An adtech startup that helps advertisers target consumers in a privacy-safe way has raised $19 million

<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/60f09981bb790e0018207d9f-1845/Screen Shot 2021-07-15 at 4.23.49 PM.png" border="0" alt="Adtech company Audigent" data-mce-source="Audigent"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Adtech company Audigent raised $19.1 million in a series B funding round to help marketers target people in a privacy-safe way.</p><p>The fund raise was led by The Go Philly Fund, a joint venture between Ben Franklin Technology Partners and software development company EPAM Systems, Inc., and brings its total funding to $33.6 million since its 2016 launch.</p><p>The round included existing investors Raised in Space, Broadscale Group, and RiverPark Ventures and new investor MathCapital. Warner Music and Alibaba Entertainment chairman Gao Xiasong contributed to previous rounds.</p><p>Audigent is a data management platform (DMP) that helps clients like publishers, retailers, and direct-to-consumer platforms sort their customers' data into categories like "outdoor enthusiasts" or "luxury shoppers," then helps advertisers and agencies plan ad campaigns using that information.</p><p>CEO and co-founder Drew Stein said he would use the money to expand Audigent's sales team and tech stack and begin marketing for the first time.&nbsp;</p><p>Audigent positions itself as an alternative to ad tracking cookies. Google recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-pushes-back-phase-out-cookies-chrome1-year-2023-2021-6">delayed plans to block cookies</a> in Chrome until 2023, but Stein said Audigent would move forward as if the cookie is already irrelevant.</p><p>"No one has a real solution to replace cookies," Stein said.</p><p>Instead, Audigent relies on probabilistic identity resolution, which uses encrypted data points to predict how people will behave without compromising their privacy.</p><p>Audigent differentiates itself by working with supply-side platforms, which help publishers manage their ad inventory, to create private marketplaces where a few select advertisers can bid on a publisher's inventory, Stein said.</p><p>Audigent also acts as media buyer for direct-to-consumer and ecommerce clients, running more than 10,000 campaigns each month, Stein said. He declined to comment on Audigent's annual revenue.</p><p>The company's latest round comes amid <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-adtech-companies-that-could-be-acquisition-targets-2021-2020-12">growing interest in adtech</a> and martech.</p><p>Media, advertising, and technology deals jumped 46% year-over-year in the first half of 2021, with martech the second-most active sector, according to M&amp;A advisory firm Ciesco. Private equity and other investors have poured tens of millions into companies like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pe-firm-sfw-capital-to-acquire-majority-stake-captify-2021-7">Captify</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amperitys-series-d-100-million-fundraise-investor-pitch-deck-2021-7">Amperity</a>, with others like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adtech-company-openx-explores-possible-sale-2021-5">OpenX</a> exploring sales.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adtech-company-audigent-raises-19-million-series-b-round-2021-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-wine-good-heart-health-benefits-healthy-cardiologist-2019-4">How heart disease created America's wine industry</a></p>
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