AdEasy, an online marketplace for buying offline advertisements in Southeast Asia, on Thursday announced that it has raised funding from Japanese e-gift service provider Giftee through their Malaysian subsidiary, Giftee Malaysia.

This marks Giftee’s first major investment outside of Japan as they expand into Southeast Asia.

This round of funding is on top of the over RM 1.8 million (approximately US$455,000) raised in two previous rounds of crowdfunding and angel investment. This brings AdEasy’s valuation to RM17.5 million (approximately US$4.1 million).

AdEasy advertisers currently include Klook, FashionValet, and Vettons. Through AdEasy, advertisers can access about 28,400 advertising spots.

Commenting on the funding, Melissa Sim, chief executive officer and co-founder of AdEasy said, “The funds and partnership with giftee inc. and Giftee Malaysia SDN. Bhd will help us scale faster, especially as we enter a time where brands are now looking to expand and grow their businesses post-COVID-19. With expertise from the giftee team, and a ready business community in Malaysia, we are confident that AdEasy will continue to grow aggressively.”

Founded in 2017,AdEasy will also utilize the fresh funds to enhance the AdEasy platform and continue the implementation of advanced campaign tracking and measurement for advertisers.

Mutsumi Ota, CEO of Giftee and Giftee Malaysia, said, “We are delighted to partner with AdEasy and be part of their journey in bringing offline advertising into the future with innovative, and empowering solutions for advertisers and media owners alike. We believe that offline advertising still has a role to play as consumer trust in such formats remains high. Hence, leveraging on AdEasy’s extensive offline advertising networks and solutions will be part of our strategy to promote eGifts in Malaysia as well.”