iWorld
AOL is acquiring video ad platform Adap.tv for $405 mn
MUMBAI: TechCrunch-owner AOL has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire video advertising platform Adap.tv in a deal that should be worth a total of $405 million – $322 million in cash and $83 million in AOL common stock.
AOL is a leader in online video and the combination of AOL and Adap.tv will create the leading video platform in the industry, said AOL chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong in the press release announcing the deal. The Adap.tv founders and team are on a mission to make advertising as easy as e-commerce and the two companies together will aggressively pursue that vision.
This tops the $315 million that AOL paid for the Huffington Post, making it the companys largest acquisition since Armstrong became CEO in 2009.
Adap.tv will operate as an independent part of AOLs video organisation, which is led by senior vice president Ran Harnevo, and which itself is part of the broader ad offerings at AOL Networks (where Bob Lord was recently hired as CEO). The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
One of Armstrongs big themes this year has been programmatic ad-buying, where ads are bought in an automated way – a couple of weeks ago he announced plans for a programmatic upfront event at Advertising Week. In the release, he says that Adap.tv is at the forefront of both the programmatic trend ad and the shift from traditional TV to online video.
Adap.tv supported more than 26,000 ad campaigns that ran on 9,500 websites, AOL says.
The video ad company was founded in 2006 and has raised a total of $48.6 million in funding. Investors include Gemini Israel Funds, Redpoint Ventures, Spark Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
