Dentsu grows programmatic know-how with Index Exchange, Chalice AI

• Dentsu announced a partnership with Index Exchange, an independent supply-side platform (SSP), and Chalice AI to bolster the agency’s NextGen initiative, a company-wide transformation meant to evolve its capabilities through data, artificial intelligence (AI) and modularity, per a press release. 
• Index Exchange will grow to be Dentsu’s primary SSP across key European markets and power the agency network’s NextGen algorithmic trading model. Chalice, meanwhile, will create a set of platform-independent AI bidding agents for the network’s clients.
• Dentsu’s media practice may even launch what’s bills as Next Gen AI, allowing for quicker decision making, access to curated supply paths, more sophisticated measurement strategies for clients and deeper data insights.

Dentsu is forming a core a part of its NextGen initiative through partnerships with Index Exchange and Chalice AI. Together, the tie-ups mark a significant milestone within the evolution of the agency’s programmatic ecosystem, enabling it to “take a number one position within the industry-wide adoption of sell-side signal aggregation and modeling,” per release details.

“Chalice’s advanced decisioning technology and Index’s scaled infrastructure give us the power to create a more intelligent, transparent, and value-driven media supply chain for our clients,” said Nicholas Halas, head of product, Global Amplifi, Dentsu EMEA, in release details. 

The partnership will allow Dentsu to leverage Index Exchange and Chalice AI’s know-how in scaled innovation, custom bidding strategies, quality media and premium audience delivery. Index Exchange will power Dentsu’s NextGen algorithmic trading model, which uses real-time audience signals available from the sell-side. That might be paired with platform-independent AI bidding agents, powered by Chalice, that provide clients customized and transparent AI models to assist them achieve their business goals more efficiently.

Chalice is a number one promoting technology for platform-independent AI and is integrated with platforms, measurement and data corporations including The Trade Desk, YouTube, Meta and LiveRamp. Index Exchange offers over 20 years of experience as a worldwide promoting SSP.

Dentsu’s partnership with the 2 corporations comes at a tumultuous time for the agency. After reporting a 0.2% year-on-year decline in organic revenue for the primary half of 2025 — mostly attributable to weakness in international markets — the agency announced it will lay off 8% of its global staff. Further, CEO Hiroshi Igarashi admitted the agency hasn’t ruled out selling a few of its overseas operations in a bid to get back on the right track.