Placer.ai, using location data for AI market research, has raised $75 million, boosting its valuation to nearly $1.5 billion
The startup integrates artificial intelligence (AI) with anonymized data from third-party applications to offer diverse location-based analytics to retail, events and amusement, CPG, real estate, financial services, and healthcare organizations.
The funding was initially disclosed through a Form D filed in July, which outlined Placer’s plans to raise $75 million. We have verified with the company’s CEO and CFO that the complete amount has been raised, resulting in a new valuation of $1.45 billion. This is a nearly 50% increase from the company’s previous round, a $100 million Series C conducted at a $1 billion valuation.
The value of location data is increasingly recognized by businesses beyond the app publishers themselves, as evidenced by the investment. And, at a time when there is a growing awareness of data protection in the context of mobile apps, not to mention the increasing number of data breaches, it also serves as a reminder of the significant amount of data we generate in contemporary life.
Placer’s analytics encompass a variety of information, including general trends such as foot traffic at a specific location or for a specific store (e.g., Aldi is presently the fastest-growing retailer based on visits), as well as more detailed data regarding the demographic profiles of individuals, the products they purchase, and the timing of their purchases.
As some have observed, these methods are somewhat unsettling; however, they are not entirely uncommon. (Foursquare, Esri, and numerous other organizations provide location analytics.)
The startup acquires data through an SDK that integrates with hundreds of app publishers and through other third-party sources, similar to other mobile analytics firms. It identifies itself as a business that prioritizes privacy through its operations: The company stated that all the data it utilizes is anonymized before it arrives at Placer.
The company declined to disclose the names of specific participants in the most recent fundraising effort except to acknowledge that existing supporters were involved. GEM Realty Capital, a real estate investment firm, is also included in the most recent round, according to PitchBook.
In total, Placer’s capitalization table comprises over 50 investors, including both firms and individuals. They consist of Josh Buckley, the former CEO of Product Hunt, WndrCo (Jeffrey Katzenberg’s investment firm), Lachy Groom, MMC Technology Ventures, Fifth Wall Ventures, and Array Ventures, as well as J.M. Schapiro (CEO of Continental Realty Corp), Eliot Bencuya and Jeff Karsh of Tryperion Partners, Daniel Klein of Klein Enterprises/Sundeck Capital, and Majestic Realty.
Company revenues have been robust. According to an interview with TechCrunch, Noam Ben-Zvi, Placer’s CEO and co-founder, the company achieved an annual revenue run rate of $100 million in February. Ben-Zvi also stated that the company has experienced an 80% growth rate in the past year and anticipates an additional 60% growth this year.
Additionally, it has exceeded 4,300 customers (an increase from 1,000 in 2022, when it raised $100 million). Sony, Wegmans, Century 21, and numerous city development organizations comprise the list.
“The physical world is the common thread that unites them,” he stated.
According to CFO Dean Neese, the funding was secured through inbound interest. The funding will be allocated to business development and enhancing the platform’s features and datasets. It asserts that it has already furnished consumers with “hundreds” of these datasets.
In 2018, Ben-Zvi, Zohar Bar-Yehuda (data scientist), Oded Fossfeld (CTO), and Ofir Lemel (CPO) established Placer. Less than two years later, the company encountered what one might anticipate as a fatal blow for a location analytics company: the COVID-19 pandemic and the global shift away from physical gatherings. However, the outcome was the opposite.
Ben-Zvi stated, “Our data provided much visibility into what was working and what was not, particularly during a particularly constrained period.”
As the world “reopened” for business, its scope expanded due to its foothold with customers.
Although Placer has consistently employed machine learning and inference to construct more detailed profiles based on the data obtained from applications, this has now become a selling point for its end users, who have been granted permission to investigate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into their workflows.
“Customers desire a comprehensive, all-encompassing platform for market research,” he stated. They may ask themselves: Should I expand into this market? What is the current state of my competitors? They desire all pertinent fundamental data aggregations and tools that are layered on top. Analytics is a fundamental component.