AdExchanger
Oct 6, 2020
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The COVID-afflicted investment environment, and why the big platforms are immune
Group Nine CEO Ben Lerer – who’s also managing partner of early-stage VC firm Lerer Hippeau – kicked off the show by sharing his views on the current and somewhat surprising appetite for startup investment.
And he has a keen eye on the space. Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio includes a range of startups including the news publisher Axios, the subscription service BarkBox and Blade. (Fly to the Hamptons by helicopter!) It’s a portfolio that crosses verticals, which gives Lerer a wide perspective on what’s happening with investment during COVID-19.
Sonja Kristiansen, VP of global partnerships at TripleLift outlined how, despite the benefits of supply-path optimization (SPO), confusion still reigns: “SSPs are incentivized to make SPOs as confusing as possible,” she said. Exchanges are still measured by their scale, she said: “What happens is they all integrate with each other and resell each other’s inventory.”