Vungle
Type of site | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 2011 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Founder(s) | |
| CEO | Rick Tallman[4] |
| Industry | Mobile advertising[5] |
| Website | Vungle homepage |
| Current status | Active |
Vungle is a mobile advertising and monetization platform focused on in-app video ads. The company based in San Francisco, California.[6][7]
History[edit]
The company was founded in 2011 by Jack Smith and Zain Jaffer,[8][9] initially incorporated in January 2011 in London, United Kingdom as Vungle Limited. The company moved to San Francisco in August that year to attend AngelPad's third accelerator cohort[10], at which time the company was reincorporated as Vungle Inc.
The company has raised $25 million in venture capital funding from Crosslink Capital, Google Ventures and AOL Ventures.[11]
In February 2017, the company announced that it had hit a $300 million run rate.[12][13] In June 2017, Vungle was featured in Mary Meeker's annual Internet trends report to show how dynamic video ads can increase mobile app install conversion rates.[14][15]
In July 2019, Vungle was acquired by Blackstone, with sources saying that it represented a $750 million all-cash deal.[16]
In September 2019, Moody's reported that Vungle had "reported gross revenue of roughly $430 million for the twelve months ended June 2019".[17]
Features[edit]
App publishers looking serve video ads from Vungle by including Vungle's SDK in their apps. Publishers get paid in exchange for serving ads inside of their apps.[18] Video ads can generate higher user engagement than banner ads so that it pays publishers a higher eCPM.[19]
Advertisers use Vungle's ad network and ad exchange to serve video ads inside of apps, primarily to drive app installs.[20]
Competitors offering similar features include companies like AppLovin, AdColony and Flurry.[21]
Controversy[edit]
In October 2017, co-founder and former CEO Zain Jaffer was arrested and charged with sexually abusing his 3-year-old son.[22] Two days later, the board of directors removed Jaffer as CEO and placed him on indefinite leave.[23] Rick Tallman, previously the Chief Operating Officer, became CEO.
In July 2018, all charges against Jaffer were dismissed.[24] The district attorney's office issued the following statement:
We do not believe that there was any sexual conduct by Mr. Jaffer that evening and for this reason we dismissed the sexual abuse charges. The physical injury charges were separately dismissed because we believe that the injuries were the result of Mr. Jaffer being in a state of unconsciousness caused by prescription medication.[25]
In July 2017, Jaffer sought access to Vungle shareholder information and records for the purpose of pursuing a leadership change.[26] In March 2019, Jaffer brought a wrongful termination lawsuit against Vungle based on a California labor law provision designed to protect people who have been exonerated of crimes.[27]
Vungle was acquired by Blackstone in July 2019 for "more than $750 million". Prior to finalizing the sale, Vungle and Jaffer reached a settlement over his wrongful termination lawsuit and Jaffer subsequently dismissed the lawsuit.[28]
Acquisition[edit]
In July 2019, Vungle was acquired for "more than $750 million" by Blackstone.[28] Upon acquisition, Vungle was used by 60,000 mobile app publishers including Rovio and Pandora.[29]
References[edit]
- ↑ Rusli, Evelyn M (2012-10-01). "Law Firms Mine San Francisco for Internet Start-Up Gold". The New York Times.
- ↑ Sharp, Debra (20 February 2015). "People from the desktop world are ignoring mobile advertising". VentureBeat. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ Moran, Gwen (5 November 2012). "How to Get Funding? Act Like You Don't Need It". Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur_(magazine).
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (19 October 2017). "Mobile video ad firm Vungle gets new CEO in leadership shuffle". VentureBeat. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ Marvin, Ginny (16 September 2014). "Vungle's In-App Video Ad Exchange First To Serve Ads Via Both Pre-Caching And Streaming". Marketing Land. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ Ha, Anthony (25 April 2014). "Vungle Targets Brands With Its New Exchange For In-App Video Ads". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ Montini, Laura (24 June 2014). "Creating Ads That Blend In to Stand Out". Inc. Inc._(magazine).
- ↑ Cheatle, Duncan (16 January 2015). "Five steps to finding the perfect mentor". The Guardian.
- ↑ Dean, Takahashi (19 December 2012). "MeritShare finds a way to gamifiy employee recognition (exclusive)". Venture Beat.
- ↑ Geron, Tomio (25 June 2012). "Don't Try This At Home: How Vungle Broke In To Silicon Valley". Forbes. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ "Blackstone is acquiring mobile ad company Vungle".
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (15 February 2017). "Vungle hits $300 million annual revenue run rate for in-app video ads". Venture Beat.
- ↑ Ha, Anthony (25 April 2014). "Mobile ad startup Vungle says it's hit a $300M revenue run rate". Tech Crunch.
- ↑ "Internet Trends Report 2017". Kleiner Perkins.
- ↑ "Here's What Happens When Mary Meeker Puts You In Her Report". adage.com. June 15, 2017.
- ↑ Geron, Tomio (15 July 2019). "Blackstone Buying Ad-Tech Startup Vungle for About $750 Million". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "Moody's assigns first-time B2 CFR to Vungle Inc.; outlook stable". Moodys.com. 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
- ↑ "Facebook is top ad network choice for rewarded video ads". Business of Apps. June 27, 2019.
- ↑ "300M downloads and $600M in revenue say Google is the 'loser's choice' in mobile games monetization". April 14, 2014.
- ↑ "Vungle launches ad exchange for mobile video ads". www.adweek.com.
- ↑ "The mobile-ad world sucks, and Vungle's chief wants to make it better". May 15, 2016.
- ↑ "SF startup CEO charged with sexually abusing 3-year-old son". October 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Silicon Valley CEO Zain Jaffer arrested on charges of attempted murder, child abuse - Business Insider".
- ↑ "All charges against ex-Vungle CEO Zain Jaffer, including lewd act on a child, dismissed by judge".
- ↑ "Child sex assault charges dropped against founder of SF tech startup Vungle". July 3, 2018.
- ↑ "Founder Zain Jaffer may be looking to take back control of Vungle".
- ↑ Cleared of Crimes, Startup CEO Seeks Redemption and $100 Million
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Sources: Blackstone will buy mobile video ad firm Vungle for $750 million; founder lawsuit settled". July 15, 2019.
- ↑ "Why Is Vungle Worth $750 Million?". AdExchanger. July 18, 2019.
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