UPDATED 13:57 EDT / NOVEMBER 23 2016

APPS

Ashton Kutcher’s VC firm leads $2.7M round for app analytics startup Apptopia

The app store intelligence market is expanding so rapidly that even Hollywood has taken notice.

Sound Ventures, a fund owned by actor Ashton Kutcher and entertainment industry bigwig Guy Oseary, this week led a $2.7 million investment into Apptopia Inc. to capitalize on the segment’s growth. They were joined by Mark Cuban and a half-dozen institutional backers, including early-stage investment firm 500 Startups.

The cash infusion caps off a year for Apptopia that has seen demand for its mobile analytics platform more than triple. The service provides access to a continuously updated database of app adoption, usage and revenue statistics spanning major platforms. Tech firms such as Verizon Communications Inc. rely on Apptopia to stay on top of important trends, while developers use its information to size up the competition.

The startup claims to set itself apart from the numerous other market intelligence providers out there with a set of value-added features designed to help customers take better advantage of its data. Apptopia’s most distinguishing capability is an analytics engine that can spot the most downloaded new releases, apps on the brink of experiencing a boost in popularity, and long-term user trends. A company such as Verizon could harness this insight to contact a fast-rising developer about partnership opportunities before the competition does.

This week’s funding will enable Apptopia to develop more features for helping customers understand the mobile market. Eliran Sapir, the startup’s chief executive, told TechCrunch that the next iteration of its platform will provide automated recommendations on how to act upon new data. The entrepreneur also plans to double the size of 43-person team over the coming year with an emphasis on the sales and marketing departments.

Image courtesy of Apptopia

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