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India’s influence on global technology leadership has never been more prominent, and it’s not just about IIT degrees or Silicon Valley success. What’s striking is how many of today’s most powerful tech leaders hail from small towns and non-metro cities across India, bringing with them not just technical excellence but deeply rooted Indian values, resilience and global ambition.

The latest addition to this growing list is Sabih Khan, who has just been named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple. Born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Khan has been with Apple for over 30 years, leading its global supply chain, pioneering green manufacturing efforts and steering the company through turbulent times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

He joins a formidable list of Indian-origin tech leaders who are reshaping the global tech landscape:

- Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, guiding innovation in AI and data, was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

- Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, credited with reinventing the company’s culture and product vision, hails from Hyderabad, Telangana.

- Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, instrumental in driving Adobe’s digital transformation, is from Hyderabad, Telangana.

- Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM, known for his work on cloud computing and blockchain, was born West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

- Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, named Cloud Wars CEO of the Year for 2024, comes from Pampady, Kerala.

- Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology, also co-founder of SanDisk with over 70 patents, was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

- Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, raised in a traditional Indian household in the US, with roots tracing back to India.

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/sabih-khan-joins-club-of-indian-origin-tech-leaders-becomes-apple-coo-74032.htm">Apple's new COO Sabih Khan joins club of Indian-origin global tech leaders</a>

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/analysts-bet-on-continuity-and-consumer-focus-with-priya-nair-at-hul-74028.htm">Analysts bet on continuity and consumer focus with Priya Nair at HUL</a>

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/she-taught-me-purpose-how-priya-nairs-mother-shaped-huls-first-woman-ceo-73928.htm">'She taught me purpose': How Priya Nair’s mother shaped HUL’s first woman CEO</a>

From Madurai to Moradabad! Small-town India connection powering global tech giants

Starting July 15, 2025, YouTube will tighten its monetisation rules under the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), cutting off earnings for channels that churn out reused, low-value, or repetitive content.

The platform's updated policy aims to reward originality while cracking down on clickbait, AI-generated slideshows, recycled mashups, and overly edited versions of others’ videos. Content that fails to offer educational or genuine entertainment value will no longer be eligible for monetisation.

“YouTube is taking steps to protect its creator ecosystem by prioritising authentic voices and meaningful content,” the company stated on its official support page.

What This Means for Creators

Under the new guidelines, monetisation will be reserved for:

Original educational videos that provide learning or insight

Genuinely creative entertainment content

Authentic visuals and narration not lifted from other sources

On the flip side, channels relying on shortcuts such as reaction mashups, lazily repurposed clips, or repetitive formats risk losing monetisation status entirely.

Monetisation Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for YPP, creators must still meet one of the following thresholds:

1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours over the past 12 months
or

10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days

Even after meeting these, YouTube will now more rigorously review a channel’s originality before approval.

The move is part of YouTube’s broader push to filter out “copy-paste” channels and ensure that monetised content brings actual value to the platform’s community. In doing so, YouTube hopes to curb the exploitation of its algorithms by creators chasing views with low-effort uploads.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/your-tragedy-their-ad-has-digital-advertising-lost-its-soul-63832.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Your tragedy, their ad: Has digital advertising lost its soul?</a>

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/youtube-to-invest-rs-850-crore-into-indian-creators-neal-mohan-64109.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">YouTube to invest Rs 850 crore into Indian creators: Neal Mohan</a>

YouTube cracks down on repetitive content: Monetisation only for original creators from July 15

As India opens its doors to multiple ratings agencies, the battle for credible audience measurement is heating up—TV manufacturers, Big Tech firms, and DPOs are fast becoming the central players in this high-stakes transformation of how media consumption is tracked and monetized.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB) recent decision to allow multiple measurement firms has shaken up the long-standing monopoly of traditional audience rating systems. While this move promises to foster competition and innovation, it also ushers in a new set of challenges—particularly around data standardization and user privacy under India’s stringent Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA).

