Taboola Continues World Domination

Photo Credit: Taboola

Taboola receives funding from one of the biggest websites in the world.

Taboola, one of the biggest and most exciting websites on the internet, just received some great news. The content recommendation platform, just recently valued at more than $1 billion, has just raised a multi-million dollar funding round from China’s largest search engine Baidu — which is also the fifth most-popular site in the world. The union will likely result in payoffs for both companies.

Taboola isn’t just any other website, it is a tour de force that has revolutionized the way we encounter websites. Even if you don’t know the website off of the top of your head, you’ve most likely encountered it. It recommends content that has been paid for by brands and publishes. Its biggest customers are The Weather Channel, The Atlantic, MailOnline and Business Insider, making it the third biggest syndicated advertising platform. Taboola claims the average online American sees Taboola’s content recommendations 60 times a month.

Speaking to Business Insider, Taboola CEO and founder Adam Singolda would not confirm the exact amount Baidu has invested in his company. Prior to Baidu’s investment announced on Monday, the company had raised $157 million in funding. That includes expanding into China to continue domination:

“We are going to spend the next few months looking at how the partnership will work. It is in very early stages but we are excited to partner … we are going to learn together with them … every local market has its own ingredients — even the UK,” Singolda said.

Interestingly, this funding round marks the fourth investment Baidu has made in US-based technological companies, as they have previously made investments in Uber and geo-location technology company IndoorAtlas.

Taboola currently has 270 employees worldwide and an annual revenue run-rate of more than $300 million. Singolda said the company has generated positive EBITDA for the past seven consecutive quarters, adding “in that respect, we don’t have to go public.”