Walmart to Acquire Technology and Assets of Silicon Valley Adtech Startup Polymorph Labs

Executive Summary

On April 11, 2019, Walmart announced plans to acquire the assets and technology of Silicon Valley-based advertising-technology startup Polymorph Labs for an undisclosed amount.

• The acquisition is intended to bolster Walmart’s in-house advertising team Walmart Media Group.
• Walmart plans to use Polymorph’s technology platform to enable Walmart advertisers to come on board quickly, select audience segments based on shopping behavior, automate ad delivery and then measure the influence of ads on sales.
• Polymorph is a Silicon Valley ad tech startup founded in 2013 that has developed a cloud-based, self-serve platform that connects to thousands of automated supply-side ad-buying systems and empowers advertisers to create, manage and monetize native ad inventory across multiple channels. Its technologies include a high-speed native ad server, a self-serve interface and a mechanism for server-side header bidding.
• For companies running large e-commerce businesses, online advertising represents a substantial additional revenue opportunity, and this announcement reveals Walmart’s activity in that area.