iFood, backed by Koos Bekker-led Prosus, buys Advolve to boost ads growth

iFood, the Latin American delivery platform owned by Prosus N.V., chaired by South African billionaire Koos Bekker, has announced the acquisition of Advolve, a Brazilian firm that uses artificial intelligence to improve performance marketing. 

The deal strengthens iFood’s push to grow its Ads division, a key part of its retail-media business and Prosus’s wider plan to back technology firms shaping online commerce across Latin America, Europe and India.

Expanding iFood’s ads business

iFood launched its ads unit in 2021 to help restaurants and consumer brands promote offers inside the app. It has broadened its reach by joining external ad networks and now works with more than 230 advertisers across restaurant, supermarket, pharmacy and pet-care categories.

With Advolve, iFood aims to deepen that growth. The startup’s system generates multiple creative versions of an ad, tests them instantly, and adjusts in real time based on performance — work that once took days now happens in minutes. iFood says the technology will help brands tailor offers more precisely to its 60 million monthly customers. 

“Advolve will strengthen our Ads vertical across the entire campaign cycle,” said Sam James, iFood’s vice president of Ads. “Both companies are built on technology, and this combination makes us a more effective partner for advertisers while giving consumers more relevant and timely offers.”

Prosus’s broader push

Prosus, spun off from Naspers in 2019, has grown into one of the world’s major tech investors with assets in fintech, e-commerce, digital media and education. South African billionaire Koos Bekker holds just under 1 percent of Prosus, a stake valued at €956.4 million ($1.11 billion).

The company’s venture arm, Prosus Ventures, first backed Advolve in February 2025. Soon after investing, Prosus connected the startup with portfolio companies such as iFood to run live campaign tests. The trials produced solid results—some brands saw incremental sales more than quadruple—leading iFood to move ahead with an acquisition.

The Amsterdam-based group has been active across its portfolio this year, securing 90 percent of Just Eat Takeaway in a $4.73 billion deal and acquiring La Centrale, a French auto-ads marketplace, for $1.3 billion through its OLX business. Despite the expansion, iFood remains its strongest foothold in Latin America, holding more than 80 percent of Brazil’s food-delivery market with support from Prosus and Brazilian partner Movile.