Kevel, an ad tech infrastructure provider headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, announced on October 21, 2026 that it has raised US$52 million in new capital, the largest single raise in the company’s history. The round includes expanded strategic investments from Fulcrum Equity Partners, dunnhumby Ventures LLC, and Iberis Capital, along with growth capital from ORIX Corporation USA’s Growth Capital business. The funding brings Kevel’s total capital raised to more than US$100 million and highlights increasing demand for retailer-owned media ecosystems.
Investor Confidence and Industry Momentum
The continued participation of dunnhumby, the retail media arm of Tesco, signals growing momentum behind independent media networks. Dunnhumby recently launched the Dunnhumby Network Alliance, known as DNA, in partnership with Kevel to drive scale and connectivity across retail media networks. These industry-wide initiatives reflect a broader shift toward retailer-owned monetization, data control, and more open competition with dominant advertising platforms.
Strategic Investor Commentary
Blake Zhang, Managing Director in ORIX USA’s Growth Capital business, said Kevel has built a highly differentiated platform that enables customers to launch and scale retail media businesses tailored to their brands and audiences. He noted that as the market expands across on-site, off-site, in-store, and other emerging channels, Kevel is well positioned to help customers manage growing complexity. ORIX USA joins existing investors in supporting Kevel’s next phase of innovation in retail media.
Commerce Media Infrastructure
Kevel’s API-first architecture gives retailers, marketplaces, and commerce platforms the flexibility to build media businesses around their own customers, data, and growth strategies. As commerce media enters its next stage of maturity, organizations are shifting focus from launching to scaling media networks. That evolution requires infrastructure capable of supporting omnichannel activation and AI-powered decisioning while preserving retailer ownership.
Customer Base and Market Position
Kevel is used by more than 100 commerce media networks across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Customers include Tesco, Dollar General Media Networks, John Lewis Partnership, PayPal, Scandinavian Airlines, Home Depot’s Orange Apron Media, and Nubank. The company positions itself as a privacy-first platform that helps retailers compete with large walled gardens on their own terms.
Transparent AI and Product Roadmap
The new funding will accelerate Kevel’s next stage of growth, with transparent AI at the center of its product roadmap. The company plans to continue developing AI decisioning and optimization capabilities so that every ranking, bid, and placement decision is explainable, auditable, and configurable by retailers. Kevel describes this approach as AI that retailers can see into, control, and trust.
Global Expansion and Advisory Services
Kevel will also expand globally into new retail and commerce media categories as part of its growth plan. The company is deepening its strategic advisory services to help retailers at every stage of maturity put AI to work without giving up visibility or control. Cafferty & Company, an independent debt advisory firm, served as the sole advisor to Kevel on the transaction.
With this latest capital raise, Kevel is positioning itself as a key infrastructure provider for the next generation of commerce media. The company’s focus on transparent AI, retailer ownership, and global expansion addresses growing demand for independent alternatives to dominant advertising platforms. The investment is expected to support deeper product development and broader adoption as commerce media networks continue to scale.