Passendo
Passendo is a Copenhagen-based email advertising technology company, founded in 2016, that provides an ad server, ad exchange, DSP, and direct-to-inbox product for monetizing newsletter inventory across B2B and B2C publishers, sales houses, and online platforms globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCopenhagen, Denmark
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Passendo does
Passendo ApS is a Copenhagen-based email advertising technology company founded in 2016 by Andreas Jürgensen and Anders Rantzau Rasmussen. The company operates a dedicated email ad tech platform — including the Passendo Ad Server, the Emperor next-generation ad server, the Passendo Ad Exchange, the Passendo DSP, and the PUSH by Passendo direct-to-inbox product — purpose-built for monetizing newsletter inventory at a time when general-purpose ad servers did not address email. The platform integrates with 40+ Email Service Providers and supports native, display, and dynamic ad formats priced on CPM, CPC, and CPA models, with first-party subscriber data powering audience targeting and non-bot detection for impression quality.
The company serves B2B publishers, B2C publishers, sales houses (such as audienzz AG and IQ Digital), online platforms and marketplaces (such as Zoopla), and brands advertising into newsletter inventory. Customer outcomes reported in case studies include 454% revenue growth (IDG Sweden), $750K added revenue (Healio), 95%+ fill rates (audienzz), and 80-85% campaign management time savings (Ebner Media Group, Northstar Travel Group), evidencing broad-based operational and revenue impact across enterprise media groups.
Passendo generates revenue through three streams: subscription-based platform fees from publishers that scale with email impression volumes, transaction fees from the Ad Exchange that fills unsold inventory, and advertising fees from advertisers using the DSP and PUSH products. The company has raised a disclosed €2.3 million pre-Series A round in December 2021 led by Newion and FirstPartyCapital, with earlier investment from People Ventures in 2019. Operations span a Copenhagen headquarters (Nannasgade 28) and a Belgrade engineering office, serving 4,000+ media groups across every continent except Antarctica. The company is privately held and remains under founder control.
Passendo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Passendo
- Legal name
- Passendo ApS
- Website
- https://passendo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Passendo is a Copenhagen-based email advertising technology company, founded in 2016, that provides an ad server, ad exchange, DSP, and direct-to-inbox product for monetizing newsletter inventory across B2B and B2C publishers, sales houses, and online platforms globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Passendo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Email Advertising Technology (Ad Tech)
- NAICS
- Direct Mail Advertising (54186), Advertising Agencies (54181), Media Buying Agencies (54183)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marketing Automation Platforms & Services (BPAFAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Email Marketing Services (Campaign Strategy, Design, Deliverability) (MPAAAIAA), Email Marketing Services (Campaigns, Deliverability, Lifecycle) (BPAFAKAB), Marketing Technology, AdTech & MarTech Services (BPAFAAAN)
Keywords
Where Passendo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Copenhagen
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Passendo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Publisher Platform/Subscription Fees: Passendo charges publishers a platform fee based on email impression volumes with a minimum monthly commitment. Pricing scales with volume - the more impressions served, the lower the CPM as publishers move into new pricing tiers. Includes small one-time onboarding/setup fee.
- Ad Revenue Share (Ad Exchange): For publishers using the ad exchange to fill unsold inventory, Passendo earns a commission by exchanging inventory with other publishers' ads, providing a hands-off monetization approach.
- DSP/Advertiser Fees: Passendo operates a DSP (Demand Side Platform) that allows advertisers to run programmatic campaigns across premium newsletter inventory, generating fees from advertiser spending on the platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Monthly | Volume-based pricing tiers |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ad server with direct sales |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Exchange for unsold inventory |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Passendo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Passendo sells an email advertising technology platform that helps publishers monetize their newsletter inventory. Its core products include the Passendo Ad Server and Emperor (next-gen ad server) for managing direct-sold campaigns and programmatic delivery, the Passendo DSP for programmatic campaign management, PUSH by Passendo for direct-to-inbox advertising, and an Ad Exchange for filling unsold inventory. The platform integrates with 40+ Email Service Providers and supports native, display, and dynamic ad placements across CPM, CPC, and CPA pricing models.
