TECHNOLOGY
PR Newswire | January 12, 2024
Rokt, the leading ecommerce technology company using machine learning and AI to make transactions more relevant to each shopper, today announced it has agreed to acquire AfterSell, a Shopify and Shopify Plus partner that helps ecommerce merchants upsell and cross-sell. Through the acquisition, Rokt will strengthen its SMB offering and expand its client portfolio to more than 20,000 SMB merchants, while giving them access to the same network and powerful AI technology built for large enterprises. The transaction is expected to close by February 1, 2024. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition will build on Rokt's own Shopify app, Rokt Ecommerce, which leading merchants such as BlendJet and True Classic use to unlock additional revenue and provide a more relevant shopping experience to their customers. Rokt Ecommerce optimizes the checkout process, from the cart to confirmation page, and deepens brands' customer relationships by presenting highly relevant offers to each shopper during the transaction moment.
AfterSell enables Shopify merchants to increase sales with personalized cart, checkout and post-purchase upsells. Brands including Good American, KitchenAid, HexClad, Miami Heat and Bloom Nutrition use AfterSell to increase AOV and customer retention. The AfterSell product offering also includes UpCart, a fully featured cart drawer specifically designed to increase AOV and reduce cart abandonment. Rokt will further invest in its SMB Shopify offering by combining the complete capabilities of AfterSell and UpCart with the existing Rokt Shopify app to build a more robust product for merchants. AfterSell was co-founded by Armon Shokravi, Dhruv Patel, Landon Fuhr and Varun Kundra in 2019.
"AfterSell has built a brilliant roster of SMB clients on Shopify and has garnered hundreds of five-star reviews from merchants, which is a testament to how well it delivers," said Bruce Buchanan, CEO of Rokt. "This acquisition strengthens our competitive advantage by enabling us to better serve SMB customers and provide access to advertisers that aren't typically available to them. We're also thrilled to bring the AfterSell team's knowledge and expertise into our organization."
This acquisition provides more tools to Rokt Shopify app users to enhance their customers' shopping experiences while boosting revenue. Additionally, Rokt Shopify users can now look forward to enhanced assistance from AfterSell's Canada-based team, which Rokt plans to grow significantly in 2024 and beyond.
Rokt's exclusive, closed marketplace leverages intelligence powered by more than 5 billion transactions across hundreds of leading ecommerce businesses, allowing merchants to create a seamless customer experience while also controlling the types of offers eligible to be displayed to their customers.
The acquisition news follows a year of significant growth and new initiatives for Rokt, including a partnership with Formula 1's 2023 championship team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, as well as several key appointments to its executive leadership team, including Chief Product Officer Srishti Gupta and Chief Marketing Officer Doug Rozen.
About Rokt
Rokt is the global leader in ecommerce technology, enabling companies to drive incremental value from every transaction by unlocking relevant messages at the moment customers are most likely to convert. Rokt's machine learning platform, built over the last 10 years, and scaled network powers billions of global transactions annually for the world's leading companies, including Live Nation, AMC Theatres, PayPal, Uber, Hulu, Staples, GoPuff, Lands' End, and HelloFresh. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates in 15 countries across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the US by Inc. for the last three years in a row.
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TECHNOLOGY
Business Wire | January 12, 2024
Global compliance technology solutions and services provider Sovos announced today it has acquired North Dakota-based Aatrix Software, a leader in payroll tax forms, extending our leadership in compliance with enhanced capabilities across e-Filing for 1099 and ACA 1095 reporting and W2/payroll reporting – increasing our local, state and federal coverage. This acquisition brings together two companies with significant experience and expertise in helping small and medium-sized businesses navigate the complexity of tax and regulatory compliance.
As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve and electronic filing thresholds are lowered, it’s important that SMBs have access to the technology solutions and services they need to ensure proper and timely tax filings to maintain compliance. Together, Sovos and Aatrix will better inform users about changing mandates and provide them easy access to the tools and support they need. Between our two companies, we bring to bear extensive reach in terms of existing partnerships and configurations to work with nearly any platform or systems provider.
“The continued digitization of tax compliance affects businesses of every size, and this is especially true for SMBs,” said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO, Sovos. “Small businesses really are the backbone of the U.S. and we have made a commitment at Sovos to provide them with the technology and support they need. We believe that Aatrix shares these same principles and fits perfectly into our existing portfolio, we are excited to welcome them into the fold.”
