The battle over transparency with Publicis Groupe (and other holding companies) isn’t the only fight that demand-side platform The Trade Desk (TTD) has on its hands. 

A group of investors filed suit against TTD last year, alleging violations of securities laws related to the company’s AI driven programmatic ad buying platform Kokai. 

Several suits were consolidated against the company in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and earlier this week the judge overseeing the case denied TTD’s motion to dismiss the case. 

Shareholders allege that they were misled by the company about the success of the Kokai platform.

Last February, the company reported that it missed fourth-quarter 2024 revenue targets and acknowledged that Kokai had not been as widely embraced by clients as it previously suggested.  

The company’s stock fell about 30% in one day after those disclosures.  

The shareholders in the suit are not seeking a specific damages figure, but allege that the firm’s misstatements led to a $42 billion drop in shareholder value.  

They also note that company executives sold millions of dollars worth of stock leading up to the February 2025 earnings report, including $48 million worth of shares sold by CEO Jeff Green just one day “before the alleged corrective disclosure regarding Kokai adoption,” the judge noted in his order denying dismissal of the case.  

The judge found that taken collectively, the plaintiff's allegations provide “a strong inference” of intentionality with regard to misrepresentations about Kokai’s adoption, and is allowing the case to proceed.