AdZen, a technology platform building a monetization engine for large language models, announced it has secured seed funding to accelerate the development of its conversational advertising platform. The round was led by Fiat Ventures, Inventus Capital Partners, and Silicon Valley Quad, with additional participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, and NEA.
The San Francisco-based company is focused on integrating privacy-friendly, native advertising directly into LLM-driven conversations. As more consumers turn to AI tools for answers and recommendations, AdZen aims to help AI platforms and web publishers monetize those interactions without disrupting user experience or relying on invasive personal data practices.
The company said the round attracted a group of strategic investors with deep experience across the digital advertising ecosystem, including individuals who helped build advertising platforms at Google, Meta, LinkedIn, AOL, Spotify, and YouTube. Additional investors bring backgrounds in agency operations, publishing, and analytics.
AdZen plans to use the new capital to expand its team, accelerate product development, and scale operations to meet growing demand from AI platforms, advertisers, and publishers. The company’s platform analyzes conversational content in real time to deliver contextually relevant, non-intrusive ads designed to blend naturally into AI interactions.
As part of the financing, Fiat Ventures will join AdZen’s board of directors alongside co-founders Spencer Bardsley and Brett Crosby. The involvement of early-stage investors such as Inventus Capital Partners and Silicon Valley Quad, along with growth-focused firms Bain Capital Ventures and NEA, reflects investor conviction in the emerging category of AI-native advertising infrastructure.
Founded by entrepreneurs with experience across machine learning, AI, advertising and web analytics, AdZen positions itself as a bridge between brands, AI platforms and users. The company says its native keyword-based ad formats are built to respect privacy while improving engagement and relevance within conversational environments.
The seed funding marks an early step in AdZen’s broader effort to redefine how advertising functions within AI-driven ecosystems as conversational interfaces become a primary gateway for information discovery.
KEY QUOTES:
“As people are increasingly turning to LLMs for answers, AI companies need a way to monetize those interactions. Meanwhile, brands need a way to find their customers. We are thrilled to be supported by this badass group of investors who share our vision of restoring balance to the digital ecosystem. This funding will help us accelerate our mission, bringing effective monetization solutions to AI platforms and web publishers worldwide, while continuing to prioritize user trust and experience.”
Spencer Bardsley, CEO And Co-Founder Of AdZen
“AdZen’s user-centric focus and novel approach to the space made this investment an obvious choice for us. Their vision for a more balanced and effective digital ecosystem aligns perfectly with our investment philosophy in pioneering technologies that redefine industries. They are taking a huge swing and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”
Drew Glover, General Partner At Fiat Ventures
“Every major technology wave has been fueled by advertising. AI will be no different, but because it is such a unique and intimate medium, the legacy digital ads model doesn’t work well.”
Manu Rekhi, Managing Director At Inventus Capital Partners
“It’s no longer just about audience, it’s about content. We’ve built the first content-focused ad platform to engage people directly in the conversation, whether in AI or on the web. The result is a much more relevant ad format specifically created for the future of advertising.”
Brett Crosby, COO And Co-Founder Of AdZen
