Infillion Acquires Foursquare to Bolster Location Data
Infillion, a rapidly expanding ad tech company, has acquired Foursquare, a location intelligence firm, to enhance its omnichannel platform. The terms were not disclosed. Foursquare, known for its consumer app, pivoted to B2B location data covering over 100 million points of interest, serving clients like Apple Maps and Uber, and will operate as an independent brand. This deal follows Infillion's purchases of Catalina and MediaMath, reflecting its strategy to combine physical world data for better attribution. An opinion piece by Stewart Sullivan discusses the implications of ad tech consolidation on data provider neutrality, citing this acquisition and Publicis' agreement to acquire LiveRamp. Sullivan argues that neutrality must be demonstrated through transparent data boundaries and equal treatment, urging advertisers to plan for potential access changes and maintain alternative providers. He suggests basic foot traffic attribution should be standard, while advanced analytics remain paid.