Investment to Accelerate Growth for Leader in AI-Powered Partner Automation
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, JANUARY 8, 2020 — Partnerize, the leader in partner automation solutions for global brands, today announced a $50 million growth financing round led by Accel-KKR. The raise also includes an expanded debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank. Partnerize will use the funds to accelerate innovation of its industry-leading, AI-powered partner automation platform and to support both regional and global go-to-market initiatives. Joe Porten, Principal at Accel-KKR, will join the Partnerize Board of Directors.
“Revenue-generating partnerships drive more than 20% of total sales for most Fortune 1000 brands,” said Joe Porten of Accel-KKR. “Partnerize’s intelligent partner automation platform helps more than 300 global brands drive results across their entire partner ecosystem, and we see tremendous growth and upside ahead as Partnerize expands its footprint both in the U.S. and in key international markets. We look forward to working with co-founder and CEO Mal Cowley and the rest of the Partnerize team as they continue to transform the partner automation category.”
Business leaders are increasingly turning to partnerships to drive faster growth and profit. As a result, many segments of the partnerships channel are showing strong growth. For example, global influencer marketing investment has mushroomed to an estimated $8 billion in 2019, while traditional pay-for-performance digital channels are continuing to show strong revenue increases. Additionally, more mainstream media companies are now receptive to cost-per-action partnership agreements, and major brands are creating more co-marketing agreements with other leading brands. For many leading brands, ROAS (return on ad spend) on partnership programs exceeds 12:1.
Flexibility and versatility set Partnerize apart. Clients rely on the platform to grow a broad variety of partnerships, including co-marketing programs, performance deals with content publishers, influencer marketing, loyalty programs, and affiliates. For example, the Partnerize Platform helps facilitate co-marketing partnerships for specialty retailers and airlines, establishes long-term partnership agreements between leading brands and content publishers, and powers cross-channel connections between leading brands and sports teams. This flexibility has helped make Partnerize the preferred partner automation solution for 65 leading global retailers, 11 international airlines, eight of the world’s largest telcos, and more than 200 other global brands.
Managing partnerships poses challenges for any company, and as large brands increase their investments in such partnerships, the friction increases. The Partnerize platform solves these challenges by automating every element of partner management and improving performance and optimization with proprietary AI. The platform increases order value and overall revenue for brands, while lowering cost per sale, helping to grow customer lifetime value and enabling global expansion.
“Ancestry’s business is incredibly dynamic and diverse, and so are the types of partners we leverage to drive growth,” said Sean McQuaid, Global Lead of Partner Marketing at Ancestry®. “We work with top players in everything from traditional CPA media to high-quality content partners and digital influencers to API-driven partnerships. Partnerize enables us to manage all of these key partnerships in a single platform, driving greater efficiency and more effective optimization. We look forward to more innovation from Partnerize in the months and years ahead.”
“We are proud to engage with Accel-KKR, a leading investment firm focused on growth equity investments in software and technology globally,” said Partnerize Co-founder and CEO Mal Cowley. “We share a belief in the tremendous growth potential of the partnerships industry and the game-changing nature of AI, and look forward to creating new levels of success.”
Technology advisory and investment firm GPBullhound acted as financial advisor to Partnerize on this latest financing round.
About Partnerize
Partnerize is the leader in partnership automation. The AI-powered Partnerize Partner Automation Platform delivers the data-driven intelligence and industry-leading management tools that are essential for unlocking unprecedented ROI from this fast-growing sales channel. The world’s leading companies, including 65 top retailers, 12 international airlines, eight of the largest telcos, and more than 200 other global brands rely on Partnerize to drive and manage more than $6B in partner sales and $500M in partner payments every year. For more information on how Partnerize can grow your partnerships and business, please visit https://partnerize.com.
About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $9 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth.At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta, London and Mexico City. For more information, please visit www.accel-kkr.com.
