Equativ
Equativ is a Paris-based independent programmatic ad tech platform serving 50,000+ brands and 500,000+ publishers globally. Its Maestro platform unifies supply-side monetization, curation, retail media, CTV, and AI-driven decisioning across 19 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Equativ does
Equativ is an independent, Paris-headquartered programmatic ad tech company that operates an integrated ad marketplace serving both the demand-side and supply-side of digital advertising. The company's flagship platform, Maestro, unifies buy-side activation and sell-side monetization with adjacent capabilities including curation, retail media (via the Kamino Retail product), connected TV (CTV), creative enhancements, and the industry-first GreenPMPs inventory product. Equativ serves more than 50,000 brands and 500,000 publishers, executing more than 30,000 campaigns or deals annually, and operates from 19 countries with 750+ employees.
The company was founded in 2001 (originally as Smart AdServer, later rebranded to Equativ) and is privately held, with Bridgepoint as its institutional sponsor. Technology layers include the Agentic AI Suite and an MCP Server introduced in 2025, containerized AI decisioning built in partnership with Chalice AI, AI-driven creative enhancements, integration with identity providers (ID5), sustainability tooling (Scope3), and proprietary curation infrastructure that supports first-party data activation and cross-publisher frequency control.
The business model is that of a programmatic ad marketplace: Equativ monetizes publisher inventory through its SSP, activates advertiser demand via curation, retail media, and omnichannel buying tools, and earns take-rates on media spend flowing through the platform. Revenue is generated from brand direct, agency, and programmatic deal volumes, plus retail media and CTV channel inventory. The company participates in French Tech Next40 and has been recognized by Forrester Wave at a 5/5 rating. Its customer base spans global brand advertisers (Toyota, Disney, Nike, IKEA, McDonald's, KFC, Intel, Sephora, H&M, ESPN, Forbes), retailers (Walmart, Fnac Darty), agencies (IPG), publishers, and CTV/sports/data partners (Titan OS, Genius Sports, SofiaPulse, Scope3, Chalice AI).
Equativ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Equativ
- Legal name
- Equativ
- Website
- https://equativ.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Equativ is a Paris-based independent programmatic ad tech platform serving 50,000+ brands and 500,000+ publishers globally. Its Maestro platform unifies supply-side monetization, curation, retail media, CTV, and AI-driven decisioning across 19 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Equativ industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Ad Tech — Programmatic Advertising Platform
- NAICS
- Media Buying Agencies (541830), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- OOH Programmatic & Data/Measurement Services (Audience Analytics, Attribution) (MPAAAKAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creator Analytics, Measurement & Attribution Platforms (MPACABAJ)
Keywords
Where Equativ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Equativ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- SSP Monetization: Supply-side platform fees from publishers monetizing their inventory through programmatic auctions
- Programmatic Advertising Fees: Revenue from advertisers accessing premium inventory through DSP, curated deals, and guaranteed placements
- Retail Media Solutions: Platform fees and transaction fees from on-site and off-site retail media activation for retailers and brands
- AI Agentic Solutions: Premium pricing for AI-powered campaign automation and optimization features
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Enterprise pricing through sales team |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Equativ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Equativ operates a global independent end-to-end programmatic advertising platform, headlined by Maestro by Equativ, that serves advertisers, agencies, publishers, and retailers. The stack combines a supply-side platform (SSP), agentic AI-driven campaign planning and optimization, creative enhancement technology (Dynamic Captions, Sports Ticker, Shoppable Overlays), a cross-publisher curation layer, and retail media solutions spanning on-site (Kamino Retail) and off-site channels, supported by sustainability products such as GreenPMPs.
Product overview
Equativ is a global independent end-to-end media platform that operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core of the offering is Maestro by Equativ, an AI-powered unified platform that integrates campaign curation, activation, agentic AI planning and optimization, real-time data sync, and creative enhancement for both advertisers and publishers. The platform is complemented by several specialized modules and sub-brands: the Agentic AI Suite (for autonomous campaign automation), Creative Enhancements (for dynamic ad format optimization), the Curation Platform, the MCP Server (for agent-to-agent trading), and Addressability Solutions. For publishers, Equativ offers its SSP/Monetization Platform. The retail media offering spans two platforms — Kamino Retail (on-site, acquired September 2024) and Maestro for off-site — backed by partnerships with Walmart Connect and Titan OS. Sustainability is addressed through GreenPMPs (environmentally optimized PMPs developed with Scope3). The product portfolio serves over 50,000 brands globally across CTV, video, display, native, and retail media channels.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Maestro by Equativ: AI-powered advertising platform for campaign planning, curation, activation, and optimization
- GreenPMPs
- Sharethrough
- Kamino Retail
- DynAdmic
- Nowtilus
Products and services
- Maestro by Equativ AI-powered end-to-end media platform serving as Equativ's unified control layer for advertisers, agencies, and publishers. Combines campaign curation, activation, agentic AI planning and optimization, real-time data sync, and creative enhancement within a single interface across video, CTV, display, and native.
