Customer Data Platform vendor mParticle has launched a new partner certification program, identifying firms that are qualified to leverage its technology. I wouldn’t ordinarily cover this but am testing to see how interested you are in vendor news. Oops, forget you just read that: it probably spoils the test.
The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has formed Structured Innovation Identity Council to work on cross-channel identity and attribution issues. Council members are vendors and brand marketers including Acxiom, Conversant, Experian, FCB/SIX, LiveRamp, IBM, Infogroup, MediaMath, Morgan Digital Ventures, Moxie, Oracle Data Cloud, Publishers Clearing House, TD Ameritrade, United States Postal Service, and 4INFO. The group is developing educational resources and maybe more.
Another theory is you like to read funding announcements. Okay, then: CognitiveScale, which offers customer- and employee-facing products that interpret and respond to user behaviors, recently added $15 million in funding, bringing its total to $50 million. Meanwhile, Element AI raised $102 million to grow its business, offers AI-based advertising, customer engagement, and contact center applications among many other things. Element AI says it’s the biggest-ever Series A funding round for an AI company.
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.