Optimizely
{{Short description|American software company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Optimizely, Inc.
| logo = File:Optimizely_Logo.png
| caption =
| trading_name =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| romanized =
| former type =
| type = Private
| traded_as =
| industry = Software
| genre =
| fate =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| foundation = January 2010{{cite web|authorlink=Laurie Segall|title=Optimizely aims to give Obama 2012 a data edge|last=Segall|first=Laurie|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/04/23/technology/startups/optimizely-election/|date=23 April 2012|publisher=CNN|accessdate=7 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/07/15/optimizely-ab-test/ |title=YC-Funded Optimizely Makes It Remarkably Easy To Run A/B Tests On Your Website |publisher=TechCrunch |date=July 15, 2010 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/08/20/celebrities-but-not-ashton-kutcher-share-their-top-cloud-infrastructure-picks-at-yc/ |title=Celebrities (but not Ashton Kutcher) share their top cloud & infrastructure picks at Y |publisher=VentureBeat |date=2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}
| founder = Dan Siroker{{cite web|authorlink=Laurie Segall|title=Optimizely aims to give Obama 2012 a data edge|last=Segall|first=Laurie|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/04/23/technology/startups/optimizely-election/|date=23 April 2012|publisher=CNN|accessdate=7 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/07/15/optimizely-ab-test/ |title=YC-Funded Optimizely Makes It Remarkably Easy To Run A/B Tests On Your Website |publisher=TechCrunch |date=July 15, 2010 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/08/20/celebrities-but-not-ashton-kutcher-share-their-top-cloud-infrastructure-picks-at-yc/ |title=Celebrities (but not Ashton Kutcher) share their top cloud & infrastructure picks at Y |publisher=VentureBeat |date=2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}
Pete Koomen{{cite web|authorlink=Laurie Segall|title=Optimizely aims to give Obama 2012 a data edge|last=Segall|first=Laurie|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/04/23/technology/startups/optimizely-election/|date=23 April 2012|publisher=CNN|accessdate=7 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/07/15/optimizely-ab-test/ |title=YC-Funded Optimizely Makes It Remarkably Easy To Run A/B Tests On Your Website |publisher=TechCrunch |date=July 15, 2010 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/08/20/celebrities-but-not-ashton-kutcher-share-their-top-cloud-infrastructure-picks-at-yc/ |title=Celebrities (but not Ashton Kutcher) share their top cloud & infrastructure picks at Y |publisher=VentureBeat |date=2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}
| defunct =
| location_city =
| location_country = United States
| locations =
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{unbulleted list|Alex Atzberger|(CEO)|Shafqat Islam|(CMO)|Myles Johnson|(CFO)}}
| products =
| production =
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| aum =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees = 1400+ (as of May 2024)
| parent = Episerver
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.optimizely.com/}}
| footnotes =
| intl =
| bodystyle =
}}
Optimizely is an American company that provides digital experience platform software as a service.{{cite web |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Michael |title=Optimizely Acquires Zaius To Improve Digital Experience Creation |url=https://www.demandgenreport.com/features/news-briefs/optimizely-acquires-zaius-to-improve-digital-experience-creation/ |website=Demand Gen Report |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=22 March 2021}} Optimizely provides A/B testing and multivariate testing tools, website personalization, and feature toggle capabilities, as well as web content management and digital commerce.{{Cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/06/18/optimizely-raises-50-million-to-expand-its-a-b-testing-and-experimentation-platform/|title=Optimizely raises $50 million to expand its A/B testing and experimentation platform|date=2019-06-18|newspaper=VentureBeat|language=en-US|access-date=2020-07-27}}
The company was acquired by Episerver in October 2020{{cite web |url=https://martechseries.com/sales-marketing/customer-experience-management/episerver-completes-acquisition-optimizely/|title=Episerver Completes Acquisition of Optimizely|publisher=MarTech Advisor|date=October 21, 2020|accessdate=October 21, 2020}} and in January of 2021 Episerver announced that they were branding the combined company as "Optimizely".{{cite web |last1=Ha |first1=Anthony |title=Following acquisition, Episerver rebrands as Optimizely |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/27/episerver-rebrands-as-optimizely/ |publisher=Techcrunch |access-date=February 6, 2021 |date=January 27, 2021}}
History
