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§ Private Profile · Austin, TX, USA
TrendKite is a technology company.
TrendKite builds a public relations analytics platform that provides comprehensive tools for measuring the impact of earned media. The software delivers media monitoring and advanced analytics, enabling organizations to understand public sentiment and evaluate trends across their coverage. Its capabilities focus on transforming raw media data into actionable insights for strategic communication.
The company was founded in 2012 by Patrick Brannen, AJ Bruno, and Matt Allison. They established TrendKite in Austin, Texas, driven by the insight that traditional PR measurement lacked robust, data-driven insights. Their vision was to bridge this gap, offering a more analytical approach to assessing media performance.
TrendKite serves major brands and media companies seeking to enhance their communication strategies. It assists these organizations in generating, amplifying, and meticulously measuring the true impact of their earned media efforts. The company's core mission is to empower businesses to gain a clearer understanding of public perception and optimize their outreach effectively.
TrendKite has raised $47.2M across 7 funding rounds.
TrendKite has raised $47.2M in total across 7 funding rounds.
TrendKite is a technology company that developed an AI-powered Digital PR Platform to help brands and media companies generate, amplify, and measure the impact of earned media.[1][2] It serves large brands, marketing teams, and communications professionals by solving the problem of quantifying PR and communications campaigns' effects on reputation, website traffic, and business outcomes, using analytics for audience insights, targeted outreach, and attribution.[1][2][4] Acquired by Cision in 2019, TrendKite's technology was integrated into the Cision Communications Cloud, enhancing capabilities like campaign measurement and influencer targeting, though it was offered as a standalone initially.[2]
Post-acquisition, TrendKite's platform continued to provide sophisticated PR analytics, tracking brand mentions across news, social media, and other channels with sentiment analysis and real-time insights, as used by organizations like universities for media monitoring.[3][4] Its growth momentum peaked with the Cision deal, led by CEO Erik Huddleston, transitioning from an independent Austin-based firm (201-500 employees) to a key component in modernizing earned media management.[1][2]
Founded in Austin, Texas, TrendKite emerged as a software development company focused on revolutionizing PR through data-driven tools, harnessing AI and analytics to address CMOs' challenges in measuring communications impact.[1][2] CEO Erik Huddleston, an industry veteran with a track record in innovative martech solutions, led the company, becoming President of Cision post-acquisition.[2] The idea stemmed from bridging gaps in the martech space, particularly linking brands to actionable insights on earned media, disrupting legacy analog PR approaches.[5]
Early traction built around its platform's ability to scale trusted media results across paid, shared, and owned channels, culminating in the pivotal 2019 acquisition by Cision on January 23, which extended Cision's leadership in measurement and attribution.[2] This deal marked TrendKite's evolution from a standalone PR analytics provider to an integrated part of a larger communications cloud ecosystem.[2][4]
TrendKite stood out in the PR and martech landscape through these key strengths:
TrendKite rode the wave of digital transformation in PR and martech, where earned media shifted from qualitative to quantifiable, data-backed strategies amid rising demands for ROI proof in communications.[2][5] Timing was ideal in the late 2010s, as AI analytics matured and brands sought unification of PR data with paid/owned channels, aligning with market forces like ad tech integration and influencer economies.[2]
It influenced the ecosystem by pioneering "Earned Media Management," turning PR from a cost center into a business driver, and post-acquisition, bolstered Cision's cloud platform—impacting how global brands and even institutions like universities measure media impact.[2][3] This helped standardize analytics in a fragmented space, favoring data-centric players amid growing social media monitoring needs.[1][4]
TrendKite's legacy endures within Cision's ecosystem, fully integrated as of recent references, with its tech likely evolving through ongoing AI advancements in PR attribution.[2][4] Next steps involve deeper fusion into unified comms clouds, adapting to trends like generative AI for predictive insights and multimodal media tracking across emerging platforms. Its influence may expand via Cision's scale, shaping how marcomms pros demonstrate value in an always-on digital landscape—echoing its founding mission to digitize and measure earned media's true power.[1][2]
TrendKite has raised $47.2M across 7 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $11.0M Other Equity in December 2017.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 29, 2017 | $11M Venture Round | Mark Lotke | — | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2016 | $16M Series D | Jeffrey Diehl | Ocean Azul Partners, Battery Ventures, Mercury Fund | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2015 | $11M Series C | — | Ocean Azul Partners, Battery Ventures, Mercury Fund, Silverton Partners | Announced |
| Feb 1, 2015 | $4M Series B | Silverton Partners, Blair Garrou | Capital Factory, Flex Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Jonathan Siegel, KIM Perell, William Boebel | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2014 | $1M Series U | — | Silverton Partners | Announced |
| Jun 6, 2014 | $3.2M Series A | Blair Garrou, Silverton Partners | — | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2013 | $1M Series A | Silverton Partners | Capital Factory, Flex Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Jonathan Siegel, KIM Perell, William Boebel, Joshua Baer, Raymond Walheim, Rodrigo Carvalho, Sean Spector, Dreamit Ventures | Announced |
TrendKite has raised $47.2M in total across 7 funding rounds.
TrendKite's investors include Mark Lotke, Jeffrey Diehl, Ocean Azul Partners, Battery Ventures, Mercury Fund, Silverton Partners, Blair Garrou, Capital Factory, Flex Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Jonathan Siegel, Kim Perell.