Adtech startup TRENDii raises $2.9 million in Seed round

Two-year-old adtech startup TRENDii has raised $2.9 million in a Seed round to help brands and media deliver marketing in a post-cookies online world. 

The round was led by Investible and a strategic media partner. The capital is for international expansion; product enhancement and category development; new tech; and building out the partnerships team.

TRENDii turns image and video content into instant shopping experiences for readers, via AI driven contextual ads that allow instant purchase.

CEO Aaron Woolf said the platform allows brands find new customers with sustainable acquisition costs, while publishers can monetise their content in a new way and audiences see relevant and privacy friendly advertisements. 

TRENDii creates contextual ecommerce within image and video content, using proprietary AI technology, helping fashion and homeware brands target consumers at the moment they are most inspired to shop. 

Wolff said shopping should be part of the consumers content experience, and seamless in the moment.

“We believe good advertising should be done in a way that is non-intrusive and respects the consumer, whilst also delivering massive scale for brands and high revenues for publishers,” he said.

“Contextual commerce has been hard to achieve at scale, but TRENDii delivers an industry first: automated product targeted to specific content. This gives consumers a better and richer content experience; brands new, high-value customers; and publishers strong, sustainable revenues.”

The adtech startup is already working with major media companies such as the Daily Mail, Are Media, and News Corp, as well as the US women’s brand PopSugar, and is now looking to expand its partnership portfolio in the wake of the raise. 

Investible investment manager Jayden Basha said the business was taking the next big step in consumer marketing.

“We’ve followed Aaron’s journey since 2018 and have been consistently impressed by his ability to translate a vision into a groundbreaking business,” he said.

“When the TRENDii platform evolved from a standalone D2C app into a B2B contextual advertising platform, the company’s potential skyrocketed. TRENDii is a frontrunner in new advertising technology, empowering brands and revolutionising contextual commerce.”