Liftoff Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Liftoff was acquired by Blackstone for $400M in December 2020, a 0.6x multiple on $634M of revenue.

Liftoff acquisition price

$400M

Acquired by Blackstone · Dec 2020

Liftoff revenue at acquisition

$634M

Last twelve months · Dec 2020

Liftoff revenue multiple at acquisition

0.6x

EV/Revenue · Dec 2020

Liftoff EBITDA multiple at acquisition

2.2x

EV/EBITDA · Dec 2020

Liftoff Overview

About Liftoff

Liftoff is a mobile app growth platform focused on user acquisition, engagement, monetization, and analytics. Following its 2021 combination with Vungle, the firm operates as a privacy-centric service provider for app developers worldwide.


Founded

2012

HQ

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

Website

liftoff.io

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Advertising, Subscription

Revenue

$650M (May 2025)

Valuation

$4.3B (May 2025)

Liftoff Acquisition

Liftoff was acquired by Blackstone for $400M on 22 December 2020.

The acquisition price implies a 0.6x revenue and 2.2x EBITDA multiple on $634M of revenue.

Before the acquisition Liftoff had raised $7M across 2 funding rounds.

Liftoff is a global performance-based mobile app marketing optimization platform that uses prediction intelligence to help mobile app marketers find engaged users at scale. It has a global presence with offices in Redwood City, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Berlin, London, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo. On December 22, 2020, Liftoff announced a definitive agreement for a majority investment from private equity funds managed by Blackstone to fuel future growth and accelerate its position as a leading performance marketing platform. The strategic partnership aims to leverage Blackstone's resources and expertise to scale Liftoff globally, expand product offerings, and capitalize on momentum in mobile content and advertising amid challenges like Apple's IDFA changes. Financial terms were not officially disclosed, but reports indicate the investment is close to $400 million for majority ownership, with the transaction expected to close in early 2021 subject to customary conditions. Advisors included Goldman Sachs and Gunderson Dettmer for Liftoff, and LUMA Partners and Simpson Thacher for Blackstone.

Liftoff acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePriceEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
22 Dec 2020PE buyout$400M0.6x2.2x

Sources: tracxn.com

Liftoff Valuation

Liftoff is currently valued at $4.3B, based on its secondary sale in May 2025. Read the announcement ↗

The round included General Atlantic.

Liftoff valuation by funding round

Liftoff valuation by funding round
DateStageValuationRevenue Multiple
May 2025Secondary$4.3B6.6x

Liftoff Revenue

Liftoff's latest recorded revenue is $650M, as of its secondary sale in May 2025. At a $4.3B valuation, that implies a 6.6x revenue multiple.

Liftoff revenue by funding round

Liftoff revenue and valuation multiple by funding round
DateRevenue *ValuationRevenue MultipleStage
May 2025$650M$4.3B6.6xSecondary

* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.

Liftoff Funding History

Liftoff has raised a total of $7M across 2 funding rounds, plus 1 secondary share sale.

Liftoff's first fundraising round was a $2M angel round in January 2014. The most recent completed round was a $5M Series A in February 2015.

Liftoff funding rounds

Liftoff funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
May 2025SecondaryGeneral Atlantic-$4.3BGeneral Atlantic agreed in May 2025 to buy a minority stake in Liftoff from private equity funds managed by Blackstone, at a headline valuation of 4.3 billion dollars. Blackstone remains the majority shareholder after the transaction. Blackstone had formed the company in 2021 by merging its portfolio companies Liftoff and Vungle, and the business has grown under chief executive Jeremy Bondy through a wider portfolio of products. General Atlantic said it would help Liftoff scale its proprietary Cortex artificial intelligence platform, extend its position across the app economy and add capabilities through acquisitions. Tanzeen Syed of General Atlantic described the company as having reached a business inflection point. Liftoff, based in Redwood City, California, provides marketing, monetization and creative solutions that let mobile developers build, discover and monetize apps. Closing was expected in mid-2025.
Feb 2015Series ABaseline Ventures (lead); Tim Koogle; Akkadian Ventures; Sage Venture Partners; Core Ventures; Ilya Sukhar; Harrison Metal$5M-Liftoff is a Menlo Park, California-based mobile marketing software startup offering an app marketing platform focused on mobile engagement and CPA-optimized mobile user acquisition. The platform operates on a cost-per-install (CPI) model initially, transitioning to cost-per-action (CPA) as it learns user characteristics to meet client goals. It de-risks advertising spend for marketers in mobile app marketing, ad targeting, machine learning, big data, and app marketing. Liftoff closed a $5 million Series A funding round in early 2015, announced around February 3-4, 2015, led by Steve Anderson of Baseline Ventures. Participants included Michael Dearing of Harrison Metal, Fred Warren of Sage Venture Partners, Shinya Akamine of Core Ventures Group, Tim Koogle (former Yahoo CEO), and Ilya Sukhar (Parse founder). The funds support investment in technology, team expansion, and scaling to meet growing demand in the exploding mobile app marketing market.
Jan 2014Angel-$2M--

