Backed by Claremont Capital, Dorcas Capital and notable angels including Curt Shi (Founding Partner of Imprint Capital Partners), Hugo de Jong (Partner at Beames Capital), Barry Winata (Managing Partner of Metagrove Ventures), Trampoline Syndicate led by Matt Perkes and Abraham Robertson along with senior bankers, Private Equity and Consulting firm executives, the fast-growing start-up LUMOS successfully raises $800K pre-seed funding to revolutionalise the ad industry.

LUMOS, the world's first MarTech platform to offer brands the ability to promote themselves leveraging the fast-growing gig economy, announced today it successfully raised $800K funding in an oversubscribed pre-seed round from angels and growth equity firms. Founded in 2020 in stealth mode and having launched their MVP in early 2022, LUMOS’ mission is to disrupt and democratise the $40 billion global out-of-home and digital retargeting ad market. 

LUMOS provides advertisers access to the booming network of gig economy riders, enabled by its fleet of IoT-enabled Smart Bags to reach millions of audiences, while, the proprietary LUMOS data engine enriches OOH Ads with digital retargeting and advanced audience analytics to create a new immersive and data-driven marketing environment for brands to close sales with ease. The traditional marketing solutions currently fail to offer scalability, transparency and measurability on marketing ROI and impact. 

LUMOS will be using the pre-seed funds to further scale its footprint across Australia, further develop its advanced data-driven ad reporting capabilities, and roll out more innovative IoT-enabled ad solutions to deliver scalable and targeted physical and digital ads for businesses across multiple cities.

Eric Fan, CEO and Co-Founder, LUMOS said, “We are so pleased by the overwhelming support that we've received from our investors. LUMOS was born while we were still in the thick of an economic downturn and businesses were pushed to reimagine the possibilities of innovative and disruptive technologies like ours to stand out more. The great investor backing we’ve received is a true testament to the global market opportunity for our innovative MarTech platform in Australia and beyond. 

“We are currently working with 20+ well known domestic and international brands and agencies of all sizes, empowering them to attract, retain and create customer advocacy using our affordable and competitive solution. LUMOS makes scalable and impactful marketing accessible to all brands because our platform significantly lowers the barrier to entry, expands the possibilities for all brands and furthers their reach when it comes to advertising”.

Many new investors were attracted by LUMOS' disruptive nature in a sector that has been tracking on a well-trodden path for years.

"For a long time, the advertising industry has been quite traditional and antiquated, however it's now finally being disrupted by Lumos who are using technology and logistics to create a new paradigm for this space. I'm excited to be on this journey with them," noted Barry Winata of Metagrove Ventures.

I invested in LUMOS given the combination of technologies brought together as well as the scalability of the solution to larger and denser markets," explained Hugo de Jong of Beames Capital.

"I feel the passion of the team and disruption of the technology and business models. Crossover effect also contributes to these innovative and intelligent solutions for the marketing sector. I did see huge venture success in MarTech before and am happy to be part of the journey from the early stage," added Curt Shi from Imprint Capital Partners.

LUMOS advisory board member Jerry Hsu described the company as a real game-changer for businesses and governments to find new ways to engage with customers and the public.

"I'm excited about how LUMOS is disrupting the advertising space with their innovative solution to modernise digital out-of-home and digital advertising," he said.