M&A Timeline

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A scrollable timeline of AdTech industry events — acquisitions, IPOs, product launches, leadership changes. Built for understanding how today's landscape was shaped, year by year.

Showing 202 of 202 events.

2024

43 events

Dec 11
Albertsons cancels Kroger merger after regulatory challengesOther
Kroger→Albertsons
Nov 1
Perplexity launches advertising program for AI-powered searchProduct launch
Oct 15
Snap launches Sponsored Snaps full-screen ad formatProduct launch
Sep 12
Perplexity AI launches advertising platform with native sponsored questionsProduct launch
Sep
Applovin acquires Wurl for $430MAcquisition$430M
Aug 7
Mediaocean acquires InnovidAcquisition$500M
Mediaocean→Innovid
Jun
Integral Ad Science acquires Publica for CTV advertising verificationAcquisition$220M
May 29
Publicis Groupe acquires Influential for $500MAcquisition$500M
Publicis Groupe→Influential
May 21
TikTok launches TikTok Symphony AI creative suiteProduct launch
May 14
Roku launches Roku OneView platform for cross-screen measurementProduct launch
Apr 23
Google delays third-party cookie deprecationOther
Apr 10
Pinterest launches Performance+ automated campaign suiteProduct launch
Apr 2
Yahoo acquires Artifact AI recommendation engine from Instagram foundersAcquisition
Yahoo→Artifact
Apr 1
Yahoo acquires Artifact AI news app technologyAcquisition
Yahoo→Artifact
Apr
Uber Advertising launches Uber Ads Manager self-serve platformProduct launch
Mar 21
Reddit IPO values company at $6.4B with advertising focusIPO$6.4B
Mar
OpenAI launches advertising platform for ChatGPTProduct launch
Mar
Uber Advertising surpasses $1B in annual revenueOther
Mar
Albertsons Media Collective reaches $2B annual revenueOther
Mar
DoubleVerify acquires Scibids for AI-powered optimizationAcquisition$125M
DoubleVerify→Scibids
Mar
Attain acquires Swoop for healthcare advertising targetingAcquisition
Feb 28
Albertsons Media Collective launches shoppable TV with RokuPartnership
Feb 27
Paramount and Walmart partner on retail media integrationPartnership
Feb 20
Walmart acquires Vizio for $2.3B to boost advertising businessAcquisition$2.3B
Walmart→Vizio
Feb 1
Google launches Privacy Sandbox for AndroidProduct launch
Feb 1
Amazon Advertising surpasses $50B in annual revenueOther$50B
Feb
Albertsons and Kroger merger blocked by FTCOther
Kroger→Albertsons
Feb
Instacart Ads reaches $1B in annual revenueOther
Feb
Tubi launches Tubi Ads Manager self-serve advertising platformProduct launch
Feb
Instacart launches Instacart Storefront AdsProduct launch
Feb
Kroger and Instacart form strategic retail media partnershipPartnership
Feb
Colossus SSP raises $30M Series A for CTV advertisingFunding round$30M
Feb
Walmart Connect surpasses $3.4B in annual advertising revenueOther
Jan 16
Google launches Topics API as cookie replacementProduct launch
Jan 9
Sharethrough acquires District MAcquisition$85M
Sharethrough→District M
Jan 9
Instacart acquires Eversight for enhanced retail media capabilitiesAcquisition
Instacart→Eversight
Jan 9
Teads acquires GumGum for contextual advertising expansionAcquisition
Teads→GumGum
Jan 9
Nexxen (formerly Tremor International) rebrands and consolidates platformsOther
Jan
CVS Media Exchange launches programmatic self-serve platformProduct launch
Jan
Havas acquires Uncommon Creative StudioAcquisition
Jan
Albertsons Media Collective reaches $1.5B in annual advertising revenueOther
Jan
Amazon launches Amazon Ad Server (AAS)Product launch
Jan
Havas acquires Ekimetrics for data and AI capabilitiesAcquisition€200M
Havas→Ekimetrics

