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For brands that buy programmatic media

Own your programmatic. See where every dollar goes.

ViSTARS delivers a buying platform you own, with your name on it. It runs in your cloud account, and every fee and shows on one screen.
For agencies and trading desks

Stop renting a white-label platform. Own yours.

ViSTARS delivers a buying platform with your name on it. You hold the source code and run it in your own cloud account. One fee, paid once, replaces white-label fees and the cut many platforms take from your media.
For publishers and media owners

Own your selling platform. Choose your buyers.

ViSTARS delivers a selling platform you own, under your own brand. You set the pricing rules and price floors, choose your buyers, and get clear reporting. It runs in your own cloud account.
For media trading platforms

Run your trading business on technology you own.

ViSTARS delivers the SSP and Exchange technology that trading businesses run on, with the full source code and documentation. You hold the routing and the margin.

Vi-Agent, our operational intelligence layer, watches your {{ agentWhat }}, explains what changed, and has the fix ready for your team to approve.

Request a 60-minute strategy call See how ownership works
Request an agency strategy call Request the technical briefing
Request a publisher strategy call See the selling platform
Request the technical briefing See Vi-SSP and Vi-Exchange
Perpetual ownershipFull source codeNo percentage-of-media software fee
Follow one dollar
Platform type

At least 4 middlemen take a cut before the publisher is paid.1 hop between your dollar and the publisher, on a direct connection.

  1. You, the advertiserYour media budget
    You, the advertiser, with your own DSPYour . Paid for once, running in your cloud account.
    starts hereyou own it
  2. Your agencyCharges a fee or a markup on your media
    agency fee
  3. Someone else's buying platformThe . Charges a fee on your media, often a percent.
    platform fee
  4. Resellers and ExchangesPass your bid along or resell the space, and take a fee or a markup.
    fees and markups
  5. Someone else's selling platformThe . Sells the publisher's space and keeps a fee.
    The selling platformThe . Not every publisher runs its own trading platform, so this is the one hop before the publisher.
    SSP platform feeone hop
  6. The publisher
    Gets what is left after every fee above
    Paid through its selling platform. No reseller in between.
    direct
Your cloud account. Your cloud bill. No media markup on the platform you own.
What changes when you own it

One fee, paid once, replaces white-label fees and the cut many platforms take from your media.

  1. Vi-DSP with ad serverYour buying platform, under your name. You hold the source code and run it in your own cloud account.
    you own it
  2. White-label feesReplaced by one fee, paid once.
    replaced
  3. The cut many platforms takeNo percentage-of-media software fee on the platform you own.
    none on yours
  4. Trading feesTrading through the ViSTARS Exchange or ViSTARS Agency carries its own fee, shown in writing.
    in writing
  5. Your marginYou set it and you keep it.
    yours
Your cloud account. Your cloud bill. No media markup on the platform you own.
What you control

You set the rules for your space and choose who buys it.

  1. Vi-SSP, your selling platformThe software a publisher uses to sell ad space. Under your brand, in your own cloud account.
    you own it
  2. Pricing rules and price floorsYou set them.
    yours
  3. Your buyersYou choose who can bid on your space.
    yours
  4. Clear reportingSee what sold and what it earned.
    on screen
Your cloud account. Your brand. Your selling platform.
What you hold

Three modules run your trading business. You hold the source code for each.

  1. Vi-DSP with ad serverThe buying side. Your buyers bid here.
    you own it
  2. Vi-SSPThe selling side. Your sellers' ad space is sold here.
    you own it
  3. Vi-ExchangeThe marketplace between them. You decide how requests are routed.
    you own it
  4. The marginYou set the fee on your trading and you keep it.
    yours
Your cloud account. Full source code and documentation.

Your advertising technology should be an asset you own.

Yes to Owning your platform

Full source code, running in your own cloud account.

Yes to Direct access to advertising partners

Fewer stops between your budget and the publisher.

Yes to Keeping more of the value

More of every media dollar stays in your business.

No to Renewals

Ownership is perpetual and you hold the source code. There is no renewal date to reprice it.

No to Hidden fees

Every ViSTARS fee is written into your contract and shown on your screen. Nothing arrives as a surprise line.

No to Markup

Your cloud bill comes straight to you, so you see every line. We add nothing to it.

Hear it from a current platform owner. Request a private reference

Who we build for

Built for the people who sign off on programmatic spend.

If your name is on the media budget, you should see every fee and every supply path between it and the publisher. ViSTARS is built for the people who ask for that view and expect an answer.

Brands with an in-house team

Run your own buying. See every fee.

Rent the platform for up to four months, then decide whether to own it.

Rent or own
Brands that use an agency

Ask for the supply path and the fee behind every dollar.

Then check the answer against a public record. ViSTARS Agency, an affiliated programmatic media agency, runs campaigns for brands on our platform.

