Birmingham AdTech Covatic has secured £1.5 million to accelerate the commercialisation of Covatic Sense, its person-level connected TV (CTV) targeting technology.
The pre-B Bridge round was led by the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCO), managed by Future Planet Capital Regional, alongside investment from Creative Growth Finance, PXN Group, and a number of angel investors.
Deployed on more than 1.7 billion devices with nearly 200 million monthly active users, Covatic is already the attribution and targeting partner of choice for global publishers and broadcasters, including Sky, BBC, Bauer Media, and Octave.
The investment arrives at a critical turning point for the digital advertising industry. As global privacy laws tighten and third-party cookies collapse, publishers are losing the traditional behavioural data needed to sell targeted advertising.
While Video on Demand (VOD) is the fastest-growing advertising channel in the UK, more than half of marketing decision-makers state they would invest even further if CTV measurement and cross-screen attribution improved.
Recognising Covatic’s potential to solve this structural identity gap, this latest round of investment will allow the company to spearhead the transition to ethical, high-accuracy next-generation targeting. By leveraging AI and edge computing, Covatic’s portfolio – which spans person-level CTV targeting, Smart Campaigns, and Retargeting – runs directly on personal devices.
This gives publishers and advertisers the tools to reach verified individuals, optimise for real business outcomes, and re-engage audiences across the full digital ecosystem.
As part of the growth plan, the Company will be moving its headquarters to Birmingham City University-based innovation co-working space, STEAMhouse.
“This is a brilliant moment for the team, and the timing is right,” said Nick Pinks, founder & CEO. “CTV ad spend is accelerating, but the measurement infrastructure is still catching up. Person-level targeting on the big screen has been the missing piece, and Covatic Sense solves that structurally.
“This funding lets us move faster: more integrations, more markets, more publishers getting the yield they should already be seeing from their CTV inventory. Really looking forward to what the next phase looks like with Future Planet Capital and the wider group alongside us.”
Huw Sparkes, investment manager at Future Planet Capital Regional, said: “As the digital advertising market hits a critical inflection point, we recognised the solution Covatic was presenting.
“Broadcasters and advertisers need tools that deliver verified audiences and cross-screen performance at scale, and Covatic has built exactly that. We firmly believe in the Company’s ability to become a frontrunner in addressable advertising globally and look forward to joining Nick, Dan, and the team as they scale internationally.”
The WMCO was launched by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the West Midlands Pension Fund to help expand SMEs that offer high-growth potential and the ability to help supercharge the regional economy. Managed by Future Planet Capital Regional, the fund provides innovative SMEs with equity of up to £1 million matched on a 1:1 basis by private co-investment.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “My goal is to make our region a top destination for the creative industries by building on a wave of investment from big names like the BBC, Netflix and Steven Knight. But it’s not just about showbiz.
“Creative skills like digital advertising and the specialist technology it uses are an important part of the mix and Covatic have the potential to help grow this part of the sector. They are also not the first to recognise the creative talent we have in the West Midlands and make the move here.
“I’m backing them and others in our industries of the future to grow our economy and create the high-quality jobs local people want.”
Shiventa Sivanesan, director of investment management and stewardship, said: “We are pleased to support this investment in Covatic through the West Midlands Co-investment Fund. As a long-term investor, our focus is on making disciplined investment decisions that support the interests of our scheme members and employers.
“Covatic is an example of the type of business being developed in the West Midlands, with technology that responds to changing market needs around privacy, digital advertising and data use. Where investment opportunities meet the right commercial and fiduciary tests, they can also help support the wider strength and resilience of the regional economy.”
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