Anzu.io

Israel-founded Anzu.io specializes in video game advertising, providing an in-game programmatic advertising platform. The firm’s platform allows brands to place real-world display and video ads in-game, with the ability to update ads in real time in response to data signals and first-party data. 

The firm’s competitive edge is its claim to be the only in-game advertising platform covering all video game mediums (20+) including consoles, PC, mobile, esports tournaments, and live game streaming. The firm also claimed to provide the first 3D digital advertising solution for games, which results in a 23% increase in ad viewability compared to traditional 2D advertising.  

Anzu.io was also featured in our EDGE 100 list of rising startups. 

Key customers and partnerships

As of February 2022, brands using Anzu.ai’s platform included Vodafone, Pepsi, Samsung, Fanta, and American Eagle.

The firm has also partnered with leading game developers such as Ubisoft, Xbox, Vivid Games, and Lion Castle Entertainment, giving advertisers and brands access to 16,000+ game titles. The firm has also partnered with ad marketplaces including OpenX, AdColony, Smart, and Azerion to make its in-game programmatic advertising available to advertisers. In February 2022, NBCUniversal became the global sales partner and exclusive third-party seller in the US and UK for Anzu.io’s game ads inventory. More recently, in February 2023, the firm extended its partnership with Livewire, a gaming and GameTech provider, to expand Anzu.io's services in Germany and France.

Funding and financials

In June 2023, the firm raised USD 48 million in a Series B funding round led by Emmis Corporation. It planned to use the funds to hire executive leadership, expand its engineering team, and increase its presence in the US and Japan. In March 2022, the firm raised USD 20 million in Series B funding to expand into virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse, as well as to double its team headcount to ~150 by the end of 2022. Prior to that, it raised USD 9 million in Series A funding in February 2021 led by Bitkraft Ventures and HBSE ventures. The funding was to be used to drive its marketing and sales activities as part of its global expansion.