Optimizely

Optimizely is an American enterprise software company focused on digital experience optimization. Its roots are in A/B testing: the company was founded in 2010 by Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen, both former Google employees, after participating in the Winter 2010 Y Combinator program. The original product made it easier for organizations to run controlled experiments on websites without building testing infrastructure from scratch. It subsequently expanded from page-level experimentation into a broader set of tools for personalization, feature management, mobile applications, recommendations, content, commerce, and marketing operations. The company’s early growth was financed by angel investors and venture capital. It reported closing a $1.2 million funding round in November 2010 and becoming cash-flow positive in 2011. Additional investment from Battery Ventures, GV, and InterWest Partners followed in 2012. In 2013, a $28 million Series A led by Benchmark supported further product and international development, including support for nine European languages. Optimizely continued its expansion with a $57 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2014 and a $58 million Series C led by Index Ventures in 2015. Product development broadened significantly during the middle of the 2010s. Optimizely introduced mobile application experimentation at its first Opticon user conference in 2014 and released a mobile and website personalization product in 2015. In 2016, it launched Optimizely X, a product family covering web experimentation, personalization, recommendations, mobile, full-stack experimentation, and over-the-top media experiences. These additions positioned the company beyond conventional website A/B testing and toward experimentation across customer journeys and digital products. The business also experienced periods of restructuring. In March 2016, it eliminated approximately 40 positions, described in contemporary reporting as about 10 percent of its workforce. In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it reduced staff by approximately 15 percent. Leadership changed in July 2017, when Jay Larson replaced co-founder Dan Siroker as chief executive officer; Siroker became executive chairman. Pete Koomen had previously served as chief technology officer. A major corporate transition occurred in 2020. Episerver announced an agreement to acquire Optimizely on September 3, and the transaction was completed on October 21. In January 2021, Episerver announced that the combined company would adopt the Optimizely name. The enlarged business therefore combined Optimizely’s experimentation capabilities with Episerver’s digital content and commerce platform. Optimizely then added adjacent capabilities through acquisitions, including customer data platform company Zaius in March 2021, marketing orchestration company Welcome in December 2021, and native-warehouse analytics company NetSpring in September 2024. Today, Optimizely presents a digital experience platform rather than a single testing product. Its software includes web and feature experimentation, personalization, feature toggles, content management delivered through SaaS and platform-as-a-service models, a content marketing platform, customer data capabilities, email campaign functionality, and digital commerce. The platform is intended for organizations that want to use behavioral data and controlled experimentation to improve acquisition, conversion, engagement, content performance, and product delivery across digital channels.

Optimizely was established in 2010 by Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen, former Google employees who built the business around simplifying online experimentation. The founders participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2010 program, and the company raised $1.2 million from angel investors later that year. It became cash-flow positive in 2011, before attracting institutional backing from Battery Ventures, GV, and InterWest Partners in 2012. The company’s venture-backed expansion accelerated in 2013. Benchmark led a $28 million Series A, with Bain Capital Ventures and earlier investors also participating. Optimizely used the funding to expand its product and international reach; in April 2013 it announced support for nine European languages. Its first Opticon user conference took place in April 2014, where Optimizely introduced mobile application A/B testing. A $57 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz followed in May 2014. During 2015, Optimizely moved beyond basic web testing by releasing a personalization product for websites and mobile experiences. It raised a further $58 million Series C in October, led by Index Ventures. In September 2016, the company introduced Optimizely X, a wider product family encompassing web experimentation, personalization, recommendations, mobile applications, full-stack use cases, and OTT experiences. This period marked the company’s evolution from a point solution for marketers into a broader experimentation and optimization platform. The company also underwent organizational changes. In March 2016, it laid off approximately 40 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce. In July 2017, Jay Larson replaced co-founder Dan Siroker as CEO; Siroker became executive chairman. In July 2020, Optimizely reduced staffing by approximately 15 percent in response to the business effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Optimizely’s ownership and product scope changed materially in late 2020. Episerver announced its acquisition of the company in September, and the transaction closed on October 21. In January 2021, Episerver announced that the combined company would be rebranded as Optimizely. The combination brought experimentation together with Episerver’s content management and commerce capabilities. Optimizely then pursued additional expansion through the acquisitions of Zaius in March 2021, Welcome in December 2021, and NetSpring in September 2024. The resulting business operates as a digital experience platform delivered primarily through software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service offerings. Its portfolio includes web and feature experimentation, personalization, feature management, content management, commerce, content marketing, customer data, email campaigns, and analytics. The platform’s central proposition is to help enterprises plan, create, test, personalize, deliver, and measure digital experiences across websites, applications, and other channels.

