BENTONVILLE, Ark. and NEW YORK—In a major bet on the rapidly growing CTV ad business that could have a long-term impact on local broadcasters, Walmart has announced plans to acquire Vibe.co, a self-serve, connected TV (CTV) advertising platform designed to simplify advertising for small and mid-sized businesses (SMB) and mid-market brands.
Financial terms were not disclosed but the Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart is paying $1.4 billion.
The acquisition is part of Walmart’s ongoing strategy of building more accessible, full-funnel advertising solutions through Walmart Connect, its commerce media business.
Those efforts make it a growing competitor for local broadcasters targeting the same small and mid-sized businesses.
By combining Vibe.co’s self-serve CTV platform with Walmart’s commerce audiences, closed-loop measurement and growing media ecosystem, including the streaming platform Vizio, Walmart Connect hopes to work with more advertisers to launch CTV campaigns and better measure their business impact.
“Walmart Connect is focused on making commerce media more accessible, more measurable and easier to activate for advertisers of all sizes,” said Ryan Mayward, GM and senior vice president, Walmart Connect U.S. “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.”
Vibe.co’s platform offers self-serve campaign activation, direct supply partner integrations, proprietary advertising technology and performance-driven optimization that helps advertisers access premium connected TV inventory more efficiently.
The combination is expected to support broader adoption of the CTV ad media among advertisers across Walmart Connect, and the broader connected TV ecosystem, particularly among SMB and mid-market advertisers, including Walmart’s third-party marketplace sellers. The platform can deliver easier campaign activation, greater transparency and stronger measurement between media investment and commerce outcomes.
“Vibe.co was built as the self-serve platform for performance and ecommerce marketers to run streaming TV the way they run paid social: measurable, fast to launch, and optimized for better outcomes,” said Arthur Querou, Co-Founder and CEO, Vibe.co. “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.”
Combined with Walmart’s acquisition of Vizio, Vibe.co strengthens Walmart Connect’s ability to deliver simplified activation, enhanced targeting and measurable outcomes across its growing CTV ecosystem.
Following the close of the transaction, Vibe.co CEO and Co-Founder Arthur Querou, CTO and Co-Founder Franck Tetzlaff, and the broader Vibe.co team are expected to join Walmart Connect.
Walmart expects the transaction to close by the end of fiscal year 2027. Walmart said it does not expect the transaction to have any impact to FY27 sales and operating income growth guidance, as previously provided.
