The Trade Desk: Kokai, OpenPath, UID2, pricing model and alternatives

The Trade Desk sells one thing: buying software. A trader sets a budget, an audience and a goal, and the platform bids for single impressions across exchanges and publishers in real time. The company says it is "buy-side focused" and built its data platform before its bidder (10-K, FY2025). Unlike Amazon or Google, it runs no store, search engine or video service that sells ads alongside its DSP.

Its clients are mostly agencies. That shapes the business. In 2025, two agency holding companies together accounted for 30% of gross billings, up from one holding company at 14% in 2024 (10-K, FY2025). Brands usually reach the platform through an agency trading desk, though some run seats in-house.

Growth slowed sharply in 2026. Second-quarter revenue rose 3% to $715 million, and the company guided to at least $650 million for the third quarter (Q2 2026 release, 6 August 2026). On 3 September 2026 it announced a realignment that cut about 15% of its workforce (8-K, 4 September 2026). Third-quarter results were due after the market closed on 9 November 2026 (The Trade Desk, 27 October 2026), after this page's research cut-off.

Four pieces sit around the bidder. Each has its own name, which is why buyers meet so many brands from one company.

Kokai is the platform interface and optimisation layer, launched on 6 June 2023 (The Trade Desk, 6 June 2023). Its AI, Koa, dates from 2018 and analyses "more than 20 million ad impressions every second" (company claim, The Trade Desk, 27 August 2026). The Kokai Zuma release of 27 August 2026 added a conversational Koa Assistant, AI audience building and simpler conversion-lift studies (The Trade Desk, 27 August 2026).

OpenPath connects the platform straight to publishers and cuts out intermediaries (The Trade Desk OpenPath, accessed 9 November 2026). It launched in February 2022, and the company stopped buying through Google's Open Bidding on 15 April 2022 (The Trade Desk, 5 May 2022). It is the firm's main supply path optimization tool, alongside OpenSincera, which describes ad experiences on 400,000 publishers (10-K).

Unified ID 2.0 turns an email address or phone number into a pseudonymous ad ID. The code is open source, but The Trade Desk is "currently" the Core Administrator that distributes keys and salts, and it also runs a Public Operator (UID2 docs). See the UID2 glossary entry and its European twin, EUID.

Ventura is a smart-TV operating system. On 24 February 2026 the company widened it into the Ventura Ecosystem, with V (formerly VIDAA) and Nexxen as the first members (The Desk, 24 February 2026). V says it powers more than 50 million devices (company claim, same source).

The Trade Desk does not publish a rate card. Its filing says it charges "a platform fee generally based on a percentage of our clients' total spend" and earns more from value-added services and data (10-K, FY2025). Revenue is reported net of media, so dividing it by gross spend gives an all-in take rate.

The rate is our arithmetic, not a figure the company states. A spokesperson has called it "consistently around 20%" (AdExchanger, 28 April 2025). Data costs sit on top: Audience Unlimited bills 3.3% or 4.4% of impression cost in Control Mode (PPC Land, 29 September 2025). The fee lines, data charges and negotiation points are broken down in The Trade Desk fees explained. How this model compares with flat-fee and negotiated DSPs is in DSP pricing explained.

Strengths

• No owned media to favour. The company sells no inventory of its own, so its bidder has no house supply to steer toward (10-K, FY2025).
• A direct supply path. OpenPath and OpenSincera give buyers a shorter route to publishers and data on what each page shows.
• Shared identity plumbing. UID2 and EUID work across many DSPs and publishers, not only The Trade Desk, because the code is open source (UID2 docs).
• Premium streaming supply. Netflix joined its seller marketplace in 2026 (Q2 2026 release).

Limits

• The take rate is rising. It went from 20.3% to 21.6% in a year, and the company credited part of its Q2 2026 revenue growth to "increased pricing" of value-added services (10-Q, Q2 2026).
• Agency concentration. With 30% of billings from two holding companies, a change at one group moves the business (10-K).
• Identity governance is not neutral yet. UID2 is open source, but the administrator role still sits with The Trade Desk.
• Retail data exclusivity has ended. Walmart's four-year exclusive deal with the platform ended in autumn 2025 (Marketing Dive, 1 June 2026). On 28 May 2026 Walmart opened its audiences to Yahoo DSP on VIZIO inventory through Magnite, in what it calls "a closed proof of concept phase" (Walmart Connect, 28 May 2026). See the Walmart Connect profile.

• Third-quarter 2026 results. They were scheduled for release after the market closed on 9 November 2026 (The Trade Desk, 27 October 2026), after our research cut-off.
• Contract platform-fee rates. The company publishes none, and the 21.6% figure blends platform fees, data and services.
• How many TVs run Ventura OS, and which manufacturers ship it beyond the V partnership.
• Which OpenRTB version the bidder supports, and the price of log-level data feeds.

1. The Trade Desk, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (filed 27 February 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000167193326000014/ttd-20251231.htm
2. The Trade Desk, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (filed 6 August 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000167193326000086/ttd-20260630.htm
3. The Trade Desk, "The Trade Desk Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results", Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K (6 August 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000167193326000085/ttd-20260806x8kexx991.htm
4. The Trade Desk, Inc., Form 8-K on the organizational realignment (filed 4 September 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000119312526382690/d118889d8k.htm
5. The Trade Desk, Inc., Form 8-K on the special meeting (filed 20 October 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1671933/000167193326000108/ttd-20261019.htm
6. US Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR submissions record for The Trade Desk, Inc. (accessed 9 November 2026). https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0001671933.json
7. The Trade Desk, "The Trade Desk Launches Kokai" (6 June 2023). https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-launches-kokai-a-new-media-buying-platform-that-brings-the-full-power-of-ai-to-digital-marketing
8. The Trade Desk, "The Trade Desk Introduces Kokai Zuma, the Latest Release of Kokai" (27 August 2026). https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-introduces-kokai-zuma-the-latest-release-of-kokai
9. The Trade Desk, "The Trade Desk Adds More Publishers to OpenPath" (5 May 2022). https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-adds-more-publishers-to-openpath-enabling-advertisers-to-directly-access-premium-publisher-inventory
10. The Trade Desk, "The Trade Desk Announces Date of Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Conference Call" (27 October 2026). https://www.thetradedesk.com/press-room/the-trade-desk-announces-date-of-third-quarter-2026-financial-results-and-conference-call