Investors like adtech. The latest example is Boston-based Nanigans, which announced Wednesday it has raised a $24 million Series B round. Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: [[ticker:CMCM]]), a Chinese Internet company, led the round, which included the Wellington Management Company as a new investor. Prior investor Avalon Ventures also participated.
Nanigans makes digital advertising automation software for social and mobile ads. The technology offers the usual array of tools for programmatic media buying, predictive revenue optimization, and real-time analytics. Since Nanigans was founded in 2010, its software has mostly been used to help advertisers reach Facebook users. With the new cash, the company is looking to expand beyond Facebook. It also plans to extend its reach overseas, especially in Asia. The deal with Cheetah Mobile also includes a strategic partnership to help with that.
Nanigans co-founder and CEO Ric Calvillo said in a release that the company manages more than $500 million in annualized ad spending. He also said the company recently completed a change in its business model, switching to a software-as-a-service approach to secure a more reliable revenue stream. Previously it collected commissions and sold additional services to customers.
Prior to this round, Nanigans had raised $9 million from investors.
Calvillo founded Nanigans after starting several enterprise software companies, including one he sold the EMC. He also founded Incipient, which made software for financial services companies but failed in 2009 after raising $95 million in VC.