See how we buy media
Agencies and platforms

Stop renting a white-label platform. Own yours.

One fee, paid once, replaces white-label fees and the cut many platforms take from your media. Put your own brand on it and keep the margin. The full feature set is in the technical briefing, shared after we both sign an NDA.

Request the technical briefing
Supply partnersListed in our public sellers.json
  • Index Exchange
  • PubMatic
  • OpenX
  • TripleLift
  • InMobi
  • Smaato
  • Pubnative
  • Verve
  • Nativo
  • Yieldmo
  • 33Across
  • Seedtag
  • Infolinks
  • Illumin
  • Adyoulike
  • eyeo
  • Admixer
  • Eskimi
  • Wurl
  • LKQD
  • Rise
  • AudioMob
  • Bright Mountain Media
  • Nexverse
  • Online Media Solutions
  • IQzone
  • Solaris
  • Adte
  • Oveeo
  • Axis
  • Space Mob
  • Amma.family
  • ViSTARS Agency
The problem

Only 45 cents of each programmatic dollar reaches a qualified impression.

The ANA's Q2 2026 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark puts the market-level TrueAdSpend Index at 45.1 percent. A qualified impression is measurable, viewable, fraud-free and not on a made-for-advertising site. At the higher-performing advertisers, 52.3 percent of spend reached a qualified impression. At the lower performers, 31.1 percent did. The gap is 21.2 points.

Fees were the smaller part of the gap. In the Q1 edition, transaction costs differed by 2.4 points. Media productivity losses, the other component the ANA reports, differed by 19.4. In Q2, the higher performers bought across about 19,000 fewer domains and apps.

Our view: the stronger advertisers decide which supply they buy, how it is routed and what gets measured. On a platform someone else runs, that control depends on what the vendor shows you. On a platform whose source code you hold, the bidding logic, the paths and the logs are yours to inspect.

You cannot fix a path you cannot inspect.

45¢

of every programmatic dollar reaches a qualified impression.

The other 55 cents went somewhere. We show you where.

ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, Q2 2026. TrueAdSpend Index, market level: 45.1 percent.

Higher performers get 21.2 points more of every dollar to a qualified impression than lower performers.

Share of programmatic spend reaching qualified impressions (TrueAdSpend Index), Q2 2026

Higher-performing advertisers52.3%
Market-level index45.1%
Lower-performing advertisers31.1%
Fees were the smaller part of the gap · Q1 2026 edition
Transaction costs
2.4 pts
Media productivity losses
19.4 pts

In the Q1 edition, the two groups were 21.9 points apart. Figures are rounded as the ANA reports them. The 21.2-point gap above is from the Q2 edition.

Sources: ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, Q2 2026, released August 6, 2026; ANA, Q1 2026 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, May 2026

Readiness assessment

See where your team stands on owning programmatic.

Answer 18 questions. Get two scores and three next steps built from your lowest answers. Your result shows before we ask for an email.

Start the assessment About six minutes
Own
Score out of 18

How much of your cost, supply and data you control.

Run
Score out of 18

Whether AI agents could act inside your setup without costing you money.

What you open each morning

Every fee, on one screen.

An illustrative Vi-UI overview, built from sample data. Spend, fees and supply paths sit side by side. Vi-Agent flags the change that needs a decision and has the fix ready for your approval.

OverviewSample brand workspace · last 7 days
Illustrative · sample data
Spend$171K+2.1% a day
All fees, share of spend14%+2 pts
Quality rate64%−2 pts
Direct paths38%Flat

Fee by supply path

PathSpendFeeChange
Publisher group 1Direct21%6%Flat
Publisher group 2Direct17%6%Flat
SSP 1Through an SSP20%14%Flat
SSP 2Through an SSP25%19%+7 pts
Reseller 1Through a reseller17%22%Flat

Vi-Agent: needs you today

Critical

Cost per quality impression through SSP 2 rose 9% after it raised its fee on Tuesday.

Warning

All fees reached 14% of spend, up from 12% last month.

Opportunity

A direct path to two of your publishers costs less than the route you use today.

Proposed: move SSP 2 spend to the direct pathApprove change

Illustrative screen with sample data. Partner and publisher names are not shown. Each path fee is a share of the spend through that path. The overview figure is all path fees as a share of total spend.

Request a 60-minute strategy call See what Vi-Agent does
Two ways to work with ViSTARS

Buy outright, or rent for up to four months and decide on the results.

Teams start one of two ways: they buy outright, or they rent first and buy once the results are in. Here is a recent example of each, with dates. Both clients are under NDA, so their names stay private. A private reference call is available on request.

Route 1: Buy outrightBuys programmatic for advertisersOwn cloud account

A media team bought its own DSP in Q1 2026 and now trades through the ViSTARS Exchange

Starting point

The team wanted its own , running in its own cloud and trading for advertisers, with the source code in hand. It bought outright, with no rental first.

