Stack, a global SaaS ad tech company by the team behind Appodeal, is making its programmatic ad exchange, BidMachine, available as open-source. Powered by in-app header bidding, BidMachine now enables mobile app publishers to connect directly with ad demand sources with unprecedented access, efficiency and transparency.

"Since introducing our own ad exchange, BidMachine, as a part of Stack’s set of monetisation products in 2017, we’ve helped mobile app developers around the globe scale their businesses programmatically. Last year, we began testing a cutting-edge in-app header bidding technology that provides insights into the true value of ad inventory and optimises every ad request, making mobile ad monetisation efficient in a way it has never been before,” said Pavel Golubev, CEO of Stack.

BidMachine (formerly AppodealX) currently has a reach of over 25 million daily average users (DAU) through over 10,000 mobile apps, serving over 1.2 billion impressions monthly.

BidMachine supports both traditional bidding with DSPs and in-app header bidding compatible ad networks and comes readily available with over 70 active DSPs and 14 in-app header bidding powered ad networks. All major ad formats, including rewarded videos, as well as integration via SDK, API, S2S/JS tags and OpenRTB are all supported.

Following years of extensive research and development, the release of in-app header bidding technology in 2018 immediately showed optimistic results for the ad tech industry. However, as in-app header bidding technology is typically embedded within third-party ad mediation solutions, publishers were unable to access this technology directly. With BidMachine going open-source, publishers now have this direct access, which grants them even more control over their monetisation strategy and saves them from spending valuable time and money building their own in-house ad exchange.

Mobile app businesses can now conveniently take this unique in-app header bidding technology in-house with the option to have it on either client- or server-side. They can also start benefiting from real-time bidding data and getting the best impression prices immediately through BidMachine.

“We believe that putting the power of in-app header bidding ad exchange in the hands of mobile app businesses is a massive step forward for the industry. Publishers will be able to establish direct and trustful relationships with ad demand sources and avoid fluctuating middlemen fees. Following our mission of making the industry transparent and fair, we are planning to open source all Stack components in the near future, including the ad mediation (Appodeal) and DSP (AppGrowth) parts”, ensures Golubev.

Since an open-source model might not be the ideal fit for every mobile app business, BidMachine also provides a managed service option for those interested in more expert hands-on optimisation and customisation of their in-house in-app header bidding solution, for a predictable monthly fee. This upgraded service includes helping publishers with ensuring overall compatibility with ad demand sources, integration of new demands as well as taking care of timely maintenance and technology updates.

BidMachine is distributed under GNU General Public License v3.0. and can be found open-sourced on Github.