Outbrain

What Outbrain does

Outbrain (now operating as Teads Holding Co. following its February 2025 merger with Teads) is an advertising technology company that operates a two-sided platform connecting advertisers with publishers across the Open Internet. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York, the company serves advertisers seeking performance-based customer acquisition (through Outbrain Amplify and the Outbrain Direct Response sub-brand) and publishers seeking to monetize content recommendations (through Outbrain Engage). Following the $1 billion acquisition of Teads from Altice, the combined entity reaches over 2 billion consumers monthly across 55+ countries, adding omnichannel video and CTV capabilities to the legacy native recommendation business. Altice holds a 42% stake in the merged company, which is now privately held after having been publicly traded on NASDAQ from 2021 until the merger.

The platform is built on proprietary recommendation algorithms, predictive AI technology, and bid automation that drive campaign optimization across CPC, CPM, CPCv, and vCPM pricing models. Technology integration is delivered via APIs, JavaScript SDKs, header bidding wrappers, and SSP connections, with complementary partnerships with LiveRamp (identity resolution) and MaxMind (geolocation). Certifications include GDPR and CCPA compliance, JICWEBS DTSG Brand Safety, and NAI membership, supporting brand-safe, privacy-conscious advertising at global scale.

Revenue is generated primarily through performance advertising fees from advertisers and revenue-share payments with publishers; combined 2024 revenue is projected at $660–680 million. Distribution is multi-channel: direct sales with dedicated account management for enterprise advertisers, a self-serve dashboard for mid-market buyers, programmatic/agency access, and a Partners Program for referral and technology integrations. Named customers include EcoFlow, TORRAS Global, and hipto, spanning consumer electronics, accessories, and marketing technology, with a long-tail of affiliate and search-buyer advertisers on the demand side and a global publisher base on the supply side.

Name

Outbrain

Legal name

Teads Holding Co.

Website

https://outbrain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Outbrain (now Teads Holding Co.) is an advertising technology platform serving advertisers and publishers on the Open Internet. It offers performance marketing via CPC/CPM pricing, proprietary recommendation algorithms, predictive AI, and omnichannel video/CTV capabilities following its 2025 acquisition of Teads.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Advertising Technology (Native / Programmatic Ad Tech)

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Media Buying Agencies (541830), Media Representatives (541840), Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP) (MPAAACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Short-Form Video Advertising & Brand Collaboration Platforms (MPACAHAH)

Keywords

• Native advertising platform
• Content recommendations
• Performance marketing
• Programmatic advertising
• Publisher monetization

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Performance Advertising (Amplify): Cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), cost-per-completed view (CPCv), and cost-per-thousand viewable impressions (vCPM) based advertising services for advertisers wanting to reach audiences on partner publisher sites.
2. Publisher Revenue Share (Engage): Revenue sharing with publishers who implement Outbrain's recommendation technology on their websites. Partners are paid based on traffic and engagement metrics generated through the technology.
3. Native Advertising: Performance-based native advertising solutions that appear as content recommendations within publisher networks, charged on various performance metrics including CPC, CPM, and CPA models.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Outbrain operates a native advertising platform that connects advertisers with audiences through content recommendations placed on a global network of publisher websites, priced on performance-based models (CPC, CPM, CPCv, vCPM). It supplies publishers with recommendation widgets (Teads Engage) to monetize their content and advertisers with a demand-side platform (Teads Amplify) and performance marketing solutions (Outbrain Direct Response), now combined with Teads omnichannel video capabilities to deliver full-funnel advertising across more than 2 billion consumers monthly.

