Toronto-based ad tech startup Motion has secured $30 million in Series B funding to expand its analytics and research tools suite for creative strategists. 

The round, led by Montréal’s Inovia Capital with participation from Threshold Ventures and existing investors, brings Motion’s total funding to $42 million.

Founded in 2021 by Reza Khadjavi, Alexander Sloan, and David Berglas, Motion develops software to help creative strategists research ad trends, analyze performance, and generate new ad ideas. 

The company serves over 1,000 customers, primarily direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands and agencies, who use its tools to analyze more than $6 billion in annual media spend.

Khadjavi, Motion’s CEO, believes the rise of algorithm-based audience targeting has elevated the importance of creative elements in advertising. “Motion is building all of the tooling that a creative strategist needs to do their job well,” he stated in an interview with BetaKit.

According to Khadjavi, the Series B round, which closed earlier this month, comes at a “much higher” valuation than the company’s Series A. The funding includes primary and secondary components, though details are not disclosed.

With the funding announcement, Motion unveiled the addition of YouTube and advertising industry influencer Dara Denney as chief evangelist. Denney will advise on product direction, create educational content, and assist in training creative strategists.

Motion also launched a new product called Creative Research, expanding its capabilities in ad production research. Over the past year, the company has doubled its headcount to 50 employees and reports a tripling of annual recurring revenue, though exact figures are not provided.

Inovia partner Karam Nijjar, who’s joined Motion’s board, cites the company’s potential in the growing social network ad market, which he values at over $85 billion annually in the U.S. alone. 

“As paid ad spending continues to rise, the demand for more content creation and effective creative strategy will only increase,” Nijjar told BetaKit.

Motion’s customer base includes brands such as HexClad, Vuori, True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, and Ridge. The company now supports over 2,000 marketing teams across its client roster.

Khadjavi attributes part of Motion’s growth to market timing, noting that the creative strategist role has progressed from a “relatively fringe” position to “basically the fastest-growing job in performance marketing.”

With the new funding, Motion plans to accelerate its product roadmap, focusing on its core Creative Analytics product and the new Creative Research offering. The company also intends to expand its go-to-market efforts, including investments in training, educational content, and in-person events like its Creative Strategist Summit.

While Motion’s core clients remain in the D2C e-commerce sector, Khadjavi indicates the company is receiving interest from other industries, including B2B SaaS companies and consumer apps, which it targets for future expansion.