Marketecture: Get Smart. Fast. Episode 147: Mathieu Roche on the TrueData Acquisition and the Modern Market for Identity
Host: Ari Paparo
Co-host: Eric Franchi
Guest: Mathieu Roche, CEO of ID5
Release date: November 7, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the recent acquisition of TrueData by ID5 and the current landscape of identity in advertising and marketing technology. Host Ari Paparo and co-host Eric Franchi (both investors in ID5) welcome ID5 CEO Mathieu Roche. The discussion covers the motivations behind the acquisition, the technical and business implications, the evolving debate around deterministic vs. probabilistic IDs, and the broader shifts in the digital identity ecosystem. The conversation also touches on industry news, including earnings, AI content licensing, and other hot topics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The TrueData Acquisition: Strategy and Rationale

The Deal Mechanics and Strategic Fit

• ID5 (focused on creating device IDs) acquired TrueData (an identity graph company), giving them a fuller end-to-end identity solution (04:15–08:31).
• Mathieu Roche:

  “We’re bringing together basically a graph and an ID. That’s the pitch behind the acquisition.” (05:08)

• ID5’s clients typically recognize devices and integrate those IDs into their own graphs. Now, clients can leverage ID5 + TrueData for a combined and more powerful solution.

Operational Integration & Insights

• The acquisition was significant—ID5 grew staff and revenue by approximately 30–40%. (14:40)
• Process took four months, involved intense confidentiality, cross-Atlantic legal and financial diligence. (15:37)
• American presence now bolstered; US is ID5's largest market (18:55), enhancing on-the-ground coverage, credibility, and the ability to extend TrueData’s expertise globally.

Integration Experience

• Company off-site pre-acquisition took place in Mallorca, Spain; executive integration meeting was in Rockaway, Brooklyn. The latter chosen for proximity to JFK for a diverse, international team. (20:10)

Brand Decision

• ID5 remains the company name; TrueData brand will retire. New ID5 swag and emails for all (23:12).

2. Identity Tech: Deterministic vs. Probabilistic, Match Rates, and Market Dynamics

Technical Debate

• Ari asks: what’s the real difference in practice and does the deterministic vs. probabilistic debate actually matter to clients?
• Mathieu Roche:

  “In the end, it’s always a tradeoff. Nobody cares… what matters is am I able to recognize enough people to run my campaigns and use that recognition to target, optimize, and measure.” (09:39)

Use Cases & Value Proposition

• The primary goal is maximizing match rates—improving the percentage of user/device data that can be connected for targeting, measurement, etc. (10:37)
• ID5 asserts its global reach and network effect—widespread publisher adoption creates a virtuous cycle, making their ID more valuable.
• Mathieu Roche:

  "The more publishers adopt us and decorate their bids with ID5ID, the more valuable it becomes to the buyers." (13:05)

Competitive Positioning

• ID5 positions itself against giants like LiveRamp, emphasizing global reach (Europe, US, Australia, Japan, LATAM), match rate optimization, and publisher adoption (11:23–14:22).

3. Industry News Roundup: Earnings & Ad Tech Trends (25:03)

Key Earnings Discussed (27:17):

• Reddit: Revenue up 74% YoY, not AI traffic-dependent—shows strength and walled garden strategy (27:33–29:09).
• Amazon: Ad sales up 24% YoY, cloud business strong.
• Magnite: Audio segment fastest-growing, CTV healthy (30:37).
• Roku: Platform (ads) revenue up 17%; focus on performance advertising and new API for advertisers.
  • Ari: "Reddit is interesting…becoming the most important source of news, you know, text-based news." (27:33)
  • Mathieu: "It's interesting because also 75% are almost growing as fast as ID5, which is great." (28:08)
• SMBs: Growing share for Mountain; AI-driven platforms like Stagwell+Palantir showing new focus and revenue potential.

CTV & Identity Discussion

• Connecting TV ad clicks to outcome tracked as a major challenge and opportunity.
• Mathieu Roche:

  "A lot of that performance happens outside of the TV…there is an identity spine, an identity graph that has to power that." (30:37)

• Flaws with IP address as a CTV ID highlighted; device-based IDs needed (31:46).

4. The Content Licensing Arms Race

AI & Publisher Content Licensing (36:05)

• People Inc. (with Microsoft), OpenAI, and others launching marketplaces for AI content licensing.
• Pay-per-use compensation model emerging as publishers push back on AI models ingesting their content for free.
• Mathieu Roche:

  "This is just stealing content from publishers if you just crawl the content...There is a real marketplace to be built here." (36:05)

• The value of publisher content in training and responding to LLMs is still being defined.