Product overview

Outbrain is an advertising technology company operating as part of the merged Teads entity following its $1 billion acquisition of Teads in February 2025. The product portfolio centers on two core platforms: Outbrain Amplify for advertisers seeking content discovery and recommendation-based advertising, and Outbrain Engage for publishers wanting to monetize their content through recommendation widgets. Performance-focused advertising is delivered through Outbrain Direct Response (ODR), a subsidiary brand utilizing predictive AI and advanced targeting. The Teads acquisition expanded capabilities to include omnichannel video advertising and connected TV (CTV), enabling the combined entity to offer full-funnel advertising solutions spanning performance marketing to upper-funnel branding across over 2 billion consumers monthly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Teads Amplify (formerly Outbrain Amplify) Advertiser platform for placing native content recommendations across Outbrain's publisher network. Supports CPC, CPM, CPCv, and vCPM pricing models, campaign management, optimization, and reporting, and is offered both self-service and as a managed service. Designed for brands, performance marketers, and agencies seeking measurable ROI on open-web inventory.
• Teads Engage (formerly Outbrain Engage) Publisher-facing platform that enables online publishers and media owners to implement recommendation widgets on their sites via JavaScript, API, and SDK, monetizing traffic through revenue share and recirculating readers to increase page views. Supports header bidding and SSP integrations.
• Outbrain Direct Response (ODR) Performance marketing and direct response advertising solution operating as a sub-brand/subsidiary of the new Teads. Uses predictive AI for advanced targeting, bid automation to optimize spend, and deep contextual insights to maximize ROI for affiliate marketers, search buyers, and performance-driven advertisers.
• Teads Omnichannel Video Platform Global omnichannel video advertising platform acquired by Outbrain in February 2025, offering video advertising and connected TV (CTV) capabilities for upper-funnel branding. The combined entity reaches over 2 billion consumers monthly and serves advertisers across CTV and digital video channels.
• Teads Amplify API / Outbrain Programmatic Access (OPA) Programmatic API access for advertisers and partners to integrate Outbrain's campaign management, reporting, targeting, header bidding, and SSP capabilities directly into their own technology stacks. Implementation options include JavaScript, API, and SDK for website and mobile application integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• +35% Time Spent vs. Social
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TeadscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024Outbrain acquired Teads, a global omnichannel video platform, for approximately $1 billion. The merger combines Outbrain's performance solutions with Teads's omnichannel video capabilities to create a comprehensive advertising platform reaching over 2 billion consumers. The combined entity operates under the Teads brand.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Taboola: The closest direct competitor to Outbrain, Taboola operates a content discovery and native advertising platform serving both publishers and advertisers with recommendation-driven ads across the open internet. Both companies pioneered the content recommendation advertising category and compete head-to-head on publisher supply and advertiser demand.
• The Trade Desk: Leading independent programmatic DSP for buying digital advertising across display, video, CTV, audio, and native. Competes with Outbrain for advertiser spend on the open internet, particularly through its open-internet programmatic offerings and CTV expansion.
• Magnite: The largest independent omnichannel SSP following the merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria, providing programmatic ad monetization for publishers across CTV, online video, and display. Directly comparable as a sell-side platform serving similar publisher customers and competing for the same advertiser budgets.
• PubMatic: Independent sell-side advertising platform providing programmatic monetization for publishers across CTV, online video, mobile, and display. Competes with Outbrain Engage on the publisher/supply side and operates in adjacent advertiser demand infrastructure.
• Criteo: Performance-focused retargeting and commerce media platform operating in display, video, and CTV. Directly comparable on performance/retargeting DSP capabilities and serves similar e-commerce and direct-response advertisers as Outbrain Direct Response.
• Sharethrough: Independent omnichannel native advertising platform combining supply-side technology with buyer tools for in-feed native ad placements. Direct competitor in the native advertising category that Outbrain pioneered.
• Nativo: Native advertising platform focused on premium publisher placements and brand-friendly content-native ad formats. Competes directly with Outbrain Amplify for advertiser spend on publisher-direct and native inventory.
• TripleLift: Programmatic native advertising SSP now owned by Vista Equity, providing native ad supply for publishers and demand tools for buyers. Directly comparable as a native-focused ad tech competitor with overlapping advertiser and publisher customers.

Broad incumbents

• Google Ad Manager: Google's publisher ad server and SSP dominates the open-internet ad exchange market. While much broader than Outbrain, it competes head-to-head on publisher monetization and advertiser programmatic buying with vastly greater scale and first-party data advantages.
• Yahoo (Verizon Media / Yahoo DSP): Yahoo operates the Verizon Media/Yahoo DSP for programmatic native and display advertising, as well as Gemini for native. A broader incumbent that competes in overlapping categories including native advertising and programmatic buying.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/outbrain
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/outbrain
• Xx.com/Outbrain

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds10 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A9 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Outbrain