The investment will help fund the continued expansion of Blis into new markets, including the US, and the scaling of international sales and marketing activities. It will also be used to enhance Blis’ core data engineering capabilities, as well as the development of new product features.
Since launching in London, Blis has grown rapidly to become one of the largest location technology companies in the world, operating a profitable, high-growth business in over 50 markets from eight offices throughout APAC and EMEA.
Greg Isbister, Founder and CEO of Blis, commented: “We firmly believe that location technology is the future of digital advertising and we’re delighted to have received significant funding to support our expansion. The investment recognises the unique value of location and Blis’ market-leading data platform.”
With US location-targeted mobile ad spend predicted to be worth $11.3 billion in 2016 and growing to $26.7 billion by 2020, Blis’ unique technology is already helping media agencies, publishers and brands unlock the power of location. The company provides award-winning location-based technology solutions to global brands, including Airbnb, Ford and Samsung.
Investors Martijn Hamann, Endeit Capital; Mark Donnelly, Beringea US; and Ian Lane, Unilever Ventures, will join Blis Founder and CEO Greg Isbister, President Harry Dewhirst, and Rob Hodgkinson of Beringea UK on the Blis Board of Directors.
Rob Hodgkinson, Investment Director, Beringea, said, “Beringea looks to back businesses with global ambitions, great technology, and fantastic people. We believe that Blis is a perfect example of this. We have long been excited about the potential for Blis since we originally invested in 2008 and are absolutely delighted to continue to support Greg and the team for this next phase of growth.”
