InMobi tools up for Google, Apple battle

Softbank Corp. has pledged $200 million to InMobi in two $100 million tranches, one due this month and the other in April 2012, in what is one the largest-ever investments in the mobile internet space. The size of Softbank's stake in the company has not been disclosed.

InMobi claims to be the world's largest independent mobile advertising network, with nearly 50 billion ad impressions in August alone, but it is hoped that Softbank will take the company to a new level.

Tokyo-based Softbank operates its country's third-largest wireless carrier and holds a 42% stake in Yahoo Japan as well as a portfolio of several Asian internet companies. With InMobi planning to use the capital to strengthen its advertising, mobile payment and media production and distribution platforms, there should be synergies to exploit.

"I hope the partnership with InMobi, a fast-growing startup with significant mobile expertise and an outstanding technology platform, will further accelerate the pace of development in the mobile internet space globally. We believe this partnership will help Softbank become the No. 1 internet company in Asia and I look forward to working with the InMobi team," Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of Softbank, said in a statement.

InMobi was founded in Bangalore in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, formerly a consultant at McKinsey & Co. It has reportedly been through three rounds of funding with KPCB and Sherpalo Ventures, raising $500,000 in 2007, $7.1 million a year later, and $8 million in 2010. It reaches 340 million in over 165 countries and has offices in Bangalore, Singapore, Tokyo, London, San Francisco and Nairobi.

Both Google and Apple have made acquisitions to boost their mobile advertising expertise. Last May, Google won US Federal Trade Commission approval for its $750 million takeover of AdMob following warnings that it would create an anti-competitive market. The FTC let the transactions go through partly on the grounds that Apple's $275 million acquisition of Quattro Wireless, America's third-largest mobile ad network, several months earlier would make it a strong competitor. Apple has since launched iAd.

InMobi's trump card as it takes on the two US technology powerhouses might ultimately be its exposure to the fast-growing Asian market. The company had 119 million unique users in the region last month, compared to 83 million in North America and 66 million in Europe. InMobi claims to have already usurped AdMob as the leading network in Asia-Pacific and Africa.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• North America
• Technology
• Expansion
• Softbank China & India Holdings
• KPCB China Management