The FPC Podcast

SUMMARYHow is AI rewiring the economics of content, advertising and audience growth, and what does it mean for the founders and investors building what comes next?This week Rich Ashton is joined by Josef Najm, Principal at Thomson Reuters Ventures, the $250M corporate venture arm investing across legal, tax, risk and compliance, and media and ad tech. Josef's path into venture is anything but linear. It starts, genuinely, with selling Christmas trees, and runs through MediaMath, L'Oréal, Diageo and six years at Reuters, which gives him a rare operator's read on where value is really moving.At the centre of the conversation is Thomson Reuters' trademarked concept of Fiduciary-Grade AI™: the idea that the professionals these tools serve, from lawyers to marketers deploying hundreds of millions in media, are fiduciaries, so the AI serving them has to meet that bar, with clean proprietary data, no hallucinations, and real accountability.From there, Rich and Josef get into the shift from the ad-funded web to the agentic web, and the infrastructure that has to exist for it to work: data licensing marketplaces and attribution (TollBit, ProRata), the coming proliferation of enterprise and open-source model buyers beyond the frontier labs, and the missing quality-scoring and verification layer for content, on the basis that not all data is created equal. Along the way they cover agent-to-agent transactions and the challenge of verifying agents, the LiveRamp/Publicis deal and the future of neutral middleware, the Fox/Roku move and CTV, and why the smartest founders build for outcomes rather than for a specific acquirer.Companies and threads referenced include AudioShake, Blaze AI, Bedrock, Index Exchange, Skyfire, TollBit, ProRata, LiveRamp, Roku and Fox.CHAPTERS00:00 — Intro: how AI is rewiring the economics of content01:54 — From Christmas tree sales to venture: Josef's story05:17 — Inside Thomson Reuters Ventures: a $250M single-LP fund07:49 — Fiduciary-Grade AI: the through-line10:05 — What "Series A" means now, and how the goalposts move15:16 — AudioShake: reinventing archival content19:44 — Audio as the next media frontier21:55 — Agentic workflows for SMBs and the AI-native agency (Blaze AI)25:26 — Picks, shovels and the transaction gap29:35 — Monetising content in the agentic web: marketplaces, attribution and the quality layer33:29 — Bots, tolls and copyright: how agents meet content35:07 — Market sentiment, liquidity and M&A38:31 — LiveRamp, neutral middleware and the Fox/Roku play42:05 — Build for outcomes, not for an acquirer

Recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026, this episode of the FPC Podcast brings together some of the industry’s leading operators to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming advertising, media and marketing technology.The conversation covers why AI is raising expectations across the industry, the growing importance of independent infrastructure, containerisation, first-party data, transparency, interoperability and the changing relationship between publishers, agencies and technology platforms.The panel also discusses how businesses can prepare for an increasingly automated future, what advertisers should be investing in today, and why neutral technology providers may become even more valuable as AI agents begin making decisions on behalf of marketers.

Chapters00:00 Introduction to the FPC Podcast and Guests05:38 Transitioning from Corporate to Entrepreneurship15:08 Current Scale and Growth of GoodNet21:45 The Performance-Driven Approach to Sustainability27:30 The Evolution of Sustainability in Advertising37:11 Future Directions: Omnichannel and Data Licensing

DescriptionIn an era of declining cookies, falling referral traffic and the rise of AI-driven search, publishers are all asking the same question: how do we make more revenue from the audience we already have?In this episode, Rich is joined by Dave Barr and Nick Fletcher, colleagues at FirstPartyStudio and co-founders of TruText, a company incubated through the Studio and backed by FirstPartyCapital. They unpack the "language tax": the large share of premium publisher traffic that arrives from non-local-language territories and gets monetised poorly, killing engagement, advertiser demand and yields.We get into:Why up to 40–45% of a publisher's traffic can be in non-local language — and why it's historically been ignored in the boardroomWhy Google Translate doesn't solve it (and actively costs publishers ad signals)How TruText serves content in the user's device language under a single URL, sending the right signals into the ad auction to lift display CPMsThe hidden video opportunity: why publishers switch off video for foreign traffic, and how re-activating and translating it drives the biggest revenue upliftReal examples — Brazilian government spend, a global food brand's "measuring cups" problem, and a Formula One site's Indian opportunityThe rev-share, easy-to-integrate, size-agnostic model — and the parallels to Bedrock and the FirstPartyStudio playbookThe £250k angel round TruText is currently raisingChapters00:00 The State of Publishing Disruption02:49 Monetizing Foreign Traffic05:41 The Language Tax Explained08:23 TruText vs. Google Translate11:10 Unlocking Video Monetization13:54 Real-World Insights and Case Studies16:51 Potential Revenue Uplift for Publishers19:19 Expanding Geographical Reach22:13 Direct Demand and Future Roadmap24:58 Details of TruTxt's Angel Round & Growth Plans

