Chicago ad-tech startup Signal announced it's been scooped up by credit reporting agency TransUnion.
Founded in 2009 as BrightTag, Signal gives brands data to help gain more knowledge about their customers. The startup raised more than $60 million to date, and it counts I2A, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Baird Capital and Yahoo! Japan among its backers.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Signal will join TransUnion's Chicago office, where the company is headquartered.
Signal counts large brands like Crate & Barrel, Allstate and Volkswagen among its customers, who use the company to collect data and better understand their users.
“We are helping our customers use data and insights to provide a better experience for their customers,” TransUnion President Steve Chaouki said in a statement. “Signal’s offerings complement our existing marketing solutions, which have historically delivered powerful acquisition capabilities."
Signal was founded by Eric Lunt, Marc Kiven and Mike Sands, three well-known entrepreneurs in the Chicago tech scene. Prior to Signal, Lunt was the co-founder and CTO of FeedBurner, which Google bought in 2007. He's currently the director of engineering for the Chicago office of photo app VSCO. Kiven was the COO at Centro before launching Signal, and is currently the CRO at Chameleon Collective. Sands was the COO of Orbitz before he co-founded Signal, and is now the CEO of AlpineTEC Ventures.
