Track Record of Growth and Innovation Attracts Top Investors
New York – Spongecell, the interactive display advertising company that is leading the creative resurgence of online display, has completed a new round of financing led by Eric Schmidt, Google’s Executive Chairman, and Jim Pallotta, Chairman and Managing Director of Raptor Group. Also participating in the round are Brian Rooney, Board Member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Silverhaze Partners. The amount of the round was not disclosed.
Incorporated in 2006 by a team of Carnegie Mellon computer science graduates, Spongecell previously raised capital in 2007 from Halo Venture Partners, The Pilot Group and SilverHaze Partners.
“Spongecell’s growth has been extraordinary, gaining more than 200 major brands in 2010 alone. Founding CEO Ben Kartzman and his team are at the forefront of API-enabled technology that is pushing the boundaries of the next generation of display advertising,” says Raptor’s Mr. Pallotta. “We look forward to a bright future for Spongecell.”
In recent independent tests conducted by IPG’s Media Lab, API-enabled ads, including Spongecell’s, outperformed competitors and static control ads. Engagement rates improved anywhere from 2.4% to 11.9%. Interactions within the test ads were anywhere from twice to eight times as frequent in comparison to the control.
“Since the introduction of Spongecell’s dynamic advertising technology in late 2008, we have been very fortunate to have been able to grow the business rapidly from profits rather than additional capital investment” says Mr. Kartzman. “The new funds will be used to accelerate sales growth and further bolster the product development team. Clearly, we are very excited to have the advice and counsel of Eric Schmidt, Jim Pallotta, and Brian Rooney.”
Spongecell Ad Gallery
About Spongecell (https://Spongecell.com/) is leading the creative resurgence of online display advertising by combining speed, innovation and advanced engineering to transform standard banner ads into rich-media-like interactive ads that can run in any ad placement on the web. The company works with creative and media agencies to serve thousands of engaging campaigns across billions of impressions for global brand advertisers every year. Spongecell is an independent company founded in 2006 with headquarters in New York and offices throughout the United States and Europe.
