Herow, a leader in mobile engagement and user context, today announced the closing of its $18.6 million Series B from its historical investors Xerys Fund, Siparex and Calao Finance. Funds will be used to accelerate the deployment of the company’s new contextual engagement SaaS solution for mobile applications, beyond existing markets in Europe and the United States.
Herow – formerly known as Connecthings – raised its Series B to finance its expansion to the United States. Some of the funds in this new round are earmarked for expansion, continuing to grow in the North American market, opening a new office in San Francisco by the end of 2019, and beyond the continent in 2020.
Another portion of the round will fuel continued investments in the company’s new platform launched in October 2018. Its solution is designed around a holistic recognition of user context and powered by intelligent location technologies in order to help mobile applications from all sectors maximize engagement with their users. Herow already powers apps in the mobility, dating, gaming and entertainment sectors, and aims to increase its client base sevenfold by the end of 2020 as it scales out the platform.
Herow 2.0 offers a more complete and self-service solution with advanced user analytics based on real-time behavioral and contextual data, app usage history and places commonly visited by users. Context is one of the critical components that allows marketers to effectively segment their audience and create tailored campaigns through notifications or in-app experiences. The company’s ambition is to make Herow the go-to contextual engine for all mobile applications – the “Herow Inside.”
“In an increasingly saturated mobile app market with highly demanding consumers, offering personalized mobile experiences are of critical importance to app marketers and developers in order to stand out and build long-lasting relationships with their end-users,” said Laetitia Gazel Anthoine, the company’s founder and CEO. “We purpose-built Herow to support the creation of more intelligent engagement campaigns and combat mobile saturation while protecting user privacy. This new funding round will help us bring these benefits to customers in new markets.”
“From the very beginning, we recognized Herow’s potential to shape the future of smartphones and mobile applications,” said Alain Bravo, a board member and Herow’s account administrator at Xerys, a private investment fund. “We participated in the company’s Series A to help it build a premium and tailor-made marketing solution that is mutually beneficial for apps and their users. We’re excited to join the next funding round to help scale the solution and replicate that success for new customers.”