Clicktale Parent Company Contentsquare Raises $190 Million, Expands Israel R&D Center

Paris-based digital insights company Contentsquare SaaS has raised $190 million in a series D funding round, bringing its total funding raised to date to $310 million, the company announced Tuesday.

Contentsquare develops a system that analyzes customer behavior using billions of anonymized web, mobile, and app interactions. The system then provides actionable insights meant to maximize profit.

According to the company, its system is in full compliance with international data privacy regulations, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA).

Contentsquare intends to use the funding for research and development and for expanding its business across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The round was led by New York-headquartered management corporation BlackRock Inc.’s Investment arm BlackRock Private Equity Partners. Existing investors include French sovereign wealth fund BPI France SA (Bpifrance), Canaan Partners, Eurazeo Growth, GPE Hermes, Highland Europe, H14, and KKR & Co. (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.), most of whom also participated in the current round.

Contentsquare also announced its plans to expand its research and development center in Tel Aviv suburb Ramat Gan, which was established last year, following the French company’s acquisition of customer behavior analytics company Clicktale Ltd. Since the acquisition, Contentsquare doubled its staff to over 600 people, 150 of whom are based in Israel.

 

According to Shlomi Hagai, who serves as Clicktale’s CEO and Contentsquare’s chief financial officer, negotiations for the round started in January and came to fruition during the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. “Contentsquare chose to maintain its entire staff while taking steps to ensure efficiency and improving its financial model,” Hagai told Calcalist in an interview.

This strategy was made possible, Hagai said, as Contentsquare’s product is essential especially at these trying times, as it helps companies increase sales revenue. Hagai also said the company is looking to fill several dozen positions in Israel.

Asked if BlackRock was only buying to sell, as per its previous deal history, Hagai said that though the company does perform asset management, in ContentSquare’s case, it got in as a strategic investor to help grow the company.

Hagai said ContentSquare is currently on the market for mergers and acquisitions and is eying several Israeli companies, yet no negotiations are currently underway.