MediaGamma secures seed funding for automated digital ad futures & options exchange

MediaGamma, the first automatic futures and options exchange for digital advertising, today announced the closing of their seed round. The company which is spun out of the Department of Computer Science at UCL and is supported by UCL Business PLC (UCLB), is focused on bringing new trading methodologies and products to the programmatic digital advertising sector— a global marketplace that will reach approximately US $53 billion by 20181.

Much like modern financial markets, the MediaGamma exchange offers the ability for buyers and sellers to agree on a price and volume for future real-time media placements across multiple digital channels. The company is currently piloting with a number of participants.

Seed round investors include UCLB and a syndicate of tech-sector focused angel investors. This round augments the £200k received in grant awards from the government’s Innovate UK programme. Accelerate Cambridge has also provided early support to the venture.

Rael Cline, MediaGamma Co-founder and CEO, stated: “Now that programmatic advertising represents nearly half of all display ad spend, the time is right to widen opportunities for programmatic traders to manage risk and for publishers to secure revenue in advance. We’re excited to begin a new stage of MediaGamma’s development, working ever more closely with brands, agencies, publishers and industry trade bodies to develop products and use cases that solve real material problems.”

Dr Jun Wang, MediaGamma Co-founder and CTO, added: “MediaGamma’s technology is directly derived from the world-class research developed in the Department of Computer Science at UCL in Computational Advertising and Big Data Analytics. Combined with MediaGamma’s commercial application of state of the art large-scale machine intelligence, we will provide new capabilities for media trading on a global scale.”

Marina Santilli, Senior Business Manager at UCLB commented: “Having tracked the demand for advertising futures for some while now, we believe MediaGamma’s entrance to the programmatic advertising sector is well-timed. We look forward to continuing our support of the company as it goes from strength to strength.”

For more information on MediaGamma’s pilot programme, please contact Julian Grainger on 07710 481182.

Notes to editors:
1 The global programmatic marketplace is forecast to reach US $53 billion by 2018. Source: Global Media Suppliers Advertising Revenue Forecast, September 2014, MAGNA GLOBAL.

About MediaGamma
The first automatic futures and options exchange for digital media, MediaGamma is transforming the way digital media is valued, traded, and measured. Established in 2014 at the intersection of London’s tech, advertising, and finance hubs, MediaGamma’s customers include some of the UK’s leading brands, agencies, and publishers.

MediaGamma provides its partners with greater transparency and control when they buy and sell digital media by offering an accurate, ROI-based view of the immediate and long-term value of inventory. Brands, agencies, and publishers can also engage in programmatic direct or upfront inventory purchases and sales on the MediaGamma platform, mitigating price volatility and ensuring brand safety. www.mediagamma.com

About UCL Business PLC
UCL Business PLC (UCLB) is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB has a strong track record in commercialising medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL’s associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market.

For further information, please visit: www.uclb.com