AOL picks up Tacoda, behavior-based advertising network
updated
Web portal AOL said it has agreed to buy Tacoda, a company that delivers targeted ads based on a visitor’s browsing habits.
It is the latest move by Web giants to buy up companies that help them boost advertising, and reflects AOL’s move to rely more on advertising revenue amid a plunge in paying subscribers.
The amount was undisclosed, but the NY Post is putting it at $200 to $300 million. [Update: Dow Jones is using the $300 million number, but this is also unattributed, so no firm conclusions yet.]
AOL, the online unit of Time Warner Inc., said the acquisition of Tacoda would help advertisers run more relevant pitches. Visitors who read a lot on new car models, for instance, will find automotive ads following them to Web pages on baseball. (AP has the story here).
Tacoda had raised a total of $33 million of financing since 2001 from Rho Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Masthead Venture Partners and Hanseatic Americas. Union Square’s Brad Burnham provides the back-story, about how Tacoda founder Dave Morgan followed Burnham into a cocktail party in his shorts in order to dog him for money.
Customers include About Inc., BusinessWeek.com, Dow Jones, the Albany Times-Union.com, USA Today and Weather.com.
Venture capitalist Jeremy Liew just wrote a column for VentureBeat noting how niche sites will do well, because of these new targeted advertising technologies.
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About the Author, Matt Marshall
Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.
