LG Electronics has recently decided to invest $80 million to get a controlling stake at Alphonso to drive its innovations for the smart TV lineup. LG is planning to use Alphonso’s software and services, including artificial intelligence capabilities, media planning and activation, and data analytics. These services will be provided in addition to home entertainment products to improve content recommendations and LG channels. LG has mentioned that it wants to create an owned and operated the first screen with robust cross-device advertising that will come with integrated analytics platforms of LG TV and the smart TV marketplace.
This funding follows the first Series A funding, where the company raised $5.6 million in 2017. Manifest Investment Partners led the present funding. However, despite the investment, Alphonso will still operate as an independent brand.
Park Hyoung-sei, the president of LG Home Entertainment Company, mentioned that their investment in Alphonso is a critical factor in the digital transformation decision taken by the company, which will focus on cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and big data. This will change the way consumers interact with their devices. Alphonso’s TV data analytics will enable the company to provide higher customer satisfaction through more customized content and services.
The founder and CEO of Alphonso, Ashish Chordia, said that both LG and Alphonso had shared visions to advance the smart TV ecosystem to provide a better customer experience through innovative software and services. These companies are also willing to provide highly flexible, creative advertising, planning and management for agencies, brands, broadcasters, and others.
Partnering with LG will allow Alphonso to access a huge inventory of connected TV screens, which can help maximize their collective impact on the TV marketplace. Both companies are willing to combine their products to provide great value for the whole ecosystem.