• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 15, 2009

Ad technology firm The Rubicon Project has acquired behavioral targeting data provider Others Online. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Frank Addante, Rubicon's founder and CEO, said the acquisition addresses one of the key challenges facing the online ad industry: data fragmentation.

"Fragmentation has made it difficult for (advertisers) to efficiently reach their audiences," he said, while "the recent growth in the number of data companies in the market has created fragmentation at the data level."

Launched in mid 2006, Seattle-based Others Online tracks consumer behavior to determine consumer affinities online. Jordan Mitchell, founder and CEO of Others Online, will become the Rubicon Project's vice president of Data Intelligence.

Facing intense competition, Rubicon recently raised an additional $13 million -- of a total $33 million -- in venture funding to fuel various growth initiatives, including strategic acquisitions, research and development, infrastructure and international expansion.

A growing number of startups are competing to help Web publishers better manage ad networks offering to sell their leftover ad impressions.

Companies like the Rubicon Project, Pubmatic, and AdMeld factor in pricing data, available inventory, and publisher guidelines to determine which ad network is sent an ad impression -- work that a publisher's sales force would otherwise be required to perform.

Based in Los Angeles, the Rubicon Project launched in 2007. In the first quarter of 2009, the company reported 150% revenue growth over the fourth quarter of 2008.

The company's publisher clients include Gannett, Salon, Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive and American Greetings.