A third strategic investor has joined the syndicate backing US-based market research company TRA Global’s third round of funding in the three years since its launch.
Intel Capital, the in-house venture capital division of US chip maker Intel, invested $10m as part of TRA’s $18.2m series C round.
Its investment came from the $200m Intel Capital Invest in America Technology Fund started in February to back US-based, growth-oriented industries.
The remaining $8.2m in TRA’s series C round came from returning strategic investors New York-listed media and marketing research company Arbitron and global advertising agency WPP.
The two strategics had invested in TRA’s $13.5m series B round in May last year, along with US-based venture capital firm Kodiak Venture Partners.
WPP and Kodiak, along with media angel investors, had provided undisclosed seed money to TRA at its launch in August 2007.
TRA provides a web-based database of 370,000 households’ viewing and purchasing patterns.
Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president, said: “Media is driven by advertising and advertising in the 21st century is driven by data.
“By leveraging connectivity, analytics and database technologies, TRA’s solutions align with Intel’s goal of discovering new and innovative technological solutions that have the potential to redefine traditional vertical industry ecosystems.”