Halifax’s LeadSift Raises Funds Through OMERS and Salesforce Ventures, Launches New API

LeadSift, a Halifax-based social media intelligence and marketing company, has raised a funding round from previously existing backers OMERS Ventures, who have provided fundraising for the company since 2012, and U.S.-based Salesforce Ventures. Terms of the deal, including the amount, were not disclosed.

“Given its competitive advantage in consumer targeting and analytics,” said OMERS Ventures director Damien Steel, “we believe LeadSift is well-positioned to capture significant market share and become a leader in acquiring customers via social media.”

LeadSift uses machine learning and natural language processing to collect over 100 attributes per user, including habits, trends, location, age, marital status, preferences, lifestyle, etc. which it can then extract to create actionable user profiles.

LeadSift claims to have processed over two billion social conversations with the aim of more precisely providing market intelligence based on consumer interaction and behaviour.

When we last checked in with LeadSift, they had just launched their Audience Intent Miner (AIM) tool, designed to capture a consumer’s purchasing intent, which the company also refers to as “psychographic data”, based on their social media behaviour.

Along with the funding announcement, LeadSift also announced the release of a new API, called Consumer Insights, currently utilized by InNetwork’s influence marketing software, to help expand its audience by both identifying influencers and examining how they build social media influence.

The API launched in closed beta six months ago, and is now available through LeadSift for general use.

“CRM, Marketing Automation, Influencer Marketing and Media Buying platforms are reimagining how to differentiate their product offerings and grow their business,” said LeadSift CEO Tukan Das. “APIs offer a way to further development with minimal investment and disruption to existing resources.”

Founded in 2012 by data scientists Tapajyoti (Tukan) Das, Sreejata Chatterjee, Hatem Nassrat and Daniel Allen, LeadSift raised an initial funding amount of $1.1 million, $500,000 of which was contributed by OMERS Ventures.

The new investment is meant to help LeadSift with product development efforts and expand its sales and marketing initiatives.