Advertising tech company The Trade Desk isn’t interested in snapping up companies—despite its recent rare acquisition of data firm Sincera.
The Trade Desk is the largest independent adtech firm, competing primarily against Google and Amazon for programmatic ad dollars. But the giant is notably not a buyer of companies. Besides Sincera, The Trade Desk’s only other acquisition to date was its 2017 acquisition of Adbrain.
While speaking at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Annual Leadership Meeting, Green quickly shut down speculation that its recent acquisition could signal a shift in The Trade Desk’s mergers and acquisitions strategy.
“Sincera isn’t a big team,” Green said, emphasizing The Trade Desk’s focus on developing its own tech rather than integrating new businesses. Financial terms of the Sincera acquisition were not disclosed at the time of the annoucement.
While Green acknowledged that acquisitions sometimes make sense, he said they’re often distractions. Instead, Green is betting on growth of The Trade Desk’s core business, particularly as the company strengthens its role as a trusted partner for publishers.
Even so, Green acknowledged that the adoption of programmatic advertising has not grown as quickly as he had hoped—presenting a challenge as the company continues pushing for a more open and competitive digital ad ecosystem.
Green also broken down four adtech trends to watch out for in 2025.
Adtech companies and publishers could win if Google loses
Green has long been a critic of Google, which is both a competitor and partner to The Trade Desk.
Google is currently waiting for a ruling in the federal case accusing that its programmatic ad business is a monopoly.
Green believes Google will first negotiate with the government before it is forced to breakup its ad exchange business. If that split comes to pass, Green sees it benefiting the open internet, supply-side platforms, and publishers who’ve long been under Google’s thumb.
“Google’s success has not been good for SSPs and publishers,” he said, adding that it makes strategic sense for Google to focus more on YouTube rather than the open internet—something that its demand-side platform, DV360, already prioritizes. “It’s where all their privacy and antitrust risks come from, but it’s not where all the money comes from.”
