Will Microsoft’s hunger for advertising startups sever be satiated? Even as it continues to pursue the big Yahoo merger, it keeps picking up small startups to fill out its advertising software business. A couple weeks ago it was micro-segmenting software startup Yadata (for $20 to $30 million) . Today it is Rapt (the price was not disclosed). Rapt offers Web-based “yield-management” software for Web publishers to help them manage their advertising inventory based on price and other factors. According to AdWeek: Rapt is used by several top Web publishers to manage ad-inventory sales. It forecasts how much a publisher can get for ad placements, and whether they should sell the spots themselves or use ad networks. The company works with publishers like CNET Networks, Dow Jones and The New York Times. Rapt also helps Microsoft manage inventory on its own sites. Rapt will be rolled into the Atlas Publisher Suite within the aQuantive business (which Microsoft bought for $6 billion last May). Rapt, with 85 employees, is a small deal that helps Microsoft fill out its technology checklist. With the recent conclusion of Google-DoubleClick deal, it looks like the massive consolidation of pure-play advertising deals is trickling down. (Quigo, bought by AOL for more than $300 million, was the last major exit). We’ll see more small technology acquisitions like this one, but for the big ad networks that didn’t get bought by now, their chances of a big payday going into a recession are slim. CrunchBase Information Microsoft Quigo YaData Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
In other Microsoft news, the company bought an Israeli startup today called YaData, which makes analytic software for marketers to help them micro-segment consumers. (Redmond is not going to let a little thing like a $1.4 billion fine slow it down). The purchase price was undisclosed, but Israeli newspaper The Globes is reporting that the price is between $20 million and $30 million. YaData will be folded into Microsoft’s Israeli R&D center in Herzliya, Israel and its product will be sold through Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group. Maybe this will help Microsoft do some of that mysterious “engagement mapping” it’s been talking about. From the press release: YaData’s technology will enable Microsoft to provide its advertisers with richer targeting capabilities so they can connect with their audience in more efficient and engaging ways, at the same time providing its customers more relevant and focused ads. YaData’s technology will be integrated into Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group and will add advanced behavioral targeting tools and capabilities to Microsoft’s online advertising platform. The addition of YaData’s technology will help Microsoft’s efforts to improve advertisers’ ROI and to provide more focused and relevant advertising, tailored to specific client needs. The company, which was founded in 2005, raised a $4 million series A financing from Giza Venture Capital and Ofer Hi-tech. And back in 2006—you’ve got to love this—it raised a seed round from Oracle. Larry Ellison, the check from Microsoft is in the mail. CrunchBase Information YaData Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
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