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Brief
Microsoft Curate

Microsoft Curate

Enables curators, data owners, and agencies to package premium programmatic supply with proprietary data into deal IDs, creating differentiated inventory products without owning media directly.

learn.microsoft.comNew York, New York, United StatesFounded 2022Parent: Microsoft Advertising

Last updated May 11, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team · Connections updated May 11, 2026

Industry
Programmatic Advertising / Supply Curation
Business Model
SaaS / Platform Fee
Target Market
Enterprise
Employee Count
10001+
Stock Symbol
MSFT
Parent Company
Microsoft Advertising
API Available
Yes
Market Position

Part of Microsoft Advertising's integrated programmatic stack; one of few enterprise-grade curation platforms with direct SSP integration and Microsoft's data and identity assets behind it.

Overview

Microsoft Curate is a programmatic advertising curation platform that sits within the Microsoft Advertising suite, originally developed by Xandr (formerly AppNexus) before Microsoft's acquisition of Xandr in 2022. It serves as the curation layer of the former Xandr product trio — alongside Microsoft Invest (DSP) and Microsoft Monetize (SSP) — allowing curators, data owners, and media companies to create curated marketplaces of premium supply with custom audience data layered on top. Curators can package inventory from publishers on the Microsoft Monetize SSP and make it available to buyers through deal IDs, enabling differentiated, data-enriched supply paths. In the AdTech ecosystem, Microsoft Curate occupies a distinct niche as a curation-as-a-service tool, empowering intermediaries such as data companies, agencies, and media owners to add value to supply without owning media directly. This positions it within the growing 'curation' trend in programmatic advertising, where third parties aggregate and enhance supply paths to offer buyers more targeted, brand-safe, or contextually relevant inventory. The platform connects tightly with Microsoft Monetize's publisher supply and Microsoft Invest's demand side, creating a vertically integrated stack. As of mid-2025, Microsoft has confirmed that Curate remains active and under ongoing maintenance and development, distinguishing it from Microsoft Curate for Commerce, which is a separate retail media-focused product. Microsoft Curate targets sophisticated AdTech operators — data companies, independent curators, and agencies — who want to build differentiated supply products at scale within the open programmatic ecosystem.

Products & Features

Curated Deals

Allows curators to assemble packages of publisher inventory from Microsoft Monetize and expose them to buyers via deal IDs in the open market or private marketplace.

Audience Data Layering

Enables curators to apply first-party or third-party audience segments on top of supply packages to create data-enriched deal products.

Supply Path Optimization (SPO) Tools

Provides curators with tools to build preferred, optimized supply paths for DSP buyers seeking quality and transparency.

Reporting & Analytics

Offers performance reporting and deal analytics to help curators monitor delivery, win rates, and revenue across curated packages.

Deal Management

Centralized interface for creating, managing, and distributing deal IDs to demand-side partners including Microsoft Invest and third-party DSPs.

Key Features
Curation of inventory from Microsoft Monetize SSP supply poolDeal ID creation and management for PMP and programmatic guaranteedFirst- and third-party audience data activation on curated supplyIntegration with Microsoft Invest DSP and third-party DSPsSupply path transparency and quality controlsReporting and analytics dashboard for curatorsAPI access for programmatic deal managementSupport for contextual and audience-based targeting overlays
Use Cases
Data companies monetizing audience segments by layering them on programmatic supplyAgencies building proprietary curated marketplaces for clientsMedia owners packaging their supply with data for premium deal distributionIndependent curators creating niche, brand-safe inventory productsSupply path optimization for buyers seeking transparent, quality inventoryPublishers extending their reach by enabling curation partners to sell their inventory
Customer Segments
Data and identity companiesIndependent curators and curation startupsHolding company and independent agenciesMedia owners and publishers seeking curation partnershipsAdTech intermediaries and resellers
Corporate history
  • 2022Founded
See integrations with Microsoft Curate (7)

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