Glispa acquires Avocarrot to bring native ad monetization to app developers

Glispa Global Group wants to become one of the behemoths of ad technology, and the Berlin company is taking a step in that direction with its acquisition of Avocarrot, which operates a programmatic native advertising exchange.

The move positions Glispa as one of the top independent mobile programmatic marketplaces for mobile app and game developers and will bolster Glispa’s own existing native advertising monetization business for app developers.

Based in San Francisco and Athens, Avocarrot is a high-growth native advertising supply-side platform (SSP), which combines programmatic advertising and real-time bidding technologies so that it can generate the right ads at the right time for the right users in order to maximize the effectiveness of a mobile ad.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sources close to the deal say it was about $20 million. Glispa has been on an acquisition spree, also acquiring the Ampiri ad mediation platform and Brazil’s mobile ad marketing firm Mobils.

Glispa said the deal benefits its advertisers (demand-partners), as it offers an additional channel for a programmatic marketplace. Avocarrot will integrate with Glispa’s Ampiri Mediation platform to seamlessly monetize app inventory via both programmatic and non-programmatic allocation in a single platform.

Together, Avocarrot and Glispa’s Ampiri native advertising monetization platform will bring more than 25 leading demand-side partners (DSPs) and leading ad networks together.

Avocarrot technical founders — including Conno Christou, Georgios Makkoulis, Giorgos Eracleous, and Panagiotis Papageorgiou — as well as 14 additional engineers will join Glispa’s Ampiri team.

“Avocarrot brings immediate value to Glispa Global Group, and together, we’re offering one of the top independent, native advertising solutions on the market today. With two acquisitions this year and the launch of the Ampiri native ad mediation platform, we’re solidly positioned to drive monetization for app developers and help them reach their full revenue potential, ” said Gary Lin founder and CEO of Glispa Global Group, in a statement.

Avocarrot’s programmatic exchange will soon integrate with Ampiri via a single user interface, a single software development kit (SDK), and a combined integration of ad-networks and DSPs, all on the same platform.

“This is a key time in ad tech for a powerful player to cut through the noise in the app economy. Glispa’s strong advertising footprint across 187 countries and our leading technology in programmatic native monetization provides tremendous value for our existing and future app partners. We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Glispa,” said Avocarrot cofounder Conno Christou, in a statement.

Above: Glispa and Avocarrot leaders. Gary Lin, CEO of Glispa, is on the right.

Image Credit: Glispa