Startups

Curalate just raised $8.6M

Just weeks after news of Pinterest's $200 million raise and $5 billion valuation, visual analytics firm Curalate announces $8.6 million in Series B funding — including investment from social media guru Gary Vaynerchuck.

Just weeks after news of Pinterest‘s $200 million raise and $5 billion valuation, visual analytics firm Curalate has announced the completion of an $8.6 million Series B, according to a release.

The round is led by previous investors NEA, with participation from fellow previous investors First Round Capital and MentorTech Ventures. Vayner RSE, the new fund from businessman and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuck, also participated. Curalate has raised a total of $12.5 million.

Curalate, based in Center City, got its start doing Pinterest analytics for big brands, helping them identify when their merchandise was being “pinned.” Its customers include Under Armour, Neiman Marcus and Urban Outfitters. It now also does analytics for Instagram and Tumblr. The company was recently one of seven tech companies chosen to have access to Pinterest’s Business Insights API.

The funding news helps explain Curalate’s recent hiring blitz at its offices in Philadelphia, New York and Seattle.

The company will use the funding for hiring, marketing and product development, according to the release. Curalate employs 45 and is not profitable, Re/Code reported.

Harry Weller, general partner at Silicon Valley-based NEA, will join Curalate’s board. NEA partner Patrick Chung and Curalate cofounders Apu Gupta and Nick Shiftan are also on the board, while First Round Capital partner Josh Kopelman left his role as a board member to be a board observer. That means Kopelman attends meetings and provides advice but doesn’t vote on board decisions, Gupta said. MentorTech Ventures partner Brett Topche is also a board observer.

NEA, along with First Round Capital and MentorTech Ventures, has participated in each of Curalate’s three rounds of funding. For NEA, it’s about capitalizing on “a winner.”

“For a firm like us, with a $2.5 billion fund size, when you’ve done the seed round you still don’t own enough of the company,” Weller told Re/Code. “When we see our winners, we really have to get our ownership up.”

This disclosure: Technical.ly Media is a tenant at First Round Capital HQ.
Companies: Curalate / First Round Capital / MentorTech Ventures / NEA

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