• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, February 4, 2014

Mobile app analytics and marketing platform Localytics on Tuesday announced securing $16 million in a third round of funding led by Foundation Capital and including Polaris Partners. The latest financing brings the company’s total raised to date to $25 million.
 
More than 5,000 app developers and publishers use Localytics to drive downloads and engagement through a set of analytics and marketing tools. On the measurement side, it allows users to track real-time usage and interaction metrics from audience size and segmentation to session lengths. Marketing capabilities include in-app ads, push messaging and behavior and location targeting.
 
Localytics counts ESPN, Clear Channel and Sound Cloud as new customers; it also includes brands such as eBay, Fox and Microsoft. The company says its platform is now used in 20,000 apps on more than 1.4 billion devices worldwide. Competitors include app ad and analytics platforms like Flurry, Urban Airship, Fiksu and App Annie.
 
Companies in this category have raised more than $250 million, according to a Forrester report in September -- benefiting from expected demand among marketers for tools that deeply analyze traffic and usage patterns to optimize their performance.

Mobile users are also spending the vast majority of their time with apps compared to the mobile Web, according to comScore data. The Forrester study, however, showed that only 11% of apps, and 4% of mobile sites, used specialized mobile analytics services from providers like Localytics, based on the research firm's survey of 363 mobile executives.
 
Localytics plans to use the new capital to accelerate product development, build up sales and customers service operations and fund international expansion. In connection with Found Capital’s investment, Ashu Garg, a general partner, will join the Localytics board.