DataXu Raises $27M for Big Data Marketing
Boston-based DataXu announced today that it had raised $27 million in a round of funding led by Thomvest Ventures and backed by Atlas Venture, Flybridge Capital Partners and Menlo Ventures.
DataXu's marketing platform employs Big Data analytics to identify prospective customers, automate ad targeting and optimize media spending. According to the startup, its platform can increase ROI up to five times over traditional techniques and reduce media and data management costs by up to 40 percent.
The last six months have seen an increase in Big Data investment activity, with investors showing particular interest in companies offering solutions for marketers. This isn't surprising, given results of a recent survey that found marketers planning to increase their spending on Big Data.
In December, Palo Alto, Calif.-based ClearStory banked $9 million to put a user-friendly spin on Big Data analytics and Canadian firm Coveo raked in $18 million for its Big Data-based CRM technology.
Last summer Sqrrl, a Boston-based startup with spy agency roots, raised $2 million for its Accumulo-based Big Data security platform, and 33Across attracted $13 million for Big Data-enabled social marketing.
In an announcement of Data Xu's funding round, CEO Mike Baker outlined what his company's technology does for marketers seeking to attract today's tech-savvy, connected shoppers. “Our software helps marketers reduce the cost and complexity of marketing across multiple digital channels, while at the same time enabling them to build a much deeper and more actionable understanding of today's empowered consumer,” he said.
DataXu is growing by leaps and bounds, wrote Baker in a company blog post. “… It's a reflection of the record-breaking year we had in 2012, which saw us expand to 11 offices in eight countries, triple our customers and triple our team size.” Revenues from direct-to-enterprise sales of the DataXU platform jumped 700 percent year-over-year, said the company, and now constitute the lion's share of the company's income.
Peter Thomson, founder of Thomvest Ventures, feels the startup's technology will shake up the marketing software industry.
“The rise of programmatic marketing is reminiscent of how automation and software also revolutionized the financial services industry. We believe DataXu is in the vanguard of an even bigger opportunity and on a trajectory to become the next great enterprise software company,” said Thomson in a statement.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Pedro Hernandez contributes to Enterprise Apps Today, and 11Press, the technology network. He was previously the managing editor of Internet.com, an IT-related website network. He has expertise in Smart Tech, CRM, and Mobile Tech, Helping Banks and Fintechs, Telcos and Automotive OEMs, and Healthcare and Identity Service Providers to Protect Mobile Apps.
