Leanplum Accelerates Growth in Asia Pacific and Adds New Chinese Investor
Increases Series D funding to $52 million; expands footprint to meet regional demand
Apr 24, 2018, 06:00 ET
SAN FRANCISCO and SINGAPORE, April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Leanplum, the leader in mobile engagement, today announced an add-on raise from Beijing-based private equity firm Waterwood Group to scale and fuel growth in China and the greater Asia Pacific (APAC) region, bringing their Series D total financing to $52 million. Leanplum continues to gain momentum across APAC, where the region's most innovative brands rely on its platform to drive mobile growth and deeper customer relationships.
"Chinese consumers demand a best-in-class mobile experience, however, companies in China are underserved in terms of sophisticated marketing technology," said Waikit Lau, partner, Waterwood Group. "We were especially impressed with Leanplum's A/B testing and data analytics capabilities because it quickly delivers value to brands in a highly competitive market. In order to meet the exponential growth in mobile usage, Chinese brands are hungry for the real-time insights and personalization at scale that only Leanplum provides. We look forward to working together to build the future of the Chinese market."
This investment highlights the growing opportunity for brands to reach mobile consumers across APAC. According to GSMA, more than half the world's mobile subscribers live in Asia Pacific, and China will account for 21 percent (or 155 million) of the approximately 753 million new mobile subscribers expected be added globally by the end of 2020.
"APAC is at the forefront of mobile adoption, and the potential for Leanplum to help brands across the region reach such a highly-engaged mobile generation who are on their phones 24/7, is truly exciting," said Momchil Kyurkchiev, CEO and co-founder, Leanplum. "We're thrilled to partner with Waterwood because they share our vision for transforming mobile engagement for the modern marketer."
Today, APAC's most prominent mobile apps lean on Leanplum to power their marketing campaigns, including:
- Liven, Australia's #1 payment & loyalty platform;
- Lomotif, Singapore-made social video app;
- ofo, station-free bike sharing platform and mobile app based in Beijing;
- TMON, leading Korean e-commerce company, often referred to as the 'Amazon of South Korea.'
Leanplum is expanding its footprint across APAC and making strategic new hires to meet growing demand in key markets such as China, Australia, Indonesia, and Japan. Julio Bermúdez, formerly of Optimizely, was hired to lead sales and operations from Leanplum's regional headquarters in Singapore. He has grown the team more than 400 percent in recent months, drawing key talent from Adobe, Asics, and Salesforce.
The company is focused on building a great work culture in its offices around the world, and was recently recognized as one of Fortune's Best Companies to Work For and Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America by Entrepreneur magazine.
Leanplum is building the next generation marketing cloud, leveraging the unique power of mobile to help brands drive deep and meaningful customer relationships. Capturing more than 18 billion mobile data points daily and delivering over 50 million messages every hour, the Leanplum platform provides the real-time insights and capabilities to help marketers deliver in-the-moment engagement and build meaningful customer relationships.
To demo Leanplum and find out about job opportunities, come say hello at www.leanplum.com and follow us on Twitter @leanplum.
About Leanplum
Leanplum is the mobile marketing platform built for engagement. Brands rely on Leanplum to help them orchestrate multi-channel campaigns — from messaging to the in-app experience — all from a single, integrated platform. Global brands such as Tinder, Grab, Tesco, and Zynga turn to Leanplum to accelerate growth and build long-term customer relationships. Founded in 2012, Leanplum is based in San Francisco, with offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. Leanplum has received more than $98 million in funding from Norwest Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Shasta Ventures. Leanplum has been named to Business Insider's Most Valuable Enterprise Startups and SF Business Times' Best Places to Work. Learn more at www.leanplum.com.
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SOURCE Leanplum