Walmart buys Vibe.co for $1.4B to challenge Amazon in advertising

What happened?

Walmart has announced an agreement to acquire Vibe.co, a startup specializing in connected TV (CTV) advertising, for approximately $1.4 billion, according to The Next Web. The purchase represents Walmart's largest acquisition in the advertising space and is a significant premium over Vibe.co's $410 million valuation from a funding round just nine months ago. This move reflects Walmart's urgency to scale in the digital advertising market, where Amazon dominates with $46 billion in revenue in 2023, compared to Walmart's estimated $3 billion.

Vibe.co offers advertisers the ability to buy ad inventory on streaming platforms like Hulu, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV, using audience data and advanced targeting. The platform allows brands to measure campaign impact in real time and optimize performance. Founded in 2018, Vibe.co had raised approximately $100 million in venture capital, with a $410 million valuation in its last round in 2025. The $1.4 billion acquisition implies a multiple of 3.4 times that valuation, indicating high demand for CTV advertising assets.

Why is this important?

The U.S. digital advertising market is dominated by Amazon, which generated over $46 billion in ad revenue in 2023, far ahead of Walmart's estimated $3 billion. The purchase of Vibe.co allows Walmart to make a qualitative leap in its advertising offering, especially in the CTV segment, which is growing at double-digit annual rates. According to eMarketer, the U.S. CTV advertising market will reach $30 billion in 2026, up from an estimated $22 billion in 2025.

Moreover, the deal reflects a broader trend: retailers are turning their media platforms into high-margin businesses. Walmart already has Walmart Connect, its advertising network, which generated about $3.4 billion in revenue in 2024, but lacked native CTV capabilities. The acquisition of Vibe.co fills that gap and allows it to offer advertisers an integrated package of in-store, online, and streaming advertising. This is similar to what Amazon has done with its ad network, which includes ads on Prime Video, Fire TV, and its marketplace. The key difference is that Walmart possesses offline purchase data from its 4,600 U.S. stores, which combined with CTV audience data could create a more complete consumer profile.

Historically, Walmart has been a follower in digital advertising. Its first major move was the acquisition of programmatic advertising platform Polymorph Labs in 2021, but it was a small purchase. In 2023, Walmart launched Walmart Connect with limited capabilities. The purchase of Vibe.co is its most aggressive bet, surpassing the $3 billion acquisition of Jet.com in 2016, though that was in e-commerce. The $1.4 billion price shows that Walmart is willing to pay a premium to close the gap with Amazon, which has invested heavily in CTV advertising through its Amazon Ads platform and its Prime Video service, which has included ads since January 2024.

Market consequences

The purchase of Vibe.co will intensify competition with Amazon Ads, which already offers CTV solutions through its own platform. Amazon has been aggressive in this space, generating approximately $6 billion in CTV-only ad revenue in 2024, according to Insider Intelligence estimates. It will also pressure other retailers like Target (with its Roundel network) and Kroger (with Kroger Precision Marketing), which have their own ad networks but have not yet made moves of this magnitude. Target, for example, invested in CTV startup Innovid in 2023 but did not make a direct acquisition. Kroger, meanwhile, merged with Albertsons in 2024, but its ad network remains small.

For advertisers, the integration of Vibe.co into Walmart Connect means access to first-party purchase data combined with CTV audience targeting, which could improve campaign efficiency. However, it also raises data privacy concerns, as Walmart will be able to cross-reference offline and online purchase information with viewing behavior. This could lead to regulatory scrutiny similar to what Amazon faced with the use of purchase data for advertising. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shown interest in regulating first-party data-based advertising, and Walmart could face investigations if it does not handle privacy properly.

Additionally, the deal could accelerate consolidation in the adtech market. Vibe.co competed with companies like The Trade Desk, Magnite, and SpotX (acquired by Magnite). Vibe.co's exit from the independent ecosystem could reduce competition and increase prices for advertisers. However, it could also incentivize other retailers to seek similar acquisitions, as seen with Best Buy and Home Depot's interest in expanding their ad networks.

What readers should know

• The $1.4 billion valuation is more than triple Vibe.co's previous valuation, indicating high demand for advertising assets and Walmart's urgency to scale.
• The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, though it is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. However, the current regulatory climate, with a more active FTC under the Biden administration, could delay or impose conditions.
• Walmart competes directly with Amazon on multiple fronts: e-commerce, logistics, and now digital advertising. Amazon has a significant advantage in ad revenue, but Walmart has more physical stores and offline purchase data.
• The U.S. CTV advertising market will reach $30 billion in 2026, according to eMarketer, and Walmart aims to capture a share of that growth.
• Vibe.co has over 1,000 advertiser clients and processes more than 10 billion monthly impressions, according to company data. Its attribution technology measures ad impact on sales, something Walmart highly values.

“Walmart is willing to pay a premium to close the advertising gap with Amazon. The purchase of Vibe.co is not just a statement of intent, but a strategic necessity in a market where first-party data is the new gold.” — Analyst at TheVortiq

Future outlook

Walmart is expected to integrate Vibe.co into its Walmart Connect unit and offer advertisers the ability to buy CTV ads alongside ads on its website and in physical stores. The company could also use Vibe.co's data to personalize the shopping experience and improve sales attribution. For example, an advertiser could show a product ad on Hulu and then measure how many people who saw the ad bought the product at Walmart, either online or in-store.

However, the technological and cultural integration of an agile startup into a massive corporation like Walmart carries risks. Walmart has a mixed track record with acquisition integration: the purchase of Jet.com in 2016 did not yield expected results and the brand was eventually discontinued. Additionally, regulators may scrutinize the deal for its impact on competition and data privacy. If the FTC considers that the combination of purchase and viewing data creates an anticompetitive advantage, it could impose restrictions. There is also the risk that CTV publishers like Disney (Hulu) and Roku may see Walmart as a direct competitor and limit Vibe.co's access to their inventory.

In the long term, Walmart could expand Vibe.co to international markets like Mexico and Canada, where it already has retail presence. However, privacy regulations in other countries, such as GDPR in Europe, could complicate expansion. For now, Walmart's priority is to consolidate its position in the U.S. and demonstrate to advertisers that it can compete with Amazon in the lucrative digital advertising market.