AI Agents Are Reshaping Ad Tech and SaaS: VideoAmp Cuts 20%, Rattle Rebuilds from Scratch

VideoAmp, the ad measurement platform, laid off roughly 20% of its workforce — between 50 and 60 employees — this week, including its chief technology officer, whose role will not be refilled. CEO Tony Fagan framed the cuts as a deliberate bet on AI, with the company pivoting toward agentic software development and repositioning itself as an AI-powered media performance platform. Many of the eliminated roles were in product development and engineering, reflecting how AI coding tools are displacing work previously done by human developers. The company is also flattening its management structure and has already eliminated its CMO role earlier this year.

VideoAmp's move mirrors a broader reckoning across the revenue and ad-tech stack. Rattle, a sales-workflow SaaS startup founded in 2021 by Sahil Aggarwal, offers a cautionary and ultimately hopeful tale of survival. The company had built a strong client roster — Figma, Notion, and Rippling among them — before generative AI rendered its core automation product obsolete. Aggarwal's attempts to graft AI onto the existing product felt like, in his words, attaching an engine to a horse-drawn carriage. By late 2024, he had slashed headcount from 70 to 15, eliminating entire sales, marketing, and customer-success teams to rebuild from the ground up.

The result is Von, an AI-native operating system for sales and revenue teams that layers on top of tools like Salesforce to autonomously track customers, surface opportunities, and flag at-risk deals. The rebranded startup has since climbed to $1 million in annualized recurring revenue — a modest but meaningful signal of traction after a near-death pivot.

Elsewhere in media and marketing: Meta has been ordered to pay a combined $942 million in New Mexico's landmark child-safety verdict — $375 million in civil penalties plus a $567 million abatement fund — and must impose screen-time limits on minors and hide like counts on their photos by default. Nielsen agreed to acquire ad-verification platform DoubleVerify in a deal valued at approximately $2.15 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery posted a 22% drop in advertising revenue, largely tied to cable networks losing NBA rights. And Claire's is overhauling its piercing experience with lilac-themed hubs, clinical staff training, and an "Inspiration Bar" as it battles trendier rivals like Studs and Rowan for Gen Alpha shoppers — while keeping its price edge with free piercings starting at a $29.99 earring kit.