LucidMedia clears $8.8M to launch contextual ad network
LucidMedia, a long-standing player in display ad targeting, just took $8.8 million in third-round funding to launch and expand its new contextual advertising network. Specifically, it will be used to open a national office in New York and to hire more sales personnel. The investment included the value of converted debt.
The round is significant because most industry insiders have predicted a struggle for display ad companies in the current market. PaidContent suspects that LucidMedia’s business model was compelling enough to win it an exception. Its ClickSense platform breaks web pages into extremely narrow categories (it has 14,000 to choose from) that can then be used to properly serve relevant ads to engaged users.
The recent round came from Lake Street Capital, RLI Partners, Melton Investments, Redleaf Group and Silicon Valley tycoon Milan Mandaric. Previously known as Entrieva, the nine-year-old company rebranded itself in March. It is based in Reston, Va.
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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