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System1
An advertising and digital assets holding company

System1 is an American Internet advertising company. Formerly known as OpenMail, it was founded in 2013. It describes itself as operating a "Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform", and cites privacy as one of its principal foci, although it has been criticized for its influence on privacy-focused properties, including search engine Startpage.com. It is headquartered in Marina del Rey, California.

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History

Michael Blend and Chuck Ursini founded the company in Venice Beach, California, in 2013.89

In July 2016, Infospace and its subsidiaries HowStuffWorks, Dogpile, Zoo.com, MetaCrawler, and WebCrawler were bought by System1.1011

OpenMail rebranded as System1 shortly after April 2017.1213 System1’s subsidiary, digital media publisher HowStuffWorks, also spun out as an independent podcast network in 2017.1415

In October 2019, System1 bought MapQuest from Verizon.16 Cory Doctorow opined, as soon as MapQuest was bought by AOL (which was later bought by Verizon), that it was doomed to die. Verizon had dumped MapQuest to System1 for such a small sum, it was "not material enough for Verizon to file paperwork".17

In February 2020, System1 acquired Waterfox; concern about the acquisition, as well as secrecy surrounding it, was expressed by the public.18 System1 also acquired a controlling share in privacy-focused search engine Startpage in 2020.19 The Waterfox and Startpage acquisition was done through System1's subsidiary Privacy One Group Ltd.20 Further clarification and communication happened after public concern about the acquisition grew.21

In 2021, System1 announced that it would be going public on the New York Stock Exchange.2223 The company also announced it would be combining with the SPAC Trebia Acquisition Corp. in a reverse merger.2425 Through this deal, System1 also merged with the privacy subscription platform Protected.net.26 It officially went public on January 31, 2022.27 Protected.net would eventually rebrand as Total Security.28

In February 2022, System1 acquired consumer mapping service RoadWarrior.2930 In March 2022, System1 purchased online coupon provider CouponFollow in a deal worth up to $110 million.3132

In April 2022, Waterfox set Startpage as its default search engine, reflecting the ownership of System1.33

In May 2022, in a quarterly earnings report, System1's acquisition of Answers.com was announced.34

From 2022-2023, System1 was named a Microsoft Supply Partner of the Year in the Americas. Microsoft also gave System1 an Advertising Global Partner Award in 2023.3536

In July 2023, Waterfox became independent of System1.37 In October 2023, System1 announced a search partnership with European search engine Ecosia after Ecosia moved away from exclusively using Microsoft’s Bing.38 In November 2023, System1 also announced the sale of Total Security.39

Properties

References

  1. Reim, Garrett (September 19, 2017). "Venice's System1 Raises $270 Million". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2 May 2023. https://labusinessjournal.com/technology/venices-system1-raises-270-million/ ↩

  2. "System1 raises $270 million for 'consumer intent' advertising". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2017/09/20/system1-raises-270-million-for-consumer-intent.html ↩

  3. "SPACs Are Running Out of Names to List". The Wall Street Journal. January 24, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.wsj.com/articles/spacs-are-running-out-of-names-to-list-11643022564 ↩

  4. "System1: Silicon Beach's Sleeping Giant". CSQ | C-Suite Quarterly. 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://csq.com/2018/01/system-1-silicon-beach-sleeping-giant/ ↩

  5. Sven Taylor (November 15, 2019). "Startpage Acquired by System1, Privacy One Group – Still Safe?". Restore Privacy. Retrieved 2 May 2023. https://restoreprivacy.com/startpage-system1-privacy-one-group/ ↩

  6. Brinkmann, Martin (November 16, 2019). "Startpage Search owner changes raise serious questions". https://www.ghacks.net/2019/11/16/startpage-search-owner-changes-raise-serious-questions/ ↩

  7. "System1 Signs Large Sublease in Marina del Rey". Los Angeles Business Journal. 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://labusinessjournal.com/real-estate/system1-signs-large-sublease-marina-del-rey/ ↩

  8. "System1 raises $270 million for 'consumer intent' advertising". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2017/09/20/system1-raises-270-million-for-consumer-intent.html ↩

  9. "System1: Silicon Beach's Sleeping Giant". CSQ | C-Suite Quarterly. 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://csq.com/2018/01/system-1-silicon-beach-sleeping-giant/ ↩

  10. Ellingson, Annlee (September 20, 2017). "System1 raises $270 million for 'consumer intent' advertising". L.A. Business First. Retrieved May 2, 2023. https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2017/09/20/system1-raises-270-million-for-consumer-intent.html ↩

  11. "Blucora to sell InfoSpace business for $45 million". The Seattle Times. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2024-03-12. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/blucora-to-sell-infospace-business-for-45-million/ ↩

  12. "System1 raises $270 million for 'consumer intent' advertising". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2017/09/20/system1-raises-270-million-for-consumer-intent.html ↩

  13. "SPACs Are Running Out of Names to List". The Wall Street Journal. January 24, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.wsj.com/articles/spacs-are-running-out-of-names-to-list-11643022564 ↩

  14. "HowStuffWorks Gets $15 Million Series A, Spins Off As Independent Podcast Network". AdExchanger. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.adexchanger.com/ad-exchange-news/howstuffworks-gets-15-million-series-spins-off-independent-podcast-network/ ↩

