# The Trade Desk

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/the-trade-desk  
**Vertical:** Media & Publishing  
**Subcategory:** Demand-Side Platform  
**Tier:** Leader  
**Website:** thetradedesk.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

$2.45B revenue 2024 (+26% YoY); Q2 2025 $694M (+19% YoY); Q3 2025 guidance $717M+ (+18% YoY); 25.8% DSP market share; 19% US programmatic market; $12B ad spend 2024; 95% client retention

## Company Overview

The Trade Desk was founded in 2009 by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, veterans of AdECN (acquired by Microsoft), to build a demand-side platform giving media buyers transparent, data-driven access to programmatic advertising inventory across the open internet. The company operates as a buy-side-only platform — it does not own any media inventory — eliminating the conflict of interest inherent in platforms serving both buyers and sellers. This independence became a core differentiator as advertisers sought platforms they could trust to optimize spend without competing business motives.\n\nThe platform enables media buyers to plan, execute, and measure campaigns across display, video, CTV, audio, native, and DOOH channels in a single interface. Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), an open-source identity framework adopted by hundreds of publishers, provides cookie-free targeting. The Kokai AI system applies machine learning to bidding, audience selection, and creative optimization in real time. The Trade Desk holds approximately 25.8% of the DSP market and 19% of total US programmatic advertising.\n\nThe Trade Desk reported $2.45 billion in revenue for 2024 (+26% YoY) and $694 million in Q2 2025 (+19% YoY). The company trades on Nasdaq as TTD with a market cap exceeding $12 billion. As connected TV advertising accelerates and advertisers shift programmatic budgets from walled gardens to the open internet, The Trade Desk is positioned as the independent operating system for omnichannel programmatic media buying at enterprise scale.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is The Trade Desk?
The Trade Desk The Trade Desk serves advertisers as programmatic advertising platform, NASDAQ $50B valuation, following 2009 Jeff Green founding in Ventura

### When was The Trade Desk founded?
The Trade Desk was founded in 2009 in Ventura, California. Jeff Green and Dave Pickles (ex-Microsoft) founded The Trade Desk in Ventura in 2009 as independent programmatic advertising demand-side platform with real-time bidding for CTV and open internet, launched Unified ID 2.0 for privacy reaching NASDAQ $50B as alternative to walled gardens.

### What are The Trade Desk's major milestones?
The Trade Desk's history includes several key milestones: 2009: The Trade Desk Founded Ventura 2016: IPO NASDAQ:TTD 2021: Unified ID 2.0 Launch 2024: Programmatic Ad Platform $50B

### What is The Trade Desk's mission?
The Trade Desk's mission is to Media buying is a science.

### Who founded The Trade Desk?
The Trade Desk was founded by Jeff Green. Ex-Microsoft ad tech executives who built independent DSP

### What products or services does The Trade Desk offer?
The Trade Desk The Trade Desk serves advertisers as programmatic advertising platform, NASDAQ $50B valuation, following 2009 Jeff Green founding in Ventura

### Who uses The Trade Desk?
The Trade Desk The Trade Desk serves advertisers as programmatic advertising platform, NASDAQ $50B valuation, following 2009 Jeff Green founding in Ventura

### What is Unified ID 2.0 and why does The Trade Desk believe it's the future of digital advertising identity?
Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) is an open-source, email-based advertising identifier that The Trade Desk developed as a privacy-preserving alternative to third-party cookies — consumers' email addresses are hashed and encrypted, then passed through the advertising ecosystem to enable audience targeting and measurement without relying on browser cookies. UID2 is designed to give consumers transparency and control (they can opt out through a universal opt-out mechanism) while maintaining the addressability that advertisers need to target specific audiences across the open internet. The Trade Desk donated UID2 to the open-source community as a neutral industry standard, and it has been adopted by major SSPs, data providers, and publishers including The Washington Post and ESPN.

## Tags

b2c, media, public, gaming

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*