Taboola to acquire Gravity R&D

Israeli-based content discovery and native advertising platform Taboola announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gravity R&D, a personalization technology company founded in data science. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but Taboola said the acquisition is part of its stated goal of investing $100 million annually into R&D. 

“Our investments in technology, both in team and products behind it, are what continue to give Taboola a strategic advantage,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and founder, Taboola. “Welcoming the Gravity R&D to our family means Taboola grows its ability to make more sophisticated recommendations and do more in areas like dynamic creative optimization and personalization, to drive better outcomes for advertisers–especially those in retail and e-commerce. With a highly skilled team that has spent years perfecting this technology, there was no company better suited to help us succeed in this area.”

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Hungary, Gravity R&D offers a personalization engine called Yusp, which is built on proprietary algorithms that focus on deep learning for personalization. Taboola says Yusp is used by leaders in retail, e-commerce, and digital media to provide personalized offers to customers to drive sales, increase average order sizes, build customer loyalty and create more positive user experiences. 

As part of the pending acquisition, the Israeli-based company will create and invest in a new research and development hub in Gravity R&D’s headquarters in Hungary.  

“The competitive battlefield for customers in the retail, e-commerce and connected TV arenas continues to revolve around customer experience and personalization,” said Domonkos Tikk, CEO, Gravity R&D. “We’ve spent the past 12 years developing the technology to make brands’ lives easier and with Taboola, we’re excited to bring that technology to a massive new customer base.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and expected to close in the second quarter of 2022. 

In July last year, Taboola announced an agreement to acquire e-commerce media platform Connexity from Symphony Technology Group for $800 million.