Mitsui backs US mobile advertising platform
Mitsui & Co. has participated in a $14 million round of fundraising for US-based mobile advertising and media company 4INFO, alongside Vulcan Capital and existing investors Draper Fisher Jurveston, Gannett, Mezzanine Capital and US Venture Partners. Vulcan Capital participated and Mitsui were the only new investors.
The funds will be used to expand 4INFO's AdHaven platform, which will spin out as a separate division focused solely on mobile advertising technology and sales. AdHaven's clients include Ford, Universal Pictures, KFC, Kmart, Amtrak, and Proctor & Gamble.
"It is time for the mobile advertising industry to catch up with the targeting and data capabilities that media buyers demand from online advertising," Zaw Thet, CEO of 4INFO, said in a statement. "This is the future of mobile, what we call mobile 2.0, because it forces everyone to rethink mobile advertising. With AdHaven, we bring the first real audience targeting to the mobile ecosystem through proprietary partnerships with leading publishers, ad-sources, inventory providers, and online and offline data providers."
Japanese interest in mobile advertising reached new heights last month with Softbank Corp.'s $200 million commitment to InMobi, which claims to be the world's largest independent mobile advertising network. The company, founded in Bangalore in 2007, is taking on Google's AdMob and Apple's iAd.
Mitsui's VC investments are usually channeled through its Mitsui Ventures Global Fund.
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