Webflow acquires Intellimize so as to add AI-powered webpage personalization

Webflow, an online design and internet hosting platform that’s raised over $330 million at a $4 billion valuation, is increasing into a brand new sector: advertising optimization.

At this time, Webflow introduced that it acquired Intellimize, a startup leveraging AI to personalize web sites for distinctive guests. The phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed. However a supply acquainted with the matter tells TechCrunch that the acquisition value was within the “eight-figure” vary.

Nearly all of the Intellimize group — round 50 folks — will be a part of Webflow. However some staffers both took outplacement packages or had been let go and given severance; Webflow wouldn’t say what number of.

Vlad Magdalin, the CEO of Webflow, stated Intellimize was a pure match for Webflow’s first-ever acquisition as a result of its product meets a necessity many Webflow prospects share: personalizing and optimizing their web sites.

“The common thread among our many customer segments is that they’re building professional websites that are meant not only to look great, but ultimately to drive business results — and tons of our customers and partners have been asking us to help them improve how well their websites are able to bring them new customers beyond the initial build phase,” Magdalin stated. “Intellimize quickly emerged as a really impressive product in this space that many marketing and growth leaders raved about — and it soon became very evident that combining the forces of our respective products and our teams can create a much more powerful combination.”

Man Yalif, former head of vertical advertising at Twitter, co-founded Intellimize in 2016 with Brian Webb and Jin Lim. Whereas in a earlier exec function at Yahoo, Yalif labored with Lim, Yahoo’s VP of engineering on the time, and Webb, who was an architect on Yahoo’s customized content material suggestion group. (Full disclosure: Yahoo is TechCrunch’s company guardian.)

With Intellimize, Yalif, Webb and Lim — drawing on their mixed advertising know-how — got down to construct a platform that would generate customized webpages for guests on demand.

The motivation? Seventy-four % of shoppers really feel frustrated when a web site’s content material isn’t custom-made, in accordance with stats cited by Porch Group Media. Corporations that do personalize report not solely elevated income, however extra environment friendly advertising spend.

Intellimize faucets AI to generate pages, robotically making changes in response to how customers behave (and the place they’re coming from). Corporations create a web site template, then Intellimize’s AI runs experiments, fidgeting with varied knobs and dials is it had been earlier than delivering the top-performing outcomes to guests.

Now, Intellimize isn’t the one one doing this.

Amazon’s Personalize can drive tailor-made product and search suggestions on the internet. Sstartups akin to Evolv AI and Episerver-owned Optimizely automate sure types of A/B net testing with algorithms. That’s to not point out generative AI-driven platforms like Adobe’s GenStudio, Movable Ink, Mutiny and Blend, that are hastening in new and novel types of expertise personalization.

However Intellimize — whether or not on the energy of its tech, partnerships or promoting — handle to determine a sizeable foothold out there for AI-powered advertising.

On the time of the acquisition, Intellimize — which had raised over $50 million from traders like Cobalt Capital, Addition, Amplify Companions and Homebrew — had a number of tentpole prospects together with Sumo Logic, Dermalogica and ZoomInfo.

“The Intellimize team had already built most of the personalization and optimization tools that we were considering building in-house, and had an impressive roster of enterprise customers using their solution,” Magdalin stated. “Their team and product demonstrated world-class expertise in machine learning and AI to power website personalization and conversion rate optimization, which we believe would be a very powerful addition to Webflow’s existing platform.”

So what modifications can Intellimize prospects anticipate as the corporate joins the Webflow fold? Not many disruptive ones, Yalif burdened. Intellimize will proceed to be offered standalone to non-Webflow prospects, but it surely’ll more and more hyperlink to — and combine with — Webflow companies. Yalif, in the meantime, will be a part of Webflow as “head of personalization,” guiding — what else? — personalization product efforts at Webflow.

“Joining Webflow allows us to scale and significantly accelerate our forward momentum,” Yalif stated. “Webflow is building out its integrated solution for website building, design and optimization. Intellimize is the foundation of the personalization and optimization pieces of that vision. Together, we can take on larger, much more expensive, harder-to-use players in the digital experience space.”

Right here’s Magdalin’s take:

“Integrating Intellimize expands our primary audience beyond designers and developers … For the initial phase [of the merger], we’re focusing on natively integrating both of our products together — so customers should expect the best of Webflow and the best of Intellimize to be available as one unified product experience later this year.”