You’ve probably seen a VidMob advertisement, or at least an ad the company had some influence on, and not known it.
The New York-based startup has helped make or optimize digital ads created for smartphones for brands ranging from Netflix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NFLX]]) to Arby’s (“We Have the Meats!”). The company has software that lets the advertiser analyze the ads to see how they’re performing, which can also suggest ways to optimize the ads in hopes of improving the success of the ad campaign.
VidMob announced Thursday it has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round to further develop its technology, which incorporates elements of machine learning and data processing. BuildGroup, an Austin, TX-based investment firm focused on companies in data science and cloud services, led the funding round. BuildGroup was founded by Lanham Napier, the former CEO of San Antonio, TX-based cloud computing company Rackspace.
VidMob has numerous partnerships with major social media companies, such as Facebook (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FB]]), Twitter (NYSE: [[ticker:TWTR]]), and LinkedIn, and has application programming interfaces for the social networks, the company says in a statement. There are almost 3.5 billion social media users in 2019 globally, according to a report from Hootsuite and We Are Social. Social media ad revenue is projected to be about $59.5 billion this year, according to eMarketer.
That has made adtech a bustling sector with big competitors. AT&T (NYSE: [[ticker:T]]) paid $1.6 billion last year to acquire New York-based AppNexus, which works with everyone from publishers to ad agencies to marketers, offering “programmatic” services that let both buyers and sellers customize their advertisements, including by incorporating analytics from user data. Amazon’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) dominance in e-commerce is well documented.
Plenty of startups like VidMob are getting a piece of the pie, too. One unique part of VidMob is that it offers to connect advertisers with freelancers who can create digital ads, such as an Instagram Story or something similar. The company also offers data-only services that can analyze and optimize content an advertiser has already created.
The new funding brings VidMob’s total capital raised since inception to $45 million. Previous investors participated in the new round, including Acadia Woods Partners, Herington, Interlock Partners, Macanta Investments, and You & Mr Jones.
