IDG Backs Ozone Media

Ozone Media Solutions, an India-based online advertising network, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from IDG Ventures India.

PRESS RELEASE

IDG Ventures India, a $150 Million early-stage technology venture capital fund, announced today its Series A investment in Ozone Media, India's leading online advertising network. As part of the investment, Manik Arora and Ritesh Banglani from IDG Ventures India will join the company's Board of Directors.

As an ad network, Ozone Media provides advertisers who want to leverage the internet, access to websites in its database. It utilizes advanced behavioural and contextual targeting techniques to identify the most relevant websites for advertisers and further allows those advertisers to track performance of their campaigns.

Ozone differentiates itself in this space by providing better targeted solutions for industry verticals, and providing complete transparency and control over ad placement. Further, the company has accumulated a large volume of premium inventory, especially in regional language and video.

Commenting on the investment, Kiran Gopinath, Founder and CEO of Ozone Media, and a veteran in the online advertising space, said, “Ozone has acquired India's largest publisher base with a focus on premium inventory, which has allowed us to grow rapidly by attracting advertisers. We are thrilled to partner with IDG Ventures to extend our leadership position, by leveraging their expertise and networks in internet and media across India. We plan to use the funding to reach out to a broader set of advertisers and expand our sales and technology teams.”

IDG is considered a domain expert in online advertising, having previously invested in market leaders such as Blue Lithium in the USA (later acquired by Yahoo for $300m) and Allyes in China (acquired by Focus Media for $300m). Manik Arora, Founder and Managing Director of IDG Ventures India, said, “Having successfully invested in ad networks globally, we are excited to partner with Ozone Media to rapidly scale the company. We are impressed with Ozone's rapid growth and market leadership position, as well as the team's deep understanding of online advertising.”

The Indian market for online advertising is estimated to be Rs. 450 crores currently, and is expected to grow to INR 2,000 crores over the next 3 years. Globally, ad networks account for more than 40% of display advertising spend on the internet, and help monetize the long tail of internet sites. About IDG Ventures:

IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with over $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest IT media company.

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