Stic's $200M Valuation Signals a Data-Driven Shift in Roadside Ads

LOS ANGELES, CA – December 11, 2025 – In a move that underscores growing investor confidence in the fusion of adtech and the gig economy, Stic, a technology platform turning everyday vehicles into mobile billboards, has secured a $10 million Bridge funding round. The investment, led by Accretion Capital, elevates the two-year-old startup's valuation to a striking $200 million and sets the stage for an aggressive North American expansion. This infusion of capital is more than a financial milestone; it’s a significant validation of a model aiming to solve two distinct modern challenges: the quest for measurable, real-world advertising and the public's growing appetite for truly passive income streams.

Founded in 2023, Stic operates a dual-sided marketplace. For brands, it offers a scalable network of vehicles to carry their message across cities and neighborhoods. For drivers, it presents an opportunity to earn money simply by going about their daily routines. The new funding will fuel the company’s push into more than thirty U.S. states and Canada, deepening its partnerships with national brands and strengthening its operational footprint.

"By combining a fast-growing driver network with powerful analytics, we're giving brands a scalable way to run OOH campaigns while putting money back into people's pockets," said Adam Cohen, founder and CEO of Stic, in a recent statement. His vision highlights the core tension Stic aims to resolve: making advertising more efficient for businesses while simultaneously creating economic value for individuals without demanding more of their time.

Beyond Billboards: Data Comes to the Street

For decades, out-of-home (OOH) advertising has been dominated by static billboards and transit ads, a segment of the industry often criticized for its fragmented nature and difficulty in measuring true impact. Advertisers have long struggled to quantify the return on investment from a billboard on a highway, relying on broad traffic estimates and demographic assumptions. Stic is challenging this paradigm by bringing the precision of digital analytics to the physical world.

The company’s approach hinges on what it calls "technology-enabled stickers." These are not simple vinyl decals but part of a system that, when paired with a driver's smartphone app, tracks mileage, location, and time of day. This data is then fed into a proprietary analytics platform that models traffic patterns and routes to calculate campaign impressions with a granularity previously unattainable in mobile OOH. By leveraging a mix of its own systems and industry-standard mobility data, Stic promises to deliver what it calls "modern transparency from streets to the screen."

This claim is bold, but it aligns with the broader industry's push for more accountable metrics, championed by organizations like the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) and Geopath. These bodies have been developing standards that move beyond simple opportunity-to-see (OTS) counts toward more sophisticated, data-backed impression measurements that consider visibility, consumer travel patterns, and audience demographics. Stic's methodology, which incorporates geofencing and time-based triggers, appears to be a direct commercial application of these principles, allowing brands to target specific neighborhoods during peak hours or run campaigns around specific events. The company reports that its platform can deliver up to eight times more impressions than traditional billboards at a significantly lower cost-per-mille (CPM), a compelling proposition for performance-focused marketers.

A New Frontier for the Gig Economy

While the technology is compelling for advertisers, Stic's most disruptive potential may lie in its impact on the gig economy. The platform has seen its driver network grow by 600% since its inception, a testament to the appeal of its economic model. Unlike ridesharing or food delivery services that require active labor, schedule commitments, and constant engagement, Stic offers a passive income stream. Drivers sign up through the app, have removable branded stickers applied to their vehicles, and earn money—reportedly up to 14 cents per mile—for the driving they already do.

This model effectively redefines the concept of a "side hustle." It requires no change in a person's daily routine, has no upfront costs for the driver, and eliminates the time and labor commitments that are hallmarks of the broader gig economy. For individuals already participating in delivery or rideshare services, Stic offers a way to stack earnings without adding more work. For others, it’s a frictionless entry point into earning supplementary income.

"In today's economy, people are looking for meaningful ways to earn income and seek advertising that isn't disruptive to their daily lives," noted Lucy Guo, CEO of Passes and an advisor to Stic. "Stic's platform empowers gig workers while delivering smarter advertising in the real world, unlocking growth opportunities for all sides of the marketplace."

Navigating a Competitive Landscape

Stic is not the first company to see the advertising potential of personal vehicles. The vehicle-wrap advertising space includes established competitors like Wrapify and Carvertise. These companies have built sizable networks by offering drivers monthly payments to cover their cars in partial or full advertising wraps. However, Stic is differentiating itself through both technology and accessibility.

Where competitors often require drivers to commit to more permanent and visually intrusive full wraps, Stic’s use of smaller, easily removable stickers lowers the barrier to entry and may appeal to a broader demographic of vehicle owners. Furthermore, while competitors also use GPS to track mileage, Stic's emphasis on a more sophisticated analytics backend—designed for real-time impression calculation and route optimization—positions it as a more data-forward player. The company’s rapid ascent from a $16.8 million valuation in late 2024 to today's $200 million figure suggests that investors see this technological edge and lower-friction model as a significant competitive advantage.

The fresh $10 million in capital is critical for executing its strategy in this competitive field. By rapidly expanding its driver network across North America, Stic aims to build the scale necessary to service national campaigns for major brands in categories like insurance, retail, and entertainment. This creates a powerful network effect: more drivers attract more brands, which in turn provides more earning opportunities to attract more drivers. The investment from Accretion Capital, alongside notable entrepreneurs, provides not just the financial fuel but also the strategic validation to pursue this aggressive growth, signaling that the market is ready for a more dynamic and measurable form of out-of-home advertising.