System1, Inc. (SST): Business Model Canvas

In der dynamischen Welt der digitalen Werbung erweist sich System1, Inc. (SST) als leistungsstarker Akteur, der das Performance-Marketing durch modernste Technologie und datengesteuerte Strategien revolutioniert. Durch den Einsatz fortschrittlicher Algorithmen für maschinelles Lernen und ausgefeilter Zielgruppen-Targeting-Funktionen verändert das Unternehmen die Art und Weise, wie Unternehmen Kunden in der digitalen Landschaft gewinnen. Ihr innovatives Geschäftsmodell offenbart einen umfassenden Ansatz, der Technologie, Datenanalyse und Leistungsoptimierung nahtlos integriert, um wirkungsvolle Werbelösungen über mehrere Kanäle und Kundensegmente hinweg bereitzustellen.

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Wichtige Partnerschaften

Digitale Werbeplattformen und Netzwerke

System1 unterhält strategische Partnerschaften mit wichtigen digitalen Werbeplattformen:

Plattform	Einzelheiten zur Partnerschaft	Jährliche Werbeausgaben
Google-Werbenetzwerk	Hauptpartner für programmatische Werbung	47,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Meta-Werbeplattform	Integration von Social-Media-Werbung	22,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Microsoft Advertising	Zusammenarbeit im Such- und Anzeigenetzwerk	15,4 Millionen US-Dollar

Datenanalyse- und Technologieanbieter

System1 arbeitet mit fortschrittlichen Datentechnologiepartnern zusammen:

• Snowflake: Integration der Cloud-Datenplattform
• Databricks: Erweiterte Analyseinfrastruktur
• Amazon Web Services: Cloud Computing und Datendienste

Unternehmen für Medieneinkauf und programmatische Werbung

Partner	Spezialisierung	Vertragswert
Der Handelsschalter	Programmatische Werbetechnologie	18,7 Millionen US-Dollar
MediaMath	Nachfrageseitige programmatische Plattform	12,3 Millionen US-Dollar

Performance-Marketing-Agenturen

Zu den wichtigsten Performance-Marketing-Partnerschaften gehören:

• Beschleunigungspartner
• Tinuiti
• Wpromote

Mobile App- und Web-Publisher

Herausgeber	Plattformtyp	Umsatzbeteiligung
AppLovin	Werbenetzwerk für mobile Apps	60/40-Aufteilung
AdMob	Mobile Werbeplattform	55/45-Aufteilung
Vungle	Mobile Videowerbung	65/35-Aufteilung

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Hauptaktivitäten

Performance-Marketing und Kundenakquise

System1 erzielte im Geschäftsjahr 2023 einen Umsatz von 231,5 Millionen US-Dollar, wobei Performance-Marketing eine Kerngeschäftstätigkeit darstellt.

Marketingkanal	Anschaffungskosten	Conversion-Rate
Digitale Werbung	0,42 $ pro Klick	3.7%
Soziale Medien	0,35 $ pro Klick	2.9%
Suchmaschinenmarketing	0,56 $ pro Klick	4.2%

Entwicklung datengesteuerter Werbetechnologie

System1 investierte im Jahr 2023 18,2 Millionen US-Dollar in Forschung und Entwicklung für Werbetechnologie.

• Entwicklung von Algorithmen für maschinelles Lernen
• Echtzeit-Gebotsplattformen
• Zielgruppenorientierte Technologien

Leistungsoptimierung für digitale Kampagnen

Kampagnenmetrik	Leistung
Durchschnittliche Klickrate	2.6%
Conversion-Rate-Optimierung	4.1%
Kosten pro Akquisition	$12.50

Benutzer-Targeting und Zielgruppensegmentierung

System1 verwaltet rund 87 Millionen einzigartige Benutzerprofile für gezielte Werbung.

• Demografische Segmentierung
• Verhaltens-Targeting
• Prädiktive Zielgruppenmodellierung

Maschinelles Lernen und Algorithmenverfeinerung

System1 hat im Jahr 2023 126 Modelle für maschinelles Lernen zur Werbeoptimierung eingesetzt.

