Lucid Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Lucid was acquired by Cint Group for $1.1B in October 2021, a 8.6x multiple on $124M of revenue.
Lucid acquisition price
$1.1B
Acquired by Cint Group · Oct 2021
Lucid revenue at acquisition
$124M
Last twelve months · Oct 2021
Lucid revenue multiple at acquisition
8.6x
EV/Revenue · Oct 2021
Lucid EBITDA multiple at acquisition
82.3x
EV/EBITDA · Oct 2021
About Lucid
Lucid is an audience intelligence platform headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, founded in 2010. It operates Fulcrum, a global marketplace for market research samples with programmatic buying and selling features. The company also runs Federated Sample for full-service data collection using proprietary matching technology. Its Proof division delivers real-time digital ad measurement for media effectiveness. Lucid serves brands and agencies seeking deterministic human behavior data across consumer panels.
Founded
2010
HQ
New Orleans, LAWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Commission, Services, Subscription
Revenue
$124M (Oct 2021)
Valuation
$1.1B (acquired Oct 2021)
Lucid Acquisition
Lucid was acquired by Cint Group for $1.1B on 27 October 2021.
The acquisition price implies a 8.6x revenue and 82.3x EBITDA multiple on $124M of revenue.
Before the acquisition Lucid had raised $61M across 3 funding rounds.
Cint Group, a Swedish market research technology company, agreed to acquire Lucid Holdings LLC, a New Orleans-based programmatic research technology platform providing software services for sourcing survey respondents and consumer insights globally, for an enterprise value of USD 1,070 million on October 27, 2021. The deal structure included USD 580 million in cash and USD 470 million in Cint shares, with Lucid shareholders receiving approximately 17% ownership in the combined entity post-transaction. The acquisition was expected to close by the end of 2021, subject to customary approvals, and the companies planned to operate independently until completion. Lucid, founded in 2010, had raised USD 60 million in a 2017 Series B and achieved USD 100 million in transaction volume in 2019. For 2021E, Lucid reported projected net sales of USD 124 million, gross profit of USD 97 million, and adjusted EBITDA of USD 13 million under US GAAP. In the nine months ending September 30, 2021, it recorded net revenue of USD 85 million, gross profit of USD 62 million, and adjusted EBITDA of USD 7 million. The transaction created New Orleans' first tech unicorn and strengthened Cint's position as a global leader in technology-enabled insights, with expected run-rate synergies of EUR 40 million within 24 months. It reflected ongoing consolidation in the research technology sector, financed partly through a directed share issue raising SEK 4,400 million.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 2021 | Strategic M&A | $1.1B | 8.6x | 82.3x |
Lucid Funding History
Lucid has raised a total of $61M across 3 funding rounds.
Lucid's first fundraising round was a $400K pre-seed round in February 2015. The most recent completed round was a $60M Series B in April 2017.
Lucid funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2017 | Series B | North Bridge Venture Partners & Growth Equity (lead) | $60M | Lucid (previously Federated Sample), headquartered in New Orleans with offices in London and Delhi, operates as the world’s largest audience platform for sourcing and understanding human answers, providing real, deterministic data about human behavior at scale. It offers products like Fulcrum, an automated sample marketplace, positioning itself as a programmatic disruptor in the market research industry by enabling automated ad testing and consumer surveys with speed and scale. The company rebranded from Federated Sample in 2015 as its offerings expanded beyond sampling. In April 2017, Lucid raised a $60 million Series B growth equity round led by North Bridge Venture Partners & Growth Equity, marking its first significant outside funding since a $2.8 million raise in 2011. The investment was described as a minority stake, with proceeds intended to accelerate global scaling, advance product development, expand the team in the US and internationally, and establish a stronger presence in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. CEO Patrick Comer emphasized running lean previously to focus on product-market fit, which had been achieved. At the time of the round, Lucid reported over 500 customers and 70 percent year-over-year revenue growth for the prior three years. The funding aimed to position Lucid as the leading player in market research by funding global expansion. North Bridge Growth Equity, managing over $1 billion, focuses on technology, software, and healthcare IT companies. Prior rounds included a $355,000 seed in 2010 and $2.8 million Series A in 2011 led by Sopris Capital Associates, bringing total funding to about $64.6 million by early 2018. Note that later references to Lucid (e.g., 2021 $3 billion valuation) pertain to a different company, Lucidchart/Lucidspark in visual collaboration software from Utah, unrelated to this market research firm. |
| Apr 2015 | Seed | - | $1M | - |
| Feb 2015 | Pre-seed | - | $400K | - |
Who has invested in Lucid?
1 investor has backed Lucid across its funding rounds, including North Bridge Venture Partners & Growth Equity.
Lead investors include North Bridge Venture Partners & Growth Equity.
Lucid Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialLucid Competitors
Lucid competitors include listed companies like Taboola, Vobile and Ibotta, and private ones like CHEQ, iSpot.tv and Swiftly.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tel Aviv | Private | $4M | - | $1B | 250.0x | |
| Seattle, WA | Private | $75M | - | $1B | 13.3x | |
| Seattle, WA | Private | - | - | $1B | - | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $1.9B | $121M | $993M | 0.5x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $366M | $63M | $976M | 2.6x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $342M | $7M | $972M | 2.4x |
Lucid Public Comps
Lucid is no longer listed, but its public comps include Taboola, Vobile, Ibotta, Clarivate, MNTN, Criteo, Digital Turbine, PubMatic, Septeni Holdings and Sprout Social.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.9B | $121M | 0.5x | 0.5x | 8.4x | 4.5x | |||
| $366M | $63M | 3.1x | 2.6x | 18.0x | 20.1x | |||
| $342M | $7M | 2.5x | 2.4x | 114.9x | 15.3x | |||
| $2.5B | $829M | 2.1x | 2.2x | 6.3x | 5.3x | |||
| $290M | ($10M) | 2.1x | 1.8x | (63.5x) | 6.7x | |||
| $1.9B | $323M | 0.4x | 0.7x | 2.2x | 2.1x | |||
| $565M | $85M | 2.9x | 2.7x | 19.4x | 12.0x | |||
| $283M | $22M | 2.4x | 2.3x | 30.9x | 10.1x | |||
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Common questions about Lucid
| When was Lucid founded? | Lucid was founded in 2010. |
| Where is Lucid headquartered? | Lucid is headquartered in New Orleans, LA, United States. |
| Is Lucid publicly listed? | No, Lucid was acquired by Cint Group in October 2021. |
| Who acquired Lucid? | Lucid was acquired by Cint Group in October 2021. |
| How much was Lucid acquired for? | Lucid was acquired for $1.1B in October 2021, a 8.6x revenue multiple. |
| How much funding has Lucid raised? | Lucid has raised $61M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was Lucid's last funding round? | Lucid's last funding round was a $60M Series B in April 2017, led by North Bridge Venture Partners & Growth Equity. |
| Who are Lucid's investors? | Lucid's investors include North Bridge Venture Partners & Growth Equity. |
| Which companies are comparable to Lucid? | Companies comparable to Lucid include CHEQ, iSpot.tv, Swiftly, Taboola, Vobile and Ibotta. |
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