GlobalWebIndex

In October 2012, GWI surprised social media analysts and commentators by claiming that Twitter and Facebook had big followings in China and Vietnam (later lift the ban on Facebook) – countries where those social networks are blocked by their respective governments. The story was picked up by various news outlets including Huffington Post, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times, where the rise of VPN has been attributed as the primary enabler for Chinese internet users circumventing website blocks. Almost a decade after the company was founded, and with customers including Google, Spotify, WPP and Omnicom Group, it closed its first round of series A funding in 2018. The company claims to have raised $180M series B funding in February 2022, and was valued at $850M.

GWI's custom research is claimed to be used by marketers and advertisers to run customized surveys and projects using their panel of global consumers, giving them access to data tailored to their target audience. The range of services offered through its custom arm include website and campaign analytics, brand tracking, concept testing, and ad effectiveness studies.