Shazam Entertainment is reportedly in the process of raising $20 million, a figure that would give the technology company a valuation of half a billion dollars, according to a report in Re/code.
The company declined to comment on the report, which cites “sources close to the situation.”
Shazam, best known for its song identification app, has spent the last two years rounding out its offerings with video identification and data analysis aimed at helping companies target specific consumer segments based on what they’re listening to or watching.
The London-based company has raised $120 million since its founding in 1999. Over the past five years, it scored two major rounds of fundraising — a $40 million investment in July of last year from América Móvil, a Mexican telecommunications company that’s partly owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, and a $32 million round in 2011 led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Shazam is capitalizing on the burgeoning “second-screen” phenomenon where TV viewers are using separate devices to gather additional information on what they’re watching. Because the company’s app is able to identify thousands of shows, it can help producers serve up additional content or display targeted ads.
It also generates revenue by capturing referral fees for sending its app users to Amazon, iTunes or elsewhere to purchase songs they’ve just identified. Shazam, a privately held company, does not disclose its financial performance.