Conduit (company)

Conduit Ltd.
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded2005
Founder
HeadquartersNew York City, United States; London, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Websitewww.conduit.com

Conduit Ltd. is an international software company.[1][2] From its founding in 2005 to 2013, its most well-known product was the Conduit toolbar, which was widely-described as malware.[3][4][5][6][7] In 2013, it spun off its toolbar business; today, its main product is a mobile development platform that allows users to create native and web mobile applications for smartphones.[5][8][9]

Products

From 2005 to 2013, the company's most well-known product was the Conduit toolbar, which is flagged by most antivirus software as potentially unwanted and adware.[4] Conduit's toolbar software is often downloaded by malware packages from other publishers.[3] The company spun off the toolbar division that manages the Conduit toolbar in 2013.[5]

Today, the company's main product is a mobile development platform that allows users to create native and web mobile applications for smartphones. App creation for its App Gallery is free, but it charges a monthly subscription fee to place apps on the App Store or Google Play.

History

Conduit was founded in 2005 by Shilo, Dror Erez, and Gaby Bilcyzk.[10][11] Between years 2005 and 2013, it ran a successful but controversial toolbar platform business.

Conduit was part of the so-called Download Valley companies monetizing free software and downloads by bundling adware.[12][13] The toolbars were criticized by some as being very difficult to uninstall.[7] The toolbar software was referred to as a "potentially unwanted program" by some in the computer industry because it could be used to change browser settings.[3]

The company had more than 400 employees in 2013.[14] In September same year, Conduit spun off its entire website toolbar business division, which combined with Perion Network.[15] After the deal, Conduit shareholders owned 81% of Perion's existing shares and both Perion and Conduit remained independent companies.[9] The substantial size of the Conduit user base allowed Perion to immediately surpass AOL in U.S. searches.[9]

In 2015, Conduit announced it would purchase Keeprz, a mobile customer loyalty platform, for $45 million.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Weinglass, Simona (16 July 2015). "Israel's Conduit acquires Keeprz customer loyalty platform for $50M". GeekTime. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  2. ^ Fried, Ina (February 7, 2011). "Exclusive: Web App Publisher Conduit Expands Into Mobile". All Things Digital. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Keenan, Thomas P. (August 1, 2014). Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy. Greystone Books. ISBN 9781771641227.
  4. ^ a b "PUP.Optional.Conduit removal instructions". Malware Removal Guides. 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  5. ^ a b c Tenanbaum, Gil (11 July 2013). "Conduit Gives Up on Its Own Web Browser". Jewish Business News. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  6. ^ "How do I uninstall Search Protect by Conduit from my computer?". Norton. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  7. ^ a b Griffith, Erin (September 14, 2012). "Conduit Turns Toolbar Riches Into Massive Dividend". PandoDaily. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  8. ^ Lisa Damast and Jessica McHugh (June 6, 2012). "Israeli VC struggles continue despite M&A increase". Financial Times. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c Matthew Kanterman and Elliott Gotkine (September 17, 2013). "Perion With Conduit Seen Besting AOL in U.S. Searches". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  10. ^ Cooper, Steve (January 2, 2009). "Conduit Builds on the Power of the Web Toolbar". TheStreet.com. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  11. ^ Grimland, Guy (January 4, 2011). "Israeli startup Conduit with more users than Twitter negotiating billion-dollar exit". Haaretz. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  12. ^ Conduit Diversifies Away From 'Download Valley' Wall Street Journal, Orr Hirschauge, updated May 15, 2014
  13. ^ Game over in Download Valley? Haaretz, Inbal Orpaz, Orr Hirschauge, August 22, 2013
  14. ^ Jeremy Quittner (January 1, 2013). "The "Real Valuation" Is About Having Fun". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  15. ^ Ingrid Lunden (October 7, 2013). "After Buying Wibiya For $45M, Conduit Discontinues Product As It Shifts Away From Toolbars". TechCrunch.