IPONWEB

Programmatic Advertising Technologyiponweb.com

Company typePrivate
Founded2001
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Headcount501–1,000
GTM typeB2B
OfferingSoftware

What IPONWEB does

IPONWEB is a London-headquartered AdTech infrastructure company that builds customized programmatic media trading platforms for enterprise clients across the open advertising ecosystem. Founded in 2001, the company operates three core products: BidSwitch, a media trading marketplace connecting approximately 130 demand partners and close to 150 supply partners; BidCore, a customizable self-service Demand-Side Platform (DSP) supporting mid- and upper-funnel campaigns including video and CTV; and TheMediaGrid, an advanced Supply-Side Platform (SSP) enabling curated inventory distribution and first-party data activation in the post-third-party cookie environment.

The company's technology stack addresses the structural shift away from third-party identifiers, positioning first-party data interoperability and measurement as core differentiators. IPONWEB serves three primary enterprise segments — media owners/publishers seeking inventory monetization, agencies requiring bespoke platform deployments, and marketers/brands running full-funnel programmatic campaigns. Revenue is generated through transaction fees and marketplace commissions on media spend processed through BidCore, TheMediaGrid, and BidSwitch, with pricing not publicly disclosed.

In December 2021, Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ: CRTO) entered exclusive negotiations to acquire IPONWEB for $380 million ($305M cash + $75M in CRTO treasury shares), a transaction expected to add over $100M in annual Revenue ex-TAC and intended to close in Q1 2022 subject to regulatory approval. Post-acquisition, IPONWEB operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Criteo, with founder Dr. Boris Mouzykantskii (CEO and Chief Scientist) joining Criteo's leadership. The company had 501–1,000 employees at the time of the announcement and served a global client base with European roots.

IPONWEB firmographics

Firmographics

Name: IPONWEB
Legal name: IPONWEB
Website: https://iponweb.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2001
Operating status: Acquired
Headcount range: 501–1,000 employees
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

IPONWEB industry classification

Industry

Product category: Programmatic Advertising Technology
NAICS: Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
SIC: Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
akta.pro primary industry: Ad Networks & Exchanges (Programmatic RTB) (BPAMALAA)
akta.pro secondary industry: Programmatic Display & Video (DSP/RTB) (BPAFACAC)

Keywords

Programmatic advertising
Media trading platform
Adtech infrastructure
Demand-side platform
Supply-side platform

Where IPONWEB is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: London
HQ country: United Kingdom
HQ region: Europe

Markets served

IPONWEB business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

Programmatic Advertising Technology: IPONWEB generates revenue through its DSP and SSP platforms that facilitate programmatic media trading between marketers (demand side) and media owners (supply side), likely through transaction fees or take rates on media spend processed through its platforms.
Media Trading Marketplace: BidSwitch operates as a media trading marketplace connecting demand and supply partners, generating revenue from the volume of transactions facilitated through its platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

IPONWEB product offering

Product offering

Core offering

IPONWEB builds and operates enterprise AdTech infrastructure for programmatic advertising, including a customizable self-service Demand-Side Platform (BidCore), an advanced Supply-Side Platform (TheMediaGrid), and a media trading marketplace (BidSwitch) that connects approximately 130 demand partners and close to 150 supply partners to enable first-party data activation, interoperability, and measurement across the open internet.

Product overview

IPONWEB was a market-leading AdTech company with world-class media trading capabilities, providing enterprise solutions for media owners, agencies, and marketers for over 20 years. The company's product portfolio consisted of three main offerings: BidSwitch (media trading marketplace), BidCore (Demand-Side Platform), and MediaGrid (Supply-Side Platform). Together, these products provided end-to-end media trading infrastructure connecting demand and supply partners across the advertising ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

BidSwitch: Media trading marketplace connecting 130 demand-side and close to 150 supply-side partners, enabling first-party data activation in the post third-party cookie world.
BidCore
The MediaGrid

Products and services

BidSwitch
BidCore
TheMediaGrid

Quantifiable outcome

Expected to add over $100 million in annual Revenue ex-TAC

Companies that use IPONWEB

Customer profile

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

IPONWEB technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

IPONWEB partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

CriteocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2021Criteo entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire IPONWEB for $380 million in a combination of cash and CRTO treasury shares. The acquisition was intended to accelerate Criteo's Commerce Media Platform strategy and position the company as an industry leader in the post-third-party cookie and identifier world. The transaction was expected to close in Q1 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

IPONWEB competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is the largest independent DSP for programmatic advertising, competing head-to-head with IPONWEB's BidCore in mid- and upper-funnel campaign execution, including video and CTV, serving advertisers and agencies globally.
Magnite: Magnite is the largest independent SSP following the merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria, directly comparable to IPONWEB's TheMediaGrid on the supply side, particularly in CTV and video inventory monetization.
PubMatic: PubMatic operates a supply-side platform and header bidding wrapper serving publishers and media buyers globally, making it a direct competitor to TheMediaGrid and adjacent to BidSwitch on the supply side of programmatic.
Index Exchange: Index Exchange is a global ad exchange and SSP operating a marketplace connecting supply and demand in programmatic, directly comparable to IPONWEB's BidSwitch marketplace and TheMediaGrid SSP.
OpenX: OpenX operates an omnichannel ad exchange and SSP with focus on premium publisher inventory, comparable to IPONWEB's BidSwitch and TheMediaGrid in connecting demand and supply for programmatic media trading.
MediaMath: MediaMath operates a DSP for omnichannel programmatic campaign management, directly comparable to IPONWEB's BidCore, targeting enterprise marketers and agencies with similar self-service campaign execution capabilities.
Adform: Adform provides an integrated DSP and SSP stack for programmatic advertising, similar to IPONWEB's combined BidCore/TheMediaGrid offering, serving agencies, marketers, and publishers across Europe and globally.

Broad incumbents

Google Ad Manager: Google Ad Manager (formerly DoubleClick) is the dominant ad server and SSP/exchange, representing the largest competitive incumbent against IPONWEB's TheMediaGrid and BidSwitch with vastly greater scale, demand, and identity infrastructure.
Amazon Publisher Services: Amazon Publisher Services operates the Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM) and header bidding infrastructure, providing a scaled SSP/exchange competing against IPONWEB's TheMediaGrid and BidSwitch with unique Amazon demand and identity assets.

Emerging players

LiveRamp: LiveRamp provides data collaboration, identity resolution, and audience activation infrastructure, overlapping with IPONWEB's first-party data activation capabilities within BidSwitch and serving a shared customer base of marketers and media owners navigating the post-cookie world.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

IPONWEB financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

IPONWEB leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

IPONWEB subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries3 records

IPONWEB funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

IPONWEB M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about IPONWEB

What does IPONWEB do?

Is IPONWEB a public or private company?

IPONWEB is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.

When was IPONWEB founded?

IPONWEB was founded in 2001. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.

Where is IPONWEB based?

IPONWEB is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.

How does IPONWEB make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Programmatic Advertising Technology is the primary driver. The others are media Trading Marketplace.

Who are IPONWEB's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are The Trade Desk, Magnite, PubMatic, Index Exchange, OpenX, MediaMath and Adform. Broad incumbents are Google Ad Manager and Amazon Publisher Services. LiveRamp is listed as an emerging player.

Does IPONWEB have an API?

No public API is recorded for IPONWEB.

What industry is IPONWEB in?

IPONWEB's product category is Programmatic Advertising Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMALAA, Ad Networks & Exchanges (Programmatic RTB), with a secondary code of BPAFACAC, Programmatic Display & Video (DSP/RTB). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7373.