PubMatic vs Virtual Minds

2026 AdExchanger Awards Gala Honors Industry Best

The 2026 AdExchanger Awards Gala, held in New York City, celebrated excellence in advertising and ad tech, honoring organizations, technologies, and leaders across programmatic media, commerce media, CTV, identity, measurement, AI, and ad tech. Winners included People Inc., PubMatic, DoorDash, Magnite, and Index Exchange. The event took place in conjunction with Programmatic I/O New York and featured a live audience vote for the 'People's Programmatic Pick,' won by Mike Richter of Unplugged Collective. The gala recognized breakthrough technologies, data-driven campaigns, and visionary leadership, setting a standard for performance and innovation in the industry.

• The 2026 AdExchanger Awards Gala was held on September 29, 2026, in New York City.
• Winners included People Inc., PubMatic, DoorDash, Magnite, and Index Exchange.
• Mike Richter of Unplugged Collective won the People's Programmatic Pick award.

The Media Shop and PubMatic Launch Southeast Asia’s First Agentic Luxury Campaign

Press Release, September 30, 2026: The Media Shop and PubMatic launch Southeast Asia's first agentic luxury campaign.

PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel on Agentic Buying and Cutting Complexity

In an interview with ExchangeWire, PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel discussed the company's evolution from an SSP to a broader platform, focusing on reducing ad tech complexity and empowering publishers and advertisers through agentic buying. Goel highlighted three pillars: Activate, for direct buyer-SSP transactions; Agentic OS, a suite of 20+ AI agents; and Decision Fabric, which allows agencies and DSPs to run algorithms within PubMatic's infrastructure. He emphasized that AI agents will surpass human traders in accuracy, with governance and reasoning mechanisms for oversight. Goel predicts that agent-to-agent buying will shift power to publishers and advertisers, the 'principals', rather than technology platforms. The company reported 4,000 publisher-created deals using AI year-to-date through Q2.

• PubMatic CEO Rajeev Goel was interviewed by ExchangeWire at ATS London.
• PubMatic has three pillars: Activate, Agentic OS, and Decision Fabric.
• Activate has been in-market for about four years, with hundreds of advertisers using it.

Virtual Minds: Building Interoperable Operating Model for Total Video

Virtual Minds argues that true convergence between linear TV and CTV advertising requires an interoperability layer rather than replacing existing systems, preserving the strengths of each environment. Managing Director Ricarda Jebsen and Business Development Manager Max Deyerl highlight that while audiences already consume video seamlessly, planning and measurement remain siloed. The company cites progress in Austria, where broadcasters under JIC AGTT have adopted digital buying logic, CPMs, and real-time HbbTV signals (Teletest 2.0) to optimize linear TV via Virtual Minds' Media Manager. The approach aims to extend this model to all video channels, including mobile and DOOH, and emphasizes that AI will only improve workflows if data silos are integrated first. Virtual Minds advocates for industry-wide collaboration to establish common standards and avoid fragmentation, positioning its infrastructure as the solution for a converged 'Total Video' operating model.

• Virtual Minds proposes an interoperable convergence layer for linear TV and CTV integration, preserving strengths of each environment.
• Since 2024, AGTT/Teletest members in Austria use Virtual Minds Media Manager for dynamic linear TV optimization using CPMs and real-time HbbTV signals.
• Ricarda Jebsen is Managing Director of Virtual Minds and d-force, while Max Deyerl is Manager Business Development.

European netID Exec Discusses Deterministic IDs and AI's Impact

In an interview, Daniel Dagehus, CTPO of the European netID Foundation, discusses the evolving role of deterministic identifiers in the open web. He argues that while AI and probabilistic models are useful for planning and simulation, deterministic IDs remain essential for campaign activation and delivery to real people across devices. netID has integrated with major ad tech platforms, including The Trade Desk, enabling advertisers to target deterministic segments. Dagehus emphasizes the importance of publisher login relationships to maintain direct user contact and independence from tech providers, especially as AI chatbots change the customer journey. He also highlights FedCM as a standard that can simplify logins and support publisher strategies for direct audience relationships.

• Daniel Dagehus is CTPO of the European netID Foundation.
• netID has integrated with The Trade Desk, allowing booking of netID and Utiq segments in its Data Marketplace.
• netID is a deterministic identifier tied to user accounts and email addresses, providing cross-device identity.