, coffees, curated events—just opened up a lot of eyes here." — Tal Shaked [36:16]

Notable Quotes

• "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven and met the attic." — Tal Shaked, opening with humor [01:58]
• "My real entry into ad tech... is I joined a company called Hot Bar. They were somewhat of a pioneer in online advertising." — Tal Shaked [05:32]
• "Babylon... ended up going public while I was there. The company was basically... reporting ad revenue that way surpassed the paid version." — Tal Shaked [10:15]
• "Rise was born out of a necessity for IronSource to IPO. It wasn't something that we said, 'Hey, let's start this thing that'll change publishers and advertisers.' It was born out of necessity." — Tal Shaked [15:49]
• "We're really a tech layer that sits on top of the supply." — Tal Shaked [23:15]
• "I don't think [agentic advertising] is going to really replace people... it's going to replace a lot of the grunt work." — Tal Shaked [30:16]
• "In ad tech especially, I've really, really, really seen [relationship-building] help." — Tal Shaked [34:03]
• "You're basically looking at Rise's US presence as we speak." — Tal Shaked [35:36]

Important Timestamps

• Tal’s Personal and Career Origins: [02:52]–[10:53]
• Babylon Monetization Shift: [08:07]–[10:15]
• IronSource Acquisition & Executive Role: [13:44]–[15:49]
• Origin of Rise Spin-Off: [15:49]–[19:55]
• Rise’s AI/ML Platform: SAM: [19:55]–[22:42]
• AI & Industry Disruption; Agentic Futures: [20:44], [25:57]–[30:16]
• Standing Out in Ad Tech: [22:42]–[25:19]
• Relationships & Human Element in Business: [31:08]–[35:14]
• Remote Work & Building US Presence: [35:14]–[37:05]

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, engaging, and insightful—rich with personal reflections, industry tales, and both macro and tactical tech perspectives. Tal's approach is open, practical, and humble, focused on real people and enduring relationships as much as technology.

Bottom Line Takeaways

• Ad tech is in perpetual technological and behavioral flux—today, driven by AI, LLMs, and agentic platforms.
• Rise’s journey from a spin-off to AI- and data-driven auction management demonstrates the necessity of agility and specialization.
• Even at the cutting edge, human trust, personalization, and authentic connections win deals and sustain partnerships.
• The future of ad tech will blend advanced agentic automation and creative, relationship-driven human work, not replace one with the other.