Optimizely was founded in 2010 by Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen, both formerly of Google.{{cite web|authorlink=Laurie Segall|title=Optimizely aims to give Obama 2012 a data edge|last=Segall|first=Laurie|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/04/23/technology/startups/optimizely-election/|date=23 April 2012|publisher=CNN|accessdate=7 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/07/15/optimizely-ab-test/ |title=YC-Funded Optimizely Makes It Remarkably Easy To Run A/B Tests On Your Website |publisher=TechCrunch |date=July 15, 2010 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/08/20/celebrities-but-not-ashton-kutcher-share-their-top-cloud-infrastructure-picks-at-yc/ |title=Celebrities (but not Ashton Kutcher) share their top cloud & infrastructure picks at Y |publisher=VentureBeat |date=2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }} Optimizely completed the Y Combinator seed accelerator program in the winter of 2010.{{cite web |url=http://yclist.com/ |title=Yclist.com |publisher= |date=2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }} In November 2010, Optimizely closed a US$1.2 million funding round from angel investors.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/11/16/optimizely-ab-tests-its-way-to-1-2-million-in-funding-from-a-roster-of-top-angels/ |title=Optimizely A/B Tests Its Way To $1.2 Million In Funding From A Roster Of Top Angels |publisher=TechCrunch |date=November 16, 2010 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }} The company became cash flow positive in 2011.{{Cite web |date=2021-06-24 |title=Optimizely Raises $28 Million to go Global |url=https://www.optimizely.com/insights/blog/optimizely-raises-28-million-to-go-global/ |access-date=2022-05-31 |website=Optimizely |language=en}} In May 2012 Optimizely announced that it had raised new funding from Battery Ventures, GV, and InterWest Partners.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/30/optimizely-funding/ |title=A/B Tester Optimizely Raises Funding From Battery And Google Ventures, Plans Mobile Launch |publisher=TechCrunch |date=May 30, 2012 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}
In April 2013, Optimizely raised $28 million in Series A round funding. The round was led by Benchmark, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures and Optimizely's existing investors Battery Ventures, InterWest Partners, and Google Ventures. Benchmark's Peter Fenton joined Optimizely's board of directors.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/10/optimizely-series-a/ |title=Website Testing Service Optimizely Raises $28M Round Led By Benchmark, Plans Global Expansion |publisher=TechCrunch |date=April 10, 2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }} In April 2013 Optimizely launched support for nine European languages.{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/optimizelys-web-optimization-platform-now-available-in-ten-languages-204625111.html |title=Optimizely's Web Optimization Platform Now Available in Ten Languages |publisher=PR Newswire |date=April 25, 2013 |accessdate=August 29, 2013 }}
On April 17, 2014, Optimizely held its first Opticon user conference, where it announced the launch of its new mobile app A/B testing software.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/17/optimizely-for-ios/ |title=Optimizely Brings Its A/B Testing Platform To iOS Apps |publisher=TechCrunch |date=April 17, 2014 |accessdate=April 13, 2015 }} In May 2014, Optimizely raised $57 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Benchmark and Bain Capital Ventures. As part of the round, Scott Weiss general partner at Andreessen Horowitz joined Optimizely's board of directors.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/05/optimizely-raises-a-lot-of-money/ |title=Website Testing Company Optimizely Raises $57M Round Led By Andreessen Horowitz |publisher=TechCrunch |date=May 5, 2014 |accessdate=May 17, 2014 }}
In October 2015, the company released its second product for mobile and website personalization.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/06/17/optimizely-moves-from-simple-ab-testing-to-complex-personalization/ |title=Optimizely Moves From Simple A/B Testing To Complex Personalization |first=Ben |last=Kepes |website=Forbes |date=July 17, 2015 |accessdate=October 7, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/17/optimizely-personalization/ |title=Optimizely Moves Beyond Web And Mobile Testing With New Personalization Tools |publisher=TechCrunch |first=Anthony |last=Ha |date=July 17, 2015 |accessdate=October 7, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/06/17/optimizely-introduces-new-web-and-mobile-personalization-tool/ |title=Optimizely introduces new personalization capabilities for web and mobile |publisher=VentureBeat |first=Andrew |last=Jones |date=July 17, 2015 |accessdate=October 7, 2015 }} The same month, Optimizely raised $58 million in Series C funding, led by Index Ventures, with participation from firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Citi Ventures, Danhua Capital, Salesforce Ventures and Tenaya Capital. As part of the round, Ilya Fushman of Index joined Optimizely's board of directors.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/13/optimizely-series-c/ |title=Testing Company Optimizely Raises $58M As It Moves Into Personalization |publisher=TechCrunch |date=October 13, 2015 |accessdate=October 13, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-optimizely-funding-idUSKCN0S71CA20151013 |title=Optimizely raises $58 million in latest funding |publisher=Reuters |date=October 13, 2015 |accessdate=October 13, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/techflash/2015/10/san-francisco-startup-google-optimizely-disn-msft.html |title=San Francisco startup founded by former Googlers grabs $58 million in funding |publisher=San Francisco Business Times |date=October 13, 2015 |accessdate=October 13, 2015 }}
