Publicly traded (DV)
Website: https://doubleverify.com/
DoubleVerify (NYSE: DV) is a publicly traded software company that provides digital media measurement, data, and analytics for the advertising ecosystem. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, the company serves advertisers, agencies, and publishers with tools for ad fraud detection, brand safety and suitability, viewability measurement, and campaign effectiveness. As of August 2026, a definitive agreement has been announced for Nielsen Holdings to acquire DoubleVerify in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.15 billion, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
DoubleVerify operates a software platform for digital media measurement and analytics, sitting at the intersection of ad verification, media quality assurance, and campaign optimization [1]. Its solutions assess whether ads are delivered according to specified criteria—including viewability, invalid traffic, brand safety, and geographic targeting—across websites, mobile applications, connected television, and social media [1]. Core proprietary products include the DV Authentic Ad metric (which evaluates fraud, brand suitability, viewability, and geography for each impression), DV Authentic Attention (an engagement-and-exposure-based analytics solution), DV Pinnacle (a unified reporting and activation dashboard), Scibids AI (an AI-powered campaign optimization engine), and Rockerbox (a cross-channel attribution and marketing mix modeling platform) [8]. The company generates revenue primarily based on the volume of media transactions its platform measures, and its solutions are integrated across programmatic platforms, social media channels, and digital publishers [2][16]. DV serves over 2,000 customers spanning consumer packaged goods, financial services, telecommunications, technology, automotive, and healthcare verticals [16]. Its technology is active across 31 offices in 25 countries [16].
DoubleVerify was founded in 2008 in New York City [1]. The company's early product was a JavaScript tag-based verification system for scoring digital ad impressions in real time [9]. In 2010, it introduced brand safety software, followed by viewability measurement tools in 2013, and fraud detection services in 2014 [1]. Early venture funding came from Blumberg Capital, First Round Capital, JMI Equity, and Institutional Venture Partners, including a Series B of $10 million in 2010 and a Series C of $33 million in 2011 [4][5]. A $350 million Series D round closed in October 2020 [4]. In 2017, Providence Equity Partners acquired a controlling interest in the company [1]. DoubleVerify listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2021 [1], raising approximately $360 million in its IPO [4]. Notable acquisitions include Zentrick (2020), OpenSlate (2021, CTV and social video contextual data), Scibids (July 2023, AI-powered campaign optimization, for $125 million) [1][4], and Rockerbox (February 2025, performance attribution, for $85 million) [11]. In August 2026, Nielsen Holdings announced a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleVerify in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.15 billion ($13.60 per share), representing a 30% premium to the company's recent trading average; the deal is expected to close by Q1 2027 [32][36].
DoubleVerify operates in the digital ad verification, media measurement, and campaign effectiveness categories [6]. Its solutions are accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) across a broad range of metrics, including display and video impressions, invalid traffic filtration, viewable impressions, brand suitability, contextual targeting, and—as of April 2026—TikTok video viewability, for which DV was the first measurement vendor to earn MRC accreditation [46]. DV first earned MRC accreditation in February 2013 and has since expanded its accreditation portfolio to cover pre- and post-bid solutions across display, video, and CTV environments [45]. Per the company's 2024 10-K filing, DV served over 2,000 customers, with 110 customers each representing at least $1 million in annual revenue in 2024, up from 93 in 2023 [16]. The company's data and products are used across platforms including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Roku, and NBCUniversal [1]. Full-year 2024 revenue was $656.8 million (up 15% year-over-year), and full-year 2025 revenue was $748 million (up 14% year-over-year), with a record 9.5 trillion billable media transactions measured in 2025 [11][17]. Net revenue retention was 112% in 2024 [16].
DoubleVerify's primary direct competitor in ad verification and media quality measurement is Integral Ad Science (IAS, NASDAQ: IAS), which provides comparable ad verification, measurement, and optimization solutions [28]. Additional competitors cited across trade and financial sources include Oracle's Moat (which shut down in late 2024, enabling DV and IAS to capture displaced clients) [25], Human Security (formerly White Ops) in invalid traffic detection, Comscore in audience measurement, and platform-native tools from Google (Active View) and Amazon [24][28]. DV differentiates from IAS through its Authentic Ad methodology and granular reporting, while IAS has historically leveraged price competition and regional expansion [25]. The shutdown of Oracle Moat in late 2024 reduced fragmentation in the verification category, consolidating the market further around DV and IAS [25]. Platform-native measurement tools from Google and Amazon represent indirect competition, though demand for independent, third-party verification has historically acted as a barrier to full displacement by walled-garden tools [25]. DV holds MRC accreditations across a broad suite of channels and metrics, including being the first vendor to earn MRC accreditation for TikTok video viewability, which the company positions as a differentiator in enterprise procurement [46].