The Most Popular Third-party Launcher, Nova, and Upstart On-device Search Engine, Sesame, Assist Branch in Development of Next Generation App Discovery and Navigation

PALO ALTO, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Branch, the leader in mobile linking and measurement, has acquired Nova Launcher, the most popular Android launcher, and Sesame Universal Search, a fast-growing, on-device search engine for Android. The two acquisitions enable Branch to continue to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity to create new and better ways for users to discover and engage with apps. The collaboration will extend the value of Branch's network of over 300 billion mobile links.

"The mobile ecosystem is incredibly constrained with walled gardens controlling app distribution and access," said Alex Austin, CEO and Co-founder of Branch. "Nova and Sesame have pushed the boundaries of what Android can deliver, and we're excited to collaborate with their teams to further develop and scale the future of app discovery."

Kevin Barry, Founder, and Cliff Wade, Community Manager, from Nova, as well as Phil Wall, Co-founder, and Steve Blackwell, Co-founder, from Sesame have joined Branch to continue to develop both platforms and support the community of millions who use their respective apps daily.

"Nova has been a hugely satisfying project to work on, but I have often wanted to work on something with an even bigger scope," said Kevin Barry, founder of Nova Launcher. "When Branch first approached me in 2018, I saw potential, and when we reconnected more recently, I saw success. My first priority is still to the Nova community and maintaining Nova Launcher as the launcher it's always been, but I'm excited to bring new features of bigger scope to Nova and contribute to a larger platform."

"At Sesame we always had more good user requests than we could build," said Phil Wall, Co-founder of Sesame. "Now we've got resources. With Branch's vision and Steve and Kevin on board, I think we'll make something very cool."

Branch is excited to work with the founders of both apps who will remain fundamental to the roadmap and engagement of communities built by Nova and Sesame.

Branch provides the industry's leading mobile linking and measurement platforms, unifying user experience and attribution across devices and channels. Branch has been selected by over 100,000 apps since 2014 including Adobe, BuzzFeed, Yelp and many more, improving experiences for more than 3 billion monthly users across the globe.

Branch, Branch Metrics, and the Branch Tree logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of affiliated companies of Branch Metrics, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Media Contact: Paula Mantle, press@branch.io