For the first time in the history of the H2020 program, the EC enters as a partner in a group of European companies through the Framework Program born with the aim of supporting startups in the European Union with the potential to become ‘unicorns’
Madrid, December 10, 2019 - OrbitalAds, the Spanish company that has developed the only solution in the world capable of optimizing, automatically and in real time, any search engine marketing (SEM) campaign developed in Google Ads, has received financing worth three million euros from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program. The funding concerns a two-year project which has been recognized for its ability to innovate, its value proposition, and the attraction of talent within the EU that it will generate.
This type of financing under the H2020 program will make the European Commission enter into a partnership with the receiving companies, which is an unprecedented milestone. This is done through the EIC Fund of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Gabriel Madruga, co-founder of OrbitalAds, says: “In this way, Europe seeks that the companies in which it invests have the greatest amount of resources and generate quality employment to conserve talent within the European economic community”.
Bill Murphy, co-founder of the company, says: “This news is another great step towards achieving a dream. Three years ago, we started this adventure with the desire to apply the latest advances in technology in a sector where we could make a difference. Step by step, we have been growing thanks to clients and investors and, now, having received the trust of Europe and having the EIC Fund trust us is an unparalleled challenge and honor.”
Software improvements, service platform development, and team expansion
The funding granted by the European Commission will be used for the improvement of OrbitalAds software and the creation of its PaaS platform (Platform as a Service). The grant will be used to adapt all activities developed for Google Ads to other search engines such as Amazon, Facebook or Yahoo. This will expand the accessible market size up to 7 billion euros.
This business plan will involve the generation of new qualified jobs. “Our business plan reflects an increase in workforce from 120 workers to almost 150. We will need the best European data scientists and developers to be able to develop the ambitious project that lies ahead. Also, we will need the best business, marketing and sales team, in order to market the product,” Gabriel Madruga has detailed.
Horizon2020, innovation and talent within the European Union
Horizon2020 is the European Union’s eighth Framework Program for Research and Innovation. Within H2020, the EC allocates a specific program called EIC Accelerator, which aims to support startups in the European Union with the potential to reach $1 billion in value, as well as address the main social challenges, promote industrial leadership in Europe, and reinforce the excellence of its scientific base. Horizon 2020 has integrated for the first time all phases from the generation of knowledge to the activities closest to the market: basic research, technology development, demonstration projects, manufacturing pilot lines, social innovation, technology transfer, proof of concept, standardisation, support for pre-commercial public purchases, venture capital and guarantee system.
About OrbitalAds
OrbitalAds, a global company founded in May 2016, is the only solution in the world capable of optimizing, automatically and in real time, any SEM campaign developed in Google Ads. This maximizes the results of the investment in marketing campaigns developed on this platform. To do this, it uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology based on Machine Learning (ML).
OrbitalAds technology analyzes and processes thousands of keywords in different languages and adds hundreds of variables automatically. In this way, it manages to optimize a process that has been carried out manually for the past 19 years.
OrbitalAds is backed by a 200% growth in revenues in the last quarter of 2018 and a solid and expanding client portfolio. OrbitalAds has a portfolio of investors, including ADARA Ventures, Wayra, ETHOS AI (ex-Harvard alumni) and Caixa Capital Risk, among others.
Press contacts:
LF Channel – PR Agency for OrbitalAds
Raquel González / Estela Cayón
orbitalads@lfchannel.com
+34 91 521 51 92