AdAsia Holdings bags US$12mln in funding, eyes 5 new markets

AdAsia Holdings, an advertising technology company and creator of the AdAsia Digital Platform, today announced it has closed US$12 million in Series A funding from JAFCO Asia.The funding will be used to expand its entry into markets such as Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Philippines in 2017. The company also aims to grow headcount to 400 by the end of 2018 and stream the money into product development and speed up integration of both artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning into existing products and future innovations.This is claimed to be largest disclosed Series A funding round for a Southeast Asian ad tech company and largest Series A funding round for an Asian ad tech company, excluding Chinese-headquartered companies.  This is also the largest single investment made in a company by JAFCO Asia, in one investment round.The Singapore-headquartered company began operations in April 2016, and currently has seven offices in six countries, with Shanghai soon to follow. The company has a global headcount of over 90 staff and more than 300 clients globally.Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AdAsia Holdings said: “We want to gain a big market share in our bid to become the biggest advertising technology company in Asia, and this funding will only strengthen our push.”“The funding has accelerated our quick growth, and in our move to enable marketers, advertisers and publishers across Asia to leverage on intelligent tools, we plan to cover the majority of Asia by the end of 2018,” said Sogo. “AI and machine learning will provide an added layer on top of our current product lineup that includes the AdAsia Digital Platform and CastingAsia. It will also be a big part of future innovations, addressing the needs of modern marketers, advertisers and publishers.”AdAsia Holdings’ flagship product, the AdAsia Digital Platform, provides solutions that enable programmatic buying and reporting across display, video and native ads on both desktop and mobile, through a single, transparent dashboard.Over the past year, the company has also been building up its video and display ad networks including premium publishers such as Sanook and Kapook in Thailand, YAN News in Vietnam, Kompas Gramedia Group and Kapanlagi Network in Indonesia, and Apple Daily in Taiwan.AdAsia Holdings also has digital marketing consultants and in-house creative teams to support marketers and advertisers in their activities, providing end-to-end solutions across online advertising and influencer marketing.Yoshiyuki Shibusawa, president and CEO of JAFCO Asia, and managing director of JAFCO Co said: “In the last few years of my stint in South East Asia, I have never come across a company like AdAsia Holdings. This company has a very high growth trajectory due to their unique model. Both founders also have proven track records in the industry, exemplified through the company’s progress in just one year of operation.”