Walmart Buys Vibe.co for Up to $1.4 Billion to Close Gap With Amazon in Retail Media

Quick Facts

Walmart agreed to acquire Vibe.co, a self-serve connected TV advertising platform, in a deal reported at between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion in cash.
Walmart’s ad business generated $6.4 billion in global revenue in fiscal 2026, a 46% year-over-year increase, but still trails Amazon’s $68.6 billion ad business by a wide margin.
Vibe.co serves more than 10,000 advertisers and lets businesses launch CTV campaigns for as little as $50 a day with no contract required.

Walmart announced on June 23, 2026, that it will acquire Vibe.co, a connected TV advertising platform built for small and mid-sized businesses. The deal is Walmart’s largest investment in advertising since its $2.3 billion acquisition of smart TV maker Vizio in 2024.

The Wall Street Journal reported the price at $1.4 billion. Walmart declined to confirm that figure but announced the deal publicly. The transaction is expected to close by the end of fiscal year 2027, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review.

What Vibe.co Does

Arthur Querou and his team launched Vibe.co in 2022 with a specific goal: make television advertising as easy to buy as a social media ad. Advertisers can place a CTV ad in five minutes, spend as little as $50 a day, and sign no contract.

The platform uses machine learning to optimize campaigns, assist with media planning, and enable ad creation. In October 2024, the company launched Vibe IQ2, Vibe AI Assistant, Vibe Studio, and Vibe Connect. The company has raised roughly $80 million total, including a $50 million Series B in October 2025.

Querou noted that SMBs make up two-thirds of the U.S. economy but account for only 5% of television ad spending. That gap is the market Vibe.co was built to capture.

The Strategic Play for Walmart

Walmart Connect, the company’s U.S. retail media network, grew 44% in fiscal 2026 excluding Vizio. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, U.S. ad revenue grew 36%, driven partly by marketplace sellers who increased ad spend by more than 50%.

Still, Walmart holds 8% of the U.S. retail media market, according to eMarketer. Amazon commands 79.7%. That gap is the backdrop for this acquisition.

By combining Vizio’s 19 million active SmartCast accounts with 150 million weekly U.S. shoppers and Vibe.co’s self-serve platform, Walmart can now build a closed-loop system. An advertiser could prove a consumer saw a product on their Vizio TV and then purchased it through the Walmart app or with a Walmart credit card.

Ryan Mayward, GM and SVP of Walmart Connect U.S., said the company is focused on making commerce media more accessible and measurable for advertisers of all sizes. Querou framed the deal as an acceleration of Vibe.co’s mission. “Joining Walmart gives us the opportunity to accelerate that mission and bring performance TV advertising to one of the most powerful commerce media ecosystems in the market,” he said.

Why CTV Matters Now

CTV ad spending is accelerating. Nearly 70% of CTV advertisers expect to increase spending this year, according to Advertiser Perceptions research. The share of small spenders investing in CTV has jumped from 60% in 2024 to 85% in 2026, per the IAB’s Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report.

SMBs collectively spent $99 billion on U.S. advertising in 2023. Only 25% of CTV campaigns currently target lower-funnel objectives, a number that has stayed flat for years. Walmart and Vibe.co are betting that a self-serve, performance-oriented tool can change that.

Martin Kristiseter, CEO at Digita, called the deal a direct competitive move. “Combining its retail data, Vizio and now Vibe’s self-serve platform gives advertisers a simpler way to activate CTV campaigns and measure results,” he said. “It’s clear Walmart wants to compete more aggressively with Amazon by making its advertising ecosystem easier to use and more performance-driven.”

What It Means for Brands

For DTC brands and marketplace sellers, this deal signals that Walmart Connect is building a full-funnel ad stack. Brands that already sell on Walmart.com could soon have direct access to CTV inventory with the same ease and performance measurement they expect from paid social.

Walmart said the transaction will not affect its fiscal year 2027 sales and operating income guidance. The longer-term impact on its ad revenue trajectory will depend on how quickly Vibe.co’s platform integrates with Walmart’s existing data and inventory.