Walmart Pays $1.4 Billion for CTV Ad Platform Vibe.co to Chase Amazon's Ad Lead

Quick Facts

Walmart agreed to acquire Vibe.co for a reported $1.4 billion, including $1.2 billion in cash, with the deal expected to close by the end of fiscal year 2027.
Vibe.co reaches more than 120 million households across 500 streaming apps and channels, serving over 10,000 advertisers.
Walmart generated $6.4 billion in global advertising revenue in fiscal year 2026, up 46% year over year, but still trails Amazon’s $68.6 billion ad business.

Walmart announced on June 23 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Vibe.co, a self-serve connected TV advertising platform aimed at small and mid-sized businesses. The Wall Street Journal reported the price at $1.4 billion. Walmart declined to confirm the figure.

The acquisition is Walmart’s largest since it bought Vizio for $2.3 billion in 2024. Where Vizio gave Walmart the screens, Vibe.co gives it the software to sell ads across those screens to a far broader pool of buyers.

What Vibe.co Does

Founded in September 2022 by Arthur Querou and Franck Tetzlaff, Vibe.co built a self-serve platform that lets brands buy ads on streaming services such as Tubi, Paramount+, and Sling TV without an agency. The experience is closer to running a Facebook campaign than a traditional TV buy.

The company reached a $100 million annual revenue run rate in under two years, placing it among the ten fastest software companies to hit that mark. Vibe.co raised $50 million in a Series B in September 2025 at a $410 million valuation, bringing total funding to $78.8 million across three rounds.

More than 10% of creative running on the platform is already AI-generated. Vibe.co projects that figure will exceed 30% by the end of 2026.

The Strategic Play

Walmart Connect, the retailer’s U.S. ad business, grew 41% in Q4 fiscal year 2026. But at $6.4 billion in total fiscal 2026 ad revenue, Walmart still sits well behind Amazon’s $68.6 billion. The dollar gap has narrowed from roughly 15-to-1 four years ago to 11-to-1 today, but the distance remains large.

Walmart CFO John David Rainey has noted that advertising and membership income now account for fully one-third of the company’s operating profit. These high-margin streams give Walmart financial incentive to grow its ad business aggressively.

Ryan Mayward, SVP and General Manager of Walmart Connect U.S., framed the deal around access and measurement. “Vibe.co has created a purpose-built platform that simplifies streaming TV advertising, and together, we can help more businesses connect with customers across streaming environments while measuring the impact of those campaigns through Walmart’s commerce capabilities,” Mayward said.

Market Backdrop

Streaming now accounts for 45% of all U.S. TV viewership, surpassing the combined share of cable and broadcast for the first time. Digital video ad spend, including CTV, is growing nearly three times faster than total media and is projected to reach $72 billion in 2025.

U.S. advertisers are projected to spend $71.09 billion on retail media in 2026, up from $60.32 billion in 2025, according to eMarketer. Walmart is positioning Vibe.co as the bridge between its commerce audience data and that growing pool of ad dollars.

Vibe.co CEO Arthur Querou described the company’s ambition plainly: “What we’re building is the Meta for TV advertising, powered by transactional data, hyper-targeting, and incrementality measurement.”

What Comes Next

The deal is expected to close by the end of Walmart’s fiscal year 2027. Walmart said the transaction will not affect its FY27 sales and operating income growth guidance.

For DTC brands and SMBs, the combination means Walmart’s purchase data could soon power more precise targeting on streaming TV, with closed-loop measurement tied directly to retail sales. That closes a gap that has long made CTV a harder sell compared to social platforms where attribution is more direct.