Vibenomics raises $12.3M for retail audio ads

Vibenomics, an Indianapolis-based retail audio advertising company, has raised $12.3 million in series B funding, CEO Brent Oakley tells Axios.

Why it matters: Audio ads, piped through store speakers, target consumers making a physical purchase in a brick-and-mortar retailer. It's a more direct form of advertising than other mediums.

Details: Panoramic Ventures led the round. Oakley declined to disclose the round's other investors and the valuation. It's raised just over $30 million in total.

• "M&A activity around this space is really, really intense right now because people see the value of on-premise advertising. 84% of people still go into retail centers to buy their groceries and get their products. We don't see that changing anytime soon," Oakley says.

Catch up quick: Oakley wasn't always an ad tech executive. As co-founder of Prime Car Wash, Oakley tried to make the experience of waiting for a car wash more enjoyable by making his own radio station. In 2016, he launched Fuzic.

By the numbers: Vibenomics works with more than 6,000 locations across 49 states and on a monthly basis reaches 120 million customers. It plans to grow to more than 20,000 locations by the end of 2023.

• Its advertising clients include Heineken, Red Bull and more than 180 other CPG brands.
• Vibenomics has about 40 employees and expects to increase that by 25% by the end of the year.