Content management technology producer Episerver has agreed to acquire Optimizely, a US-based web optimisation software provider backed by corporates Accenture, Alphabet, Citi and Salesforce, for an undisclosed amount.
The deal is expected to conclude in the fourth quarter of 2020, and an Episerver spokesperson told TechCrunch the deal consisted of a mix of cash and stock.
Founded in 2009, Optimizely has created a digital experience optimisation platform that enables developers to personalise and A/B test websites as well as mobile, television and smart device apps.
Episerver expects the addition of Optimizely’s capabilities to complement its own offering, an artificial intelligence-backed software platform that provides digital content management tools and facilitates personalised e-commerce experiences.
Optimizely had secured $200m in total funding as of June 2019 when it closed a $50m series D round that was led by Goldman Sachs’ Private Capital Investing division and backed by Accenture Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of professional services firm Accenture.
Index Ventures led the company’s $58m series C round in 2015, with Citi Ventures and Salesforce Ventures investing on behalf of financial services group Citi and enterprise software producer Salesforce respectively.
The series C round included Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Benchmark, Correlation Ventures, Danhua Capital, Pharus Capital Management, Bain Capital Ventures and Tenaya Capital.
Optimizely had raised $57m in a 2014 series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz that also featured Bain Capital Ventures and Benchmark.
Benchmark had led the company’s $28m series A round the previous year, investing with GV, a subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, as well as Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures and Interwest Partners.
The series A funding followed a $2m seed round backed by GV, Battery Ventures and Interwest in 2012, two years after Optimizely secured $1.2m in angel investment.
