# The Trade Desk
> TTD · Ventura, California
- Profile type: Company
- Profile status: in-progress
- Last updated: 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/the-trade-desk/
- Also known as: TheTradeDesk, Trade Desk, TTD, The Trade Desk Inc, Trade Desk Inc
## Summary
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) is the largest independent demand-side platform (DSP) for programmatic advertising. Co-founded by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles in 2009 and taken public in 2016, TTD runs billions of ad decisions daily across CTV, digital audio, and display via its AI-powered Kokai platform — without owning any media inventory.


## Company facts

- Ticker: TTD
- Founded: 2009
- Headquarters: Ventura, California
- Domain: thetradedesk.com


## Key facts

- The Trade Desk is an independent DSP — it does not own media inventory, eliminating the conflict-of-interest that arises when a platform sells both ad demand and ad supply. — The Trade Desk: https://www.thetradedesk.com/our-demand-side-platform
- Co-founded in 2009 by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, both former Microsoft employees; taken public on Nasdaq under ticker TTD in September 2016. — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trade_Desk
- Kokai, launched June 2023, is The Trade Desk's AI-native media-buying platform. Campaigns running through Kokai have delivered on average 43% lower cost per unique reach versus the prior platform. — The Trade Desk press room: https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-launches-kokai-a-new-media-buying-platform-that-brings-the-full-power-of-ai-to-digital-marketing
- Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) is The Trade Desk's open-source cookie-replacement identity standard, now stewarded by Prebid.org, and adopted broadly across the open internet. — The Trade Desk: https://www.thetradedesk.com/us/about-us/industry-initiatives/unified-id-solution-2-0
- OpenPath gives advertisers direct, transparent access to premium publisher inventory, bypassing intermediary SSP layers and reducing supply-chain complexity. — The Trade Desk: https://www.thetradedesk.com/ventura-streaming-tv-os
- Ventura Ecosystem, announced February 2026, is an open collaboration bringing TV operating systems and streaming platforms together under The Trade Desk's monetization toolset, with V (VIDAA) and Nexxen as initial partners. — The Trade Desk investor relations: https://investors.thetradedesk.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/The-Trade-Desk-Introduces-the-Ventura-Ecosystem-to-Advance-the-Future-of-CTV-Advertising-V-and-Nexxen-Join-as-the-First-Collaborators/default.aspx
- Alex Kayyal was appointed CFO effective August 21, 2025, succeeding Laura Schenkein. Kayyal previously led Salesforce Ventures and was a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. — The Trade Desk investor relations: https://investors.thetradedesk.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2025/The-Trade-Desk-Announces-Alex-Kayyal-as-New-Chief-Financial-Officer/default.aspx


## Related

- jeff green (Founder, Chairman and CEO) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/jeff-green/
- kokai (AI media-buying platform) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/kokai/
- ventura ecosystem (CTV ecosystem initiative (announced Feb 2026)) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/ventura-ecosystem/
- openpath (Direct supply-path product) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/openpath/
- unified id 2 0 (Open-source identity standard; originated by TTD, now stewarded by Prebid.org) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/unified-id-2-0/
- amazon (Competitor — Amazon DSP) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/amazon/
- alphabet (Competitor — DV360 / Google walled garden) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/alphabet/
- magnite (SSP partner — premium supply) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/magnite/
- roku (Demand partner — The Roku Channel inventory) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/roku/


## External coverage

- The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk Demand-Side Platform (https://www.thetradedesk.com/our-demand-side-platform)
- The Trade Desk: SEC Filings — The Trade Desk Investor Relations (https://investors.thetradedesk.com/financials/sec-filings/default.aspx)
- 2026-02-25 — The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk Introduces the Ventura Ecosystem (https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-introduces-the-ventura-ecosystem-to-advance-the-future-of-ctv-advertising-v-and-nexxen-join-as-the-first-collaborators)
- 2023-06-06 — The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk Launches Kokai (https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-launches-kokai-a-new-media-buying-platform-that-brings-the-full-power-of-ai-to-digital-marketing)

## Profile
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- [Omnicom Says It's Cutting Out the Ad-Tech Middlemen. The Holdco-Direct Era Just Went Live.](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/05/omnicom-ai-agent-adtech-disintermediation/) — 2026-05-04
- [Cognition Is the New Currency Layer for CTV Ads](https://thestateofstreaming.com/measurement-data/2026/05/cognition-attention-currency-ctv-ads/) — 2026-05-03
- [Streaming Hit 45.6 Percent of Ad-Supported TV. The Verification Stack Is Catching Up.](https://thestateofstreaming.com/measurement-data/2026/05/ctv-transparency-ad-supported-default-ias/) — 2026-05-03
- [Machine Cognition Hits Programmatic Ads: 30 Autonomous Campaigns Live on PubMatic](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/05/machine-cognition-programmatic-ads-agentic-ai/) — 2026-05-03
- [PubMatic's AgenticOS Hits 1,000 Deals as Creative Suite Goes Live](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/05/pubmatic-agenticos-creative-suite-launch/) — 2026-05-03
- [Roku Just Became the Only TV-OS Company Showing Its Ad Math](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/05/roku-q1-2026-print-100m-segment-split/) — 2026-05-03
- [V Set to Overtake LG webOS in Europe, Omdia Forecasts](https://thestateofstreaming.com/devices-distribution/2026/04/hisense-vidaa-overtakes-lg-webos-europe-2026-2/) — 2026-04-27
- [V Set to Overtake LG webOS in Europe, Omdia Forecasts](https://thestateofstreaming.com/devices-distribution/2026/04/hisense-vidaa-overtakes-lg-webos-europe-2026/) — 2026-04-27
- ['Independent' Has Stopped Meaning Anything Buyers Can Audit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/opinion/2026/04/independent-adtech-stack-walled-garden-thesis-2/) — 2026-04-27
- ['Independent' Has Stopped Meaning Anything Buyers Can Audit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/opinion/2026/04/independent-adtech-stack-walled-garden-thesis/) — 2026-04-27
- [Fourteen Months Inside Mediaocean's Independent-Stack Bet](https://thestateofstreaming.com/business-deals/2026/04/mediaocean-innovid-stack-one-year-in-2/) — 2026-04-27
- [Fourteen Months Inside Mediaocean's Independent-Stack Bet](https://thestateofstreaming.com/business-deals/2026/04/mediaocean-innovid-stack-one-year-in/) — 2026-04-27
- [Amazon Wires the Identity Stack Together Before NewFronts](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/04/amazon-identity-stack-consolidation/) — 2026-04-26
- [IAB Tech Lab's New Transparency Council Seats Holdcos, Not Brands](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/04/iab-tech-lab-pgc-leap-launch/) — 2026-04-26
- [Netflix Authorizes $25B Buyback After $5.09B FCF Quarter](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/04/netflix-q1-2026-buyback-ad-tier/) — 2026-04-25
- [Roku Breaks Out Ad Revenue for First Time in April 30 Print](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/04/roku-q1-2026-earnings-preview-segment-split/) — 2026-04-25
- [Trade Desk Reframes Ventura as Multi-OS Ecosystem](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/04/trade-desk-ventura-ecosystem-pivot/) — 2026-04-25

## Tags

- ad-tech
- dsp
- public
- NASDAQ
- open-internet
- ctv
- programmatic

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