Walmart Buys Social Media Ad Targeting Firm OneRiot

In the US, retail giant Walmart has acquired mobile and social media ad targeting start-up OneRiot, and added it to its WalmartLabs social media technology division. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

OneRiot has developed technology that analyzes social media signals from popular networks like Twitter and Facebook, to deliver ads that are relevant to consumers' interests.

Its new home WalmartLabs is led by the co-founders of social media analysis agency Kosmix, acquired by Walmart in April. The division creates technologies around social mobile commerce, to support the integration of Walmart's online e-commerce strategy, mobile and social shopping projects.

As a result of the deal, the OneRiot team will join WalmartLabs and relocate from Boulder, Colorado to Silicon Valley, California.

Walmart exec (and Kosmix co-founder) Anand Rajaraman notes on the company's blog: 'The technology at the core of what we do is the Social Genome, which enables us to connect millions of consumers with the best products based on their interests at any given moment. The OneRiot technology will enrich the Social Genome, and the OneRiot team adds to the already deep expertise we have around social data analysis.'

Web sites: www.walmartstores.com and www.oneriot.com .