About Return Path
Return Path is a Technology company based in New York (United States) founded in 1999, and was acquired by Validity in May 2019. Email marketing automation and fraud protection platform. Return Path has raised $131.37 million across 17 funding rounds from investors including Validity, Western Technology Investment and Vista Equity Partners. Return Path has completed 6 acquisitions, including Context.IO, Email Copilot and Habeas. Return Path offers products and services including BriteVerify, DemandTools, Everest, GridBuddy Connect, and MailCharts. Its focus areas include Enterprise Applications, MarketingTech, Email Marketing and Email Deliverability. Its legal entity is return path,inc. Its competitors include MessageGears, Litmus and Email Copilot; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Return Path was founded in 1999 in New York, United States, and operates in the email technology sector. Email data solutions are supplied for marketing insights, fraud prevention, and performance optimization. Threat intelligence is applied to identify, block, and address email threats in real time for customer protection. Tools are offered to help senders analyze and resolve deliverability issues while sustaining email reputation.
- Total Equity Funding$131.37M (USD)
in 17 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$261.75K (USD), Series F
Dec 2016
- InvestorsValidity
& 10 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsContext.IO
& 5 more
- Acquired byValidity
(May 2019)
Products & Services of Return Path
Return Path offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including BriteVerify, DemandTools, Everest, GridBuddy Connect, and MailCharts.
Tool for validating email addresses to improve campaign performance.
Platform for cleaning and maintaining CRM data efficiently.
Service for monitoring inbox placement and engagement metrics.
Application for integrating and editing CRM data in real-time.
Tool for analyzing email and SMS campaign performance.
Apps and channels of Return Path
its YouTube channel Validity Inc. has 34.7K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Return Path
The most watched videos on Return Path's YouTube channel, Validity Inc. (34.7K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Validity Inc..
Funding Insights of Return Path
Return Path has successfully raised a total of $131.37M across 17 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series F round of $261.75 thousand completed in December 2016. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $131.37M
- Total Rounds 17
- Last Round Series F β $261,750
- First Round $6.5M
(Jan 2002)
- Investors Count 10
Latest 10 of 17 funding rounds of Return Path with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2016 | $261,750 | Series F | β | β | β |
| Dec 2014 | $35M | Series F | β | Vista Equity Partners | |
| Jul 2014 | $5M | Debt – Conventional | β | β | β |
| Jul 2014 | $5M | Series F | β | β | β |
| Oct 2013 | $6.79M | Series F | β | β | β |
| Jul 2013 | $29M | Series F | β | β | β |
| Jan 2013 | $4.25M | Series E | β | β | β |
| Dec 2011 | $1.63M | Series E | β | β | β |
| Aug 2011 | $11M | Series E | β | β | β |
| Jul 2009 | $5.5M | Series E | β | β | β |
11 investors in total: 11 institutional.
Investors in Return Path
Return Path has secured backing from 11 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Validity, Western Technology Investment and Vista Equity Partners.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Investments are directed toward high-growth enterprise software and technology companies. | vistaequitypartners.com | Austin, United States | ||
Venture capital firm focused on blockchain, wellbeing, and multiple sectors | usv.com | New York, United States | ||
Venture capital is invested in early-stage tech startups. | foundry.vc | Boulder, United States | ||
Investments in private tech ecosystem are made by Industry Ventures. | industryventures.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Venture capital firm partnering with enterprise software companies and early-stage funds. | sapphireventures.com | |||
Tech focused expansion stage VC firm in the US | fourriversgroup.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
| mobiusvc.com | ||||
VC firm investing in the US | shv.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Venture debt is provided globally across multiple sectors. | 1980 | westerntech.com | Portola Valley, United States | |
Tech focused Early stage VC Firm investing in the US | costanoavc.com | Palo Alto, United States |
Investor details for Return Path
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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People of Return Path
82 people are tracked at Return Path (17 in leadership, 6 in board & advisors, 59 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Brian Prusak | VP, Corporate Controller | Leadership |
Daniel Smoot | Director - Fp&a | Leadership |
Chris Newhall | Chief Accounting Officer | Leadership |
Mike Piispanen | COO | Leadership |
Andrew Lazarus | CFO | Leadership |
Jessica Delahunt | Director, Content And Brand | Leadership |
Mark Briggs | Chairman And CEO | Leadership |
Andy Dittrich | VP, Financial Planning & Analysis | Leadership |
Olivia Hinkle | Director Of Product Marketing | Leadership |
Tim Baird | VP EMEA & APAC | Leadership |
Savitha Rajagopalan | Director Of Engineering | Leadership |
Christopher Kanyo | Director, Partner Services | Leadership |
Danielle Contin | Director, Revenue Marketing - Global | Leadership |
Michael Young | Director Of Engineering | Leadership |
Chris Taggart | Director - Account Management | Leadership |
Benjamin Rubin | Director, Tax And Treasury | Leadership |
Cecilia Belele | VP, Sales, LATAM | Leadership |
Tom Reardon | Director | Board & advisors |
Mark E. Hastings | Director | Board & advisors |
