MUMBAI: Independent mobile ad firm InMobi has raised $200 million from Japan‘s Softbank Corp, as the start-up plans deeper penetration and acquisitions across the mobile ad value chain.
The investment will help InMobi create value across the mobile ecosystem globally through better advertising, mobile payments using SmartPay(TM), and HTML5 rich media production and distribution using the recently acquired Sprout(TM) platform.
Softbank joins existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures, who invested about $15 million. The partnership will make Softbank the number one Internet company in Asia, chief executive officer (CEO) Masayoshi Son said.
InMobi, founded in 2007, claims to be the largest independent mobile advertising network with the ability to reach 340 million customers in over 165 countries, through more than 47 billion mobile ad impressions monthly.
The partnership will help Softbank become the number one Internet company in Asia, chief executive officer Masayoshi Son said.
After buying Vodafone Group PLC‘s Japan operations in 2006, Softbank was able to transform itself from an Internet provider into one of the Japan‘s fastest-growing cellphone carriers.
The importance of mobile ad companies is augmenting as they provide various efficiencies such as locating customers and serving targeted ads. Limited screen sizes and privacy issues, however, remain major concerns.
The mobile ad sector rose to prominence after Google Inc acquired AdMob in 2009, and Apple Inc bought out Quattro Wireless for a whopping $275 million.
