Seattle-based retail data company SoundCommerce has acquired Outlier.ai, an Oakland, California-based business intelligence company.
In a release, SoundCommerce said it made the acquisition "to retain key talent and leadership" from Outlier, including new Chief Revenue Officer Steve Davis. SoundCommerce also said the acquisition will grow its sales, marketing, customer success and solutions engineering teams.
"SoundCommerce looks for every opportunity to build and extend our core values, culture and technology as we grow," Eric Best, SoundCommerce CEO, said in a news release. "Steve Davis and the Outlier team are a perfect fit, helping us build a world class organization as we expand our retail data capacity and domain expertise."
On its website, Outlier says it "has reached the difficult decision to close our doors." In a LinkedIn post, Michael Kim, Outlier's former chief technology officer, said the company's final day was last week.
"It will likely take a (long) while to fully process and digest everything, but as I do, I'll share the realizations that I come to," Kim wrote in the post. "I don't have any formal plans for what's next."
The companies aren't disclosing financial terms of the acquisition.
SoundCommerce has 80 employees, up from 20 a year ago, a spokesperson said, and among Outlier's 45 former employees, seven have decided to join SoundCommerce so far.
Kim's role, the spokesperson said, was "outside of the scope of the team we acquired and is not tied to the acquisition."
Outlier was founded in 2015, according to its LinkedIn page.
SoundCommerce, founded in 2018, aims to simplify clients' data to improve marketing, analytics and customer experience. According to the company, its technology can track customers, shipments and purchase orders. SoundCommerce's clients include Eddie Bauer, PacSun and Constellation Brands. On its LinkedIn page, SoundCommerce says its employees are completely remote.
"I'm excited to join SoundCommerce at a pivotal moment in the company's upward trajectory, as SoundCommerce leads the retail industry to profitable growth," Davis said in a news release. "SoundCommerce helps brands and retailers unify data, ensuring marketing and operations balance great shopper experiences with long-term profitable growth."
