GroundTruth is a technology company.
GroundTruth has raised $117.0M across 5 funding rounds.
GroundTruth has raised $117.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
GroundTruth has raised $117.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
GroundTruth's investors include Bond, Emergence Capital, ENIAC Ventures, Hanabi Capital, IVP, Shasta Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Matt Gorniak, Colle Capital, Crosslink Capital, Palisades Growth Capital.
GroundTruth is a New York-based advertising technology company specializing in a location-based platform that drives in-store visits, sales, and other measurable business results for brands and marketers.[1][2][4] Founded in 2009 as xAd, it rebranded to GroundTruth in 2017 to reflect its expanded vision beyond advertising, leveraging proprietary Blueprints technology to map real-world behaviors with high accuracy for targeting audiences across devices and channels.[1][2][3] The platform serves advertisers, agencies, and publishers by identifying high-intent customers based on location data, delivering omnichannel campaigns (display, mobile, CTV), and measuring outcomes like foot traffic and ROI, with reported revenue of $119 million and $136.9 million in total funding.[2][4]
It solves the challenge of connecting digital ad spend to physical-world actions, such as turning online impressions into store visits, while providing self-serve, managed, programmatic, and partnership options for activation.[2][3] Growth momentum includes innovations like CPV advertising, Ads Manager, the WeatherBug acquisition, and 2024 MarTech Breakthrough Awards recognition, processing over a billion physical visits monthly across 21 countries.[1][4]
GroundTruth originated in 2009 as xAd, launched with the ambition to create a revolutionary location solution for advertisers amid the rise of mobile geotargeting.[1][4] The company introduced pioneering features like Blueprints for location-driven insights to retailers, cost-per-visit (CPV) advertising, a self-serve Ads Manager platform, and the acquisition of WeatherBug to enhance real-time customer engagement.[1] After eight years, the xAd name constrained its broader potential—tied too closely to "ads"—prompting a rebrand to GroundTruth in June 2017, signaling a platform handling billions of monthly visits across 21 countries and ambitions for global location intelligence impact.[1]
Headquartered at One World Trade Center in New York with about 350 employees, it has raised $136.9 million across nine rounds, including a recent $42.5 million infusion, and recently appointed Matt Knight as CTO.[4] Key board members include CEO Ricky Sandler, Vice Chairman Mike Perlis, Managing Partner Anders Richardson, and Independent Director Jeanine Wright, guiding its evolution from ad-focused startup to full media and insights platform.[5]
GroundTruth stands out in the location-based marketing space through superior technology, data rigor, and flexible activation:
| Feature | GroundTruth | Other Geofencing Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Mapping Technology | Human-approved Blueprints for precision[3] | Radial/automated polygons with accuracy issues[3] |
| Data Quality | Multi-step signal verification[3] | Limited fraud/visit filtering[3] |
| Activation | Self-serve, managed, programmatic[2][3] | Often lacks self-serve depth[3] |
GroundTruth rides the wave of location intelligence in a privacy-constrained era, where cookies are fading and real-world behavior data becomes essential for attribution amid rising omnichannel retail (e.g., digital ads fueling physical sales).[1][2] Its timing aligns with post-2020 shifts: explosive mobile adoption, CTV growth, and demand for cookieless targeting, amplified by economic pressures favoring high-ROAS campaigns over impressions.[3] Market forces like brick-and-mortar recovery, e-commerce hybrid models, and AI-enhanced personalization favor its billion-visit dataset and Blueprints for precise, incremental lift measurement.[1][2]
It influences the ecosystem by setting standards for validated location data—partnering with third-party validators—and enabling agencies to deliver growth via offline-to-online bridges, while its programmatic marketplace democratizes access for DSPs and publishers.[2][3][4] As adtech consolidates around performance, GroundTruth accelerates trends in behavioral marketing, helping brands navigate signal loss and compete in fragmented media landscapes.
GroundTruth is poised to expand as the definitive platform for location-driven performance marketing, capitalizing on AI integrations for predictive insights, global scale beyond 21 countries, and deeper e-commerce attribution amid privacy regulations like GDPR evolutions.[1][2] Trends like edge AI for real-time personalization, AR/VR location experiences, and sustainable adtech (e.g., efficient targeting to cut waste) will shape its path, potentially boosting revenue past $200 million via acquisitions or ecosystem partnerships.[4]
Its influence may evolve from ad innovator to indispensable data layer for martech stacks, powering enterprise decisions in a world where physical-digital convergence defines retail success—echoing its founding mission to unlock location's full potential, now at enterprise scale.[1]
GroundTruth has raised $117.0M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $43.0M Series E in November 2016.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2016 | $43.0M Series E | Bond, Emergence Capital, ENIAC Ventures, Hanabi Capital, IVP, Shasta Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Matt Gorniak | |
| Sep 1, 2014 | $50.0M Series D | Bond, Emergence Capital, ENIAC Ventures, Hanabi Capital, IVP, Shasta Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Matt Gorniak | |
| Nov 1, 2012 | $5.0M Series C | Colle Capital, Crosslink Capital, Emergence Capital, IVP, Palisades Growth Capital, Shasta Ventures, Matt Gorniak | |
| Oct 1, 2010 | $4.0M Series B | Emergence Capital, IVP, Shasta Ventures, Matt Gorniak | |
| Jul 1, 2008 | $15.0M Series A | Colle Capital, Crosslink Capital, Palisades Growth Capital |