Regina Ye and Topsort co-founder Francisco Larrain have gained valuable insights in the two years since their auction-powered advertising startup was launched.
In 2022, the company secured $8 million in seed funding, which valued the company at $110 million. Topsort specializes in retail media technology for small businesses, offering auctions as a tool for effective advertising.
Tired of the complexity of creating ad campaigns on Meta, Amazon, and Google, they developed a straightforward API for users to install. When launching a campaign, customers have the option to include sponsored listings, banner ads, and video ads. They have the authority to determine how the ads are displayed, how ad quality and relevance are assessed, and who is eligible to start campaigns. 
The founders understood that their plug-and-play product was well-received by e-commerce marketplaces of various scales. Marketplaces in 35 countries, including Poshmark and Youtravel.me, currently use Topsort.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to achieve excellent advertising outcomes,” Ye shared with Eltrys. “We’ve experimented with various strategies and discovered what’s effective. Last year brought remarkable growth for us.” We’ve experienced nearly a tenfold increase in revenue and have equally ambitious goals for the upcoming year.
Topsort has pivoted its focus to cater more to enterprise needs, incorporating a range of advanced features. It now has P&G, General Mills, and Danone, among others, as customers.
The growth delighted investors, who chose to increase Topsort’s valuation to $150 million post-money by investing an additional $20 million in Series A funding. Upload Ventures spearheaded the round with backing from current investors, such as Quiet Capital and Pear Ventures. The company has accumulated a total of $28.6 million in funding.
The company is currently concentrating on the implications of cookies disappearing. Topsort aims to improve advertising’s reputation for user privacy. It developed a Cleanroom feature to merge user data without crossing privacy boundaries, Ye explained.
“Everyone is curious about the future of advertising post-cookies, and we believe we have the solution for clean advertising,” Ye stated. “After three years of hard work, we have developed a strong product that is now one of the most comprehensive in the market.”
