Venatus

What Venatus does

Venatus is a London-based global ad-tech company, founded in 2010, that builds advertising technology for the gaming and entertainment vertical. The company's flagship product, the Prosper platform, integrates direct sales, header-bidding, video and high-impact ad formats, private marketplace (PMP) deals, ad-block recovery, consent management, and ad mediation into a unified stack serving both publishers and advertisers. On the publisher side, Venatus provides monetization solutions across websites, apps, and browser-based games; on the advertiser side, it offers placements categorized as In the Game, Around the Game, and Away from the Game, giving brands access to gaming audiences across multiple surfaces.

Venatus operates a two-sided marketplace business model, earning revenue from programmatic and directly-sold advertising campaigns. The platform runs 900+ directly sold campaigns annually and, following the March 2023 acquisition of AdinPlay, reaches 51 million+ gamers through a network of 700+ multiplayer browser games. The AdinPlay integration significantly expanded Venatus's footprint in the long-tail indie browser-gaming supply pool, complementing its premium gaming-publisher relationships.

The company is privately held and backed by Livingbridge, a UK mid-market private equity firm that invested in September 2021. With 101–250 employees headquartered in London, Venatus sits in the growth-equity scaling phase, leveraging both organic product development and selective M&A to consolidate the gaming ad-tech vertical. Its competitive position rests on the breadth of its integrated ad-tech stack, its scale in gaming-specific supply, and its first-party audience data assets in a cookie-deprecated advertising environment.

Name

Venatus

Legal name

Venatus Media Limited

Website

https://venatus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Venatus is a London-based ad-tech company founded in 2010 that operates the Prosper platform, connecting gaming and entertainment publishers with advertisers via header-bidding, direct sales, PMP, and integrated mediation. It serves indie browser-game developers, premium gaming publishers, and brands targeting gaming audiences globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ad Tech / Digital Advertising Platform

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Media Buying Agencies (541830), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Game Advertising & AdTech (networks, mediation, measurement) (MPAFAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Offerwalls, Rewards & Performance Monetization (UA-linked payouts) (MPAFAJAI), Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP) (MPAAACAE), Fraud, Risk, Chargebacks & Compliance (KYC/AML, tax/VAT) (MPAFAJAD)

Keywords

• Gaming advertising platform
• Ad tech
• Programmatic advertising
• Publisher monetization
• Video advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Programmatic Advertising: Venatus generates revenue through programmatic ad placement across its network of gaming and entertainment publishers, utilizing PMP (Private Marketplace) deals and real-time bidding.
2. Direct Sales: Premium direct sales campaigns for global brands, with over 900 directly sold campaigns per year. Includes guaranteed inventory placements and custom creative builds.
3. Video Advertising: Revenue from video ad formats including instream pre-roll, outstream slider, and rewarded video placements across gaming environments.
4. High-Impact Ad Formats: Takeover formats, playable ads, and premium placements generating higher CPMs for publishers and premium rates for advertisers.
5. Publisher Monetization Services: Platform fees and revenue share arrangements with publishers monetizing their gaming and entertainment inventory through the Prosper platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Venatus operates the Prosper platform, a global ad-tech solution that combines premium direct sales with optimized programmatic advertising to help gaming and entertainment publishers monetize their inventory and enable advertisers to reach engaged gaming and entertainment audiences across in-game, around-the-game, and away-from-the-game placements.

Product overview

Venatus is a gaming and entertainment advertising growth engine operating a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core of the offering is the Prosper Platform, which combines premium direct sales with optimized programmatic to maximize publisher yield and deliver measurable impact for advertisers. The platform includes technical features (Direct Sales, Header-Bidding, Video Formats, High-Impact Formats, High-Performance Formats, AdBlock Recovery, PMP) and benefits (Consent Management, Ad Mediation). For publishers, Venatus offers Website Monetization, App Monetization, and Browser Game Monetization solutions. For advertisers, Venatus provides targeted ad placements across three categories: In the Game (in-game placements), Around the Game (playable ads), and Away from the Game (exclusive inventory). Advertisers can target specific gaming audiences including Core Gaming, Casual Gaming, and Kids Gaming. In March 2023, Venatus acquired AdinPlay, an AdTech business focused on browser-based game monetization, reaching 51 million gamers across 700 multiplayer games.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prosper: The advertising platform engineered for outcomes and built for sustainable revenue growth for publishers and measurable impact for brands.

