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SmarterHQ provided a customer intelligence-driven marketing automation platform. Its core product delivered highly individualized messages across digital channels, including email and text. Leveraging behavioral data, the platform created dynamic, real-time customer experiences, optimizing engagement and conversion by anticipating consumer preferences.
Founded in 2010 by Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer Angel Morales, SmarterHQ stemmed from an insight into the need for sophisticated behavioral marketing. Morales, an experienced entrepreneur, recognized real-time customer data's untapped potential for personalized interactions. Established in Indianapolis, Indiana, the company provided a robust framework for brands moving beyond generic communications.
SmarterHQ primarily served enterprise e-commerce businesses, helping them deepen relationships and drive revenue through advanced personalization. Its vision centered on equipping marketers with tools to transform raw data into actionable insights, facilitating one-to-one messaging. The company aimed to unlock value by enabling more intelligent, customer-centric marketing strategies.
SmarterHQ has raised $20.0M across 2 funding rounds.
SmarterHQ has raised $20.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SmarterHQ has raised $20.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SmarterHQ's investors include 75 & Sunny, Addition, Battery Ventures, CapitalG, Sutter Hill Ventures.
SmarterHQ is a technology company that built a leading personalization platform powered by customer data platform (CDP) infrastructure, enabling marketers to deliver highly relevant, cross-channel experiences via email, text, web, mobile push, and ads to boost revenue and customer loyalty[1][2][3]. It serves B2C brands in retail, financial services, and travel—such as Bloomingdale's, Omni Hotels, Santander Bank, DSW, Kate Spade, and Carrentals.com—solving the problem of fragmented customer data by unifying real-time multichannel behavioral insights for automated, personalized messaging[1][3][4][5]. The platform drove average sales increases of 15-25% for clients, with some achieving 40-60% ROI, and generated $8.9 million in revenue with 73 employees before its 2020 acquisition by Wunderkind, where its tech evolved into "Wunderkind Audiences" for enhanced segmentation and orchestration[1][3][4].
Founded around 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana, SmarterHQ emerged as a pioneer in behavioral marketing when retailers were not yet ready for advanced real-time personalization, but bold early customers trusted its ahead-of-its-time tech[4]. CEO Michael Osborne led the company, starting with retail clients like Bloomingdales, Kate Spade, Finish Line, and Carrentals.com, achieving 367% revenue growth over three years through six-figure enterprise deals while educating the market and competing against larger players[4]. Pivotal traction came from delivering triggered email and website campaigns based on in-store, online, and in-app data, expanding beyond retail into financial services and travel; Battery Ventures invested in the firm, supporting its growth as a multi-channel platform[4][5][6]. In 2020, Wunderkind acquired SmarterHQ, integrating its segmentation engine to power scalable one-to-one messaging, rebranding it as Audiences within their ecosystem[3].
SmarterHQ rode the explosion of personalization and martech trends, capitalizing on rising demand for real-time, behavior-driven marketing amid fragmented customer touchpoints in retail, finance, and travel[3][4][5]. Its timing aligned with the shift to CDP-powered platforms as retailers prioritized one-to-one experiences to combat commoditized eCommerce, educating laggards while delivering outsized results against giants[4]. Market forces like data privacy regulations, AI-driven predictions, and omnichannel growth favored its strengths, influencing the ecosystem by setting benchmarks—post-acquisition, it bolstered Wunderkind's scale, enabling more brands to achieve hyper-personalized campaigns at enterprise levels[1][3][6].
SmarterHQ's legacy as a behavioral marketing innovator positions Wunderkind Audiences to dominate in an era of AI-enhanced personalization, with expansions into predictive analytics and deeper SMS/email automation likely driving further revenue unlocks for eCommerce leaders[1][3]. Trends like zero-party data, privacy-first targeting, and generative AI for content will shape its path, amplifying influence as retailers chase 1:1 loyalty amid economic pressures. As the original platform that proved 15-25% sales lifts are achievable, its integrated evolution signals sustained ecosystem impact, empowering marketers to turn data into durable customer relationships[4][5].
SmarterHQ has raised $20.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $13.0M Series C in January 2017.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2017 | $13.0M Series C | 75 & Sunny, Addition, Battery Ventures, CapitalG, Sutter Hill Ventures | |
| Feb 1, 2014 | $7.0M Series A | 75 & Sunny, Addition, Battery Ventures, CapitalG, Sutter Hill Ventures |