InMobi gulps Silicon Valley startup Sprout
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InMobi gulps Silicon Valley startup Sprout
Bangalore: Bangalore-based InMobi, a mobile ad network, acquired the U.S.-based Sprout, a platform provider for creating HTML5 rich media mobile advertising. With this acquisition, InMobi can leverage Sprout's technology to address the complexity of planning, creating, distributing and measuring of rich media mobile ads for brands and agencies in India and globally. Typically, enterprises spend $10k to $15k, to publish rich media ads on the network. With InMobi bundling up Sprouts services to their portfolio, the company intends to explore next generation rich media ads to their customers spread across 165 countries. InMobi with its presence in five continents gets more than 36.2 billion ad impressions every month. It provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. Its fast growing network delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 314 million consumers. InMobi was recently included in both the 2011 AlwaysOn Global 250 and the 2011. The company that has raised $16 million till now is backed by investors like Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. It has offices in San Francisco, London, Bangalore, Tokyo, Nairobi and Singapore. Naveen Tewari co-founded InMobi along with Abhay Singhal and Amit K Gupta. Tewari is responsible for the overall vision, strategy and execution of InMobi. Tewari started his career with McKinsey & Company where he worked on developing the go-to-market strategy for a large Indian conglomerate, as it entered the telecom sector. He has also worked with the top management of technology companies on various issues. Later, he joined Charles River Ventures (CRV), a top tier VC firm focusing on early stage investing in software and communications. Tewari worked with CRV on developing its India investment strategy. He also worked briefly with a mobile VoIP startup in Silicon Valley. He is the founder and chairman of U.S.-based non-profit organization, India School Fund, which has been formed to set up schools in rural India. Naveen has a Bachelors degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and has a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He received the "Dean's Award', the highest honor for his exceptional leadership and contribution at Harvard Business School. Naveen Tewari, CEO, InMobi said, "This acquisition reflects the growing maturity of the global mobile ad industry. Advertisers and ad agencies are looking to engage consumers through ever more immersive and interactive means-InMobi have taken the kead to deliver on this critical market requirement through the acquisition of Sprout." Sprout is the provider of a platform for creating mobile HTML5 rich media advertising. The team members are the market leaders for social media and mobile technologies for the past five years and used to be the first preferred Facebook developers. Its platform is compatible with leading mobile ad networks, aggregators and publishers. Backed by ventures firms such as Polaris Venture Partners, it has offices in Honolulu and San Francisco. It works with the world's leading brands, including Nokia, Disney, HTC, Chevrolet, Paramount Pictures and Sega to bring interactive mobile ads to devices supporting HTML5, including Apple iOS and Google Android devices. Its cloud-based platform brings efficiency and scale, helping advertisers build once and deliver everywhere. Ajit Nazre, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Buyers said, "The mobile industry is yet to fully capitalize on the engaging advertising experiences now possible through smart devices." After this acquisition, Sprout will operate as a fully independent company working with the entire mobile advertising industry to solve the HTML5 creation and delivery problem. It will also continue to expand its product in the coming months by adding workflow enhancements, analytics and innovative new ad units. Carnet Williams, CEO and Co-Founder of Sprout said, "InMobi's commitment to an open and independent Sprout made them the clear choice for us. We will continue to work with all existing partners, including ad networks, globally."

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