© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. B&T SHARE 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 Founded by husband and wife combo Pip Bingemann and Amy Tucker, Springboards 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 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 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 is a breath of fresh air and one to watch. Tracksuit