Sophia Gets Funds for Ad Targeting Tech

Digital ad specialist Sophia has received a £1.1m round of funding for its Ambiance solution, which delivers ads according to the online content consumers are viewing, in real-time.

Sophia, which was spun out from the University of Ulster and the St Petersburg State University in Russia, specialises in automatically extracting meaning from content and then relating that to products consumers want to buy. Using contextually-aware content analytics, the firm's Ambiance tool promises to help consumers find relevant products in real-time, while minimising consumer 'blindness' to online advertising.

The new investment comes from Northern Irish government-backed fund The Angel CoFund, and adds to seed funding from Northern Ireland business angel network Halo in 2010, and further funding from Atlantic Bridge in 2012 - bringing total investment to date to £5.75m.

CEO David Patterson (pictured) comments: 'Our aim is to help online brands and retailers to connect with consumers in a relevant way and to tackle the growing issue of digital ad blindness. Today's investment is a great step forward for the business and we're delighted to be working with the Angel CoFund and to be the fund's first investment in Northern Ireland.'

Sophia, which has offices in Belfast, Northern Ireland; San Francisco, USA; and St. Petersburg, Russia, is online at: www.discoversophia.com .