Miami-based Beeyond Media raises $10M

Beeyond Media, a Miami-based programmatic digital out-of-home advertising demand-side platform, has raised $10 million in seed funding, CEO Alejandro Donzis tells Axios.

Why it matters: Digital out-of-home (DOOH) has the highest growth rate of ad spend, expected to grow 26.1% to $13.3 billion this year, according to ad agency GroupM.

Context: Donzis, an Argentinian who has worked in advertising for more than 25 years, founded Beeyond Media in 2019 after identifying the opportunity in DOOH. He says he not only wanted to build a strong programmatic platform but also provide quality service.

• The company started in Argentina and expanded to Colombia, Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. It launched in the U.S. this year.
• Its ad inventory is now more than 600,000 screens, including billboards, street furniture and airport media, across 17 countries. Clients include Chanel, L'Oréal, American Express and Heineken.
• Donzis says the company's revenue increased 12x from 2021 to 2022 and that it expects to grow 10x from 2022 to 2023. It has about 40 employees.

Of note: The business is unprofitable. Donzis says every market operates profitably except for the U.S. and that he hopes for the company to be profitable next year.

Details: Ricardo Uribe's RAU Capital led the round, which was structured as a SAFE. RAU Capital, a Colombia-based investment firm, was previously known as Rua Group and has invested in construction, insurance, IT, financial services and other sectors. Other unnamed investors participated.

• Beeyond Media has raised $12.5 million in total, including $1.2 million from Uribe in August 2021. Uribe joined the board at that time.

• Donzis says he plans to use the funds to scale in the U.S.
• "I'm going with caution, but we're going to expand drastically the U.S. sales team and the planners," Donzis says. "The good news is that the tech team we have in-house is amazing. ... Most of our head count is going to be growing in the commercial space."

What's next: Donzis says he will likely raise more money 18 to 24 months from now.