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# Cuttable raises A$20m led by Airtree for its AI ad platform
- URL: https://www.promptthemarket.com/cuttable-series-a-airtree-ai-ad-platform/
- Published: 2026-10-22T07:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T07:29:59.000Z
- Description: Sam Kroonenburg, A Cloud Guru co-founder, is behind the Melbourne software used by 440-plus ecommerce brands including Cotton On and Kathmandu to make creative from their own photos and video.
- Author: Editor News
- Tags: Advertising, Australia, Cuttable, #author-james-dore

![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg)

By **James Dore** · 2026-10-22

TLDR

Melbourne AI ad platform Cuttable has raised a A$20 million Series A led by Airtree Ventures. Its own analysis of 280,000-plus ads found brands need roughly 42 attempts to find one winner, with nearly half of all ads losing money. The raise comes five weeks before Black Friday; Cuttable says brands launch 3.4 times as many ads a day in November as in October.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01Cuttable raised A$20 million in Series A funding led by Airtree, with Square Peg, Rampersand and Glitch Capital also participating.

02Across 680 brands, 1% of ads generated half of all attributed revenue in Cuttable's dataset of 280,000-plus ads.

03Cost-per-click on Meta rose 35% over six quarters while click-through-rate fell 22%, per Cuttable's own analysis.

04Clients Cotton On, July, Kathmandu and lululemon are among 440-plus e-commerce brands on the platform.

05Earlier rounds: a A$10 million seed across two tranches (2024 and 2025) and A$5.7 million in March 2026 at a reported A$100 million valuation.

## The raise

Melbourne ad-tech company Cuttable announced a A$20 million Series A on 22 October 2026, led by Airtree Ventures, with existing backers Square Peg, Rampersand and Glitch Capital also participating.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) It follows a A$5.5 million seed Square Peg led in July 2024 and a A$4.5 million top-up in August 2025.[\[2\]](https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/sam-kroonenburg-a-cloud-guru-raises-5-5-million-ai-startup-cuttable/?ref=promptthemarket.com)[\[3\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-canva-for-ads-startup-cuttable-tops-up-seed-round-with-another-4-5-million/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Startup Daily reports a further A$5.7 million in March 2026 at a A$100 million valuation, used to launch in New York.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

Cuttable was founded in 2023 by Sam Kroonenburg, Jack White and Ed Ring, and incubated inside Melbourne agency Sunday Gravy, which White started with his brother Ant in 2021.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Kroonenburg co-founded A Cloud Guru, which sold in 2021 for more than US$2 billion; Ring is a former Swisse marketer.[\[4\]](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## How the platform works

Cuttable ingests a brand's product catalogue, existing photos and video, and past ad results, then predicts which ads to make next, cuts them in every required format, publishes directly to Meta and TikTok, and feeds performance data back into the model.[\[4\]](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Brands approve every ad before it runs.

Kroonenburg put the distinction plainly: "Everyone has taught AI to make ads. Almost nobody has taught the ads to learn."[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Airtree partner James Cameron said: "The world of ad creative is being turned on its head by AI."[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) He told Campaign Brief: "Since we backed Cuttable's seed round, their growth has been much faster than our (already very high) expectations."[\[4\]](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## The numbers behind the raise

Cuttable's analysis of more than 280,000 ads covering US$260 million in Meta spend across 680 e-commerce brands found that brands need around 42 ads to find one that meaningfully moves the business.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) The distribution underneath that average makes the waste concrete.

__Key figures from Cuttable's own analysis of 280,000-plus ads, US$260m of Meta spend and 680 brands. Source: Cuttable, via Campaign Brief and Startup Daily, 22 October 2026.__
| Metric                                            | Finding         |
| ------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Ads needed to find one winner                     | \~42            |
| Share of revenue from top 1% of ads               | 50%             |
| Share of ads losing money                         | Nearly half     |
| Median ad's lifespan before meaningful spend lost | About two weeks |
| Cost-per-click change over six quarters           | +35%            |
| Click-through-rate change over same period        | −22%            |

Just 1% of ads in Cuttable's dataset generated half of all attributed revenue, while nearly half of all ads lost money outright.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) More than a third earned nothing.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Cuttable also found cost per click rose 35% over six quarters while click-through rates fell 22%, and the median ad stopped receiving meaningful spend within about two weeks.[\[4\]](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## Five weeks before Black Friday

Cuttable's data shows brands launch 3.4 times as many ads a day in November as in October, ahead of Black Friday.[\[4\]](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

Cuttable works with more than 440 e-commerce brands, including Cotton On, July, Kathmandu and lululemon.[\[1\]](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Cuttable says brands average a 4.4 times return on ad spend after switching and that campaigns go live in a day rather than two to three weeks; those are its own figures.[\[4\]](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com) The money will go on teams in Melbourne, New York and San Francisco. Black Friday falls on 27 November.

Related coverage

- [Meta's AI ad assistant can now move budgets as agencies urge caution](https://www.promptthemarket.com/meta-ai-ad-assistant-can-now-move-budgets-as-agencies-urge-caution/)
- [TikTok lets Americans buy in one click, Australians keep waiting](https://www.promptthemarket.com/tiktok-opens-400-000-app-ad-network-and-adds-checkout/)
- [realtor.com ad from Australian AI platform wins Ogilvys](https://www.promptthemarket.com/brandcomms-ai-realtor-ad-arf-ogilvy-awards/)
- [Brazilians click ChatGPT ads almost 3 times as often as Australians](https://www.promptthemarket.com/brazilians-click-chatgpt-ads-almost-3-times-as-often-as-australians/)

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [Sam Kroonenburg's adtech Cuttable adds A$20m Series A](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-adtech-cuttable-adds-20m-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
2. [Sam Kroonenburg raises A$5.5 million for AI startup Cuttable](https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/sam-kroonenburg-a-cloud-guru-raises-5-5-million-ai-startup-cuttable/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
3. [Cuttable tops up seed round with another A$4.5 million](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sam-kroonenburgs-canva-for-ads-startup-cuttable-tops-up-seed-round-with-another-4-5-million/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
4. [Campaign Brief, Cuttable relaunches as the AI ad platform that learns, 22 October 2026](https://campaignbrief.com/cuttable-relaunches-as-the-ai-ad-platform-that-learns-backed-by-a-20-million-series-a/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
5. [Airtree Ventures portfolio: Cuttable](https://www.airtree.vc/companies/cuttable?ref=promptthemarket.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much has Cuttable raised in total?

Disclosed rounds: a A$5.5 million seed in July 2024, a A$4.5 million top-up in August 2025, A$5.7 million in March 2026 (Startup Daily) and a A$20 million Series A in October 2026.

Who led Cuttable's Series A?

Airtree Ventures led the A$20 million Series A, with existing investors Square Peg, Rampersand and Glitch Capital also participating.

How is Cuttable different from other AI ad-creative tools?

Most AI ad tools generate content from a prompt. Cuttable builds ads from a brand's own product catalogue, existing imagery and past performance data, then feeds results back into the model to improve future predictions.

What does Cuttable's data show about ad performance on Meta?

Across 280,000-plus ads covering US$260 million in Meta spend, Cuttable found that 1% of ads generated half of attributed revenue, roughly half of all ads lost money, and brands needed around 42 ads to find one that meaningfully moved the business.

![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg)

[James Dore](https://www.promptthemarket.com/james-dore/)

James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.