Adtech vet Brian O'Kelley's startup is pivoting to AI agents and rebranding with a new name
Scope3 no more. Enter, Apostra, a startup that wants to replace programmatic advertising with AI agents.
Apostra, a startup co-founded by adtech veteran Brian O Kelley and Anne Coghlan Franco Vogt, is pivoting to focus on AI agents and renaming itself. O Kelley, described as the "master of the hard pivot," is leading the company's rebranding from Scope3. Apostra aims to become a leader in agentic AI advertising by acting as an orchestration layer connecting advertiser agents with publisher agents.
The startup seeks to simplify the ad buying process by eliminating the need for separate integrations with various publishers, platforms, and media providers. Apostra's platform connects AI agents representing advertisers with those representing media sellers, allowing marketers to reach various channels like online placements, linear TV, and in-store audio.
Unlike traditional programmatic advertising, Apostra's agents automate parts of the media deal discovery, negotiation, approval, and execution process. The company has already secured partnerships with 40 media partners and has built adapters for major ad platforms such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Reddit, and ChatGPT Ads. Apostra operates as a neutral gateway, not charging transaction fees or percentages of media spend, but instead offering add-on intelligence capabilities like campaign proposal evaluation, negotiation support, and currency handling.
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