ISpot.tv, a company whose software helps advertisers to measure the reach of TV and streaming-video campaigns, today said it had received a $325 million investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
ISpot’s platform recognizes content in real time and organizes metadata to tell which commercials play during ad breaks. It also gives marketers a way to know how consumers respond to advertising, such as by visiting a website or buying a product.
The company didn’t disclose its current valuation based on the size of the investment and the minority interest held by Goldman Sachs. Since its founding 10 years ago, iSpot has raised $58 million and is on track to exceed $100 million in revenue this year. Its revenue in 2021 rose 47% to $75 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The company will use proceeds from the funding round to expand its offerings, buy other businesses and hire more people in engineering, product development and sales. ISpot has 350 employees and is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with regional offices in New York, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. iSpot in the past few years has acquired other measurement companies including Ace Metrix, DRMetrix and Tunity.
Sean Muller, chief executive of iSpot, discussed the company’s approach in this previously published video interview with consultant Zach Rodgers. Beet.TV taped the discussion at the Beet Retreat Santa Monica.
ISpot has continued to increase its customer base in helping media buyers and sellers to set the value of ad transactions, or by providing them with a measurement “currency.” ISpot completed 60 currency pilots among NBCUniversal, agency holding companies and brands for the Olympics, Super Bowl and Q1 inventory across NBCU linear and streaming properties. In March, NBCUniversal named iSpot a preferred trading currency for the 2022 Upfront season, and WarnerMedia and Paramount utilized iSpot in a currency pilot for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, according to the announcement.
“We have been very impressed with iSpot’s world-class data analytics software platform and proprietary systems which have been purpose-built for the increasingly dynamic video measurement space,” Leonard Seevers, partner and head of media investment for the private equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said in a statement. “We are incredibly excited to partner with Sean and the iSpot team to drive long-term growth and value creation together.”
The asset manager’s prior investments in data analytics, software and marketing technology include TransUnion, Innovid, GumGum and HUMAN. Goldman Sachs joins Insight Partners and Madrona Venture Group as primary investors.
