Adrenaline Interactive
Setting the Scene
Gen Z and Gen Alpha now spend more of their leisure time gaming than watching TV or scrolling social, yet many brands are still relying on traditional ads and falling behind.
But placing products inside games is easier said than done:
It’s Expensive: Brands often need custom 3D assets built by game studios.
It’s Slow: Campaigns can take months, bogged down by revisions, approvals, and manual setup.
It’s Hard to Measure: Unlike digital ads, most in-game placements lack clear performance data.
This week’s company helps brands automatically insert their products into games, using existing logos, images, and media kits instead of building anything from scratch.
In a Sentence
Adrenaline Interactive is building an ad-exchange that enables product placements directly in video games.
Exchange: An automated system that matches advertisers with games at scale.
Product Placements: Branded items are embedded inside virtual worlds.
Directly: Instead of building 3D assets from scratch, Adrenaline uses AI to repurpose what brands already have.
Bulleted Version:
- Similar to how Mirriad (one of the pioneers of in-video advertising) places branded ads inside TV shows, Adrenaline puts them inside games like Roblox and Fortnite.
The Basics
- Headquarters: Austin, Texas
- Employee Count: 3
- Investors:
- Business model: Marketplace take rate
- Early traction: Enabled branded placements in games reaching 1M+ daily players, with $5M in signed LOIs from design partners like Bomb Pop, Sargento Cheese, and H&R Block.
Due Diligence
WHAT WE LIKE
Market Opportunity: The in-game advertising market is expected to nearly triple over the next few years as brands shift spend away from passive media and into interactive environments.
Cultural Momentum: Gen Z and Gen Alpha now spend more time gaming than watching TV or using social media—advertisers are racing to catch up.
Frictionless: Adrenaline eliminates the need for custom 3D asset creation, letting brands launch campaigns using media kits they already have.
POTENTIAL RISKS
Emerging Category: In-game programmatic is still new—some legacy advertisers may need education or proof before shifting spend.
Content Safety Concerns: Brands may hesitate to appear in user-generated content without strict controls.
Platform Dependence: Adrenaline operates within closed platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, which control access, distribution, and monetization—policy changes or restrictions could limit scale or margins.
Founder Profile
Max Albert, CEO: Previously ran a gaming agency that built two iOS apps, both reaching the App Store’s Top 100.
Comps
4D Sight: Backed by Riot Games, XRM Media, and others
Frameplay: Backed by Liquid 2 Ventures, Hiro Capital, zVentures, and others.
Why Adrenaline Interactive
By building the programmatic infrastructure for in-game product placement, Adrenaline is leveling up the way advertisers reach their audience.
