Influencer Specialist Augure Gets $16m for Expansion

Influencer engagement software developer Augure has raised $16m to finance expansion plans for its word-of-mouth (WoM) product, and to fund the opening of an office in New York.

Founded in 2002 in Paris, Augure provides a cross-channel platform to help organisations detect their key influencers, build awareness, engage stakeholders and receive instant metrics of their reputational impact across traditional, online, social media, and mobile channels. In 2011, the firm acquired Spanish online and social media monitoring specialist iMente.

The new round of funding has been led by existing shareholders Serena Capital, Ventech, OTC Agregator, and Amundi private equity funds, as well as new investors Seventure Partners and Bpifrance. As well as expanding to the US, Agure says it will use the funds to triple sales volume by 2018, double employee numbers from 100 to 200 worldwide, and apply machine learning techniques to help brands measure the ROI of their influencer programmes.

The firm, which is led by CEO and founder Michael Jaïs and Chairman Amélie Faure, is online at: www.augure.com .