Crowdsource has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Servio which is a leader in the enterprise crowdsourcing industry. Servio has raised nearly $12 Million in funding since 2009 capturing the support of Akkadian Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Crowdsource has been backed by Highland Capital Partners. In a post on the Crowdsource blog the company shared their strategy behind the acquisition.
Servio is a leader in the enterprise crowdsourcing, focused on leveraging its workforce to create content at scale for Fortune 500 online retailers and publishers. This acquisition helps move us toward market leadership in the enterprise crowdsourcing space.
The crowdsourcing industry has grown immensely over the last few years and is forecasted to grow by 90-100% again this year, with CrowdSource expecting an internal growth of 300%. As of today, 2,000 firms have adopted crowdsourcing to advance the success of their businesses.
Not only is the demand for crowdsourcing increasing, but people from all educational backgrounds are choosing the freelance lifestyle full time, part time or for personal growth, helping to further evolve the industry. CrowdSource has experienced this trend internally last year, experiencing a 344% growth within our workforce.
Leveraging the combined knowledge of CrowdSource and Servio creates opportunities for our clients who will now have access to additional solutions and an expanded pool of talent. Our workforce will also gain access to a larger collective client portfolio and access to a larger and more varied pool of work.
This pairing is a step toward consolidating the crowdsourcing industry, which is expected to grow by 90% in 2013. More than 2,000 enterprise companies world-wide have adopted crowdsourcing as part of their labor mix. The acquisition of Servio expands CrowdSource’s client portfolio to include retailers such as Overstock, Staples, and Toys“R”Us as well as online publishers like Orbitz and CBS/CNET. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of November. CrowdSource will retain the Servio team and maintain an office in San Francisco.
“Servio built a great team, a skilled workforce and a solid platform. The industry as a whole is experiencing tremendous growth and this acquisition solidifies our position as the leading provider of managed crowdsourcing solutions,” said CrowdSource Co-Founder and CEO Stephanie Leffler.
CrowdSource is the industry leader in a multi-billion dollar market, providing clients with on-demand access to a scalable workforce.