Rokt: from Australian unicorn to global e-commerce leader

Founded in 2012 by Bruce Buchanan, the former Jetstar chief who scaled the airline from the ground up, Rokt was created to solve a key gap in the e-commerce market.

Rokt: from Australian unicorn to global e-commerce leader

August 13, 2025
Founded in 2012 by Bruce Buchanan, the former Jetstar chief who scaled the airline from the ground up, Rokt was created to solve a key gap in the e-commerce market.
Read Transcript

Founded in 2012 by Bruce Buchanan, the former Jetstar chief who scaled the airline from the ground up, Rokt was created to solve a key gap in the e-commerce market: making the transaction moment smarter, more personalised, and more profitable for retailers.

Today, Rokt is a founder-led, global technology leader powering billions of e-commerce transactions each year for clients including Uber, PayPal, Ticketmaster, Flight Centre and Disney. Its AI-driven “Rokt Brain” uses real-time transaction data to surface highly relevant offers natively within the checkout flow, generating engagement up to 10× higher than standard display ads and around 3× higher than social channels - without disrupting the shopping experience.

For e-commerce partners, Rokt unlocks incremental income, loyalty and engagement; for advertisers, it offers rare access to customers at the precise moment they are most likely to convert. This dual-sided value proposition is reinforced by strong network effects: as more retailers and advertisers join, the data pool deepens, relevancy increases, and switching costs rise.

The company’s recent acquisitions: mParticle (customer data infrastructure), Aftersell (cross-sell optimisation) and Canal (third-party inventory integration) have expanded Rokt’s capabilities beyond checkout optimisation into broader commerce ecosystems, enhancing its moat and diversifying revenue streams.

Rokt reported a revenue growth of over 40% year over year in 2024, reaching US$600 million, with this growth expected to continue this financial year.

HM1 first invested in Rokt in 2023 on the recommendation of Core Fund Manager TDM Growth Partners, viewing it as a high-conviction growth asset unavailable on public markets. A US$335 million secondary share sale was announced in early 2025 valuing the business at US$3.5 billion. Since that date, Rokt has significantly outperformed expectations and given this performance, we have made the decision to lift our holding value by approximately 30% to better reflect a true portfolio weighting.

For HM1 investors, Rokt offers scalable digital infrastructure exposure with strong AI leadership and accelerating M&A momentum. While we’re watching closely for execution risk around integration and competitive pressures in e-commerce personalisation, the company’s growth trajectory, founder-led discipline, and proven profitability position it well to deliver outsized returns as it transitions to public markets.

Further listening:

Founded in 2012 by Bruce Buchanan, the former Jetstar chief who scaled the airline from the ground up, Rokt was created to solve a key gap in the e-commerce market: making the transaction moment smarter, more personalised, and more profitable for retailers.

Today, Rokt is a founder-led, global technology leader powering billions of e-commerce transactions each year for clients including Uber, PayPal, Ticketmaster, Flight Centre and Disney. Its AI-driven “Rokt Brain” uses real-time transaction data to surface highly relevant offers natively within the checkout flow, generating engagement up to 10× higher than standard display ads and around 3× higher than social channels - without disrupting the shopping experience.

For e-commerce partners, Rokt unlocks incremental income, loyalty and engagement; for advertisers, it offers rare access to customers at the precise moment they are most likely to convert. This dual-sided value proposition is reinforced by strong network effects: as more retailers and advertisers join, the data pool deepens, relevancy increases, and switching costs rise.

The company’s recent acquisitions: mParticle (customer data infrastructure), Aftersell (cross-sell optimisation) and Canal (third-party inventory integration) have expanded Rokt’s capabilities beyond checkout optimisation into broader commerce ecosystems, enhancing its moat and diversifying revenue streams.

Rokt reported a revenue growth of over 40% year over year in 2024, reaching US$600 million, with this growth expected to continue this financial year.

HM1 first invested in Rokt in 2023 on the recommendation of Core Fund Manager TDM Growth Partners, viewing it as a high-conviction growth asset unavailable on public markets. A US$335 million secondary share sale was announced in early 2025 valuing the business at US$3.5 billion. Since that date, Rokt has significantly outperformed expectations and given this performance, we have made the decision to lift our holding value by approximately 30% to better reflect a true portfolio weighting.

For HM1 investors, Rokt offers scalable digital infrastructure exposure with strong AI leadership and accelerating M&A momentum. While we’re watching closely for execution risk around integration and competitive pressures in e-commerce personalisation, the company’s growth trajectory, founder-led discipline, and proven profitability position it well to deliver outsized returns as it transitions to public markets.

Further listening:

Disclaimer: This material has been prepared by Hearts & Minds Investments, published on Aug 13, 2025. HM1 is not responsible for the content of linked websites or content prepared by third party. The inclusion of these links and third-party content does not in any way imply any form of endorsement by HM1 of the products or services provided by persons or organisations who are responsible for the linked websites and third-party content. This information is for general information only and does not consider the objectives, financial situation or needs of any person. Before making an investment decision, you should read the relevant disclosure document (if appropriate) and seek professional advice to determine whether the investment and information is suitable for you.

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