• 2023 was a tough year for adtech companies with reduced ad spend and economic concerns.
• Companies saw big opportunities in retail media, streaming TV, and generative AI.
• Here are the 16 hottest adtech companies of 2023.

2023 was a volatile year for advertising technology.

Many firms that help marketers place, target, or track digital ads struggled for much of the year as spend winnowed, and many companies suffered through waves of layoffs. Raising money was also difficult, as interest rates rose.

But despite the turbulence, some of these firms have risen to the challenge, as marketers look for help navigating the many changes in the ad industry.

Companies continue to prepare for the loss of third-party cookies in the Chrome browser, even if Google delays its plan again. Retailers are racing to attract dollars to their burgeoning ad businesses. Streaming TV advertising will soon overtake linear spend, according to ad giant WPP. And the rise of generative AI opened up new rewards — and potential risks — for marketers.

These opportunities have given some longstanding adtech firms, like Criteo, growth. And it’s also presented opportunities for a new group of startups to solve big issues like the loss of third-party cookies and using generative AI in advertising.

Insider compiled this year’s annual list based on our own reporting, conversations with insiders, and more than 50 nominations. This year’s companies include a mix of big public companies like Criteo and The Trade Desk and early-stage startups like Anzu and Rembrandt, which distinguished themselves by raising money in a tough fundraising environment.

We looked at a variety of factors including the types of problems these companies are trying to solve, revenue or funding raised, big news events in 2023, and their reputation among industry peers.

Here are the 16 hottest adtech companies of 2023.