Japanese Ad Giant Dentsu Scouts For Local Startups, Makes 3rd Israeli Investment

Japanese advertising corporation Dentsu Inc. has signed a new investment and multilateral business cooperation agreement with Tel Aviv-based media tech firm Imprint, a company that specializes in digital marketing, a statement from the Israeli firm said.

The statement did disclose any financial details on the matter.

Last month, Israeli SaaS company Optimove said Dentsu was planning to set up an innovation division headed by manager Masakazu Takamori to address a number of markets, including Israel, in the near future.

Takamori is currently in Israel to scout for Israeli startups for investment and collaboration opportunities and is being hosted by Optimove.

Optimove also signed a partnership with the Japanese advertising corporation enabling the company to make use of its online marketing tools. The cooperation between the two companies takes place amid Optimov’s entry into Asia. The company said it is in the process of opening offices in Singapore.

Takamori is currently holding meetings in the Optimove offices to explore the possibility of cooperation and with the goal of enabling Israeli technologies to reach Japan and Asia, the Israeli firm said. Senior executives from companies like Otonomo, Riskified, Namogoo, Yotpo, and Vayyar Imaging were on hand for the meetings.

“Dentsu considers the strategic partnership with Imprint as both an investment and a tremendous opportunity. We’re delighted to be boosting Israel’s hi-tech sector to obtain innovative technologies and new services that Israeli companies have to offer,” Takamori said in the Imprint statement. “We will continue to actively seek new opportunities for the Japanese and broader Asian markets. We anticipate that the cooperation with Imprint will constitute a basis for the growth of the current transaction, as well as various future business developments.”

The deal with Imprint is Dentsu’s third investment in Israel. In 2015, Dentsu acquired Israeli online marketing performance agency abaGada Internet for an undisclosed amount. The agency became part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, the company’s group of of multinational media and digital marketing communications agencies with headquarters in London, and serves as its iProspect digital marketing branch in Israel.

multinational media and digital marketing communications compan

Earlier this year, Audioburst, an Israeli-founded, California-based startup that developed an AI-based voice search platform, announced it had raised $10 million by strategic investors that included Dentsu and car maker Hyundai.

Audioburst said it planned “to build a new market for personalized audio as an effective advertising channel for brands in Japan” with Dentsu.

Imprint CEO Mark Goldblatt said Dentsu investment is a “key to our strategic cooperation in Japan and around the world. Dentsu is a global superpower in digital advertising, and it sees an opportunity for exposure for the Israeli industry. Our cooperation, which has been underway for almost two years, is already generating results for both companies.”

Founded in 2013, Imprint is a digital communications and social media marketing company using cutting edge technology to find key audiences and facilitate personal networking in online communities around the world.

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