Viant Initial Public IPO (DSP): Shares up 90%

Viant Technology, the latest advertising technology company to go public, saw shares rise more than 90% after the company launched its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday.

Viant operates a demand-side advertising platform, or DSP, called Adelphic. It was Priced At $ 25 per share, but it opened at $ 44, and closed the day at $ 47.72. The company first appeared on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the symbol “DSP”.

It is the most recent public participant in the blockbuster advertising technology market. The company’s IPO comes nearly two weeks after the digital advertising company Tabbouleh said she plans to release it to the public By merging with ION Acquisition Corp, a Private Acquisition Company (SPAC). In December, the sale advertising platform PubMatic Also Launched the IPO. And the CopentAnother player Audience gone In August of last year.

A recent note from MKM Partners stated that ad tech IPOs have a mixed track record in the public markets, but there has been a rebound recently with PubMatic and Singer Receive a “warm reception” from investors.

Viant was launched by brothers Tim, Chris and Russ Vanderhook in 1999. Company Acquired Social networking company Myspace in 2011. Later that year, it helped start the Xumo connected TV platform, which was Acquired by Comcast last year.

Time Inc. Buy 60% stake in Viant in 2016, which Meredith acquired through its acquisition of Time in 2018. Viant Founders Recovered Take over the company in 2019.

The company, which employs around 300 employees, is competing with players like Trade office And with a part of GoogleAdvertising technology business. The software is used by marketers and their advertising agencies to centralize purchasing, planning and measuring advertising across channels such as desktop, mobile, connected TV, audio streaming, digital billboards and the company. He said on S-1 Deposit before the IPO.

Chris Vanderhoek, COO of Viant, said the company had a “mega-year” in 2019 before it was affected by a slowdown in advertising linked to Covid last year.

“I’d like to say that the opportunity we have in the market is this programming opportunity,” he told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday. “It’s growing really fast, over 20% annually. However, the total advertising market in the United States today is around $ 200 billion. Only about 40% of that is purchased programmatically or through software.”

Viant says its DSP is well positioned as a “people-based” platform, as opposed to one that relies on cookies, which uses personal data stored in your web browser. Google plans to Condemns its support For third-party cookies in Chrome browser by next year. Instead, Viant says it uses “realistic identifiers” to identify customers. For example, the company Says Associates information such as email, name, address, and phone number with digital identifiers such as your mobile advertising ID or website. This helps Vantage your digital ads target to the right audience.

CEO Tim Vanderhoek added that while some data service providers focus directly on purchasing, the company has integrated data and measurement capabilities into its software, making it “truly consistent” with customers.

MKM Partners wrote in their recent memo that they believe the company’s focus on “people-based marketing” and the tailwinds in automated advertising and connected television are “clear sustainable investment positives”.

But they also pointed to some risks, saying that 2020 was a “conglomerate”, with significant annual revenue declines and a “somewhat slow recovery”. They also pointed to the fragmented competition in advertising technology from companies such as The Trade Desk and Google.

Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company.

Nominations are open for the year 2021 50- Computer Operating ProgramIt is a list of private startups that use the latest technology to become the next generation of large public corporations. send By Friday February 12 at 3 PM EST.