Taiwan-based adtech developer Appier raised $33m in series C funding yesterday from investors including telecoms group SoftBank, messaging app provider Line and internet company Naver, according to TechCrunch.
Financial services firm AMTD also participated in the round, as did Edbi, the investment arm of the Singapore government’s Economic Development Board.
Appier, founded in 2012, operates artificial intelligence (AI) platforms that analyse and predict user behaviour in real time to enable personalised advertising campaigns. The company hopes to strengthen its market position in Asia before expanding into additional territories.
The money will be used to hire engineering and R&D staff in countries outside of Taiwan, including Singapore.
Appier has now raised a total of $82m in funding. It previously closed a $42.5m series B round in December 2016, raised across two tranches.
The initial $23m tranche was provided by fabless semiconductor maker MediaTek’s investment unit MediaTek Ventures and financial services firm United Overseas Bank’s investment arm, UOB Venture Management, as well as Sequoia India, Jafco Asia and TransLink Capital in 2015.
Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek, through its private equity firm Pavilion Capital, WI Harper Group, FirstFloor Capital and Qualgro then supplied a $19.5m extension in December last year.
Sequoia Capital had earlier supplied $6m in series A funding in 2014.
Ren Tanaka, corporate officer and deputy head of business at SoftBank, said: “AI, combined with big data, internet of things and other disruptive technologies, is going to create an impact on the world that will be bigger than the industrial revolution.
“We are already starting to see AI generate benefits in many parts of our lives and believe it also has a great role to play within the enterprise.
“Appier’s approach to AI for the enterprise is unique and we look forward to partnering with them as they build exciting new AI solutions for business.”