A UK company that helps alert businesses to potential social media disasters is opening a North American headquarters in Chicago.
Crisp announced Tuesday that it's setting up shop in Chicago at the NBC tower at 455 Cityfront Plaza Drive. The company said it plans to hire around 25 employees over the next six months.
Crisp uses artificial intelligence and human analysts to alert companies to potential issues on social media that could cause problems for their brand.
The company, which raised a $25 million round last year from Baird Capital, chose Chicago for its proximity to potential customers and its growing tech scene, President Vikram Sharma said.
"In recent years the narrative for Chicago has changed from fly-over country to a centrally-located city, with great access to large customers and top-notch tech talent," he said in a statement to Chicago Inno. "As a major hub for the Fortune 500 and industry leaders, the city provides the environment to be the very best partner to our customers with our Social Media Safety services."
Founded in 2005, Crisp originally launched as a tool to protect children playing online video games from abuse, sexual exploitation and cyberbullying. It's evolved to provide social media brand safety and crisis monitoring services to Fortune 500 companies, helping companies from media, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and other industries protect from damage to their brand.
The idea is that Crisp allows companies to focus more on their business, and less about constantly monitoring what's being said on social media.
Crisp said it plans to double its total headcount in the next year. The company also has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London.
