Published: June 16, 2026 at 8:34 am
Rob Hall, co-founder of Playground xyz, the attention-based advertising platform acquired by GumGum in 2021, has announced his return to adtech with the launch of Parallel.
Launched in Sydney and London, Parallel allows brands to quantify and optimise resonance – the fit between a customer, an ad and the content they’re viewing – across live advertising campaigns.
Hall describes Parallel’s technology as ‘a virtual focus group that happens before every impression you buy’.
Like Playground xyz, Parallel is backed by Sydney-based venture capital firm Shearwater Capital, which has invested AU$4m in the new venture as part of a seed round.
Parallel launches with a six-strong team based in London and Sydney. In London, Hall is joined by Ben Dimond (UK managing director) and Billy Gittins (senior sales lead).