uKnow Raises $500,000 Seed Round, Hires About.com Co-founder

uKnow, a company that provides targeting tools for advertisers looking to create custom distribution channels for their ad campaigns, announced today that it closed a $500,000 round of seed funding. The investment was led by iNovia Capital and The New York Angels and included digital media executives Lynn Wunderman, Geoff Judge, Scott Paternoster and Jeff Silverman.

uKnow’s technology uses semantic analysis and natural language processing to identify the content best suited to connecting brands with their audience. BluePrint, uKnow’s targeting application, leverages this technology to allow publishers to work in conjunction with media traders and marketers to create custom channels that pinpoint a brand’s distinguishing characteristics. The application then selects the websites and pages that reflect the client’s particular attributes and offers them the opportunity to buy ad space on those pages.

uKnow also announced today the hiring of Eric Bingham, who was named the company’s President. Bingham joins founders Gregory Fairnak and Peter Gasparini to assist in launching BluePrint. Prior to joining uKnow, Bingham was Chief Operating Officer of Undertone Networks, a digital display and video advertising network. He is also the co-founder of About.com and formerly acted as the site’s Senior Vice President.