Skillz, a mobile esports platform, has purchased Aarki, a machine learning marketing firm, for $150 million in cash and stock.

Skillz hosts casual esports events for millions of mobile users and works with developers to enable social competition in their games using patented technologies.

Meanwhile, Aarki is a technology-driven marketing platform that "helps brands grow and re-engage their mobile users" through machine learning.

Andrew Paradise, CEO of Skillz, said the partnership would allow the firm to use Aarki's technology to "create an unrivalled value proposition" for game creators looking to interact with gamers.

"Aarki's proven machine learning will pair with Skillz's robust first-party data to create an unrivalled value proposition for game developers," they commented in a press release. "The integrated ecosystem will unlock new points of connectivity between consumers, developers, and brands, pairing the right impression with the right user at the right time, all while delivering a superior user experience."

Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2021.

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