Mercury vs Starling

Mercury Hits $1B Annualized Revenue, CEO Reveals on Podcast

Mercury, a fintech startup, announced it has surpassed $1 billion in annualized revenue, marking approximately 50% year-over-year growth. The company now serves over 450,000 customers and is launching a new payroll service. CEO Immad Akhund disclosed these milestones during an interview on the Newcomer Podcast. Akhund also discussed broader industry topics, including the potential for AI agents to spend money autonomously, his view that the startup ecosystem is experiencing a bubble, and a cooldown in fintech startups following the pandemic-era boom. The announcement underscores Mercury's rapid scaling in the B2B financial technology space, which could have indirect implications for payment infrastructure and financial operations within the advertising and marketing technology sectors.

• Mercury reached $1 billion in annualized revenue, up 50% year over year.
• The company has over 450,000 customers.
• Mercury is launching a payroll service.

JPMorgan Blocks AI Agents; Mercury Embraces Them

JPMorgan Chase has decided to block outside AI agents, such as Meta's Muse, from accessing customer accounts and initiating money movements, as stated by CEO Jamie Dimon. This move aims to protect its cheap deposit base of $2.7 trillion, which pays only 0.01% on savings. However, the ban does not prevent AI agents from advising customers to switch banks. In contrast, fintech Mercury allows AI agents to connect via a hosted MCP server, and AI assistants now recommend Mercury over Chase by a five-to-one margin. The article analyzes the limitations of the ban, JPMorgan's potential motives, and the implications for the emerging agentic finance ecosystem.

• JPMorgan Chase blocks outside AI agents from customer accounts and money movement.
• CEO Jamie Dimon announced the ban, citing security and protection of deposits.
• Chase has $2.7 trillion in average deposits, with savings paying just 0.01%.

Introducing Mercury Books

Mercury has launched a new product called Mercury Books, a bookkeeping solution, and also introduced exclusive mutual fund products through Mercury Treasury.

Starling Bank's Sovereign AI Still Relies on Google and NVIDIA

Starling Bank, a British challenger bank, has announced plans to train a banking AI model on UK sovereign cloud infrastructure. However, the claim of being the 'first' is qualified by the fact that the model has not yet been trained on real customer data and that other lenders already run similar models. Moreover, the so-called sovereign setup still routes customer data through Google Cloud before reaching UK-owned provider Civo, raising questions about true sovereignty. The model is intended to power fraud detection from early 2027 and later an AI assistant. The article also highlights the bank's dependence on NVIDIA for computing and Google for AI models, underscoring the challenges of achieving full digital sovereignty.

• Starling Bank claims to be building the first banking AI model on UK sovereign cloud.
• The model has not yet been trained on real customer data.
• The model is scheduled to power Starling's fraud detection from early 2027.

Starling Launches CTV Supply-Side Platform from Stealth

Starling, a new connected TV (CTV) supply-side platform (SSP), has officially launched, emerging from stealth with backing from MBL Partners and strategic investors. Founded by Michael Bassik, who also serves as Executive Chair and Acting CEO, the company addresses fragmentation and lack of show-level data in CTV advertising. Starling works with publishers including AMC, TelevisaUnivision, Paramount, Telly, and Xumo to offer program-level intelligence and custom audience segments via private marketplace deals. Its approach uses privacy-compliant methods like data clean rooms and audience modeling to avoid VPPA violations, though it declined to name data partners. The leadership team includes Sean Miller (COO/CFO), Reshmi Nair (CTO, ex-Magnite), and Wil Danielson (CRO, ex-Nexstar). With about 20 employees, Starling supports emerging formats like pause ads and home-screen placements, aiming to provide transparent, scalable advertising solutions.

• Starling is a CTV-focused SSP, launched with about 20 employees and backing from MBL Partners and strategic investors.
• Founded by Michael Bassik (Executive Chair/Acting CEO), with team including Reshmi Nair (CTO, ex-Magnite) and Wil Danielson (CRO, ex-Nexstar).
• Partners with publishers like AMC, TelevisaUnivision, Paramount, Telly, and Xumo for premium inventory.

Agencies and brands disagree on service delivery, study finds

New research by The Drum and iResearch Services, presented at The Drum Live, reveals a significant gap between how agencies and brands perceive agency performance. While 77% of agency leaders believe they deliver what brands want, only 23% of brand marketers agree, and 47% actively disagree. The study, based on a global poll of 600 senior marketers (averaging $346M in revenue), also found that over three-quarters of brand marketers expect to bring brand strategy in-house by 2030, whereas less than half of agency leaders agree. Additionally, AI is a growing focus: 59% of brand-side marketers rank deep AI expertise as the most in-demand agency skill, and 71% expect AI to significantly shape workflows by 2030, with 45% predicting a human-AI hybrid model. Despite AI-driven efficiency expectations, 80% of marketers still foresee rising marketing costs by 2030. The Drum Live panel, featuring industry leaders like Michele Rousseau and Ajaz Ahmed, emphasized the need for agencies to challenge briefs and deliver cultural insight.

• 77% of agency leaders believe they deliver what brands want, but only 23% of brand marketers agree (47% actively disagree).
• The Drum and iResearch Services' 'Mind The Gap' report surveyed 600 senior marketers globally (director level+), with an average company revenue of $346M. The report was released on September 25, 2026.
• 80% of brand marketers expect brand strategy to be handled in-house by 2030, compared to 49% of agency leaders.