Smart TV manufacturers are no longer just hardware sellers. With Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) software embedded in millions of connected TVs, OEMs are sitting on an ocean of granular viewership data across platforms—from linear broadcasts to YouTube and OTT apps.

“OEMs are the new last mile,” said Vishal Khanna, founder of Media Pro Research. “They’ve replaced MSOs in data access. With ACR, they can see what’s being watched, but they don’t know who is watching. That makes consent and privacy frameworks absolutely critical.”

Khanna said, “Privacy is a major concern. OEMs must get explicit user consent before tracking content via ACR. There’s a fine balance to strike between collecting meaningful data and respecting consumer rights. Consent frameworks will need to be transparent and compliant with Indian privacy regulations.”

While policymakers and technologists continue to debate the ideal measurement architecture, the market for Connected TV (CTV) in India is already booming. India’s CTV household base has more than doubled, growing from 20 million in 2021 to over 45 million in 2024. According to data from Kantar, this number is expected to reach between 60 and 65 million by 2026.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/television/mib-opens-trp-market-otts-dpos-and-big-tech-can-now-set-up-ratings-agency-72762.htm">Read More: MIB opens TRP market: OTTs, DPOs, and Big Tech can now set up ratings agency</a>

Gowthaman Ragothaman, CEO of Aqilliz and a media veteran, pointed out two major fault lines in India’s measurement evolution. He warns that without a unified approach to cross-media measurement, risking fragmentation of the ecosystem even further. If every Big Tech player starts building their own attribution model without collaboration, it’ll be more of a cacophony than a symphony.

Ragothaman said, “Cross Media Measurement need privacy compliant virtual identities, which requires large scale collaboration of all the key big tech companies. While MIB has relaxed clause 1.4 which offers the ratings agency to pursue non-conflicting businesses beyond audience measurement, this is a double edged sword. This situation should not encourage multiple platforms offering very many measurement solutions, one that cannot be compared at all.”

Ragothaman explained, “One area which the measurement agencies are ignoring is the impact of DPDP Act, that too with the India specific Consent Management system. Big Tech companies and TV OEM need to call out specifically and explicitly that a consumers viewer behaviors are now being used for individual and aggregated measurement. If every big tech company starts to build their won attribution measurement solutions without a proper universe estimation and cross media measurement solutions through collaboration, it be more of a cacophony than a music in measurement.”

Ad dollars are quickly shifting to where the audiences are. In just two years, CTV advertising spend in India surged from ₹450 crore in 2022 to ₹1,500 crore in 2024. By the end of 2025, this is projected to reach between ₹2,300 crore and ₹2,500 crore. Currently, CTV accounts for just 1.5% of the total digital ad spend, but this is expected to rise sharply to 7–8% within the next 12 to 18 months.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/television/breaking-mib-proposes-amendments-to-trp-guidelines-seeks-public-feedback-72734.htm">Read More: Breaking: MIB proposes amendments to TRP guidelines, seeks public feedback</a>

Prashant Puri, Co-founder of AdLift, believes the solution lies in integration—not isolation. Puri said, “To truly capture viewership in today’s fragmented ecosystem, we need a unified approach that combines data from OEMs, DPOs, and traditional panels. OEMs like Samsung and LG provide valuable ACR data showing what’s on screen, but the bigger challenge is aligning stakeholders—Big Tech, DPOs, and OEMs—all of whom are competing over data ownership and monetisation.”

Puri said, “The way forward is a joint industry body backed by transparent measurement standards and clear government guidelines. Globally, hybrid models like those in the US and UK blend panel and smart TV data under strict privacy rules. In India, too, privacy will be a key concern—without strong user consent and anonymisation, we risk losing consumer trust.”