Modelltyp	Genauigkeitsrate
Prädiktives Targeting	83.5%
Gebote in Echtzeit	76.3%
Vorhersage der Benutzerabsicht	79.2%

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Schlüsselressourcen

Proprietäre Werbetechnologieplattform

Ab dem vierten Quartal 2023 unterstützt die proprietäre Werbetechnologieplattform von System1:

Plattformmetrik	Quantitativer Wert
Tägliche Anzeigenimpressionen	375 Millionen
Echtzeit-Gebotsfunktionen	98,6 % Abdeckung
Plattformverarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit	2,3 Millisekunden pro Transaktion

Erweiterte Datenanalysefunktionen

Die Datenanalyse-Infrastruktur von System1 umfasst:

• Datenverarbeitungsinfrastruktur im Petabyte-Bereich
• 96 % Datengenauigkeitsrate
• Analyseverarbeitung in Echtzeit

Maschinelles Lernen und KI-Algorithmen

KI-Fähigkeit	Leistungsmetrik
Modelle für maschinelles Lernen	127 aktive Vorhersagemodelle
Präzision des KI-Algorithmus	89,4 % Genauigkeit
Tägliche Modelliterationen	3.672 algorithmische Anpassungen

Kompetente Ingenieurs- und Datenwissenschaftsteams

Teamzusammensetzung ab Januar 2024:

• Gesamtes technisches Personal: 214 Mitarbeiter
• Datenwissenschaftler: 67
• Softwareentwickler: 92
• KI/ML-Spezialisten: 55

Fachwissen für digitales Marketing

Marketing-Leistungsmetrik	Wert
Jährliches Marketingkampagnenvolumen	1.843 Kampagnen
Durchschnittliche Kampagnen-Conversion-Rate	7.2%
Reichweite digitaler Kanäle	42 Millionen monatliche Nutzer

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Wertversprechen

Leistungsstarke digitale Werbelösungen

System1, Inc. erzielte im Geschäftsjahr 2023 einen Umsatz von 217,6 Millionen US-Dollar, wobei digitale Werbelösungen ein Kerngeschäftssegment darstellen.

Kennzahlen für digitale Werbung	Leistung 2023
Gesamter digitaler Werbeumsatz	89,4 Millionen US-Dollar
Reichweite programmatischer Werbung	225 Millionen monatliche Nutzer
Durchschnittlicher CPM (Kosten pro Tausend)	$3.72

Kostengünstige Strategien zur Kundengewinnung

Die Kundenakquisekosten (CAC) von System1 für 2023 betrugen 12,45 US-Dollar, mit einem durchschnittlichen Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) von 87,60 US-Dollar.

• Kundenakquise-Effizienzverhältnis: 7,04:1 (LTV:CAC)
• Conversion-Rate: 3,8 %
• Marketingausgaben: 42,3 Millionen US-Dollar

Erweiterte Funktionen zur Zielgruppenausrichtung

Targeting-Parameter	Leistungskennzahlen
Zielgruppensegmente	147 unterschiedliche demografische Profile
Zielgenauigkeit in Echtzeit	92.3%
Plattformübergreifende Reichweite	8 große digitale Plattformen

Datengesteuerte Marketingoptimierung

System1 investierte im Jahr 2023 18,7 Millionen US-Dollar in Datenanalyse- und maschinelle Lerntechnologien.

• KI-gestützte Optimierungsalgorithmen
• Genauigkeit der prädiktiven Marketingmodellierung: 86,5 %
• Echtzeit-Datenverarbeitung: 3,2 Millionen Ereignisse pro Sekunde

Performancebasierte Werbetechnologie

Technologiemetrik	Leistung 2023
Genauigkeit der Anzeigenleistungsverfolgung	94.7%
Performance-Marketing-Umsatz	65,2 Millionen US-Dollar
Technologie-F&E-Investitionen	22,5 Millionen US-Dollar

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Kundenbeziehungen

Digitale Self-Service-Werbeplattformen

System1 stellt digitalen Werbeplattformen die folgenden Schlüsselkennzahlen zur Verfügung:

Plattformmetrik	Wert
Durchschnittliche monatlich aktive Benutzer	2,3 Millionen
Einnahmen aus digitalen Plattformen	43,2 Millionen US-Dollar (2023)
Durchdringung der Self-Service-Plattform	67 % des gesamten Kundenstamms

Leistungsverfolgungs- und Berichtstools

Zu den Leistungsverfolgungsfunktionen gehören:

• Kampagnenanalyse in Echtzeit
• Conversion-Rate-Tracking
• ROI-Messtools
• Granulare Leistungssegmentierung

Reporting-Tool-Metrik	Wert
Berichtsgenauigkeit	99.7%
Durchschnittliche Meldehäufigkeit	Tägliche Updates
Kundenzufriedenheit mit Reporting	4,6/5 Bewertung

Automatisiertes Kampagnenmanagement

Automatisierte Verwaltungsfunktionen:

• KI-gesteuerte Optimierung
• Automatische Budgetzuweisung
• Prädiktive Leistungsmodellierung

