{"id":68113,"date":"2025-08-14T17:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T17:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/68113\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T17:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T17:02:11","slug":"aussie-atlassian-alumni-sell-startup-to-ai-ad-platform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/68113\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie Atlassian alumni sell startup to AI ad platform"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A buzzy US startup using artificial intelligence (AI) to create social media ads has acquired a martech business founded by two Australians with deep experience at Atlassian, Canva, and Facebook.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creatify, which allows brands to generate social media videos with the help of 700 AI avatars, has scooped up Gala Labs, the developers of agentic marketing assistant Peggy.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tRelated Article Block Placeholder<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tArticle ID: 321146\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcompany.com.au\/exclusive\/gymgoer-gym-startup-raise-ryan-clarke-afl-fitness-app\/\" class=\"\" target=\"_self\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755190930_649_Ryan-Clarke-feature-1-1.jpg\" class=\"aspect-video object-cover h-auto w-[141px] md:w-[216px]\" alt=\"Lat raise to cap raise: Ex-AFL star secures $400,000 for gym pass startup\"  \/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded by Tanmay Jain and Jake Bloom in 2024, Gala Labs\u2019 digital tool allows marketers to analyse Facebook ad performance and research competitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of using complex dashboards, Peggy was built on top of Slack, allowing users to ask questions and receive answers in a plain English chat format.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creatify leaders say the Gala Labs acquisition will help its users not just create content, but discover what is working best and develop marketing strategies using audience data. <\/p>\n<p>\tSmarter business news. Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>\n                            For startup founders, small businesses and leaders. Build sharper instincts and better strategy by learning from Australia\u2019s smartest business minds. Sign up for free.                        <\/p>\n<p>By continuing, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcompany.com.au\/terms-conditions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Terms &amp; Conditions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcompany.com.au\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peggy\u2019s system will deliver \u201csmart, data-driven creative decisions that flow seamlessly into execution,\u201d said Ben Pashman, Creatify\u2019s head of business development.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deal\u2019s dollar value was not disclosed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But news of the acquisition comes two months after <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/06\/02\/former-dreamworks-ceo-jeffrey-katzenberg-co-leads-15-5m-series-a-for-ai-video-ad-platform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Creatify unveiled a $23.6 million (US$15.5 million) Series A round<\/a>, led by Kindred Ventures and WndrCo \u2014 the investment vehicle of DreamWorks co-founder and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcompany.com.au\/startupsmart\/streaming-competitor-quibi-shut-down\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Quibi<\/a> founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"576\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/creatify-feature-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-321613\"  \/>A demonstration of ads generated through Creatify. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The acquisition is the latest addition to a high-profile resume for both Gala Labs founders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before developing the Peggy agent, Jain held product management roles across Atlassian, Amazon, and Canva, where he helped launch its video product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bloom served as a developer at Atlassian and decamped to California to build new products at Facebook.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He then worked as head of engineering at diabetes care platform Steady Health \u2014 which was acquired by multibillion-dollar healthcare business Carbon Health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to SmartCompany from his new home base in London, Jain said he and Bloom were inspired by the changing landscape of digital marketing.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tRelated Article Block Placeholder<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tArticle ID: 299281\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcompany.com.au\/entrepreneurs\/atlassian-adore-beauty-showpo-lvly-10-success-stories-smart50\/\" class=\"\" target=\"_self\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"147\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LVLY-Hannah-Spilva-Verity-Tuck-1.jpg\" class=\"aspect-video object-cover h-auto w-[141px] md:w-[216px]\" alt=\"From Atlassian to Adore Beauty, Showpo, LVLY and more: 10 success stories from Smart50\"  \/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcompany.com.au\/marketing\/apple-ios14-update-digital-marketing-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">iOS14 update<\/a> shook up traditional targeting strategies, \u201cyour main lever to optimise your returns on your marketing were very much around your ability to test large waves of content,\u201d said Jain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat seemed to me very similar to a number of things that I did as a product growth person at Canva and Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After failing to find a suitable analytics tool on the market, Jain and Bloom initially built the Peggy agent for themselves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA big focus for us was using Peggy should feel like interacting with one of your best employees,\u201d said Jain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOmnipresent, with a deep understanding of how your ads were performing on Meta, and what sort of angles your competitors might be potentially testing on the Facebook ad library.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"527\" height=\"348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Peggy-snapshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-321615\"  \/>A snapshot of Peggy\u2019s chat output, as demonstrated by Gala Labs. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They eventually rolled it out to major clients, including Linktree and D2C mattress company Leesa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creatify is the right home for Gala Labs and the Peggy technology, as the startup creates an all-in-one AI experience, Jain continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bringing that kind of ad analysis to Creatify will create a \u201csmart loop\u201d helping brands \u201citerate through in a much, much faster cadence\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Jain and Bloom will assist Creatify through the transition before pursuing new challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A buzzy US startup using artificial intelligence (AI) to create social media ads has acquired a martech business&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,54029,3317,54030,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-68113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-gala-labs","14":"tag-marketing","15":"tag-peggy","16":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}