URX
AcquiredYC S13New York City, US Β· 11 employees Β· 4 known investors
URX was a mobile deep-linking startup that built technology for linking between apps and surfacing relevant in-app content and actions. It was acquired by Pinterest in 2016 in a deal focused on its engineering team.
Also known as URX Inc.
Founders & leadershipΒ· Y Combinator alumni (S13)
Investors Β· 4
Valuation Β· disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed β follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026URX was a mobile advertising and deep-linking technology company. Its products used deep links β which connect mobile apps to one another at specified points, functioning as a mobile equivalent to web hyperlinks β to insert rich ads or contextual content into partner publishers' apps. Examples cited include links to buy event tickets via SeatGeek, links to a specific song on a streaming service such as Spotify, or a suggested item in the shopping app Wish.
The underlying capability was content understanding and recommendation: identifying what content a user was viewing on a phone and determining which shoppable mobile ad or related content to surface, for example showing a headphones ad to someone reading a music article. Publishers used the platform to monetize mobile content and advertisers used it to drive mobile commerce.
The company was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2013 batch and had a team size of 11. It ceased operating as an independent product after Pinterest's May 2016 acqui-hire, following which Pinterest said it would shut down the URX product.
Founding story
URX was founded in 2013 by John Milinovich together with Andrew Look, James Turner and Nathanael Smith, at a time when deep-linking technology was drawing increasing attention from startups and large technology companies as consumer usage shifted from desktop websites to mobile apps.
Business model
URX sold deep-linking and content-understanding technology to publishers and advertisers: publishers used it to monetize mobile content by injecting rich ads or contextual links into their apps, while advertisers used it to drive mobile commerce by connecting users directly to relevant in-app purchase or action experiences.
Revenue derived from mobile advertising and commerce: publishers monetized in-app content through URX-delivered ads and links, and advertisers paid to reach users with contextually relevant, shoppable placements.
Traction
URX raised $15 million in total funding and was valued at $40 million at its 2014 round; its team numbered 11. Partner integrations referenced include SeatGeek, Spotify and Wish.
Latest developments
On May 3, 2016, Pinterest announced the acqui-hire of about half of URX's team, including co-founder and CEO John Milinovich, who became a product manager on Pinterest's content team; other team members joined Pinterest's product management, engineering and partnerships groups. Pinterest confirmed it acquired no URX technology or assets and planned to shut down the URX product. Y Combinator lists founder Nate Smith as currently founder and CEO of Superoot (YC S18).
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
URX operated in the emerging mobile deep-linking market alongside competitor Quixey and other startups such as Button, Yozio and Branch Metrics, while Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter built their own app-linking tools. Reporting at the time noted the sector was still early in commercial terms, citing Quixey reportedly missing a quarterly revenue target in early 2016.
Sources characterize the URX team as leaders in mobile content understanding, recommendations, monetization and discovery β capabilities Pinterest cited as the rationale for hiring the team rather than buying the technology.
Technology
Deep-linking technology that connects mobile apps at specified points, combined with content-understanding and recommendation systems that identify what a user is viewing and select relevant ads or content to surface.
Go-to-market
URX sold to two sides of the mobile ecosystem: publishers seeking to monetize mobile app content and advertisers seeking to drive mobile commerce, with partner publishers integrating URX links and ad units into their apps.
Mobile app publishers seeking to monetize content and advertisers seeking to drive mobile commerce.
Geography
Fortune and Y Combinator's company description identify URX as San Francisco-based; the Y Combinator company listing separately records its location as New York City, NY.
History
URX was founded in 2013 and took part in Y Combinator's Summer 2013 batch. It raised a total of $15 million from investors including Accel, Google Ventures/GV, First Round Capital, SV Angel, CrunchFund and Y Combinator, and was valued at $40 million at its last round in 2014. Sources describe the company as headquartered in San Francisco, while Y Combinator's company listing gives its location as New York City, NY. Rumors of an acquisition were first reported by Re/code in April 2016. On May 3, 2016, Pinterest announced it had hired roughly half of the URX team while acquiring none of the company's technology or assets; Pinterest said it would shut down the URX product.
Risks & controversies
Reporting at the time noted that making a business out of deep linking remained early-stage, with competitor Quixey reportedly missing a quarterly revenue target. Pinterest's deal took only the team, not the technology or assets, and the URX product was slated for shutdown; only about half of the URX team was hired.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 3
launches, deals, and filingsPinterest announced it had acquired the URX team but explicitly none of URX's technology or other assets. About half of the URX team joined Pinterest across product management, engineering and partnerships; co-founder and CEO John Milinovich became a product manager on Pinterest's content team. Pinterest said it planned to shut down the URX product.
A Pinterest spokesperson said Pinterest planned to shut down the URX product following the acqui-hire, having acquired no technology or assets.
URX was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2013 batch.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 4
primary sources listed
- URx | May 7-8 2026urxconference.com Β· web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does URX do?
- Mobile deep-linking and ad-tech startup whose team was acqui-hired by Pinterest in May 2016, with its product shut down.
- Who founded URX?
- URX was founded by Nate Smith.
- Who are URX's investors?
- URX's investors include Y Combinator, Accel, First Round Capital, SV Angel.
- Where is URX headquartered?
- URX is headquartered in New York City, US.