Skimlinks Raises $4.5 Million Series B Round

SAN FRANCISCO, November 11, 2011 -

Skimlinks Continues Rapid Global Growth, Raises $7.5 Million To-Date for Its Leading In-text Monetization Platform

Skimlinks, the leading in-text monetization platform for Web publishers, today announced it has raised $4.5 million in Series B funding. Led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), the new investment will help continue Skimlinks’ rapid growth in existing and new vertical markets within the United States and around the globe.  It will also finance product research and development that will deliver even higher yields for publishers, improve consumer experience, and increase ROI for advertisers.

(Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111026/SF93683LOGO-c)

The new funding round continues Skimlinks’ strong investor momentum, bringing its total investments to $7.5 million to-date.  In addition to BDMI, new investors 500startups and Venrex Investment Management and existing investors - Sussex Place Ventures, The Accelerator Group, and NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) - also contributed to the latest funding round.  For more information on Skimlinks’ investors, visit skimlinks.com/investors.

“We chose BDMI to lead this round because of its stellar experience in both online publishing and advertising,” said Alicia Navarro, CEO of Skimlinks.  ”We’re delighted that all of our investors continue to believe in the value Skimlinks delivers, and we look forward to using this investment to continue our rapid expansion throughout Europe and the United States.”  

“We are excited to be investing in Skimlinks.  The team is energetic and inventive, and the space is open for technical innovation,” said Urs Cete, managing director of BDMI, who will be joining the Skimlinks Board.

The investment continues Skimlinks’ momentum and comes fresh on the heels of SkimWords 2.0, the company’s newest in-text monetization product for Web publishers. SkimWords 2.0 is the first real-time, fully automated content monetization solution to feature in-text product and price comparison across multiple vertical categories. With SkimWords 2.0, publishers earn incremental revenues, consumers are directed to the optimal retail site to make their purchases, and advertisers receive highly qualified traffic. Publishers can sign up for SkimWords 2.0 for free here: skimlinks.com/skimwords

Skimlinks’ technology also monetizes product links on publishers’ sites by converting them into affiliate links. For more info on the Skimlinks product, visit: skimlinks.com/skimlinks

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe acted as legal advisors for Skimlinks.

About Skimlinks

Founded in 2008, Skimlinks is a leading content monetization platform that rewards publishers for the role their content plays in creating purchase intent. The company is creating an “intent-driven exit click economy” that accelerates consumers’ journey from content to commerce. Skimlinks processes 110 million clicks a month on over 700,000 sites around the Web, including AVForums, Wordpress, Ning, Technorati, Hearst Digital and many more. In September 2011, Skimlinks was responsible for almost $20M in consumer sales from nearly 17,000 merchants across 27 affiliate networks.  Skimlinks is a team of 30 based in London, San Francisco, and New York.

About Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI)

Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) is a strategic venture investor focused on innovative digital media technologies, products and distribution channels across the globe. BDMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company with over $22 billion in revenues and over 100,000 employees across more than 50 countries. BDMI is a division of Bertelsmann, an international media company with yearly revenues of euro 15.8 billion. For more information, visit: www.bdmifund.com.

Eric Doyle, +1-310-804-8228, eric at wavesquad dot com