Sojern, a travel data and media company, today announced it has raised $7.5 million of additional funding, bringing total venture capital raised to date to about $32.5 million.
Sojern’s latest round involved new investor Industry Ventures and, per an update to Sojern’s Cruchbase profile, also included previous investors Norwest Venture Partners, Trident Capital and Focus Ventures.
Sojern, which was founded in Omaha and still maintains the majority of its workforce in Nebraska, said in a press release that the new funding will be used to support growth and expansion. That expansion includes a move into audience targeting and data management, which Sojern has embarked on a comprehensive rebranding campaign to support. (In one possible sign of that rebranding effort, Sojern has replaced its old logo with the new one seen above.)
“We’ve seen really compelling growth of late and that’s a direct result of our unique position in the marketplace,” Sojern CEO Mark Rabe (below) said in the release. “We’re fortunate to add Industry Ventures to our existing roster of investors and look forward to working together to accelerate the business.”
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Industry Ventures, founded in 2000, has its headquarters in San Francisco and an office in Washington, D.C. The firm manages over $1 billion of institutional capital. Hans Swildens, the founder and managing partner of Industry Ventures, said his firm is eager to help Sojern tackle what it believes is an immense opportunity.
“We’ve watched what Sojern has been doing to improve advertiser performance using its unique travel intent data and have been really impressed,” Swildens said in the release. “Their technology and overall approach – to provide very focused consumer advertising based on unique travel intent data and advanced media buying practices – has proven extremely effective. We are extremely confident in Sojern’s leadership team as they address this huge market opportunity.”
Sojern has two product offerings: the Airline Boarding Pass and the Sojern Media Platform (SMP). The Boarding Pass application aims to provide relevant, targeted offers and content to travelers through air carriers including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways and United Airlines. The SMP, Sojern’s newest offering, is an audience targeting product that combines Sojern’s proprietary data, targeting algorithms, advanced media buying and optimization technology for exceptional campaign performance.
For more on Sojern, see our recent coverage:
- December 5: “Despite changes to CrunchBase profile, Sojern not going anywhere“
- November 17: “Sojern unveils Media Platform, aimed at optimizing traveler data“
- October 31: “After six months at the helm, Mark Rabe discusses Sojern’s flight path“
Credits: Photo of Rabe courtesy of Sojern.
