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Mandalay Digital Group, a mobile technology and services provider with its global headquarters in Los Angeles, has acquired the mobile app search engine Xyo for an undisclosed sum.
Xyo cofounders Marcin Rudolph and Zoe Adamovicz will join Mandalay's Digital Turbine team, which will also absorb all of Xyo's existing technology and relationships, including its current deployment with T-Mobile USA.
Xyo's 'Guided Search' strategy for app discovery is its strongest selling point. With a swelling mobile app marketplace, finding the right app through basic search can be confusing and frustrating. Xyo's own app was carefully designed to streamline that process and visually engage users. “I think of a future scenario where you don’t need to find apps, because you can get your device to install them automatically, before you even realize what you need,” said designer Sara Furlani.
This ambitious thought will factor into Digital Turbine's future projects.
"There is a huge consumer appetite for finding and recommending the right app at the right time, versus wading through thousands of apps in the app store,” said Digital Turbine CEO Bill Stone.
Adomovicz said that working with Digital Turbine will allow Xyo's projects to scale and reach users much more efficiently than before. “But apps are just a start," Adomovicz said. "Consumers have entered a new age where digital content is personally recommended on their phones. We are very excited to be part of Digital Turbine as we work together to develop new technologies that can help shape this consumer world.”
Mandalay has gained a reputation for its forward-thinking mobile acquisitions. In 2010, it acquired Twistbox, which at the time provided the industry's most widely adopted content standards matrix. Mandalay absorbed Digital Turbine in 2011.
