EIB Invests €21 Million in DanAds to Democratize Premium Ad Inventory for SMEs

EIB Invests €21 Million in DanAds to Democratize Premium Ad Inventory for SMEs

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank is extending a €21 million venture debt loan to adtech firm DanAds to scale its self-serve, AI-powered platform that automates ad sales directly within publisher websites. This financing, under InvestEU, will enable DanAds to expand across Europe—establishing a Malmö office and entering Eastern European markets—and accelerate R&D through 2029, with a focus on AI-driven ad creation and targeting. DanAds’ white-label solution simplifies campaign management for SMEs and diversifies publishers’ revenue streams beyond major digital platforms. Backed by an additional €5 million equity injection, DanAds plans to commit €50 million over five years to fuel innovation and regional growth.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 2-Jul-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a €21 million venture debt facility to Stockholm-based DanAds, empowering the adtech specialist to broaden its self-serve, AI-driven advertising platform for publishers. This funding will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe—and beyond—gain direct access to premium inventory formerly dominated by tech giants, enabling automated ad sales through publisher-owned channels.

DanAds’ white-label solution embeds seamlessly into a publisher’s website and branding, allowing advertisers to book campaigns as if dealing directly with the publisher. By automating campaign setup, targeting, and billing, the platform reduces complexity and cost—particularly for lower-budget ads—while opening new revenue streams for publishers outside the traditional Google and Facebook duopoly.

“Investing in DanAds advances a more efficient, inclusive European advertising ecosystem,” said Liisa Raasakka, Head of the EIB Group Office in Sweden. “This operation underlines the EU’s commitment to innovation, SME empowerment, and digital sovereignty.”

Structured under the InvestEU programme, the venture debt loan will accelerate DanAds’ expansion—anchored by a new Malmö office and planned entry into Eastern Europe—and fund R&D through 2029, focusing on AI-enhanced ad design and precision targeting tools.

“EIB’s backing validates our mission to democratize premium advertising,” said Peo Persson, DanAds Co-Founder and CCO. Istvan Beres, Co-Founder and CEO, added, “With this financing, plus €5 million from existing shareholders, we’re on track to invest €50 million over five years in European growth and cutting-edge AI features.”

Background information

EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, the EIB finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.

Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the EU is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of the organisation’s headquarters for media use are available here.

The InvestEU programme provides the EU with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps to crowd in private investment for the European Union’s strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments previously available for supporting investments within the European Union together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible.

The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

DanAds

DanAds is the leading provider of self-serve advertising and automation technology, helping publishers and media companies to offer automated, white-labeled ad selling & buying platforms. DanAds empowers buyers and sellers to manage campaigns directly, providing full control over proposals, negotiation, targeting, budgeting, and performance tracking. By streamlining the ad buying process and reducing operational costs, DanAds helps publishers maximize revenue while offering a seamless and transparent experience for advertisers.

Established in 2013 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, DanAds has rapidly expanded its global footprint, now serving a diverse client base worldwide. The start of 2025 marked a strong acceleration, with five new client signings fueling continued international growth. Building on this momentum, DanAds achieved an impressive 31.6% growth in recurring revenues in 2024, alongside a significant EBITDA improvement of SEK 49.1 million, EBITDA Cash with 43,6 million between 2023 and 2024. This robust performance earned DanAds recognition on the prestigious FT1000 list of Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2025, further underscored by a stellar 95%+ client retention rate and consistently high user satisfaction.  The company is expanding its European presence with a new office in Malmö and an upcoming launch in Romania through a strategic collaboration with Sigma Software and its owner, Dan Olofsson – reinforcing its commitment to local markets and underserved regions.

Media Contact:

Thomas Eriksson
t.eriksson@ext.eib.org

Press Office

press@eib.org
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SOURCE: European Investment Bank