Owned from Q1 2026
DemoNo workshop
Contract Owned from hereQ1 2026
Source code, then Exchange tradingQ3 2026
Managed servicesCustom features on its platform
How it went
  • It went from demo to signed contract with no workshop.
  • Live bid traffic was connected. We agreed consent filtering and daily spend caps with the team before the first campaign.
  • The source code was delivered, and it started trading through the ViSTARS Exchange. Our team now builds custom features on top of the platform it bought, as a managed service.

Client name withheld under NDA.

Route 2: Rent, then buyCreative-led media companyOwn cloud account

A media team rented the DSP, saw its trading results improve, and bought it

Starting point

Its team was moving brand campaigns from manual insertion orders to programmatic. It wanted tighter control over inventory and creative rotation, and live results before it committed.

Rental, in its own cloudOwned
WorkshopQ1 2026
Rental RentedFrom May 2026
Trading results improveDuring the rental
Purchase Owned from hereOctober 2026
How it went
  • Discovery workshop with engineering, operations and account teams from both companies.
  • We installed the rental platform in its cloud account and started recurring working sessions with its engineers.
  • Its trading results improved during the rental, and the team bought the platform. The source code handover follows the closing.

Client name withheld under NDA.

Request a 60-minute strategy call
Public record

Check the public record

The ViSTARS Exchange runs in production, and every seller on it is listed in our public .

Open sellers.json
Terms

Read the terms

The Ownership page sets out what you own, what ViSTARS keeps, and how the agreement protects you.

Ownership terms
Ownership

Pay once and own it. Your data and your decision rules stay with you.

A white-label platform is a floor in someone else's building. Your own platform is the building.

You own the platform, with the full source code. It runs in your own cloud account, and what you build on top belongs to you. You pay once: no royalties, no renewal, no percentage of media.

What you holdWhat it means
Source code

Full source code, with documentation. Your team can read it, change it and run it.

Cloud account

It runs in your own cloud account, and the cloud bill comes to you with no markup.

Data

Your data and your decision rules stay in your environment.

Fees

One payment, no royalties, no revenue share. Using the ViSTARS Exchange is optional, and its fee is shown to you in writing before it applies.

Term

Perpetual, with no renewal date. ViSTARS warrants its right to deliver the software and covers you against third-party IP claims.

Customization is yours to own and to maintain. ViSTARS keeps developing the core. New releases and support are optional and priced separately, and your team reconciles its own changes with each release it takes. The Ownership page sets out the team and cost. Every right described here is subject to the terms of your agreement.

Inside the box

Six modules. Take one, or run all six.

Start with the module that removes your biggest dependency. Add the rest when you are ready.

Most requestedDemand

Vi-DSP with ad server

Buy display, video, native and connected TV in one place, and serve the ads from the same system.

See the Vi-DSP
Supply

Vi-SSP

Sell owned and retail media on your own terms, with clear reporting.

Marketplace

Vi-Exchange

The marketplace between your buying and the supply, with the path and the fee in view.

Data

Vi-DMP

Your first-party audiences, ready to use in your buying.

Interface

Vi-UI

One screen for campaigns, inventory and reporting.

Intelligence

Vi-Models

Models that tune bids for performance and margin. Each one is tested on your traffic before it goes live.

Your path to ownership

Four steps to a platform of your own. You sign off at each one.

You own the full source code for the modules you choose, and they run in your own cloud account. A custom build starts with a blank page and a long requirements phase. Each ViSTARS module is already built and comes with its own documentation.

Option: rent first
Rent for up to four months, then decide.

We install the software in your cloud, keep it updated and support your team. Own it when your team is in place and the results support it.

Own it now: begin at the workshop. If you rent first, you join here.

1
WorkshopIn writing

We agree the scope, the plan and the acceptance criteria in writing.

2
DeployIn your cloud account

We install the platform in your own cloud account and connect your partners.

3
AcceptOn your sign-off

Your team tests it against the agreed criteria and signs off.

4
RunYour choice

Run it yourselves, or keep us beside you.

We set the dates with you in the workshop. First live traffic also depends on partner approvals and seat setup, which sit with you and your partners.

What you pay

A one-time fee, or a rental fee while you rent. Both are set in your agreement and are never a percentage of media. Implementation and support are priced in a statement of work. Any fee for the ViSTARS Exchange is shown to you in writing before it applies. Your cloud bill comes to you directly, with no markup. The price is calculated based on the modules you own and the support you keep.

What you take on

Owning it gives you control and the operating work that comes with it. We size that work with you in the workshop, and ViSTARS can stay beside you for as long as you want.

After go-live, you choose

Keep us beside you for support, maintenance releases, ad operations support and custom features. Or take the wheel: you hold the source code and documentation, and the decision is yours.

