Kevel secures £39 million to scale AI-driven infrastructure for the future of commerce media

Kevel, the ad tech company that helps retailers and commerce businesses build and grow their own media networks, has secured nearly £40 million, the largest capital raise in its history.

The round includes additional investment from Fulcrum Equity Partners, dunnhumby Ventures LLC, and Iberis Capital, alongside new growth funding from ORIX Corporation USA's Growth Capital business.

The latest investment brings Kevel's total funding to more than £74 million, highlighting increasing demand for retail and commerce media technology. Continued backing from dunnhumby, Tesco's retail media arm, reflects growing interest in retailer-owned media ecosystems.

Kevel also pointed to the recent launch of the Dunnhumby Network Alliance (DNA), developed in partnership with the company, as evidence of a wider industry push towards greater scale and connectivity across retail media networks.

Kevel's API-first platform allows retailers, marketplaces and commerce businesses to build media operations around their own customer data and business strategies. As the sector matures, companies are moving beyond launching media networks and focusing instead on scaling them, creating demand for infrastructure that supports omnichannel advertising and AI-driven decision-making.

"Commerce media is entering a new era, one defined by ownership, transparency, and AI-driven infrastructure built around the business rather than intermediaries," said James Avery, founder and CEO, Kevel. "To keep commerce media open and competitive, businesses must own their monetization and data. This raise enables us to scale the technology retailers and marketplaces need to build differentiated media networks, drive sustainable growth, and compete head-to-head with the largest platforms."

Kevel says it now supports more than 100 commerce media networks worldwide, including Tesco, Dollar General Media Network, John Lewis Partnership, PayPal, Scandinavian Airlines, Orange Apron Media at The Home Depot, and Nubank.

According to the company, its focus remains on helping retailers, marketplaces and commerce platforms build independent, privacy-first media networks that can compete with major technology platforms while retaining control of their data.

Blake Zhang, managing director in ORIX USA’s growth capital business, said: "Kevel has built an impressive, highly differentiated platform that enables customers to rapidly launch and scale retail media businesses tailored to their unique brands and audiences.

"As the market continues to expand across on-site, off-site, in-store and other emerging channels, we believe Kevel is well positioned to help customers navigate that growing complexity and scale across an increasingly broad ecosystem. We are excited to partner with James and the Kevel team as they continue to innovate and help shape the next generation of retail media."

The company said the funding strengthens its position as an infrastructure provider for AI-enabled commerce media, with a particular emphasis on transparency. Kevel argues that retailers need visibility into how AI-driven advertising decisions are made and confidence that those decisions align with their business objectives.

Its platform is designed to show how and why advertising decisions are made, enabling retailers to demonstrate performance to advertisers, protect the customer experience and maintain ownership of their data and AI models.

"Kevel's continued investment in building cutting-edge infrastructure and AI to power commerce media networks is truly incredible," said Philip Lewis a partner at Fulcrum Equity Partners. "We are thrilled to continue investing to ensure that Kevel has the resources to support the complex needs of our partners."

The company said the new funding will accelerate the next phase of its growth strategy, with transparent AI at the centre of its product roadmap. Plans include further development of AI-powered decisioning and optimisation tools, ensuring every ranking, bid and placement decision remains explainable, auditable and configurable by retailers.

Kevel also intends to expand into new retail and commerce media categories globally, while growing its advisory services to help retailers adopt AI without sacrificing visibility or control.

Cafferty and Company, an independent debt advisory firm, acted as sole adviser to Kevel on the transaction.