Amazon to sunset ad server by end of 2024

Amazon will shutter its ad server by the end of 2024 in a move that appears to be designed to prioritize its larger, more lucrative ad tech products.

The e-commerce giant confirmed the shut down to Campaign US after it began alerting its clients earlier this week.

“We have made the decision to sunset Amazon Ad Server in the fourth quarter of 2024,” a spokesperson said. “At Amazon, we’re always evaluating the potential of our products and services to deliver customer value, and we regularly make adjustments based on those assessments.”

Amazon said it is sharing the news now to provide “ample time” for clients to transition to a different ad server and to support employees impacted by the closure — though it did not provide details on how many roles will be impacted.

Amazon acquired its ad serving capabilities from its purchase of some of ad tech firm Sizmek’s assets in 2019, including its ad server and dynamic creative optimization (DCO) tool. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Sizmek had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy months earlier, when it estimated its assets to be valued between $100 million and $500 million. Its data management platform (DMP) and demand-side platform (DSP) were purchased by Zeta Global for up to $36 million.

Amazon rebranded the ad server from Sizmek Ad Suite to Amazon Ad Server in June this year, when it talked up its integrations with Amazon’s wider suite of ad tools including its DSP, supply-side platform (SSP) and clean room solution.

Its big selling point was that it enabled advertisers to personalize video and display ads on Amazon’s e-commerce site using the company’s first-party data, even if they didn’t sell products on Amazon.

The legacy Sizmek DCO capabilities within the ad server will also be phased out by the end of next year, though Amazon said its DSP and sponsored ads programs contain similar capabilities.

Amazon Ads supports other certified ad servers including Adform, Google DoubleClick and Flashtalking.

Amazon said that its decision to sunset its ad server comes as it continues to invest in building “comprehensive, flexible and durable” ad tech.

It is building a new SSP for publishers, according to job postings spotted by Insider in August. 

Amazon is building its ad tech capabilities at the same time as opening up more ad inventory on its owned properties, after announcing in September it will bring ads to its Prime Video streaming service in early 2024.

Amazon’s ad business grew 22% in the second quarter to $10.6 billion. It is expected to balloon to a $70.8 billion business by 2027, according to Statista.