blinkx Buys Ad Targeting Firm LYFE Mobile

California-based online media platform blinkx plc has acquired LYFE Mobile, which offers a mobile Demand Side Platform (DSP) and Data Management Platform (DMP), in an all cash transaction.

LYFE's cross channel technology delivers targeted ads to consumers based on their geographic location and other attributes, and claims access to over 100 million users in the US and 600 million worldwide via deals with supply side partners. The buy will allow blinkx to expand into the demand side of the programmatic value chain, and brings the LYFE Mobile team of engineers, data scientists and business staff into the blinkx fold.

blinkx CEO S. Brian Mukherjee says the firm's growth strategy is focused on three key areas - video, mobile and programmatic, representing 'the future of digital advertising'. He comments: 'LYFE Mobile is one of those rare companies operating in the sector that delivers in all three areas for blinkx. The acquisition enables us to fill a critical gap in our product portfolio, which would have otherwise taken years to build. While the transaction will not have a material impact on revenue in the near term, and is currently loss making, it represents our first foray as a company into the demand side of the programmatic ecosystem.'

blinkx was founded in the UK 2004, and helped pioneer online video search using a patented COncept Recognition Engine (CORE), which uses speech recognition, text and image analysis. The firm has evolved into a broad digital media technology, distribution and monetization platform, headquartered in San Francisco, California with 15 offices worldwide.

Web site: www.blinkx.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.