Ascent Korea raises $25 mn to expand its search data analysis solution

Ascent Korea, a South Korean startup that provides an artificial intelligence-based solution to analyze search data and identify users’ hidden intentions, has completed a Series A investment round of 30 billion won ($22.8 million).

The round was led by Smart T for Megazone Venture Investment Association, a fund operated by T Investment that includes domestic cloud computing companies such as Megazone. Ascent Korea also received investments from Shinhan Venture Investment and Daol Investment Co. last year.

The company’s flagship product, Listening Mind Hubble, collects and analyzes vast amounts of search terms and search result pages without infringing on personal information. It then helps clients with product planning, market and consumer research, marketing strategy and business strategy formulation based on the insights derived from consumers’ intentions.

Listening Mind Hubble can offer a solution for consumer context-based advertising using data, as the efficiency of retargeting ads that track user behavior based on app and web visit records is deteriorating due to Apple’s app tracking transparency policy and Google’s third-party cookie restriction policy scheduled to take effect at the end of this year, according to the company.

Ascent Korea plans to use the new funds to accelerate its global expansion as well as its growth in the domestic market. It plans to launch its services in Japan in June and in North America in December this year.

The company’s customers include advertising agencies and brand consulting firms such as Innocean, Pentacle, BAT, Wylie, Universal McCann, Dexter Kremea, Stone Brand Communications and Namuon. It also serves large corporations such as KB Kookmin Bank, Samsung Life Insurance, Amorepacific Corp., YG Entertainment Inc. and Maeil Dairies Co.

Seo-yong Park, CEO of Ascent Korea, said that he aims to secure 150 customers in Korea and 50 in Japan by the end of this year.

Write to Da Eun Choi at max@hankyung.com