ada secures US$20 mil strategic investment from Sumitomo Corporation

By Digital News Asia July 30, 2018

ada has a presence in eight Asian countries with over 200 digital advertising specialists
Combines data science, creative and technology, for brands and businesses

Axiata Group president, Jamaludin Ibrahim (left) with Sumitomo Corporation Sumitomo senior managing executive officer Toshikazu Nambu.

ADA (analytics. data. advertising), the integrated digital advertising business of Axiata Digital Sdn Bhd, announced a US$20 million (RM81.23 million) investment from Sumitomo Corporation, a Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company headquartered in Japan.

This funding round is the first external investment for ada, which claims to be the largest independent digital agency in Southeast Asia.

Ada unlocks the full potential in digital by combining data science, creative and technology, for brands and businesses across Asia with presence in eight countries with over 200 digital advertising specialists.

"We are excited to partner with a valued partner like Sumitomo to create long-term value by leveraging our joint capabilities. Together through data driven marketing, we look forward to expanding regionally with advertisers and agencies alike," said ada CEO Srinivas Gattamneni (pic). ada secures US$20 mil strategic investment from Sumitomo Corporation

This funding round solidifies ada's trajectory to become the leading integrated digital advertising firm leveraging telco core and digital and analytics capabilities in Southeast Asia by 2021.

Ada breaks the silos between media and creative with all marketing decisions driven by data.

Hence, ada has built out a telco-powered proprietary data management platform (DMP), Xact. In the next three to five years, ada expects 90% of all marketing decisions to be data-driven.

Sumitomo Corporation as ada's "strategic partner" will accelerate growth through:

Leveraging on cutting edge technology to enhance ada's Xact platform and drive product innovation
Expanding ada's business by its knowledge/ experience in affiliate marketing and digital advertising as well as by developing go-to-market collaborations to serve Japanese advertisers or partner with Japanese agencies

"It's a great pleasure to partner with ada for creating new value through data driven analytics and leading digital transformation. We will also seek opportunities for further collaboration in the areas such as fintech and IoT with Axiata Digital Services as a strategic partner," said Sumitomo Corporation corporate officer Masahiro Miyashita.

"Ada has been built around the future of advertising through integrating analytics into media and creatives. We are extremely pleased to have Sumitomo as a partner for this future as it further strengthens our focus on digital advertising," said Axiata Digital Services CEO Mohd Khairil Abdullah.