iSpot Gets $325m Investment from Goldman Sachs

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has acquired a $325m minority stake in real-time television ad measurement firm iSpot.tv. Funds will be used for the development of 'alternative currencies', cross-screen measurement capabilities, and to expand iSpot's customer success and sales footprint.

iSpot's proprietary platform provides a complete view of TV ad activity across national, local and OTT services, enabling brands to measure attention to ad creative and connect ad exposures to business outcomes. In March it became the first measurement company certified by NBCUniversal for use as currency in the purchasing of national ad campaigns. This move followed criticism of Nielsen by its TV industry clients, including the oft-repeated suggestion that it has not moved quickly enough to capture consumers' shift to streaming.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has a background in investing in data analytics, software and marketing technology, with prior investments including TransUnion, Innovid, GumGum and HUMAN, and this latest investment adds to $58m raised by iSpot since its founding in 2012. The company now generates more than $100m in annual recurring revenues and has a team of 350 employees at its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, as well as offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv.

CEO and founder Sean Muller (pictured) comments: 'This team has modernized TV measurement and has achieved a lot of groundbreaking innovations for the industry in our first ten years in business. As we enter our second decade, the investment and support from Goldman Sachs will help fuel the next generation of innovations and accelerate our ability to be the trusted cross-screen currency of choice'.

Web site: www.ispot.tv .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.