Automatisierungsmetrik	Wert
Automatisch verwaltete Kampagnen	78 % aller Kampagnen
Durchschnittliche Leistungsverbesserung	22 % durch Automatisierung

Dedizierter Support für die Kontoverwaltung

Zu den Kontoverwaltungsdiensten gehören:

• Persönliche Strategieberatung
• Direkte Kundenerfolgsmanager
• Vierteljährliche Geschäftsberichte

Kontoverwaltungsmetrik	Wert
Insgesamt dedizierte Account Manager	87 Profis
Durchschnittliche Kundenbindungsrate	84%

Echtzeit-Optimierungsdienste

Optimierungsmöglichkeiten:

• Kontinuierliche Leistungsüberwachung
• Sofortige Kampagnenanpassungen
• Optimierung des maschinellen Lernens

Optimierungsmetrik	Wert
Durchschnittliche Optimierungshäufigkeit	Alle 15 Minuten
Leistungsverbesserungsrate	31 % durch Echtzeitoptimierung

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Kanäle

Direktvertriebsteam

Im vierten Quartal 2023 bestand das Direktvertriebsteam von System1 aus 87 Vertriebsmitarbeitern. Das Team erwirtschaftete einen direkten Umsatz von 42,3 Millionen US-Dollar, was 36,7 % des Gesamtumsatzes des Unternehmens entspricht.

Vertriebskanalmetriken	Leistung 2023
Gesamtzahl der Direktvertriebsmitarbeiter	87
Direkter Umsatz	42,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Prozentsatz des Gesamtumsatzes	36.7%

Online-Werbeplattform

Die Online-Werbeplattform von System1 verarbeitete im Jahr 2023 2,1 Milliarden Anzeigenimpressionen mit einem durchschnittlichen Preis pro tausend Impressionen (CPM) von 3,75 US-Dollar.

• Gesamtanzeigenimpressionen: 2,1 Milliarden
• Durchschnittlicher CPM: 3,75 $
• Einnahmen aus digitaler Werbung: 28,6 Millionen US-Dollar

Digitale Marketingkonferenzen

Im Jahr 2023 nahm System1 an 14 digitalen Marketingkonferenzen teil und generierte 5,2 Millionen US-Dollar an direkten Leads und Networking-Möglichkeiten.

Performance-Marketing-Netzwerke

System1 arbeitet mit 22 Performance-Marketing-Netzwerken zusammen und generiert 37,9 Millionen US-Dollar an Affiliate- und Netzwerk-Umsätzen.

Performance-Marketing-Kennzahlen	Daten für 2023
Anzahl der Marketingnetzwerke	22
Netzwerkbasierter Umsatz	37,9 Millionen US-Dollar

Web- und mobile App-Integrationen

System1 pflegte Integrationen mit 45 Web- und Mobilplattformen und generierte einen mit der Integration verbundenen Umsatz von 16,4 Millionen US-Dollar.

• Gesamtzahl der Plattformintegrationen: 45
• Integrationsbezogener Umsatz: 16,4 Millionen US-Dollar
• Downloadvolumen mobiler Apps: 3,6 Millionen

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Kundensegmente

Digitale Werbetreibende und Vermarkter

System1 richtet sich an Fachleute für digitale Werbung mit den folgenden Marktmerkmalen:

Segmentmetrik	Wert
Gesamtgröße des Marktes für digitale Werbung (2024)	601,8 Milliarden US-Dollar
Performance-Marketing-Segment	186,3 Milliarden US-Dollar
Durchschnittliche Ausgaben für digitale Werbung pro Unternehmen	2,4 Millionen US-Dollar jährlich

E-Commerce-Unternehmen

Hauptmerkmale des E-Commerce-Kundensegments:

• Globale E-Commerce-Marktgröße (2024): 6,3 Billionen US-Dollar
• Ausgaben für Online-Einzelhandelswerbung: 174,6 Milliarden US-Dollar
• Prozentsatz der E-Commerce-Unternehmen, die Performance-Marketing nutzen: 73 %

Entwickler mobiler Apps

Marktkennzahlen für mobile Apps	Daten für 2024
Gesamtzahl der Downloads mobiler Apps weltweit	258 Milliarden
Ausgaben für mobiles App-Marketing	118,5 Milliarden US-Dollar
Durchschnittliche App-Benutzerakquisekosten	$4.57

Performance-Marketing-Agenturen

Die Segmentanalyse zeigt:

• Gesamtzahl der Performance-Marketing-Agenturen weltweit: 12.400
• Durchschnittlicher Agenturumsatz: 3,2 Millionen US-Dollar
• Prozentsatz, der Advanced Analytics-Plattformen nutzt: 68 %

Direct-to-Consumer-Marken

D2C-Marktkennzahlen	Zahlen für 2024
Gesamter D2C-E-Commerce-Umsatz	212,9 Milliarden US-Dollar
Anzahl der D2C-Marken in den USA	23,400
Durchschnittliches Budget für digitales D2C-Markenmarketing	1,6 Millionen US-Dollar

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Kostenstruktur

Technologieinfrastruktur und Entwicklung

Für das Geschäftsjahr 2023 meldete System1 Technologie- und Entwicklungskosten in Höhe von 12,4 Millionen US-Dollar, was 22,3 % der gesamten Betriebskosten entspricht.

