German online video ad network Smartclip has taken an undisclosed investment from VC house Van den Ende & Deitmers in return for a “substantial minority stake”. The company was started earlier this year by Lycos ad sales director Jean-Pierre Fumagalli and UK MD Roland Schaber as they bailed from Lycos Europe’s sinking ship. The VC fund, started by Endemol founder Joop van den Ende and former Endemol board member Hubert Deitmers, said it’s making the investment because projections say European video advertising is due to be worth €1 billion by 2012. The firm claims over 150 million monthly video views and plans to use the funds to expand beyond Europe. Via release.