Playad.ai raises $5.4M to speed up creative iteration with multi-agent AI
San Francisco startup GIGR, operating as Playad.ai, closed a $5.4 million pre-seed round on January 22, 2026. BRV Capital Management and Mirae Asset Venture Investment led the round, with angels Bora Chung, Jihun Yu, and Krew Capital joining.
The pitch is simple: automate the creative pipeline from brief to optimization using multi-agent AI. For creatives, that means faster iteration, lower production costs, and decisions driven by actual performance data-not hunches.
Why creatives should care
Ad production has been slow, expensive, and held back by guesswork. Playad.ai, launched in Q3 2025, uses AI agents to handle briefing, generation, testing, measurement, and refinement.
According to the company's release, early adopters cut production expenses by up to 90% and improved acquisition efficiency. That's the kind of margin shift that buys you more shots on goal without burning budget.
Interactive ads are the wedge
GIGR is starting with interactive ads-especially playables for gaming-because they convert and they teach you what works. Taps, swipes, and choices produce granular engagement data that static images and video can't match.
Industry analyses reported playables in 2025 often reduced CPI and lifted conversions up to 7x versus standard formats. That performance edge is why Playad.ai stripped out developer overhead and made building interactives accessible.
What the platform actually does
- Brief → Generate → Test → Measure → Refine: multi-agent workflows that loop learning back into the next version.
- Create interactive ads without developers; the enterprise tier claims 3-5x engagement lifts on playables.
- Tools include AI UGC generators, avatar creators, and image-to-video converters.
- "Ad Clone" to recreate winners in your brand's style, "Brand DNA" to analyze your site's voice, and a "Prompt Enhancer" for cleaner inputs.
- Competitor tracking, asset centralization, 70+ languages, and credits charged only on download.
Who's using it
The company cites adoption across gaming, dating, beauty, and e-commerce. Names include Nexon, Krafton, Kabam, Devsisters, Match Group, Kakao Style, Pocket Gems, and NHN.
Playad.ai also calls out a pipeline that lets teams discover top competitor ads, create on-brand variants, and scale edits. Under the hood, it integrates premium media models such as Sora 2 Pro and Veo 3.1.
Founders and investors with range
CEO Jay Jaeyeon Cho previously scaled Bagelcode's AI game studios to 50M+ users and $70M in annual revenue. Co-founder Steve Nam Hyuk Chung brings MIT/Wharton training and operator roles at Bank of America, PlayStation, YouTube, and 20th Century Fox.
Jayden Hyun Jae Park leads engineering after building scalable AI at Devsisters, with teammates trained at Stanford and POSTECH. On the investor side, BRV Capital and Mirae Asset lead, with angels Bora Chung and Jihun Yu adding deep gaming and AI cred.
Why interactive wins in gaming UA
Playable ads don't just build clicks; they filter for intent. Even if upfront costs tick higher, cohorts often retain better and spend more-offsetting CPI.
GIGR's edge is speed: AI-generated variations for A/B testing without manual toil. More cycles, more learning, better ROAS.
How to put this to work (creative checklist)
- Start with a 1-page brief: audience, hook, promise, proof, and one primary action.
- Clone a top-performing competitor format, then reskin with your Brand DNA.
- Build a 15-30 second playable loop: 1 action, 1 reward, 1 CTA. No filler.
- Ship 10-20 variants at once: one variable per batch-hook, mechanic, CTA, or art style.
- Feed learning back into the next set. Kill fast. Scale winners. Repeat weekly.
Pricing and access
Plans range from a free tier with 25 credits to enterprise. Credits accrue only when you download, which lowers the cost of exploration.
The company cites "10x creative volume in 100x less time" on site metrics. If your CPI on traditional channels is clearing $30, interactive testing might pay for itself in a week.
What could slow it down
Three things to watch: platform policy compliance (to avoid bans), brand consistency at scale, and reliability across multi-agent workflows. The team says the goal isn't more assets-it's tighter feedback loops where every launch improves the next decision.
Further reading
Level up your AI workflow
If you're shifting your creative stack toward AI and automation, line up your skills with the work. Curated training by role can help you move faster without breaking process.
Your membership also unlocks:
