Google Eyes Bengaluru Startup To Counter Facebook's Ad Dominance

BANGALORE: Google is planning to lay its hands on the Indian startup, InMobi, looking forward to bolster up the company’s handout in the advertising sector.

The Bangalore-based startup valued at $2 billion, failed to generate funds by the end of last year and thus talks have started with Google, reports Economic Times. Sources with knowledge on the matter stated that the search engine giant would come up with a technology with the aid of InMobi and would discuss the commercial terms for the same.

Founded by Naveen Tewari, Amit Gupta, Mohit Saxsena and Abhay Singhal, Inmobi helps in shifting the focus of the company’s phones and mobile via advertising. The network of InMobi is spread across 200 countries with over 1 billion active users. In addition to this, the company also had 2.6 billion App downloads on their platform by users and noticed ad impressions around 138 billlion. 

The talks are at an early stage and the specifications of the deal are yet to be unveiled by Google. The talks were initiated last year in September where it didn’t reap any results. "They are now talking formally, the next step is a technology due diligence," said the source.

Sources added that the momentum in the talks for cracking a deal has increased owing to the competitive scenario against Facebook. "Things were different last year, both for Google and InMobi. While Google was not facing the amount of heat it's witnessing today from Facebook on mobile, InMobi too was confident of raising another funding comfortably," the source said. Facebook took over Bengaluru-based Little Eye Labs, a startup specializing in mobile data.

Presently both the companies have denied commenting on the matter. However, this deal, if it happens, would mark a major transaction in the booming startup sector of India.

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