Jim Quagliaroli | Director | Board & advisors |
62 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Return Path
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Investments & Acquisitions by Return Path
Return Path has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 6 companies. Notable acquisitions include Context.IO, Email Copilot and Habeas.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subscription based data stream for email security | threatwave.com | Louisville, United States | 2013 | Jan 2017 | β’β’β’β’ | |
Email delivery analytics are provided for marketers and ESPs. | emailcopilot.com | San Diego, United States | 2011 | Nov 2016 | β’β’β’β’ | |
Provider of customer intelligence software solutions for e-commerce businesses | motleybunch.com | Pleasanton, United States | 2001 | Nov 2014 | β’β’β’β’ | |
Email integration API for applications is provided. | context.io | Montreal, Canada | 2008 | Oct 2012 | β’β’β’β’ | |
Email encryption and organization tools are provided for inboxes. | otherinbox.com | Austin, United States | 2008 | Jan 2012 | β’β’β’β’ | |
Email marketing reputation management solutions are provided by Habeas. | habeas.com | New York, United States | 2000 | Aug 2008 | β’β’β’β’ |
Complete acquisition details for Return Path
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
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Timeline of Return Path
10 dated milestones of Return Path across 20 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Return Path is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $6.5M.
- Acquisition Acquires Habeas.
- Acquisition Acquires OtherInbox.
- Acquisition Acquires Context.IO.
- Acquisition Acquires Motley Bunch.
- Acquisition Acquires Email Copilot.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series F, of $262K.
- Acquisition Acquires ThreatWave.
- Exit Acquired by Validity.
Competitors of Return Path
Return Path has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include MessageGears, Litmus and Email Copilot.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| messagegears.com | 2010 | Atlanta, United States | $79.65M | 95 | Email marketing platform for enterprises | |
| litmus.com | 2005 | Cambridge, United States | $49M | 158 | Email marketing testing and analytics tools are provided to professionals. | |
| emailcopilot.com | 2011 | San Diego, United States | $1.25M | Email delivery analytics are provided for marketers and ESPs. |
Detailed competitors of Return Path
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- Full competitor set
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Web traffic of Return Path
The website of Return Path (returnpath.com) receives about 1.3K visits a month and ranks #13,599,494 among all websites worldwide, #2,871 in Email.
- Monthly visits1.3K
▲ 12.6% vs previous month
- Global rank#13,599,494
among all websites
- Category rank#2,871
Computers Electronics and Technology · Email
- Bounce rate39%
- Pages per visit1.1
- DevicesDesktop 26% Β· Mobile 74%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Return Path. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
senderscore.org | senderscore.org | 100% | #412,422 | β | |
isipp.com | isipp.com | 91% | #2,852,327 | β | |
forwardamerica.com | forwardamerica.com | 83% | β | ||
messagesystems.com | messagesystems.com | 82% | β | ||
email-marketing-reports.com | email-marketing-reports.com | 75% | β | ||
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
All 16 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Return Path
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 16 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
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Top companies in MarketingTech
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Return Path (MarketingTech) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provider of AI-powered customer relationship management software | 2005 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 100.7 M | USD 3.13 B | 8,250 | |
Zeta Global is recognized as an AI-powered marketing cloud. | 2007 | New York, New York, United States | USD 357.58 M | USD 1.3 B | 3,142 | |
Multi-channel online marketing tools are provided for small businesses. | 1998 | Waltham, Massachusetts, United States | USD 37 M |
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Related news about Return Path
Complete news archive for Return Path
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Frequently Asked Questions about Return Path
Return Path was founded in 1999 and raised its 1st funding round 3 years after it was founded.
Return Path is headquartered in New York, United States. It is registered at New York, New York, United States.
Return Path is a funded company, having raised a total of $131.37M across 17 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series E of $5.5M, raised on Jan 2002.
Return Path was founded in 1999 in New York, United States, and operates in the email technology sector. Email data solutions are supplied for marketing insights, fraud prevention, and performance optimization. Threat intelligence is applied to identify, block, and address email threats in real time for customer protection. Tools are offered to help senders analyze and resolve deliverability issues while sustaining email reputation.
Return Path's top competitors include MessageGears, Litmus and Email Copilot.
Return Path offers BriteVerify, DemandTools, Everest, GridBuddy Connect, and MailCharts.
Return Path has made 6 acquisitions, including Context.IO, Email Copilot, and Habeas.
Return Path has 11 investors. Key investors include Validity, Western Technology Investment, Vista Equity Partners, Union Square Ventures, and Costanoa Venture.
Return Path operates through Return Path,Inc.
Yes. Return Path was acquired by Validity in May 2019.

