# Tom Pachys

> Tom Pachys is the co-founder and CEO of EX.CO, a Disney-backed video technology and monetization platform used by publishers including Hearst, CBSi, Time, Nasdaq, and VICE. He started building websites at 12, served in an elite Israeli intelligence-technology unit, was an early leader at SundaySky, and co-founded the machine-learning startup Whimado before co-founding Playbuzz in 2012, which he rebranded into EX.CO in 2019. He now leads roughly 160 people worldwide, betting that AI and supply-path optimization can rescue the economics of online video for the open web.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at EX.CO
- **Organizations:** EX.CO, Playbuzz, Whimado, SundaySky, Israeli Defense Forces
- **From:** Israel
- **Nationality:** Israeli
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (Reichman University)
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled EX.CO into a video technology platform trusted by publishers including Hearst, CBSi, Time, Nasdaq, The Arena Group, and VICE Media, Secured backing from The Walt Disney Company, Saban Ventures, Viola Group, 83North, and Firstime Ventures, Raised more than $65 million in total funding, including a Series C

## Career timeline

- **~1990s** — Builds his first website at age 12
- **pre-2011** — Serves in an elite technology intelligence unit within the Israeli Defense Forces
- **2010-2011** — Early employee at SundaySky, rising to Director of Professional Services and Products
- **2011** — Co-founds and leads machine-learning startup Whimado as Co-Founder and CEO
- **2012** — Co-founds Playbuzz in Tel Aviv with Shaul Olmert
- **2019** — Leads the rebrand of Playbuzz into EX.CO, 'the experience company'
- **2022** — EX.CO acquires AI/ML content-recommendation company Bibblio
- **2023** — Launches next-generation video platform with AI-driven recommendations and premium video library
- **2024** — Unveils LLM-based video recommendation engine for digital publishers
- **2025** — At CES, discusses expanding EX.CO's ad server into new channels including CTV and DOOH

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled EX.CO into a video technology platform trusted by publishers including Hearst, CBSi, Time, Nasdaq, The Arena Group, and VICE Media
- Secured backing from The Walt Disney Company, Saban Ventures, Viola Group, 83North, and Firstime Ventures
- Raised more than $65 million in total funding, including a Series C
- Led the Playbuzz-to-EX.CO rebrand and pivot from viral quiz publisher to monetization-first video infrastructure
- Acquired Bibblio and integrated LLM capabilities into a recommendation engine credited with lifting publisher revenue by up to 17%
- Grew the company to roughly 160 employees across multiple countries

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — At CES 2025, discussed expanding EX.CO's ad server into new channels such as CTV and DOOH.
- **2024** — EX.CO unveiled an LLM-based video recommendation engine for digital publishers, reporting results that surpassed its previous best-practice ML models.
- **2023** — Launched a next-generation video platform combining interactive data, premium video library, and AI recommendations.

## Links

- Website: https://ex.co
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-pachys
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ExCoPlatform
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/excoplatform/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tom-pachys
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-08