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A Sunshine Coast-based adtech company serving major car brands like Ford, BMW and Toyota has secured $3 million in a post-seed investment round backed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and TEN13.
Founded by Joshua Williams, Cartelux is an advertising platform that allows clients to upload creatives, videos and display assets, which can quickly be processed by its software to create localised marketing campaigns.
While the company is currently focused on servicing clients in the automotive industry, Cartelux has announced it is planning to expand into other categories later this year. The news of the raise comes five months after the company expanded its business into the US, Canada and Latin America.
"Working with TEN13 and QIC from our global headquarters in Queensland is an incredible honour, and their support allows us to accelerate our growth and elevate Cartelux to new heights," Williams said.
"Their expertise and support will be invaluable as we continue to expand our platform and reach new markets.
“We are excited to team up with TEN13, QIC and additional investors like Tractor Ventures to form a leading global SaaS business founded in Australia. This team also gives us an experienced and professional starting point for future funding rounds.”
The company was inspired by William's time spent spearheading a digital video agency founded in 2012, which focused on developing YouTube advertising strategies and videos for clients including Google, CoreLogic and LendLease (ASX: LLC).
It was while working in this space that Williams realised the process of reproducing video content for local contexts was inefficient, prompting him to shut down the services company and create a technology platform with an entirely new offering.
In late 2019, Mini Australia became the first client to work with Cartelux’s adtech software. Since then, other major users have joined the platform that was officially launched in 2020, including Nissan, Renault and Honda.
Cartelux notes that advancements in data analytics and AI have enabled its clients to leverage customer insights and personalise marketing efforts, ensuring more relevant and targeted messaging.
“Creating and managing digital marketing for global brands is a time and cost-consuming process,” said Cartelux global head of marketing and partnerships at Kristin Harder, who previously worked as Audi’s global head of media.
“Setting up, personalising, localising and launching a digital ad campaign for retail networks at scale is resource intensive and complex with a single campaign taking weeks to bring to market.
“Once onboarded, brands and retail networks can use the Cartelux platform to create professional, brand compliant, and hyper-local digital marketing campaigns in just 60 seconds.”
Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick added that QIC’s capital injection will support the expansion of Cartelux’s sales, engineering and product teams on the Sunshine Coast.
“Helping companies like Cartelux take the next step in growing their business is exactly why our government established the Enterprise Acceleration Fund,” Dick said.
“Taking a simple solution to a global scale is a big step, but Cartelux have demonstrated the Queensland ingenuity that deserves our backing, through the Queensland Investment Corporation.”
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