• Outbrain, a content recommendation and discovery platform, acquired Vi, a contextual video technology platform, for USD 55 million. The acquisition, which was done with a mix of cash and share issues, is expected to be concluded by Q1 2022, at which point Vi will become a part of Outbrain’s suite of services.

• Vi, a Swiss-based firm founded in 2017, provides solutions for publishers, brands, and creators to create contextual videos across web, mobile, and connected TV (CTV). According to the management, Vi has experienced a doubling of its revenue annually over the past two years, alongside a geographic and product expansion. Vi’s clients include media companies such as Axel Springer, IDF, and Tegna. 

• With the acquisition, Outbrain’s customers would be able to directly access video content from publishers and creators that are part of Vi’s network via Outbrain’s  demand-side platform (DSP). In addition, users can leverage Vi’s contextual video technology to match videos with appropriate text-based content recommended by Outbrain’s platform. The acquisition complements Outbrain’s recent partnerships with ad-supported streaming providers such as Pluto TV, Rakuten TV, and Samsung TV Plus, strengthening its service offerings in the CTV space.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: With the shift in consumer preference toward video on demand, both ad-free and ad-supported media streaming services have grown in popularity. Given this trend, CTV marketing, which is at an early stage of development, has become a strategic area of focus for firms in the AdTech segment. In line with this, disruptors such as Groundtruth (location-based ad technology) and AcuityAds (Customer journey analytics platform) have also expanded or made plans to expand their services into CTV in recent years.</ul>