SoftBank Forms Capital and Business Alliance With ADA, an Integrated Digital Marketing Leader

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SoftBank Corp has announced that it is forming a capital and business alliance with Axiata Digital Advertising Sdn. Bhd, a Kuala Lumpur-based data and AI company that offers integrated digital marketing solutions in nine Asian countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Korea). ADA is a group company of Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata Group”), a major telecommunications operator in Asia. As part of the agreement, SoftBank will invest approximately 60 million USD in ADA, giving it a 23.1 per cent stake in the company. Furthermore, Daichi Nozaki, SoftBank Vice President and Head of the Enterprise Business Unit’s Global Business Division, will join the ADA board in mid-May 2021.

Through this alliance, SoftBank will utilise ADA’s sales and customer support structure, as well as its data and AI business expertise, to accelerate its digital marketing business across Asia. SoftBank will also work with ADA to generate synergies with its own solutions and those provided by its group companies. In addition to other services, SoftBank offers the customer data platform “Treasure Data CDP,” and its group company LINE Corporation provides a varied lineup of services to enterprises. In partnership with ADA, SoftBank will propose and provide solutions that incorporate ADA’s solutions and know-how to Asian companies to support their digital marketing activities.

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ADA’s strength is led by its proprietary technology IP consisting of 375 million unique consumer profiles across the region. The company uses this deep data to help business and brands alike design digital marketing strategies and support execution, and also offer consulting in the utilisation of first-party data. Additionally, ADA offers marketing technology solutions to help businesses scale up their digital maturity; and end-to-end eCommerce solutions that optimise conversions throughout the customer funnel.

Based on its Beyond Carrier strategy, SoftBank is expanding beyond the traditional telecommunications carrier business by providing innovative services across a wide range of industry sectors and focusing on digital transformation (DX) initiatives by co-creating with partner companies. This alliance with ADA will promote SoftBank’s Beyond Japan initiative for business expansion abroad. ADA offers a wide range of services in the digital marketing field, and by combining them with the diversified solutions and technologies of SoftBank and its group companies, both companies expect to generate significant synergies.