Participated · Series C · Jul 2022

Sovrn operates a multi-solution publisher technology platform delivering advertising technology, affiliate monetization tools, reader engagement measurement, and privacy-compliant data enrichment. Led by CEO Walter Knapp and based in Boulder, Colorado, the company provides tools for content creators to understand, operate and grow their businesses. Its affiliate suite includes link creation, commerce comparisons, shopping galleries and access to thousands of merchants, while its advertising stack focuses on inventory management and reporting. Since a previous $26M raise in December 2018, Sovrn has acquired three companies, expanded its product portfolio, increased headcount by more than 50% across the US, UK and EU, and added thousands of active customers. Those customers generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue using Sovrn’s products. The company plans to use new funding to pursue additional acquisitions and to develop products and services that expand its platform capabilities. sovrn is an ad tech company and partner to almost 50,000 websites on the independent web, offering tools and services to help publishers understand audiences and monetize through programmatic advertising. The company processes about one billion ad transactions every day across its publisher network. sovrn positions itself as an advocate for independent publishers and supplies analytics, growth and engagement tools alongside monetization services. Management plans to use new capital to accelerate both organic expansion and inorganic growth opportunities. Financially, sovrn reported year‑over‑year revenue growth of 90% in the second quarter and has delivered four consecutive quarters of positive EBITDA. The company is headquartered in Boulder, Colo., with offices in Denver, San Francisco and New York. Lijit Networks builds custom site search and advertising solutions for online publishers, operating a programmatic advertising services platform and publisher network. Its network includes more than 17,000 websites, about 1.5 billion pageviews per month and over 106 million unique visitors per month. The company reports that transactions on its advertising services platform have grown 74% since Q4 2010. Lijit was founded in June 2006. The article reports the company has raised $28.3 million to date. No future product plans are specified in the article. Lijit Networks supplies search and content-discovery tools to individual publishers, commercial websites and content networks to surface reader intent, behavior, content and demographics. Its products aim to enhance engagement, lengthen time on site and increase page views. The company launched an Advertising Services platform which it plans to accelerate with new capital. The recent financing will also support growth of Lijit’s publisher network. Lijit is incorporated in 2006 and is based in Boulder, CO. To date the company has raised $17M in total capital.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2022

Fetch is a rewards app that lets consumers earn Fetch Points and helps brands create lifelong customers. Led by CEO and founder Wes Schroll and based in Madison, WI, Fetch aggregates consumer purchase data using AI and machine-learning technologies. The company captures more than $152 billion in transactions annually; users have submitted over 5 billion receipts and earned nearly $910 million in rewards. Fetch plans to use the financing to expand on four axes: product innovation to enhance user experience and partner success, further development of its proprietary AI/ML technologies, investment in growing the app’s user base, and hiring talent to support hypergrowth. The app is available on the App Store and Google Play Store. Fetch Rewards is a consumer-rewards app that gives users rewards when they snap a photo of a receipt or submit an eReceipt, and it partners directly with brands to deliver those offers. Led by CEO and founder Wes Schroll, the app has 13 million active users who have submitted more than 2 billion receipts and earned more than $340 million in rewards points. The company works with over 500 global brands and recently surpassed $100 billion in annualized gross merchandise value (GMV). Fetch intends to use new funding to accelerate growth and continue building a digital loyalty and marketing platform. The company raised $240 million in equity and debt at a valuation of more than $2.5 billion, bringing total funding to over $500 million. The product emphasizes user engagement across grocery, retail, restaurant and online purchases by incentivizing submission of every receipt, paper and digital. Fetch Rewards operates a consumer-loyalty and retail-rewards app that lets shoppers earn free rewards by snapping photos of receipts or submitting electronic receipts. Led by founder and CEO Wes Schroll, the company launched in 2017 and is based in Madison, Wisconsin, with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. The app has been downloaded more than 19 million times and has nearly 7 million active users. To date Fetch has processed nearly a billion receipts and has delivered more than $120 million in savings to its shoppers. The company says it will use the newly raised funds to continue to expand operations and broaden its business reach. Total funding to date stands at $328 million following the latest round. Fetch Rewards is a consumer app that lets shoppers earn free rewards by scanning every receipt after they shop; the app finds savings and rewards for purchases. Founded in 2017 and led by founder Wes Schroll, the company has recorded more than 16 million downloads and over 5.5 million active users. Fetch has processed more than 700 million receipts to date and has delivered nearly $100 million in savings to its shoppers. The company is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and also maintains offices in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco. Financially, the company has raised $118 million in total funding to date. The product focus is on driving consumer savings and engagement through receipt scanning and targeted rewards.

Led · Series C · Oct 2018

ZypMedia builds a tech stack to help local broadcasters move into programmatic advertising, enabling campaigns that reach advertisers’ target audiences across traditional and digital channels. It partners with local media companies to act as their direct sales force and has signed partners like Sinclair Broadcast Group and Univision. The company was founded by Aman Sareen, Ramandeep Ahuja, and Mark Goldman. ZypMedia became profitable last year. The new funding is intended to expand the product lineup and support plans to double headcount in the United States and India over the next year. Management said it deliberately raised a modest amount to leave room for organic growth and to avoid the pitfalls seen at other adtech companies. ZypMedia (fka ExtendTV) operates a technology platform that optimizes performance and delivery of local advertising campaigns. The company provides programmatic media-buying services and integrates with multiple ad exchanges, publishers, and data providers to access inventory across desktop, mobile and connected TV. It signed a long-term commercial agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to offer services through Sinclair’s salesforce across 79 markets. ZypMedia plans to use new funding to further develop its proprietary platform and roll out products and services nationwide. Leadership includes co-founder and CEO Mark Goldman, and Sinclair’s Rob Weisbord will join the company’s board in conjunction with the round. The company is based in San Francisco, CA.