2023

97 events

Dec 5
Viant appoints Tim Vanderhook as CEOLeadership change
Dec
Kroger Precision Marketing reaches $1.3B in annual advertising revenueOther
Dec
Doordash acquires Bbot to expand restaurant advertising technologyAcquisition$150M
DoorDash→Bbot
Dec
Basis Technologies acquires Centro for $350MAcquisition$350M
Basis Technologies→Centro
Dec
The Trade Desk launches Galileo identity platformProduct launch
Nov 29
Amazon launches Sponsored TVProduct launch
Nov 14
GumGum raises $75M Series E for contextual intelligenceFunding round$75M
Nov 7
TikTok launches TikTok Creative Exchange marketplaceProduct launch
Nov 7
Omnicom Media Group launches OmniProduct launch
Nov
Walmart Connect partners with TikTok for shoppable adsPartnership
Nov
Scibids raises $22M Series B for AI bidding optimizationFunding round$22M
Nov
Skai raises $200M from Sequoia Capital and ICONIQ GrowthFunding round$200M
Nov
Stagwell acquires Code and Theory for digital transformationAcquisition
Stagwell→Code and Theory
Nov
Instacart launches Instacart Ads API for programmatic accessProduct launch
Nov
TransUnion acquires Neustar from VeriskAcquisition$3.1B
Oct 24
Attention raises $14M Series A for attention metricsFunding round$14M
Oct 17
PubMatic launches Activate for Publishers identity solutionProduct launch
Oct 5
IPG acquires Acxiom from InterpublicAcquisition$2.3B
Interpublic Group (IPG)→Acxiom Marketing Services
Oct
Albertsons Media Collective launches Clean Room solutionProduct launch
Oct
Epsilon announces CEO transition with Shawn Higa appointmentLeadership change
Oct
Spotify launches Spotify Advertising Marketplace for programmatic audioProduct launch
Sep 20
Index Exchange raises $100M growth roundFunding round$100M
Sep 19
Instacart IPO values company at $10B with advertising focusIPO$10B
Sep 12
GroupM launches Finecast in USProduct launch
Sep 12
TikTok launches TikTok Shop with integrated commerce advertisingProduct launch
Sep
Yahoo appoints Jim Lanzone as CEOLeadership change
Sep
Wunderkind raises $76M Series D for performance marketingFunding round$76M
Sep
Yahoo acquires Omnicom's Flycast Media for programmatic advertisingAcquisition
Yahoo→Flycast Media
Sep
Yahoo acquires HUMAN Security's MediaGuardAcquisition
Sep
Kroger Precision Marketing launches Private MarketplaceProduct launch
Sep
Albertsons acquires Fetch Rewards stake for retail mediaPartnership
Albertsons Companies→Fetch Rewards
Sep
StackAdapt raises $190M Series D at $1B+ valuationFunding round$190M
Sep
Tinuiti acquires Kepler Group for performance marketingAcquisition
Aug 22
Dstillery appoints Michael Beebe as CEOLeadership change
Aug 22
Amazon acquires Sizmek Ad Server from Vector CapitalAcquisition$200M
Amazon→Sizmek Ad Server
Aug
Target's Roundel rebrands to Target Media Network and launches retail media network expansionOther
Jul 18
DoubleVerify acquires OpenSlateAcquisition$150M
Jul 11
Publicis Groupe acquires Profitero for e-commerce and retail media capabilitiesAcquisition
Publicis Groupe→Profitero
Jul
Epsilon launches Epsilon Digital from agency restructuringOther
Jul
Horizon Media acquires Chalice Custom AlgorithmsAcquisition
Horizon Media→Chalice Custom Algorithms
Jul
Spotify acquires Findaway for audiobook advertisingAcquisition$123M
Spotify→Findaway
Jul
CVS Media Exchange launches as healthcare retail media networkProduct launch
Jun 28
Walmart Connect launches Walmart Connect APIProduct launch
Jun 26
Snowflake acquires Streamlit and launches Snowflake Media Data CloudProduct launch
Jun 14
Scopely launches Scopely MediaProduct launch
Jun 14
The Trade Desk launches KokaiProduct launch
Jun 14
Roblox launches immersive advertising platformProduct launch
Jun 13
Snowflake launches Advertising Data CloudProduct launch
Jun 13
Snap launches Snap Ads API for programmatic accessProduct launch
Jun
