Disruptel, a St. Louis startup that has developed technology to allow viewers to interact more directly with their televisions, has been acquired by a software firm based in San Francisco.
Samba TV, which uses software to collect television viewership data, said Tuesday it has acquired Disruptel in a deal it says will enhance its technology capabilities. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded in 2017, Disruptel is using artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to create products that let television viewers interact with on-screen content, giving them the ability to ask questions about content they’re watching, receive additional information about brands and individuals on-screen and purchase products that appear on their TVs. Alex Quinn, who in 2021 was named to St. Louis Inno’s Inno Under 25 list, is founder of Disruptel.
Disruptel has yet to distribute its technology to TV viewers and Quinn said joining Samba will help advance its commercialization efforts.
“From Disruptel’s perspective, we really felt that being in a company that had much larger manpower, a much larger brand and existing partners, that we would be able to more effectively launch our products and ultimately reach consumers under this more powerful brand than going at it ourselves,” Quinn said.
With the deal, Disruptel joins a firm that's focused on providing data to help brands and publishers with their advertising initiatives. Samba’s software is incorporated into TVs and it collects data from viewers who opt-in to sharing viewership data that is used by advertisers to help strategize their marketing efforts.
Samba, which in May walked away from prior plans for an initial public offering, had revenue of $106.8 million in 2020, according to regulatory documents. It says its software is included in more than 20 TV brands that sell their products in 100-plus countries.
Quinn said initial conversations with Samba revolved around a partnership as it sought to commercialize its technology, but that discussions eventually led to an acquisition.
“We had already known them pretty closely for a while and then just the conversations started turning toward what would it look like if we joined them,” he said.
The acquisition includes Quinn and one other St. Louis-based employee joining Samba, working remotely from St. Louis, Quinn said. Prior to the deal, Disruptel had raised funding from investors, included a $1.15 million seed round closed in 2021.
In a news release, Samba said its purchase of Disruptel will help enhance Simba AI, its collection of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies that aim to bring new innovation to TVs. Samba said Disruptel’s technology will help brands better grasp how viewers interact with their brands on-screen while also giving TV viewers new ways to engage with content.
“This acquisition brings us closer to the living room viewing experience we have all been dreaming about, where consumers are empowered to go deeper into the content they are viewing, advertisers will gain greater insights into the value of their sponsorships and TV manufacturers will capture new opportunities to differentiate their incredible products,” said Samba co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated where Samba TV is based. Its headquarters is located in San Francisco.
