Acquired.io

Acquired.io operated as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform providing a centralized command center for mobile application user acquisition teams. The company was founded in 2016 in Foster City, California, by Andrey Kazakov and Max Gannutin. This founding duo had previous entrepreneurial success, having also established AppScotch, an advertising intelligence firm that was subsequently acquired by App Annie.

The business targeted the significant challenge user acquisition (UA) managers face in handling dozens of mobile ad channels simultaneously, a number that had grown from 700 to over 1,500 by 2016. Acquired.io's platform was designed to automate and simplify multi-channel campaign management, addressing the manual and repetitive operational tasks associated with each channel. The core of its business model was providing a subscription-based software that enabled in-house UA teams to manage advertising channels, discover new ones, allocate budgets, and create rules for automated decisions, thereby reducing manual workloads and allowing a focus on campaign optimization and ROI. Revenue was generated through these SaaS subscriptions.

The platform's detailed features included the ability to create and manage multi-channel app install campaigns from a single interface. It allowed users to connect their ad channels and tracking services to gain a consolidated view of performance reports. Key functionalities encompassed bulk editing to start or stop campaigns across all channels, reallocating budgets, and adjusting bids. A notable feature was the capability to set up rules to automate ad-buying decisions, such as reallocating budgets from campaigns with an ROI below a certain threshold. The platform integrated with major ad networks and social platforms like Snapchat, AdColony, Chartboost, Google, and Facebook. In June 2017, the company announced it had raised $2 million in funding from investors, including Jonathan Zweig and John Zdanowski, to enhance automation features and expand into new markets.

A significant milestone in the company's history was its acquisition by Adjust, a mobile measurement and fraud prevention company, which was announced in December 2018. The acquisition was financed through cash on Adjust's balance sheet, with plans to fully integrate Acquired.io's technology into Adjust's mobile measurement platform. This move was intended to combine Acquired.io's campaign automation capabilities with Adjust's analytics to provide a more unified solution for mobile marketers. Following the acquisition, the founders and their team joined Adjust.

Keywords: user acquisition automation, mobile marketing platform, ad campaign management, Andrey Kazakov, Max Gannutin, SaaS for mobile apps, multi-channel advertising, ad budget allocation, automated ad buying, AppScotch founders, mobile user acquisition, Adjust acquisition, campaign optimization software, ad performance analytics, cross-channel management, mobile ad networks, programmatic ad buying, marketing automation, ROI optimization, mobile app install campaigns