5. Ad Tech Protocol Innovation: UCP, ADCP, etc.

• Introduction of UCP (User Context Protocol) for standardized user-level data transfers in privacy-first contexts.
• Mathieu Roche explains:

  “UCP is a way to standardize how you share ID information between buyers and sellers in an agentic transaction…great that Liveramp is contributing to open source.” (40:56)

• Debate over whether these will replace or complement RTB (Real-time bidding).
• "This is all science fiction right now, but it's good we're putting the guardrails in place." (43:03)

6. AI, IP, and the Future of Video Content Creation

Sora's Creator Marketplace and IP Licensing (43:57)

• Sora enables users to insert themselves and licensed characters into AI-generated videos.
• Brands can license IP for viral content/marketing; unlicensed use risks legal issues and loss of brand control.
• Discussion on the business model: platform vs. creator pays for licensing characters/IP.

Ari Paparo:

"This is more sort of Silicon Valley, you know, break it, then fix it strategy..." (46:20)

Coca-Cola’s AI Holiday Ad (50:48)

• Quality improved year over year; costs have dropped.
• Mathieu Roche:

  "It’s not an ad they could have done for real because there’s so many animals in that ad that it would have been impossible…no other way to do this than with AI anyway." (52:01)

7. Meta’s Ad Fraud Exposed

Shocking Internal Leak

• Meta (Facebook) reports 10% of ad revenue ($16B) from fraudulent ads or fraudulent products (53:30).
• Ari’s take:

  "This is awful…this is someone should go to jail…I care about grandma signing up for something that’s going to charge their credit card for nothing." (55:19)

• Emphasizes scale: 15 billion scam ads shown to users per day.
• Mathieu:

  "I'm surprised that we're still surprised, but yes, it is awful." (55:39)

8. Industry Gossip: Brian O’Kelley vs. Jeff Green

Ad Tech Celebrity Beef (56:04)

• Brian O’Kelley’s trolling videos aimed at Jeff Green; culminates in playful “unfriending” on LinkedIn.
• Ari contextualizes:

  "I love a good beef...no one's getting injured here...just a little beef between people who've known each other for 20 years." (57:15)

• History: Jeff’s pivotal role with Microsoft and AppNexus.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• "You’re living in two worlds." – Mathieu on the deal process (04:15)
• "We’re bringing together basically a graph and an ID." – Mathieu (05:08)
• "Nobody cares…what matters is am I able to recognize enough people to run my campaigns." – Mathieu (09:39)
• "The more publishers adopt us and decorate their bids with ID5ID, the more valuable it becomes to the buyers." – Mathieu (13:05)
• "As a French CEO…you can fire [Americans], make them work on weekends, take away health care…" – Ari Paparo (17:08, tongue-in-cheek, leading to discussion of global company culture and benefits parity)
• "Diversity is good, right? ...it creates a ton of innovation, new ideas, new perspectives." – Mathieu (17:08)
• "It’s interesting hearing performance and TV in the same sentence…there is an identity spine that has to power that." – Mathieu (30:37)
• "If you only use IP addresses as a way to recognize the device you’re going to make a lot of mistakes." – Mathieu (31:46)
• "This is just stealing content from publishers if you just crawl the content." – Mathieu on LLM training (36:05)
• "The tracks are being laid in front of the train right now." – Mathieu on the rapidly-changing AI and content licensing landscape (49:12)
• "Meta knows…10% of their revenue is fraud…someone should go to jail." – Ari (55:19)
• "I'm surprised we're still surprised [by Meta fraud], but yes, it is awful." – Mathieu (55:39)
• "I love a good beef. It’s a friendly beef, they’re not really being mean to each other." – Ari on ad tech LinkedIn drama (57:15)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [04:15] – TrueData acquisition: Strategic rationale and process
• [06:10] – Technical breakdown: From device recognition to identity graphs
• [09:39] – Deterministic vs. probabilistic identity debate
• [11:23] – Comparing ID5 with LiveRamp and other market leaders
• [14:40] – Acquisition logistics, staff growth, and integration experience
• [18:55] – US presence: strategic advantage and global expansion
• [27:17] – Earnings roundup: Reddit, Amazon, Magnite, Roku, Mountain, Stagwell
• [30:37] – The need for identity in CTV and performance measurement
• [36:05] – People Inc., Microsoft, and the future of AI content licensing
• [40:56] – UCP/ADCP, protocol innovation, and the future of data sharing
• [43:57] – Sora, AI video, IP licensing, and the evolving brand landscape
• [50:48] – Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ads: marker of progress
• [53:30] – Meta’s fraud problem: public implications
• [56:04] – Brian O’Kelley vs. Jeff Green: Ad tech’s LinkedIn celebrity beef

Episode Tone

The episode combines deep technical insights with conversational banter and light humor, especially around industry drama and personal backgrounds. Ari maintains his trademark irreverence, while Mathieu offers a grounded, strategic outlook on the identity and ad tech landscape, balancing technical details with business realities.

Summary prepared for listeners and industry professionals seeking a comprehensive, engaging breakdown of the episode’s discussion, including important insights, memorable quotes, and segment navigation.