• 2024

  NetSpring acquisition

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Optimizely acquired NetSpring, a native-warehouse analytics provider.

• 2021

  The combined company is rebranded as Optimizely

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Episerver announced that the merged business would use the Optimizely name.

• 2021

  Zaius acquisition

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Optimizely acquired customer data platform company Zaius.

• 2021

  Welcome acquisition

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Optimizely acquired marketing orchestration platform Welcome.

• 2020

  Episerver acquires Optimizely

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Episerver completed its acquisition of Optimizely on October 21.

• 2016

  Optimizely X launches

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Optimizely introduced a broader product family spanning experimentation, personalization, recommendations, mobile, full-stack, and OTT use cases.

• 2014

  First Opticon conference and mobile testing launch

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  The company held its first Opticon user conference and introduced mobile application A/B testing.

• 2013

  European language support expands

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Optimizely announced support for nine European languages.

• 2011

  The company becomes cash-flow positive

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Optimizely reported reaching cash-flow-positive operations during its second year.

• 2010

  Optimizely is founded

  [1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen founded the company after participating in Y Combinator’s Winter 2010 program.

An enterprise digital experience platform that connects experimentation and personalization with content, commerce, customer data, and marketing execution.

• Web experimentation

  Optimizely Web Experimentation

  A platform for running controlled experiments on websites, including A/B and multivariate tests. It represents the company’s original core capability and is designed to help organizations compare variations of digital experiences and use measured results to guide optimization.

• Feature management and experimentation · 2016

  Optimizely Feature Experimentation

  A full-stack experimentation and feature-management offering for testing product changes across applications and digital services. It incorporates feature toggling capabilities so teams can control the release of functionality while evaluating its effect.

• Personalization · 2015

  Optimizely Personalization

  Tools for tailoring web and mobile experiences to different audiences. The personalization portfolio developed from the company’s expansion beyond generic A/B tests and supports targeted experiences based on customer or visitor characteristics.

• Content management

  Optimizely CMS

  Content management capabilities inherited and developed through the broader Episerver combination. The offering supports enterprise content operations and is available through SaaS and platform-as-a-service approaches.

• Digital commerce

  Optimizely Digital Commerce

  Commerce functionality within the digital experience platform, intended to connect digital storefront and merchandising activities with content, experimentation, and broader customer experience operations.

• Marketing operations

  Optimizely Content Marketing Platform

  A marketing planning and orchestration product that extends Optimizely beyond experience delivery into campaign and content operations. It supports coordination of marketing work as part of the company’s wider digital experience portfolio.

• Customer data · 2021

  Optimizely Customer Data Platform

  Customer data capabilities added through the acquisition of Zaius. The product area is intended to help organizations consolidate and use customer information in support of segmentation, personalization, and marketing activity.

• Email marketing

  Optimizely Email Campaigns

  An email campaign tool within the broader platform, supporting outbound marketing communication and its connection to content, customer data, and campaign-management workflows.

• 2014Opticon

  Global

  Optimizely’s first user conference, used to bring customers and practitioners together and to announce the company’s mobile application experimentation product.

  Outcome. Established a recurring customer and product event associated with the Optimizely platform.