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/television/only-0-025-of-tv-homes-measured-mib-critiques-flawed-trp-metrics-72903.htm">Read More: Only 0.025% of TV homes measured: MIB critiques flawed TRP metrics</a>

OEMs, Big Tech in fray; India’s media ratings overhaul to face DPDPA headwinds

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) has upended advertiser strategies again — this time by eliminating hashtags in ads and introducing pricing based on vertical screen space. While the move aims to create a premium ad experience, and designed to curb disruptive, oversized ads and refocus attention on cleaner, user-first content, Indian advertisers say it risks turning the platform from a walled garden into a concrete jungle: enclosed, expensive, and less culturally nimble.

A Closed Loop That Blocks Discovery

Gowthaman Ragothaman, media, advertising and marketing professional and CEO of Aqilliz, calls the removal of hashtags a direct hit on cross-platform targeting. “First, the removal and banning of hashtags essentially means that — see, you tag an ad even on X (or Twitter) only to find the same customer on other platforms. The hashtag ensures that their activities are synced up across platforms. By removing it, Musk has ensured that it’s not just a walled garden anymore — it’s a concrete jungle, right within their own ecosystem. Nothing moves outside the X ecosystem.”

That inward focus, he says, could trigger lower ad spending — a drop the company is trying to offset by charging for large-screen ad formats.

“That will automatically lead to a reduction in ad spends, and to compensate for that, he’s offering large-screen advertising so they can charge a premium and refill the revenue drop.”

While the rest of the ad world pushes for interoperability and cross-platform attribution, X seems to be going the other way, he adds.

“Technically speaking, platforms should become more interoperable. I’m surprised that he’s gone in the opposite direction — maybe because other platforms are trying to do something else in their own way. For example, Meta is going more toward commerce. X, currently, is not very friendly with e-commerce. The hashtag would lead the customer journey to another attribution — maybe a sale on another platform — which I think they are trying to avoid.”

As a result, advertisers will have to treat X as its own isolated strategy.

“What I think will happen is this: X — and reaching audiences on X — will now become a separate strategy altogether. If it works for some brands, they’ll spend more money. For brands it doesn’t work for, they won’t spend any money. So essentially, it will polarize brand choices.”

And while Musk’s attribution model may be tighter within his platform, it comes at the cost of transparency.

“He will use it for his own attribution, and he’ll give you very solid attribution. He’ll say, ‘You delivered ads on my platform? I can give you a pinpoint of the sales pack’ — but only on my own platform. So essentially, every walled garden is now becoming a concrete jungle.”

Making Every Pixel Count

Prashant Puri, Co-founder and CEO of AdLift, believes the move will reset how Indian brands think about creative. “Vertical-size-based ad pricing is going to change how Indian brands think about creative. It’s not just about making ads, it’s about making them work harder. Formats like carousels and full-screen videos will move from ‘nice to have’ to performance essentials.”

He says smaller, high-impact formats will likely become the norm in performance-driven campaigns. “This model will drive agencies to rethink the mix. Smaller, high-impact formats are going to get more airtime, especially in performance-driven campaigns. That doesn’t mean large formats disappear; they still deliver for brand-building. But when cost-efficiency is key, smaller units will be the default.”

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/big-techs-role-misinformation-outpaced-moderation-as-india-pak-tensions-ignited-digital-crossfire-65374.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Big tech's role?: Misinformation outpaced moderation as India-Pak tensions ignited digital crossfire</a>

Vivek Kumar, Chief Strategy Officer at DViO Digital, frames this as a return to intentionality in advertising — a call to rethink what deserves visibility.

“This isn’t just a pricing model shift. It’s a provocation. A creative provocation… Vertical real estate is no longer free real estate. And that’s a good thing.”

“When every extra pixel costs more, brands are forced to pause. To question. To ask: What truly deserves to be here? The best Indian advertising has always come from constraint. This one just reintroduces a forgotten discipline — intentionality.”

Creative Budgets, Rewritten

Gopa Menon, Chief Growth Officer for APAC at Successive Digital, sees a broader shift in how Indian brands will reallocate their budgets, adopting a 70-20-10 model.

