Ebuzzing and Teads are set to join forces to create an online video ad platform, TechCrunch reported.
The merger will form a group that will offer complementary technologies that it will continue to offer publishers and advertisers. After the consolidation, the group will have over 300 employees spread out in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Mexico and Korea. The team in France is comprised of over 100 engineers who are handling research and development, the report said.
The two firms are engaged in the business of coming up with what are called "outstream" video ad formats which describe ads that can be played out of a video stream inside a webpage like a slideshow or text. For paying subscribers, this is beneficial because they don't have to require publishers to create their own video content so they have video ads on their platforms, facilitating the faster spread of video ads, the report said.
For its end, Teads has established private marketplaces where publishers are able to handle the monetization of their instream and outstream inventories. Ebuzzing, meanwhile, claims it is Europe's biggest online video platform. Aside from its own tools for ad targeting, it also provides an ad analytics and self-service platform where advertisers can take care of their own ad efforts, the report said.
Lightspeed Ventures, Gimv, TFQ and Pierre Chappaz are the main backers of Ebuzzing which has raised $47 million in total funding to date. For its end, Teads was able to close a Series A round of $5.2 million from Elaia Partners and PartechVentures in October. Seed and private angel investors invested €300,000 in the startup in 2011, the report said.
The revenue of both firms, which reached $70 million in 2013, is forecasted to surpass $100 million this year. The group intends to hold an initial public offering in the Nasdaq next year, the report said.
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