Pinterest launches Pinterest API for ShoppingProduct launch
Jun
Snap acquires Th3rd for AI-powered AR advertisingAcquisition
Snap Inc.→Th3rd
Jun
Snap acquires Th3rd and launches AR Enterprise ServicesAcquisition
Snap Inc.→Th3rd
Jun
Adform acquired by private equity consortiumAcquisition$800M
Oaktree Capital Management (leading consortium)→Adform
May 22
Yahoo launches Yahoo DSPProduct launch
May 17
Disney launches Disney Select programmatic advertising marketplaceProduct launch
May 16
Yahoo appoints Iván Markman as Chief Business OfficerLeadership change
May 15
Viant acquires AdelphicAcquisition$49M
Viant Technology→Adelphic
May 9
Yahoo launches Yahoo Ad Tech unified ad platformProduct launch
May 2
Yahoo and Taboola form 30-year exclusive advertising partnershipPartnership
May
Roku launches Roku Ads Manager self-serve platformProduct launch
May
Dun & Bradstreet acquires Lattice Engines for B2B advertisingAcquisition
Dun & Bradstreet→Lattice Engines
May
Yahoo launches Yahoo ConnectID identity solutionProduct launch
May
Permutive raises $75M Series D for first-party dataFunding round$75M
May
Walmart Connect surpasses $3B in annual advertising revenueOther
May
Foursquare acquires Placed for location-based advertising measurementAcquisition
Apr 25
Quotient Technology acquires UbimoAcquisition$45M
Apr 18
Amazon launches Amazon Marketing Cloud globallyProduct launch
Apr 18
LiveRamp launches Clean Room as a ServiceProduct launch
Apr 18
Experian acquires Tapad for cross-device identityAcquisition$280M
Experian→Tapad
Apr 12
Foursquare acquires Factual location data businessAcquisition$150M
Apr
Lyft Media launches Lyft Ads Platform for in-ride advertisingProduct launch
Apr
TripleLift launches TripleLift for Commerce retail media platformProduct launch
Mar 28
InfoSum raises $15M Series BFunding round$15M
Mar 15
Tapad acquires AdbrainAcquisition
Tapad→Adbrain
Mar 15
InMobi acquires AppsumerAcquisition
InMobi→Appsumer
Mar 15
Skai rebrands from Kenshoo and raises strategic investment from SequoiaFunding round
Mar 1
Nexxen acquires Amobee's DSP businessAcquisition
Mar 1
Taboola acquires Skimlinks for $415MAcquisition$415M
Taboola→Skimlinks
Mar
GroupM acquires Choreograph data and technology unitAcquisition
Mar
Innovid acquires TVSquared for $160MAcquisition$160M
Innovid→TVSquared
Mar
Axel Springer and KKR acquire Integral Ad Science stakeAcquisition$300M
Axel Springer and KKR→Integral Ad Science
Mar
DoorDash launches DoorDash Advertising with sponsored listingsProduct launch
Mar
Snowflake launches Media Data Cloud for advertisingProduct launch
Mar
Roku acquires Dataxu programmatic technology assetsAcquisition
Roku→Dataxu (programmatic technology assets)
Mar
CVS Health acquires Signify Health to expand healthcare retail mediaAcquisition$8B
Feb 15
Activision Blizzard Media launches in-game advertising divisionProduct launch
Feb 14
Scibids raises $14M Series A for AI-powered biddingFunding round$14M
Feb 1
Yahoo acquires Taboola's news advertising businessAcquisition$1B
Yahoo→Taboola (25% stake acquired by Yahoo); Yahoo's native advertising business (acquired by Taboola)
Feb 1
Pubmatic acquires MartinAcquisition$45M
PubMatic→Martin
Feb
Raptive formed from merger of AdThrive and Cafe MediaPartnership
Feb
Epsilon acquires Publicis Media's ConversantAcquisition
Epsilon→Conversant
Feb
Taboola acquires Connexity for $800MAcquisition$800M
Taboola→Connexity
Jan 31
Stagwell acquires Monks (formerly MediaMonks)Acquisition$400M
Stagwell Inc.→Monks (formerly MediaMonks)
Jan 10
Albertsons Media Collective launches as retail media networkProduct launch
Jan
Dentsu acquires Merkle from Dentsu Aegis Network integrationAcquisition$1.5B
Dentsu→Merkle
Jan
Equativ formed from Smart AdServer mergerOther
Jan
GroupM launches EssenceMediacom from Essence and MediaCom mergerOther

