Meltwater monitors masses of media
The company is now a driving force in applying artificial intelligence to the field
Rasmus Falck
Oslo, Norway
Photo: Meltwater.com
Jørn Lyseggen started a news clipping service, Magenta News, in 2001, with an investment of $15,000. Now called Meltwater and headquartered in San Francisco, the company is a pioneer in AI media monitoring. Meltwater has offices in Europe, North America, Asia/Pacific, Australia and Africa.
The Norwegian startup that has been most successful in Silicon Valley is probably Meltwater. The company was founded as Magenta News in 2001 in Oslo by Jørn Lyseggen from Trysil with just $15,000. Its product was a news-clipping service that scanned news sources to collect keywords of relevance to its business customers. In 2005, Magenta News moved its headquarters to San Francisco and changed the name to Meltwater News. Today, it has offices across Europe, North America, Asia/Pacific, Australia, and Africa. It employs more than 1,500 people.
With the advent of social media, the company advanced media monitoring by integrating social media into its platform, creating media intelligence. Last year, 80% of Norwegians used social media, 66% of these every day. Among “Generation Zers,” 73% are actively on the internet within one hour after getting up in the morning.
Knowing that digital data from individuals and businesses is growing, Meltwater is leading the pack by applying artificial intelligence (AI) to identify trends, thereby extending the reach of media monitoring. Their 30,000 clients use the company’s media intelligence platform to stay on top of billions of online conversations, extract relevant insights, and use them to strategically manage their brands and stay ahead of their competition. With 55 offices on six continents, the company is dedicated to personal and global service on local expertise.
The company is committed to fostering the growth of the greater startup and data science ecosystem around the world from MEST, its Pan-African entrepreneurial training program, to Shack 15, the first global data science hub. MEST is also a seed fund and incubator for African technology entrepreneurs, headquartered in Accra, Ghana. Shack 15 was launched in 2016 and is a global data science hub that offers a co-working space and community for data science entrepreneurs and enthusiasts. The hub is located in London, with a hot desk around the world.
Jørn Lyseggen’s book, Outside Insight, is considered a must-read for marketers.
According to Lyseggen, the internet has changed industries and business drastically. However, enterprises make decisions the same way they did 50 years ago. Most companies’ prime focus is on their own data. He strongly advocates using information from the internet. This would lead to a better understanding of customers and competitors, which again means more informed decisions.
Meltwater Founder/CEO Lyseggen’s book, Outside Insight: Navigating a World Drowning in External Data, is listed as one of the must-have books that will make you a better marketer.
His company was the first to introduce digital media monitoring. Now, it is the first to apply AI-driven media intelligence. Meltwater works with what’s ahead, not behind, making the future look bright.
This article originally appeared in the May 31, 2019, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
