Mobile engagement platform Urban Airship is acquiring SimpleGeo, which is best known for enabling app developers to include location-aware features, in an all-stock deal announced today (Nov. 1). Further details on the terms were not made available.
SimpleGeo executives Jay Adelson, Matt Galligan, Rob Bailey and Joe Stump will hand over management to Urban Airship chief executive officer Scott Kveton and his team, but they will continue as strategic advisors. Urban Airship will retain what is now the SimpleGeo office in San Francisco in addition to the company’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
The two companies have been working together for several months. Integrating the two more fully will create a single platform for adding push notifications, in-app purchasing, subscriptions, context and geo-location to app development. Kveton joked that he’s felt a kinship with SimpleGeo since they both launched on the same day and had both chosen the same font for their sites.
“We’ve learned that our customers (brands, retailers, etailers, media, social networking sites, games and others) want more than just generic tools,” Kveton blogged. “Instead of building blocks they want a complete solution that can be used by the entire company to help engage, monetize, locate and understand their mobile user base. …This is a fantastic win for both Urban Airship and SimpleGeo customers and investors.”
Urban Airship has more than 20,000 customers of all sizes, including Fox Television, The Weather Channel, Warner Bros., Tapulous, Mashable, Yahoo! and Groupon.
Related links:
Urban Airship blog post – http://tinyurl.com/5twlhtq
SimpleGeo blog post – http://tinyurl.com/434skkg
Photo by flickr user psiaki/Mike, used under Creative Commons license
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