Raizlabs, one of the Boston area’s best-known mobile app development shops, has been acquired by Rightpoint, a Chicago-based consulting firm.
The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. With the addition of Raizlabs, the combined companies employ 400 people across nine U.S. offices. The two firms’ Boston offices will consolidate, while Raizlabs’ Oakland, CA, office adds a new location for Rightpoint. Raizlabs founder and CEO Greg Raiz (pictured above) will remain based in Boston and will take on the role of Rightpoint chief innovation officer, according to a press release.
Raiz started the company back in 2003, several years before the smartphone era took off. He bootstrapped the company, which has produced its own mobile apps and developer tools over the years, but has primarily grown the business by working with companies to develop their mobile products. Raizlabs’ clients include Six Flags, AAA, L.L. Bean, and Perkins School for the Blind.
Although Raizlabs is known for its expertise in mobile apps, the company has also worked on technologies such as voice-controlled products, connected devices, wearables, artificial intelligence software, and augmented and virtual reality.
Meanwhile, 10-year-old Rightpoint helps its clients with a variety of products and services, including sales and digital marketing, website design and development, and business intelligence and analytics. The acquisition of Raizlabs enhances its offerings in “mobile innovation and emerging technologies,” the company said.
“With the addition of Raizlabs, we’re forming the agency of the future, bringing together a diverse team of people who are doing innovative work in a variety of backgrounds,” said Rightpoint co-founders and co-CEOs, Ross Freedman and Brad Schneider, in a prepared statement.
This is the second acquisition by Rightpoint in the past 18 months. It bought Agency Oasis in April 2016, almost a year after it received a $55 million investment from New York-based private equity firm Stella Point Capital.
There has been a spate of mature Boston-area tech companies sold this year, including in mobile. Other recent examples include Intrepid Pursuits, a software design and development shop sold to Accenture; Applause, an app testing company acquired by Vista Equity Partners; and Kinvey, a mobile backend services provider purchased by Progress. In addition, Dragon Innovation—another local technology consulting firm, focused on hardware—was bought by Avnet.
The takeaway is that there’s rising business demand for companies with expertise in mobile apps and related technologies, and acquirers see the Boston area as a strong hub for that kind of talent.
