# John Hoctor

> John Hoctor is a Massachusetts-based engineer, repeat founder, and media-analytics executive who has spent roughly two decades making television and advertising data more useful. After roles at Navic Networks and Microsoft, he co-founded IntegralReach and Data Plus Math, sold both companies, and launched Newton Research in 2023 with longtime collaborators Matthew Emans and Steven Bennett. Newton trains specialized AI agents to carry out marketing-analytics workflows while keeping people in control and data inside customers' existing environments.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-founder at Newton Research
- **Organizations:** Newton Research, Data Plus Math, LiveRamp, IntegralReach, Rovi, Microsoft, Navic Networks, MIT
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** SB and SM in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led IntegralReach through its 2013 acquisition by Rovi., Co-founded and led Data Plus Math through its 2019 acquisition by LiveRamp for approximately $150 million., Built a career spanning addressable television, audience analytics, attribution, and agentic marketing analytics.

## Career timeline

- **1992-1996** — Studied mechanical engineering at MIT, earning SB and SM degrees; he later recalled work on early self-driving-car sensor systems and an autonomous robot.
- **Before 2008** — Served as vice president of business development and marketing at Navic Networks, which built advanced television advertising and set-top data systems.
- **2008** — Moved into Microsoft's television advertising business after Microsoft acquired Navic Networks.
- **2012** — Co-founded IntegralReach, a predictive analytics company focused on television audiences.
- **2013** — Rovi acquired IntegralReach; Hoctor became a senior leader in Rovi's analytics business.
- **2016** — Co-founded Data Plus Math with Matthew Emans to build faster, lower-cost television attribution and measurement.
- **2019** — LiveRamp acquired Data Plus Math for approximately $150 million; Hoctor became GM of Measurement and later advised LiveRamp.
- **2023** — Co-founded Newton Research with Matthew Emans and Steven Bennett to build an AI-powered virtual data scientist.
- **2024** — Announced a seed round of just over $5 million led by a syndicate including Bessemer Venture Partners, Greycroft, and LiveRamp Ventures.
- **2025** — Newton Research raised a $9 million Series A, bringing total funding to just over $14 million.
- **2026** — Newton participated in agent-assisted cross-platform media buying work with NBCUniversal, RPA, and FreeWheel; Hoctor also spoke at CES, on Marketecture, and at Cannes Lions.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led IntegralReach through its 2013 acquisition by Rovi.
- Co-founded and led Data Plus Math through its 2019 acquisition by LiveRamp for approximately $150 million.
- Built a career spanning addressable television, audience analytics, attribution, and agentic marketing analytics.
- Co-founded Newton Research and raised just over $14 million across seed and Series A financing by August 2025.
- Helped develop early autonomous systems and sensing projects while studying at MIT.
- Advocated for interoperable AI-agent standards including MCP, A2A, and AdCP in advertising.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Joined dentsu marketplace leader Emily Kennedy for a Cannes Lions fireside chat about connected, agentic media buying.
- **2026-04** — Appeared on Marketecture's Episode 168 to explain specialized agents, customer-controlled deployment, and multi-agent analytics workflows.
- **2026-01** — Newton Research joined NBCUniversal, RPA, and FreeWheel in an agent-assisted cross-platform premium-video buying proof of concept.
- **2026-01** — Appeared at CES on a session about agentic AI and the media business.
- **2025-10** — Published an opinion essay arguing that independent AI agents should interoperate across advertising platforms.
- **2025-08** — Newton Research announced an oversubscribed $9 million Series A co-led by Greycroft and Bessemer Venture Partners.

## Links

- Website: https://www.newtonresearch.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hoctor

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-hoctor
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26