citybiz+ DrivenIQ Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding Backed by Capstone Technologies

DrivenIQ, a Maryland startup building an AI-led data intelligence and audience management platform, has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round backed by Capstone Technologies Group (OTCQB: CATG), a prior investor. In Octoboer, Capstone acquired a minority interest in DrivenIQ and has since invested more in the Essex, Md., firm.

“Our unwavering goal is to create an AMP rooted in AI-driven decisioning, customer experience analytics and micro-segmentation analytics to help drive marketing efficiencies, data accuracy and activation to solve endless use cases,” said Albert Thompson, founder and CEO of DrivenIQ. “This will ultimately drive a true 1-to-1 customer to brand personalization ecosystem.”

“DrivenIQ’s robust and impressive technology stack helps brands build, own and store audience data in a way that is meaningful to their business use cases,” said Mike Pruit, Capstone Technologies Group president and founder of the Avenel Financial Group.

Eye on ‘Disruptive Technologies’

Capstone, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., aims to acquire and develop disruptive technologies across multiple sectors. Toward this, it runs a wholly owned subsidiary, Capstone Venture Partners, LLC. Its president, Michael D. Pruitt, is the founder of Chanticleer Holdings, Avenel Financial Group and Chanticleer Advisors, and has helmed eight different companies.

Pruitt says he was attracted to DrivenIQ by the company’s ability to provide higher return on advertising dollars, and more effectively monetize real traffic through real measurability. Last October, Capstone invested $1.2 million at a pre-money valuation of $30 million.

Driven by Ambition

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Founded by industry veteran Albert Thompson, DrivenIQ aims to create new pathways to the consumer, using AI and tons of data. VisitIQ, the company’s audience management platform, and Identity Graph are the cornerstones of Thompson’s plan. The former consists of first-party data, location geo-device data, predictive AI modeling and custom micro-audiences. Identity Graph holds consumer behavior data on more than 14 billion customer records covering nearly every US household. Together, the two platforms are expected to provide new consumer insights and visibility coveted by brands and marketers.

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“Identity Graph gives businesses a totally unique and unparalleled way to solve marketing challenges to better engage with their audience,” said Thompson, who additionally aims to build an integrated system of customer data, experience management and relationship management platforms.

Thompson believes the company’s partnership with Capstone will help to fill significant voids in the Customer Data Platform Market, which is expected to reach $15 billion by 2026.