Interactive video advertising start-up Innovid Ltd. has raised $9.5 million in its third financing round. Sequoia Capital led the round, joined by current investors Genesis Partners and Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT; DAX: DTE) venture capital arm T-Venture. The company has raised $17 million to date.
Innovide CEO Zvika Netter told "Globes" that the company would use the proceeds to greatly increase its workforce and expand its products globally. The company currently has 30 employees, half at its Israeli development center, and Netter says that it plans to hire 20 more people, ten of whom will work in development and design in Israel.
Innovid also plans to open an office in London to promote sales in Europe, which are currently handled by the Israeli office. Netter says that the company also plans to launch a complementary product for mobile devices.
Netter and Innovid CTO Tal Chalozin founded the company in 2007. Its technology aims to make money from online video content. It inserts 3D advertisements in video clips by combining virtual brands within the content, creating greater congruence between the advertiser's brand and the content to create interaction between the user and the video clip.
Netter declines to disclose whether Innovid is already profitable, but said, "We have very nice sales, which are growing from one quarter to the next." As for Sequoia, he said, "In contrast with other large US funds, I believe that this is Sequoia's first large investment in a video platform since its investment in YouTube."
Innovid currently works with leading US content providers, including CBS, NBC< CNN, and MTV, and with leading brands, such as The Coca-Cola Company Inc. (NYSE: KO).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 30, 2011
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