Magnite acquires streamr.ai to simplify CTV advertising for small businesses

Magnite announced the acquisition of streamr.ai on September 9, 2025, marking the largest independent sell-side advertising company's latest move to democratize Connected Television advertising for small and medium-sized businesses. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition brings artificial intelligence-powered tools that streamline CTV creative generation and campaign setup, addressing what CEO Michael Barrett described as complexity and cost barriers that have historically bottlenecked small business access to television advertising opportunities.

According to Barrett, "The CTV advertising opportunity for small businesses is enormous, but it's been bottlenecked by complexity and high costs." The streamr.ai platform uses AI to accelerate the transition for SMBs by simplifying CTV creative generation and campaign setup processes that previously required substantial technical expertise and budget allocation.

Magnite will offer streamr.ai's technology to ecosystem partners working with SMB clients, including agencies, retail media networks, publishers operating buyer marketplaces, and demand-side platforms. This distribution strategy leverages Magnite's dominant market position in CTV supply, where the company maintains 99% market coverage according to independent analysis released earlier this year.

streamr.ai specializes in building cutting-edge generative AI technology for broadcasters, advertising technology platforms, and agencies seeking to capture larger shares of CTV advertising spending. The platform enables users to generate video advertisements and launch them on CTV platforms in under two minutes, representing a significant reduction in the traditional creative development timeline.

The acquisition brings Jonathan Moffe, former product lead at Wurl (acquired by AppLovin), OrkaTV, Yahoo, and Shutterstock, who serves as streamr.ai's CEO and co-founder. Chief Technology Officer Frank Turano, formerly an engineer at Shutterstock and Dotdash Meredith, also joins Magnite through the transaction.

Moffe emphasized the strategic alignment between the companies, stating, "Magnite is the perfect home for our technology and talent. Magnite shares our vision for helping small businesses grow revenue through CTV advertising, and their relationships and resources will enable us to accelerate that process."

The timing aligns with significant industry transformation in video advertising production methods. Recent research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau indicates that 86% of buyers currently use or plan to implement generative AI for video advertisement creation, with expectations that AI-generated content will comprise 40% of all advertisements by 2026.

Small and medium-sized businesses have historically faced substantial barriers entering CTV advertising markets due to minimum spending requirements, complex campaign setup processes, and creative production costs. Traditional CTV advertising required relationships with multiple technology vendors, substantial upfront creative investments, and sophisticated campaign management expertise typically available only to larger marketing organizations.

The streamr.ai acquisition addresses these challenges through automated creative generation capabilities that eliminate traditional production bottlenecks. The platform's two-minute campaign creation timeline contrasts sharply with conventional television advertising workflows that often require weeks or months from concept to campaign launch.

Industry data demonstrates the growing importance of CTV advertising accessibility. Connected TV's share of media budgets is projected to double from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, while 72% of marketers plan to increase programmatic advertising investment according to recent industry surveys.

Magnite's ecosystem approach enables broad distribution of streamr.ai's capabilities without requiring individual SMB adoption of new technology platforms. Agencies and retail media networks can integrate the AI-powered creative tools into existing client workflows, reducing adoption friction for smaller advertisers seeking CTV capabilities.

The acquisition supports Magnite's broader strategy of expanding artificial intelligence capabilities across all company products. Barrett noted during the announcement that the company will "continue to grow our AI expertise and capabilities across all Magnite products" beyond the immediate streamr.ai integration.

Magnite's dominance in CTV supply provides strategic advantages for streamr.ai technology deployment. The company maintains direct relationships with major streaming platforms including Netflix, Disney, Roku, and Warner Bros. Discovery, while securing preferred integrations with over 90% of its CTV supply partners.

Recent financial performance demonstrates Magnite's CTV growth trajectory. The company reported CTV contribution excluding traffic acquisition costs growing 15% year-over-year in Q1 2025, with CTV revenue reaching $63.2 million and outperforming company guidance ranges.

