• Anzu.io, a programmatic ad platform specializing in video game advertising, has raised USD 20 million in a Series B funding round led by NBCUniversal with the participation of a number of investors including Bitkraft Ventures, HTC, Goal Ventures, and HBSE Ventures. This brings the total funds raised to USD 37 million.

• The firm plans to utilize the funds to further develop its in-game ad platform to expand into virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse. The firm plans to leverage its investors such as NBC Universal and HTC, which manufacture hardware such as VR headsets. In addition, the firm plans to partner with HTC, which is creating a metaverse called Viverse.

• The funding is also expected to be used to nearly double its headcount from its current 80 members to ~150 by the end of 2022. The firm plans to hire across sales, marketing, and engineering in order to build on its recent partnerships with online video gaming platforms such as Roblox.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: The new round of funding builds on the recent partnership with NBC Universal where NBC Universal’s clients will be able to run in-game ads across Anzu’s game inventory. Anzu.io likely plans to capitalize on the current interest in the metaverse, leveraging on its investor's investments and expertise in this space. See our EDGE insight on extended reality for further details on this trend.</ul>