Ad tech bounced back in 2021, and 2022 could be even brighter

Ad tech is back. According to a report from the ad-tech investment group Luma Partners, that section of the industry had an incredibly busy 2021.

The stat: Deal-making was up 82% year over year in the media and marketing technology sectors, signaling excitement in a space many considered to be on shaky ground as privacy concerns and regulatory oversight became more en vogue.

• Those deals include both mergers and acquisitions, like AppLovin’s acquisition of MoPub from Twitter.
• Plus, lots of companies in the sector went public in 2021, such as Outbrain. In fact, it was the “most active year on record” in terms of new entrants to the category, per the report, with 18 companies going public across the industry.

Luma Partners—famously known for its “Lumascape” series of charts that are more reminiscent of a psychedelic hedge maze than an investing slide depicting the complexities of the industry—is considered one of the leading voices in ad tech.

Outlook for 2022? The group expects mergers and acquisitions to continue as buyers look for tools and businesses more suited to the “permanent changes in consumer behavior that are downstream from the pandemic,” like the upsticks in streaming, gaming, and ecommerce.—RB