Who has invested in Liftoff?

8 investors have backed Liftoff across its funding rounds, including General Atlantic, Harrison Metal, Baseline Ventures, Core Ventures, Ilya Sukhar and Sage Venture Partners.

Lead investors include Baseline Ventures.


Liftoff Investors

Investors in Liftoff by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Tim KoogleUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantFeb 2015
Baseline VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1LeadFeb 2015
Akkadian VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantFeb 2015
Sage Venture PartnersUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1ParticipantFeb 2015
General AtlanticUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantMay 2025
Core VenturesUnited StatesWashington, DC1ParticipantFeb 2015

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Liftoff Competitors

Liftoff competitors include listed companies like Amdocs and Magnite, and private ones like StackAdapt, iSpot.tv, Tezign and Synthesia.

Public and private companies comparable to Liftoff
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
StackAdaptCanadaTorontoPrivate$500M$125M$2.5B5.0x
iSpot.tvUnited StatesSeattle, WAPrivate$75M-$1B13.3x
TezignChinaShanghaiPrivate--$1B-
AmdocsUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$4.5B$922M$4.4B1.2x
SynthesiaUnited KingdomLondonPrivate$100M-$4B40.0x
MagniteUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$714M$143M$3.9B5.2x

Liftoff Public Comps

Liftoff is no longer listed, but its public comps include Amdocs, CyberAgent, Sportradar, Magnite, Easy Click Worldwide, Liftoff Mobile, theTradeDesk, Affle 3i, LiveRamp and DoubleVerify.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Amdocs$4.5B$922M1.2x1.2x5.8x4.6x
CyberAgent$5.5B$476M0.7x0.6x8.1x6.5x
Sportradar$1.4B$597M2.7x2.3x6.5x9.8x
Magnite$714M$143M5.5x5.2x27.6x13.8x
Easy Click Worldwide$575M$23M4.9x3.9x123.6x87.0x
Liftoff Mobile$686M$203M6.1x-20.5x-
theTradeDesk$2.9B$706M1.7x1.8x7.2x5.8x
Affle 3i$288M$68M7.6x6.7x32.0x29.5x

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Common questions about Liftoff

When was Liftoff founded?Liftoff was founded in 2012.
Where is Liftoff headquartered?Liftoff is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States.
Is Liftoff publicly listed?No, Liftoff was acquired by Blackstone in December 2020.
Who acquired Liftoff?Liftoff was acquired by Blackstone in December 2020.
How much was Liftoff acquired for?Liftoff was acquired for $400M in December 2020, a 0.6x revenue multiple.
What is Liftoff's valuation?Liftoff was last valued at $4.3B in its secondary sale in May 2025.
How much funding has Liftoff raised?Liftoff has raised $7M across 2 funding rounds.
What was Liftoff's last funding round?Liftoff's last funding round was a $5M Series A in February 2015, led by Baseline Ventures.
Who are Liftoff's investors?Liftoff's investors include Tim Koogle, Baseline Ventures, Akkadian Ventures, Sage Venture Partners, General Atlantic, Core Ventures, Ilya Sukhar and Harrison Metal.
What is Liftoff's revenue?Liftoff's latest recorded revenue is $650M (May 2025).
What is Liftoff's revenue multiple?Liftoff's latest valuation implies a 6.6x revenue multiple ($4.3B valuation on $650M of revenue).
Which companies are comparable to Liftoff?Companies comparable to Liftoff include StackAdapt, iSpot.tv, Tezign, Amdocs, Synthesia and Magnite.

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