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Xandr DSP alternative after the Microsoft Invest shutdown

Published Sep 23, 2026Facts checked: Sep 22, 2026

Short answer

Microsoft announced that it would no longer support media buying through Microsoft Invest, the former Xandr DSP, "starting on February 28, 2026".[1] If you moved to another rented DSP in a hurry, the question now is whether to stay there. Stay on a rented DSP if you buy media for advertisers and the value is in reach, channels and supply. Consider building your own bidder only if buying is your product: your own data or niche, enough spend that a percentage fee is a large monthly line, and a team for round-the-clock operations.

On this page

What happened to the Xandr DSP

Xandr grew out of AppNexus, acquired by AT&T in June 2018. "On June 6, 2022, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Xandr to bolster its advertising and retail media business, for about $1 billion", and "In 2023, Microsoft retired the Xandr name and consolidated the business under its Microsoft Advertising brand."[2] The DSP was sold as Microsoft Invest, "a demand-side platform as offered by Microsoft".[3]

On 14 May 2025 Microsoft announced: "we will no longer support media buying through our DSP, Microsoft Invest, starting on February 28, 2026". Its stated reason: "Our commitment to more private and personalized advertising experiences for a more agentic and conversational world is not achievable with the industry's current DSP model". It kept the Microsoft Advertising Platform, Microsoft Monetize for publishers and Microsoft Curate, and said it would "continue to support access to Microsoft and partner inventory through third-party DSPs who share our focus on privacy, quality, and transparency."[1] On 7 October 2025 it added that "the Amazon DSP is our preferred transition partner and platform for Microsoft Invest customers", and that "Microsoft Monetize will become a preferred SSP in Amazon's Certified Supply Exchange program".[4]

The agreement customers had signed allowed this. Under the Microsoft Invest Advertising Agreement: "Either party may terminate this Agreement, and your participation in Microsoft Invest, at any time, for any or no reason, immediately on written notice."[3] Between the announcement and the stop date there were 290 days.[1] The lesson for the next platform is not about one vendor: a rented DSP runs on its owner's strategy, and your campaigns, logs and integrations sit inside it.

A rented DSP vs your own

Microsoft Invest (retired)Another rented DSPOwn DSP
Code and data ownershipMicrosoft used the personal data it processed, "Microsoft Invest Data", "as a Controller… and for our own purposes, including, but not limited to, the improvement of our services".[3]StackAdapt: Client Data and the rights in it "are the sole and exclusive property of Client".[5] Amazon Marketing Cloud: "You can only access aggregated and anonymous outputs from AMC."[6]Code, bid logs and models are yours. On amBrain projects: "The client keeps full ownership of the product and the code, except our reusable components."
Cost modelContract rates that "may be based on the volume of your transacted activities on the Microsoft Advertising platform";[7] a "Transacted Fee Minimum" and a Log Level Data fee charged "For each month (including any partial month(s)) in which you have access to Log-Level Data Feeds".[3]The Trade Desk: "a platform fee generally based on a percentage of our clients' total platform spend".[8] Amazon DSP: a "cost + fees pricing model", with a technology fee "based on a percent of media cost and disclosed at the time of campaign setup".[9]Build cost, then hosting, storage and a team. No percentage of spend.
Time to launchNot applicable.Account set-up. Amazon: "The managed-service option typically requires a minimum spend of $50,000 USD (minimum may vary per country)."[10]Set by SSP integrations and testing.
Lock-in: term, notice, migrationEither party could end the agreement "immediately on written notice".[3]The Trade Desk: "one-year terms that renew automatically for additional one-year periods, unless earlier terminated, and are terminable at any time upon 60 days' notice by either party".[8] StackAdapt: 90 days' advance written notice to terminate for convenience.[5]None to a platform vendor; SSP contracts in your own name.
CustomisationNot applicable.The Trade Desk's APIs let clients "customize and expand platform functionality".[8] Bidder-as-a-service is the middle ground: AdExchanger described Beeswax, whose purchase by FreeWheel was announced in December 2020, as a "bidder-as-a-service" whose "users can install their own algorithms".[11]Bidding logic, models in the bid path, pacing, reporting.
Certification and complianceCarried by Microsoft.Carried by the vendor, per its terms.To join IAB Europe's TCF, "Vendors must register to participate in the TCF and do this by applying for an annual Vendor membership";[12] plus onboarding with each supply partner.
Latency and scaleNot applicable.Not published by the vendors. The Trade Desk: "Platform operations expense consists of expenses related to hosting our platform, which includes 'internet traffic' associated with the viewing of available impressions or queries per second ('QPS') and computing power".[8]Sized to the traffic you buy, inside each exchange's tmax timeout.[13]
Exit costForced migration; Microsoft could "cease providing you with certain fields from the Log-Level Data Feeds for any reasonable business reason upon 10 business days' notice".[3]StackAdapt: "Client is solely responsible for exporting or backing up its data prior to termination of this Agreement."[5] Google's DV360 Data Transfer: "Files are available in Google Cloud Storage for 60 days. After 60 days files are deleted."[14]No platform licence to terminate; the logs stay in your storage.

