New Orange-Publicis Venture Fund, Iris Capital, Leads $15 Million Investment in Display Ad Innovator myThings

PARIS, March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- In a sign of a push for more technological innovation in Europe's online advertising markets, new fund picks myThings as first company to invest in

myThings, a global leader in personalized display ad solutions, has just announced that it has raised $15 million in a financial round led by Iris Capital, the manager of the Orange-Publicis Venture (OPV) Fund, in addition to Accel Partners, Carmel Ventures and T-Venture.

Inked in March 2012, the Orange-Publicis partnership stipulates that both companies commit to investing $200 million ($100m each) in three complementary funds: OPV Growth for late stage investments, OPV Early-Stage for seed investments and OPV Global for international investments.

myThings will be the first investment of the Orange-Publicis fund, underscoring an aligned synergy between myThings' personalization technology and Europe's top brands: the Orange Ad Network with its global reach of over 30 million users per month, and Publicis Groupe, the 3rd largest communications group worldwide with ties to tier 1 advertisers and publishers.

myThings specializes in increasing online revenues for advertisers and publishers by creating engaging and personalized ads in real time for each online viewer on a per-impression basis. Personalizing over a billion banners per month, myThings generates over 150% performance uplift compared to the retargeting industry standard. Its solutions propel customer acquisition and retention through retargeting, pre-targeting and look-alike targeting, driving sales at scale for the biggest retailers in Europe.  

"myThings' e-marketing solutions and disruptive technology produce one of the highest performance uplifts in the industry. With a market clearly heading toward performance and data-driven ad solutions, we regard myThings as a natural investment path. As strategic partners, we share a vision of driving innovation in the digital media industry, and believe great value creation can be achieved through significant partnerships between myThings and each of our sponsors Orange and Publicis," said Denis Barrier, who is in charge of the deal for Iris Capital.

As a client of myThings in the past year, Orange has benefited from highly successful retargeting campaigns aimed at driving its subscription base. Now, the companies' business partnership is set to gather significant momentum by adding the Orange Ad Market (OAM) into the mix.

myThings and Orange customers will now be able to enjoy the combined benefits of Orange ad network's vast audience reach - encompassing a significant share of French, Spanish and British users - coupled with an incremental uplift in conversion rates achieved by myThings' advanced display advertising solutions.

"myThings is proud to contribute to the strong technological and financial synergy created by the fund's investment and backing of two major advertising influencers. As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, myThings will continue to push the envelope and deliver ad solutions that serve as a catalyst for the industry's growth," commented CEO of myThings, Benny Arbel.

The current round of financing will fuel myThings' continued growth across Europe, its expansion to new markets and the advancement of its innovative technologies.

About myThings

Founded in 2005, myThings is the global leader in conversion-driven personalized display advertising solutions, growing sales at scale for top online retailers. Its service propels acquisition through retargeting, pre-targeting and look-alike targeting, generating over 150% uplift compared to the retargeting industry standard. 

myThings personalises over a billion banner impressions a month and operates in 14 markets including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Benelux, Nordics, Russia, US, India and Japan. Among its clients are top tier European online retailers such as SDG group (Littlewoods, Very), Zalando, PriceMinister, Orange, Vodafone, Telecom Italia, Carphone Warehouse and Microsoft Store. 

http://www.myThings.com

About Iris Capital

Iris Capital is a pan-European venture capital fund manager specializing in media, telecoms, internet and IT. Since its inception in 1986, the Iris Capital team has invested more than €870 million.

Iris Capital targets opportunities in service or technology companies, seeking growth capital in order to realize its strategy. It provides active support to its portfolio companies on the basis of its strong sector specialization and experience. Based in Paris, the Iris Capital team has invested in 18 European countries to date.

http://www.iriscapital.com

Contact info Iris Capital:

CarineMicoski
+33(0)1-45-62-73-73

Contact info myThings:

Rebecca Mandel
[email protected]
+44-20-81-23-28-39

SOURCE myThings