MiQ Acquires Privacy-First Audience Platform AirGrid

In the UK, marketing intelligence and programmatic media specialist MiQ has acquired privacy-focused audience platform AirGrid, for an undisclosed sum.

AirGrid's platform 'supercharges' marketer audience strategies across a network of premium publishers, connecting them directly for privacy-first and cookieless audience creation and activation. The firm uses machine learning to segment publisher audiences without the use of any identifiers, and then stores, models and activates locally on the device, so that user data never leaves it.

MiQ says the deal will add 'critical' publisher-focused technology capabilities and proprietary data to its own suite of cookieless solutions. AirGrid will retain its brand name and serve as a standalone entity under the MiQ umbrella, and MiQ is working to expand AirGrid's reach to the US and Canadian markets in the second half of 2023. Dennis Yurkevich, AirGrid founder and CEO, is now Managing Director and CTO of the business.

The acquisition comes just two months after MiQ's investment from private equity firm Bridgepoint, which values the company at up to $1 billion. John Goulding (pictured), Global Chief Strategy Officer for MiQ, comments: 'With AirGrid, publishers and marketers will be able to target inaccessible audiences previously out of reach due to cookie blockers. Publishers get better control, access and monetisation opportunities, brands can apply more precise targeting functionality to key audiences historically out of reach, and consumers' data never leaves their device'.

Web sites: www.wearemiq.com and www.airgrid.io .