New York, March 5, 2026, 19:54 EST
- The Trade Desk surged roughly 18% after word got out that OpenAI had talked about tapping the company for selling ads on ChatGPT.
- CEO Jeff Green snapped up 6 million shares through a partnership, according to a regulatory filing.
- Analysts aren’t willing to call the size of any potential revenue boost just yet.
The Trade Desk, Inc. got a jolt Thursday, jumping roughly 18% to $29.79 after a report indicated OpenAI approached the ad-tech company for initial discussions about selling ads on ChatGPT. The news offered a sharp move higher to a stock that’s spent much of the year under pressure. 1
Digital advertising’s at a tricky crossroads right now. Marketers want proof their dollars are working, but the playing field is shifting fast — streaming TV, AI chat, and other emerging formats are changing both the landscape for ad placements and who actually holds the power over distribution.
The Trade Desk—known for its software that lets brands and agencies snap up ads across the open internet—could get a crucial boost if it secures a route into a surging AI platform. That would expand its ad inventory just as investors have grown wary about the company’s growth prospects.
OpenAI’s talks remain in the early phase, The Information said, citing people with knowledge of the situation. According to Investing.com, the company could initially rely on external partners before eventually developing its own ad technology. 1
Then, another jolt: CEO Jeffrey Terry Green stepped in with a hefty stock buy. According to a U.S. securities filing, Green scooped up 6 million Class A shares via a limited partnership between March 2 and March 4, paying weighted averages from $23.49 to $25.08. He also picked up a restricted stock award of 398,089 shares. 2
D.A. Davidson’s Tom White described the OpenAI development as “a positive headline,” but cautioned that it’s “too early” to gauge the size of any monetization upside for The Trade Desk. 3
No deal has been announced by The Trade Desk, and there’s nothing certain about talks turning into a partnership. OpenAI, for its part, has been in discussions with other companies about the ad market, as the industry works to figure out where advertising belongs in conversational products—without alienating users.
OpenAI might get a speed boost by teaming up with The Trade Desk instead of creating its own closed ad ecosystem, EMARKETER reported. The outlet also suggested this partnership could put pressure on established ad “walled gardens” controlled by Meta and Google. 4
Advertisers turn to a demand-side platform—DSP for short—when they want to purchase ads via automated auctions and track the results. The Trade Desk, for its part, touts the advantage of independent software that lets brands browse inventory from various publishers and streaming services, sidestepping the confines of a single tech giant’s walled garden.
Still, the risks stand out. Should OpenAI end up creating its own ad stack, it could keep a bigger share of the revenue and leave less for partners. And even with ads rolling out across chat platforms, marketers are left weighing if the format actually boosts sales or simply diverts budgets from search and social, without generating real new demand.
The Trade Desk’s stock jump highlights just how fast investor mood can flip in battered ad-tech stocks. According to Investing.com, shares had dropped 34% so far this year and were off 62% over the last 12 months before Thursday’s rally. 3
