The Trade Desk

Leading independent demand-side platform globally, competing with Google DV360 and Amazon DSP

The Trade Desk is one of the world's largest independent demand-side platforms (DSPs), providing a self-service technology platform for ad buyers to create, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across display, video, audio, native, and connected TV (CTV) inventory. Founded by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, the company has established itself as a major player in programmatic advertising by maintaining independence from media owners and focusing on transparency and data-driven decision making. The platform serves agencies, advertisers, and other service providers, offering access to premium inventory across the open internet while leveraging first-party and third-party data for precise audience targeting. The Trade Desk has been particularly successful in the connected TV and streaming audio markets, positioning itself as a key infrastructure provider for the evolving digital advertising ecosystem. The company operates on a transparent pricing model, charging clients based on a percentage of their media spend. As a publicly-traded company, The Trade Desk has demonstrated consistent growth and profitability, distinguishing itself through its commitment to an open internet, publisher-friendly approach, and investments in identity solutions like Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) to address the deprecation of third-party cookies. The company serves as a critical intermediary in the programmatic advertising supply chain, connecting advertisers with publishers across global markets.