Bellevue-based BlueKai bucked the trend this week, securing $10.5 million in their second round and increasing their valuation. The funding round was led by Battery Ventures and Redpoint Ventures. The financing is expected to go to expanding client support capabilities and new 
product development. Online Media veteran Satya Patel, Principal of Battery Ventures, has joined BlueKai's BOD.
Patel says that
“[h]igh quality targeting data is so critical that the online media industry is clearly moving toward purchasing data separately from media. BlueKai exploits this trend with a breakthrough business model that creates an economy around the value of quality data."
Launched in early 2008 and headed by Omar Tawakol, BlueKai is an online marketing company which collects customer data from travel, auto and retail websites and then sells that 'purchase intent' data in online auctions to marketers, publishers and ad networks. BlueKai's newly-launched BlueKai Registry lets consumers see what data has been collected on them, edit their personal preferences, and earn reward points for the charity of their choice.
BlueKai's vision for enabling polite marketing was formed by our team of seasoned executives who bring decades of experience from the online... [more]
Karilyn Kempton
Karilyn is a tech writer, a nerd and a ski bum. She is particularly interested in mobile innovations, and always has her hands in a few projects at a time. She will be living in Revelstoke, BC for the winter, splitting her time between skiing and writing.
Send her an email at karilyn.kempton [at] gmail.com, check out her blog at...[more]
