Google is reportedly in talks to buy mobile advertising network InMobi. According to a Economic Times report, the planned acquisition is part of a the company's strategy to counter Facebook's dominance in advertising on mobile devices.
Google will soon initiate a technology due diligence of Bengaluru-based InMobi followed by discussions on commercial terms, reports the Economic Times, citing sources. Although financial specifics are still to be discussed, InMobi had been looking for a valuation of over $2 billion in its discussions with investors for its next round of funding.
"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," an undisclosed person close to the development told Economic Times , adding that Ram Shriram of Sherpalo Ventures, an early investor in both companies, had played a role in the talks.
A deal, if consummated, will make it the biggest transaction so far in India's startup space. In January 2015, Twitter acquired Indian mobile marketing startup ZipDial for around $30 million to bolster its capabilities in the mobile ad segment, especially in fast growing emerging markets. A year before that, Facebook acquired Bengaluru-based Little Eye Labs, a startup that specialises in analysing mobile data.
InMobi, founded by Tewari, Amit Gupta, Mohit Saxena and Abhay Singhal in 2007, is one of India's earliest startup success stories. Having begun life as mobile search venture mKhoj from a single-bedroom flat in Mumbai, it later changed its name, business model and thereafter grew steadily in size and profile, acquiring along the way marquee investors such as Sherpalo, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and SoftBank.
Its services are centered around helping some of the world's biggest brands deliver appropriate advertisements to the right person at the right time, a data-driven mobile advertising business where it competes with global biggies such as Google and Facebook. It counts a raft of top global brands including Japan's Yamaha Motor Co, Microsoft, Adidas, Lancome and US retailer Macy's among its clients and delivered advertisements from these firms to nearly a billion mobile phones.
