Sweden: EIB backs DanAds to accelerate advertising technology to compete with tech giants

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• EIB lends Swedish adtech company DanAds €21 million to expand self-serve advertising solution that help publishers with automated ad sales and AI-technologies
• Financing aims to increase competition in market dominated by major tech giants
• Operation promotes EU digitalisation and innovation

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €21 million (around 230 million Swedish kronor) to Swedish software company DanAds to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe and beyond gain access to premium online advertising channels. The financing will enable DanAds to expand its operations and accelerate the development of automated, AI-driven advertising solutions. These technologies will allow advertisers, especially smaller ones, to purchase advertising directly from major publishers’ ad inventory – providing access to premium advertising space that were previously out of reach.

Stockholm-based DanAds has developed a fully automated adtech solution that integrates seamlessly into a publisher’s ecosystem. This white-label, self-serve technology is embedded directly in the publisher’s own website and brand – meaning advertisers interact with the publisher as if the system were entirely in-house, without knowing it is powered by DanAds. It reduces the cost and complexity of selling any ad inventory, especially for lower-budget campaigns. This opens new advertising markets for publishers and gives SMEs an alternative to relying solely on major digital platforms such as Google and Facebook.

“By supporting DanAds, we are backing a digital solution that improves the efficiency and inclusiveness of Europe’s advertising ecosystem,” said Head of EIB Group Office in Sweden Liisa Raasakka. “This operation reflects the European Union’s ambition to foster innovation, empower SMEs and strengthen Europe’s digital competitiveness.”

The EIB financing for DanAds is structured as a venture debt loan – a form of growth financing tailored to innovative companies. It is provided under the InvestEU programme, which prioritises strategic digital technologies and enhanced accessibility for underserved market segments.

“The support from EIB is a strong endorsement of our mission to democratize advertising,” said DanAds, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Peo Persson. “This investment enables us to fast-track the development of advanced AI and automation tools that simplify ad operations for publishers and improve access for advertisers. At the same time, we’re expanding our presence in Europe – with a new office in Malmö and an upcoming launch in Eastern Europe,” adds Co-Founder and CEO Istvan Beres.

The EIB financing will accelerate DanAds’ research and development over the 2025–2029 period, with a focus on advanced AI-tools for automated ad design and customer targeting.

Together with the funds from the European Investment Bank, DanAds plans to invest a total of €50 million over the next five years into accelerating European growth and pioneering new AI-advertising technology. This substantial commitment includes a €5 million contribution from existing owners through a new share issue, solidifying our financial foundation for ambitious expansion.

Background information

EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, the EIB finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world. 

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.   

Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the EU is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average. 

High-quality, up-to-date photos of the organisation’s headquarters for media use are available here.

The InvestEU programme provides the EU with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps to crowd in private investment for the European Union’s strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments previously available for supporting investments within the European Union together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible.

The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

DanAds

DanAds is the leading provider of self-serve advertising and automation technology, helping publishers and media companies to offer automated, white-labeled ad selling & buying platforms. DanAds empowers buyers and sellers to manage campaigns directly, providing full control over proposals, negotiation, targeting, budgeting, and performance tracking. By streamlining the ad buying process and reducing operational costs, DanAds helps publishers maximize revenue while offering a seamless and transparent experience for advertisers.

Established in 2013 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, DanAds has rapidly expanded its global footprint, now serving a diverse client base worldwide. The start of 2025 marked a strong acceleration, with five new client signings fueling continued international growth. Building on this momentum, DanAds achieved an impressive 31.6% growth in recurring revenues in 2024, alongside a significant EBITDA improvement of SEK 49.1 million, EBITDA Cash with 43,6 million between 2023 and 2024. This robust performance earned DanAds recognition on the prestigious FT1000 list of Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2025, further underscored by a stellar 95%+ client retention rate and consistently high user satisfaction.  The company is expanding its European presence with a new office in Malmö and an upcoming launch in Romania through a strategic collaboration with Sigma Software and its owner, Dan Olofsson – reinforcing its commitment to local markets and underserved regions.