Illuma

Illuma is a British AI company founded in 2014 that specializes in contextual advertising technology. The company's core products include Illuma Reacts, which expands campaign reach based on real-time content behaviors across web, apps, and Connected TV (CTV), and Illuma Precision, which offers over 700 content categories for precise targeting and brand suitability management. The AI-powered platform analyzes contextual patterns in pages that drive brand awareness and engagement, then scales to find similar audiences consuming similar content. Using proprietary algorithms, Illuma's technology learns from content engagement signals to identify real-time lookalikes without relying on cookies or personal identifiers, making it compliant with GDPR and privacy regulations. The company's Smart Deals product selects and curates advertising deals based on real-time engagement across themed inventory, optimizing toward campaign KPIs automatically. Early validation testing of Illuma's AI technology has demonstrated improvements in segment accuracy ranging from 11% to 25% across various verticals. The company was founded by publishing experts and computer scientists from Imperial College, University College London (UCL), and Cambridge University.

Key customers and partnerships

In July 2024, Equativ integrated Illuma's AI tools into its Equativ Buyer Connect platform. In August 2024, Illuma's contextual solutions became available through Amazon Publisher Services' Connections Marketplace. The company partnered with News UK in August 2024 to enhance contextual accuracy for The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, and talkSPORT publications. Additional partnerships include Zeotap Data in January 2024 for audience targeting capabilities. The company's technology has been adopted by global brands, agencies, broadcasters, and online platforms, including Warner Bros Discovery and Dentsu for their CTV campaigns. In April 2023, The Guardian signed an agreement with Illuma, making it their first standalone commercial license partner for contextual targeting purposes.