The small business advertising opportunity represents substantial untapped revenue potential for CTV publishers. Traditional linear television advertising required significant minimum spending commitments that excluded smaller businesses from television marketing strategies. Connected TV's programmatic infrastructure enables more granular budget allocation and precise audience targeting suitable for SMB marketing objectives.

Technical capabilities within streamr.ai's platform address multiple pain points in CTV advertising execution. Automated creative generation reduces dependency on external production resources, while streamlined campaign setup processes eliminate traditional technical complexity barriers that prevented SMB participation in television advertising markets.

The acquisition announcement follows broader industry recognition of artificial intelligence's transformational impact on video advertising production. Recent studies indicate that AI-powered creative automation enables small and mid-tier brands to produce professional-quality content efficiently without requiring extensive production teams or substantial budget allocations.

Magnite's positioning as an independent advertising technology company provides competitive advantages in serving diverse ecosystem partners. Unlike larger technology conglomerates that compete directly with agencies and publishers, Magnite's independent status enables collaborative relationships across the advertising technology landscape.

The streamr.ai team's previous experience includes significant tenure at major technology and media companies. Moffe's background spans product leadership roles at Wurl, which AppLovin acquired for $430 million in 2022, along with strategic positions at Yahoo and Shutterstock. Turano brings engineering expertise from Shutterstock and Dotdash Meredith, providing technical depth in media technology implementation.

Connected television advertising continues experiencing rapid expansion globally. Industry projections indicate CTV advertising spending will reach $33.35 billion in 2025, with substantial growth driven by audience migration from traditional linear television to streaming platforms across demographic segments.

The integration timeline and specific product rollout schedule were not disclosed in the September 9 announcement. However, Magnite's commitment to offering streamr.ai technology to ecosystem partners suggests near-term availability for agencies and retail media networks serving SMB clients.

For marketing professionals, the acquisition signals continued industry movement toward accessible CTV advertising solutions. The combination of Magnite's supply coverage with streamr.ai's creative automation capabilities addresses persistent barriers that have limited small business participation in television advertising markets.

Industry observers anticipate additional acquisitions and partnerships focused on democratizing advanced advertising technologies for smaller businesses. The success of AI-powered creative automation platforms demonstrates significant market demand for solutions that reduce complexity and cost barriers in digital advertising execution.

Timeline

• September 9, 2025: Magnite announces acquisition of streamr.ai to unlock small business advertising spend for CTV publishers
• August 26, 2025: Magnite announces expansion of advertising solutions with Pause Ads across DIRECTV, DISH Media, and Fubo
• August 21, 2025: Magnite becomes first sell-side partner for Acxiom data activation enabling first-party data integration
• July 23, 2025: Dentsu expands Magnite partnership for CTV advertising deploying SpringServe platform across EMEA markets
• July 16, 2025: IAB report reveals 86% of buyers using AI for video ads, with CTV inventory becoming 47% biddable
• June 5, 2025: Magnite partners with Anoki to enable scene-level targeting in CTV becoming first SSP to offer multimodal AI analysis
• May 7, 2025: Magnite reports Q1 2025 results with 15% CTV growth and overall contribution ex-TAC increasing 12%
• March 5, 2025: Independent analysis shows Magnite dominates CTV market with 99% supply coverage

Summary

Who: Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the largest independent sell-side advertising company, acquired streamr.ai, an AI-powered CTV advertising platform founded by CEO Jonathan Moffe and CTO Frank Turano.

What: The acquisition brings artificial intelligence tools that streamline Connected TV creative generation and campaign setup, making CTV advertising accessible to small and medium-sized businesses through Magnite's ecosystem partners including agencies, retail media networks, and DSPs.

When: The acquisition was announced on September 9, 2025, with financial terms undisclosed and integration timeline to be determined.

Where: The transaction affects Magnite's global operations spanning North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC markets, while specifically targeting SMB clients through partner relationships.

Why: The acquisition addresses complexity and cost barriers that have prevented small businesses from accessing CTV advertising opportunities, leveraging growing industry adoption of AI-powered creative automation and the projected doubling of CTV's media budget share from 14% to 28% by 2025.