Skillz宣布收购Aarki，将搭建首个电竞广告平台

. Aarki 的机器学习算法结合 Skillz 强大的第一方数据

. Aarki 近 4.65 亿次的月用户触达将显著提高 Skillz 的用户获取能力

. 该收购预计于 2021 年第三季度结束

Skillz（纽交所代码：SKLZ）于 2021 年 6 月 2 日宣布与 DSP 平台 Aarki 达成协议收购。

Skillz 是一家致力于为全球移动玩家打造公平有趣游戏体验的电竞平台。本次收购将有助于 Skillz 结合 Aarki 成熟的移动营销能力，迅速提高其在游戏行业中的影响力。

Aarki 是一个全球化的 DSP 平台，它在移动营销市场的表现可圈可点。Aarki 每月处理超过五万亿次的广告拍卖活动。通过创意素材结合数据引擎和独有的机器学习算法，其为广告主带来的投资回报率业界有口皆碑。

Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise 表示：“Aarki 身经百战的机器学习将与 Skillz 强大的第一方数据相结合，为游戏开发者带去难以估量的新价值主张。整合后的生态链将打破消费者、开发者及品牌之间的屏障。在正确的时间，将正确的广告，推送给正确的用户，并同时提供无可比拟的用户体验。”

Aarki CEO Levon Budagyan 表示：“加入 Skillz 将为 Aarki 的团队和客户提供巨大优势。集合双方数据科学平台之力，Aarki 的数字营销能力将进一步增强。”

Aarki 总部位于加州的桑尼维尔。约 160 名 Aarki 员工将加入 Skillz 团队，由 Budagyan 继续担任领导，作为 Skillz 旗下的部门独立运营。

Skillz 将以大约 1.5 亿美元的现金和股票收购 Aarki 100% 的股份。该交易受惯例成交条件的约束，预计将于 2021 年第三季度完成。

关于 Skillz

Skillz 是领先的移动游戏平台，它通过公平、有趣且富有意义的赛事连接玩家。Skillz 帮助开发者在游戏中实现社交竞技并建立价值数百万美元的特许经营权。凭借其专利技术，Skillz 为全球数百万移动玩家举办了数十亿次休闲电子竞技比赛，月均分发奖品数百万。Skillz 收获奖项包括：Fast Company-最具创新力的公司之一、CNBC-颠覆者 50 强、福布斯-下一个十亿美元初创公司，及 Inc. 5000-美国增长最快的公司。www.skillz.com

关于 Aarki

Aarki 通过机器学习（AI）、大数据及个性化创意，帮助品牌实现增长并与其目标用户再互动。Aarki 致力在多维度营销中实现规模化效果，并达成目标投资回报。Aarki 的数据提供了用户意图和使用习惯的深入洞察。通过专有机器学习算法对数据资产再利用，再以个性化创意实时吸引用户，从而取得效果增长。

. Aarki’s Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms to be Augmented by Skillz’s Deep First Party Data 

. Aarki’s Reach of More Than 465 Million Monthly Users Will Extend Skillz’s Player Acquisition Capabilities

. Acquisition Agreement Expected to Close in Third Quarter 2021

SAN FRANCISCO – June 2, 2021 – Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Aarki, a leading technology-driven marketing platform. The highly complementary acquisition will broaden Skillz’s footprint across the rapidly expanding mobile gaming industry by combining its competitive platform with Aarki’s advanced advertising capabilities. 

Aarki is a growing demand-side platform (DSP) with global scale and a proven track record in the mobile gaming market. Aarki engages in more than five trillion monthly advertising auctions. The company leverages its robust creative services, rich data engines, and proprietary machine learning algorithms to deliver industry-leading ROI for performance advertisers.

“Aarki’s proven machine learning will pair with Skillz’s robust first-party data to create an unrivaled value proposition for game developers,” said Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise. “The integrated ecosystem will unlock new points of connectivity between consumers, developers, and brands, pairing the right impression with the right user at the right time, all while delivering a superior user experience.”

“Joining Skillz will offer tremendous advantages to both the Aarki team and our customer community,” said Aarki CEO Levon Budagyan. “Harnessing the combined power of our data science platforms will further increase our industry-leading performance marketing.

Aarki is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and its approximately 160 employees will join the Skillz workforce, with Budagyan continuing to lead the business as a division of Skillz.

Skillz will acquire 100% of Aarki for approximately $150 million in cash and stock. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

LionTree Advisors served as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Skillz in the transaction.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast at 8:30 am Eastern Time, June 2, 2021 to discuss the transaction. The conference call can be accessed by registering online at registration, at which time registrants will receive dial-in information as well as a passcode and registrant ID. At the time of the call, participants will dial in using the numbers in the confirmation email and enter their passcode and ID, upon which they will enter the conference call. An audio replay of the conference call will be available from 11:30 am Eastern Time on June 2, 2021 through June 9, 2021 and can be accessed by dialing (800) 585-8367 (domestic) or (416) 621-4642 (international).

The conference call can also be accessed online by registering at webcast registration. An archived replay of the webcast will be available on the Skillz investor relations website following the conclusion of the call.

About Skillz Inc.

Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com

About Aarki

Aarki helps brands grow and re-engage their mobile users, using machine learning (AI), big data, and engaging creative. We strive to deliver performance at scale across different marketing objectives to meet the target return on investment. Our data offers deep insights into user intent and usage habits. To drive performance, we activate our data assets through proprietary machine learning algorithms and engage users in real time with personalized creative. Aarki raised one institutional round of capital led by Walden Venture Capital. www.aarki.com