Equity investor Albion Ventures has joined IQ Capital as backers of Grapeshot, a digital advertising technology business developed from technology begun at Cambridge University.

The $3.3 million Grapeshot has banked tops up the $2.45 million IQ Capital committed in 2009.

From its offices in London and New York, Grapeshot provides keyword technology matching advertising messages with the right online content. Keywords are identified, and then content selected, to make a brand marketer’s messages relevant.

Grapeshot CEO John Snyder says that recent deployments of its Agency Trading Desk platform in Japanese, Russian and Chinese languages show the ‘global dimension’ of real-time bidding and advertising analytics.’

The company head also reveals that Grapeshot is processing in excess of two million bids an hour, in 248 countries and in 25 languages.

Robert Whitby-Smith, partner at UK-based Albion Ventures and new board member at Grapeshot, comments, ‘Grapeshot offers the most compelling solution to a key concern for brands moving to real-time bidding…how do I know my online ads are not in the wrong place?

‘A premium automotive brand does not want to advertise next to an article about a crash. Beyond brand protection, Grapeshot’s data analytics enable advertisers to optimise context to boost sales and reduce cost per acquisition.’