Aatrix occupies a strong segment of the market and offers customers a deep level of form functionality as well as a flexible solution that can adapt to their various software offerings. Primarily focused on serving customers through integrations with ERP and payroll providers, Aatrix has been able to leverage its critical business functionality, embedded relationships with payroll partners, and high customer satisfaction to create a highly sticky solution. Its ‘sweet spot’ is primarily mid-sized companies with geographic scale to require multiple tax forms, however the solution has broad appeal across market segments and industries.
“Aatrix has been a leader in helping small and mid-sized businesses meet their compliance obligations for nearly four decades and we are extremely proud of the work we’ve done and the partnerships we’ve created,” said Steve Lunseth, CEO, Aatrix. “I believe that the timing is right for us to bring our solutions portfolio under the Sovos umbrella to create even stronger opportunities for our customers, partners and employees. Our combined expertise and reach will assure that any business that wants to streamline their filing process will have access to the best people and solutions on the market.”
The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sovos is owned by Hg, the London-based specialist private equity investor focused on software and service businesses, and TA Associates. Holland & Hart LLP served as legal advisor to Sovos.
About Sovos
Sovos is a global provider of tax, compliance and trust solutions and services that enable businesses to navigate an increasingly regulated world with true confidence. Purpose-built for always-on compliance capabilities, our scalable IT-driven solutions meet the demands of an evolving and complex global regulatory landscape. Sovos’ cloud-based software platform provides an unparalleled level of integration with business applications and government compliance processes.
More than 100,000 customers in 100+ countries – including half the Fortune 500 – trust Sovos for their compliance needs. Sovos annually processes more than three billion transactions across 19,000 global tax jurisdictions. Bolstered by a robust partner program more than 400 strong, Sovos brings to bear an unrivaled global network for companies across industries and geographies. Founded in 1979, Sovos has operations across the Americas and Europe, and is owned by Hg and TA Associates.
About Aatrix
Aatrix Software is a leading provider of W2, 1099 and ACA reporting solutions servicing over 300,000 businesses. Aatrix has been developing innovative accounting software solutions since 1986. Aatrix' finance software has received numerous awards, including Software Digests highest overall rating and Home Office Computing Editors Pick. Today, the Aatrix Electronic Forms Division is one of the nation's premier payroll reporting specialists.
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TECHNOLOGY
PR Newswire | January 26, 2024
Today, Zapier, the #1 workflow automation platform for small and midsize businesses, announced the addition of two new products to its platform—Zapier Tables and Zapier Interfaces.
Comprised of a suite of no-code tools, including advanced workflow logic, a database tool, and a no-code app builder, Zapier's automation platform empowers companies to modernize workflows and build tailored, complete, and reliable solutions, all without the need for a developer.
"When you think of Zapier, you may think of us as an app-to-app integration and basic workflows, but with the Zapier automation platform, we're so much more," says Zapier CEO and co-founder Wade Foster. "With Tables, Interfaces, and Zaps, our customers have a custom and complete workflow builder that can scale to solve any problem."
The Zapier automation platform offers customers a full suite of no-code automation tools, allowing users to connect more than 6,000 apps. This expansive integration library allows businesses to create workflows that connect all the tools they already use, streamlining operations and increasing productivity.
Customers like Dan Dorato-Hankins, CTO of Vector Media, the largest transit ad company in the US, are leveraging Zapier's new tools to optimize operations. With Zapier Tables, Dan built a complete and customized workflow that automated much of the company's new employee onboarding all within Zapier. "For me, Zapier was originally the glue to hold all of the pieces together. Now, with new releases like Tables and Interfaces, Zapier is transforming into the whole toolbox," says Dan.
By providing customers with new tools and an intuitive interface, the Zapier automation platform allows customers to unify logins, cut costs, and streamline operations with interfaces, workflows, and data storage all on a single platform. With its user-friendly design, no-code automation tools, and library of templates, combining Tables and Interfaces enables businesses to build custom, flexible, and reliable workflows, empowering them to grow and succeed.
About Zapier:
Founded in 2011, Zapier is the #1 workflow automation platform for small and midsize businesses. By connecting more than 6,000 of the most popular work apps, Zapier empowers its users to make the most of the tools they already use—and to focus on what matters most.
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