Cannes Lions week is one of those moments where the industry pauses to take stock, and asks: where are we actually headed? This year, that question feels more loaded than usual. The conversations happening on the Croisette this week – about data ownership, infrastructure trust, and what independence really means in a consolidating market – are ones Adstra has been preparing for.
We are heading into Cannes week with a significant run of news behind us. Here is what we have been building.
Databricks CustomerLake
We were named a launch partner for Databricks CustomerLake, a new Agentic CDP built natively on Databricks. Adstra’s Conexa Identity Network serves as the identity resolution layer within CustomerLake – putting best-in-class identity at the core of one of the most anticipated data infrastructure launches of the year.
As Adstra CEO Rick Erwin said: “Most enterprises still struggle with the same core problem: their identity layer doesn’t actually resolve the customer. Either the CDP can’t accurately connect identities, or the solution operates as a black box with limited transparency and control.” CustomerLake is built to change that.
Databricks Native App Marketplace
In addition to the CustomerLake launch, Adstra was included among the launch partners in Databricks’ Public Preview of Apps on Marketplace. Enterprise customers can now access Adstra’s data applications natively within their secure Databricks workspaces – a meaningful step toward making identity data more accessible inside the environments where enterprise teams are already working.
Manifest Identity Intelligence Partnership
Manifest selected Adstra as their Identity Intelligence Partner, citing our shared commitment to client control, data transparency, and audience-first growth. Manifest CEO Ross Shelleman framed it well: “Identity should empower brands, not lock them into a particular ecosystem.” That is exactly the principle we build to.
Named a “One to Watch” in Snowflake’s 2026 Modern Marketing Data Stack Report
We are proud to be recognized by Snowflake in their just-announced 5th Annual Modern Marketing Data Stack report. Being named a “One to Watch” in the Data and Identity category reflects the work our team has put into building an identity solution that is AI-ready, built for where the industry is going.
What We Are Focused On This Week
At Cannes, we are having conversations with brands, publishers, and partners who are actively re-evaluating their data stack, thinking carefully about where their identity infrastructure sits and what it means for their business long-term. A few themes are driving those conversations:
- Transparency and control as structural qualities, not buzzwords. Brands want real visibility into how identity is resolved, connected, and activated.
- Bringing identity to the data. The future of data infrastructure is not about forcing data into another environment, yet it is about bringing identity intelligence into the platforms and workflows enterprise teams already use.
- AI-ready identity infrastructure. As more marketing and customer systems become AI-enabled, the quality of the identity layer underneath matters more than ever. AI is only as trusted as the data foundation it runs on.
If you’re evaluating where your identity infrastructure should sit – and who it should be accountable to – that’s exactly the conversation we’re here for. Let’s talk.