- Integral Ad Science announced it is acquiring Europe-based ad tech company ADmantX SpA. These are the details about the deal.
Integral Ad Science announced it is acquiring ADmantX SpA, which is a Europe-based advertising technology company that provides brands with information about the content and context of articles that its ads are placed on, according to The Wall Street Journal. The terms of the deal were undisclosed.
This acquisition will complement the IAS ad verification services, which is used for helping advertisers track when their creatives are showing up on screens.
Brands have been constantly seeking for new ways to ensure that their ads do not appear on websites that feature offensive and inappropriate content.
Annalect president Adam Gitlin told The Wall Street Journal that marketers have been showing renewed interest in targeting ads based on the types of content. And there has been more interest in developing content-based targeting products where brand safety is just “one part of the spectrum.”
IAS has already been offering ADmantX services as part of a partnership. And going forward, the ADmantX brand will not be used.
“The ability to categorize and classify content is something our customers have asked us for,” explained Integral Ad Science Chief Executive Officer Lisa Utzschneider via The Wall Street Journal.
Founded in Italy by former Vodafone Group executive Giovanni Strocchi, ADmantX utilizes natural language processing and machine learning to classify the articles on websites. And its technology can also determine if the articles are positive or negative.
Some of ADmantX’s clients include media companies like Comcast and the Financial Times. And the company also works with brands like IKEA and Dentsu.
Last year, Vista Equity Partners bought a majority stake in IAS. During the time of the deal with Vista, IAS had 600 employees and was hitting $140 million in revenue.
