RadiumOne Raises $21 Million From Investor Group Led by Crosslink Capital
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Gurbaksh Chahal, founder and chief executive officer of RadiumOne Inc., talks about the company's fundraising efforts. RadiumOne is an online advertising company that uses social-networking data to help marketers reach consumers. Chahal speaks with Emily Chang and Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg)
RadiumOne Inc., an online advertising company that uses social-networking data to help marketers reach consumers, raised $21 million from an investor group led by Crosslink Capital.
DFJ Esprit, Adams Street Partners and Trinity Ventures joined the financing, the San Francisco-based startup said today in a statement. The funding values RadiumOne at more than $200 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.
Founded by Chief Executive Officer Gurbaksh Chahal, RadiumOne develops software that analyzes connections between friends and uses the data to help brands target customers. RadiumOne, which is working with more than 200 of the biggest U.S. companies, plans to use the capital to expand globally and make acquisitions. Chahal also founded ad company BlueLithium Inc., which Yahoo! Inc. bought in 2007 for $300 million.
“When we look at potential portfolio companies, we try to identify who has the technology and vision to really disrupt an industry and make a global impact,” Jim McLean, a partner at Crosslink in San Francisco, said in the statement. McLean is joining RadiumOne’s board.
Prior to the fundraising, RadiumOne received an offer to be bought at close to $200 million, said one of the people familiar with the matter. It opted to raise private capital instead, according to the person. Chahal, 28, declined to comment on the valuation or the acquisition offer. The company has raised a total of $33.5 million, and it was profitable in the fourth quarter, he said.
‘Outside of Facebook’
Demand for RadiumOne’s service is soaring because advertisers are looking for ways to take advantage of social- networking without relying on Facebook Inc., Chahal said.
“We’re filling the void of socially targeted advertising outside of Facebook,” he said.
RadiumOne’s lead investor, Crosslink, is the biggest shareholder in Pandora Media Inc., the Internet-radio company that filed to sell shares to the public last month. Crosslink also invested in Ancestry.com Inc. (ACOM), the world’s largest online provider of family histories.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ari Levy in San Francisco at alevy5@bloomberg.net; Cory Johnson in San Francisco at cjohnson114@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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