News

New York City-based Intersection, a smart cities tech and media company, has raised $150 million in funding. Graham Holdings Company led the round with participation from ArrowMark Partners and NewSpring. 

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Intersection, the leading smart cities technology and media company, focused on transforming the urban experience by connecting the digital and physical worlds, today announced the close of a $150 million funding round. The investment was made by a consortium of investors led by Graham Holdings Company, with participation from new investors ArrowMark Partners and NewSpring.

Intersection will use the funding to bring the highly-successful and fast-growing Link product and other smart city technologies to cities and transit systems around the world, accelerate the digitization of its existing media asset network in top U.S. DMAs, and develop the next generation of its technology platform.

“We believe in the transformative power of technology to elevate the urban experience – delivering benefits like free internet connectivity, real-time information, localized content, and civic services – as Link has done on the streets of New York City and London,” said Ari Buchalter, CEO of Intersection. “We are incredibly excited to be joined by a visionary group of investors to help propel our technology leadership position in the smart cities and digital media spaces.”

Founded in 2015, Intersection applies digital technology to the physical world to improve the experience of public space. Its unique and successful business model funds innovation through advertising, providing opportunities for brands to reach audiences with “physical native” advertising, driving relevance and engagement through real-world and real-time context. This investment builds on the groundbreaking success of the Link network including LinkNYC, InLinkUK, and the recently-announced LinkPHL in Philadelphia, as well as Intersection’s IxNConnect transit platform, powering products such as the On-The-Go kiosks in the MTA transit system in New York City and transit information kiosks in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.

“Intersection is the clear leader in deploying real-world smart city solutions at scale,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO of Graham Holdings. “We believe there is tremendous opportunity for the company to leverage their experience from massive deployments like LinkNYC, extensive municipal and advertising relationships, and unique capabilities in data, engineering, user experience, and design to create tremendous value for cities, consumers, and brands.”

As part of the investment, Mr. O’Shaughnessy and Jake Mass, Senior Vice President at Graham Holdings, and Marc Lederman, co-Founder and General Partner of NewSpring, will be joining the Intersection Board of Directors. Allen & Company LLC served as financial adviser to Intersection.

Intersection has over 600 employees and is headquartered in New York City. The company has eight offices in the U.S. and a network of products deployed in Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, San Francisco, Seattle, and London.

About Intersection
Intersection is at the forefront of the smart cities revolution, improving the experience of public places through technology that provides connectivity, information, and engaging content and experiences. With award-winning products like LinkNYC, the largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi network in the world, Intersection connects the digital and physical worlds, enhancing people’s journeys through their cities and offering brands the opportunity to drive more relevant and engaging advertising, rooted in real-world context. Intersection partners with cities, transit systems, airports, and real estate developments around the globe, as well as advertisers seeking to reach audiences on a global, national, or local scale. Learn more at www.intersection.com.