DescriptionThis week on the FPC Podcast, we are joined by Rob McLaughlin, CEO and co-founder of AUDIENCES, to unpack Publicis’ proposed acquisition of LiveRamp.The conversation explores what it could really mean for the data activation market, agency holding groups, first-party data infrastructure, identity, interoperability and the future role of cloud-native platforms.Rob shares why the deal validates many of the core beliefs behind AUDIENCES, particularly the idea that sensitive first-party data should sit inside a brand’s own cloud environment rather than being handed to third-party platforms. Ciaran argues that the deal could trigger both M&A activity and a broader strategic reset, as agencies, publishers, advertisers and data owners rethink who they trust with data infrastructure.The episode also covers whether LiveRamp’s agency neutrality can survive under Publicis ownership, why RampID may be less powerful outside the US and beyond the open web, and how the convergence of ad tech and cloud infrastructure could open up a new generation of opportunities for companies like AUDIENCES, Bedrock and others in the FirstPartyCapital portfolio.Chapters00:00 - Introduction and Cannes preview01:24 - Is Publicis / LiveRamp the new Google / DoubleClick moment?03:41 - Rob McLaughlin joins the conversation04:44 - Why LiveRamp made data onboarding matter07:26 - Can LiveRamp stay neutral under Publicis?10:00 - Can media holding companies run enterprise software businesses?11:00 - Why other holdcos may partner rather than buy12:00 - The “tax” on first-party data15:04 - Infrastructure, identity and data17:50 - What brands really think of as data infrastructure19:10 - Why only a small share of media spend uses first-party data21:00 - Ad tech meets cloud infrastructure22:26 - What the deal means for agencies24:54 - The global impact beyond the US27:45 - Open internet, open web and RampID’s changing role29:57 - Audiences’ roadmap and the future of interoperability30:06 - Agent training and sensitive first-party data32:48 - Closing thoughts and upcoming episodes

DescriptionRich, Kevin and Ciarán are joined again by Shane Shevlin, CEO and co-founder of Bedrock Platform.The conversation digs into Bedrock’s recent announcement with Index Exchange, which sees Bedrock’s bidder containerised inside Index Cloud. Shane explains why bringing bid decisioning closer to the impression can dramatically reduce latency, lower infrastructure costs, and unlock more sophisticated use of data, models and signals in real-time media buying.The team also explores the return of specialist and verticalised bidders, the role of agentic workflows in campaign execution, the importance of composability and standards, and why the next wave of ad tech innovation may come from independent, highly focused players rather than the traditional scaled platforms.Chapters00:00 - Introduction Welcome to episode 32 of the FPC Podcast with returning guest Shane Shevlin, CEO and founder of Bedrock Platform.01:00 - What is Bedrock Platform? Shane introduces Bedrock as a next-generation media buying platform, with a focus on agentic workflows, automation and composable infrastructure.02:44 - Bedrock’s Index Cloud announcement The team discusses Bedrock’s recent partnership with Index Exchange and the significance of containerising Bedrock’s bidder inside Index Cloud.04:23 - Why containerisation matters Shane explains the cost, infrastructure and performance benefits of deploying Bedrock’s codebase inside Index’s environment.07:02 - Collapsing the latency window A deep dive into how reducing bid decisioning latency from tens of milliseconds to near-instantaneous response times can unlock new capabilities.09:31 - More signals, better outcomes Kevin explains how access to more signal data, from geospatial to retail and transactional data, can improve media buying performance.11:27 - The rise of specialist bidders The conversation explores how Bedrock’s composable stack could make it easier and cheaper to build verticalised bidders for specific use cases, channels and audiences.14:15 - What this means for SSPs and DSPs Ciarán shares his view on whether other SSPs will adopt containerisation, and why Bedrock may occupy a new role in the ecosystem.17:47 - Composability, portability and standards Shane and Kevin discuss the importance of open standards, shared infrastructure and collaborative development in the next phase of ad tech.22:08 - New channels and new optimism The group discusses emerging environments such as agentic advertising, live sports and high-speed monetisation, and why the market feels exciting again.23:04 - What has changed in the industry? Kevin reflects on the technological, financial and cultural shifts that have created a new generation of ad tech challengers.25:35 - Shane’s experience building bidders Shane talks about the lessons learned from building multiple bidding systems and how Bedrock is applying that experience to CTV, video, audio and performance.27:37 - Pathfinder and agentic capabilities Shane discusses Bedrock’s Pathfinder agents and early client tests around emerging specs and workflows.28:35 - The thousand-bidder dream returns Rich closes by reflecting on how Bedrock and Index may bring back the original programmatic dream of many specialist bidders built for different use cases.29:43 - Next episode preview A preview of the next FPC Podcast episode, featuring Rob McLaughlin of Audiences and a discussion of the Publicis-LiveRamp announcement.

