The digital advertising industry is, in many ways, a bellwether of the American economy. It's a direct look at how and where companies are acquiring new customers, as well as how things are going in the business world.

PubMatic (Nasdaq: PUBM) is one of the digital advertising industry's earliest trailblazers. Founded in 2006, its mission has always been to provide a platform for PUBlishers to autoMATICally monetize their websites, podcasts, and streaming TV channels with programmatic ads. In the future, that might expand to new formats like VR headsets or even self-driving cars.

7investing recently sat down with PubMatic founder & CEO Rajeev Goel to discuss how he sees the digital ad industry evolving.

Here's a look at the topics we discussed:

1) Industry overview (0:00): Where does digital advertising stand in 2025?

2) Competitive advantage (4:45): What are PubMatic's structural sources of competitive advantage, especially compared to your peers?

3) The Next Big Thing (13:32) : Header bidding for CTV in 2020, then Connect in 2022, then Activate in 2023. What's your next major growth format?

4) Connected TV (18:26) : Streaming ads seem more interactive now. How is CTV evolving?

5) Supply Path Optimization (22:32) : SPO is still 55% of total activity yet DBRR fell during Q1. Have the large publishers now fully consolidated their inventory?

6) The Trade Desk (26:02): The Trade Desk continues to promote OpenPath and says it will disrupt the industry. How do you believe OpenPath will most likely impact PubMatic?

7) The Macro (33:24): Several forecasts are reducing expectations for ad budgets in 2025. What are you seeing on the near-term horizon?

8) Capital Allocation (37:46): Just announced a $100m buyback expansion. How are you prioritizing capital allocation to maximize shareholder value?

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