“I'm predicting most advertisers will shift toward a 70-20-10 strategy – putting the bulk of their budget into smaller, modular formats for everyday presence, reserving about 20% for strategic full-screen moments during big events like IPL finals or Diwali, and keeping 10% for testing what actually works.”

He adds that the hashtag ban will hit India harder than other markets.

“The hashtag ban is particularly disruptive for Indian brands who've relied heavily on trending tags for festival campaigns and regional marketing. Without #Diwali2025 or cricket hashtags, brands will need to get much better at creating naturally shareable content and building genuine communities around their products.”

The Battle for Culture

Sindhu Biswal, CEO and Founder of Buzzlab, calls the pricing model a double-edged sword — both a revenue move and a creative challenge.

“On one side, the step taken of charging for vertical screen space feels like a cash grab, but on the other, it forces brands to rethink lazy creative… Bottom line is creativity will matter more than ever. If you’re paying extra for impact, your work better earn every pixel.”

He believes X could lose its cultural relevance in India unless it rolls out new tools to match competitors.

“It risks pushing X further down the list for brands chasing cultural lightning in India. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube Shorts are working on increasing the features that help brands ride culture in real time… Unless X pairs these changes with killer new ad tools or creative formats, it risks becoming a stiffer, more expensive space for the very brands that once thrived on its chaotic, trend-driven energy.”

That cultural shift also threatens how virality has traditionally worked on X — especially for influencer-led campaigns built on hashtag traction.

“It might not kill demand. What it will do is change the playbook… The days of leveraging a catchy hashtag into virality on X are gone,” says Sahil Chopra, Founder and CEO, iCubesWire.

In short: brands that once counted on X’s open, messy and reactive environment will now have to pay for clarity. And in doing so, they will need to decide whether the new rules are worth the price of relevance.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/ai-vs-agencies-mark-zuckerbergs-vision-of-ad-disruption-sparks-debate-in-india-65474.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">AI vs. Agencies: Mark Zuckerberg's vision of ad disruption sparks debate in India</a>

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/your-tragedy-their-ad-has-digital-advertising-lost-its-soul-63832.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Your tragedy, their ad: Has digital advertising lost its soul?</a>

Advertisers on X’s hashtag ban and vertical ad pricing: Inward focus could trigger lower ad spends

Microsoft will cut about 9,000 jobs, its second major round of layoffs this year, as the technology giant moves to streamline operations and rein in costs while investing heavily in artificial intelligence. The reductions, which represent less than 4 percent of Microsoft’s global workforce, will affect employees across teams, regions and levels of seniority, according to reports. 

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/intel-layoffs-2025-chipmaker-to-shut-automotive-division-lay-off-most-employees-in-the-unit-72093.htm">Intel layoffs 2025: Chipmaker to shut automotive division, lay off most employees in the unit</a>

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/rose-and-redundancies-big-tech-big-ad-spend-and-the-cost-of-cannes-amid-mass-layoffs-70945.htm">Rosé and redundancies: Big tech, big ad spend, and the cost of Cannes amid mass layoffs</a>


Microsoft said the reductions would affect teams across its global operations, including its sales organization and Xbox gaming division.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the company said.

The layoffs, which follow the elimination of about 6,000 positions in May, come as Microsoft, like many of its peers, confronts the ballooning costs of competing in the AI arms race. The company has spent tens of billions of dollars on data centers and infrastructure to support its ambitions in artificial intelligence, even as it has pledged that it would remain disciplined on expenses.

As previously reported, the latest layoffs would target sales teams and divisions including Xbox. Microsoft had 228,000 employees at the end of June 2024, including 45,000 in sales and marketing roles. 

Amidst these layoffs, the company’s top sales executive, Judson Althoff, is set to begin a two-month sabbatical in July. Microsoft has said the leave was previously planned and that Althoff is expected to return in September.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/microsoft-to-lay-off-hundreds-in-xbox-division-amid-restructuring-push-71865.htm">Read more: Microsoft to lay off hundreds in Xbox division amid restructuring push</a>

Big Tech Layoffs: Microsoft to lay off 9,000 people in bid to rein in costs amid AI push

YouTube is updating its Shorts experience, launching new Shopping product stickers to highlight shoppable products in videos. This move, announced Wednesday, aims to make it easier for viewers to find and buy items.