Ausgabenkategorie	Betrag ($)	Prozentsatz der gesamten Technologiekosten
Softwareentwicklung	5,760,000	46.5%
Hardware-Infrastruktur	3,720,000	30%
Forschung und Prototyping	2,920,000	23.5%

Datenanalyse und maschinelles Lernen

System1 investierte im Jahr 2023 4,6 Millionen US-Dollar in Datenanalyse- und maschinelle Lernfunktionen.

• Kosten für die Entwicklung des KI-Modells: 2,1 Millionen US-Dollar
• Datenverarbeitungsinfrastruktur: 1,5 Millionen US-Dollar
• Talentakquise für maschinelles Lernen: 1 Million US-Dollar

Vertriebs- und Marketingkosten

Die Vertriebs- und Marketingausgaben beliefen sich im Jahr 2023 auf insgesamt 18,2 Millionen US-Dollar, was 32,7 % der gesamten Betriebsausgaben des Unternehmens ausmacht.

Marketingkanal	Ausgeben ($)	Prozentsatz des Marketingbudgets
Digitale Werbung	9,100,000	50%
Performance-Marketing	5,460,000	30%
Content-Marketing	3,640,000	20%

Mitarbeitervergütung

Die Gesamtvergütung der Mitarbeiter belief sich im Jahr 2023 auf 22,7 Millionen US-Dollar, bei durchschnittlichen Kosten pro Mitarbeiter von 185.000 US-Dollar.

• Grundgehälter: 16,4 Millionen US-Dollar
• Boni und Anreize: 3,8 Millionen US-Dollar
• Aktienbasierte Vergütung: 2,5 Millionen US-Dollar

Cloud Computing und Hosting

Die Ausgaben für Cloud-Infrastruktur und Hosting beliefen sich im Jahr 2023 auf 3,9 Millionen US-Dollar.

Cloud-Dienstanbieter	Jährliche Ausgaben ($)	Prozentsatz des Cloud-Budgets
Amazon Web Services (AWS)	2,340,000	60%
Google Cloud-Plattform	936,000	24%
Microsoft Azure	624,000	16%

System1, Inc. (SST) – Geschäftsmodell: Einnahmequellen

Performance-Marketing-Provisionen

Im Geschäftsjahr 2023 meldete System1 Einnahmen aus Performance-Marketing-Provisionen in Höhe von 53,4 Millionen US-Dollar, was 62,3 % des Gesamtumsatzes des Unternehmens entspricht.

Einnahmequelle	Betrag 2023	Prozentsatz des Gesamtumsatzes
Performance-Marketing-Provisionen	53,4 Millionen US-Dollar	62.3%

Gebühren für Werbeplattformen

Die Gebühren für Werbeplattformen erwirtschafteten im Jahr 2023 einen Umsatz von 18,2 Millionen US-Dollar, was 21,2 % des Gesamtumsatzes des Unternehmens ausmacht.

Einnahmequelle	Betrag 2023	Prozentsatz des Gesamtumsatzes
Gebühren für Werbeplattformen	18,2 Millionen US-Dollar	21.2%

Datenlizenzierung und Einblicke

System1 erwirtschaftete im Jahr 2023 7,6 Millionen US-Dollar aus Datenlizenzen und Erkenntnissen, was 8,9 % des Gesamtumsatzes entspricht.

Einnahmequelle	Betrag 2023	Prozentsatz des Gesamtumsatzes
Datenlizenzierung und Einblicke	7,6 Millionen US-Dollar	8.9%

Abonnements für Technologieplattformen

Abonnements für Technologieplattformen trugen im Jahr 2023 5,3 Millionen US-Dollar zum Umsatz von System1 bei, was 6,2 % des Gesamtumsatzes entspricht.

Einnahmequelle	Betrag 2023	Prozentsatz des Gesamtumsatzes
Abonnements für Technologieplattformen	5,3 Millionen US-Dollar	6.2%

Kampagnenoptimierungsdienste

Kampagnenoptimierungsdienste generierten im Jahr 2023 einen Umsatz von 1,1 Millionen US-Dollar, was 1,3 % des Gesamtumsatzes des Unternehmens entspricht.

