Israeli internet company Perion is to pay $3.7 million as it acquires a small Ukrainian startup which develops artificial intelligence and works in online marketing.
Septa Communications, or also known as Captain Growth, consists of only eight people. The startup produces artificial intelligence that helps companies to advertise on Facebook and through Adwords. It analyzes marketing data and suggests how to “either save money or earn more,” according to the startup’s website.
Perion also works in the online advertising industry but is much more established as it has $250 million in revenue, a 400-person staff, and global brand clients such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Nike, Visa, BMW, HBO and many other heavyweights. It is purchasing Captain Growth’s patented technology to improve its current services. The Ukrainian startup’s technology “represents the new frontier of artificial intelligence,” Perion said in a statement on April 1.
According to Perion’s head Doron Gerstel, his company’s clients can now target their online ads with “unprecedented cross-channel engagement.”
Captain Growth co-founders Dmytro Plieshakov and Dmytro Bilash, in turn, said that they “couldn’t think of a better home for Captain Growth” and a better partner than Perion.
The Ukrainian startup, however, does not get all the money right away. In order to receive the second payment, it must first achieve “certain milestones and retention over the next 2 years.”
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