While they’ve kept a relatively low profile in the Portland startup community, Lytics has continued to make waves in the Consumer Data Platform category — a category they basically defined. Today, those waves have a new owner. Lytics has been acquired by Contentstack.
“We have solved a major problem for brands – capturing, connecting and enriching first-party data and making it actionable,” said James McDermott, founder and former CEO of Lytics and Contentstack’s new Global Head of Data Products. “Ultimately, the vision is to turn data into meaningful digital experiences, but that requires access to content. With Contentstack, we’re now delivering on that vision, with the world’s best Composable DXP.”
Founded in 2013, Lytics went through the PIE accelerator before raising early capital from Voyager, among others. They also participated in the Snap Accelerator program, a collaboration with R/GA.
Lytics was co-founded in 2013 by McDermott and Aaron Raddon. The company is known as a pioneer of the CDP category and has been recognized by organizations including Adweek and Deloitte for its innovation. Its composable approach aligns with Contentstack’s vision for the future of enterprises: flexible and modular technology that seamlessly grows and changes as the business evolves.
The Lytics acquisition creates a combined entity with over 500 customers and 500 employees.
This marks the second notable exit for James who also navigated the sale of of Storycode to TigerLogic for $7.25M during the height of the mobile buzz in Portland. Terms of the Lytics deal were not disclosed. But it appears that investors were pleased.
According to GeekWire:
Erik Benson, managing director at Seattle venture firm Voyager Capital, an early investor in Lytics, called the acquisition “very good” for shareholders.
“Voyager’s investment thesis was that building a system of engagement for first-party customer data was going to reign supreme over third-party data and retargeting systems prevalent at the time,” Benson said.
For a trip down memory lane, here’s cofounder Aaron Raddon presenting Lytics at PIE Demo Day 2013:
For more information, see the Contentstack press release.
[Full disclosure: Lytics is a PIE alum. I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE.]
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