A.I. technology and social intelligence firm Influential has secured funding — and a new partnership.
The Beverly Hills-based company announced Thursday that it has raised $12 million in a Series B financing round. With the fresh capital, the company plans to take their A.I. platform, designed to match brands with influencers who have relevant followings, to market.
“As a data company, the first use case of the funds is for tech developers and data scientists to get better at not only understanding our audiences but building out tools that allow for everyone — from managers, to agents, to brands, to ad agencies — to have deeper insights than what they have currently,” Ryan Detert, founder and CEO of Influential, told Built In LA.
The company’s technology helps brands and agencies parse demographic data on social media influencers and their audiences so that companies can better predict the success of a potential influencer marketing campaign.
According to a press release, the company works with some 25,000 influencers on the major platforms — Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — and runs campaigns for a host of Fortune 100 companies, including Coca-Cola, Samsung and Warner Bros. Pictures.
“If I am a major brand or ad agency, I want to be able to identify who my audience is, I want to be able to engage with influencers to create branded content, and I want to be able to convert those targeted audiences to become consumers,” Detert said.
Talent agency WME led the round, which also saw participation from existing investors Capital Zed, ECA Ventures, Paradigm Talent Agency, ROAR and Tech Coast Angels. WME is a new investor and, as part of the round, entered into a marketing partnership with Influential that aims to provide additional digital services to WME clients.
Influential has established additional partnerships with companies like Moat, a SaaS analytics measurement provider for marketers and publishers, and IBM Watson. This latest round of funding raises the company’s total funding to $26.5 million.
