DataSphere Technologies may specialize in hyperlocal advertising. But the Bellevue company is undergoing what can only be described as … hypergrowth. The company, which raised $10 million from OVP Venture Partners, Fisher Communications, Ignition Partners and others last fall, said today that it plans to open a new facility in Tempe, Arizona with room for as many as 220 sales professionals.
It plans to complete those hire over the next several quarters, with the new facility opening in a 23,000 square foot facility.
“We are very excited to continue our expansion in Arizona,” said Mike May, DataSphere Vice President of Sales Operations, in a statement. “We are looking for 200+ people in the Tempe area who would like to join a fast growing start up company and talk to small businesses across the country about compelling ways to increase online exposure in their local communities by partnering with major media companies.”
The company, which powers hyperlocal news sites, including the neighborhood news blogs operated by Seattle’s KOMO in Seattle, employed about 220 people last September. But at that time, DataSphere indicated that it was looking to hire 150 more folks by the end of the year. In today’s release, the company said that it has hired more than 300 new workers in the past 12 months and experienced a tripling of revenue.
Late last year, the company said that it had launched its 1,000th community-oriented Web site in partnership with a Gannett-owned TV station in Lakeland, Florida.
In many ways, DataSphere is looking to fill a void left by traditional media companies such as newspapers and TV stations which have struggled to tap into online advertising revenue. The company is led by Satbir Khanuja, a former vice president at Amazon.com.
UPDATE: A spokesman for the company says that they also plan to hire 100 workers in the Bellevue offices over the next six to 12 months.
John Cook is co-founder of GeekWire. Follow on Twitter: @geekwirenews and Facebook.
