India-based cloud communications platform Exotel has raised a $40 million Series D, bringing total funding to $87 million. Oddly enough, Exotel doesn’t claim to provide a CDP to unify its cross-channel customer treatments. Yet.
The CDP industry is entering an even more competitive stage as established vendors fight to become dominant leaders, according to the CDP Institute’s latest Industry Update. The semi-annual study finds unprecedented fund-raising, accelerated growth by large firms, and an apparent slowdown in companies entering the industry. For further commentary, see this post in the Customer Experience Matrix blog.
The news is so meager today that I’m tempted to amuse you with car-driving goldfish. But we are Serious People here, so instead I’ll report on the slow-motion bidding war for R.R.Donnelley. Readers of a certain age will recall when Donnelley’s printing operations made it a major force in the marketing industry. See: Ozymandias.
CDP and marketing cloud vendor Zeta Global announced an agreement to purchase LiveIntent, which helps companies do email-based advertising. The deal will let Zeta expand its identity graph, enter the publisher monetization business, and accelerate its mobile and retail media products. Zeta will pay $77.5 million in cash and $172.5 million in common stock, with potential for additional payments based on performance.