SOFTBANK Corp Invests $200mn in InMobi: One of the Largest Investments in the Mobile Internet Space Globally

SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- InMobi, the world's largest independent mobile ad network, and SOFTBANK Corp, completed a $200 million investment, early this week. The funding will take place in two tranches- $100 million in September 2011 followed by an equivalent tranche in April 2012.

Softbank joins existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures in helping InMobi become a global leader in the mobile advertising industry. The $200 million investment, one of the largest to date in the mobile internet space , will help the company create value across the mobile ecosystem globally through world-class advertising, mobile payments using SmartPay™, and HTML5 rich media production and distribution using the recently acquired Sprout™ platform.

Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO of InMobi, commented: "The size of the investment and quality of investor validate the enormous potential in mobile today and strengthen our role in helping the industry evolve.  We have already established ourselves as a leader in mobile advertising on every continent.  This is just the beginning. With a global leader like Softbank behind us, we are now well positioned to fully capitalize on the opportunity before us through substantially increased product innovation, deeper market penetration, and acquisitions across the mobile ad value chain."

"I am delighted at this opportunity to partner with InMobi, one the world's largest mobile ad networks", said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of Softbank.  "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."

This partnership will provide Softbank and InMobi with opportunities to further explore global scale collaboration in the fast growing mobile ad market. It is also expected to generate further synergies between InMobi and Softbank, given the significant number of prominent Asian Internet companies in Softbank's investment portfolio.

John Doerr, Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said: "InMobi is a rapidly growing company in one of the most explosive technology sectors.  InMobi delivers extraordinary value to publishers and advertisers globally. They are a leader in the mobile advertising revolution."

Ram Shriram, Founder of Sherpalo Ventures added: "InMobi joins a select set of companies globally that have achieved massive scale in a short period of time. This investment is a strong validation of the mobile opportunity across the globe and InMobi's ability to exploit to its full potential. Mobile and Smart Phones are changing the world for consumers, businesses, advertisers and publishers."

About InMobi

InMobi is the world's largest independent mobile advertising network. With offices on four continents, it provides advertisers, publishers and developers with a uniquely global solution for advertising. The network is growing fast and now delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 340 million consumers, in over 165 countries, through more than 47 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. The recent acquisition of Sprout, a leading HTML5 authoring platform for mobile rich media, helps expand InMobi's offering to creative agencies and brands. InMobi was recently selected as a "2011 AlwaysOn Top 100 Mobile Company in Silicon Valley."

InMobi is venture-backed by investors including: Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures. The company has offices in London, San Francisco, Bangalore, Tokyo, Nairobi and Singapore.

To learn more, please visit www.InMobi.com/research, follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or read our blog at www.InMobi.com/InMobiblog/.

About Softbank

SOFTBANK is a leading Internet company that aims to provide a range of services including mobile communications, broadband infrastructure, fixed-line telecommunications, internet culture, and others.  SOFTBANK declares its company vision "Information Revolution - Happiness for everyone..", and it continuously strives to create synergies among various content and services within the Group.  For more information, please refer to http://www.softbank.co.jp/en/.

US Contact:
IF Communications
Isabel Fox | [email protected] | +44 7703 477818
Kelley Joyce | [email protected] | 917 566 0808

EU Contact:
IF Communications | +44 207 484 6288
Cordelia Meacher | [email protected] | +44 7961 311080
Simon Judges | [email protected] | +44 7949 138017

SOURCE InMobi