Finance:Ad exchange

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Short description: Technology platform for buying and selling of advertising
Main article: Finance:Online advertising
A visualization of the real-time bidding market in programmatic advertising online
A visualization of the real-time bidding system in online display advertising.[1]

An ad exchange, in online advertising, is a technology platform that facilitates the buying and selling of media advertising inventory from multiple ad networks.[2] Prices for the inventory are determined through real-time bidding (RTB). The technology-driven method replaces the custom of negotiating prices on media inventory, a field beyond ad networks as defined by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB),[3] and by advertising trade publications. Ad tech companies operate ad exchanges as online marketplaces that digitally connect demand-side (DSP) ad buyers to supply-side (SSP) publishers.[4]

History

Before exchanges, publishers sold leftover ad space through advertising networks. These networks aggregated inventory from many sites, but didn't offer real-time bidding. In the early 2000s, Brian O'Kelley created the first ad exchange at Right Media, known as the Right Media Exchange, which officially launched in 2005.[5] Right Media's ad exchange built algorithms for predicting, budgeting, and pacing, which enabled real-time bidding (RTB). Yahoo acquired Right Media in 2007,[6] for $680 million, then shuttered the programmatic advertising DSP in 2014.[7]

Around the same time, Jason Knapp and Fabrizio Blanco were also working on the concept of RTB at Strategic Data Corp.[8] Knapp filed a patent on their RTB technology in 2006.[9] In 2007, Google acquired DoubleClick and its ad exchange, AdX (now Google Ad Manager).[10]

Demand-side platforms were designed to help advertisers bid for digital ad space in real-time across multiple exchanges. Supply-side platforms allow publishers to manage inventory before adding it to exchanges.[11] During the mid 2020s, DSPs increasingly shifted from programmatic advertising to agentic commerce.[12]

Ad exchanges

Major ad exchanges include:

  • Amazon DSP
  • AppLovin
  • Comcast FreeWheel
  • Google Ad Manager, formerly AdX
  • InMobi
  • Magnite Inc
  • Microsoft Advertising, (formerly Bing Ads; also acquired Xandr, formerly AppNexus)
  • OpenX
  • PubMatic
  • RTB House
  • Verve Brand+ Marketplace (formerly Smaato)
  • The Trade Desk
  • Yahoo

See also

References

  1. ↑ Diaz Ruiz, Carlos (2025-03-14). "The AdTech Ecosystem and Programmatic Advertising" (in en). Market-Oriented Disinformation Research: Digital Advertising, Disinformation and Fake News on Social Media (1 ed.). London: Routledge. p. 134. doi:10.4324/9781003506676. ISBN 978-1-003-50667-6. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003506676. 
  2. ↑ "How an ad is served with real-time bidding". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Glgi9RRuJs. 
  3. ↑ "IAB" (in en-US). http://www.iab.net/events_training/242821. 
  4. ↑ editorial. "The Evolution of SSPs & DSPs: Are We Headed for a Converged Future? - ExchangeWire.com" (in en-GB). https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2025/04/29/the-evolution-of-ssps-dsps-are-we-headed-for-a-converged-future/. 
  5. ↑ "Right Media Exchange: Leading Platform Talks Ad Trading, Liquidity, Global Reach And Brand Safety - ExchangeWire.com". https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2009/08/13/rightmedia-exchange-leading-platform-talks-ad-trading-liquidity-global-reach-and-brand-safety/. 
  6. ↑ Cross-Kovoor, Tim (2018-06-07). "Who Invented What in Ad Tech? – Part One" (in en-US). https://videoweek.com/2018/06/07/who-invented-what-in-ad-tech-part-one/. 
  7. ↑ Schiff, Allison (2015-01-09). "Yahoo Finally Pulls The Plug On Right Media Exchange" (in en-US). https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/yahoo-finally-pulls-the-plug-on-right-media-exchange/. 
  8. ↑ Cross-Kovoor, Tim (2018-06-07). "Who Invented What in Ad Tech? – Part One" (in en-US). https://videoweek.com/2018/06/07/who-invented-what-in-ad-tech-part-one/. 
  9. ↑ , Jason J. A. & Fabrizio Blanco"Auction For Each Individual Ad Impression" patent US20080162329A1, issued 2008-07-03
  10. ↑ O'Reilly, Lara. "This leaked 2007 DoubleClick pitch deck is set to play a central role in Google's blockbuster adtech antitrust trial" (in en-US). https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-deck-doubleclick-acquisition-pitch-google-adtech-antitrust-trial-2024-9. 
  11. ↑ "FAQ on programmatic advertising: Keeping up with automated ad buying" (in en). 2026-01-26. https://www.emarketer.com/content/faq-on-programmatic-advertising--keeping-up-with-automated-ad-buying. 
  12. ↑ "Top DSPs In 2026: Programmatic Trends & How To Stay Ahead | Adtelligent" (in en-GB). 2026-02-05. https://adtelligent.com/blog/top-dsps/. 



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