PlaceIQ, a US-based IT company that supplies brands and advertisers with more accurate consumer audiences by highlighting location, time and real-world behaviour, has raised $15m in a series C financing round led by new investor Harmony Partners. Additional, new investor Iris Capital and existing investors from the company’s series B also participated in this round.
With this investment, PlaceIQ is also expanding its relationship with Publicis Groupe through a strategic partnership with VivaKi, which will bring PlaceIQ’s technology to Publicis Groupe’s agencies. All Publicis Groupe agencies will have access to PlaceIQ’s product suite.
The investment from Harmony Partners and Iris Capital will support the ongoing development of PlaceIQ’s platform that ties in mobile audiences with advertisers. Additionally, PlaceIQ will be focusing on a new consumer insights product suite that it expects to launch later this year.
The company’s headcount has grown by 444% since the beginning of 2013, with the addition of more than 70 employees and an expanding sales force in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit. The company achieved profitability in 2013 with revenue growth of 8 times.
“Given their work to date, we believe that PlaceIQ is a proven leader that is defining a new space, and we reached out to them to express our interest in supporting the company’s efforts financially,” said Denis Barrier, Partner of Iris Capital.
“Based on our conversations with them, it’s clear that their track record for delivering results is resonating with the industry and PlaceIQ’s growth will accelerate in 2014,” said Barrier.
“As mobile devices continue to ascend the marketing hierarchy, we have placed an emphasis on building a portfolio of partners that will give our agencies the absolute best mobile data, targeting and segmentation capabilities,” said VivaKi Ventures Managing Director and VivaKi Chief Social Media Officer, Michael Wiley. “We have partnered with PlaceIQ because they have a demonstrated track record with Starcom MediaVest Group, they have tremendous leadership, and they have a collaborative spirit that will allow us to co-create ground-breaking products to meet the needs of our clients.”