Ad Infuse Inc., a developer of technology designed to make advertising a bigger part of the mobile phone experience, has emerged from stealth mode with nearly $6 million in backing from Storm Ventures and ComVentures, VentureWire has learned.
San Francisco-based Ad Infuse was founded in November 2005 and incubated by Storm Ventures, which seeded the start-up with $600,000 at its inception. Storm Ventures Technology Partner Tim Danford said a $5 million Series A round of funding, led by ComVentures with participation from Storm, followed this past June.
Ad Infuse has developed a software platform that can be used as a service by mobile operators and advertisers to distribute ads to broader audiences. Danford said that while operators currently receive significant revenue from a small group of users who opt for expensive data options that may carry ads, Ad Infuse will open up myriad other functions, including text and ringtones, to potential advertising revenue as well. (Source: VentureWire.com
Note: We’d heard about AdInfuse a few months ago, when it was still in secretive mode. There are a number of other Silicon Valley players focused purely mobile ads, including Cellfire, which does coupons.
