Taboola buys Start from Celltick

Taboola today announced that is acquiring the Start division of Celltick, working on mobile discovery and engagement. Start division includes the Start and Start Magazine product lines.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Taboola says the Start team and technology will integrate into the Taboola News division to bring personalized and relevant recommendations in the form of premium publisher content on mobile devices.

Taboola News is integrated with several mobile phone manufacturers including ZTE and vivo. According to Taboola, this deal will expand Taboola News to support tier 1 mobile operators as well as device manufacturers and app developers.

Start Magazine and its associated lockscreen, Start, provide mobile operators and device manufacturers with a rich medium to understand and intelligently engage with the user, as well as increase retention by providing targeted promotions. Start Magazine helps its partners understand users’ needs while increasing brand loyalty with their existing users. Each month, more than 20 million users turn on their device enabled with Start and an additional 25M are exposed to Start Magazine content.

“Through the combination of our strategic premium publisher partnerships globally, our data and deep learning technology, we are able to provide users with a highly personalized content experience that can enrich their lives,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and founder of Taboola. "Celltick’s Start technology has been used by leading mobile carriers and now together we can provide an even more valuable platform for operators globally that can deliver a more engaged and personalized experience for their users and drive incremental ARPU. I am excited to welcome the Celltick team to Taboola."