How Containerization Is Reshaping the Programmatic Supply Chain with inPowered AI and Equativ | Cannes 2026

Containerization is moving custom AI decisioning models into SSP environments, reshaping the programmatic supply chain by enabling real-time decisioning on every available impression. At Cannes Lions 2026, inPowered AI and Equativ discussed how this 12-to-16-month-old technology shifts value from DSPs to the sell side, fundamentally changing performance dynamics.

For years, algorithmic decisioning lived on the buy side — inside DSPs that only ever saw a fraction of available inventory. Containerization changes that, moving custom AI decisioning models directly into SSP environments and reshaping the programmatic supply chain in the process. At Cannes Lions 2026, AdExchanger Editorial Director Sarah Sluis sat down with Pirouz Nilforoush, President and Co-Founder of inPowered AI, and Mike Sadicario, Enterprise Media Partnerships at Equativ, to define a technology that’s only been around 12 to 16 months — and explain why sell-side decisioning is about to re-architect how performance is won or lost. When advertisers can decision on every available impression in real time, not just the subset that makes it through to a DSP, that’s a fundamental shift in where the value sits in the supply chain. Must Read Popular - OPINION: The Sell Sider https://www.adexchanger.com/category/the-sell-sider/ Dynamic Take Rates Are A Market-Wide Squeeze Disguised As Innovation https://www.adexchanger.com/the-sell-sider/dynamic-take-rates-are-a-market-wide-squeeze-disguised-as-innovation/ The pitch for dynamic take rates is reasonable. Total volume goes up, and the publisher sees more impressions clearing. But the problem is where the extra volume comes from. - CTV Buyers Are Getting The Show-Level Performance Optimization They’ve Always Wanted https://www.adexchanger.com/tv/ctv-buyers-are-getting-the-show-level-performance-optimization-theyve-always-wanted/ A collaboration between InterMedia Advertising, Peer39 and Pontiac Intelligence provided show-level cost-per-acquisition data for 94% of CTV ad impressions. - Kickbacks Takes An Outsider’s View While Bringing Ads To AI Agents https://www.adexchanger.com/marketers/kickbacks-takes-an-outsiders-view-while-bringing-ads-to-ai-agents/ Andrew McCalip is a founding engineer at Varda Space Industries, where he oversees the manufacturing of things like hypersonic reentry vehicles and satellite buses. - Advertisers Await Programmatic Pause Ads https://www.adexchanger.com/streaming/advertisers-await-programmatic-pause-ads/ The IAB Tech Lab is working on standardizing programmatic signals for new streaming TV ad formats, including pause ads. Meanwhile, many brands are eager to add pause ads to their repertoire. - MFA Ad Spend Is Increasing. Is AI Slop To Blame? https://www.adexchanger.com/ai/mfa-ad-spend-is-increasing-is-ai-slop-to-blame/ This year, the percentage of ad spend going toward made-for-advertising MFA sites went up instead of down for the first time since 2023.