Geniee of Japan purchases Zelto, an AdPushup operator, for $70 million

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Japanese marketing technology company Geniee, a member of the SoftBank Group, paid about $70 million in cash to acquire the revenue optimization platform Zelto (previously known as AdPushup), providing investors in the startup that started out in India with a 40-fold return.

Zelto, a company that has been around for 10 years and helps web publishers and content creators make more money by using dozens of advertising exchanges, has twice come close to dying.The acquisition represents a remarkable recovery for the company. The startup nearly ran out of money in 2014. Ankit Oberoi, founder and CEO of Zelto, said in an interview with that the company later rushed with new product offerings after its flagship service struggled to gain traction.

The two businesses revealed the arrangement on Thursday, but they kept the specifics under wraps.The source asked for anonymity before revealing sensitive information. Oberoi of Zelto, which has been financially successful for some time and had less than $2.5 million in outside capital throughout its beginning phase, declined to provide the specifics of the agreement. According to the company’s website, some of the clients of AdPushup, Zelto’s flagship product, include Elle, NDTV, Cnet, PCMag, Mashable, and GSMArena.

“The experience has been exhilarating. We had plenty of difficulties. Yet, in my opinion, those trying moments were beneficial, Oberoi remarked. ” Clients were leaving after the launch. Somewhat over half the crew dispersed. Yet, it made us take a closer look at the core value we offer clients. And in 2014, we nearly ran out of money, which made us thrifty and successful.

According to him, the acquisition won’t have a big impact on Zelto’s operations. “For us, things are going as usual. We will invest significantly more in our expansion and venture into Southeast Asian markets now that we have the backing of a SoftBank-backed company. Zelto, which has a sizable workforce in India and began its operations there, names the United States as both its headquarters and its biggest market.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this cooperation since it will help Zelto and Geniee’s mission be considerably advanced. Seven years ago, I met Ankit for the first time. Tomoaki Kudo, CEO of Geniee, stated in a statement that although Ankit was still a tiny business at the time, he had the feeling that it would grow to be a major player in the sector.

“I also have a great deal of respect for them because they have thrived in the fiercely competitive emerging markets of India and North America.” We would like to benefit from Zelto’s technology, services, knowledge, and corporate culture in the future and actively encourage Geniee’s internationalization to fulfill its objectives.