IronSource

ironSource is an advertising technology company backed by Carmel Ventures, a Viola Group affiliate, as well as CVC Capital Partners[2][3]. The company focuses on developing technologies for app monetization and distribution, with its core products focused on gametech[4].

ironSource Ltd.
Private Company
Industry
Founded2010
FounderTomer Bar-Zeev
Headquarters
Tel Aviv
,
Israel
Number of locations
12
Key people
Tomer Bar-Zeev (CEO, majority shareholder)[1]
Number of employees
800+
Subsidiaries
  • AfterDownload
  • Upopa
  • SuperSonic
Websitewww.ironsrc.com

Among others, ironSource was chosen as one of the '20 hottest startups' in 2013 and was listed in the Wall Street Journal "Billion Dollar Startup Club".[5][6] In September 2015, ironSource was named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Global Growth Company.[7] ironSource has also been named one of the hottest pre-IPO tech companies by Business Insider, and one of Israel's most innovative companies by Fast Company.[8][9][10]

ironSource has over 850 employees, with more than half dedicated to R&D. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, ironSource also has offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo, and Seoul.

History

Founded in 2010[11] in Tel Aviv, ironSource provides platforms and tools for application developers including analytics, user monetization, conversion, acquisition and optimization for all devices.[12]

In the first quarter of 2013, ironSource acquired Israeli advertising technology and network company AfterDownload Ltd. for $28 million to expand its integrated distribution, installation and value-building tools for software developers, publishers and advertisers.[13] The company also utilizes the C.A.S.T. native platform, kudosKit[14] appreciation platform, which brings mobile application developers distribution and engagement services.[15]

ironSource opened US offices in San Francisco in August 2013 [16] and opened an office in Beijing, China in May 2014.[17] ironSource established a UK presence in April 2015.[18]

ironSource raised approximately $85M from a group of international investors[19] and acquired the mobile game studio Upopa in the fall of 2014.[20]

In September 2015, ironSource merged Supersonic into its mobile operation for a price estimated to be $200 million. The new organization re-branded itself as ironSource.[21][22][23][24]

In July 2016, ironSource announced the acquisition of Sequoia-backed video technology company StreamRail. The 15 person StreamRail team joined ironSource's Advertiser Solution division, where their proprietary technology for video delivery and monetization will work to enhance ironSource's existing video advertising platform for brands - ironSource Neon.[25]

In August 2017, ironSource was reported to be "in advanced talks" to be bought for $1.8 billion by a consortium of investment funds.[26][27][28]

In October 2019, CVC Capital Partners acquired a minority stake in ironSource for over $400 million[29].

ironSource announced the launch of its new mobile game studio, Supersonic Studios, in February 2020. Within 10 days of its founding, Supersonic Studios has already published a chart-topping game, with Sort It 3D reaching the top of the major European, U.S., South Korean, and Japanese charts within a day of launch.[30] Within a couple of months, Supersonic Studios "scored three games in the top 10 mobile charts"[31] which amassed more than 35 million downloads[32] .

Applications

In September 2014, ironSource acquired gaming company Upopa.[33][34] Upopa has launched 10 highly successful mobile games on the App Store and Google Play, including the Hopeless series,[35] Mutation Mash,[36] Sugar Slide,[37] and Ruby Run.[38] “With each successive mobile game the team releases, we gain an even better understanding of what app developers need in order to turn their great products into scalable businesses,” said Tomer Bar Zeev, CEO and Co-Founder of ironSource.

ironSource is one of the first mobile SDK providers to support Augmented reality Ads[39] for game developers.[40]

On October 3 2018, ironSource released the ad revenue measurement tool that allows developers to measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns aligned with other similar tools used amongst developers as means of evaluating return on ad spend (ROAS).[41][42]

References
  1. Meet Israel’s low-profile unicorn: ironSource - Geektime, 18 January 2015
  2. Konrad, Alex. "Israeli Unicorn IronSource Raises $105 Million To Buy Startups Ahead Of IPO". Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  3. "Mobile marketer IronSource gets $400 million investment from CVC Funds". VentureBeat. 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  4. "Newzoo Gametech Ecosystem Map". Newzoo. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  5. Garcia Phillips, Andrew. "The Billion-Dollar Startup Club". Wall Street Journal.
  6. "The 20 Hottest Startups In Israel - Business Insider". Retrieved 2013-07-22.
  7. "World Economic Forum Honours 132 Companies as Global Growth Companies". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  8. "RANKED: The 37 hottest pre-IPO ad tech startups of 2016". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  9. "The Most Innovative Companies of 2016 by Sector". Fast Company. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  10. ironSource: We're one of the sexiest companies in Israel - Globes.co.il, 30 October 2014
  11. "Access Industries Completes $25 Million Investment in ironSource. Initial Round Expanded to Officially Close at over $100 Million". www.ironsrc.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  12. "'How to build a bottom-up culture through a massive employee growth (feat. Tomar Bar Ze'ev, CEO at ironSource)'". Startup Camel. Retrieved 25 Jan 2015.
  13. "ironSource acquires AfterDownload for $28m - Globes". Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  14. "IronSource Announces KudosKits, Allowing App Users To Show Their Appreciation With Money". TechCrunch.
  15. "Surviving Google's notification ad ban: Android alternatives". mobyaffiliates.
  16. "ironSource Opens Office in San Francisco to Better Serve US Market". PRWeb.
  17. Gat, Aviva (June 3, 2014). "Israeli company ironSource follows Bibi's lead and looks to collaborate with China". Geektime.
  18. Maytom, Tim (April 30, 2015). "Digital Distribution Firm ironSource Opens UK Offices". Mobile Marketing Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  19. Webber, Harrison (23 September 2014). "Ad delivery and software distribution startup IronSource nabs $85M". Venture Beat.
  20. "Israel's ironSource buys mobile game studio Upopa". Reuters. 4 September 2014.
  21. "Supersonic merges into ironSource to provide unified app advertising solution". mobyaffiliates. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  22. "ironSource merges with supersonic in mobile ad consolidation play".
  23. "Following Merger, Supersonic and ironSource Share Name - Mobile Advertising News & Information | MobileAdvertisingWatch.com". 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  24. "After IronSource merger, Supersonic unveils combined ad monetization for mobile apps". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  25. "ironSource Acquires Sequoia-Backed Video Ad Company Streamrail". MarTech Advisor. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  26. Biggest Internet Firm in Sale Talks
  27. Big trouble for Babylon as its rivers of money dry up - Haaretz, 3 November 2013. "Yahoo issued a severe warning to Babylon that it was considering terminating the contract due to violations by Babylon. Yahoo management asserted that Babylon had inserted ads into Yahoo pages without permission by means of its software-distribution system and had also permitted "click fraud" to fictitiously inflate the traffic count that forms the basis for referral income.
  28. ironSource: We're one of the sexiest companies in Israel - Globes.co.il, 30 October 2014
  29. Hazani, Golan (2019-10-02). "CVC to Pay $450 Million for a 25% Stake in IronSource". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  30. "IronSource launches ad-based game studio Supersonic Games". VentureBeat. 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  31. "Supersonic Games scores three hypercasual mobile games in the top 10". VentureBeat. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  32. Forde, Matthew; Writer, Staff. "PGC Digital: Supersonic Studios' three newest releases have surpassed 35 million downloads". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  33. "Israel's ironSource buys mobile game studio Upopa". Reuters. 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  34. "ironSource acquires gaming co Upopa - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  35. "Hopeless 2: Cave Escape turns the monster shooter into a thrilling rollercoaster". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  36. "Create weird, mutated animals in Mutation Mash, out on Android". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  37. "Makers of the Dark 'Hopeless' Series Are Going Sickeningly Sweet with New Game 'Sugar Slide' Coming Next Thursday". TouchArcade. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  38. Vasile, Cosmin. "Ruby Run: Eye God's Revenge Game Released on Android with Unique New Social Feature". softpedia. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  39. Stewart, Rogers. "IronSource launches 'world's first' AR ads for mobile games". Venturebeat. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  40. "ironSource Launches AR Ads for Mobile AAA Games". PRWeb. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  41. "What is ROAS? Calculating Return On Ad Spend". HuffPost.
  42. "How to measure ad channel effectiveness".
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