BlueKai Closes $21M Round Financing

Intent-focused, auction-based data exchange BlueKai on Monday said it closed a C round of financing worth $21 million, and led by GGV Capital. Rather than selling inventory directly, Bellevue, WA-based BlueKai helps marketers create custom audiences and reach prospects by matching audience segments to available inventory from portals and ad networks.

"This round will be used to scale our business by continuing to innovate how data is bought and sold," said Omar Tawakol, CEO of BlueKai. "In particular, BlueKai is rapidly deploying new APIs and real-time systems that allow networks, demand-side platforms and agency trading desks to build the BlueKai marketplace into their own offerings."

The company had previously raised a total of $13.7 million in two rounds of funding from Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures -- both of which participated in this lastest round announced Monday.

"New Internet advertising models and technologies are launched every day, but few have gotten the traction and marketplace acceptance of BlueKai since its launch just 18 months ago," said Jeff Richards, Partner at GGV Capital -- formerly Granite Global Ventures.

Last month, BlueKai partnered with ad technology company CPM Advisors to offer clients better audience-targeting data.

Since last September, CPM Advisors had been a participant in the BlueKai Certification Program, which helps marketers more easily define a standard in-market audience profile using BlueKai data while reaching audiences via their media partners.

This new partnership was designed to help clients reach target audiences by offering them access to BlueKai's in-market data on over 160 million unique shoppers online, all directly within CPM's CPMatic media-buying platform.

The privately held BlueKai also recently set up a program to certify its purchase-intent data for sale through portals, ad networks, and other sellers with the goal of easing what is often perceived to be a burdensome process for agencies.

The certification program allows media buyers to create custom segments on BlueKai's exchange, and then export those segments to participating ad sellers. The segment is then submitted to publishers or ad networks, which present advertisers with a complete proposal for all media and data costs.

Late last year, meanwhile, it launched a new analytics service for agencies and their clients to glean greater insights into in-market shopping profiles of site audiences.

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