# MediaAlpha MediaAlpha is an Asset Manager based in Los Angeles, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Asset Manager - **Headquarters:** Los Angeles, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Los Angeles, CA, United States - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** mediaalpha.com ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Founded in 2011 by Steven Yi and initially incubated within the insurance comparison ecosystem, MediaAlpha operates a programmatic advertising exchange specifically for insurance products. The company connects high-intent consumers — searching for auto, health, or life coverage — with insurers and distribution partners through a proprietary real-time bidding engine. Carriers and agents bid for clicks in transparent, second-price auctions, a structure that contrasts with the opaque lead-generation models more common in insurance marketing. MediaAlpha's platform handled approximately $1.2 billion in transaction value during 2024, generating revenue through a take-rate on each click sold on its exchange. The platform spans Property & Casualty (primarily auto insurance), Health, and Life insurance verticals. Property & Casualty remains the largest segment, driven by direct-to-consumer auto insurers that depend on digital acquisition for new policyholders. The Health vertical connects consumers seeking Medicare Advantage, Affordable Care Act plans, and short-term medical policies with carriers and licensed agents. MediaAlpha does not underwrite risk or hold insurance licenses — it functions purely as a technology and data layer between consumer demand and insurance supply. The company acquired the customer-acquisition platform of Insurify competitor Compare.com's parent company in a small complementary transaction in 2022 to broaden its auto insurance publisher relationships. MediaAlpha trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MAX, having gone public in October 2020 through a merger with Insignia Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Insignia Capital Group. The company maintains its headquarters in Los Angeles, California. CEO Steven Yi and CFO Patrick Thompson lead a team focused on the US insurance market. As of its most recent public filings, the firm operates a single class of shares and reports financial performance quarterly, making MediaAlpha one of the only publicly listed companies providing a direct operational view into insurance customer-acquisition spending trends. The structural differentiator is its dual role as both a public company and an intermediary that sits between carriers and millions of consumers. Because MediaAlpha earns a percentage of each bid on its exchange rather than a fixed subscription fee, its revenue fluctuates in near-real-time with insurers' underwriting cycles. When carriers tighten standards and reduce marketing spend — as P&C insurers did broadly in 2022–2023 — MediaAlpha's top line contracts. When they expand, the opposite occurs. ## Sectors - InsurTech - Enterprise Software ## People - Steven Yi — CEO - Patrick Thompson — CFO ## Questions ### What does MediaAlpha actually sell? MediaAlpha sells consumer insurance clicks — not policies or leads in the traditional sense. The platform runs a programmatic exchange where insurance carriers and distribution partners bid in real-time to have their clickable quotes displayed to consumers searching for auto, health, or life coverage. The company earns revenue as a take rate on each winning bid, functioning as the technology marketplace rather than an insurer or agent. ### Who runs investment decisions at MediaAlpha? MediaAlpha is a publicly traded company (NYSE: MAX), so capital allocation and investment decisions rest with CEO Steven Yi and the board of directors rather than a designated CIO or investment committee. The company deploys capital primarily into its own platform technology and selective tuck-in acquisitions, such as its 2022 purchase of insurance vertical assets from a competitor's parent company, rather than operating an investment portfolio for third parties. ### Why did MediaAlpha use a SPAC to go public? MediaAlpha merged with Insignia Acquisition Corp. in October 2020, a time when SPACs provided a faster path to public markets than traditional IPOs. The deal gave MediaAlpha access to public equity capital while allowing management to present forward-looking projections — something not permitted in a conventional IPO roadshow at the time. The SPAC was sponsored by Insignia Capital Group, a private equity firm. ### What role does MediaAlpha play in the insurance cycle? MediaAlpha's revenue tracks insurers' appetite for new policyholders, making the company a real-time barometer of the underwriting cycle. When carriers face loss-ratio pressure, they pull back on marketing spend, reducing transaction value on MediaAlpha's exchange. When profitability improves, they bid more aggressively. This dynamic makes MediaAlpha's quarterly results a leading indicator for shifts in auto and health insurance underwriting sentiment. ## Related profiles - [Nuveen Variable Rate Preferred & Income Fund](https://altss.com/profile/nuveen-variable-rate-preferred-and-income-fund) - [Gaotu Techedu](https://altss.com/profile/gaotu-techedu-inc) --- Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/mediaalpha-inc Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology