If you’re looking to get your product on the shelves of a grocery store in Mexico City, Dataplor is here to help with their global location intelligence.
Founded by Geoffrey Michener in 2016, Dataplor’s mission was to index micro businesses in emerging markets. The company saw success in 2019 when they raised $2 million in funding to bring Latin American food delivery vendors online.
Dataplor utilizes cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large language models, paired with their purpose-built platform to collect public domain data.
While this may not be a unique approach, as there are other companies like ThoughSpot, Esri, and Near that offer similar business and location intelligence services, Dataplor’s “secret sauce” is their integration of human validators. With a team of over 100,000 “explorers”, Dataplor ensures the accuracy of their data through a combination of human and computer validation. And, to protect individuals’ privacy, no personally identifiable information is used.
Through this process, Dataplor is able to provide answers to questions such as “How many Taco Bell locations opened in South America last year?” or “What percentage of Walmarts in Europe are located near a fast food restaurant?”
Currently, Dataplor has amassed over 300 million point of interest (POI) records for over 15,000 brands in 200+ countries and territories. These records include data such as physical location, hours of operation, contact information, credit card acceptance, and even consumer sentiment.
The company then licenses this data to various industries, including third-party logistics, real estate, and finance. Companies such as American Express, iZettle, and PayPal are among the 35+ Fortune 500 brands that already rely on Dataplor’s services.
According to founder and CEO Geoffrey Michener, “Company 10-Ks are always six months late, so it’s hard to know the current status of a business. But with our data, companies can track open and close rates, monitor their competitors, and even scout potential locations.
Dataplor has seen significant growth, with revenue increasing by an average of 2.5x year-over-year since 2020. They are also projected to reach profitability this year.
With plans for continued expansion, Dataplor recently secured $10.6 million in Series A funding, led by Spark Capital. Spark, known for early investments in successful companies such as Slack, Affirm, and Postmates, was joined by Quest Venture Partners, Acronym Venture Capital, Circadian Ventures, Two Lanterns Venture Partners, and APA Venture Partners. In total, Dataplor has raised $20.6 million.
Moving forward, Dataplor plans to use this funding to make strategic hires and further establish their brand and presence in the market.
According to founder Geoffrey Michener, the decision to partner with Spark and general partner, Alex Finkelstein, was based on their vision for the company.
“Alex saw the bigger picture, and he saw that while we’re not just a POI or places data company, we are helping people get somewhere or sell a product,” Michener explains. “He said that by knowing everything about a business, and then across 100 million places, ‘That’s a really big opportunity. No one’s done that before.’ It really resonated, and if we share that same vision, we can use capital to grow and to grow efficiently and effectively, why not? Let’s go do it.”
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