Kevel has raised $52 million in new capital to expand its commerce media advertising infrastructure and develop AI-powered ad decisioning capabilities. The financing marks the largest capital raise in the company’s history and brings its total capital raised to more than $100 million, according to the company.
The funding includes expanded strategic investments from Fulcrum Equity Partners, dunnhumby Ventures LLC and Iberis Capital, alongside additional growth capital from ORIX Corporation USA’s Growth Capital business. Cafferty & Company served as Kevel’s sole debt advisor on the transaction.
Kevel provides API-first advertising infrastructure that retailers, marketplaces and commerce platforms can use to build and operate their own media networks. The company says its platform serves more than 100 commerce media networks, including Tesco, Dollar General Media Networks, John Lewis Partnership, PayPal, Scandinavian Airlines, Home Depot’s Orange Apron Media and Nubank.
The new capital will support product development, international expansion and strategic advisory services as retailers seek to grow advertising businesses across on-site, off-site and in-store channels.
Kevel Targets the Next Phase of Retail Media Growth
Retail media networks allow retailers and commerce businesses to monetize advertising opportunities using their customer relationships, commerce environments and associated data. As more businesses enter the market, the challenge is increasingly about scaling operations across channels, integrating advertising workflows and providing advertisers with measurable campaign outcomes.
Kevel’s API-first model is designed to let businesses build media networks around their own requirements rather than relying entirely on a single closed advertising platform. The company argues that this approach gives retailers greater control over monetization, data and product development.
Investor participation from dunnhumby Ventures also reflects the funding round’s connection to established retail media operations. Dunnhumby, the retail data science business associated with Tesco, recently launched the Dunnhumby Network Alliance (DNA) in partnership with Kevel. The initiative is intended to support greater connectivity and scale across retail media networks.
The announcement does not disclose the valuation attached to the funding round or the individual contributions made by each investor.
Transparent AI Becomes a Product Development Priority
Kevel plans to direct part of the funding toward AI decisioning and optimization, with an emphasis on making advertising decisions explainable, auditable and configurable by retailers.
In advertising systems, decisioning technology can influence which ads are selected, ranked and placed. As these processes become more automated, retailers may need greater visibility into the signals and rules shaping delivery, particularly when balancing advertiser objectives with shopper experience and commercial priorities.
Kevel says its approach to transparent AI is intended to show retailers how and why ad decisions are made. The company plans to continue developing capabilities covering ranking, bidding and placement decisions, while allowing customers to retain control over their data and models.
These are stated product objectives. The announcement does not provide independent performance benchmarks or comparative evidence establishing how Kevel’s AI capabilities perform against competing systems.
Market Landscape: Commerce Media Infrastructure Expands
Commerce media is developing beyond retailer-owned websites and apps, with networks exploring off-site advertising, in-store placements and additional commerce-related channels. Operating across these environments can require coordination between inventory, campaign management, targeting, decisioning and reporting.
For technology providers, this creates demand for infrastructure that can accommodate different business models while connecting advertising operations across channels. API-based platforms can offer flexibility, but retailers must still assess integration requirements, operational complexity, data governance and measurement consistency.
Kevel’s funding positions the company to invest further in this infrastructure layer as retailers seek alternatives to advertising ecosystems controlled by large platforms. Its ability to convert investment into sustained customer adoption will depend on product execution and the commercial needs of individual networks.
Strategic Outlook
The capital will support Kevel’s plans to expand into additional retail and commerce media categories and markets while increasing its advisory services for retailers at different stages of development.
The focus on explainable AI also addresses a growing operational question: how can retailers automate ad decisions without losing visibility into how their media businesses operate? Transparency and configurability may become important evaluation criteria as advertising networks introduce more automated optimization.
The funding announcement establishes Kevel’s intended priorities but does not specify a timeline for individual product releases or geographic expansion.
Top Insights
- $52 million raised: Kevel’s largest financing round to date brings total capital raised above $100 million.
- Retail media focus: The funding supports infrastructure for retailer-owned and commerce media networks.
- AI development: Kevel plans to expand explainable and configurable ad decisioning and optimization.
- Global expansion: The company intends to enter additional markets and commerce media categories.
- Investor support: Fulcrum Equity Partners, dunnhumby Ventures and Iberis Capital increased their investment, with additional capital from ORIX USA.
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