- GreenPMPs Environmentally optimized Private Marketplace Deals (PMPs) that automatically filter out high-emission inventory to reduce carbon footprint of digital campaigns in real time. Developed in partnership with Scope3, integrated on the Maestro platform; has generated over 5 billion impressions with 15,000+ brands delivering an average 25% carbon emissions reduction.
- SSP / Monetization Platform Supply-Side Platform for publishers providing revenue optimization and inventory monetization. Enables publishers to maximize inventory value across video, CTV, display, and native with flexibility and transparency, serving as an independent partner with header bidding and direct integrations.
- Curation Platform Media curation layer within Maestro that delivers campaign-level control, cross-publisher frequency management, first-party data activation, and premium inventory packaging. Supports programmatic guaranteed, PMPs, preferred deals, and open exchange buying workflows with AI-powered optimization and real-time insights.
- Retail Media Platform Omnichannel retail media solution spanning on-site and off-site activation. Combines Kamino Retail (on-site shoppable Sponsored Products, Display, and Video formats) with Maestro off-site capabilities, integrated with Walmart Connect and Retailink (Fnac Darty) for high-intent shopper targeting and closed-loop measurement.
- Kamino Retail Wholly-owned retail media platform acquired by Equativ in September 2024, offering on-site shoppable ad formats including Sponsored Products, Display, and Video. Won Ad Tech of the Year at Strat\u00e9gies Awards 2023 and serves retailers operating or expanding digital retail media networks.
- CTV Solutions Connected TV advertising solutions for both advertisers and publishers. Supports premium video and CTV campaign activation, Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), high-impact creative formats including shoppable ads, CTV ad serving for publishers, and full-screen home screen video ads via Titan OS partnership across 30M European households.
- Addressability Solutions Addressability and identity solutions enabling privacy-compliant audience targeting and activation in a post-cookie environment. Supports Utiq's consent-based identifier for cross-publisher frequency control, unified frequency deduplication across guaranteed deals, and first-party data activation.
- Media Services Managed service offering providing campaign execution support, strategic guidance, and hands-on optimization. Marketed as a differentiator in the programmatic landscape where execution quality drives outcomes; positioned for advertisers and agencies requiring hands-on campaign support.
- Creative Enhancements Proprietary AI-powered creative enhancement technology that automatically enhances standard ad formats (CTV, video, display, native) using existing creative assets. Includes Dynamic Captions (56% comprehension lift), Sports Ticker (19% higher ad completion), Countdown timers (43% recall improvement), and Shoppable Overlays, built on behavioral and cognitive research.
- Agentic AI Suite Suite of AI-powered programmatic agents within Maestro that automates campaign planning, optimization, reporting, and diagnostics. Cuts planning time by up to 40% through automation of manual reporting, configuration checks, and pacing adjustments; includes Media Planning Agent, supports agent-to-agent trading.
- MCP Server Model Context Protocol server enabling external AI assistants (such as Claude or custom GPTs) to connect to Maestro's inventory, data, and deal execution capabilities through a single conversational interface. Supports agent-to-agent trading across the programmatic ecosystem.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces campaign planning time by up to 40%
- +10 more outcomes
Companies that use Equativ
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Equativ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability10 records
Feature8 records
Equativ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- SofiaPulsecoreStrategic partnership combining SofiaPulse's agentic creative infrastructure with Equativ's Creative Enhancement technology for omnichannel advertising. Enables faster campaign creation, personalization, activation, and performance insights across the open web through AI-assisted creative recommendations.
- Titan OSflagshipIndustry-first programmatic CTV home screen video advertising partnership. Titan OS's independent CTV operating system reaches 30 million European households on Philips TVs, JVC TVs, and Sony Android TVs. Equativ provides programmatic access to premium home screen inventory with first-party audience data.
- Walmart ConnectflagshipEquativ selected as High Impact Creative partner within Walmart Connect's Connect Select Marketplace. Enables brands and agencies to activate high-impact shoppable formats through Walmart's retail media network, building on proven success with Retailink in Europe.
- Chalice AIcorePartnership to bring containerized AI decisioning into Equativ's curation and activation platform. Enables advertisers to activate Chalice's outcome-driven AI bidding models within Maestro, score and select impressions in real-time, and optimize toward specific business outcomes.
- Jake SkarzynskicoreVP of Retail Media Partnerships hired to oversee US go-to-market efforts for retail media offering
- Adrienne Ross MaihlecoreVP, Commercial Partnerships hired to focus on DSP and platform partnerships including Walmart and Amazon
- Scope3corePartnership for carbon emissions measurement in advertising. GreenPMPs use Scope3's emissions model to identify and filter high-emission inventory. Nearly 15,000 brands have adopted the solution, generating over 5 billion impressions with 25% average emissions reduction.
