AdBrite Announces $23 Million in Series C Funding

DAG Ventures and Mitsui Ventures Join Sequoia Capital in Backing Innovative

Ad Marketplace

Peter Sealey, Former Coca-Cola CMO, Joins Board of Directors

    SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- AdBrite, the Internet's Ad
 Marketplace, today announced $23 million in Series C venture funding. The
 current round includes follow-on investment by Sequoia Capital as well as
 new participation from DAG Ventures and Mitsui Ventures. AdBrite also
 announced the appointment of Peter Sealey, former Coca-Cola CMO, to the
 company's board of directors.
 
     The closing of additional blue-chip investment capital crowns a year of
 expansion and transformation for AdBrite. In the past twelve months,
 AdBrite launched a real-time auction model and an expanding range of ad
 formats to deliver transparency and price-efficiency for online advertisers
 and publishers.
 
     "A steady succession of product innovations -- including BritePic, Full
 Page Ad, and our new Facebook App Channel -- have fueled AdBrite's rapid
 growth," said Ignacio Fanlo, CEO of AdBrite. "This additional funding and
 new board expertise will help accelerate our expansion."
 
     Deloitte's Rising Star program recently named AdBrite the
 third-fastest-growing young technology company in North America. AdBrite is
 also the third-largest ad provider in the US, behind only Google and
 Advertising.com in page-views, according to Comscore's October ranking of
 advertising networks.
 
     The current round of funding is the company's third. Sequoia Capital
 led AdBrite's Series A round in 2004, and was joined in 2006 by Artis
 Capital Management for the Series B.
 
     "We saw from the very beginning that AdBrite's unique platform could
 bring increased efficiency and transparency to online advertisers and
 publishers," said Mark Kvamme, Partner at Sequoia Capital. "We are pleased
 with AdBrite's progress in building the Internet's most transparent and
 trusted advertising marketplace."
 
     "AdBrite's success to date demonstrates the considerable market demand
 for new, more effective online ad formats and a simple, efficient way for
 advertisers to reach engaged consumers on premier mid- and long-tail
 content sites," said Young Chung, Partner at DAG Ventures. "We're excited
 to help AdBrite expand on its leadership position and enhance its unique
 offerings."
 
     Peter Sealey Joins Board of Directors
 
     In a sign of AdBrite's increasing commitment to enabling major brands
 to advertise online, the company announced the appointment of former
 Coca-Cola CMO Peter Sealey to its board of directors. While at Coke, Sealey
 was responsible for the now-famous "Always Coca-Cola" advertising campaign.
 He also served as President of Marketing and Distribution at Columbia
 Pictures in the late 80's where his releases include Ghostbusters, La
 Bamba, Karate Kid, Stand By Me & Tootsie.
 
     About AdBrite
 
     AdBrite is the Internet's Ad Marketplace. The company makes it easy to
 buy and sell advertising online, giving advertisers and publishers more
 transparency and control than any other ad network. With innovative
 products like BritePic, InVideo and Full Page Ad, AdBrite has created a
 simple and more effective advertising marketplace for advertisers and
 publishers of all sizes. AdBrite serve ads on over a billion pages a day.
 
     AdBrite was founded by Philip Kaplan and Gidon Wise in 2002 and is
 headquartered in San Francisco, California. AdBrite is backed by venture
 capital firms Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures, and Mitsui Ventures. For more
 information, visit http://www.adbrite.com.
 
     About Sequoia Capital
 
     Sequoia Capital provides startup venture capital for very smart people
 who want to turn ideas into companies. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the
 Entrepreneurs", Sequoia Capital's Partners have worked with innovators such
 as Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Bob Swanson of
 Linear Technology, Sandy Lerner and Len Bozack of Cisco Systems, Dan
 Warmenhoven of Network Appliance, Jerry Yang and David Filo of Yahoo!,
 Jen-Hsun Huang of nVIDIA, Michael Marks of Flextronics, Larry Page and
 Sergey Brin of Google, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen of YouTube and Steve
 Goldman and Sujal Patel of Isilon Networks. To learn more about Sequoia
 Capital visit http://www.sequoiacap.com/.
 
     About DAG Ventures
 
     DAG Ventures is a venture capital partnership investing in and helping
 outstanding entrepreneurs create leading, long-term companies across a
 range of markets. With roots from the 1980's in cable TV, infrastructure,
 media, and wireless industries, the partnership today is privileged to work
 with world- class entrepreneurs as they build tomorrow's leaders in the
 information technology, energy, and life science sectors.
 
     About Mitsui Ventures
 
     Mitsui Ventures is a provider of early stage venture capital for
 various types of technology firms with a special expertise in helping to
 build their businesses globally. Over the years, we have invested in
 breakthrough technologies in the communication, software, information
 series, life science, and medical device industries and accelerated their
 growth worldwide. MVC Corp. based in Tokyo is the HQ for Mitsui & Co.'s
 global venture capital operation, with its US arm Mitsui & Co. Venture
 Partners (MCVP) located in New York and Silicon Valley, they manages more
 than $400 million in venture capital. Its parent, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is one
 of the largest and world's most diversified and comprehensive trading,
 investment, and service enterprises in Japan.
 
 
 

SOURCE AdBrite