AdExchanger.com was able to catch up with AppNexus president Michael Rubenstein after his company’s recently announced “$5-million Inside, Up Round.”
What’s all this AppNexus “gateway” talk, you ask?
It’s official – AppNexus is a demand-side platform.
Rubenstein was unequivocal when elaborating on what was meant in the release by the term “gateway.” He said that AppNexus should be considered a demand-side platform (DSP) and that the company buys across exchange and inventory aggregators though declined to be specific on who these partners were for now.
Rubenstein added that AppNexus’ goal is “to create the most scalable technology platform for buying in real-time. Today, we have the most real-time inventory relationships in the market.” Like many internet companies, he added that the competition between AppNexus and DSPs such as x+1, MediaMath, Invite Media, CPM Advisors, Adchemy,Fox Audience Network, DataXu, Turn, AdBuyer.com, Triggit and others as a reflection of the nature of internet business where companies both compete and work together in partnership.
In regards to speculation that an “inside” round may indicate some weakness or issue with the company, Rubenstein was equally unequivocal and said that in fact “the value of our company is skyrocketing” and AppNexus’ investors such as Kodiak, First Round and Ron Conway wanted to put more money in before any other investors had a chance to. Momentum for the latest round of funding started well-before his arrival, Rubenstein said.
By John Ebbert