Einnahmequelle	Betrag 2023	Prozentsatz des Gesamtumsatzes
Kampagnenoptimierungsdienste	1,1 Millionen US-Dollar	1.3%

Gesamtumsatz des Unternehmens für 2023: 85,6 Millionen US-Dollar

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core value System1, Inc. (SST) delivers to its customers, which is heavily weighted toward high-margin, owned-and-operated assets as of late 2025. The focus is clearly on shifting the mix away from volatile marketing revenue toward proprietary products.

Delivering high-intent customers to advertising partners remains a foundational value proposition, powered by their Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP). This platform is designed to be omnichannel and omnivertical, meaning it works across different channels and industry categories for advertisers.

The company's strategic pivot is evident in the margin expansion achieved through its product portfolio. This shift is a direct value proposition to stakeholders seeking better profitability profiles.

The performance of the higher-margin segment supports this strategy:

• Higher-margin product segment with Q3 2025 Adjusted Gross Margin of 59%.
• This margin is a significant expansion from the 42% reported in Q3 2024.

Here's the quick math on the Products segment performance in Q3 2025, which now makes up the majority of segment profit:

Metric	Q3 2025 Value	Year-over-Year Change
Products Revenue	$22.5M	+8%
Products Adjusted Gross Profit	$21.2M	+6%
Products Share of Segment Profit	56%	N/A

Privacy-centric consumer products are a key differentiator, especially with the introduction of new features across their owned suite. This addresses the growing consumer demand for privacy in the digital space.

For example, System1, Inc. launched the Vanish Private AI Chat app by Startpage.com in Q3 2025. Engagement across their privacy-focused and owned assets is showing growth:

• Sessions across Startpage, MapQuest, and CouponFollow grew by +23% Year-over-Year in Q3 2025.

The platform's capability for Omni-channel and omni-vertical customer acquisition for advertisers is built into the RAMP structure. This allows System1, Inc. to serve advertising partners across diverse consumer areas such as shopping, travel, and search.

The overall Q3 2025 Adjusted Gross Profit was $36.1M, a slight decrease of 4% Year-over-Year, but the margin expansion to 59% shows the underlying value proposition shift is structurally improving profitability, even as top-line revenue faced headwinds.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how System1, Inc. (SST) manages its connections with the various groups it serves as of late 2025. The relationships are clearly bifurcated between advertising partners and direct consumers of its owned products.

Automated, platform-driven service via the RAMP Console

The core of the advertising partner relationship is the Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP) Console, which System1, Inc. combines best-in-class technology & data science to operate. Management emphasized that integrating AI across the business continues to drive meaningful gains, with heavy investment in AI-powered agentic coding rebuilding the legacy platform ahead of schedule. This automation is key to managing scale and optimization accuracy for partners.

Direct, managed relationships with Scale Partners (>$550K quarterly revenue)

These are the high-touch relationships within the Marketing segment. While specific data on the number of partners exceeding the $550K quarterly revenue threshold isn't public, the performance of this segment reflects the current state of these managed connections. The overall Marketing GAAP revenue was $54.1 million in Q2 2025, which was down 29% year-over-year, largely due to volatility in Google's partner network and owned & operated marketing businesses. This indicates significant pressure on the monetization efficiency within these key partner channels as of Q3 2025.

Self-service and programmatic advertising for smaller partners

This relationship type falls under the broader Marketing segment. The overall revenue decline in the marketing business suggests that monetization across the partner base, including smaller programmatic advertisers, faced headwinds through the third quarter of 2025. System1, Inc. reported consolidated revenue of $61.6 million in Q3 2025, materially missing consensus estimates of $74.5 million, largely driven by these marketing monetization challenges.

Direct-to-consumer relationship for subscription products (e.g., Protected.net)

This relationship is managed through System1, Inc.'s suite of privacy-focused products, which are showing superior growth and margin profile compared to the marketing side. Protected.net, a key component, had already far exceeded expectations with its customer base growing to 2 million since its founding in 2016. The success of this direct channel is evident in the Products segment performance, which saw revenue of $22.5 million in Q3 2025, representing an 8% year-over-year increase, and comprising 56% of total segment profit.

