Personalized video ads sound like one of those visions of that future — like holographic sharks — that are always a ways off. But a company called Eyeview is already making them. Their technology is impressive, and they’ve worked with brands including AT&T, T-Mobile, and McDonalds.
Today, the company is announcing that it’s raised $5.2 million in Series B funding, in a round led by Nauta Capital (Nauta general partner Dominic Endicott will be joining the company’s board). Also participating in the round are existing investors Gemini Israel Funds, Lightspeed Ventures, and Innovation Endeavors — which is best known for being longtime former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s firm.
Eyeview’s technology is best demonstrated by looking at one of their actual ads — which you can see in the video embedded below. The gist is that the company can generate high-quality ads, complete with the splashy effects and 3D rendering we’re accustomed to, and customize the text depending on where the ad is being shown. There are ways to do this using Flash overlays and the like, but Eyeview’s technology is much more advanced (and better looking) than that.
The company says it will be using the money to continue growing its reach — both in terms of audience size and the formats it appears on. In the long term, CEO Oren Harnevo envisions a scenario where IP-enabled televisions would be able to display this sort of ad, personalized to each user. That’s still a ways off, though — for the time being, all of Eyeview’s ads are appearing online.