It has been in operation for 12 years now, and video ad technology firm Innovid is welcoming 2019 by taking a $30 million new investment round.
The new money comes from Goldman Sachs’ Private Capital Investing, a new backer for the company. It is a Series E – the latest of nine rounds now totalling $95.1 million, according to Crunchbase.
Notably this time, Innovid’s press announcement refers to the investment as “pre-IPO” money. That status stands to reason, of course, but may also set tongues wagging about the likelihood of a market listing.
The purpose of the money is said to be “additional capital” and ” to expand its global footprint”.
Innovid’s technology helps brands or their agencies create and deliver video ads, often with interactivity and personalization, across a range of devices, notably the burgeoning range of new connected and over-the-top TV devices that are enabling new digital ad experiences on large-screen TV sets.
Whilst most such vendors in the space see this evolution, from current digital media experiences to the connected TV (CTV) screen, as a growth driver, Goldman Sachs in Innovid’s announcement points back to digital channels.
Hillel Moerman, head of Goldman Sachs’ Private Capital Investing group, is quoted as saying: “Innovid has differentiated video advertising software and technology, and has the scale and the reach to succeed, with access to significant supply beyond CTV, including platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snap and others.
Co-founder Chalozin recently told Beet.TV: “The (TV) environment behaves very differently from desktop or web-based video.”
Last month, Innovid president Beth-Ann Eason told Beet.TV the company was trying to help publishers re-think their advertising experience because, with consumer behavior showing an up-tick for subscription VOD and a growing frustration toward classical advertising, a change is needed.
“With what’s happening right now with Netflix being an option, and consumers not having to necessarily see commercials, the expectation to be able to take care of her in that experience is much, much higher,” she said.
“(Viewers) who chose a more immersive experience are more likely to actually buy the product that they saw within that immersive experience.”
For Innovid, the money caps a year in which it launched a self-service product and gained a notable industry accreditation.
The company launched OTT Composer, a software suite that lets brands, agencies and publishers design creatives for connected TV on a self-serve basis.
And it recently gained accreditation from the Media Ratings Council (MRC) for video ad measurement in a connected TV environment, which it says makes it the first vendor to have gained the designation. That means customers should be able to trust that the figures Innovid gives them on ad views should be reliable.
