Ten years after dataxu raised its first round (and $87.5 million later), the demand-side platform has found its forever home.
Roku intends to acquire the company for $150 million, a move that gives it the tech it needs to launch an open marketplace similar to what Xandr is doing with AppNexus. Because dataxu plugs into other demand sources, advertisers might have the opportunity to use the Roku identifier to inform buys in the greater ecosystem.
We say “might” because, as with all things ad tech, the best place to store predictions is in the “We’ll See” cabinet.
This week on The Big Story, the team looks at what Roku gains from the deal, what dataxu gets and how these developments affect the industry.
Because it’s all super cool, right? Except there’s always the risk that this type of acquisition will end up closing off the industry more. If everyone has a marketplace – Xandr, soon dataxu and others on the way – isn’t that just code for multiple walled gardens?
As our own Alison Weissbrot points out in this episode: “Yes, you have these big platforms offering their data … but when you have five or six marketplaces, it’s a lot harder for buyers and frequency capping will be a lot more difficult.”
Also in this episode, we look at Xandr’s purchase of the linear supply-side platform Clypd from RTL Group. We’ll explain what Clypd is and why Xandr – which already owns an SSP – bought it.
“Just [as] with Dataxu, WarnerMedia is doing this to gain visibility and access with broadcasters who might not cut deals directly with them,” said AdExchanger’s James Hercher.
So, is Clypd just one big Trojan horse? Tune in to find out.
