New Brunswick-based Connotate Receives $11 Million Series B-1 to Expand Innovation and Market Channels

Esther Surden
Publisher & Editor, NJTechWeekly.com

Rich Kennelly, CEO of Connotate | Courtesy Connotate

In November, Connotate, Inc., the New Brunswick-based Web data-extraction platform provider for the information services industry and data-centric businesses, announced its $11 million Series B-1 financing, led by Long River Ventures (Boston and Amherst). There was also participation from existing shareholders: .406 Ventures (Boston), Castile Ventures (Wellesley, Mass.), Fernwood Funding LLC (Wallington), Prism Venture Management (Needham, Mass.) and other angels.

Connotate will use the newly raised capital to broaden market reach and expand its portfolio —especially its newest addition, Connotate Cloud.

“The adoption of Web data is at a very early stage,” said Connotate CEO Rich Kennelly in an email to NJTechWeekly.com. “While the information industry has been leveraging Web data for some time, enterprises are just beginning to leverage Web data as a complementary big data set to enhance their business processes,” he continued. “So the need for businesses to easily and efficiently access, harvest and integrate Web data is going to increase dramatically.

“With the additional investment Connotate has received, we’ll focus on continued innovation and expanding our market channels. We’ll revolutionize with new and exciting ways to make leveraging Web data easier, and more efficient. For example, new cloud offerings will make integrating Web data with applications and workflows more seamless. In addition, we’ll be growing our partner ecosystem to accelerate new vertical solutions that resonate with our clients and the market. It’s an exciting time, and we look forward to the innovations yet to come.”

“We are always looking for companies that capitalize on high-growth market opportunities,” said Tripp Peake, general partner of Long River Ventures in a statement. “Connotate fits that profile perfectly. Their Web data extraction platform is at the forefront of big data. Connotate allows businesses to efficiently extract Web data to create high-value intelligence, unique insights and differentiated information products and services. We are particularly enthusiastic about Connotate’s new cloud offering.”

“We’re grateful to be partnered with active investors that understand our industry,” Kennelly noted in a statement. “As enterprises and big data companies significantly increase their use of Web data, this investment ensures Connotate can grow with that opportunity, and remain a market leader for precise, efficient Web data extraction.”





Esther Surden is Publisher and Editor of NJTechWeekly, and a contributor to Philly Tech News. This article originally appeared in NJTechWeekly, and is republished here with her permission.