TotallyAwesome, the Australian digital advertising network for kids, teens, and families, has raised more than AUD$14 million (USD$10 million) in seed funding.
The funding (debt and equity combined) is from leading San Francisco-based Partners For Growth and Singapore-based boutique investment growth advisory firm Yefira Group specialising in adtech investment consulting.
TotallyAwesome enables a youth-safe digital ecosystem by curating the largest supply of media inventory for brands to engage with more than 500 million monthly active under 18-users across APAC region safely.
Through the new funding round, the Australian media network aims to rewrite the current brand value exchange in the APAC region – by investing in product development to evolve its enterprise advertising platform, ramp up hiring across its sales, data science and machine learning teams, as well as exploring strategic mergers and acquisitions to accelerate growth.
TotallyAwesome has quadrupled its revenue and increased its headcount by 200% over the last three financial years.
The organisation will use the funding to solidify its position in a space where it has first-mover advantage, while expanding its footprint across key strategic markets locally in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan.
Will Anstee, CEO of TotallyAwesome, said: “It gives me great confidence that ‘Venture Capital for good’ is gaining greater traction in our world at large and TotallyAwesome met that brief for both institutions.
“Additionally, the importance of cultural fit was at the top of my list when looking for both equity and debt partners. To this end, both PFG and the Yefira Group are a perfect match. Exciting times ahead,” he added.
Karthi Sepulohniamm, managing director of Partners For Growth, said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to support TotallyAwesome’s growth today and over the coming years, as they deliver solutions to global brands to provide a safe environment for kids to interact with technology.
“We’re excited to help TotallyAwesome scale their platform which curates safe digital worlds for young explorers. We look forward to welcoming TotallyAwesome into our portfolio,” Sepulohniamm added.
George Kypraios, CEO, Yefira Group said: “We are very proud to partner TotallyAwesome at this critical juncture by arranging the venture debt facility with Partners for Growth, as well as investing our own capital as an equity investment.
“TotallyAwesome is exactly the type of client we want to be associated with, one that is pushing innovation in the right direction within the adtech/martech industry but most importantly with purpose at its heart. This is just the beginning. Watch this space,” he added.
The investment marks the company’s second major announcement in recent weeks, having previously unveiled TotallyPlay, the industry’s largest brand safe gaming platform for brands to engage with Asia-Pacific’s 450mn+ under-18 gamers.
TotallyAwesome is compliant with both COPPA and GDPR data privacy guidelines and regulations, with the company being a member of the kidSAFE Seal Program.
The company follows the most advanced Government regulations protecting kids’ data and privacy, with its resident practising psychologist advising on what is age-appropriate and consequently helping shape its products and develop bespoke research solutions.
This science-backed approach is combined with local language human moderators – including teenagers – to ensure brand safety and emphasise human interpretation over AI-based solutions.
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Top image from left to right: Yefira chief executive George Kypraios, managing director and CEO PartnersForGrowth Andrew Kahn, managing director of PartnersForGrowth Karthi Sepulohniam, and Will Anstee, CEO, TotallyAwesome