Advertising
Check out the pitch deck that helped Scope3, which helps companies measure the carbon impact of their ads, raise $20 million from investors like GV
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- Scope3 this week said it raised a $20 million Series B round, led by Alphabet’s GV.
- The company helps the ad industry measure its carbon emissions and root out inefficiences.
- It now plans to invest in its team to expand into new markets across Europe and APAC.
Scope3, a startup that helps companies measure the carbon emissions generated by their advertising campaigns, this week said it raised $20 million in investment, funds it plans to grow its team and expand into markets in Europe and APAC.
Cofounded in 2022 by adtech veteran Brian O’Kelley, Mike Freyberger, Emma Etherington, and Anne Coghlan who worked with him at his former company AppNexus, Scope3 states that its mission is to “decarbonize advertising.”
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Scope3’s platform models the digital advertising supply chain, from the energy use on consumers’ mobile and desktop devices, to the network equipment and servers required every time a website or app makes an ad request. By Scope3’s count, the digital advertising industry is responsible for 7.2 million metric tons of carbon emissions each year, or the equivalent of powering 1.4 million US homes.
Scope3 works with advertisers, agencies, adtech vendors, and publishers — which have included Insider — to help them measure their carbon impact and figure out where they can make efficiencies.
Scope3 also regularly publishes research and allows anyone to access basic information about the emissions producted by advertising, publishing, and tech platforms on its website.
The funding round, which values the company at $100 million and brings Scope3’s total funding to $40 million, was led by Alphabet-backed GV. It included participation from Room40 Ventures and Venrock.
O’Kelley said the round came together quicker than expected “in one of the worst fundraising environments of all time.” He added that GV was a perfect fit given the access it offers to Alphabet’s sustainability teams and a deep understanding of the adtech market.
Scope3 intends to use the fresh funds to hire, especially in geographies where the company has seen inbound demand such as France, Germany, and Japan. It also wants to bolster its teams in areas such as engineering and policy and bring on board more advertising experts as part of an ambition to be able to map a company’s entire media plan, including areas like TV and outdoor ads.
Coghlan said a big near-term ambition is that Scope3’s work to decarbonize the advertising industry will become a “beacon for other industries” to do the same.
Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped Scope3 raise its $20 million Series B round.
Scope3 has stated that its mission is to decarbonize the media and advertising industry.
Digital advertising alone is on track to generate almost $600 billion in revenue this year — and it’s constantly evolving with new trends and regulations.
O’Kelley and his cofounders wanted to build something new in the space.
Scope3 aims to solve the huge carbon footprint caused by advertising and root out inefficiencies in the media supply chain.
Its cofounders all previously worked at AppNexus, the adtech company O’Kelley founded. It sold to AT&T for around $1.6 billion in 2018.
Scope3 has built a model that maps out the digital advertising supply chain and highlights where emissions can be reduced.
Companies like Microsoft and Magnite are using Scope3 data to build their own solutions.
Sanofi is among the major brands that has tested Scope3’s technology and data.
Scope3’s products include Climate Shield, which helps advertisers block wasteful sites and vendors, and Scope3 Verified, which indexes more environmentally friendly ad inventory.
Scope3 found that reducing carbon emissions also increases the performance of advertisers’ campaigns.
Scope3 worked with the online retailer MPB.com to reduce the carbon produced by one of its campaigns.
Scope3 works across the entire advertising ecosystem. Advertisers and agencies pay mostly on a percentage of their media spend, while adtech platforms and publishers pay a software fee.
Scope3 offers four main products.
Last month it launched its Collaborative Sustainability Platform, offering free access to its emissions data.
Scope3 recently landed key customers like Microsoft and Magnite.
Scope3 says its annual recurring revenue grew 300% in the first half of this year.
The company now wants to expand into markets like France, Germany, and Japan and hire in areas like HR, legal, and engineering.