About Firsthand
Firsthand is a Media & Entertainment company based in New York (United States) founded in 2023 by Michael Rubenstein, Jonathan Heller, and Wei Wei. It operates as an AI agents are created and distributed for brands and publishers. It operates on a AI-as-a-Service and Subscription Services model. Firsthand has raised $32.6 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including FirstMark, Radical Ventures and Aperiam Ventures. Its website firsthand.ai draws about 11 thousand monthly visits. Firsthand offers products and services including Brand Agent Platform and Lakebed Data Rights Management. Its focus areas include Technology, Artificial Intelligence and AI Platforms. Its competitors include Cavai, AdLingo, Vyde, SofiaPulse and Wonderthing and 2 more; 2 of its 7 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Firsthand is established as a provider of an AI-powered Brand Agent Platform, enabling marketers and publishers to engage consumers directly. The platform is designed to deliver brand knowledge in real time across various channels. Solutions are focused on shortening the path from interest to action, providing deep customer insights, and ensuring data security through Lakebed, an AI-first data rights management tool. The technology is applied in sectors like marketing and publishing to create personalized campaigns and drive conversions.
- Headquarters New York, United States
- Founders Michael Rubenstein, Jonathan Heller, Wei Wei
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Email••••••••
- Website firsthand.ai
- Social LinkedIn X
- Total Equity Funding$32.6M (USD)
in 2 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$26M (USD), Series A
Mar 2025
- InvestorsFirstMark
& 7 more
Products & Services of Firsthand
Firsthand offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Brand Agent Platform and Lakebed Data Rights Management.
AI platform for personalized consumer engagement is provided.
Secure data sharing solution for brands is offered.
Funding Insights of Firsthand
Firsthand has successfully raised a total of $32.6M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $26 million completed in March 2025. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $32.6M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series A — $26M
- First Round $6.6M
(Feb 2024)
- Investors Count 8
All 2 funding rounds of Firsthand with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | $26M | Series A | – | Radical Ventures | |
| Feb 2024 | $6.6M | Seed | – | Radical Ventures |
8 investors in total: 4 institutional and 4 angel.
Investors in Firsthand
Firsthand has secured backing from 8 investors, including venture fund, angel, and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include FirstMark, Radical Ventures and Aperiam Ventures.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital firm focused on AI-driven companies | – | radical.vc | Toronto, Canada | |
Aperiam Ventures is focused on adtech and martech investments. | – | aperiam.vc | - | |
Early-stage venture capital is invested in tech startups across sectors. | 1987 | firstmark.com | New York, United States | |
- | – | crossbeamventurepartners.tcc.mode | - | |
DR David Rosenblatt | - | – | unknown_073fa35ff0b24cddb | - |
BO Brian O’Kelley | - | – | unknown_d3a808aa2c9d41198 | - |
BL Bob Lord | - | – | unknown_891a8d8517924140b | - |
BO Brian O'Kelley | Angel investor, adtech pioneer, co-founder of AppNexus, active in tech startups | – | unknown_5faa700b5f1d4754b | - |
Investor details for Firsthand
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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- Round participation
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Firsthand
3 people are tracked at Firsthand (3 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Michael Rubenstein | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Jonathan Heller | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Wei Wei | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Firsthand
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Firsthand
3 dated milestones of Firsthand across 2 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Firsthand is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $6.6M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $26.0M.
Competitors of Firsthand
Firsthand has 7 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Cavai, AdLingo, Vyde, SofiaPulse and Wonderthing, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cavai.com | 2018 | Oslo, Norway | $8.94M | 10 | Conversational advertising solutions are delivered via cloud-based platform. | |
| adlingo.com | 2002 | San Francisco, United States | – | – | Provides a conversational advertising platform for targeted campaigns. | |
| wearevyde.com | 2018 | London, United Kingdom | $681,697 | 12 | Provider of outdoor advertising services | |
| sofiapulse.com | 2020 | Montreal, Canada | – | – | AI-driven platform streamlining ad workflows for brands and agencies. | |
| wonderthing.co | 2017 | Toronto, Canada | – | – | Digital design, web development, AI experiences, and campaigns for brands and agencies. | |
| chatbanners.com | 2016 | Ukraine | – | – | Offers innovative chat banners to enhance display marketing strategies. | |
| chads-world.com | 2018 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | – | – | It serves as a provides banners that enable conversations. |
Detailed competitors of Firsthand
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Firsthand
The website of Firsthand (firsthand.ai) receives about 10.8K visits a month.
- Monthly visits10.8K
▲ 1.9% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Firsthand. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sciencecenter.org | 100% | 9.7K | #2,628,716 | View details | |
| firsthandcares.com | 48% | 9.6K | – | View details |
Top companies in Advertising & Marketing Tech
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Firsthand (Advertising & Marketing Tech), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-powered platform manages marketing creatives and customer journeys. | 1982 | San Jose, California, United States | – | USD 23.77 B | 30,710 | |
Platform offering mobile ad network software | 2007 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 265.6 M | USD 268.38 M | 733 | |
AI-driven ad campaigns are managed for personalization and optimization. | 2005 | Paris, France | USD 59.97 M | USD 1.94 B | 3,510 | |
Ad verification solutions are delivered for digital media campaigns. | 2008 | New York, New York, United States | USD 396.5 M | USD 748.29 M | 1,200 | |
Consumer intelligence-driven mobile marketing platform is provided for user acquisition. | 2005 | Singapore, Singapore | USD 10 M | USD 288.73 M | 618 | |
Native advertising solutions are delivered via a cloud-based content platform. | 2006 | New York, New York, United States | USD 403.72 M | USD 1.3 B | 1,800 | |
SSP software is offered to publishers for ad inventory sales. | 2006 | Redwood City, California, United States | USD 31 M | USD 282.93 M | 1,050 | |
Customizable smart lock screen experiences are developed for mobile devices. | 2019 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 390 M | USD 73.11 M | 493 | |
Cloud based mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform | 2011 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 1.3 B | – | 1,580 | |
Mobile advertising & monetization | 2007 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 60.05 M | – | – |
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Related news about Firsthand
Complete news archive for Firsthand
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Frequently Asked Questions about Firsthand
Firsthand was founded in 2023 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Firsthand is headquartered in New York, United States. It is registered at New York, New York, United States.
Firsthand is a funded company, having raised a total of $32.6M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $6.6M, raised on Feb 2024.
Firsthand is established as a provider of an AI-powered Brand Agent Platform, enabling marketers and publishers to engage consumers directly. The platform is designed to deliver brand knowledge in real time across various channels. Solutions are focused on shortening the path from interest to action, providing deep customer insights, and ensuring data security through Lakebed, an AI-first data rights management tool. The technology is applied in sectors like marketing and publishing to create personalized campaigns and drive conversions.
Firsthand offers Brand Agent Platform and Lakebed Data Rights Management.
Firsthand has 8 investors. Key investors include FirstMark, Radical Ventures, Aperiam Ventures, David Rosenblatt, and Brian O’Kelley.