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§ Private Profile · Seattle, WA, USA
AI performance advertising platform connecting premium publishers with outcome-driven advertisers, optimizing digital ad returns.
Key people at Decide.com.
Decide.com was founded in 2010 by Brian Ma (Co-Founder).
Decide.com operates an AI-powered, performance-focused digital advertising platform that connects premium publisher inventory with outcome-driven advertisers, maintaining primary corporate operations in Seattle, Washington, and Saint Louis, Missouri. The company utilizes custom ad formats and advanced machine learning algorithms through its proprietary Decision Marketplace to optimize advertising returns and maximize yield for publishers across the open web. In its earlier iteration, the business functioned as a consumer shopping service that predicted optimal purchasing times for electronics and household appliances by analyzing a comprehensive 100-terabyte historical pricing database. Operating across its two distinct office locations, the enterprise has secured financial backing from a syndicate of six institutional investors, including the prominent venture capital firm Madrona. To address complex consumer data and pricing challenges, Decide.com was originally established in 2008 by an undisclosed founding team.
Decide.com was a Seattle-based consumer-facing startup founded in 2008 that built an online shopping service predicting optimal times to buy consumer electronics and appliances using a 100-terabyte pricing database and predictive algorithms.[1] It analyzed billions of web data points to advise shoppers on buying now or waiting for price drops or new models, targeting individual consumers frustrated with unpredictable pricing in e-commerce.[1][2] The company raised funding from prominent investors including Madrona, Maveron, Vulcan Capital, and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), demonstrating early validation before its acquisition by eBay Inc. in 2013, after which the standalone site shut down on September 30.[1][2][3]
Decide.com emerged in 2008 in Seattle, Washington, co-founded by Oren Etzioni and Mike Fridgen, with Etzioni later transitioning to Executive Director of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence post-acquisition.[1][2] The idea stemmed from leveraging massive pricing data and analytics to solve the "when to buy" dilemma for high-value goods like electronics, building on Etzioni's AI expertise and Fridgen's operational leadership.[1][2] Early traction came from its unique predictive model, attracting top-tier VC backing from Madrona (praising the founders' commitment), consumer-focused Maveron, Microsoft-linked Vulcan Capital, and multi-stage investor TCV, fueling growth over three years until eBay's acquisition.[1][2][4]
Decide.com rode the early 2010s wave of big data analytics in e-commerce, coinciding with explosive growth in online shopping and the need for smarter pricing amid rising consumer electronics demand.[2][3] Its timing capitalized on maturing cloud computing and data aggregation tech, enabling rivals like eBay to counter Amazon's dominance by arming sellers with predictive tools—directly influencing marketplace dynamics like faster sales and competitive pricing.[2] By joining eBay's portfolio alongside acquisitions in social (Hunch), local (Milo), and mobile (RedLaser), it amplified eBay's data-driven commerce push, leveling the field for 25 million sellers and foreshadowing AI-enhanced retail intelligence.[2]
Post-2013 acquisition, Decide.com's tech and team integrated into eBay, evolving its pricing predictions into seller-facing tools for dynamic markets, with lasting impact on eBay's analytics amid ongoing e-commerce consolidation.[2][3] Looking ahead, its legacy fuels AI-driven personalization trends, where predictive pricing could expand via generative AI for hyper-local, real-time recommendations—potentially powering next-gen platforms beyond eBay. As retail digitizes further, Decide's "no regrets" ethos positions such innovations to redefine buyer-seller trust, tying back to its core mission of confident commerce in an unpredictable market.[1][2]
Decide.com was founded in 2010 by Brian Ma (Co-Founder).
Key people at Decide.com.
