New Funding led by Mithril Capital to Further Develop Industry-leading Mobile Event Apps and Expand Global Reach
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Aug. 21, 2014 – Mobile event app leader DoubleDutch today announced the close of $19 million in Series D funding led by Mithril Capital Management. Previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Index Ventures and Bullpen Capital also participated, along with Singapore-based Enspire Capital. Ajay Royan, co-founder and managing general partner of Mithril, joins the DoubleDutch board.
“More than three years into our journey, we continue to see signs that the market for data-driven event technology is massive, underserved, and ripe for a winner-take-all outcome,” said Lawrence Coburn, CEO of DoubleDutch. “In Mithril, we have found a partner that matches our ambition and outlook. Our mutual goal is to build a durable, independent company that redefines the category.”
DoubleDutch will use the funding to expand its global presence, build out its technical teams to rapidly scale product deployment, and deliver new features to organizers. Globally, more than $500 billion is spent on events and conferences, and marketers worldwide will increasingly need mobile solutions to optimize these enormous spends.
“Conferences compress 90 days of interactions into 72 hours, but unfortunately few of these connections survive re-entry into daily life,” said Ajay Royan, Co-founder and Managing General Partner of Mithril. “While legacy event companies focus on registration or logistics, DoubleDutch’s platform uniquely preserves relationships that foster powerful, sustainable, long-term advantages. They are already working with some of the largest event organizers around the world, and this new investment will allow DoubleDutch to focus on identifying and pursuing enormous new opportunities.”
“Trade shows still constitute the biggest line item on a B2B marketers budget, with nearly 20% of [the typical CMO budget] spend committed to live events,” said Laura Ramos, analyst for Forrester Research[1]. “B2B business relationships are built on trust and personal interaction. For this reason, marketers will never be able to banish trade shows from the marketing budget.”[2]
DoubleDutch has raised $37.5 million in funding since its founding in 2011, and their highly flexible mobile event apps have been used by more than 2,000 events globally. A DoubleDutch app provides an unprecedented link between social engagement and actionable data for event organizers to analyze and improve their events in real time.
Founded in 2012 by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel, Mithril focuses on long-term investments in durable companies positioned to dominate an industry.
About DoubleDutch
DoubleDutch is an award-winning provider of mobile event applications, with a unique focus on capturing and surfacing data from live events. The first to bring a data-driven technology approach to the event industry, DoubleDutch customers include SAP, Proctor & Gamble, Audi, Verizon, and Estee Lauder. Thrill attendees and demonstrate event ROI with a branded DoubleDutch app.http://doubledutch.me
About Mithril Capital Management
Mithril is a global investment firm founded by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel that provides capital to leading growth companies by partnering with teams who use technology to build transformative and durable businesses, often in industries long overdue for change. Each of these businesses is unique, but all face common challenges to unlocking long-term growth. Mithril helps navigate these critical inflection points by investing in size and with conviction. For more information, please visit: www.mithril.com.
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Media Contact
Tristan Kruth, TriplePoint PR
(415) 955-8500
Jen Hawkins, DoubleDutch
(415) 449-5744
[1] January 21, 2014 AdAge article, “B2B Marketing Budgets Set To Rise 6% in 2014: Forrester”
[2] January 21, 2014 Forrester Research report, “Focus B2B Marketing Budget Gains On Business Outcomes To Succeed In 2014”
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