On March 10, 2016, Optimizely laid off 40 employees, 10% of the workforce.{{cite web |url=https://blog.optimizely.com/2016/03/10/controlling-our-own-destiny/ |title=Controlling Our Own Destiny By Dan Siroker|date=March 10, 2016 |accessdate=March 10, 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2016/03/10/optimizely-is-the-latest-big-startup-to-announce-layoffs/|title=Optimizely Is The Latest Big Startup To Announce Layoffs, And Likely Not The Last|website=Forbes |date=March 10, 2016}} In September 2016, the company released Optimizely X, with expanded solutions for web experimentation, personalization, recommendations, mobile, full stack, and OTT.{{Cite web|url=https://www.optimizely.com/products/|title=Optimizely: Meet Optimizely X|website=www.optimizely.com|access-date=2016-10-26}}
In July 2017, Jay Larson replaced Dan Siroker as the company's CEO. Pete Koomen was the company's CTO in 2012.{{cite magazine|title=The A/B Test: Inside The Technology That's Changing The Rules Of Business|last=Christian|first=Brian|issue=5 |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/04/ff_abtesting/|magazine=Wired|volume=20 |accessdate=17 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=Pete Koomen: The Quest for More Clicks|first=Mark|last=Milian|newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=20 September 2012 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2012-09-20/pete-koomen-the-quest-for-more-clicks|publisher=BusinessWeek|accessdate=17 March 2015}}{{cite web|title=Ex-Googlers penetrating Silicon Valley startup hierarchy|last=Swift|first=Mike|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_17579357|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=9 March 2011 |accessdate=17 March 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/03/03/man-crates-packages-3-1-million-seed-round-for-unusual-gifts-for-men/|title=Man Crates Packages $3.1 Million Seed Round for Unusual Gifts for Men|first=Lizette|last=Chapman|accessdate=17 March 2015|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=3 March 2015 }} Co-founder Dan Joseph Siroker became the company's Executive Chairman in July 2017.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/11/optimizely-new-ceo/|title=Optimizely hires Jay Larson as its new CEO|last=Ha|first=Anthony|publisher=TechCrunch|date=11 July 2017|accessdate=23 October 2017}}{{cite news|title=Obama's second term is upending what we think we know about Washington|last=Klein|first=Ezra|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/19/obamas-second-term-is-upending-what-we-think-we-know-about-washington/|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=17 March 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmf45fdij/dan-siroker/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231025600/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmf45fdij/dan-siroker/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 31, 2012|title=30 Under 30: Technology|first=Victoria|last=Barret|work=Forbes|accessdate=17 March 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/optimizely-co-founder-pete-koomen-on-using-the-art-of-ab-testing/|title=Optimizely Co-Founder Pete Koomen On Using The Art Of A/B Testing|last=Taylor|first=Colleen|date=3 September 2013 |publisher=TechCrunch|accessdate=2 April 2015}}
In July 2020, the company laid off 15% of its staff due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/15/benchmark-backed-optimizely-confirms-it-has-laid-off-15-percent-of-staff/|title=Benchmark-backed Optimizely confirms it has laid off 15% of staff|last=Mascarenhas|first=Natasha|publisher=TechCrunch|date=2020-07-15}} On September 3, 2020, Episerver announced that they were acquiring Optimizely, and the acquisition was completed on October, 21st 2020.{{cite web |url=https://cheddar.com/media/episerver-to-acquire-optimizely-for-digital-experiences|title=Episerver to Acquire Optimizely for Digital Experiences|publisher=Cheddar|date=September 8, 2020|accessdate=October 21, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/03/episerver-acquires-optimizely/|title=Episerver to Acquire Optimizely for Digital Experiences|publisher=TechCrunch|date=September 3, 2020|accessdate=October 21, 2020}}
On January 27, 2021, Episerver announced that they were rebranding the combined company as Optimizely. On March 22, 2021, Optimizely acquired Zaius, a Customer Data Platform.{{cite web |last1=Vizard |first1=Michael |title=Optimizely adds real-time customer data tracking with Zaius acquisition |url=https://venturebeat.com/2021/03/22/optimizely-adds-real-time-customer-data-tracking-with-zaius-acquisition/ |website=VentureBeat |access-date=22 March 2021 |date=22 March 2021}} On December 6, 2021, Optimizely acquired Welcome, a marketing orchestration platform.{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Ben |title=DXP Optimizely Acquires Welcome to Improve Global Customer Experiences |url=https://www.cmswire.com/digital-experience/dxp-optimizely-acquires-welcome-to-improve-global-customer-experiences/ |website=CMSWire |access-date=6 December 2021 |date=6 December 2021}}
Software
Optimizely offers experimentation products (Web Experimentation and Feature Experimentation), CMS (both SaaS and PaaS), a Content Marketing Platform, a Customer Data Platform and an Email Campaign Tool.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.optimizely.com/}}
Category:2010 establishments in California
Category:Companies based in San Francisco
Category:Internet properties established in 2010
Category:Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Category:Online companies of the United States
Category:Privately held companies of the United States
Category:Web service providers
Category:Y Combinator companies