Microsoft

Second-largest search advertising platform globally and a major full-stack programmatic AdTech provider, competing with Google and Meta in digital advertising

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology conglomerate founded in 1975, operating across cloud computing, productivity software, gaming, professional networking, and digital advertising. In the AdTech ecosystem, Microsoft operates Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads), a major demand-side and search advertising platform that competes directly with Google Ads, offering search, native, display, and video advertising across the Microsoft Search Network, MSN, Outlook, and partner properties. The 2016 acquisition of LinkedIn further expanded Microsoft's advertising capabilities, giving it access to one of the world's most valuable professional audience datasets for B2B targeting. Microsoft's advertising business is bolstered by its acquisition of Xandr (formerly AppNexus) from AT&T in 2021, which added a sophisticated programmatic advertising marketplace, supply-side platform (SSP), and demand-side platform (DSP) to its portfolio. Xandr's Invest DSP and Monetize SSP are now integrated into Microsoft's broader advertising stack, enabling enterprise-grade programmatic buying and selling at scale. This positions Microsoft as a full-stack AdTech provider capable of serving advertisers, agencies, and publishers across the open web. With its vast first-party data assets spanning Windows, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Xbox, and Bing, Microsoft offers advertisers unique audience signals and targeting capabilities that are increasingly valuable in a cookieless advertising environment. The company's global scale, enterprise relationships, and cross-platform identity solutions make it a formidable competitor in the digital advertising market, which generates tens of billions in annual advertising revenue.

• 1975Founded