Cybersecurity company CHEQ today announced the closing of $16 million in Series B funding from Battery Ventures and MizMaa Ventures, to further expand CHEQ's AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities in combating ad fraud and ensuring brand-safe environments for online advertisers. This latest injection of capital brings the total investment in CHEQ to date to $22 million.
CHEQ will utilize the newly raised funds to continue advancing its brand-safety, viewability and ad-fraud prevention capabilities in the areas advertisers rely on the most including display and video, as well as new and emerging media such as CTV and the $152 billion console gaming space. CHEQ was the first ad-verification solution for 3D console gaming, furthering the company's vision to provide the most holistic ad-verification solution in the market.
"We are humbled by the incredible support and backing we've received from Battery Ventures, who have shared our vision since the very beginning," said CHEQ Founder and CEO Guy Tytynovich. "We are equally delighted to welcome aboard MizMaa Ventures, who in a short period of time have added amazing value and have established themselves as an integral part of the company's make-up," he continued. "Now we move forward, continuing to grow rapidly, expanding ad-verification into new areas and sustaining a healthy focus on strong unit-economics and profitability. Advertisers need to feel safe across all their online channels and CHEQ is now well positioned to support that need, as we expand to CTV, console gaming and other exciting mediums."
"We are excited to partner with CHEQ and its top-notch team as the company moves into a new phase of growth, and continues its focus on bringing transparency to the world of digital advertising," said Itzik Parnafes, a general partner at Battery Ventures. "Now more than ever, brand safety and ad-fraud prevention should be paramount concerns to large brands."
Aaron Applbaum, Partner at MizMaa Ventures added: "MizMaa is excited, and genuinely proud to have invested in CHEQ. It is rare to see a confluence of such a rockstar team using deep technology to tackle an enormous market while establishing sustainable unit economics. We believe CHEQ will help keep the free internet viable and running with its real-time safety and anti-fraud products."
This latest round of funding for CHEQ comes on the heels of a robust and successful 2019 for the company: CHEQ landed a spot on CNBC's prestigious Upstart 100 list, has won the M&M Global Award for Tech Transparency and was named Best Anti-Fraud Solution by The Drum.
About CHEQ
CHEQ is a global, AI-driven cybersecurity company disrupting the ad-verification space. With offices in New-York, Tokyo and Tel-Aviv, the company's mission is to help sustain the digital ecosystem by protecting leading advertisers from the risks of online advertising and helping them restore confidence in the space. Founded by former military intelligence and cybersecurity personnel, the company has introduced the first Neural-Network based solution for brand safety, ad-fraud and viewability, running powerful AI, NLP, computer vision and deep learning algorithms.
About Battery Ventures
Battery strives to invest in cutting-edge, category-defining businesses in markets including software and services, web infrastructure, consumer internet, mobile and industrial technologies. Founded in 1983, the firm backs companies at stages ranging from seed to private equity and invests globally from offices in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, London and Israel. Follow the firm on Twitter @BatteryVentures, visit our website at www.battery.com and find a full list of Battery's portfolio companies here.
About Mizmaa Ventures
MizMaa is a thesis-driven early-stage venture capital ?rm investing in the best Israeli technology startups. MizMaa provides their portfolio companies with seasoned operational expertise and invaluable connections. With offices in Hong Kong, San Francisco and Tel Aviv MizMaa opens up markets from East to West. Visit MizMaa's website at www.mizmaa.com and find a full list of Battery's portfolio companies there.