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- In-game advertising platform Anzu.io completed a Series A funding round, raising $6.5M.
- Anzu.io inserts real-time ad campaigns into video game environments that appear as billboards, storefronts, etc.
- BITKRAFT Esports Ventures led the round with WPP, and Axel Springer Digital Ventures also participating through undisclosed amounts.
Video game advertising platform Anzu.io announced that it has raised $6.5M USD in Series A funding. According to a release, the funding round was led by BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, with participation from British advertising and public relations company WPP, and Axel Springer Digital Ventures, the venture capital arm of media and technology company Axel Springer.
Anzu.io’s “programmatic marketing platform” inserts ad creative into videogame environments in real-time. Players see these ads as a part of the virtual world on billboards, bus stops, or ringside on a basketball court, for example. Like other programmatic advertising, campaigns can be targeted to a specific audience and tracked. Players can interact with certain ads to initiate purchases or gain more information. Anzu recently partnered with cybersecurity firm Cheq to offer ad verification across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
“With 2.4B gamers around the world, gaming and the virtual worlds they take place in still remains the biggest untapped advertising market,” BITKRAFT Founder and Managing Partner, Jens Hilgers said in a release, adding that Anzu.io’s vision unlocks a “massive opportunity” for publishers, teams, and streamers looking for additional revenue.
BITKRAFT Esports Ventures raised a $125M venture capital fund in January. The company has since led funding rounds for internet startup Network Next, sports betting startup The Action Network, Japanese tournament organizer PlayBrain, and esports mobile app Strafe.
