Edward Norton’s Adtech Firm, EDO, Just Raised $80 Million

EDO, a TV advertising measurement startup looking to compete with longtime industry heavyweight Nielsen, has raised $80 million from Los Angeles-based investment firm Shamrock Capital.

Co-founded by actor Edward Norton in 2015, EDO claims to be the first company to measure TV ads through consumer search activity—tracking online searches five-to-10 minutes after an ad airs and giving advertisers real-time insights into how consumers respond to their commercials. The company says it cross-references a national TV ad database of 200 million airings with anonymized search data to detect spikes in ad engagement.

Earlier this week, the Culver City-based company signed a deal with Discovery to help the media giant track consumer interest for its advertisers. EDO’s other clients include major TV networks such as NBCUniversal, Fox and CBS, as well as brands like Nissan, IBM, Royal Caribbean and New Balance.

EDO is among a new wave of measurement firms seeking to supplant Nielsen, which has long been the gold standard of TV measurement but has struggled amid the rise of online streaming. In turn, some major TV companies have begun looking to other data providers for ad insights.

In a statement, Norton said EDO is aiming to “transcend the antiquated, obsolete methods that have defined TV measurement for too long and put a serious drag on the value and creativity of the whole media and entertainment complex.”

Shamrock’s investment came at a pre-money valuation of more than $200 million and takes EDO’s total funding to date to over $92 million, representatives for EDO said. The company, which keeps a second headquarters in New York City, plans to use the new funds to grow its team, improve its data analytics platform and expand its network of partners and data sources.

Norton co-founded the firm with Daniel Nadler, the founder of artificial intelligence firm Kensho Technologies, which was bought by S&P Global for over $700 million in 2018. EDO’s CEO is Kevin Krim, the former head of CNBC Digital.

Shamrock—an investment firm that specializes in media, entertainment and communications—identified EDO as a “strategically differentiated player” in the TV data measurement space, Shamrock partner Laura Held said in a statement.

“EDO has amassed an impressive network of partners, clients and team members who we believe are reshaping what is possible from convergent TV measurement, ad performance and consumer engagement insights,” Held said.