Marketecture Podcast: Episode Summary

Title: How Curve AI is Powering Contextual Video and Shoppable Ads with AI
Host: Ari Paparo
Guest: Gary Mittman, Founder and CEO of Curve AI
Release Date: April 7, 2025

1. Introduction to Curve AI

In this episode of the Marketecture Podcast, host Ari Paparo engages in an insightful discussion with Gary Mittman, the Founder and CEO of Curve AI. The conversation delves into how Curve AI is revolutionizing the advertising landscape through advanced AI-driven video analysis and shoppable ad technologies.

2. Company Overview

Foundational Insights: Gary Mittman provides a foundational understanding of Curve AI, highlighting its eight-year journey in the industry.

• Location and Team:
  "We're operationally based in Austin, Texas, where our tech, media and operations and client service all live down there. Our marketing, finance and sales are predominantly focused in New York and I fly somewhere over Toledo on a regular basis." ([02:12])

• Company Size:
  "We're about 98 people at this point." ([02:35])

3. Core Technology and Offerings

AI-Driven Video Analysis and Shopability: Curve AI sits at the intersection of content and commerce, leveraging AI to analyze videos for contextual relevance and shoppability.

• Hybrid Product Approach:
  "It's a combination. It's a hybrid. Because the..." ([02:55])
  Gary explains that Curve AI combines creative and targeting functionalities to enhance ad placements within video content.

Practical Applications: A notable example includes Curve AI's collaboration with Warner Brothers, where they analyze entire content libraries to identify shoppable moments.

• "We did a pretty big project with them last year with a very large retailer where we analyze the show, correlate and match against the product catalogs to find what in the scene or in the scenes might be shoppable from that retailer." ([02:55] - [03:33])

4. Shoppable and Contextually Relevant Ads

Ad Integration: Curve AI integrates shoppable ads seamlessly into video content, ensuring they appear at optimal moments without disrupting the viewer experience.

• Dynamic Creative Generation:
  "So in that example, we do a dynamic creative, we build it on the fly." ([04:02])

Non-Publisher Use Cases: Gary addresses the challenge of publishers being hesitant to share context data, explaining Curve AI's dual-layer approach.

• "So the two layers are one is the shoppable ad units correlated to the content. The other one is contextually relevant ad placement." ([04:36])

5. Business Model and Partnerships

Revenue Streams: Curve AI operates on a dual revenue model, combining traditional CPM media strategies with technology-as-a-service offerings for enterprise clients.

• "In our ad business, it's traditional CPM media strategies. In our enterprise business... it's really technology as a service." ([08:50])

Strategic Partnerships: Recent integrations with platforms like Magnite, PubMatic, and Freewheel have expanded Curve AI's reach in programmatic advertising.

• "So to do the integration on the contextually relevant ad potting or shopability requires the integration with the platforms." ([10:14])

6. Technological Innovations and Patents

Proprietary AI Development: Gary elaborates on Curve AI's proprietary AI technology, which is safeguarded by two key patents.

• "Our first patent is about identifying the pixel edge or unique shape of an object... Our second patent is around analyzing the show, gathering the metadata..." ([07:22] - [07:52])

Live Content Application: Curve AI is currently applying its technology to live sports content, showcasing its capability to operate in real-time environments.

• "We're doing live sports right now." ([12:53] - [13:08])

7. Competitive Landscape and Challenges

Standing Against Giants: When questioned about competition from giants like Amazon, Google, and Facebook, Gary asserts Curve AI's unique position as a neutral party.

• "So we're a neutral party that sits in the middle." ([12:53])

Primary Challenges: The main challenges revolve around architectural relevance to shopability and navigating the complexities of existing publisher ecosystems.

• "The challenge is really the... current ecosystems, the struct publisher content, the contracts with talent as an example..." ([11:56] - [12:17])

8. Lightning Round

Towards the end of the episode, Ari engages Gary in a rapid-fire series of questions to uncover more about Curve AI's identity and operations.

• Number One Competitive Advantage:
  "Our contextual correlation of product catalog to shopability." ([11:49])

• Biggest Challenge:
  "Architectural relevance to shopability." ([11:56])

• Curve AI as an Animal:
  "A jaguar."
  "Moving fast and being efficient." ([13:15] - [13:19])

9. Conclusion

Ari wraps up the conversation by expressing appreciation for Gary Mittman's insights into Curve AI's innovative approach to contextual video and shoppable advertising. The episode offers a comprehensive look into how Curve AI is shaping the future of advertising through intelligent AI solutions.

Notable Quotes:

• "We're a neutral party that sits in the middle." — Gary Mittman ([12:53])
• "Our contextual correlation of product catalog to shopability." — Gary Mittman ([11:49])
• "A jaguar. Moving fast and being efficient." — Gary Mittman ([13:15])

For those interested in exploring more about Curve AI and their groundbreaking technologies, visit Curve AI's Website or tune into future episodes of the Marketecture Podcast for more industry-leading insights.