BrightRoll Secures $30 Million in Funding

LONDON, November 17, 2011 -

Investment Amid Continued Expansion of Network, Exchange and Mobile Video Solutions

BrightRoll, the leading provider of digital video advertising services, announces it has secured US $30 million (£18.9 million) in financing. New investor Trident Capital  led the equity financing and Evangelos Simoudis, Senior Managing Director of Trident will be joining the BrightRoll board.  Existing investors True Ventures, Scale Venture Partners and Adams Street Partners all participated, as did Comerica Bank.  Earlier this year, BrightRoll - which has headquarters in San Fancisco - expanded internationally opening offices in the UK, Canada and Germany, bringing the company’s industry-leading technologies and extensive suite of digital video solutions to global advertisers.

This funding comes amid significant momentum as BrightRoll continues to double revenue year on year. While demand for video advertising is increasing faster than any other online ad format - projected to rise 54 per cent in 2012 by eMarketer - BrightRoll has continued to outpace the industry. The success is fuelled by significant investments in technology and research, as well as expansion of the senior leadership team across key operations and strategic roles.

Evangelos Simoudis, Senior Managing Director of Trident said, “As long-term adtech investors, we continually look for companies with a leadership position in important sectors of the online advertising space.  After following online video advertising for some time we have decided to invest in BrightRoll, which we consider one of the market leaders.  We are impressed by the company’s leadership, vision and cutting-edge technology.  Tod and the rest of the executive team have built a solid company and we look forward to helping them continue to grow the business.”

Tod Sacerdoti, CEO of BrightRoll said, “We are delighted to partner with Trident Capital as we enter into our next stage of growth. Bolstered by this additional funding, we’re confident our combination of unmatched access to industry data, proprietary technology and research leadership will enable us to consistently provide the best solutions for clients.”

BrightRoll currently manages 2.25 billion video ads per month, or nearly 1 out of every 3 US video ads served, according to data from comScore and BrightRoll internal reporting. Furthermore, the company now reaches more unique viewers than Hulu, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC combined.

In September 2010, BrightRoll launched mobile video advertising enabling advertisers to execute both mobile and online video ad buys through a single platform. The company’s mobile network currently generates more than 250 million monthly pre-roll video impressions across 6,000 mobile apps and websites. Most recently, three of the top five mobile applications that collectively account for 600 million installs globally joined the company’s network.

GCA Savvian served as exclusive financial advisor to BrightRoll in this transaction.

Editor’s Notes

• BrightRoll announced the launch of its UK office in May this year; Canada in August; and its first German office 11 October 2011.
• According to comScore UK Video Metrix 6.5 billion videos were viewed in August 2011, up 29 per cent in the last six months. On average, each viewer spent 20.1 hours viewing online videos, also increasing 33 per cent in the last six months.

About BrightRoll

With more than 150 million monthly unique viewers worldwide, BrightRoll is the world’s largest and most trusted video ad network and the leading provider of online video advertising services. The BrightRoll Network has access to billions of video impressions per month enabling advertisers to execute smart online video campaigns across a massive pool of web and mobile video inventory. BrightRoll’s proprietary buying technology, detailed performance reports, and flexible targeting provide brands and agencies with the reach, frequency and scalability needed to achieve their campaign goals. BrightRoll is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with European headquarters in London. www.brightroll.co.uk

About Trident Capital

Trident Capital is a leading venture capital firm with more than $1.9 billion of capital under management, including its most recent fund, Trident Capital Fund VII.   Trident invests in Software, Internet and Business Services companies across multiple stages, from early startup to venture growth.  Trident has substantial investment experience, sector expertise and operating skills together with broad networks of entrepreneurs and industry executives.  The firm has helped build large numbers of successful companies within its areas of focus since firm inception in 1993.  Trident is broadly recognized as one of the leading investors in Cloud Computing, IT Security, Health Care IT, Online Advertising and Business Services.  The firm is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.  www.tridentcap.com.

Media Contact: Lorette Nettar, PR for BrightRoll UK : +44(0)7968-521-684 / lorette at brightroll.com