• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, November 14, 2016

Location intelligence firm xAd on Monday announced it has acquired WeatherBug, a division of Earth Networks, and that it raised $42.5 million in Series E funding that was used, in part, to acquire Weatherbug. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition includes the firm’s mobile, Web, and connected TV assets and is expected to enable xAd to expand its real-time location and ad targeting services.

WeatherBug, a provider of sensor data through more than 10,000 private weather stations, has more than 20 million unique users per month and an average time on site of 25 minutes, according to xAd. The WeatherBug app was rated No. 2 in the iOS app store, and one of the top 10 weather apps for Android devices.   

The acquisition will enable xAd to connect its location technology with precise weather data, combining the scale of its global, real-world intelligence and contextual database with WeatherBug’s user reach and data infrastructure.

The acquisition was positioned by xAd as meeting marketers’ needs to better understand the customer journey. The  company said that tracking geo-behavioral data through mobile by incorporating weather data with its location intelligence will offer marketers access to a rich database of real-time, real-world consumer behaviors. The hope is that it will enable marketers to target consumers more efficiently at the right time, with the right messages.

“This acquisition solidifies our commitment to bringing the highestquality real-time, intelligent data to the market. By reaching a mobile panel of over 50 million users who have opted in to share their location data multiple times throughout the day, we are immediately widening an already significant gap between us and the market in the ability to truly understand the context of real-world behaviors,” xAd CEO Dipanshu “D” Sharma, told Real-Time Daily via email.

The financing Series E round was led by Eminence Capital and joined by Microsoft Ventures, W Capital, and existing investors IVP and Emergence Capital. xAd’s total investment to date is $116.5 million, including its Series A through E rounds.