Tracer, the leading data intelligence platform, announced the completion of an oversubscribed Series A fundraise co-led by NewRoad Capital Partners, Progress Ventures, and BDMI, part of Bertelsmann‘s corporate venture arm Bertelsmann Investments. S4S Ventures and Arbour Way Investors also participated in the series. The close of the round was accompanied by the addition of John Sheehy, Operating Partner at NewRoad Capital Partners, to its Board of Directors.
Incubated out of VaynerMedia in 2015 by co-founders Jeffrey Nicholson and Leighton Welch to automate analytics across every client globally, Tracer processed more than $1B in transactions before spinning off into a stand-alone entity in 2021. Today, Nicholson serves as Tracer CEO and Welch as CTO. The company also recently appointed accomplished integrated marketing leader Obele Brown-West as President to spearhead Tracer‘s revenue, operations and strategic growth initiatives.
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An advertising and media veteran, new board member Sheehy was Global Brand President of Starcom Worldwide and a member of the Publicis Media global leadership team prior to joining NewRoad Capital Partners in 2022. Before Starcom, Sheehy was a member of the Leo Burnett global management team. With more than three decades of marketing and consulting experience, Sheehy will provide valuable guidance to the fast-growing company. Joining Sheehy on the Board, alongside Gary Vaynerchuk who retains his previously held seat: Adriaan Zur Muhlen, Managing Partner of Progress Ventures; Sanja Partalo, Co-founder and Managing Partner of S4S Ventures; and Keith Titan, Partner at BDMI.
“Developed by true industry experts, Tracer has solved a global industry issue: the challenge of ingesting and managing the growing number of moving parts, partners, and channels around digital data management and reporting,” said Sheehy. “Jeff and Leighton are the experts in this battle and have surrounded themselves with world-class talent to carve out their leadership position.”
Tracer has amassed a portfolio of high-profile clients such as Sanofi, Condé Nast, Papa Johns, Headspace, Media.Monks, and January Digital. A growing number of the world’s top brands, agencies and holding companies are turning to the data platform to achieve greater transparency, customization and impact-driven reporting from their modern marketing tech stack.
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“Tracer is at a significant inflection point in solving one of the media and marketing industries’ biggest problems: turning data into informed decisions,” said Jeff Nicholson, Tracer co-founder and CEO. “In a challenging funding and growth landscape, we are humbled by the confidence our investors have in our potential. This oversubscribed round is a testament to the value we’ve proven our platform can deliver, and we look forward to working with John [Sheehy], our Board, and the industry giants who have joined as investors to catapult Tracer forward.”
Tracer‘s executive vision, strong enterprise client portfolio and remarkable customer retention have contributed to the confidence of its investor group, which includes Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore‘s VCP Ventures, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman‘s Thirty Five Ventures (35V), Stephen Ross and Matt Higgins‘ RSE Ventures, S⁴ Capital Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell, and Gary Vaynerchuk.
With offices in New York City and London, and a team of more than 70 across four continents, Tracer‘s innovation has been celebrated by reputable industry organizations and publications. Most recently, the company was named to The Lead’s ‘The Leading 100’ list, which recognizes the most innovative, high-impact tech start-ups driving business value for brands. Tracer was also honored in 2022 for its work with Sanofi by the Association of National Advertisers‘ Genius Award for Marketing Analytics Storytelling.
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