Outbrain (Teads)

Adtech / content recommendationUSA
New to Unitard
πŸ“‰ Public < $1B
PeakΒ $1.1 BillionRecorded estimate
~-93%
from peak
  1. πŸ¦„
    Became a unicorn
    2021
  2. πŸ“ˆ
    Peak valuation
    $1.1 Billion ’21
  3. πŸ’”
    Became a Unitard
    2022
  4. πŸ’Έ
    Last valuation estimate
    ~$77M
Current status
Public (Nasdaq: TEAD); acquired Teads and rebranded Teads Holding (2025)

The rise & fall

6 moments Β· 2006–2025

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

2006
Founded in Israel
The company behind the β€œsponsored content” boxes at the bottom of the internet's articles.
Wikipedia
Jul 2021
The peak: a ~$1.07B Nasdaq debut$1.1B
Prices at $20 a share in July 2021 β€” unicorn status that lasts barely a year.
stockanalysis
2022
Slips out of the club
A brutal digital-ad market and a fading publisher-network model crush the stock in its first full year.
companiesmarketcap
2025
Swallows its bigger rival, becomes Teads
Outbrain closes the Teads acquisition in February and takes its name in June β€” the combined company trades around $70M, roughly 7% of its IPO value.
Teads
From the inside Β· Glassdoor reviews, 2022–25
Glassdoor reviews tracked repeated layoff rounds in 2022-23 that reviewers said wore down trust in leadership's assurances β€” and, after the merger, employees from both legacy companies described an integration that still felt like two firms bolted together.

πŸ’¬ entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor β†—; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

Outbrain is a content-recommendation adtech company β€” the firm behind the 'sponsored content' boxes under online articles β€” that went public in July 2021 at about a $1.07B market value.

A brutal digital-ad market and the decline of its publisher-network model crushed the stock roughly 93%; in 2025 it acquired its larger rival Teads and renamed itself Teads Holding, worth a fraction of its IPO.

Source: companiesmarketcap / stockanalysis / Teads (IPO July 2021 at $20/~$1.07B market cap; -93% to ~$70M; acquired Teads Feb 2025, renamed Teads Holding Co (TEAD) June 2025)

Founders & leadership

  • David Kostman
    CEO of Teads Holding (since Feb 2025; former Outbrain co-CEO)
    Still there β€” Chief Executive Officer and Board MemberLinkedIn β†—
  • Yaron Galai
    co-founder & CEO (had already co-founded Quigo)
    Still there β€” Co-Founder & Chairman of the BoardLinkedIn β†—
  • Ori Lahav
    co-founder (served with Galai in the Israeli Navy; led R&D at Shopping.com)
    Now Founder at SoLEAD communities LTDLinkedIn β†—

Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-08-21. See our methodology.

More from the club

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