Business & finance
Prebid.org
Prebid.org is the independent, member-funded organisation that governs and maintains the open-source Prebid header bidding projects, including Prebid.js, Prebid Server and Prebid Mobile.
Prebid.org was formed in 2017 to give the Prebid software a neutral home. Prebid.js had been released as open source by AppNexus in 2015, and as it became the dominant header bidding wrapper, publishers and ad tech companies wanted it governed by an independent body rather than a single vendor.
Members include SSPs, publishers, identity and data companies and other ad tech firms. They fund the organisation, contribute code, and sit on committees that decide the roadmap, code quality rules and policies, for example on how identity modules and consent signals are handled. Prebid.org publishes documentation, releases and guidelines, and has expanded into server-side, mobile and CTV products.
Prebid.org is not a standards body like the IAB Tech Lab; it maintains working software. The two cooperate: Prebid implements many Tech Lab standards, such as OpenRTB, the supplyChain object, IAB TCF and IAB Global Privacy Platform.
Think of it like this
Prebid.org is like the volunteer committee that runs a community market hall: members pay dues, agree the rules and keep the building in good repair.
An example
A new identity company joins Prebid.org, submits a user ID module for review, and after approval its module ships in the next Prebid.js release.
Related terms
Prebid
Prebid is the most widely used open-source header bidding software, including Prebid.js for websites, Prebid Server for server-side auctions and Prebid Mobile for apps.
Header bidding
Header bidding is a technique where a publisher offers each ad impression to many SSPs and exchanges simultaneously before calling its ad server, so all buyers compete at once.
Server-side header bidding
Server-side header bidding runs the header bidding auction on a remote server rather than in the user's browser or app, reducing page weight and latency while connecting to more bidders.
IAB Tech Lab
IAB Tech Lab is the non-profit standards body for digital advertising technology, founded in 2014, which develops specifications such as OpenRTB, VAST, ads.txt, sellers.json and the Open Measurement SDK.
OpenRTB
OpenRTB is the open technical standard, maintained by IAB Tech Lab, that defines how bid requests and bid responses are formatted and exchanged in real-time bidding.
Sources: Prebid.org, Prebid documentation