We’ll cover funding news today because there’s not much else and everybody likes money, right? Biggest first: data analysis platform Looker raised a $103 million Series E, bringing its total to $280.5 million since 2013. You do have to wonder why a flat $100 million wasn’t enough.
B2B data vendor Aberdeen has acquired intent data collector The Big Willow. Once best known for its survey-driven research reports, used primarily for lead generation, Aberdeen now positions itself as an intent data vendor. The acquisition expands the volume of intent signals that Aberdeen can marry with its contact lists.
Facebook, Google, and other “walled gardens” sell advertising based on their own data without sharing it. Amazon is joining the club, switching from a search-driven marketplace to one where brands must pay to be seen. Amazon ad specialist Quartile found the change is happening quickly: the share of Thanksgiving-weekend sales driven by ads grew 54% this year over 2017, reaching 25.1% of the total. Amazon is already the third largest digital ad publisher.
Tealium has launched a suite of solutions aimed at powering AI models with rich, filtered and consented data. Tealium for AI uses existing Tealium features to support AI applications with specialized integrations, partnerships, configurations, and attributes.