Product overview
Passendo is an email advertising technology platform that helps publishers monetize their newsletter inventory. The core offering consists of the Passendo Ad Server (classic platform) and Emperor (next-gen ad server) for managing direct-sold campaigns and programmatic delivery, complemented by the Passendo DSP for programmatic campaign management. PUSH by Passendo serves as the advertiser-facing product for direct-to-inbox advertising with targeting capabilities. The Ad Exchange and Monetization Club provide additional monetization pathways for publishers with unsold inventory. The platform integrates with 40+ Email Service Providers (ESPs) and supports various ad formats including native, display, and dynamic placements across CPM, CPC, and CPA pricing models.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Passendo Ad Server: The core email ad server platform for managing direct-sold campaigns, programmatic deals, and ad inventory for newsletter publishers.
- Emperor
- Passendo DSP
- PUSH by Passendo
Products and services
- Passendo Ad Server
Quantifiable outcome
- 454% revenue increase for IDG Sweden
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Passendo
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Passendo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature6 records
Passendo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- BoostrcoreStrategic partnership to unify ad management for publishers' high-value email inventory, allowing integrated management, forecasting, and execution of email and display advertising campaigns
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Passendo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Outbrain: Outbrain is a large native/content-discovery advertising platform serving premium publishers, representing a broad incumbent that competes for the same publisher ad budgets Passendo targets.
- The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is a leading DSP that could enter or expand into email/newsletter inventory buying, representing a potential platform-level competitor to Passendo's DSP and ad exchange.
- Taboola: Taboola is a major content-discovery and native advertising network for publishers, competing as a broad incumbent for publisher monetization budgets that Passendo also addresses.
Emerging players
- beehiiv: beehiiv is a newsletter platform with built-in monetization and ad network features (Beehiiv Ad Network), partially competing with Passendo's publisher-side monetization stack.
- Substack: Substack is a newsletter publishing platform that increasingly competes for publisher mindshare and offers monetization tools that overlap with Passendo's newsletter monetization focus.
Direct peers
- Paved: Paved runs a newsletter advertising marketplace connecting advertisers with newsletter publishers, overlapping with Passendo's PUSH by Passendo advertiser-facing offering.
- Sailthru (CM Group): Sailthru provides enterprise email marketing and personalization platforms for publishers and retailers, overlapping with Passendo's email marketing technology and campaign management capabilities.
- LiveIntent: LiveIntent operates an email advertising exchange and identity resolution platform connecting publishers and advertisers — the closest direct competitor to Passendo in email-native ad tech.
- Jeeng: Jeeng (formerly PowerInbox) provides newsletter monetization and personalized content recommendation tools for publishers, directly overlapping with Passendo's email ad-serving and monetization offerings.
- Iterable: Iterable is a cross-channel marketing platform with strong email capabilities for B2C publishers and brands, competing for the same email-driven customer engagement budgets as Passendo.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Passendo social profiles
Digital presencePassendo compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Passendo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Passendo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Passendo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Passendo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Passendo
What does Passendo do?
Passendo sells an email advertising technology platform that helps publishers monetize their newsletter inventory. Its core products include the Passendo Ad Server and Emperor (next-gen ad server) for managing direct-sold campaigns and programmatic delivery, the Passendo DSP for programmatic campaign management, PUSH by Passendo for direct-to-inbox advertising, and an Ad Exchange for filling unsold inventory. The platform integrates with 40+ Email Service Providers and supports native, display, and dynamic ad placements across CPM, CPC, and CPA pricing models.
Is Passendo a public or private company?
Passendo is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Passendo founded?
Passendo was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Passendo based?
Passendo is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does Passendo make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Publisher Platform/Subscription Fees are the primary driver. The others are ad Revenue Share (Ad Exchange) and DSP/Advertiser Fees.
Who are Passendo's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Outbrain, The Trade Desk and Taboola. Emerging players are beehiiv and Substack. Direct peers are Paved, Sailthru (CM Group), LiveIntent, Jeeng and Iterable.
Does Passendo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Passendo.
What industry is Passendo in?
Passendo's product category is Email Advertising Technology (Ad Tech). Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAFAC, Marketing Automation Platforms & Services, with a secondary code of MPAAAIAA, Email Marketing Services (Campaign Strategy, Design, Deliverability). Its NAICS code is 54186 and its SIC code is 7310.