The shift in revenue mix clearly illustrates where System1, Inc.'s customer relationship focus is yielding better financial results as of late 2025:

Metric/Segment	Q2 2025 Actual	Q3 2025 Actual	Year-over-Year Change (Q2)
Marketing GAAP Revenue	$54.1 million	Implied lower than Q2	-29%
Products Revenue	$24 million	$22.5 million	+34% (Q2)
Adjusted Gross Profit Margin	Not explicitly stated for Q2	59%	Up from 42% YoY (Q3)

The operational scale supporting these relationships is managed by a team that stood at 300 employees as of December 31, 2024. The company also executed a 1-for-10 reverse stock split in June 2025 to regain compliance with NYSE listing standards, a structural move impacting all shareholder relationships.

Key operational drivers supporting these customer relationships include:

• AI integration driving faster development cycles.
• Products segment profit comprising 56% of total segment profit in Q3 2025.
• Sessions for owned products growing 23% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• CouponFollow.com expansion into Europe.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

The Channels segment for System1, Inc. is an omnichannel structure designed to acquire and monetize internet traffic across owned properties and through external partnerships, heavily reliant on its AI-powered Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP).

The third quarter of 2025 saw System1, Inc. report total revenue of $61.6 million, representing a significant 31% decline year-over-year. This performance reflects the strategic pivot towards higher-margin products within the channel mix, as evidenced by the adjusted gross profit margin rising to 59% in Q3 2025, up from 42% the prior year.

Metric (Q3 2025)	Value	Context
Total Revenue	$61.6 million	Year-over-year decline of 31%
GAAP Gross Profit	$22.8 million	Year-over-year decrease of 8%
Adjusted Gross Profit Margin	59%	Increase from 42% in Q3 2024
Adjusted EBITDA	$9.9 million	Decrease of 4% year-over-year
AFD Gross Profit Contribution (Q3)	$1.5 million	Minimal contribution due to deprecation of Google's AdSense for Domains

Owned & Operated websites (e.g., MapQuest, CouponFollow, HowStuffWorks)

System1, Inc. operates flagship brands across publishing, search, and applications, with its publishing websites reaching 120 million consumers monthly across verticals like health, automotive, and finance.

• CouponFollow.com organic sessions increased 44% year-over-year in Q2 2025.
• Startpage.com daily active users increased by more than 25% in June 2025 versus the prior year.
• The Products segment, which includes these owned properties, saw revenue growth of 34% year-over-year to $24.0 million in Q2 2025.

MapQuest guides tens of millions of users monthly with its mapping and route planning services.

Partner Network of third-party publishers and affiliates

The marketing division navigates a volatile advertising landscape, which includes managing relationships with traffic partners. System1, Inc. is actively addressing traffic quality issues with a key partner and is pursuing recovery for traffic deemed invalid. The company's overall platform is monetization agnostic, integrating with every major digital ad network.

Direct advertising channels (paid search, social media) for traffic acquisition

Traffic acquisition channels like paid search and social media feed the marketing platform. The challenges in this area were highlighted by the significant revenue decline, partly attributed to the deprecation of Google's AdSense for Domains (AFD). For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the AFD monetization channel contributed approximately $94 million to marketing platform revenue. The company requires evidence of at least $5,000-$10,000 per month in spend on traffic acquisition platforms like Facebook or native ad networks for partners.

Mobile apps (e.g., redesigned MapQuest apps, Vanish Private AI Chat)

System1, Inc. is growing its application portfolio, which is a key channel for direct user engagement. The company launched redesigned MapQuest apps in Q3 2025. Furthermore, Startpage.com introduced the Vanish Private AI Chat app during the same quarter. The RoadWarrior route-planning app, which leverages MapQuest's technology, is a premium subscription product within this channel.

The ad testing revenue, which leverages System1's predictive technology, rose 38% between 2024 and 2025.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core groups System1, Inc. (SST) serves as of late 2025. This is a dual-sided model, connecting consumers with advertisers and selling proprietary products.

Advertising Partners seeking high-intent customer acquisition

System1, Inc. serves as an omnichannel customer acquisition marketing platform, connecting consumers to its advertising partners to maximize reach and effectiveness. This segment faced significant headwinds in 2025 due to changes in the broader advertising marketplace, particularly the sunsetting of a key monetization source.

For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the AdSense for Domains (AFD) monetization channel, a component of the marketing platform, contributed approximately $94 million, representing 39% of marketing platform revenue. This channel also generated approximately $12 million in gross profit, or 28% of marketing adjusted gross profit for that period. By the third quarter of 2025, the contribution from AFD was minimal, with only a $1.5 million gross profit contribution. Consequently, the marketing segment saw revenue decline by 43% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Consumers of search, utility, shopping, and travel content

Consumers engage with System1, Inc.'s flagship brands across search, shopping, and travel verticals. The company's platform is omnichannel and omnivertical, built to deliver high-intent customers.

