Manchester-based venture capital investor Praetura Ventures has led a £4m ($5m) Series A investment into privacy first AdTech specialist Covatic.
Covatic’s solution enables personalised targeting in a future-proof and ethical way.
The investment will be used to further develop its technology while bringing it to the global advertising and media market.
Other investors included Creative UK’s Creative Growth Fund and Comcast.
Covatic’s ID-less, privacy-first technology helps brands understand their audiences without extracting, collecting or sharing individual consumer data.
Individual consumer data is kept within a user’s device – not sent to the cloud. By mapping content consumption and device characteristics, inputs, and sensor data to audience segments, it identifies when, where, and how an individual engages with content, helping to inform segment profiles and predict consumer behaviours. This, in turn, allows brands to effectively reach their target audience.
CEO Nick Pinks said: “I’m so proud of the progress we’ve made, and this investment is a testament to that. Online privacy is the most important issue facing the media ecosystem.
“By creating a solution that has privacy built at its core, we’re empowering media companies to deliver better content and advertising experiences. The next step for us is to use this investment to improve and scale our platforms and market reach.”
Peter Carway, head of EIS at Praetura Ventures, said: “The technology behind Covatic is cutting edge and perfectly balances advertising effectiveness with data protection and security.
“The global customer base is also proof that the solution is pioneering in the field, highly scalable and effective, and we have nothing but admiration for the way Nick and the team have continued to interact and progress with global brands while negotiating the fundraise process. Above all, we’re really excited to be partnering with Covatic and looking forward to supporting the team.”
Covatic participated in the Comcast NBC Universal LIFT Labs Accelerator in 2020, a programme that connects startups to senior executives at Comcast, NBCUniversal, and Sky for mentorship and business development. Since then, Covatic has continued to innovate and deploy its solutions to global brands
Praetura Ventures is a Manchester-based venture capital firm which invests in early-stage, high-growth businesses across the UK, with a particular focus on supporting entrepreneurs across the North of England.
Since 2019, Praetura Ventures has backed 33 companies, including North West-headquartered businesses Culture Shift, XR Games and Peak.