Stay on a rented DSP if…

  1. 1.You buy for advertisers across many channels. Amazon DSP offers "a combination of audio, display, online video, Streaming TV, and physical store advertising";[10] StackAdapt says you can "Launch campaigns across connected TV, video, display, native, audio, digital out-of-home, email, and direct mail from one platform."[15] An own bidder starts with one or two channels.
  2. 2.You want Amazon's audiences. Microsoft named Amazon DSP its preferred transition partner,[4] and Amazon Marketing Cloud "is available at no cost to eligible advertisers via web-based UI and API".[6] Because you "can only access aggregated and anonymous outputs from AMC",[6] that data works inside Amazon's tools rather than inside a DSP you build.
  3. 3.Your spend does not yet pay for a team. The Trade Desk's agreements "allow our clients to choose the amount they spend through our platform", with "no material commitments on behalf of clients to use our platform".[8] While volume is small, a percentage fee can cost less than a team for a bidder you do not need yet.

Consider leaving a rented DSP if…

  1. 1.Symptom: you rebuilt your campaigns on a new DSP in months, and could be asked to do it again. Invest ended on a strategy decision its owner stated publicly, under an agreement either side could end "immediately on written notice".[1][3] If buying is your core business, that exposure is the risk to remove.
  2. 2.Symptom: the platform fee is your margin. If you run a trading desk, a vertical network or a reselling business, a fee "based on a percentage of our clients' total platform spend"[8] is taken from the same margin you live on.
  3. 3.Symptom: your data scientists cannot put their model into the bid path. Bidder-as-a-service is the middle step: the differentiator AdExchanger named for Beeswax was that "users can install their own algorithms";[11] an own bidder is the full step. More on running a model inside the bid request.

A migration path in four steps

  1. 1.Make your data portable now, not at the next shutdown. Export log-level data continuously to your own storage. Google's Data Transfer files are "available in Google Cloud Storage for 60 days",[14] and StackAdapt makes export the client's responsibility before termination.[5]
  2. 2.Start with one use case on one exchange. Put a narrow workload, such as retargeting on display, on your own bidder or a bidder-as-a-service, and keep the rented DSP for everything else.
  3. 3.Sign supply in your own name. Each SSP is a contract, an OpenRTB integration and a testing cycle; budget for them one at a time.
  4. 4.Move line items as the numbers work, and keep a fallback. A rented DSP remains useful for channels you do not build, and its notice period (60 days at The Trade Desk, 90 days for convenience at StackAdapt) is short enough to keep it on as insurance.[8][5]

For the decision itself, see building, licensing or renting a DSP.

What drives the cost of building your own

These are the cost drivers, not a price.