- Deutsche TelekomminorStrategic partnership for programmatic TV advertising services across Europe as referenced in Titan OS announcement
- Retailink (Fnac Darty Group)coreOmnichannel advertising network partnership with Fnac Darty Group, one of Europe's leading retailers of cultural goods. Shoppable Ads campaign through Retailink delivered 82% increase in clicks and 32% lift in ROAS.
- Kamino RetailflagshipStrategic acquisition of Kamino Retail, a retail media platform, to enhance Equativ's retail media capabilities and build on the Sharethrough merger. Kamino provides on-site retail media solutions to complement Equativ's existing off-site operations.
- SharethroughflagshipMerger with Sharethrough creating one of the largest independent ad marketplaces globally. Combined entity offers expanded programmatic advertising solutions with focus on video, CTV, and sustainable media practices. Sharethrough brings GreenPMPs and strong publisher relationships.
- 500,000+ Premium PublisherscorePublisher network accessible through Equativ's SSP platform, enabling advertisers to reach diverse audiences across the open web
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Equativ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Magnite: Largest independent omnichannel SSP, with deep CTV and online video inventory similar to Equativ's SSP/monetization business. Directly competes in programmatic supply, curation, and SSP services for publishers and advertisers.
- Pubmatic: Independent programmatic SSP and ad monetizer serving publishers and buyers with supply-path optimization, curation, and header bidding. Directly comparable to Equativ's SSP, curation, and AI-driven optimization offerings.
- The Trade Desk: Leading independent DSP competing against Equativ for advertiser spend, with strong CTV, retail media (Solimar), and curation capabilities. Comparable buyer-side platform with overlapping AI and omnichannel ambitions.
- Index Exchange: Independent global SSP focused on curation and premium publisher monetization. Closely comparable to Equativ's curation platform and SSP offering, particularly in CTV and video.
- Criteo: Independent ad tech company with retail media and audience targeting products overlapping Equativ's Kamino Retail and off-site retail media stack. Comparable in targeting, retail data activation, and omnichannel monetization.
Broad incumbents
- Google Ad Manager: Dominant ad exchange and SSP from Google controlling significant share of programmatic supply and demand. Equativ competes with it across SSP services, curation, and AI-driven optimization as the largest incumbent.
- Amazon DSP / Amazon Ads: Walled-garden DSP and retail media platform combining Amazon's first-party shopper data, inventory, and demand. Overlaps Equativ's retail media and DSP-like curation capabilities and sets the benchmark for retail media economics.
- FreeWheel (Comcast): TV-focused ad management and SSP within Comcast, offering programmatic video/CTV inventory and curation. Comparable to Equativ's CTV solutions and broader video monetization stack.
Emerging players
- Roku: CTV platform with OneView ad platform offering premium CTV supply, audience data, and shoppable formats. Compares to Equativ's CTV home-screen partnership (Titan OS) and CTV ad-server capabilities.
Others
- LiveRamp: Data collaboration and identity infrastructure provider enabling first-party data activation across the open web. Adjacent to Equativ's Addressability and first-party data curation capabilities as an enabling ecosystem participant.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Equativ social profiles
Digital presenceEquativ financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Equativ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles19 records
Equativ subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Equativ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Equativ M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A5 records
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Equativ
What does Equativ do?
Equativ operates a global independent end-to-end programmatic advertising platform, headlined by Maestro by Equativ, that serves advertisers, agencies, publishers, and retailers. The stack combines a supply-side platform (SSP), agentic AI-driven campaign planning and optimization, creative enhancement technology (Dynamic Captions, Sports Ticker, Shoppable Overlays), a cross-publisher curation layer, and retail media solutions spanning on-site (Kamino Retail) and off-site channels, supported by sustainability products such as GreenPMPs.
Is Equativ a public or private company?
Equativ is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Equativ founded?
Equativ was founded in 2001. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Equativ based?
Equativ is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Equativ make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. SSP Monetization is the primary driver. The others are programmatic Advertising Fees, retail Media Solutions and AI Agentic Solutions.
Who are Equativ's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Magnite, Pubmatic, The Trade Desk, Index Exchange and Criteo. Broad incumbents are Google Ad Manager, Amazon DSP / Amazon Ads and FreeWheel (Comcast). Roku is listed as an emerging player. LiveRamp is listed as an others.
Does Equativ have an API?
No public API is recorded for Equativ.
What industry is Equativ in?
Equativ's product category is Ad Tech — Programmatic Advertising Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAKAI, OOH Programmatic & Data/Measurement Services (Audience Analytics, Attribution), with a secondary code of MPACABAJ, Creator Analytics, Measurement & Attribution Platforms. Its NAICS code is 541830 and its SIC code is 7310.