  Source

• 2024

  Acquisition of NetSpringM&A

  Background

  Optimizely continued to add analytics and data capabilities to its digital experience offering.

  Action taken

  Optimizely acquired NetSpring, described as a native-warehouse analytics company.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition expanded the platform’s stated analytics and data foundation.

  Source

• 2021

  Rebranding of the combined company as OptimizelyStrategy

  Background

  Following the Episerver acquisition, the combined business needed a unified market identity.

  Action taken

  Episerver announced on January 27 that the combined company would operate under the Optimizely brand.

  Aftermath

  Optimizely became the umbrella identity for the merged company’s experimentation, content, commerce, and marketing offerings.

  Source

• 2021

  Acquisition of ZaiusM&A

  Background

  Optimizely was expanding its platform toward customer data and more connected personalization workflows.

  Action taken

  Optimizely acquired Zaius, a customer data platform company.

  Aftermath

  Customer data capabilities became part of Optimizely’s broader digital experience portfolio.

  Source

• 2021

  Acquisition of WelcomeM&A

  Background

  The company was broadening from optimization technology into campaign planning and marketing orchestration.

  Action taken

  Optimizely acquired Welcome, a marketing orchestration platform.

  Aftermath

  Welcome’s capabilities were added to the Optimizely platform and its marketing operations proposition.

  Source

• 2020

  Acquisition by EpiserverM&A

  Background

  Episerver sought to combine its digital content and commerce capabilities with Optimizely’s experimentation and optimization software.

  Action taken

  Episerver announced the acquisition in September 2020 and completed it on October 21.

  Aftermath

  The transaction created the basis for a broader digital experience platform combining content, commerce, experimentation, and personalization.

  Source

• 2016

  Launch of Optimizely XProduct launch

  Background

  The company was expanding from website testing into a wider set of optimization and product-development use cases.

  Action taken

  Optimizely introduced a product family covering web experimentation, personalization, recommendations, mobile, full-stack, and OTT experiences.

  Aftermath

  The launch broadened Optimizely’s positioning from a website A/B testing vendor to a more comprehensive experimentation platform.

  Source

• 2024

  Optimizely acquires NetSpring[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Optimizely acquired NetSpring, a native-warehouse analytics company, to extend its data and analytics capabilities.

• 2021

  Combined Episerver business adopts the Optimizely name[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Episerver announced that the combined company would operate under the Optimizely brand.

• 2021

  Optimizely acquires Zaius[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  The acquisition added customer data platform capabilities to Optimizely’s expanding digital experience portfolio.

• 2021

  Optimizely acquires Welcome[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  The acquisition brought Welcome’s marketing orchestration capabilities into the Optimizely product portfolio.

• 2020

  Optimizely cuts staff during the COVID-19 pandemic[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company reduced its workforce by approximately 15 percent amid the economic effects of the pandemic.

• 2020

  Episerver announces acquisition of Optimizely[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Episerver announced a transaction to acquire Optimizely on September 3; the acquisition was completed on October 21.

• 2017

  Jay Larson becomes chief executive officer[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Jay Larson replaced co-founder Dan Siroker as CEO, while Siroker moved into the executive chairman role.

• 2016

  Optimizely reduces its workforce[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company eliminated approximately 40 positions, reported as about 10 percent of its workforce.

• 2016

  Optimizely launches Optimizely X[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Product generation

  The Optimizely X product family expanded the company’s scope to web experimentation, personalization, recommendations, mobile, full-stack, and OTT use cases.

• 2015

  Optimizely adds personalization capabilities[1]Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The company released a product for personalization across mobile and web experiences.

Showing the 10 most recent.

1. 1Optimizelyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Optimizely official websiteoptimizely.com
3. 3Americaneagle.com Partners With Optimizely To Provide World-Class Solutionsprnewswire.com
4. 4Optimizely acquired by content management company Episerver | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com
5. 5Optimizely acquires customer data platform startup Zaius - SiliconANGLEsiliconangle.com