ContextWeb nabs $3 million
Online ad technology company also forms a board of directors.
ContextWeb, an online advertising technology company, said Monday that it raised $3 million from venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and formed a board of directors. The New York-based company, which licenses technology to serve targeted Net ads, also said it will introduce an online marketplace for advertisers to bid for placement on sites across the Web. Its product ContextAd--what's described as contextual advertising--will allow marketers to buy text promotions linked to specific categories and keywords and have them matched in real time to Web sites or pages bearing those terms. ContextWeb has yet to announce the Web publishers that will display its ads.
Founded in 2000, ContextWeb is competing against paid search behemoths Google and Yahoo-owned Overture Services, which have both introduced contextual advertising services in recent years. It is also vying for publishing partnerships against less well-known rivals Quigo and Kanoodle.