The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Jan 2020

Verto Analytics is a media measurement and behavioral analytics company that provides a platform giving brands and companies a holistic view of consumers' behavior, demographics, lifestyles, attitudes, and interests. The company owns and operates single-source, passively metered panels in multiple countries that measure behavioral changes across all media second-by-second, and it layers triggered surveys on top of the panels. Brands, publishers and researchers use Verto’s services to benchmark against competitors and the market, fill gaps in the consumer journey, and identify ways to increase engagement and loyalty. The company is led by founder Dr. Hannu Verkasalo and Pat Brennan, president of U.S. operations, and is based in Helsinki and New York City. In January 2020 Verto raised $16m in its third funding round. It plans to use the funds to accelerate the commercial rollout of new syndicated and custom solutions and to make strategic improvements to customer service. Verto provides a media measurement platform built on a single-source, passively metered panel that measures behavioral changes second-by-second across all media, giving a holistic view of consumers. The platform links behavior with demographics, lifestyles, attitudes and interests and is used by brands, publishers and researchers. Verto has clients including Microsoft, Intel, Google, Netflix, CNN and Kargo and has extended its methodology into syndicated research services. The company has three granted patents and 13 additional patents under consideration in European and U.S. patent offices. It maintains commercial hubs in San Francisco, Seattle, Cincinnati and New York City and plans to invest in its Helsinki-based Verto Data Lab as a center of excellence. The company said it will use new funding to accelerate growth in the media measurement market and to boost customer success and commercial account management. Verto Analytics provides single-source audience measurement solutions that monitor consumer behavior across every device, app and platform to inform marketing, competitive intelligence, media buying and product strategy. Its services include Verto Content Watch, Verto Device Watch and Verto App Watch, each focused on cross-device digital media properties and publishers, digital devices and platforms, and mobile apps. Launched in 2013 and led by CEO Dr. Hannu Verkasalo, the company is NYC-based with offices in San Francisco, London and Espoo, Finland. Customers named in the article include Microsoft, EA, Cisco, Yahoo and YuMe. The company raised $16.1m in a Series B and has $23.9m in total funding to date; it plans to use the new capital to scale services globally and expand operations across digital media, mobile app and gaming, adtech and Internet sectors. Board changes accompanying the round include Ben Feder joining as Chairman and Henrik Landgren of EQT Ventures joining the board. Verto Analytics is a New York–based digital media measurement company that combines cross-platform digital media measurement and audience research for multi-platform devices in real time. Its offering targets measurement across desktop PCs, mobile, tablets, smart TVs and is positioned to address demand for wearables measurement as that market grows. The company competes with firms such as Effective Measure and SocialBro. Financially, Verto disclosed a $5.4M Series A in April from Conor Venture Partners and has now secured additional capital. The most recent financing consists of a $2.4M follow-on investment led by Open Ocean Capital with participation from Conor Venture Partners and angel investors. No debt or other instrument details were disclosed in the articles. The disclosed funding this year totals $7.8M when combining the April Series A and this follow-on round.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2018

TactoTek is a developer of injection molded structural electronics (IMSE) solutions that embed printed circuitry and electronic components into 3D injection molded plastics. Its IMSE technology is used in in-vehicle applications, home and industrial appliances, and wearable technology. The company adapts customer designs to IMSE, develops mass-production-ready prototypes, and either mass produces or licenses the technology for third-party mass production. Led by CEO Jussi Harvela and based in Oulu, Finland, TactoTek is positioning to scale manufacturing. Following the $23M funding, it plans to expand operations and production capacity at its Oulu headquarters. It also intends to locate engineering and project management teams close to customers in Central Europe, Asia and North America. TactoTek provides injection molded structural electronics (IMSE) solutions that integrate printed circuitry and electronic components into 3D injection-molded plastics. The company adapts customer designs to IMSE technology, develops mass-production-ready prototypes, and mass produces or licenses the technology for third-party mass production. Use cases include in-vehicle applications, home and industrial appliances, and wearable technology. TactoTek is led by CEO Jussi Harvela and was founded in 2011. Financially, the company has raised over USD20m to date and is funded by TEKES and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. TactoTek develops 3D injection-molded structural electronics (IMSE) that embed printed circuitry, touch controls and discrete components such as LEDs and ICs into light, 3D injection-molded plastics as thin as 2mm. Its core product enables brands to create novel form factors and consolidate electronics into single 3D structures for wearables, in-vehicle applications and home appliances. The company provides tools, know-how and a staff of engineers to adapt traditional electronics designs into production-ready IMSE prototypes and scalable mass-production designs. TactoTek prototypes and manufactures in a vertically integrated factory in Kempele, Finland, and can either mass-produce products itself or through licensed production partners. It announced a €2.5M grant from the EU Horizon 2020 program to accelerate mass production of its injection molded electronics solutions. The funding is intended to help TactoTek serve more customers and bring customers' IMSE-enabled products to market faster.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2018

