Affine Systems gets another $5M for semantic video ad software

Affine Systems, a San Francisco startup that makes technology that scans and analyzes the content in online video, has raised nearly $ 5 million in a new funding round, according to a regulatory filing.

According to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday, Affine Systems has sold about $ 4.99 million of a new $ 5.05 million round. The first stock sale in this funding round occurred on December 27, 2011, the filing indicates. This new round brings Affine Systems’ total outside funding to approximately $ 13.75 million, according to the company’s SEC filings dating back to 2007.

Affine Systems' object detection

Affine’s software uses computer vision technology that scans videos frame-by-frame and sorts each section of the footage into specific categories. Advertisers can then use that information to promote their products with the right online video content at the most appropriate times. This purportedly provides insight into and control over the online video market at a depth that has previously been available only through television content. My colleague Ryan Lawler has explained Affine Systems’ technology like this:

“Due to worries about the content of most online video, many brands and agencies stay away from a large percentage of that content, preferring to launch campaigns against professionally produced videos. But with Affine’s technology and repository of online videos, media buyers a much larger inventory to choose from. The company provides tools to enable advertisers to create custom video channels to target. And once their ads have been served, Affine provides full transparency into where those ads appeared.”

We’ve reached out to Affine Systems for comment on the funding; we will update this post with any feedback we receive.

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