Outbrain acquires Video Intelligence

The American company Outbrain is acquiring Video Intelligence (VI), a startup based in Zurich, for around 55 million US dollars according to a press release. Outbrain is an intermediary between advertisers and media companies. It works with CNN, Washington Post, and Le Monde, to name a few.

VI has developed a solution that helps media companies to place videos next to articles in a targeted way. It uses machine learning to do so. The development from the startup, which was founded in 2017, aims to contribute to increasing user engagement and raise revenues overall. It is already used by over 1,100 media companies, including the American International Data Group (IDG), the German publisher Spiegel-Verlag, and the media group Funke.

Outbrain plans to develop its video offering for media companies and advertisers with the acquisition.  The startup “fits perfectly into Outbrain’s core strategy of providing media owners with technology to enhance user engagement and monetization through relevant content and ads,” according to David Kostman, Co-CEO of Outbrain. Yaron Galai, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Outbrain, also mentioned the synergies between the two companies and calls the VI team “incredibly talented and experienced”.