Australian marketing technology company Genero has secured a new capital investment of up to $5 million from Acorn Capital, a fund which specialises in emerging companies.
Melbourne-based Genero, founded in 2009 by marketers Mick Entwisle and Andrew Lane, connects marketers with a global network of more than 130,000 independent creative businesses and professional freelance talent.
The latest investment brings Genero’s total capital raised to more than $15 million, including previous investments from Ellerston Capital in 2016 and 2019.
Funding has supported rapid global expansion with the company established in North America, Latin America, EMEA, Asia and Australia. North America and EMEA are its two fastest growing regions, and now make up over 65% of company revenue.
The new capital investment will be used to accelerate global growth, while continuing to develop the technology platform.
The platform provides on-demand access to specialist creative suppliers and resources, delivering creativity, flexible scale, speed and cost savings across the advertising creative and production process.
Genero’s client base includes L’Oreal, Hilton, Procter & Gamble, the BBC and Kellogg’s, alongside media giants Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Amazon.
It’s also worked with all of the major record labels, who have used the platform for official music videos for some of the biggest names in music, including The Doors, James Brown, George Harrison, Robert Plant, Damon Albarn, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys and Muse.
“We’ve been lucky enough to work with hundreds of clients across all of the major advertising regions, so we’ve seen first hand how the needs of marketing teams have evolved over the last 15 years," said Mick Entwisle, CEO and co-founder of Genero.
"Even as technology like AI moves at an incredible pace, our view is that humans will always be central to the best creativity, and that creatives will be the AI super users of tomorrow.
"We’ll use this capital to continue investing in technology that allows marketers to harness the power of the incredible independent creative talent around the globe, to deliver human creativity at the speed of culture.”
Andrew Burt from Acorn will join the Genero board, alongside Anthony Klok, founding partner at Ellerston Capital.
“The Genero team have built a global, market leading platform to facilitate the cost-effective creation of high quality content for brands," said Burt.
"The business is extremely well positioned to take advantage of the continuing evolution in this dynamic advertising market. Acorn looks forward to working with Mick, Andrew, Anthony and the team.”
Acorn’s investment follows a number of recent hiring announcements, including Chris Dodson as managing director for Australia and NZ.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.