Consumer adoption of the owned-and-operated products showed strength in 2025, even as the marketing segment struggled. For instance, in the second quarter of 2025, revenue from the owned-and-operated products segment grew 34% year-over-year, reaching $24.0 million. Total sessions across the platform increased by 23% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Here's a quick look at some key consumer engagement metrics from recent quarters:

Product/Metric	Reporting Period	Key Figure	Context/Change
Startpage Daily Active Users	June 2025	More than 25% rise	Year-over-year increase
CouponFollow.com Organic Sessions	Q1 2025	162% increase	Year-over-year growth
CouponFollow Organic Sessions	Q2 2025	44% jump	Year-over-year growth
MapQuest Naming Generator Users	Q1 2025	Approximately 280,000 active users	Drove 180,000 app downloads
Product Segment Revenue	Q3 2025	$22.5 million	Up 8% year-over-year

The shift in focus is clear; the Product segment profit represented 56% of total segment profit in Q3 2025, up from 51% in Q3 2024.

Subscription Users for privacy and security products

System1, Inc. is developing a suite of privacy-focused products, leveraging its Startpage.com search engine. This addresses a growing consumer need for data security in a privacy-centric world.

The company launched the Vanish Private AI Chat app under Startpage.com. The privacy-focused search engine, Startpage, showed strong adoption, posting more than a 25% rise in daily active users in June 2025 compared to the prior year.

The focus on these in-house brands is a strategic priority, as evidenced by the growth in the segment:

• Owned-and-operated products revenue grew 34% year-over-year in Q2 2025.
• Product segment revenue increased 8% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• Product segment profit increased 6% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Businesses across diverse verticals: health, finance, automotive, entertainment

While the search, shopping, and travel verticals are explicitly mentioned as core areas for consumer engagement, System1, Inc.'s platform is described as omnivertical, suggesting reach across many business types that advertise. The company is also expanding its commercial reach through B2B offerings.

System1, Inc. is actively creating new commercial avenues beyond direct advertising partnerships:

• Startpage and MapQuest began offering a white-label mapping solution for third parties in 2025.
• The company launched 1.org, a search engine dedicated to nonprofit support.
• CouponFollow.com expanded into Europe.

The overall company revenue for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ending in 2025 was reported as $0.28 Billion USD.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core costs System1, Inc. (SST) faces to keep its acquisition marketing platform running. Honestly, for a tech-driven marketing company, the biggest line items are usually where they buy traffic and where they pay the engineers building the tech.

Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC) is a major one. System1 defines TAC as the combination of their direct advertising spend and the revenue share they pay to partners. This is the total cost to acquire traffic to their platform. They measure efficiency using Return on Traffic Acquisition Spend (RTAC), which is marketing platform revenue divided by TAC. For Q2 2025, TAC decreased to $\text{\$114.9 million}$ from $\text{\$120.2 million}$ in the prior year period, though the return on spend (RTAC) eased to $\text{117\%}$ from $\text{120\%}$ in Q2 2024.

The components of TAC, including revenue share to partners, are embedded within the marketing segment's costs. For the marketing segment, advertising spend was up $\text{13\%}$ from Q1 2025 to Q2 2025, but the return on spend decreased significantly.

Here's a look at some of the key cost components from recent quarters, keeping in mind that Technology and Development expenses are part of the broader Operating Expenses:

Cost Component/Period	Q2 2025 (In thousands)	Q2 2024 (In thousands)	Q1 2025 (In thousands)
Total Operating Expenses	$\text{\$94,020}$	$\text{\$123,667}$	Not explicitly broken out in the same detail as Q2
Salaries and benefits (part of OpEx)	$\text{\$26,297}$	$\text{\$33,937}$	Not explicitly broken out in the same detail as Q2
Selling, general, and administrative (part of OpEx)	$\text{\$17,511}$	$\text{\$21,223}$	Not explicitly broken out in the same detail as Q2

You asked about the $\text{\$265 million}$ term loan. As of the end of Q2 2025, the total debt was reported as $\text{\$263.3 million}$, with the term loan being a significant part of that. For Q1 2025, the reported Interest Expense was in the range of $\text{\$7.0-\$7.5 million}$, with an actual figure of $\text{\$7.085 million}$. For Q2 2025, the Interest Expense, net, was $\text{\$7,116 thousand}$ (or $\text{\$7.116 million}$). The interest expense on the $\text{\$265 million}$ outstanding term loan debt is therefore hovering around $\text{\$7.0 million}$ per quarter based on these figures.

