In theory, tech companies should be the easiest list to compile in our annual series of B&T’s Ones to Watch, but the problem is who do you leave out?
The world’s largest tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla) are so pervasive in day-to-day life that everyone working in this industry should be watching their every movement.
Whether it’s to do with the global AI arms race and how this applies to marketing, new product launches, adhering to Australia’s social media teen ban, or a litany of court cases against Big Tech’s power (Ricky Sutton’s Future Media Substack does a stellar job of following these developments), there is no shortage of players.
Nonetheless, for the purposes of this list, B&T is focusing on smaller emerging, largely headquartered in Australia for the purposes of this list.
This means B&T is not including a number of interesting global ad tech players that are expanding locally, think of the likes of MiQ, Magnite, Teads, OpenX and others.
Throughout the year B&T covers many brilliant adtech and match players, so coming up with a final list that will satisfy everyone is nigh on impossible, but here is B&T’s selection.
Ideally
Ideally, the Auckland-founded firm set up by James Donald (CEO), Josh Nu’u Steele (CRO) and Brendan Cervin (CTO), is on a mission to redefine research.
In the past two years, Ideally has expanded into more than 30 countries, opening offices in Sydney, Melbourne and New York, and working with more than 250 brands including Google, Bupa, Deloitte, Omnicom, Afterpay and Telstra.
The AI-powered platform has gained traction with marketers under pressure to do more with less, enabling them to make decisions faster as research budgets tighten and expectations on creativity and effectiveness continue to rise.
Ideally is commercial backed by Icehouse Ventures, Brand Fund 1 and OIF. Its client advisors include industry luminaries Telstra CMO Brent Smart; Thinkerbell co-founder and chief thinker Adam Ferrie; global strategy leader Nicole Jauncey; creative leader Ben Coulson and founder of Previously Unavailable James Hurman.
In the market research space, sources believe Ideally is the one to watch and poised for global domination.
Springboards.ai
Founded by husband and wife combo Pip Bingemann and Amy Tucker, Springboards.ai is one of the most refreshing and interesting companies to spawn from the AI age. It uses AI tech to help creative agencies explore more ideas faster, without ever sacrificing the craft of humans doing great work.
Springboards.ai has already partnered with more than 120 agencies globally and secured $5 million in seed funding from Blackbird Ventures.
It is being backed by some of the industry’s most impressive leaders and thinkers, including Chris Savage (The Savage Company), Mat Baxter (Skingraphica), Zoe Scaman (Bodacious), Henry Innis (Mutinex), Chris Colter (Accenture Song), Rosie Yakob (Ladies Who Strategize), James Hurman (Previously Unavailable), Connon Bray (Tracksuit) and Ellie Rogers (consultant and former Snap sales lead).
Recently, Springboards.ai illustrated their approach to AI in creative by producing a brilliant parody ad that shows what happens when marketers and creatives purely rely on machines for their creative.
At a time when the industry is grappling with how best to use AI in marcomms workflows, B&T believes Springboards.ai is a breath of fresh air and one to watch.
Tracksuit
It has been an epic year for affordable and always on brand tracking tool.
In the past year, Tracksuit has shifted from a high growth challenger to a global common language for brand health.
The New Zealand born platform capped off the year by claiming the top spot on the Deloitte Fast 50, fuelled by a 627 per cent revenue increase over three years and a 130 per cent year-on-year global growth rate.
Its $38 million Series B in June 2025, led by VMG Partners, put a rocket under Tracksuit’s growth. The company grew by 240 per cent in the US, 160 per cent in the UK, and now covers 25 markets, with its products meeting 85 per cent of global brand tracking needs.
Today, Tracksuit has more than 1,000 iconic customers, including Steve Madden and Bondi Sands, and tracks over 10,000 brands across the globe to make brand equity a boardroom priority.
Prophet
Prophet has had a breakout year, growing 300 per cent by signing on major brands including MYOB, Myer, and BYD while scaling to 30-plus customers across retail, media, financial services, automotive and gaming. With multiple offices established across Australia, Prophet is planning to launch in the US this year.
Prophet has built a platform that houses multiple different models and mathematical frameworks, from novel approaches that are exclusive to Prophet, Bayesian methods, to machine learning and econometric techniques. Prophet says it finds the right model for the right customer at the right time, based on customer’s needs.
It has also moved well beyond marketing. ITs customers now run models across pricing, supply chain, merchandising and broader business decision-making, all sitting under the one ecosystem.
Combined with 86,000+ macro data points and 590+ API integrations, Prophet says it creates digital clones of an entire organisation that allow leaders to simulate decisions before they make them.
Mutinex
Mutinex is on a mission to redefine the MMM sector. It wants to reduce the time it takes for CMOs to receive answers about performance.
In the past year, Mutinex launched MAITE 2.0 powered by WARC; Action Plans that automatically track and reconcile budgets against forecast; and Data MAITE to automatically build data warehouses for customers.
It now offers something unique: its model has moved well beyond channel and now considers how changes in format, creative and publisher unlock performance.
Although Mutinex has been on a surge for several years, 2025 was special. The company, founded by Henry Innis and Matt Farrugia in 2018, doubled its client book in Australia in the past year, working with brands including Asahi, Youi, Coles Liquor, Bupa, Samsung and TPG.
It now has more than 15 clients in the US , including Whirlpool US, Turo, Dominos Canada, Olaplex, Experian, Rival Foods and Loves Travel.
Mutinex has also expanded its team, promoting Peter Photinos to head of product, Shane Treeves to COO and Nik Zavgorodniy to head of engineering. It remains one of the most compelling tech businesses in Australia and beyond.
