TV ad targeting developer and ad
network operator Simulmedia has closed on a $25 million round of funding from a group led by new investor Valiant Capital. Others participating in the round include R&R Venture Partners, a new
fund created by Dick Parsons and Ronald Lauder and existing investors Avalon Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Time Warner Investments and Allen & Co. The new round brings total investments raised
to date by Simulmedia to nearly $59 million.
Simulmedia -- which was launched in 2009 by online advertising pioneer Dave Morgan, who founded and sold seminal behavioral targeting company Tacoda to
AOL -- utilizes advanced data science and “predictive technologies” to improve the precision of TV audience targeting for advertisers and television programmers.
The company says
that over the past year it has worked with more than 30 advertisers and their agencies to improve the targeting of their TV advertising, and claims those improvements were between 25% and 300% better
than they were able to achieve with conventional TV ad schedules and targeting methods.
Founder and CEO Morgan pointed out the significance of Silicon Valley-based Valiant's backing, noting:
“Having a major West Coast investor I believe reflects that Silicon Valley now realizes that disruption/optimization of the TV ad market will be a leading driver of the redistribution of
hundreds of billions of ad dollars over time as all of TV becomes Internet Protocol delivered and on-demand over the next ten or more years.”