WPP Backs In-Game Ads Startup Anzu in $6.5 Million Round

London-headquartered advertising holding company WPP PLC has backed Tel Aviv-based adtech startup Anzu.io Inc. in a $6.5 million series A funding round, the former announced Tuesday. The round was led by the U.S. arm of Berlin-based Bitkraft Esports Ventures GmbH & Co KG.

Founded in 2016, Anzu develops technology that optimizes common creative advertising elements such as images, banners, videos, and HTML5 ads, blending them into games without disrupting the user experience and gameplay. Anzu’s technology allows advertisers to run targeted campaigns within the game, co-founder and CEO Itamar Benedy said in a phone interview with Calcalist Tuesday.

As gaming becomes an increasingly significant aspect of today’s mass culture, brands worldwide are trying to get a foothold in the relatively untapped market of in-game advertising, Benedy said.

Berlin-headquartered digital publisher Axel Springer SE also participated in the round, which brought Anzu’s total funding raised to date to $8 million.