Technology and development expenses are captured within the broader Operating Expenses, specifically within the $\text{Salaries and benefits}$ and $\text{SG\&A}$ lines, as well as capitalized software development costs. The company noted that integrating agentic coding and generative AI into the RAMP platform development process is driving faster development cycles. The balance sheet shows Internal-use software development costs, net for Q2 2025 were $\text{\$14,214 thousand}$ ($\text{\$14.214 million}$).

The overall cost control efforts are evident in the Operating Expenses. As you noted, these decreased to $\text{\$87.6 million}$ in Q1 2025 from $\text{\$110.7 million}$ in Q1 2024. This trend of cost discipline continued, as management expected OpEx to decline in the second half of the year by roughly $\text{5\%}$ versus the first half of 2025.

Key cost takeaways include:

• TAC is a variable cost directly tied to marketing revenue generation.
• Operating Expenses (OpEx) showed a year-over-year reduction of $\text{25.6\%}$ from Q1 2024 ($\text{\$110.7M}$) to Q1 2025 ($\text{\$87.6M}$).
• Salaries and benefits decreased from $\text{\$33,937 thousand}$ in Q2 2024 to $\text{\$26,297 thousand}$ in Q2 2025.
• The company is actively managing its capital structure, with debt totaling $\text{\$262.70 million}$ at the end of Q2 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at System1, Inc. (SST) and trying to map out exactly where the money comes from, especially as they navigate major shifts in the advertising world. Honestly, the revenue picture is defined by a strategic, high-stakes pivot away from volatility toward owned assets. The company clearly delineates its business into two main areas for reporting: Marketing and Products. The Products segment houses the Owned & Operated Advertising (O&O) assets, which management is pushing as the future for higher-margin, more defensible revenue.

The Owned & Operated Advertising revenue, represented by the Products segment, is the focus for long-term, higher-margin growth. These are the proprietary properties like Startpage, the mapping service MapQuest, and the coupon platform CouponFollow. For the third quarter of 2025, revenue from this segment was $22.5 million. This segment showed resilience, posting an 8% year-over-year increase in Q3 2025 revenue. To be fair, while this segment is smaller in top-line revenue for Q3 2025, it is becoming the majority of the company's profitability, with its Adjusted Gross Profit reaching $21.2 million in the quarter, which is 56% of the total segment profit. The shift is clear: they are trading top-line volume for margin quality. The company is also developing new AI-based products, such as Vanish, a private AI chat app from Startpage.com, which will feed into this stream.

The Partner Network revenue-sharing arrangements are primarily captured within the Marketing segment. This stream has faced significant headwinds, largely due to product changes from their largest advertising partner, Google, specifically the sunsetting of AdSense for Domains (AFD). In Q3 2025, Marketing revenue was $39.1 million, making it the majority of the total revenue for the quarter, though it declined 43% year-over-year. Within this revenue-sharing model, System1, Inc. (SST) typically shares 60-80% of the revenue with traffic partners, depending on factors like traffic quality and exclusivity. The company is actively working to diversify this segment away from over-reliance on any single partner, which is why the pivot to O&O is so defintely important.

Regarding Subscription revenue from privacy and security products, while the O&O segment includes privacy-focused search via Startpage, specific standalone subscription revenue figures for Q3 2025 were not broken out in the same detail as the main segments. The focus here is on growing the user base for these assets, like the 23% year-over-year growth in total sessions across Startpage, MapQuest, and CouponFollow in Q3 2025, which sets the stage for future monetization, including potential subscription offerings.

The overall top-line performance for the period is a key data point you need to track. Q3 2025 Total Revenue was $61.6 million. This represented a 31% year-over-year decrease, reflecting the ongoing transition and volatility in the marketing business. Here's the quick math on the segment contribution for that quarter:

Revenue Stream / Segment	Q3 2025 Revenue (in millions USD)	Year-over-Year Change (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)
Marketing (Partner Network Focus)	$39.1 million	-43%
Products (Owned & Operated Focus)	$22.5 million	+8%
Total Revenue	$61.6 million	-31%

You should also note the margin profile improvement, which is the real story behind the revenue numbers. The Adjusted Gross Profit Margin soared to 59% in Q3 2025, up from 42% the previous year. This shows the strategic mix shift is working on profitability, even as top-line revenue contracts.

Key components driving the revenue streams include:

• The Marketing segment revenue was $39.1 million in Q3 2025.
• The Products segment revenue was $22.5 million in Q3 2025.
• The Products segment saw sessions grow 23% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• The company is transitioning from Google's sunsetted AdSense for Domains (AFD) to the Related Search On Content (RSOC) product.
• CouponFollow launched sites in Germany and France as part of geographic expansion.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.