The FPC Podcast

SUMMARY

How 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.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 — Intro: how AI is rewiring the economics of content
• 01:54 — From Christmas tree sales to venture: Josef's story
• 05:17 — Inside Thomson Reuters Ventures: a $250M single-LP fund
• 07:49 — Fiduciary-Grade AI: the through-line
• 10:05 — What "Series A" means now, and how the goalposts move
• 15:16 — AudioShake: reinventing archival content
• 19:44 — Audio as the next media frontier
• 21:55 — Agentic workflows for SMBs and the AI-native agency (Blaze AI)
• 25:26 — Picks, shovels and the transaction gap
• 29:35 — Monetising content in the agentic web: marketplaces, attribution and the quality layer
• 33:29 — Bots, tolls and copyright: how agents meet content
• 35:07 — Market sentiment, liquidity and M&A
• 38:31 — LiveRamp, neutral middleware and the Fox/Roku play
• 42:05 — Build for outcomes, not for an acquirer

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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.

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00:00 Introduction to the FPC Podcast and Guests

05:38 Transitioning from Corporate to Entrepreneurship

15:08 Current Scale and Growth of GoodNet

21:45 The Performance-Driven Approach to Sustainability

27:30 The Evolution of Sustainability in Advertising

37:11 Future Directions: Omnichannel and Data Licensing

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In 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 boardroom
• Why 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 CPMs
• The hidden video opportunity: why publishers switch off video for foreign traffic, and how re-activating and translating it drives the biggest revenue uplift
• Real examples — Brazilian government spend, a global food brand's "measuring cups" problem, and a Formula One site's Indian opportunity
• The rev-share, easy-to-integrate, size-agnostic model — and the parallels to Bedrock and the FirstPartyStudio playbook
• The £250k angel round TruText is currently raising

00:00 The State of Publishing Disruption

02:49 Monetizing Foreign Traffic

05:41 The Language Tax Explained

08:23 TruText vs. Google Translate

11:10 Unlocking Video Monetization

13:54 Real-World Insights and Case Studies

16:51 Potential Revenue Uplift for Publishers

19:19 Expanding Geographical Reach

22:13 Direct Demand and Future Roadmap

24:58 Details of TruTxt's Angel Round & Growth Plans

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This 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.

00:00 - Introduction and Cannes preview

01:24 - Is Publicis / LiveRamp the new Google / DoubleClick moment?

03:41 - Rob McLaughlin joins the conversation

04:44 - Why LiveRamp made data onboarding matter

07:26 - 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 buy

12:00 - The “tax” on first-party data

15:04 - Infrastructure, identity and data

17:50 - What brands really think of as data infrastructure

19:10 - Why only a small share of media spend uses first-party data

21:00 - Ad tech meets cloud infrastructure

22:26 - What the deal means for agencies

24:54 - The global impact beyond the US

27:45 - Open internet, open web and RampID’s changing role

29:57 - Audiences’ roadmap and the future of interoperability

30:06 - Agent training and sensitive first-party data

32:48 - Closing thoughts and upcoming episodes

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Rich, 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.

00:00 - 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.

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Description

Matt 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 table
• The hidden upside: with debt in place, founders pick the right investor, not just the highest bidder
• Ciarán on weaponising payment terms — AdSense, Trade Desk, and the bank inside every adtech business
• The founder mistakes Rich and Matt keep watching: waiting too long, signing the wrong contracts, and assuming "debt is expensive" without doing the maths

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to FPC Podcast and Partnership with OAREX

02:41 Overview of OAREX and Its Role in AdTech Financing

05:37 The Strategic Partnership: FPC and OAREX Collaboration

08:17 The Importance of Debt Financing for Startups

10:32 Balancing Equity and Debt: Insights from Founders

13:15 Understanding the Capital Stack: Debt vs. Equity

16:06 Practical Examples of Debt and Equity Financing

18:44 Competitive Advantages through Payment Terms

21:07 Innovative Financing Solutions in Ad Tech

24:05 Key Mistakes Founders Make in Financing

26:32 Final Thoughts and Takeaways for Founders

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Summary

In 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.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the FPC Podcast and Guests

01:06 Recap of Possible and Index Cloud Announcement

03:24 Understanding Index Cloud and Its Innovations

07:05 Performance Improvements and Cost Reductions

12:19 The Future of Ad Tech and Market Dynamics

15:51 Turning Points in Ad Tech and DSP Opportunities

20:59 Challenges in Live Sports and QPS Management

25:17 The Role of Containerisation in Ad Tech

30:00 The Open Internet vs. Walled Gardens

34:48 The Future of Collaboration in Ad Tech

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Summary

In 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.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the AdTech Ecosystem

01:28 The Evolution of AdTech Infrastructure

03:53 The Rise of Containerised DSPs

07:34 AdTech Innovations in Live Streaming

09:53 Margin Compression in AdTech

14:32 Investing in Innovative AdTech Solutions

20:02 Technical Difficulties and Communication Challenges

21:00 Investment Convictions in Ad Tech

22:02 The Role of Bedrock in Ad Tech Innovation

24:49 Cloud Computing and Data Privacy in Ad Tech

27:51 The Importance of First-Party Data

30:46 Lumen's Role in Attention Measurement

34:02 Future Trends in Ad Tech and Closing Remarks

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FirstPartyCapital and FirstPartyStudio discuss a new model for corporate innovation in ad tech. How corporates can access market intelligence, co-build products, and invest in the next wave of AI-driven startups.

00:00 Introduction to FPC and Corporate Innovation

02:08 The FPC Stack and Its Evolution

06:07 Corporate Partnerships and Innovation Strategies

09:55 Market Intelligence and Insights

17:59 Addressing Challenges in Ad Tech and Publishing

22:08 Incubation and Future Innovations

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