PARTNERING WITH FOUNDERS

Rockaway Ventures, a European investment fund under the Rockaway Capital group, has announced its investment in CulturePulse, an innovative American startup specializing in advanced behavioral modeling. By expanding its portfolio with such forward-thinking companies, Rockaway Ventures reaffirms its position as a bold and ambitious venture capital player in Europe, committed to addressing global challenges through cutting-edge technology.

CulturePulse’s platform allows clients to better understand the complexities of social dynamics and predict both security and business risks on a global scale. Leveraging artificial intelligence and cognitive science, the platform’s unique ARES (Automated Risk Estimation) system enables the creation of precise, psychologically realistic digital twins of target audiences. These capabilities have already proven effective in high-impact projects, such as collaboration with the UN on a virtual model of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which analyzed the interactions of individuals across more than 80 social, demographic, and moral dimensions.

“We are driven by a vision to redefine the boundaries of what predictive technologies can achieve,” explains Dušan Zábrodský, Investment Partner at Rockaway Capital. “CulturePulse is not just another AI startup; their technology represents a fundamental shift in understanding human behavior and tackling societal challenges. Partnering with them aligns perfectly with our ambition to empower innovation that creates real-world impact.”

The company aims to use the $1.5 million raised in its first investment round, which remains open to additional investors, to expand its team and accelerate product development. The goal is to adapt their revolutionary technology for a broader spectrum of applications, from marketing strategies to urban planning.

“With Rockaway Ventures’ support, we are ready to push the boundaries of what is possible in predictive analysis,” says CulturePulse CEO Justin Lane. “Our technology doesn’t just analyze data; it truly understands and predicts human behavior in ways that were previously unimaginable.”

“Security and innovation are key areas where Europe must lead. At Rockaway Ventures, we see it as our mission to champion companies like CulturePulse, whose technologies are not only transformative but essential for addressing complex global issues,” adds Petr Šmíd, Investment Partner at Rockaway Ventures.

Major e-commerce players in Europe are embracing the trend of optimizing their advertising space, where the potential for high-margin revenue lies—a game-changer in a competitive landscape where every percentage counts. Cruxo’s services are already being used by e-shops with annual revenues exceeding CZK 1 billion, such as Lekarna.cz, Dr.Max. EU, Astratex.EU, and Greece’s Kotsovolos. Cruxo’s founders now report further achievements: The platform has customers in 6 countries, supports multiple languages, and has secured investment from Czech Founders VC, Rockaway Ventures, and angel investors for further growth.

Retail media is a rapidly expanding sector within digital advertising, allowing brands to communicate with consumers directly on e-commerce sites through various ad formats. As people spend more time shopping online, retail media presents an opportunity to reach customers right at the decision-making point. Thanks to its high efficiency and targeting capabilities, e-commerce advertising is an effective tool for brands to influence their sales immediately. According to a recent AIB Europe study published in October, the European retail media market is expected to surpass €25 billion within two years (https://iabeurope.eu/the-retail-media-revolution-2024-state-of-play-and-outlook-in-europe/).

With growing ad investments on e-commerce sites, there is an increasing need to transform today’s manual ad ordering, placement, and optimization processes. CRUXO is a technology platform that significantly simplifies the planning, ordering, deployment, and evaluation processes. Beyond straightforward administration, it also uses data-driven optimization to maximize the effectiveness of an e-shop’s ad space. For both brands and e-shops, this results in higher sales revenue with less time spent on ad setup. CRUXO has recently introduced features to schedule ads within specific time intervals throughout the day, expanding targeting options.

“In the past year, we’ve confirmed that supplier marketing can be managed more efficiently and with higher performance. Large e-shops often run hundreds of campaigns monthly across various ad formats, requiring substantial manual input on both sides. Our platform automates this process for retailers, freeing up resources for more strategic initiatives. With data-based optimization of ad formats and contextual targeting, we deliver substantial value to retailers and suppliers,” says Michal Trunkát, co-founder and CEO.

“Rockaway has rich experience in the field of e-commerce thanks to investments in companies such as Mall.cz, Košík.cz and Bringmeister, which deal with similar challenges as Cruxo is addressing today. We are convinced that Cruxo, thanks to its technology and focus on process automation, will help e-shops increase their competitiveness and effectively respond to the changing needs of the market,” said Dušan Zábrodský, partner of Rockaway Ventures.

The CRUXO team is led by seasoned professionals from the advertising and retail industries, with a recent focus on customer-oriented operations targeting retailers and their suppliers. The technology behind the CRUXO platform is essential. Still, an in-depth understanding of retail business and ecosystem is equally important. Since the beginning of the year, CRUXO has been joined by partners Jakub Špryngl and Hana Pavlíková, who bring extensive management experience in retail and customer experience in Central Europe. Recently, Pavel Jančovič, who has held positions at Mall and CNC, joined the team as Chief Product Officer.