2022

16 events

Dec
Omnicom acquires Flywheel DigitalAcquisition$835M
Omnicom Group→Flywheel Digital
Nov 15
IAB releases Global Privacy Platform (GPP) specificationProduct launch
Nov 7
IronSource and Unity mergeAcquisition$4.4B
Unity Technologies→ironSource
Nov 3
Netflix launches advertising tier and ad platform globallyProduct launch
Nov 1
IRIS.TV partners with Magnite for contextual videoPartnership
Oct 25
Brave Browser launches Brave Search Ads with privacy-first modelProduct launch
Oct 18
Criteo pivots to commerce mediaProduct launch
Oct 14
Albertsons and Kroger plan $24.6B merger with major retail media implicationsAcquisition$24.6B
Kroger→Albertsons Companies
Sep 20
GroupM launches GroupM NexusProduct launch
Sep 1
TripleLift acquires 1plusXAcquisition
TripleLift→1plusX
Aug 31
Snap announces 20% workforce reduction and restructures advertising businessLeadership change
Aug 15
IAB Tech Lab launches ads.txt 1.1Product launch
Jul
Criteo acquires IPONWEBAcquisition$380M
Criteo→IPONWEB
Jun 14
Permutive raises $75M Series CFunding round$75M
Apr 1
Scopely acquires GSN GamesAcquisition$1B
Scopely→GSN Games
Jan 3
Tremor International acquires AmobeeAcquisition$239M
Tremor International→Amobee

2021

14 events

Dec 21
Microsoft acquires Xandr from AT&TAcquisition$1B+
Microsoft→Xandr
Nov 1
Roku acquires Nielsen's advanced video advertising businessAcquisition$150M
Roku→Nielsen Advanced Video Advertising Business
Sep 1
Skai acquires Kenshoo and Signals AnalyticsAcquisition
Sequoia Capital→Kenshoo
Sep
Equativ formed from merger of Smart AdServer, DynAdmic, and LiquidMAcquisition
Aug 26
Axel Springer and KKR acquire PoliticoAcquisition$1B
Axel Springer→Politico
Jul 1
Mediaocean acquires FlashtalkingAcquisition$500M
Mediaocean→Flashtalking
Jul
Outbrain completes SPAC merger and goes publicIPO$1.25B
CC Neuberger Principal Holdings II→Outbrain
Jun 30
Integral Ad Science IPOIPO$3.6B valuation
Jun
Taboola completes SPAC merger and goes publicIPO$2.6B
ION Acquisition Corp→Taboola
Apr 30
Magnite acquires SpotXAcquisition$1.17B
Magnite→SpotX
Apr 29
Digital Turbine acquires AdColonyAcquisition$400M
Digital Turbine→AdColony
Apr 19
DoubleVerify IPOIPO$5.3B valuation
Feb 10
Viant Technology IPOIPO$200M
Jan 4
Comcast acquires BeeswaxAcquisition
Comcast (FreeWheel)→Beeswax

