Rival Technologies raises over $8.5 million

Rival Technologies today announced that it has doubled its venture-capital funding targets by raising over $8.5 million from Canadian investors. The new funding will be used to continue developing the company’s platform and expanding Reach3 Insights , Rival’s sister company under the Reid Campbell Group.

“This product-development funding further validates the work we are doing to revolutionize market research,” said Rival Founder and CEO Andrew Reid, one of the first Canadian tech-industry leaders to raise funds without a broker. “By opening our doors to external investors for the first time, we also gain new perspectives and opportunities for collaboration. I am extremely proud of the growing team at Rival for their ground-breaking contributions to expanding our business and positioning us as a world leader in the market research software industry.”

By integrating chat, voice and video solutions into SMS, social media and messaging apps — in other words, into technologies people actively use on a regular basis — Rival’s end-to-end insight platform, Chat Lab , helps companies reach consumers in more engaging and authentic ways to understand their attitudes, opinions and preferences. With a global and growing client base, which now includes the National Football League, A&W Canada, and the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, marketers are making the most of this compelling solution to the email-overload and survey-fatigue crisis threatening the future of the $76-billion market research industry.

As Rival’s annual recurring subscription revenue approaches $1 million, the company is actively adding to its team in order to meet fast-growing demand. “I am incredibly proud of the platform and culture we’ve built so far at Rival,” said Jennifer Reid, Rival’s Senior Methodologist, Andrew’s sister, and an investor in the close-knit company. “By attracting passionate, courageous and talented people who are committed to providing the best technology for consumer engagement, everyone at Rival is helping organizations capture the authentic voice of their customers and improve business outcomes in the process.”

Led by industry veteran Matt Kleinschmit, Reach3’s full-service research and consulting practice leverages Rival’s technology and conversational research design philosophies to capture insights companies can use to drive business outcomes. Reach3’s clients now include Jagermeister, Johnson & Johnson, RXBar, Cineplex and Snapchat.

About Rival Technologies

Rival Technologies is rethinking research with voice, video and chat solutions that integrate into technologies that people actively use on a regular basis. The company’s platform, Chat Lab, makes it easy for companies to create mobile agile communities of customers, fans, and employees that can be engaged continuously for insights into their preferences, opinions, and habits. The company’s innovations rival traditional surveys and online communities by employing conversational technologies that reach a broad range of demographics through SMS, social media and messaging apps. Andrew Reid, Founder and Former President of Vision Critical, serves as the CEO of Rival Technologies. Rival is part of the Reid Campbell Group and a sister company to Reach3 Insights, a full-service consultancy that uses immersive and in-the-moment research and dynamic digital storytelling approaches to deliver experiential insights that inspire action. For more information, visit www.rivaltech.com.