Native advertising platform Outbrain has announced it has acquired AdNgin, a UI optimisation company built to enhance the reader experience.

Outbrain connects publishers, marketers and consumers through personalised, interest-based recommendations. AdNgin focuses on that same level of personalisation, individually optimising the reader experience based on their visual preferences.

The understanding that every consumer is different – from their personal interests to the way they interact digitally – is what inspired the personalisation-driven platforms to come together.

After a short, six-month pilot, consistent double-digit click-through rates (CTRs) sealed the deal for the two companies. The acquisition is Outbrain’s sixth to date.

Outbrain’s managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, Andrew Burke, said: “At Outbrain, we’re focused on building solutions with efficiency and performance at its core, and AdNgin’s vision seamlessly aligns with the work we’ve done, as well as what we intend to achieve as we push the boundaries of content discovery.

“There’s tremendous potential in this market – especially so in Asia, where marketers are more likely to prioritise personalised experiences than their peers in other regions.”

Asaf Porat, head of global operations at Outbrain, said: “AdNgin removes the guesswork of digital advertising, allowing us to automate the optimisation of our reader experience.

“It’s fascinating to see a technology that can make continuous improvements and lead to significant uplifts of RPMs and CTRs.”

Outbrain founder and CEO Yaron Galai said: “As we’re innovating our platform with transformative initiatives – in-feed autoplay video and endless feeds of content discovery – we can’t forget what makes Outbrain perform in the first place: reader personalisation; from the personalisation of content to the personalisation of UI.

“This acquisition will help us seamlessly focus on the entire, personalised journey.”

AdNgin founder Amnon Lahav said: “Joining forces with a native powerhouse like Outbrain, which organically outperforms the competition using interest-based recommendations, couldn’t be a more perfect digital advertising match.

“This is an incredibly exciting start to a high-converting content adventure, both for us and the end consumers.”

Lahav will bring his decade-plus of UX experience to the forefront, closely collaborating with Outbrain’s business optimisation team as the new head of UI optimisation.