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Advertising SaaS

What advertising tech exists, what's missing, and where does the gap create opportunity?

The buyer's job is not "manage campaigns" — it's get more customers without becoming a marketing expert (SME) or prove spend drives revenue (enterprise). Existing tools serve the workflow, not the job.

What Exists​

LayerToolsWho They ServeLimitation
Platform self-serveMeta Ads Manager, Google AdsSME defaultPlatform grades its own homework
Dashboard aggregatorsAdRoll, AdEspressoSME-mid marketManage campaigns, don't verify results
Competitive intelligenceAdbeatMid-enterpriseSee what competitors do, not whether yours works
Enterprise DSPsTrade Desk, Google DV360Enterprise onlyMinimum spend, specialist teams required
Measurement vendorsDoubleVerify, IAS, RockerboxEnterprise onlyHidden fee for "verification" without transparency

Web3 Entrants​

ProductFunctionStatus
Alkimi ExchangeOn-chain RTB on SuiLive — 90%+ of spend reaches publisher
SpindlWeb3 attribution, cross-chain measurementLive — crypto-native advertisers
AdChainBlockchain ad registryEarly

DePIN Data Layer​

ProviderDataAdvertising Use
375aiFoot traffic, dwell time, presenceGround-truth ad measurement
GEODNETCentimeter-level positioningPrecision geofencing, location attestation

The Gap​

Four things don't exist yet. Each is a product opportunity.

GapWhat's MissingWho Needs ItJTBD
Independent verification at SME priceEnterprise tools (DoubleVerify, IAS) have minimums. SMEs get platform self-reporting only.SME ($2K-$20K/mo)"Did my ads actually work?"
Buyer-aligned agentMeta builds agents captive to Meta. No independent agent serves the buyer's job across platforms with verified results.SME + mid-market"Run my ads without me becoming an expert"
Messaging commerce bridgeDistribution shifting from feed to conversation. No tools connect messaging agents to ad attribution.All — early"Which conversation came from which ad?"
Cross-platform verified attributionEach platform is a walled garden. On-chain proofs could unify measurement across Meta, Google, TikTok.Enterprise"One source of truth across all channels"

Why It Persists​

Meta and Google profit from opacity. Their business model depends on advertisers trusting platform-reported numbers. Independent verification at scale threatens their margin. They'll automate the buying (agents that handle objectives + budget) but never automate the auditing.

The Sui stack — Walrus for storage, Seal for privacy, Nautilus for validation — makes independent verification infrastructure-cheap. The technology exists. The product doesn't.

The Zuckerberg Signal​

Meta is building exactly the agent-native model: businesses state objectives + budget, AI delivers results. Every business gets a messaging agent. Small teams outsource non-core to AI.

This validates the model but reveals the gap. Meta's agent serves Meta's margin. The buyer trades one black box for another. The independent version — agent works across platforms, results verified on-chain, buyer controls the data — is the BOaaS opportunity.

Build Sequence​

What would you build, in what order?

#ProductAppetiteDepends OnValidates
1Verified ad reportSmall — dashboard pulling on-chain proofsAlkimi live dataSMEs pay for independent proof
2Cross-platform agentMedium — agent manages Meta + Google + LinkedInVerified report as feedback loopSMEs delegate campaign management
3Messaging attributionMedium — links conversation agents to ad sourceAgent platformBusinesses trace revenue to ad spend
4Universal verified attributionLarge — on-chain measurement across all platformsAdoption of on-chain proofsEnterprises switch from DoubleVerify

Each step validates demand before committing to the next. Kill if nobody pays for step 1.

Context​