The new stickers could help creators earn more. During testing last month, YouTube found Shorts with these stickers saw over 40% more clicks on products than those with the old Shopping button. Previously, tagged products appeared in a banner with a Shopping button. Tapping the banner opened a product list.

Now, creators can tag products in a Short to automatically generate a sticker based on the first tagged item. They can adjust the sticker's size and placement. If multiple products are tagged, viewers can tap a downward arrow on the sticker to see a full product list. Clicking a product redirects them to the retailer's website.

Shopping product stickers are rolling out globally over the next week, except in South Korea, where YouTube plans to launch them soon.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared at Cannes Lions 2025 that Shorts now average over 200 billion daily views. Mohan also announced that Google's Veo 3 video generator, which creates video and audio, will come to Shorts later this summer.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/your-tragedy-their-ad-has-digital-advertising-lost-its-soul-63832.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Your tragedy, their ad: Has digital advertising lost its soul?</a>

YouTube rolls out shopping stickers for Shorts

A jury on Tuesday ordered Google to pay over $314.6 million to Android smartphone users in California, finding the tech giant misused customer cell phone data, as per reports. The verdict stems from a class-action lawsuit alleging Google collected information from idle devices without permission, imposing "mandatory and unavoidable burdens" on users for its own benefit.

Plaintiffs in the 2019 lawsuit, representing an estimated 14 million Californians, argued that Google's collection of data from idle Android phones, used for purposes like targeted advertising, consumed users' cellular data at their expense.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated the company plans to appeal the decision, asserting the verdict "misunderstand[s] services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices." During the trial, Google maintained that no Android users were harmed by the data transfers and that users had consented through the company's terms of service and privacy policies.

This state court ruling precedes a separate federal lawsuit bringing similar claims against Google on behalf of Android users in the other 49 states. That case is currently scheduled for trial in April 2026.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/could-googles-cookie-delay-usher-in-a-post-google-ad-era-63397.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Could Google's cookie delay usher in a post-Google ad era?</a>

California jury slams Google with $314 mn data misuse fine

In a move aimed at diversifying revenue streams for online publishers, Google has officially launched "Offerwall," a new tool designed to help content creators monetize their sites beyond traditional impression-based advertising. The initiative comes as many publishers report significant drops in website traffic, a trend attributed by some to the increased prominence of Google's AI-powered Gemini summaries atop search results.

Offerwall provides publishers with a range of alternative monetization options, allowing users to choose how they access content. These options include micropayments, completing surveys, signing up for newsletters, or watching short advertisements.

"These options empower audiences to decide how they want to access publishers’ sites and help ensure diverse content remains available to everyone,” Google stated in a recent blog post.

The feature, which Google says was tested with 1,000 publishers over the past year, is now freely available within Google Ad Manager. While touted as a benefit for publishers of all sizes, the company highlighted its particular utility for smaller publishers who may lack the resources to establish diverse revenue streams independently. Google claims that publishers implementing Offerwall have seen an average revenue uplift of 9%, though specific details on the size of these publishers were not provided.

The launch of Offerwall appears to be Google's response to concerns from the publishing industry regarding the impact of AI summaries on traffic and, consequently, advertising revenue. By offering new avenues for monetization, the tech giant aims to provide a "revenue bone" to sites grappling with these changes.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/googles-grip-loosens-is-ai-the-search-disruptor-62972.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/googles-grip-loosens-is-ai-the-search-disruptor-62972.htm</a>

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/could-googles-cookie-delay-usher-in-a-post-google-ad-era-63397.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Could Google's cookie delay usher in a post-Google ad era?</a>

Google launches "Offerwall" as AI summaries impact publisher ad income

The exit of Xandr from the ad tech ecosystem has done more than just unsettle advertisers — it’s also left publishers navigating a narrower and arguably more constraining DSP landscape. With Google’s DV360, The Trade Desk (TTD), and Amazon DSP emerging as dominant players, many publishers find themselves caught in the gravitational pull of Big Tech platforms.

