US-based marketing platform Swirl Networks completed an $18m series C round yesterday backed by the respective corporate venturing units of media group Hearst, telecommunications and media company SoftBank and social media network Twitter.
Hearst Ventures, SoftBank Capital and Twitter Ventures were joined by venture capital firm Longworth Venture Partners and additional, unnamed strategic investors.
Swirl operates an in-store mobile marketing platform that aims to prevent showrooming – when customers use a physical store to test out products before opting to make the purchase at a competing online store.
The company’s platform uses a technology known as beacons, which can send promotional material to a customer’s smartphone using Bluetooth or the iPhone’s in-built dedicated beacon service, depending on a customer’s location in the store.
Swirl has now raised $32m. Hearst led an $8m series B round in 2013, featuring SoftBank and Longworth, after SoftBank participated in a $6m series A round in 2012 alongside General Catalyst Partners and Longworth.
The latest round is also the second investment made by Twitter Ventures, following its participation in the $80m round raised by mobile operating platform developer Cyanogen late last month.