Conduit (company)

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 Como, a mobile development platform that allows users to create native and web mobile applications for smartphones.[5][8][9]

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

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 2013.[5]

Today, the company's main product is Como, a mobile development platform that allows users to create native and web mobile applications for smartphones.[10] App creation for its App Gallery is free, but it charges a monthly subscription fee to place apps on the Apple Store or Google Play.[10]

History

Conduit was founded in 2005 by Shilo, Dror Erez, and Gaby Bilcyzk.[11][12] 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.[13][14] 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.[15] In September same year, Conduit spun off its entire website toolbar business division, which combined with Perion Network.[16] 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]

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

See also

References
  1. Weinglass, Simona (16 July 2015). "Israel's Como 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. Keenan, Thomas P. (August 1, 2014). Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy. Greystone Books. ISBN 9781771641227.
  4. "PUP.Optional.Conduit removal instructions". Malware Removal Guides. 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  5. 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. 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. 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. Shamah, David. "Do-it-yourself, mobile-app maker big hit with business". The Times of Israel (23 June 2014). Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  11. Cooper, Steve (January 2, 2009). "Conduit Builds on the Power of the Web Toolbar". TheStreet.com. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  12. Grimland, Guy (January 4, 2011). "Israeli startup Conduit with more users than Twitter negotiating billion-dollar exit". Haaretz. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  13. Conduit Diversifies Away From 'Download Valley' Wall Street Journal, Orr Hirschauge, updated May 15, 2014
  14. Game over in Download Valley? Haaretz, Inbal Orpaz, Orr Hirschauge, August 22, 2013
  15. Jeremy Quittner (January 1, 2013). "The "Real Valuation" Is About Having Fun". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  16. Ingrid Lunden (October 7, 2013). "After Buying Wibiya For $45M, Conduit Discontinues Product As It Shifts Away From Toolbars". TechCrunch.
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