Amazon Prepares SSP Launch; Tracer raises USD$18.1m

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Amazon prepares to launch a new SSP; Tracer raises USD$18.1m (£14.2m); and Joe Zawadzki formalises MediaMath bid.

Amazon prepares SSP launch

Amazon is preparing to launch a new supply-side platform and is actively recruiting across a range of positions for a "PubTech team" to bring the new offering to fruition. Initially reported by Business Insider, the platform is separate from Amazon Publisher Services, a division of AWS that focuses on third-party publishers, and instead sit under the umbrella of Amazon Ads.

According to the job listings, the new unit will focus on audiovisual and display advertising products for Amazon's first-party media portfolio, including Prime Video, Freevee, FireTV, and Twitch. Amazon already runs a demand-side platform, built upon assets previously acquired from Sizmek, therefore its efforts to move to a full-stack offering will draw comparisons to Google's end-to-end offering, and potentially the gaze of antitrust regulators.

Tracer raises USD$18.1m (£14.2m)

Reporting and business intelligence platform Tracer has raised USD$18.1m (£14.2m) in a Series A funding round jointly-led by NewRoad Capital Partners, Progress Ventures, and BDMI. The firm, which holds a range of brand and publisher partnerships with the likes of Papa Johns and Condé Nast, ingests advertising, sales, and web traffic data and subsequently outputs this to internal sources, such as spreadsheets and dashboards.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Tracer CEO Jeff Nicholson stated, "Most companies today are doing reporting and analytics by building out a ‘modern data stack'. We believe that’s too expensive — and too complicated. The modern data stack is a means to an end — reporting and analytics – and the intellectual property is in how you use it.”

Joe Zawadzki formalises MediaMath bid

MediaMath founder and former CEO Joe Zawadzki is formalising his bid to purchase the bankrupt companies assets, according to a report published by Business Insider. Under the plans, an investment syndicate dubbed "Project Phoenix", comprised of members of Zawadzki's AperiamVentures firm, will seek to raise up to USD$10m through a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE).

Prospective investors were given until last Friday (11th) to sign documentation and wire funds to the SAFE according to documents obtained by Insider, ahead of the bankruptcy auction, which is currently slated for Monday 21st August. MediaMath entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 30th June with approximately USD$125m (£98.4m) in debts, after a prospective buyer declined to purchase the firm.