Mobile advertising company Smaato announced Wednesday that it has closed a $7 million Series C round of institutional funding led by Singapore’s EDBI, with participation from existing shareholders including global private equity firm aeris CAPITAL. Following a $4.5 million Series B led by aeris and a $3.5 million Series A, the round bring Smaato’s total funding to $15 million.
Smaato promises publishers they’ll make more money with their mobile app or website by gaining access to over 50 ad networks, including Google’s AdMob, Apple’s Quattro Wireless, ThirdScreenMedia and more. Though ad networks served up by Smaato already cover more than 220 countries, the company is continually seeking more partners to aggregate so as to expand its ad inventory.
The SOMA Platform, Smaato’s ad platform, serves as the bridge between advertisers and publishers, bringing the ad network to users no matter what mobile operating system they use: iPhone, Android, Symbian, Windows Phone, Java, BlackBerry, Palm and more. SOMA supports text and banner ads.
“We have seen a tremendous growth in Smaato’s revenues in 2010. For 2011, we expect even more exponential growth by partnering with leading mobile publishers and app developers worldwide,” said Ragnar Kruse, CEO and co-founder of Smaato. “Singapore has proven to be an excellent location to expand our Asian business. This new round of funding will help us improve our reach, foster product innovation and grow the Smaato team worldwide.”
More than 11,000 publishers have signed up with Smaato to monetize their mobile content, and the company manages close to 20 billion ad requests per month.
To match its growth, Smaato will use some of its newly found cash to expand its more than 55 staff worldwide.
Currenty, Smaato has 14 open positions largely in the areas of development/IT and operation, but also in marketing and sales. The vast majority of the positions are located at the company’s European headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, but there is also one position in Redwood Shores, Calif. and one in Singapore, Singapore.
The new funds will also support Smaato’s international expansion, particularly in Asia with the company's headquarters in Singapore.