Zervant offers online invoicing software for micro enterprises and entrepreneurs across Europe, targeting companies with fewer than 10 employees. It operates a freemium model where the basic software is free and users can pay for subscriptions that include premium invoice delivery and support. The company is making a strategic bet on upcoming EU electronic-invoicing legislation and has offered an e-invoicing feature to Finnish customers for the past five years, enabling users to send e-invoices with a click. Zervant's software is used by about 20,000 business customers across seven countries, with 85 percent of current growth coming from France, Germany and the U.K. The startup plans to launch complementary invoicing-related products, including a form of invoice financing to speed up customer cash flow. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Zervant says it may add more premium services in the future to widen its revenue portfolio. Zervant provides online invoicing services designed for freelancers and small businesses, with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs using the product across Europe. Its core markets include Finland, Sweden, Germany, France and the UK. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Mattias Hansson. Zervant plans to use new funding to boost international expansion and to add product features such as invoice finance. Financially, the company has raised over €8M to date, including the recent Series A. Zervant provides online invoicing and accounting software that helps micro businesses manage their financials more quickly and cost efficiently. Led by CEO Mattias Hansson, the service targets small businesses across Europe. The platform is used by 40,000 small businesses and is available in five languages. Key markets include Sweden, Germany, France and Finland. Founded in 2010 and based in Helsinki, the company has a team of 13. Zervant raised €1.5m and intends to use the capital to boost its international rollout.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2018

BehavioSec provides a behavioral biometrics-driven continuous authentication platform designed to prevent fraud and account takeover while preserving user experience. The platform creates digital fingerprints of users by combining attributes such as keystroke cadence and finger pressure, and it works across mobile devices and traditional computers and web browsers. Led by CEO Neil Costigan, the company says its patented technology has secured billions of transactions for over 40 million users. BehavioSec plans to launch new solutions for market introduction in early 2018, including enterprise authentication offerings and integrated decision intelligence for partners. The company has partnerships or integrations with Gemalto, Vasco, Crossmatch, Nuance and others. BehavioSec intends to expand global operations and relocate its corporate headquarters to the United States. BehavioSec was spun out of research at Sweden’s Luleå Technical University and was founded in 2007. It provides behavior-based identity theft prevention solutions that create a unique digital fingerprint of each end-user’s behavior to verify identities and prevent fraud in real time. The company’s technology targets online fraud and identity theft that impede e-commerce adoption. The new €1 million funding will be used to accelerate expansion into international markets and to service existing customers. Sami Ahvenniemi of Conor Venture Partners will join BehavioSec’s board following the investment. The round includes participation from both new and previous investors.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2015

Sticky (formerly EyeTrackShop) builds eye-tracking analytics that let advertisers test ad placements and publishers see which page elements capture reader attention. The company spun out of Tobii Technologies in 2009 and has shifted from market-research services to a self-serve product model. Customers named in the coverage include AOL, ad startups TripleLift and Sublime Skinz. CEO Hans Lee said the company aims to be the "human engagement tool of choice" for brands and publishers. Sticky’s tools are used to go beyond standard viewability metrics and determine whether ads are actually seen. Financially, Sticky announced a $5 million Series A and has now raised $11 million in total. Sticky, a rebrand of EyeTrackShop spun out of Tobii Technologies, offers webcam-based eye-tracking to measure ad effectiveness. The platform determines not just whether an ad was served and rendered but whether consumers actually saw it, and provides a dashboard showing an ad's impact and the cost to reach 1,000 pairs of eyes. Advertisers can use Sticky's data to allocate spend toward formats getting the most attention and to design campaigns that front-load high-impact placements before moving to lower CPV sites for reinforcement. The company says its advertisers include P&G, L’Oreal, McDonald’s, and GroupM. Sticky raised $3 million in new funding from Northzone and Conor Venture Partners, after EyeTrackShop raised $3 million last year from Northzone. Founder and CEO Mathias Plank said the company's mission is to "help clean up the digital wasteland of advertising."