Meridian Growth Capital and Ballpark Ventures are joining existing investor Beringea, who initially backed the business in 2008, in supporting the growth of Blis, a company that provides services for display advertising.

Established in 2004, the London and Sydney-based business supplies services to advertising agencies, brand advertisers and publishers. The new funding will allow Blis to build its technology and expand its operations into the US.

As part of the $1.4 million deal, Hal Philipp and his investment vehicle Meridian will take a position on the board.

Philipp invented and patented the capacitive touch-screen technology that is used in smartphones and consumer electronics. His company, Quantum Research Group, was sold to Atmel in 2008 for $130 million.

‘The technology Blis is building is incredibly interesting. It has the potential to add a lot of value to advertisers, scale quickly and as such be a very disruptive force in the ecosystem,’ Philips says.

Gregor Isbister, CEO at Blis, comments, ‘Having Hal on board is an amazing asset to the team. The technology he developed has changed the face of our industry and reaches hundreds of millions of people every day.

‘The experience Hal brings in building and expanding businesses and the expertise in technology and IP [intellectual property] is immense.’

Following the funding round, Isbister will continue in his role as CEO, with Kevin McGovern taking the role of COO as well as his existing position as CFO.