After raising more than $46 million in venture capital and bringing a powerful new media analytics platform to market, Austin PR software maker TrendKite has been acquired.
Cision, a large PR and earned media company based in Chicago, announced on Wednesday it has acquired TrendKite for $225 million. Once the deal is formally closed, TrendKite CEO Erik Huddleston will become Cision's president.
"TrendKite and Cision share the same mission of helping clients improve the results of earned media campaigns," Huddleston said in a news release. "Combining our offerings and capabilities with Cision's comprehensive earned media platform will allow us to powerfully impact the marketing communications industry and provide best-in-class PR and communications solutions."
For now, TrendKite will operate as a standalone application under the Cision umbrella. But in the long-term it will be integrated into Cision Communications Cloud product.
TrendKite was launched by Matt Allison and A.J. Bruno in 2012. At the time, they were working from apartments and hotel rooms. Soon, the duo set roots in Austin to be part of the DreamIt Ventures Accelerator at Capital Factory.
It's been a blur since.
The startup quickly outgrew its offices. And, more recently, it has expanded through acquisitions, including the 2018 acquisitions of Austin's Union Metrics and Atlanta's Insightpool. Bruno left TrendKite last year to found QuotaPath in Philadelphia. Allison has continued as TrendKite's chief strategy officer.
TrendKite's investors include Harmony Partners, Silverton Partners, Adams Street Partners, Battery Ventures, Mercury Fund and Noro-Moseley Partners.
