Aleph Holding has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter, paving the way for the digital-advertising company to go public in early 2022.

The filing comes shortly after MercadoLibre Inc., the dominant e-commerce company in Latin America, invested $25 million in Aleph at a $2 billion valuation. In preparation for its IPO, Aleph has been building out its board of directors. MercadoLibre’s chief financial officer Pedro Arnt recently agreed to join the board,...

Aleph Holding has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter, paving the way for the digital-advertising company to go public in early 2022.

The filing comes shortly after MercadoLibre Inc., the dominant e-commerce company in Latin America, invested $25 million in Aleph at a $2 billion valuation. In preparation for its IPO, Aleph has been building out its board of directors. MercadoLibre’s chief financial officer Pedro Arnt recently agreed to join the board, as has Imran Khan, former chief strategy officer of Snap Inc. and the chief executive officer and co-founder of online e-commerce platform Verishop Inc., as chairman.

Aleph’s confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission sets the company on a path to an IPO in early 2022. That timing could shift depending on the timing of the SEC’s review process and market conditions.

Aleph generates revenue by helping corporations and social-media companies such as Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn connect with companies interested in advertising locally or globally. The company operates in more than 70 countries in 43 currencies and is connected to thousands of advertisers.

This summer, Aleph, which has offices in Buenos Aires, Dubai and Miami, sold a stake to private-equity company CVC Capital Partners for $470 million at a $2 billion valuation.

Aleph grew out of a company originally known as IMS Internet Media Services that was founded by Gastón Taratuta in 2005. Aleph sold a 51% stake in 2015 to Sony Pictures Television, a division of Sony Group Corp. , for roughly $100 million. Mr. Taratuta, who remains the company’s chief executive, and his partners repurchased some of that stake in 2019, and Sony remains a minority shareholder.

Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com