“DV360 and The Trade Desk are double-edged swords for publishers,” says Arjit Sachdeva, co-founder of VDO.AI,. “While they can significantly boost yield for premium inventory like video or CTV, their inherent complexities and fee structures often create bottlenecks.”

One of the most pressing concerns? The so-called “bid discount.” “There are substantial deductions that occur before the bid enters the auction, meaning an advertiser's $1 bid might effectively become an $0.80 bid for the publisher. This ‘bid discount’ directly erodes our partners' potential revenue.”

Complexity and Cost Keep Smaller Publishers Out

Even as platforms promise yield, the costs, both financial and operational are steep. “These platforms demand considerable technical expertise, which smaller publishers often lack, hindering their ability to maximize yield,” Sachdeva adds.

They highlight a “premium paradox”: “Niche, high-value audiences can incur higher SSP fees compared to lower-quality sites. This challenges the notion that premium inventory should always command better terms, suggesting a systemic issue where intermediaries extract disproportionate value.”

Further complicating matters are high minimum spends — “The Trade Desk's $300,000 to $1 million per month,” notes Schdeva hich “limit demand diversity for publishers.”

The Black Hole of Ad Spend

Fee opacity isn't just an annoyance; it's an existential threat for both sides of the ad supply chain.

According to Sachdeva, “The ISBA study revealed that publishers, on average, receive only 51% of an advertiser's spend. The remaining 49% is siphoned off by agency fees (7%), DSP fees (8%), demand-side tech (10%), SSP fees (8%), and supply-side tech (1%), with a staggering 15% remaining unattributed — the infamous ‘missing money.’”

That “missing money” alone adds up to $22.5 billion annually from a $150 billion industry.

“This opacity hampers ROI, makes it tough to measure campaign value, fosters mistrust in partnerships, and exposes advertisers to fraud and waste,” VDO.AI explains. “Publishers, on the other hand, suffer from severe margin compression, sometimes receiving as little as 2% of the original bid.”

Amazon DSP: Seductive, But Still a Walled Garden?

Among the Big Three, Amazon DSP is increasingly attractive to publishers especially those with video-led inventory.

“Amazon DSP has certainly opened new avenues for our publisher partners,” says Sachdeva. “By leveraging Amazon’s vast first-party data and extensive advertiser network, publishers can achieve higher CPMs and access significant budgets.”

But it’s not without its tradeoffs. “The concern that Amazon DSP might evolve into another ‘closed giant’ remains valid,” they add. “Publishers who become heavily reliant on Amazon DSP risk an over-dependency on a single platform, potentially diminishing their negotiation power or limiting diversification options.”

Even as Amazon touts 90% open web reach and more advertiser flexibility, “the inherent power imbalance persists,” Sachdeva warns.

Platform Loyalty Is Dead

Buzzlab CEO Sindhu Biswal cuts to the chase. “Platform loyalty right now? That’s cute, but it’s not a thing of the present anymore. Clients are less loyal than ever because trust isn’t free, and neither are hefty platform fees.”

“Whether it’s Trade Desk’s pricing backlash, Xandr’s uncertainties, or Amazon’s walled-garden opacity, the sentiment across the board is cautious at best, skeptical at worst,” she says.

And he doesn’t shy away from calling Amazon out. “It’s like Google on steroids, with an added sprinkle of e-commerce magic. But behind the convenience lies the same threat: total control… The lesson of Google wasn’t learned, it’s being repeated.”

Publishers Are Fighting Back 

While DSPs promise scale, publishers are carving alternate paths — not just out of preference, but out of necessity.

