This Company Runs the Stock Market for Ads—And It’s Growing Fast
Most people have never used The Trade Desk (TTD) directly—it’s a B2B software platform. But in the advertising world, it’s a heavyweight name.
TTD is essentially a software platform that helps advertisers and their agencies buy ad space across the internet in an automated, data-driven way. This process is known as programmatic advertising. TTD makes money by charging a 15–20% fee on the ad spend it processes.
Think of TTD Like a Stock Exchange—for Ads
Imagine you're a company wanting to show ads on websites or streaming apps. You could try negotiating with each site individually, or you could use a unified platform that lets you reach many of them at once—using real-time auctions to get the best spots at the best prices. The Trade Desk provides that unified platform.
But here’s the catch: TTD doesn’t work with Google, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), or Amazon. These are “walled gardens”—closed systems with their own advertising platforms. They don’t let third-party platforms like TTD access their precious user data or ad inventory. That makes sense—after all, it’s their data that powers their ad dominance.
So, if TTD doesn’t advertise on the biggest internet platforms, what’s the point?
The Open Internet Is Still a Big Market
Despite the dominance of Big Tech, there’s a massive world of advertising beyond them—websites, mobile apps, connected TVs (CTV), streaming audio, digital billboards, and more. These make up what’s called the open internet.
While Google, Meta, and Amazon control about 83% of global digital ad spend (from a projected $843 billion market in 2025), the remaining 17%—roughly $143 billion—is still up for grabs. That’s the market TTD targets. In 2024, TTD processed $12 billion in gross media value (GMV)—meaning there’s still a lot of headroom to grow.
CEO Jeff Green believes this TAM (total addressable market) could exceed $500 billion as more media becomes tradable through programmatic platforms, including CTV and retail media.