Blis builds an integrated planning and buying platform that does not rely on personal data, layering location data with hundreds of other aggregated and anonymised signals to inform brands and media agencies. The company is opening an R&D centre in Scotland supported by a £1.4 million grant from Scottish Enterprise and is initially investing in 14 high-value R&D roles, nine of which have already been hired. Leadership says the investment will speed delivery of technology and team expansion to drive growth. Scottish Development International supported Blis with introductions to academic stakeholders and property searches for the new centre. Blis operates from more than 40 offices across five continents and is positioning the Scottish hub to attract local technology talent. The move emphasizes continued product development around privacy-first audience planning and buying tools. Blis provides a location-data technology platform that delivers accurate location data and contextualized consumer behavioural insights to media agencies, publishers and brands. The company operates in over 50 markets from eight offices across APAC and EMEA and counts clients such as Airbnb, Ford and Samsung. Blis is led by Founder and CEO Greg Isbister and President Harry Dewhirst. The company secured US$25m in funding and also obtained credit facilities from Silicon Valley Bank. It intends to use the proceeds to expand into new markets including the US, scale international sales and marketing, and develop new product features. Blis is also planning to enhance its core data engineering capabilities to support those product and market-expansion efforts. Blis Media is a media and technology company founded in 2004 that provides targeted advertising solutions. It operates bases in London and Sydney and lists clients including Epson, Google, adidas and Unilever. The company builds advertising technology aimed at delivering targeted campaigns and the article notes the technology’s potential to scale quickly and be disruptive. Management includes CEO Gregor Isbister, who remains in his role following the investment. In May 2012 Blis received a $1.4m tranche of funding led by Meridian Growth Capital (Hal Philipp) and Ballpark Ventures, with existing investor Beringea LLP increasing its stake. Hal Philipp, inventor of widely used touch‑screen technology, joined the board as part of the deal.

Total raised

$28M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Jul 2022