Kenshoo opens UK office

Kenshoo, an Israel-HQ’d startup which automates search engine marketing techniques performed by SEM agencies, has launched a UK office, following its recent round of funding. The company, which competes with bid-management software from the likes of DoubleClick, aQuantive’s Atlas Solutions, and Omniture, automates the creation and management of labour intensive search marketing campaigns, in theory freeing up an SEM agency to focus on the other aspects of campaigns. Kenshoo is backed by Arts Alliance, and US VC firm Sequoia Capital which invested in Kenshoo in December 2007 (terms were not disclosed). Kenshoo has hired Mike Chowney, the former European CEO of NeoSearch@Ogilvy, as the company’s MD and Brent Hoberman, founder of Lastminute.com is an advisory board member.