German marketing tech startup Opinary raises €3 million

Berlin’s Opinary, a marketing tech startup, has landed €3 million in fresh funding led by Project A to expand in the US market.

The Series A round included previous backers Global Founders Capital, Motu Ventures, and Trivago CEO Rolf Schrömgens.

Opinary is a platform for sharing opinions and views that allows publishers and brands to better understand and monetise their audiences. Its partners include NBC, The Guardian, and Spiegel Online.

The startup will invest the funds in boosting its presence in the US, where it has an office in New York. It will also further enhance its product development with the ultimate aim of reaching 100 million monthly users.

“Our vision is to give people, users, and consumers a voice in key debates and provide publishers and marketers an alternative to Facebook, in order to build and convert loyal audiences outside a closed network. This makes our technology even more relevant in the US, right now,” said cofounder Pia Frey, who is heading up US operations. She founded the company with her brother Cornelius (pictured, right) and Max Meran.

Florian Heinemann, founding Partner at Project A, will be joining Opinary’s board.

“Brands and advertisers have to use the power of storytelling,” he said. “Traditional forms of digital advertising are soon not only going to be technically blocked but also to be completely ignored by the audiences.”