Spotify is piloting an ad exchange, or a supply-side platform (SSP), to help scale its automated ad offerings, three sources familiar with the effort told Axios. The focus will be on video to start.

Why it matters:In building its own exchange, Spotify can capture more ad revenue from small- and medium-sized businesses and make it easier for existing clients, including big brands, to spend more efficiently with the platform.

• Those improvements will help the Swedish audio giant compete against bigger platforms like Meta and Google for ad dollars.

Zoom in: The new exchange, internally called Spotify Ad...