Britain’s DataSift Raises $42m

DataSift imageSocial analytics platform DataSift has raised $42m (£26m) to accelerate the global expansion of its product.

The platform is used by more than 1,000 corporate customers, including brands like Coca Cola, Dell and the BBC, to understand their social audiences across Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn and other consumer channels.

The Series C funding, one of the largest VC rounds in UK history, was led by Insight Venture Partners, an early investor in Twitter, Tumblr and HootSuite.

The news follows the recent buyout of rival Topsy by Apple, which DataSift CEO Rob Bailey says proves that social has now moved from mainstream to mission critical for enterprises.