AppLift, a mobile app marketing platform, on Thursday announced it has acquired Bidstalk, a mobile demand-side platform (DSP). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Bidstalk’s DSP technology will be integrated into AppLift’s mobile app marketing platform, dubbed DataLift. The acquisition beefs up AppLift’s ad tech stack, as it now has a data management platform (DMP) in DataLift and a real-time bidding (RTB) ad-buying platform in Bidstalk, all of which can be used on a self-serve basis. AppLift's platform specializes in user acquisition.
Bidstalk was founded in 2014 by Vaibhav Gupta, former CTO of Airpush, and Guna Kakulapati, a former Google Display Network employee. Gupta resigned as CTO of Airpush in 2013 to launch Bidstalk, which now has a team of 40. The combined AppLift-Bidstalk workforce is over 200, per a release.
In acquiring Bidstalk, AppLift doubled down on the programmatic market in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Bidstalk is headquartered in Singapore and has R&D operations in Bangalore, India.
These new hubs are on top of the three new APAC offices AppLift recently opened -- one each in Beijing, Tokyo and Delhi. Per a release, AppLift now has eight global offices, six of which are in Asia.
While AppLift appears primarily interested in Bidstalk’s buy-side technology, Bidstalk also services publishers. The company offers mobile app publishers an ad server and custom ad exchange technology. Per a release, Bidstalk will retain its brand name and will continue to be managed by its current team.