The Trade Desk's Kokai platform faces challenges amid executive departure

The Trade Desk's ambitious Kokai platform is encountering implementation challenges as the company experiences significant leadership changes. Former VP of Product Bill Simmons announced on March 14, 2025 that he has left the company, just days after industry critics shared skepticism about the Kokai platform on social media.

In his LinkedIn post, Simmons acknowledged the timing of his departure coincided with criticism of Kokai, stating: "It's not lost on me that the very same week that I'm announcing my departure, many critics of TTD's Kokai platform are sharing their skepticism on social media." Simmons defended the platform, describing it as "a bold, fundamental reinvention of what a DSP can be, dramatically improving advertising quality and value across the Open Internet."

The Kokai platform, initially launched on June 6, 2023, represented a major strategic initiative for The Trade Desk. According to the company's announcement at that time, Kokai was designed as "a new approach to digital advertising innovation that incorporates major advances in distributed artificial intelligence (AI), measurement, partner integrations and a revolutionary, intuitive user experience."

Platform transition challenges

Recent financial results suggest the transition to Kokai has not proceeded as smoothly as anticipated. In its most recent earnings report from February 12, 2025, The Trade Desk reported Q4 revenue of $741.01 million, missing both market and internal expectations with growth slowing to 22.3% year-over-year. This represented a significant deceleration from the company's consistent 25%-plus growth rate in previous quarters.

According to Seeking Alpha analyst Stephen Ayers, The Trade Desk's Q1 2025 guidance projects revenue of "at least $575 million," which translates to approximately 17% year-over-year growth. While the company's full fiscal year 2024 revenue did grow 26% year-over-year, the sequential slowdown has concerned investors, contributing to a significant 55% decline in the company's stock price since November.

During the February earnings call, CEO Jeff Green acknowledged issues with the platform transition, noting that the company had undergone its "largest reorganization in company history in December." The combination of this reorganization and the slower-than-expected Kokai implementation appears to have created operational inefficiencies.

Kokai's AI-powered capabilities

When launched in 2023, Kokai was positioned as a significant advancement over The Trade Desk's previous platform, Solimar, as well as its pioneering AI work with Koa, which was introduced in 2018. According to the company's announcement, while "Koa assisted the marketer in setting up campaigns based on business objectives and optimizing based on performance, Kokai distributes the power of Koa's AI across various aspects of media buying."

The platform was designed to process more than 13 million advertising impressions every second, each potentially containing thousands of distinct signals, with deep learning algorithms distributed across all aspects of the digital media buying process. These AI capabilities include predictive clearing for optimal bidding, impression scoring based on advertiser relevance, improved measurement and forecasting, increased resilience even without identifiers, budget optimization, and KPI scoring.

As Jeff Green described at the launch, "The Trade Desk benefits from a rich yet highly complex dataset with very high integrity. With Kokai, we are able to help our clients make sense of that data with AI, and help the marketer make the best decisions at every turn."

Measurement innovations and partner integrations

Beyond AI enhancements, Kokai introduced several important measurement tools, particularly for connected TV (CTV) and retail media channels. These include free retail measurement data from partner retailers such as Albertsons Media Collective and Walgreens Advertising Group when audience data is enabled.

The platform also introduced three key measurement indices: the Retail Sales Index for measuring online and offline retail sales against retail ad spend; the TV Quality Index for assessing viewer ad experiences across streaming platforms; and the Quality Reach Index to help marketers expand their customer base by targeting relevant profiles.

Another significant Kokai feature is the Partner Portal for streamlined integrations, allowing thousands of partners to connect directly with The Trade Desk using standardized adapters. This portal supports integrations for OpenPath, Unified ID 2.0, retail onboarding, measurement, third-party audience data, and contextual targeting.

User experience redesign

Kokai also introduced a new interface called The Programmatic Table, based on the Periodic Table concept. This design aims to create an intuitive dashboard that harnesses the full power of programmatic advertising for users at all levels, from experienced traders to CMOs. The interface surfaces all campaign information and relevant data on the main view, allowing users to move seamlessly through the media buying process.

Executive departure and future outlook

Despite these innovations, the slower-than-expected implementation and transition challenges appear to have created internal strain. In his departure announcement, Simmons, who previously served as VP of Product, remained optimistic about Kokai's potential while acknowledging the criticism: "You know you're doing something bold, innovative, and brave when the skeptics, naysayers, and haters come out in force. The biggest ideas always face a tidal wave of doubt."

According to Simmons, critics "only see the surface—they haven't seen the whole picture yet," and he expressed his continued belief that "Kokai represents a bold, fundamental reinvention of what a DSP can be."

Despite the implementation challenges, The Trade Desk maintains significant strengths. According to its FY24 report, the company achieved a record $12 billion in gross spend processed through its platform and maintained a customer retention rate exceeding 95%. The company also holds a strong financial position with $1.369 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $552 million in short-term investments, and a current ratio near 2, implying adequate liquidity with no major long-term debts.

The company is continuing to develop new products, with "Ventura" announced in November 2024. Described as a "new streaming TV operating system," Ventura is designed to provide a "much cleaner supply chain for streaming TV advertising" and is expected to launch in the first half of 2025.

Industry context and market opportunity

Digital advertising continues to represent a substantial growth opportunity. The total addressable market is estimated at approximately $1 trillion with a 14.5% compound annual growth rate. Connected TV and retail media networks represent particularly promising segments within this market.

However, challenges remain. The Trade Desk faces competition from technology giants including Alphabet (Google) and Meta, ongoing privacy regulation changes, and the decline of third-party cookies, which could complicate digital advertising targeting. While The Trade Desk's Unified ID 2.0 initiative aims to address privacy concerns, its industry-wide adoption remains uncertain.

As The Trade Desk navigates this transition period, the ultimate success of Kokai and the company's ability to maintain its leadership position in programmatic advertising will depend on their execution through these platform changes and organizational adjustments in a rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape.

Timeline of key events

• June 6, 2023: The Trade Desk launches Kokai platform with distributed AI capabilities, measurement tools, Partner Portal, and The Programmatic Table interface
• November 2024: The Trade Desk announces "Ventura," a new streaming TV operating system expected to launch in H1 2025
• December 2024: The Trade Desk undergoes its "largest reorganization in company history"
• February 12, 2025: Q4 2024 earnings report shows slowing growth at 22.3% year-over-year, missing expectations
• February-March 2025: Company stock price drops 55% from November levels
• March 14, 2025: VP of Product Bill Simmons announces departure from The Trade Desk while defending Kokai against industry criticism