Bidstack raises $11M for US expansion

Maggie Hanson All News, Business, Digital & Media, Finances, Start Up

Bidstack, the in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform, announces it has raised a total of USD $11 million in a new round of funding. This includes a $6 million strategic investment from digital platform cybersecurity world leader, Irdeto, and brings Bidstack’s total funding to $42 million – the most raised for any company in the in-game advertising industry to-date.

This is the first strategic investment in Bidstack’s seven-year history and will fuel the pioneering company’s US growth strategy following the recent hire of Jude O’Connor as Chief Revenue Officer. With more than 80 staff across five international locations, Bidstack now has the infrastructure and talent in place to take on the huge, untapped opportunity for in-game advertising in the US market. Bidstack has already run award-winning in-game campaigns for brands such as Marriott Bonvoy, Paco Rabanne, and Doritos, and works with world-leading game publishers such as Codemasters, and Take-Two Interactive.

Irdeto entered the video games industry with the acquisition of anti-cheat software company Denuvo. The company’s suite of software products are used by a majority of leading console, PC, and mobile titles, creating extensive synergies with Bidstack’s ever-growing developer and publisher network, and breadth of ad formats which now includes rewarded video in addition to in-game and in-menu.

James Draper, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Bidstack, commented

“I am pleased to share that we have secured our first strategic investment, from Irdeto B.V. Irdeto, part of the Multichoice Group, is established as one of the world’s leading cybersecurity businesses, with their gaming division Denuvo being trusted as a leading anti-cheat middleware across the world’s most celebrated gaming platforms and franchises.  Irdeto’s positioning across the gaming and entertainment space will lead to many opportunities for our two companies to collaborate going forward, as strategic partners.”

Globally, the in-game advertising market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11% to 2030, from its current estimated valuation of $7.6 billion. This figure represents just under 1% of the $850 billion global advertising market, despite more than three billion people playing games on a daily basis.