US-based customer relations management tool FiveStars has raised $26m in a series B round featuring telecommunications and media company Rogers Communications.
Venture capital firms Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and DCM also took part in the round.
FiveStars operates a loyalty programme that offers coupons to customers in return for allowing businesses to track and study their store visits and purchasing patterns. The capital will be used to develop new technology, hire additional staff and meet growing demand.
FiveStars CEO Victor Ho told TechCrunch: “It’s less that we needed to raise a lot of cash and more that we were able to,” says Victor Ho, the chief executive and co-founder of FiveStars.
“I want to make sure we’re blanketing the US. There is a lot we have earmarked for expansion so that we can build a critical mass network so you can be identified and treated personally everywhere you go.”
The company, which was launched out of Y Combinator in 2011, raised $13.9m in series A funding in 2012 from Lightspeed Ventures and DCM.