AirPR began as a marketplace matching startups with public relations professionals but sold the marketplace last year and refocused on PR analytics. Its core product measures the impact of PR by tracking outcomes such as follow-up coverage, changes in sign-ups or sales, and social media response. The company emphasizes delivering timely data so businesses can respond quickly to negative commentary and optimize promotional timing. Investors see a need for more data to help companies justify and allocate PR budgets. AirPR plans to bring more data science and artificial intelligence to its analytics and may work more closely with journalists. Financially, AirPR has raised a $5M Series B led by Storm Ventures and has now raised a total of $10M; Salesforce Ventures joined the round while previous backers Mohr Davidow and Correlation Ventures participated, and Storm’s Tae Hea Nahm is joining the board. AirPR operates a technology platform designed to increase PR performance through two core offerings: a Marketplace that matches technology companies and brands with top PR independents and small firms, and Analyst, a measurement solution. Analyst uses machine learning, statistical analysis and other algorithmic techniques to analyze big data and measure PR ROI. The solution analyzes digital media activities from traffic to conversion to projected and actual revenue, as well as a variety of brand factors. The company is led by co-founders Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer (CEO) and Rajagopal Sathyamurthi (CTO) and is based in San Francisco, CA. AirPR was hiring engineers at the time of the report and had previously raised a $1M seed round in 2012. AirPR was founded in 2011 by Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer to address what he describes as a broken $10 billion PR market. Over the prior 18 months the company developed a platform aimed at serving both supply- and demand-sides of the fragmented PR industry. The service is intended to decrease friction for PR professionals while increasing efficacy for clients, particularly startups and smaller businesses that struggle with high-cost large firms. AirPR is pre-launch with an invite-only rollout scheduled for mid-October and has generated interest from recognizable names in tech. The company raised seed financing to continue building the product and prepare for the upcoming launch.

Total raised

$10M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Nov 2016