Vi-Agent

Vi-Agent finds the cause. Your team approves the fix.

When your jumps on a Tuesday, someone spends the afternoon across reports and email threads to find out why. Vi-Agent traces the cause and attaches the evidence. Your team reviews a finding.

It connects your buying, supply and ad-serving data with Slack, email and CRM, finds what changed, works out why, and recommends the next step. It runs on the ViSTARS platform or on the one you already have.

01
Detect

Cost and delivery changes, as they happen.

02
Reason

What changed, when, and what it cost, with the evidence attached.

03
Act

Alerts, recommended next steps and approved workflows, within the permissions you set.

04
Remember

Who changed what, when and why, so every decision stays searchable.

Explore Vi-Agent How permissions work
Vi-Agent Ask ViIllustrative example · sample data
Why did our cost per quality impression rise last week?

One supply path raised its fee on Tuesday.

  1. Detected the rise in cost per quality impression and pinpointed when it started.
  2. Traced it to a fee change on one supply path.
  3. Recommended moving that spend to the direct path, with the evidence attached.
  4. Linked the Slack thread where your team discussed this partner before.
Proposed: move that spend to the direct pathNeeds approval
Approve changeOpen evidenceAssign to trader

Checked: campaign logs · path fee history · Slack

Who stands behind it

We built the platforms that ad tech companies launched on. Now we build yours.

At IPONWEB and BidSwitch, our leadership built the Exchange, and technology, ad serving and auction systems that other companies used to start and run their trading businesses.

Senior engineers lead every engagement, from the first workshop to acceptance.

Portrait of Pavel MedvedevPavel MedvedevCEO & Co-Founder

20+ years in AdTech. Executive roles at IPONWEB, BidSwitch, DoubleVerify, LiveIntent, Dentsu, and EPAM Systems.

Portrait of Marsel TaipovMarsel TaipovChief Technology Officer

20+ years in low-latency distributed systems. Former lead engineer at IPONWEB and BidSwitch.

Portrait of Don EnikeevDon EnikeevAgentic AI Lead and Chief Solution Architect

20+ years in AdTech architecture. Former technology leader at IPONWEB and BidSwitch. Leads Vi-Agent.

Portrait of Victoria StartsVictoria StartsCMO & Co-Founder

Leads brand and marketing at ViSTARS. CEO of ViSTARS Agency. Former client partner at EPAM Systems.

Leadership experience includes
IPONWEBBidSwitchDoubleVerifyLiveIntentDentsuEPAM Systems
Meet the leadership
Insights

Writing from our CEO.

Pavel Medvedev writes about the economics and engineering of programmatic: where margin goes, why complexity persists, and what it takes to fix it.

The Plumbing Problem in Adtech (and Why More Layers Won't Fix It)Read Adtech already has everything it needs.Read Adtech is too complex now for business-only or tech-only leadership.Read
All writing
Monthly note

Get the monthly note.

Fees, supply paths and ownership in programmatic, from the ViSTARS team. One email a month.

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Quick answers

What a media lead asks first.

What is ViSTARS?

ViSTARS helps brands, agencies and publishers take control of their advertising technology and cut recurring platform fees. Customers own the buying platform, with the full source code, and run it in their own cloud account. They reach advertising partners more directly and keep more of the value in their own business. Vi-Agent, our operational intelligence layer, finds why costs and delivery change and has the fix ready for your team to approve.

What is a DSP?

A DSP, or demand-side platform, is the software a buyer uses to bid on ad space. Many advertisers use one that a vendor runs. ViSTARS sets you up with one you own.

What is a supply path?

It is the route your ad takes from your budget to the publisher. The route can run direct, or through an Exchange, an SSP or a reseller. Each stop can take a fee. The screen above shows every path and its fee.

What does sellers.json show?

It is a public file where an ad seller lists who it sells for, so anyone can check. Every seller on the ViSTARS Exchange is listed in ours at vistars.ai/sellers.json.

What does owning the platform include?

The full source code and documentation for the modules you choose, with perpetual rights to use, change and run it. It runs in your own cloud account. You pay once, with no royalties and no percentage of media. New releases and support are optional and priced separately.

Should we rent first or own it now?

Rent for up to four months to test the platform in your own cloud account, then decide whether to own it. Or own it now and begin at the workshop.

See where your dollar goes.

Three ways in, depending on where you are today.

Or email
Request a strategy call

60 minutes with a ViSTARS founder or senior engineer on your supply paths and your fees.

Request a strategy call
Take the readiness assessment

Six minutes, two scores. See how ready your team is to control its own stack. Your result comes before we ask for an email.

Take the assessment
Request the technical briefing

For your engineering and procurement teams, shared after we both sign an NDA.

Request the briefing