Spanish startup Adcities has secured over €3 million in funding to grow its out-of-home (OOH) advertising technology after a successful year working with top brands such as Telefónica and Decathlon. This funding not only lays the foundation for its local and international expansion but also highlights key trends in the intersection of digital advertising and physical spaces. Here’s why this matters and how Adcities is setting itself apart.
Why OOH Advertising Needs More Than Billboards
OOH advertising has been a mainstay of marketing for decades, from iconic billboards to bus stop ads. But compared to digital advertising, it often falls short in targeting, real-time tracking, and data measurement. This gap is exactly where Adcities steps in, by combining advanced technologies, such as AI-driven geocontextual insights, with traditional outdoor mediums. As its co-founder and CEO Manuel Ferreira Lorenzo explained, “No CMO could confidently prove the impact of a campaign on the street. We created Adcities to fix that.”
The Numbers Behind Adcities’ Growth
Adcities launched its flagship platform, Outdoor Media Intelligence (OMI), just last year. In 2025 alone, the company powered campaigns for over 25 brands, including Telefónica, Mapfre, and Decathlon. These campaigns were optimized using OMI’s analytics, which offer insights into asset effectiveness, audience reach, and even store visits resulting from the campaigns. For brands, measuring this real-world impact brings OOH closer to the precision of Google Ads or Meta advertising tools.
The €3 million+ funding round, led by Adara Ventures and joined by PlusPartners and Bynd, shows the confidence investors have in Adcities’ growth potential. With the growing interest in data-integrated OOH platforms, the company’s early traction is a strong signal of what could be a much larger market opportunity.
Five Features That Make Adcities Stand Out
Adcities’ appeal lies in how it combines innovation with accessible tools for a traditionally complex advertising format. Let’s break it down:
- Campaign Analytics in Real-Time: Brands can measure how many people saw their ads and track engagement metrics normally absent from physical advertisements.
- Data Integration Between Online and Offline Audiences: The platform ties together data from digital campaigns and physical OOH assets, giving a complete picture of customer behavior.
- AI-Powered Targeting: By incorporating data about location, audience demographics, and local events, advertisers can launch hyper-targeted campaigns.
- Simple Activation for Brands: Instead of long negotiation cycles with ad publishers, Adcities enables brands to run campaigns with just a few clicks.
- Publisher Monetization: OOH asset owners can join the platform and unlock revenue streams from brands that never considered OOH before due to its historical lack of measurable data.
How to Launch a Successful OOH Campaign with Adcities
For businesses wondering how they can tap into the potential of this, Adcities has streamlined the process into these steps:
- Define Campaign Goals: Whether it’s increasing foot traffic, raising brand awareness, or launching a new product, be clear on what success looks like.
- Pick the Right Locations: Use OMI’s analytics to choose urban spaces that resonate with your audience.
- Set Budgets and Timeframes: Adcities allows for flexibility, letting brands run short campaigns to test approaches or commit to longer-term campaigns with greater impact.
- Analyze Results: Once your campaign is live, monitor the data to understand its reach and whether adjustments are needed for future activations.
- Iterate and Expand: Campaign data can help refine future strategies, ensuring that each subsequent activation is more targeted than the last.
Common Pitfalls in OOH Advertising
While this new level of analytics can help reduce waste, there are still mistakes brands might make:
- Not Syncing OOH with Digital Campaigns: To maximize impact, campaigns in physical spaces should integrate seamlessly with digital efforts for a unified message.
- Ignoring Insights: Just because a billboard looks great doesn’t mean it’s effective, brands need to rely on performance metrics.
- Choosing the Wrong Locations: Audience demographics matter; an ad for luxury products wouldn’t succeed in high-traffic areas dominated by commuters on tight budgets.
- One-Off Campaigns: Without follow-ups or iteration, you lose the chance to build consistent awareness.
Insight: Why Investors Are Betting Big on OOH AdTech
This funding reflects a broader trend: physical and digital advertising are becoming increasingly intertwined. For investors, platforms like Adcities solve a critical issue, bridging the gap between traditional media formats and the obsession with data-backed decisions.
Even globally, other companies have noticed this trend. Last September, French AdTech startup Vibe.co raised €42 million to bring similar precision analytics to connected TV ads. It’s clear there’s a growing hunger for platforms that can take “faith-based” advertising and turn it into measurable ROI.
The Road Ahead for Adcities
Adcities plans to use this funding to expand its foothold in Spain and then enter new markets, with Mexico as its first LATAM destination. This move makes sense: Mexico City is one of the world’s largest urban hubs, providing an ideal environment to test OMI’s scalability. Within Europe, the company aims to solidify its partnerships with more brands and agencies, expanding its integration into existing advertising ecosystems.
According to Nico Goulet, Founding Partner at Adara Ventures, “Adcities’ founders have built a technology and vision with tremendous global potential.”
Final Thoughts
For startups and entrepreneurs watching the rise of AdTech, Adcities serves as a great case study: find a niche where there’s an obvious gap, and build solutions that feel as intuitive as digital platforms. By digitizing OOH advertising while keeping it human, connecting locations, people, and brands, the company is giving this old medium a new life.
As OOH adapts to a digital age, Adcities isn’t just making it easier for established brands to invest, but also for smaller businesses hoping to break into this world for the first time. With every campaign, the line between online and offline blurs a little more, opening up new opportunities for marketers globally.
Interested in seeing how this works? Explore how OOH media campaigns get activated at Adcities.
FAQ
1. What is Adcities, and what does it specialize in?
Adcities is a Spanish startup specializing in AdTech, particularly the digital transformation of Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising through their flagship AI-powered platform, Outdoor Media Intelligence (OMI). Explore Adcities
2. How much funding has Adcities raised recently?
As of December 2025, Adcities secured over €3 million in seed funding to scale its OOH advertising technology. Read about the funding on EU-Startups
3. Who were the investors in Adcities' funding round?
The funding round was led by Adara Ventures, with participation from PlusPartners, Bynd, and angel investors such as Albert Nieto and Scott Painter. Learn about Adara Ventures
4. What is the main problem Adcities is solving in OOH advertising?
Adcities addresses the lack of measurable data, real-time insights, and targeting capabilities in OOH advertising, bringing it closer to the standards of digital advertising platforms like Google Ads. Discover Adcities’ mission
5. Which major brands have partnered with Adcities?
In 2025 alone, Adcities worked with over 25 brands, including Telefónica, Decathlon, Mapfre, and MediaMarkt. Check out Telefónica’s campaigns
6. What is Outdoor Media Intelligence (OMI)?
OMI is Adcities’ AI-driven platform that enables brands to launch targeted OOH campaigns, measure asset effectiveness, and analyze advertising reach in real-time. Learn about OMI
7. How does Adcities simplify OOH advertising for brands?
Adcities allows brands to activate campaigns digitally with just a few clicks, saving time and offering real-time analytics traditionally absent in OOH advertising. Explore Adcities' benefits
8. What are the growth plans for Adcities?
With the new funding, Adcities plans to expand in Spain, enter LATAM markets starting with Mexico, and further integrate its technology in Europe. Read about Adcities’ global plans
9. Why is OOH AdTech attracting investor interest?
Platforms like Adcities are solving critical inefficiencies in measuring and targeting outdoor media, aligning it with marketers’ data-driven strategies for ROI. Learn about OOH AdTech trends
10. What sets Adcities apart in the AdTech market?
Adcities bridges the gap between physical and digital advertising, offering real-time analytics, AI-powered targeting, and seamless campaign activation for brands. Discover Adcities’ unique approach
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.