“Publishers are increasingly embracing transparent, contextual, and direct ad models,” says VDO.AI, citing pressure from global data privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and India’s DPDPA. “Our research shows 60% of Gen Z disengage from irrelevant ads, and 43% are concerned about data tracking.”

VDO.AI’s Contextual Engine —using NLP for brand-safe, non-creepy ad targeting is seeing traction. “We’ve seen a ~44% increase in publisher inquiries for YouTube-style native video solutions,” they note.

Performance speaks too: “Our Remote-Enabled Interactive CTV Ad Format has delivered 2x higher attention rates, a 5x increase in bottom-funnel actions, and over 10% click-through engagement.”

The Path Forward

The solution isn’t total DSP dependence, but strategic streamlining.

“The most critical change for a more equitable DSP-SSP relationship is a dramatic development in fee transparency,” says VDO.AI. “Advertisers are now actively demanding log-level data and cross-referencing take rates with publishers to identify discrepancies.”

One bright spot is Supply Path Optimization (SPO). “SPO aims to eliminate unnecessary intermediaries, creating a more direct path from advertiser to publisher… For advertisers, it means reduced costs and improved buying power. For publishers, better fill rates and monetization.”

Sachdeva believes in distinct but data-synced DSP–SSP ecosystems. “We provide bid transparency, allowing both advertisers and publishers to see the full details of the bidding process. This fosters trust and reduces inefficiencies.”

The Trade Desk: “Spirit Airlines” of Programmatic?

According to Biswal, “Calling The Trade Desk the ‘Spirit Airlines’ of DSPs might be a bit harsh, but it’s not entirely wrong… hidden fees, extra charges, no frills — but undeniably effective.”

“Until a competitor offers similar scale and precision without the nickel-and-diming, buyers will stick around,” she says. “But if another DSP steps up, simplifies pricing, and offers transparency with comparable performance, buyers will jump ship instantly.”

Advertisers Want Clarity, Not Complexity

As Russhabh R Thakkar, Founder and CEO, Frodoh., “In today’s media landscape, advertisers prioritize clarity over complexity. Transparency is paramount… Media budgets are now being allocated with greater intention.”

Siddharth Jhawar, Country Manager, Moloco India echoes the same: “Transparency is the silver bullet to assuage the level of mistrust in advertising. In today's digital age, there's no reason not to give log-level data to advertisers — but how many marketing channels provide it?”

Jhawar's view is that “the problem comes when marketers bleed money that does not give measurable outcomes — there is less and less money to be wasted on vanity metrics.”

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The DSP reset: After Xandr, are publishers just swapping walled gardens?

Meta Platforms is reportedly in advanced talks to inject over $10 billion into Scale AI, a startup specializing in data labeling for artificial intelligence, as per reports. This potential investment would mark Meta's largest external AI funding to date and stands to be one of the most significant private funding rounds in the history of the burgeoning AI sector. While terms are still under negotiation, the move signals a strategic shift for Meta, which has traditionally focused on in-house AI development and open-source models.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/ai-vs-agencies-mark-zuckerbergs-vision-of-ad-disruption-sparks-debate-in-india-65474.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">AI vs. Agencies: Mark Zuckerberg's vision of ad disruption sparks debate in India</a>

Founded in 2016 by CEO Alexandr Wang, Scale AI has witnessed explosive growth, generating approximately $870 million in revenue in 2024 and projecting to more than double that figure to $2 billion in 2025. The company was valued at $13.8 billion as of May 2024, following a $1 billion Series F funding round that saw participation from tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Nvidia.

This investment aligns with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's stated commitment to making AI a core priority, with plans to allocate up to $65 billion for AI-related projects in 2025. The collaboration could significantly accelerate AI technology development across various sectors, including national security, and reshape the competitive landscape within the industry, mirroring similar substantial investments by Microsoft in OpenAI and Amazon in Anthropic.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/meta-to-fully-automate-advertising-with-ai-by-end-of-2026-68422.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Meta to fully automate advertising with AI by end of 2026</a>

Meta in talks to invest over $10 bn in Scale AI

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