Microsoft Invest

Enterprise-grade DSP with deep programmatic roots, positioned as a premium open-web buying platform within Microsoft's advertising ecosystem before its discontinuation

Microsoft Invest was the demand-side platform (DSP) offered under Microsoft's advertising technology umbrella, tracing its lineage directly from AppNexus — one of the most influential independent ad tech companies ever built. AppNexus was founded in 2007 and became a dominant force in programmatic advertising infrastructure, operating both a DSP and a supply-side platform (SSP). AT&T acquired AppNexus in 2018 and rebranded it as Xandr, positioning it as the centerpiece of its advanced advertising ambitions. Microsoft then acquired Xandr from AT&T in 2021, and subsequently rebranded the DSP product as Microsoft Invest, integrating it into its broader Microsoft Advertising portfolio. During its operational life, Microsoft Invest provided advertisers, agencies, and trading desks with sophisticated tools for programmatic media buying across display, video, native, and connected TV (CTV) inventory. The platform offered advanced audience targeting, real-time bidding (RTB), deal management, and analytics capabilities, leveraging Microsoft's first-party data assets including LinkedIn and Microsoft 365 signals. It competed directly with major DSPs such as The Trade Desk, Google DV360, and Amazon DSP, and was particularly valued by enterprise agencies and sophisticated programmatic buyers for its open-web reach and customizable bidding logic. Microsoft announced the sunset of Microsoft Invest, effective February 28, 2026, citing a strategic decision to concentrate its advertising investments on Microsoft Advertising's native search and audience products rather than maintaining a standalone open-web DSP. The closure marked the end of a product lineage spanning nearly two decades of ad tech history, from AppNexus's pioneering role in building programmatic infrastructure through the Xandr era and into Microsoft's ownership. Customers were directed to migrate to alternative DSP solutions, and the Xandr Monetize SSP continued to operate separately under Microsoft's ad tech portfolio.