• by Laurie Sullivan , July 20, 2026

Removing traditional ad-tech middlemen and build its own private platform will allow Stagwell to determine how ad space is selected and bundled for its clients, rather than relying on automated third-party ad exchanges.

The holding company is preparing to launch “Stagwell Curate,” an AI marketplace that centralizes curated media inventory including connected TV, online video, display, and audio ads from publishers and ad-tech partners.

“We've brought together our preferred publisher relationships, private marketplace deals and supply partnerships into one scalable platform,” Matt Adams, global CEO of Stagwell Media Platform, told MediaPost in an email. “It allows brands to move beyond buying what's available and instead access inventory that has been deliberately selected for quality and performance.”

Adams believes the biggest advantage for advertisers from Stagwell Curate — part of the Stagwell Media Platform — is better access to quality inventory and greater control over where media budgets are spent.

The Media Machine buying agents will connect directly to Stagwell Curate, giving them instant access to to preferred publisher relationships, pre-negotiated private marketplace deals and exclusive pricing when sourcing inventory.

Inventory through the platform is continuously evaluated using log-level data and supply-quality models powered by The Trade Desk's Sincera.

Adams described the key to the platform as the ability to curate ad supply closer to publishers to reveal premium ad-buying opportunities traditional bid optimization can miss. It streamlines the programmatic supply chain to eliminate redundant intermediaries and fraudulent practices. 

Ad agencies traditionally buy inventory through demand-side platforms (DSPs) and trust that the supply path is clean. This means buying digital ad space with the fewest middleman fees, zero fraud, and visibility into where the money goes.

Clients including Nike, Lenovo, Target, Starbucks and Bud Light — although it is not determined whether the brand uses Curate — could use the new platform as Stagwell clients.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) estimates total U.S. advertising spend across all media is projected to grow 9.5% year-over-year in 2026. Released in April and based on projections, the total U.S. ad spend across all channels could reach approximately $500.98 billion in 2026.

This technology moves curation in-house. It creates an agency-owned layer above the DSP to filter and control eligible inventory before a bid gets placed

Data and intelligence, along with quality standards and performance signals, are applied upstream, meaning closer to the original source, to evaluate inventory before it reaches the bid.

Through direct integration with partners such as FreeWheel and Magnite, and connections to The Media Machine's AI buying agents, Stagwell can curate that supply closer to the source.

Theoretically, each media buying decision is informed by more data, greater transparency and a more complete view of available performance opportunities.