SA国际传媒

just acquired its 22nd-known company: . The smaller company will integrate with LinkedIn鈥檚 marketing services.

The move jumps off of LinkedIn鈥檚 own growth in providing marketing tooling, according to the company鈥檚 . LinkedIn claims that its 鈥淢arketing Solutions鈥� business 鈥渁ccelerated鈥� to 46 percent growth recently. (LinkedIn’s revenue grew a slimmer 27 percent in its .)

Drawbridge helps companies better understand their customers using machine learning. It addresses user-focused issues like customer experience, digital security, and risk detection according to . The company, led by has also been recognized for its focus on consumer identity, was awarded an early .

LinkedIn plans to use Drawbridge鈥檚 strength in the area of observations around customers to better target professional audiences, .

In a comment to SA国际传媒 News, 鈥� , who co-led while at , said that he was 鈥渧ery excited for Kamakshi and the Drawbridge team to be joining forces with LinkedIn.鈥� He went on to call the Drawbridge story 鈥渁 particularly rewarding journey,鈥� saying that there were 鈥渕any lessons to be learned in grit and perseverance of a strong technologist, turned entrepreneur, turned impressive leader and well-known industry exec[utive],鈥� in reference to Sivaramakrishnan.

Murphy was a Drawbridge board member through the acquisition.

Drawbridge during its life as a private company, including capital from both and (the famous duo which ). After a normal-looking Series A, B, and C run, the company seemed to have slowed; its later 2017 and 2018 investments were smaller than preceding rounds.

That it sold to LinkedIn after seemingly losing steam as an independent company is, therefore, a possibly welcome result for the firm and its backers who have stood behind it for around seven years.

See the graph below for the known acquisitions LinkedIn has made over time:

After an active 2015 and 2016, LinkedIn鈥檚 acquisition pace has slowed. It seems that Microsoft buying the company stilled its appetite for smaller companies. LinkedIn only acquired one company in each of 2017 and 2018 (more here). Drawbridge is its first known startup purchase of 2019.

Microsoft . This is the fourth startup that the career-building website has acquired since being bought by Microsoft. It paid $400 million for its more recent acquisition prior, .

LinkedIn declined to provide a dollar-value for the deal.

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