  • Queries per second. The Trade Desk books hosting, "internet traffic" associated with impressions or "queries per second ('QPS')" and computing power as platform operations expense, and expects that expense to grow with "an increased volume of queries per second ('QPS') and media impressions purchased through our platform".[8] Your own DSP pays that bill at its own scale.
  • The latency budget. OpenRTB 2.6 defines tmax as the "Maximum time in milliseconds the exchange allows for bids to be received including Internet latency to avoid timeout"; the specification's video example request uses 120.[13] See Rust vs Go for RTB bidders.
  • SSP integrations. Each exchange has its own OpenRTB dialect, testing and contract.
  • Log storage and reporting. Keeping every bid and impression is the point of owning the data, and it is a storage bill.
  • Identity and data. Audience data, contextual signals and any identity framework you adopt.
  • Fraud, brand safety and consent. Verification vendors and, if you register as a TCF vendor, obligations such as to "Retrieve and/or receive users' choices in real-time".[12]
  • Operations. A bidder earns only while it answers, so it needs on-call cover.

Frequently asked questions

Microsoft said it would "no longer support media buying through our DSP, Microsoft Invest, starting on February 28, 2026". It announced this on 14 May 2025.[1]

On 7 October 2025 Microsoft said "the Amazon DSP is our preferred transition partner and platform for Microsoft Invest customers".[4] In May 2025 it also said it would "continue to support access to Microsoft and partner inventory through third-party DSPs".[1]

Not according to Microsoft's announcements. On 7 October 2025 it described itself as "exclusively focusing on our technology investments on the Microsoft Advertising Platform, Microsoft Monetize, and Microsoft Curate".[4] Its May 2025 post describes both Monetize and Curate as continuing publisher products.[1]

It depends on the contract. The Microsoft Invest agreement allowed termination "immediately on written notice";[3] The Trade Desk's agreements are "terminable at any time upon 60 days' notice by either party";[8] StackAdapt's terms allow termination for convenience on 90 days' advance written notice.[5]

Only if buying is your product: your own data or a vertical niche, spend large enough that a percentage fee is a significant monthly cost, and a team that can run a bidder around the clock. Otherwise, rent, keep your logs portable and revisit at the next contract renewal.

Disclosure: this page is published by amBrain. From amBrain's AdTech services: "DSP development, real-time bidding platforms, and ad exchange engineering." Every vendor fact on this page links to its source. Xandr, Microsoft Invest and the other product names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the products discussed.

Sources

  1. [1]Microsoft Advertising blog, Empowering businesses for a future that is conversational, personal, and agentic, May 14, 2025. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  2. [2]Wikipedia, Xandr (AppNexus, Microsoft acquisition, 2023 name retirement). Third-party source · checked Sep 22, 2026
  3. [3]Microsoft, Microsoft Invest Advertising Agreement (Sections 7 and 8; Section 4 log-level data terms; the fee list; PDF created 16 November 2024). Vendor's published terms · checked Sep 22, 2026
  4. [4]Microsoft Advertising blog, Unlocking more opportunities for partners and customers through collaboration with Amazon, Oct 7, 2025. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  5. [5]StackAdapt, Platform Terms of Use (last updated 12 December 2025), Dec 12, 2025. Vendor's published terms · checked Sep 22, 2026
  6. [6]Amazon Ads, Amazon Marketing Cloud. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  7. [7]Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Invest - Understand your pricing terms (tiered pricing section). Official documentation · checked Sep 22, 2026
  8. [8]The Trade Desk, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2025. Company filing · checked Sep 22, 2026
  9. [9]Amazon Ads, Pricing transparency guide. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  10. [10]Amazon Ads, Amazon DSP product page. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  11. [11]AdExchanger, FreeWheel Buys Beeswax, Dec 17, 2020. Press · checked Sep 22, 2026
  12. [12]IAB Europe, TCF for vendors. Official documentation · checked Sep 22, 2026
  13. [13]IAB Tech Lab, OpenRTB 2.6 specification (tmax definition, section 6.2.4 video example). Specification · checked Sep 22, 2026
  14. [14]Google Display & Video 360, Data Transfer v2 overview. Official documentation · checked Sep 22, 2026
  15. [15]StackAdapt, Home page (channels). Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026

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