2020

4 events

Dec 9
PubMatic IPOIPO$1.2B valuation
Dec 8
Adobe acquires Workfront for $1.5BAcquisition$1.5B
Adobe→Workfront
Apr 1
Rubicon Project and Telaria merge to form MagniteOther$1.5B (combined)
Rubicon Project→Telaria
Jan 2
LiveRamp acquires Data Plus MathAcquisition$150M
LiveRamp→Data Plus Math

2019

1 event

Aug 1
Salesforce acquires Tableau for $15.7BAcquisition$15.7B
Salesforce→Tableau

2018

3 events

Oct 9
Comcast acquires Sky for $39BAcquisition$39B
Comcast→Sky
Jun 25
AT&T acquires AppNexus for $1.6BAcquisition$1.6B
AT&T→AppNexus
Jun 14
AT&T closes Time Warner acquisition for $85.4BAcquisition$85.4B
AT&T→Time Warner

2017

2 events

Dec 15
Adobe acquires TubeMogul for $540MAcquisition$540M
Adobe→TubeMogul
Jun 13
Verizon acquires Yahoo for $4.48BAcquisition$4.48B
Verizon→Yahoo

2016

1 event

Jun 13
Microsoft acquires LinkedIn for $26.2BAcquisition$26.2B
Microsoft→LinkedIn

2015

2 events

Jul 24
AT&T acquires DirecTV for $48.5BAcquisition$48.5B
AT&T→DirecTV
May 12
Verizon acquires AOL for $4.4BAcquisition$4.4B
Verizon→AOL

2014

4 events

Nov 11
Yahoo acquires BrightRoll for $640MAcquisition$640M
Yahoo→BrightRoll
Aug 25
Amazon acquires Twitch for $970MAcquisition$970M
Amazon→Twitch
May 14
Acxiom acquires LiveRamp for $310MAcquisition$310M
Acxiom→LiveRamp
Feb 24
Oracle acquires BlueKai for $400MAcquisition$400M
Oracle→BlueKai

2013

4 events

Sep 9
Twitter acquires MoPub for $350MAcquisition$350M
Twitter→MoPub
Aug 8
AOL acquires Adap.tv for $405MAcquisition$405M
AOL→Adap.tv
Jul 23
Adobe acquires Neolane for $600MAcquisition$600M
Adobe→Neolane
Jun 20
Yahoo acquires Tumblr for $1.1BAcquisition$1.1B
Yahoo→Tumblr

2012

2 events

Aug 13
Salesforce acquires Buddy Media for $689MAcquisition$689M
Salesforce→Buddy Media
May 23
Oracle acquires Vitrue for $300MAcquisition$300M
Oracle→Vitrue

2011

2 events

Dec 13
Google acquires AdMeld for $400MAcquisition$400M
Google→AdMeld
Jan 28
Comcast acquires NBCUniversalAcquisition$30B
Comcast→NBCUniversal

2009

1 event

Sep 15
Adobe acquires Omniture for $1.8BAcquisition$1.8B
Adobe→Omniture

2007

4 events

May 18
Microsoft acquires aQuantive for $6BAcquisition$6B
Microsoft→aQuantive
May 17
WPP acquires 24/7 Real Media for $649MAcquisition$649M
WPP→24/7 Real Media
Apr 30
Yahoo acquires Right Media for $680MAcquisition$680M
Yahoo→Right Media
Apr 13
Google acquires DoubleClick for $3.1BAcquisition$3.1B
Google→DoubleClick

2000

1 event

Jan 10
AOL acquires Time Warner for $182BAcquisition$182B
AOL→Time Warner

1999

1 event

Aug 13
DoubleClick acquires NetGravity for $530MAcquisition$530M
DoubleClick→NetGravity

A note on coverage: ATDb tracks 202 M&A and industry events in this timeline (mostly 2020-2024). Coverage is denser for transactions that surface in trade press (Adweek, AdExchanger, Digiday) and lighter for sub-$50M deals + non-US activity. Spot something missing? Click the flag icon above to file it.