4INFO

Founded in 2004 by Pankaj Shah and Zaw Thet, 4INFO began its journey with a focus on SMS-based advertising and mobile search, quickly becoming a significant player in the text message marketing space. The company pivoted its strategy around 2010 to concentrate on mobile display advertising, marking a significant evolution in its business model. This shift was bolstered by the acquisition of Butter, a creator of ad campaigns for iPhone and Android platforms, the same year. A critical milestone was the 2014 patent award for its "Systems and methods for statistically associating mobile devices to households," which became the technological cornerstone of its core product.

The firm's primary offering was an identity and media solutions platform centered around its patented Bullseye ID® technology. This system served as a persistent match key, designed to map and link all connected devices within a single household—such as smartphones, PCs, and connected TVs—to a unified profile. This capability allowed its clients, which included major brands in the CPG, retail, automotive, and financial services sectors, to conduct people-based marketing rather than device-based campaigns. By purchasing and analyzing anonymous data from various sources, 4INFO enabled advertisers to perform cross-device targeting, retargeting, and measure the real-world sales impact of their digital and TV ad spend. The business generated revenue through its data activation platform, working with advertisers, agencies, and data partners on a CPM or flat-fee basis.

Under the leadership of CEO Tim Jenkins, a technology industry veteran with executive experience at Apple and Stratacom, 4INFO refined its focus on bridging the gap between digital and television advertising. The company raised significant funding over its lifetime, with Tracxn reporting a total of $64.3 million over eight rounds. The company's trajectory culminated in its acquisition by Cadent, an advanced TV platform company, on January 2, 2020. The acquisition integrated 4INFO's household graph technology into Cadent's platform, creating a unified system for advertisers to manage and measure campaigns across cable, broadcast, OTT, and connected TV environments.

Keywords: 4INFO, Cadent, adtech, identity resolution, cross-device targeting, people-based marketing, mobile advertising, TV advertising, Bullseye ID, audience mapping, data activation, media solutions, ad targeting, household graph, Pankaj Shah, Zaw Thet, Tim Jenkins, advertising measurement, cross-screen advertising, advanced TV, mobile attribution, consumer data