The Exchange Lab secures £5m growth capital

The Exchange Lab, the world’s largest programmatic digital media marketplace announced today that it has raised $8M in funding from UK growth capital provider, Business Growth Fund. BGF is the independent investment company backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered.

The Exchange Lab delivers campaigns across digital display, video, social media, and mobile channels, evaluating a billion audience interactions daily. Profitable since 2010, The Exchange Lab boasts organic growth of 200 percent year-on-year in 2012. It has tripled its global headcount this past year and made several high profile senior level hires, in addition to opening offices in New York and San Francisco. The company is expected to outpace this growth in 2013 as it continues its aggressive expansion into new markets, broadening both its offering and customer base.

James Aitken, CEO and co-founder of The Exchange Lab said: “BGF’s appetite for further developing its investment in pioneering, high growth digital media and technology companies and their backing by the British banks makes them the perfect partner for The Exchange Lab as we find ourselves at the center of the surge in programmatic buying, a market that is forecast to triple in the coming four years.”

Tim Webster, CSO and co-founder of The Exchange Lab said: “With our industry- leading approach to programmatic buying, this funding from BGF will enable us to take our unique technology to the next level delivering even more targeted, cost-effective campaigns for our clients.”

The Exchange Lab has developed a proprietary trading and intelligence platform called DataLab that leverages data to find the right audience, at the right time, across digital channels and devices at the most efficient price. This enables global brands and agencies to better identify and engage with their online customers. Current clients include Omnicom, Aegis and WPP as well as Weight Watchers, Sky and Ford in Europe and McDonald’s, Mazda and Dell in North America.

BGF’s investment provides The Exchange Lab with cash to accelerate the technology roadmap, speed up the integration of additional demand side platforms particularly within video, mobile and social media, as well as to expand its already impressive access to premium advertising inventory.  The funding will also support The Exchange Lab’s global growth strategy with focused expansion in the U.S. and APAC. The financing reinforces BGF’s commitment to further investment in the digital media and technology sector and represents the first external funding for The Exchange Lab.