Observed Signal · Apr 15, 2026 · Company Launch · Source: Adweek · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Ex‑Airbnb and 72andSunny Execs Launch Science x Story
Musa Tariq and Tim Jones, longtime colleagues with backgrounds at major brands and agencies, have left stealth to launch a new consultancy called Science x Story. Tariq — who previously led marketing at Airbnb, Ford and GoFundMe — and Jones — formerly at 72andSunny — say the firm’s mission is to bridge the disconnect between creative/brand organizations and business-focused strategy teams, and to realign how companies grow in an AI-driven future. Tariq argues agencies often lack business acumen while traditional consultants miss creative expertise; Science x Story aims to combine both skill sets to address that gap.
Announcement of a new boutique consultancy by industry veterans is relevant to agency and consultancy audiences but is a niche company launch with limited immediate industry-wide impact.
Track Airbnb Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your free Explorer workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Musa Tariq previously led marketing for Airbnb, Ford and GoFundMe.
- Tim Jones previously worked at 72andSunny.
- Tariq and Jones have launched a consultancy named Science x Story and emerged from stealth.
- The consultancy's stated aim is to bridge the disconnect between brand (creative) and business strategy and to help companies realign for an AI future.
- Tariq said agencies often 'struggled with the business acumen' while consultants 'never understood the creative.'
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
New AI Agency JK Launches with Hitachi as Founding Client
Two longtime Omnicom executives, James Sparano and Kevin O’Sullivan, are leaving the holding company to launch JK, an AI-native creative and strategy agency. The self-funded firm, named for its founders, begins operations on Feb. 19 and aims to compress planning cycles from months into days. JK launches with Hitachi as a global founding client, supporting creative across more than a dozen markets including North America, Germany, India and the U.K.; the founders stopped short of calling the work a traditional agency‑of‑record arrangement. Both founders most recently served as executive business directors at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and say the new agency will operate lean and independently.
Ad Tech Pioneers Launch AI Startups Revolutionizing Industry
Seven veteran ad-technology executives have left established roles to found AI-focused startups building products across CTV creative automation, ad-operations automation, contextual content classification, collaborative media-buying workflows, data orchestration and brand-personalization agents. The story profiles Jonathan Moffie (Streamr.ai), whose 2024-founded CTV ad startup was acquired by Magnite in September; Joe Luchs (Datalinx AI), which positions itself as an “AI data refinery” using specialist AI agents and multiple LLM providers; Frans Vermeulen (Swivel), which automates routine ad-ops adjustments; Michael Rubenstein (Firsthand), which builds “brand agents” that deliver choice-driven ad experiences; Rory Partalis (Classify), which classifies billions of monetizable pages for contextual targeting; Joe Prusz (Medialive), a collaborative media-buying marketplace integrating DSP/SSP APIs; and Kyle Csik (Adaly), which aggregates real-time marketing data and surfaces analyses via LLM orchestration. The piece frames this as a broader ad tech-to-AI startup pipeline driven by operational pain points and new AI capabilities.
Code and Theory Hires Harsh Kapadia to Lead New Creative Unit
Stagwell-owned Code and Theory has launched an Enterprise Creative division and hired agency veteran Harsh Kapadia to lead it. The newly formed group will work to bring creative closer to business strategy for clients, deepen partnerships with existing clients such as Adobe and IBM, and explore opportunities for joint ventures. Code and Theory cites its recently launched Content Operating System with Adobe as an example of the kind of work the new division will build on. The unit is still being assembled and aims to move the agency upstream into business-facing strategy that can touch areas beyond marketing, including supply chain and commerce solutions.
Track Real-Time Market Signals & Shifts
Set up custom watchlists to receive automated, evidence-grounded executive digests whenever material signals or shifts occur across your tracked landscape.
