Ex.co
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
EX.CO is a Disney-backed,[2] machine learning-driven video platform that helps media companies grow revenue across multiple media platforms.[3] It is used by publishers and media owners such as Advance Local[4], Hearst Newspapers, The Arena Group, PlayWorks, and Ziff Davis to monetize video content across screens.[5]
History
EX.CO was originally founded as Playbuzz in 2012 by Shaul Olmert and Tom Pachys. Pachys is a graduate of IDC as well as the co-founder of Whimado.
In its early years, Playbuzz raised several funding rounds, including a $3 million Series A from Carmel Ventures and a $35 million Series C in 2017 led by Viola Group with participation from existing investors including the Walt Disney Company and Saban Ventures.[6][7]
In 2019, Shaul Olmert stepped down as CEO, with co-founder Tom Pachys assuming the role. Olmert eventually departed the company entirely.[8] Playbuzz then changed its name to EX.CO[9] and Shachar Orren was later named a co-founder of the company in 2021.[10]
Acquisitions
In 2021, EX.CO acquired video monetization technology company Cedato.[11]
In 2022, the company announced the acquisition of the machine-learning company Bibblio.[citation needed]
Technology
Historically, EX․CO created personalized content[12] for websites, but in 2022, the company shifted its focus to video technology, concentrating exclusively on helping media organizations drive revenue growth through the monetization of video content.
In 2023, EX․CO announced they would be using AI to power content recommendations and to identify contextually relevant content to display on a publisher's site.[13]
In 2024, EX․CO launched a vertical video player for publishers' mobile and desktop websites to help monetize content.[14]
Later that year, the Local Media Consortium, a group supporting partnerships for local media outlets, named EX.CO as its preferred provider of video technology solutions.[15]
In early 2025, EX․CO expanded its ad serving capabilities to include connected TV (CTV) and digital out-of-home (DOOH) formats. The company's yield optimization engine uses machine learning to analyze ad data and adjust pricing in real time.[16]
Also in 2025, EX.CO introduced an agentic AI taxonomy solution that uses large language models to automatically categorize video content, generating rich metadata to organize archives and support contextual ad inventory matching and monetization. This system was described as enabling publishers to transform unstructured video libraries into searchable assets.[17]
Industry commentary has noted that EX.CO’s approach to CTV monetization emphasizes predictive insights over reactive decision-making.[18]
Company leadership has said it views publisher-owned video to be a key defence against content commodization, arguing that video drives more engagement than automated text summaries.[19]
Awards
1. 2022 Business Insider: Hottest Marketing Tech Companies of 2022[20]
2. 2023 Digiday Video & TV Awards: Best Digital Video Monetization Program [21]
3. 2024 Digiday Media Awards: Best Video Platform [22]
4. 2024 Digiday Technology Awards: Best Sell-Side Programmatic Platform [23]
5. 2025 Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces List, recognizing culture and employee engagement[24]
6. 2025 Digiday Technology Awards: Best Sell-Side Programmatic Platform[25]