  15. "HowStuffWorks is the latest podcast company to round up new funding". Vox. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://www.vox.com/2017/8/31/16232558/howstuffworks-podcast-funding-raine-group-stuff-you-should-know ↩

  16. Doctorow, Cory (2019-10-10). "Verizon dumps another Oath property for peanuts: RIP, Mapquest". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2023-08-27. https://boingboing.net/2019/10/10/do-webrings-next.html ↩

  17. Doctorow, Cory (2019-10-10). "Verizon dumps another Oath property for peanuts: RIP, Mapquest". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2023-08-27. https://boingboing.net/2019/10/10/do-webrings-next.html ↩

  18. Brinkmann, Martin (Feb 15, 2020). "Waterfox web browser sold to System1". Ghacks Technology News. Retrieved 2023-08-27. https://www.ghacks.net/2020/02/14/waterfox-web-browser-sold-to-system1/ ↩

  19. "Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards Americas winners". Microsoft. February 10, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/post/february-2022/microsoft-advertising-partner-awards-americas-winners ↩

  20. Brinkmann, Martin (November 16, 2019). "Startpage Search owner changes raise serious questions". https://www.ghacks.net/2019/11/16/startpage-search-owner-changes-raise-serious-questions/ ↩

  21. "Privacy-focused search engine Startpage gives more details of the System1 investment". www.computing.co.uk. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2024-03-12. https://www.computing.co.uk/news/4017337/privacy-focused-search-engine-startpage-details-system1-investment ↩

  22. "System1 to go public via SPAC; Smart acquires DynAdmic - ExchangeWire.com". www.exchangewire.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2021/07/01/system1-to-go-public-via-spac-smart-acquires-dynadmic/ ↩

  23. "System1 to go public through SPAC". Domain Name Wire | Domain Name News. 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://domainnamewire.com/2021/07/05/system1-to-go-public-though-spac/ ↩

  24. "System1 to go public via SPAC; Smart acquires DynAdmic - ExchangeWire.com". www.exchangewire.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2021/07/01/system1-to-go-public-via-spac-smart-acquires-dynadmic/ ↩

  25. "System1 to go public through SPAC". Domain Name Wire | Domain Name News. 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://domainnamewire.com/2021/07/05/system1-to-go-public-though-spac/ ↩

  26. Brock, James (2023-09-18). "System1 Mulls $240M Offer". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-20. https://labusinessjournal.com/deals/system1/ ↩

  27. "System1 Goes Public On The NYSE, Virtually Rings The Bell". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/370702/system1-goes-public-on-the-nyse-virtually-rings-t.html ↩

  28. Brock, James (2023-09-18). "System1 Mulls $240M Offer". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-20. https://labusinessjournal.com/deals/system1/ ↩

  29. "System1, Owner of MapQuest, Buys RoadWarrior". socaltech.com. February 14, 2022. https://www.socaltech.com/system__owner_of_mapquest_buys_roadwarrior/s-0082189.html ↩

  30. "MapQuest Parent System1 Closes RoadWarrior Deal". PYMNTS. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://www.pymnts.com/acquisitions/2022/mapquest-parent-system1-closes-roadwarrior-deal/ ↩

  31. "Ad-ranking company System1 buys CouponFollow in deal worth up to $110 million". www.bizjournals.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2022/03/04/ad-ranking-company-system1-buys-couponfollow.html ↩

  32. "System1 acquires e-commerce coupon company from NextGen Shopping (NYSE:SST)". seekingalpha.com. 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://seekingalpha.com/news/3809586-system1-acquires-e-commerce-coupon-company-from-nextgen-shopping ↩

  33. "Waterfox G4.1.0 update reduces requirement to SSE 4.1, sets Startpage as the default search engine for Private Tabs". 7 April 2022. https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/07/whats-new-in-the-waterfox-g4-1-0-update/ ↩

  34. "System1 Announces Preliminary First Quarter 2022 Financial Results". NASDAQ. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-12. https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/system1-announces-preliminary-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-2022-05-12 ↩

  35. "Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards Americas winners". Microsoft. February 10, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-06. https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/post/february-2022/microsoft-advertising-partner-awards-americas-winners ↩

  36. "2023 Global Partner Award winners!". Microsoft Advertising. Retrieved 2024-04-23. https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/post/june-2023/2023-microsoft-advertising-global-partner-award-winners ↩

  37. arindam (2023-07-31). "Waterfox Browser Cuts Ties with System1, Embarks on a New Journey". DebugPoint NEWS. Retrieved 2023-08-27. https://debugpointnews.com/waterfox-becomes-independent/ ↩

  38. "A 'Green' Search Engine Sees Danger—and Opportunity—in the Generative AI Revolution". Wired. October 16, 2023. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-04-20. https://www.wired.com/story/search-engine-ecosia-generative-ai-revolution/ ↩

  39. "System1 (SST) Announces Sale of Total Security". StreetInsider.com. Retrieved 2024-04-20. https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/System1+%28SST%29+Announces+Sale+of+Total+Security/22473944.html ↩

  40. Brock, James (2023-09-18). "System1 Mulls $240M Offer". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-20. https://labusinessjournal.com/deals/system1/ ↩