ada secures strategic investment from Sumitomo Corporation

The $20 million funding will solidify ada plans for aggressive growth in SEA

ada (analytics. data. advertising), the integrated digital advertising business of Axiata Digital Sdn. Bhd has announced a USD20 million investment from Sumitomo Corporation, a leading Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company headquartered in Japan.

ada unlocks the full potential in digital by combining data science, creative and technology, for brands and businesses across Asia with presence in 8 countries with over 200 digital advertising specialists.

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 first in the region telco-powered proprietary data management platform (DMP), Xact. In the next 3-5 years, we expect 90% of all marketing decisions to be data-driven.

Sumitomo Corporation as ada’s “strategic partner” will accelerate growth through:

• Leveraging 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 Masahiro Miyashita, Corporate Officer, Sumitomo Corporation.

“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 Srinivas Gattamneni, CEO, ada.

“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 Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO, Axiata Digital Services

ada’s key clients in the region include brands such as CIMB, LINE MAN, Sushi King, TGV and Timberland and others.