PwC Raise | Ventures advises Illuma Technology on £1.9m investment from Blackfinch and Praetura Ventures

The PwC Raise | Ventures team is pleased to announce that it has advised London-based contextual advertising company Illuma in securing a £1.9m investment from Blackfinch and Praetura Ventures.

Illuma’s technology enables artificial intelligence to react to live browsing data and subsequently maximise the reach of an online advertising campaign. The technology was created in 2016 by leading data scientists and operates without relying on personal data, thus offering advertisers a GDPR-compliant and cookieless solution.

The investment from Blackfinch follows several years of strong growth and a growing client base including Microsoft, American Express, Aviva & TUI. The funding will be used to further build pipeline clients, expand its team and enhance its proprietary technology.

The PwC team advising on the deal are Glen Waters, Charlie Robinson and Tom Hudson.

Charlie Robinson, Head of PwC Raise | Ventures Programme, said:

“It has been a pleasure to work with the team at Illuma to secure the right investor which will help them on their journey of continued growth. With the backdrop of 3rd party cookies to be removed from internet browsers in the near future, Illuma is well placed to offer advertisers a unique solution to target relevant audiences. Blackfinch Ventures will make a fantastic partner for Illuma as they continue to develop their technology and realise their market potential.”

Peter Mason, CEO of Illuma, said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with Blackfinch, who share our vision of advancing sustainable and ethical business solutions. This investment comes at an exciting time for Illuma as the advertising industry considers partnerships for the cookieless future, and will enable us to further evolve our algorithms, grow our team and develop products in areas such as Connected TV (CTV)”

Dr Reuben Wilcock, Ventures Director at Blackfinch said:

“We were very impressed by the calibre of Illuma’s management team, as well as its impressive track record delivering campaigns on behalf of a myriad of leading international brands. With this latest investment, Illuma is now in a strong position to scale up its operations, and to continue to expand its list of blue-chip clients.We are delighted to have this opportunity to work alongside the business during an exciting period of growth, and very much looking forward to seeing it continue on its upward trajectory of success in the months ahead.”