Products and services

• Prosper Platform Core ad-tech platform that combines premium direct sales with optimized programmatic advertising to help gaming and entertainment publishers monetize their inventory and advertisers reach engaged audiences across in-game, around-the-game, and away-from-the-game placements.
• Direct Sales Premium directly-sold advertising inventory service offered to brand advertisers and agencies seeking guaranteed access to gaming and entertainment audiences.
• Header-Bidding Header-bidding technology within the Prosper platform that enables publishers to run unified auctions across multiple demand sources to maximize yield.
• Video Ad Formats Video advertising formats offered through the Prosper platform to deliver video demand across gaming and entertainment publisher inventory.
• High-Impact Ad Formats High-impact creative ad formats within the Prosper platform designed to deliver standout brand experiences for advertisers on gaming and entertainment inventory.
• High-Performance Ad Formats High-performance ad formats within the Prosper platform optimized for performance-driven advertiser outcomes on gaming and entertainment inventory.
• Private Marketplace (PMP) Private Marketplace offering within the Prosper platform that enables advertisers to transact premium gaming and entertainment inventory via invite-only, curated programmatic deals.
• AdBlock Recovery AdBlock recovery product within the Prosper platform that helps publishers recover revenue from users running ad-blocking software.
• Consent Management Consent management capability within the Prosper platform that helps publishers and advertisers handle user privacy and consent requirements in advertising.
• Ad Mediation Ad mediation product within the Prosper platform that helps publishers manage and optimize demand from multiple ad networks and exchanges through a single integration.
• Website Monetization Website monetization offering for publishers that uses the Prosper platform to monetize gaming and entertainment web inventory across direct, programmatic, video, high-impact, and high-performance formats.
• App Monetization App monetization offering for publishers that uses the Prosper platform to monetize gaming and entertainment mobile app inventory across direct, programmatic, video, high-impact, and high-performance formats.
• AdinPlay (Browser Game Monetization) AdinPlay is Venatus's specialized browser game monetization product for browser-based game publishers, leveraging the Prosper platform's direct, programmatic, and high-performance formats.
• Core Gaming Audiences Curated Core Gaming audience segment offered to advertisers through the Prosper platform for targeting engaged core gaming consumers.
• Casual Gaming Audiences Curated Casual Gaming audience segment offered to advertisers through the Prosper platform for targeting engaged casual gaming consumers.
• Kids Gaming Audiences Curated Kids Gaming audience segment offered to advertisers through the Prosper platform for targeting gaming audiences in the kids demographic.
• In the Game Ad Placements In-game advertising placements within the Prosper platform that place ads inside gaming environments and experiences.
• Around the Game Ad Placements Around-the-game advertising placements within the Prosper platform that surround the gaming experience on publisher pages.
• Away from the Game Ad Placements Away-from-the-game advertising placements within the Prosper platform that reach gaming audiences outside the gaming environment across the broader web.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5x higher video ad attention when activating audiences In the Zone (Lumen Research)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• AdinPlaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Venatus acquired AdinPlay in March 2023 to expand its presence in the AdTech sector and strengthen strategic growth in the gametech space. AdinPlay was an AdTech business focused on monetizing browser-based games, reaching 51 million gamers across 700 multiplayer games, with forecasted revenue of over €20 million in 2023.
• RobloxstrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenatus partners with Roblox as Official Reseller for Rewarded Video advertising across the UK, France, and Germany. This partnership provides brands with premium access to one of Gen Z's most indispensable gaming platforms.
• IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerVenatus is a member of the IAB and holds IAB Gold Standard Certification. The company actively participates in IAB events including Playfronts and adheres to IAB standards for brand safety and transparency.
• TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerVenatus is a member of TAG with commitment to ensuring brand safety, transparency, and anti-fraud measures across its advertising operations.
• Lumen ResearchstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenatus partners with Lumen Research for attention measurement studies. Research findings demonstrate that Venatus delivers 5x higher video ad attention and 63% greater brand recall when activating audiences In the Zone.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bidstack: Bidstack is an in-game advertising platform offering programmatic and direct-sold ad placements integrated into PC, console, and mobile games. It is a direct competitor to Venatus's "In the Game" placements and broader gaming inventory monetisation offering.
• Anzu.io: Anzu is an in-game advertising company specialising in non-intrusive programmatic ad placements within mobile, PC, console, and Roblox games. Like Venatus, it sells both to advertisers (brand campaigns) and publishers (yield uplift) and is a directly comparable gaming ad-tech competitor.
• Adverty: Adverty provides in-game ad placements (display, video, and contextual formats) across mobile and PC games, with a programmatic and direct sales motion similar to Venatus's Prosper platform. It targets the same gaming-publisher monetisation and brand-campaign use cases.
• Playwire: Playwire is a publisher monetisation platform serving gaming, entertainment, and sports sites via header bidding, direct sales, and ad operations services — essentially the same business model as Venatus's Prosper platform for the gaming/entertainment web publisher segment.
• Raptive (formerly CafeMedia): Raptive is a publisher monetisation platform combining header bidding, direct sales, and ad operations for content publishers. It overlaps Venatus's website-monetisation and direct-sales value proposition but is broader in publisher verticals (lifestyle, food, parenting) rather than gaming-specialised.
• Mediavine: Mediavine provides ad management, header bidding, and monetisation services for content publishers. Like Venatus, it serves as a yield-optimising alternative to Google AdSense for direct-to-publisher ad management, although its publisher base is broader and not gaming-focused.
• Sovrn: Sovrn operates a publisher monetisation stack including header bidding (via Sovrn Signal), ad exchange, and direct demand tools. It competes with Venatus's Prosper platform in programmatic yield optimisation and publisher-side ad-tech infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Google AdSense / Google Ad Manager: Google's AdSense and Ad Manager are the default monetisation platforms Venatus explicitly positions against ("switched from AdSense and saw 5,000% revenue lift"). They represent the broad incumbent competitive alternative for both publishers and advertisers in the same programmatic + direct ad-tech space.
• AppLovin: AppLovin (including its AXON ad-tech engine and Unity ad business) is a large-scale gaming ad-tech platform combining programmatic mediation, header bidding, and direct demand. It overlaps Venatus's programmatic and gaming inventory monetisation but at vastly greater scale.
• Unity Ads: Unity Ads monetises mobile gaming inventory via rewarded video, interstitials, and programmatic mediation. It serves the same gaming publishers as Venatus's App Monetisation and Browser Game Monetisation solutions and competes for the same advertiser budgets.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wearevenatus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-are-venatus
• Instagraminstagram.com/wearevenatus
• Facebookfacebook.com/WeAreVenatus

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Venatus