Social data platform for enterprises and brands DataSift announced its Series C funding round raised USD42 million in fresh capital. Led by venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners, the funding round also saw participation from existing investors IA Ventures, Northgate Capital, Daher Capital, Scale Venture Partners and Upfront Ventures. The round also saw the appointment of Insight Venture Partners' co-founder and managing director Jeff Horing as DataSift's new board director. The company has now raised just under USD72 million in investment capital overall.
DataSift chief executive Rob Bailey disclosed to TechCrunch that proceeds from the funding round will go towards a number of purposes. One of them is expansion to international markets. Bailey recounted how the company had selected its target countries. Bailey said, "We did a lot of sophisticated analysis internally. We looked at aggregated social and local networks and the size of the advertising and business intelligence markets in these countries. Right out of the gate, it will be an incredibly easy path for us to enter Brazil, for example."
TechCrunch asked about Japan as a potential target, and chief technology officer Nick Halstead said messaging companies like Line could tap DataSift via a partnership to obtain competitive intelligence for commercial development. However, Halstead and Bailey refused to comment on a potential deal with Line, with Bailey saying, We have not announced a deal with Line yet. "We cannot comment on deals that have not been announced but I think Line is one the most important data sources in Japan, along with some other ones."
Bailey also said that DataSift has plans to expand outside the social market. TechCrunch noted that it has already inked a partnership deal with NewsCred. Bailey added, "(Around nine of the world's top 10 news organizations already use DataSift) as a part of how they identify breaking news and validate stories, optimizing content and helping them publish for things like virality and pageviews." Bailey also said they are looking into expanding to the enterprise market.
Bailey also hinted that the funding will be used to make strategic acquisitions. Bailey said, "We've had a number of startups come to us already. But we're very cautious on any kind of acquisition. Our core focus is building out our platform and constantly serving our customers."
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