An estimated $100 million of external funding is set to be ploughed into AppNexus as the ad trading platform prepares to realise its ambitious growth forecasts.

The company, which has been valued at $1.2 billion by its new investors, hopes to use the fresh injection of cash to a bring forward a new phase in its plans for expansion.

Among the targets for 2014 and beyond is a doubling in spend through its ad trading desk, from $1 billion in 2013 up to $2 billion this year, while AppNexus also hopes to create “hundreds” of new jobs at its 10 offices worldwide.

Promising signs ahead

The New York-based firm has been no stranger to lucrative funding rounds, raising over $200 million since forming in 2007.

One of the company’s biggest came in October 2010 with the generation of $50 million through Series-C backers including Venrock, Kodiak Venture and First Round Capital.  

A Boston-based public equity firm is rumoured to be behind $60 million of the new investment but little is known about the other parties involved.

The news comes amid a pivotal year for the company, which has grown to enable 30 billion ad impressions every single day through an ever-expanding list of partners.

After witnessing the rise of the business first hand, AppNexus CEO and co-founder Brian O’Kelley insisted there was plenty more to come.

“When we founded AppNexus, our aspiration wasn’t just to build the world’s best ad tech company – we wanted to prove that you can build a seminal, global technology company right here in New York.

“As a company purely focused on creating great tech, our aim is to continue to revolutionize the advertising industry, and we’re just getting started.”

New faces

O’Kelley’s comments regarding a bigger and better enterprise run in tandem with the company’s plans to invest heavily in its global team of employees.

AppNexus has increased its headcount by 43% since January 2013 and now boasts a 600-strong roster spread across offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland as well as in London, Paris, Hamburg, Toronto, Sydney and Singapore.

Any finance left after the recruitment drive could be used to fund what the company describes as “opportunistic acquisitions”.

One of its more recent purchases came in June of this year with a deal for French firm Alenty, a veteran provider of online ad measurement technology.