Axiata Digital’s ada plans for aggressive growth in SEA after US$20m investment

Global trading and business investment company Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo Corp) has invested US$20 million in Axiata Digital's integrated digital advertising business, analytics. data. advertising (ada).According to the agency, this funding round "solidifies" ada's path towards becoming the leading integrated digital advertising firm, leveraging telco core and digital and analytics capabilities in Southeast Asia by 2021.As ada's strategic partner, Sumitomo Corp will help accelerate it's growth by leveraging technology to enhance ada's data management platform, XAct, and drive product innovation. It will also help expand ada's business using its knowledge and experience in affiliate marketing and digital advertising, as well as by developing go-to-market collaborations to serve Japanese advertisers or partner with Japanese agencies.“It’s a great pleasure to partner with ada for creating new value through data driven analytics and leading digital transformation. We will also seek opportunities for further collaboration in the areas such as fintech and IoT with Axiata Digital Services as a strategic partner," Masahiro Miyashita, corporate officer, Sumitomo Corporation, said.“We are excited to partner with a valued partner like Sumitomo to create long-term value by leveraging our joint capabilities. Together through data driven marketing, we look forward to expanding regionally with advertisers and agencies alike," Srinivas Gattamneni (pictured), CEO, ada said.Among the list of clients that ada serves include CIMB, LINE MAN, Sushi King, TGV and Timberland. Currently, ada’s team comprises more than 200 digital specialists, including a team of 50 data scientists, growth hackers and engineers. Ada has operations in eight countries across Southeast and South Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and South Korea.In June, it appointed Anurag Gupta as chief of agency practice and COO. In his new role, which will see him reporting to CEO Srinivas Gattamneni, Gupta will lead all country teams to drive the business’ trajectory towards becoming the top integrated digital marketing company in their respective markets. He is also responsible for expanding ada’s portfolio in Asia beyond 1,200 brands and set market teams up for further scale and growth.