DoorDash acquires tech firm Symbiosys to supercharge its advertising business

DoorDash also unveiled AI-powered ad targeting. | Photo: Shutterstock

DoorDash is doubling down on its advertising business.

The food delivery company said Wednesday that it has acquired Symbiosys, an ad tech company, in a deal valued at $175 million. Symbiosys will allow DoorDash to place ads for restaurants outside of its app—on Google, social media and websites—for the first time. 

It’s part of a major expansion of the company’s advertising business, DoorDash Ads, which currently allows restaurants to buy promotions and sponsored listings within the DoorDash marketplace. 

Last year, ads became a $1 billion annual business for DoorDash, the company revealed Wednesday. Launched in 2022, it is the fastest-growing retail media network in history, according to the company.

Now DoorDash is working to make its ads business bigger and more sophisticated.

In tandem with the acquisition, it unveiled some new capabilities, most notably AI-powered “smart targeting” for promotions. This will allow DoorDash to target promotions—deals like spend $20, get $5 off—to certain customers, and even adjust the offers based on factors like a customer’s past purchases, location and time of day. 

Previously, promotions were less dynamic: Restaurants could choose to offer a deal to new customers, or to everyone on the app. Now, they can set a budget and goals and DoorDash will do the rest.

“As you can imagine, there’s a lot of inefficiency” with the old approach, said Vassili Samolis, head of product for DoorDash Ads. “With smart targeting, you’re able to, without any work, reach the most accretive folks, the folks who are most likely to act as a result of promotion.” 

He said this means that restaurants will have to spend less on ads to get the same amount of volume. So far, targeted campaigns have shown a “meaningful performance differential,” he said, though he declined to provide specific numbers.

The addition of Symbiosys gives restaurants another way to grow their business through DoorDash, the company said. They will be able to put ads on Google Search and on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram to reach new customers.  

These ads will direct back to a restaurants’ DoorDash ordering page. In the future, they could also link to a restaurants’ own website if they use DoorDash’s Storefront online ordering system, Samolis said. 

Founded in 2022 by former Google and Microsoft executive Bashar Kachachi, Symbiosys uses retailers’ data to buy and target digital ads. Last year, DoorDash and Best Buy became its first partners.

Symbiosis focuses specifically on off-site ads, or ads that are placed outside of a retailer’s own website. The capability is a first for the restaurant industry, Samolis said. “This is where, especially for restaurants, we’re leading the charge and innovating,” he said. “To my knowledge, there’s nobody else offering this for restaurants specifically.” 

Symbiosys is part of the booming retail media business in which ecommerce companies like Amazon and Walmart generate revenue by selling ads within their online marketplaces and apps. For Amazon, advertising has become a $50 billion annual business. Restaurant delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Wonder are employing a similar strategy. Uber’s advertising business was on pace to reach $1 billion in revenue last year. 

Ads are appealing for delivery apps: They are another source of revenue, and a profitable one at that. And they drive more sales by offering customers more affordable options.

For restaurants, buying ads is a way to grow sales and stand out on crowded delivery marketplaces. But some have bristled at the idea that they must now offer discounts in order to compete.

The growth of advertising is part of DoorDash’s evolution from a food delivery company into an all-around ecommerce platform for restaurants and other businesses. In addition to delivery, it now offers software such as online ordering and mobile apps, and will soon add reservations and marketing tools with the pending acquisition of SevenRooms.

“At the end of the day, if you bring it all together, what we’re trying to do is become a de facto growth partner for these restaurants,” Samolis said.

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