Mode buys JibJab for a maximum of $29.5 million in cash and stock

Mode, a company that gives app users rewards when they share data, bought JibJab, a maker of e-cards and videos. The deal has a maximum value of $29.5 million in cash and stock. The chief executive of Mode says JibJab is profitable and has yearly revenue of tens of millions of dollars. Mode plans to add JibJab to its rewards system, but the plan is not complete.

How it works

Mode gives premium app access or other rewards to users who agree to share data. Businesses use the data for consumer research or AI training. In some games, the tasks of users train AI, and some apps tell users to show tasks on camera for robot training.

The numbers

The price is a maximum of $29.5 million. Dan Novaes, chief executive of Mode, says only about 5% of app users pay for premium.

What is not known

The source does not say how the plan for JibJab will work. Novaes says users always agree to share data, and that AI labs got data from the internet without consent. The source gives no user numbers for JibJab.

Insight: AI data demand makes app users worth more

Micro1 says it will spend $1 billion in the next year to buy company data for AI labs. Gartner estimates that AI data spending will go from less than $1 billion last year to almost $6.5 billion in 2027. Mode buys apps and Micro1 buys company data, which reads as a competition to control the sources of data about persons for AI. For leaders, user data has a price at this time.