Share this article

Viant Technology Could Benefit From Buying Bitcoin, Eric Semler Says

The Semler Scientific chairman flagged the ad tech firm as ripe for a bitcoin treasury strategy amid stock struggles and cash stockpile.

Updated Apr 29, 2025, 1:53 p.m. Published Apr 29, 2025, 9:01 a.m.
A fire-destroyed, dead forest of leafless trees (Sergey Nikolaev/Unsplash)
Buying bitcoin could help rejuvenate Viant's shares, Semler said. (Sergey Nikolaev/Unsplash)

What to know:

  • Eric Semler, the chairman of Semler Scientific, flagged Viant Technology as a company that could benefit from following his firm's lead and stocking up on bitcoin.
  • Viant holds $205 million in net cash, but has yet to deploy it meaningfully despite strong free cash flow and profitability.
  • Semler sees bitcoin as a strategic pivot, urging Viant to follow the treasury path of Strategy and Semler Scientific to reignite investor interest.

Viant Technology (DSP), an ad tech company, could unlock significant shareholder value by adopting a treasury strategy according to Eric Semler, the chairman of Semler Scientific (SMLR), the scientific-equipment maker that also adopted a bitcoin-buying policy.

Viant joins Zoom Communications (ZOOM) and Coursera, Inc. (COUR) on Semler's list of “Zombie Zone” companies that, he says, have untapped capital and an urgent need to rethink strategic direction. Neither of the previous two followed his advice.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

In a post on X, Semler highlighted Viant’s stock performance as a key indicator of investor skepticism toward the company’s long-term growth prospects. The shares are down 44% since the company's 2021 IPO and slumped 50% in February alone.

Advertisement

Despite this, Viant maintains a strong financial foundation, including $205 million in net cash — about 25% of its $900 million market cap — and $34 million in free cash flow in 2024, with expectations for steady growth through 2028.

Viant faces intensifying competition from tech giants like Google and Amazon and the commoditization of demand-side platforms. Chris Vanderhook, one of the three brothers that founded the company, has publicly expressed enthusiasm for decentralized technologies, referencing crypto, blockchain, and NFTs as core to a “New Open Web” vision.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

More For You

BitSeek: Decentralized AI Infrastructure Revolutionizing the Web3 Industry

More For You

One more test[Test C31-6926]

test alt