DescriptionMatt Byrne, CRO at OAREX, and Rich's old boss at FastPay, joins the FPC podcast to announce a new strategic partnership between FirstPartyFinance (FPC's debt arm) and OAREX.Inside the episode:The FastPay reunion, and what OAREX has built since (170 clients, ~$5bn of ad-spend processed)The $5M worked example — what a properly blended raise actually looks like on the cap tableThe hidden upside: with debt in place, founders pick the right investor, not just the highest bidderCiarán on weaponising payment terms — AdSense, Trade Desk, and the bank inside every adtech businessThe founder mistakes Rich and Matt keep watching: waiting too long, signing the wrong contracts, and assuming "debt is expensive" without doing the mathsChapters00:00 Introduction to FPC Podcast and Partnership with OAREX02:41 Overview of OAREX and Its Role in AdTech Financing05:37 The Strategic Partnership: FPC and OAREX Collaboration08:17 The Importance of Debt Financing for Startups10:32 Balancing Equity and Debt: Insights from Founders13:15 Understanding the Capital Stack: Debt vs. Equity16:06 Practical Examples of Debt and Equity Financing18:44 Competitive Advantages through Payment Terms21:07 Innovative Financing Solutions in Ad Tech24:05 Key Mistakes Founders Make in Financing26:32 Final Thoughts and Takeaways for Founders

SummaryIn this episode, Andrew Casale, CEO of Index Exchange, discusses the groundbreaking innovations in Adtech, including the containerisation of the Bedrock DSP on the Index Cloud, and the future of open web ecosystems. Key insights include the impact of Index Cloud on cost reduction, speed, and performance, as well as the shift towards a more open, collaborative industry.Andrew closes the loop on what he told us last June: that the market needed to move past duplicative platform work and reprice infrastructure to near zero. Index Cloud is the productisation of that thesis and Bedrock, paired with it, is the first real-world proof that a small, focused DSP can listen to the entire internet at scale and compete on value-add rather than access to capital.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the FPC Podcast and Guests01:06 Recap of Possible and Index Cloud Announcement03:24 Understanding Index Cloud and Its Innovations07:05 Performance Improvements and Cost Reductions12:19 The Future of Ad Tech and Market Dynamics15:51 Turning Points in Ad Tech and DSP Opportunities20:59 Challenges in Live Sports and QPS Management25:17 The Role of Containerisation in Ad Tech30:00 The Open Internet vs. Walled Gardens34:48 The Future of Collaboration in Ad Tech

SummaryIn this episode, we discuss the evolving Adtech landscape, focusing on first-party data, cloud-native infrastructure, and innovations in streaming TV advertising. We explore how new technologies like containerised DSPs and attention measurement are shaping the future of digital advertising.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the AdTech Ecosystem01:28 The Evolution of AdTech Infrastructure03:53 The Rise of Containerised DSPs07:34 AdTech Innovations in Live Streaming09:53 Margin Compression in AdTech14:32 Investing in Innovative AdTech Solutions20:02 Technical Difficulties and Communication Challenges21:00 Investment Convictions in Ad Tech22:02 The Role of Bedrock in Ad Tech Innovation24:49 Cloud Computing and Data Privacy in Ad Tech27:51 The Importance of First-Party Data30:46 Lumen's Role in Attention Measurement34:02 Future Trends in Ad Tech and Closing Remarks