Payment services firm Mastercard agreed on Tuesday to buy US-based customer engagement software provider SessionM in a deal of undisclosed size that will allow enterprise software producer Salesforce to exit.
SessionM has built a customer loyalty and engagement platform that helps businesses in industries such as retail, aviation, consumer goods production and restaurants engage their customer base more effectively.
The technology also allows companies to put together a customer loyalty scheme, incorporating data management tools and the ability to include precision reward schemes
Francis Hondal, Mastercard’s president of loyalty and engagement, said: “Consumers’ expectations about their experiences with brands are changing.
“We believe that the future of loyalty needs to be re-imagined to enable seamless digital experiences, and SessionM’s consumer-centric capabilities will help us broaden our value to marketers across sectors in exciting new ways.”
The acquisition comes after more than $97m in funding for SessionM, which most recently raised $23.8m in a July 2018 round led by Salesforce’s corporate venture capital subsidiary, Salesforce Ventures.
General Atlantic, Causeway Media Partners, CRV, Highland Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) also contributed to the July round. All five had joined Salesforce Ventures for the company’s $35m series D round in 2016, investing at a $205m valuation.
SessionM’s other investors include mobile network operator NTT Docomo’s corporate venturing arm, NTT Docomo Capital. It took part in the company’s $12m series C round in 2015, which included Causeway, KPCB, Highland Capital, CRV and Commerce Ventures.
