Milan, Italy – March 2, 2026 – In a strategic move designed to bolster its sell-side curation capabilities and accelerate the development of its artificial intelligence-driven deal optimization engine, Onetag, the global ad exchange and curation platform, announced today its acquisition of Aryel, a leading Italian creative ad tech company. The acquisition, finalized on Monday, March 2nd, 2026, signifies Onetag’s first-ever acquisition and underscores its commitment to differentiating itself in an increasingly competitive programmatic advertising landscape.
The pressure on Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) to move beyond being perceived as mere conduits for ad transactions has intensified with the widespread adoption of supply-path optimization (SPO). This has spurred a significant trend towards sell-side curation, a movement Onetag has actively championed. The integration of Aryel’s innovative creative technology is expected to equip Onetag’s Smart Curation platform with advanced tools for designing, testing, and optimizing interactive ad creatives. These new capabilities are also slated to play a crucial role in training Onetag’s forthcoming AI-based deal optimization engine, scheduled for release at the end of the current month.
The Strategic Imperative: Differentiating Through Curation and Creative Innovation
Onetag, headquartered in Italy, has undergone a significant evolution since its inception in 2015 as a Demand-Side Platform (DSP). Its pivot to a performance-focused SSP for Procter & Gamble and subsequent global expansion of this platform in 2020 laid the groundwork for its strategic entry into sell-side curation. The launch of its proprietary curation solution, Smart Curation, in 2022, was a direct response to the burgeoning demand for greater transparency and control over ad inventory from the sell-side.
Filippo Gramigna, co-CEO of Onetag, articulated the evolving market dynamics to AdExchanger, noting that the curation market has become saturated with intermediaries that offer little in the way of genuine differentiation. He emphasized that the most effective strategy for standing out in this crowded arena is to empower advertisers of all sizes with accessible tools for initiating curation and generating custom deal IDs.
Aryel’s technology directly addresses this need by providing robust solutions for adapting existing creative assets into programmatic-ready formats. The platform excels at reformatting creative content to seamlessly integrate with IAB standard banner sizes and online video specifications, a crucial step in enabling broader programmatic adoption of advertiser campaigns.
Furthermore, Aryel’s specialization in interactive creative formats aligns perfectly with Onetag’s existing curated marketplace. This marketplace, which boasts approximately 50,000 high-impact ad units sourced through over 2,000 direct publisher connections, can now be enhanced with dynamic and engaging creative experiences. Gramigna explained that the synergy between high-performing ad placements and interactive creative is expected to significantly amplify the effectiveness of ad campaigns, leading to more impactful outcomes for advertisers.
Aryel’s Interactive Edge: Driving Engagement and New Opportunities
The interactive capabilities offered by Aryel are particularly noteworthy. The platform supports innovative formats such as a "try it on" feature, ideal for apparel and accessories brands. For instance, an eyewear company could leverage this to allow consumers to virtually try on different frames using their device’s camera. Critically, these immersive experiences are designed to function within standard IAB banner ad units, enabling users to interact without leaving the publisher’s website, thereby minimizing user friction and maximizing engagement.
Beyond e-commerce applications, Aryel has also been actively exploring interactive formats for AI chatbot interfaces. This pioneering work positions Onetag to capitalize on emerging advertising opportunities within these rapidly evolving conversational AI platforms, a sector poised for significant growth in the coming years. The integration of these advanced creative tools is anticipated to unlock new avenues for monetization and advertiser engagement across a wider spectrum of digital touchpoints.
A Collaborative Foundation and Ambitious Growth Plans
The relationship between Onetag and Aryel began approximately 18 months prior to the acquisition. The demonstrated success and synergy of this collaboration were instrumental in Onetag, supported by its largest shareholder, Wise Equity, in pursuing the acquisition. This strategic integration marks a significant milestone in Onetag’s corporate development, signaling its intent to pursue inorganic growth alongside its organic expansion strategies.
While the financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, Gramigna confirmed that the transaction is complete. Based on the combined entities’ performance in the preceding year, the consolidated company reports $70 million in net revenue. This figure highlights the substantial scale and market presence of the newly merged organization.
Beyond the technological integration, Onetag is absorbing Aryel’s entire workforce of 45 employees, bringing the total headcount to approximately 130 professionals. The four co-founders of Aryel will be integrated into Onetag’s leadership team. Notably, Aryel’s CEO, Mattia Salvi, will assume the newly created role of Chief Growth Officer and Head of Go-to-Market, underscoring the strategic importance of Aryel’s expertise in driving future business development.
The process of integrating the distinct cultures and operational workflows of Onetag and Aryel is expected to be relatively seamless. Gramigna pointed to the geographical proximity of Aryel’s operations, located approximately an hour away from Onetag’s tech hub in Tuscany, as a facilitating factor for cultural alignment and collaborative synergy.
Expanding Horizons: US Market Penetration and CTV Integration
Looking ahead, Onetag’s long-term strategy involves consolidating its strong foothold in the European market and subsequently building a more substantial presence in the United States. This US expansion will extend beyond the company’s current, modest New York office, which primarily serves its US publisher clients. The acquisition of Aryel, with its established relationships and creative capabilities, is expected to accelerate this westward expansion by enhancing Onetag’s appeal to US-based advertisers and agencies.
A key area of focus for Onetag in the current year is the expansion of its curation offering beyond traditional display and online video formats. Despite not yet having a dedicated Connected TV (CTV) business, Onetag achieved an impressive 34% growth in net ad revenue last year. The company anticipates that embracing CTV will unlock significant incremental growth opportunities, further diversifying its revenue streams and market reach.
The acquisition has already yielded immediate benefits by strengthening Onetag’s client base on the buy-side. Gramigna noted that the limited overlap between Onetag and Aryel’s respective client portfolios meant that the acquisition effectively broadened Onetag’s reach without cannibalizing existing relationships.
"That’s another element of why we decided to do this deal," Gramigna stated. "The fact that they’ve been able to get the brands and the CMOs they typically talk to excited about working in programmatic thanks to these formats helps the narrative when it comes to our relationship with media agencies." This sentiment suggests that Aryel’s innovative creative solutions have a proven ability to engage brand-side decision-makers, providing Onetag with a valuable entry point for discussions with media agencies regarding programmatic strategies enhanced by creative innovation. The strategic alignment of Onetag’s programmatic infrastructure with Aryel’s creative prowess is poised to redefine how advertisers approach digital campaign execution, driving greater efficiency, engagement, and ultimately, measurable business outcomes.
