AOL acquires Third Screen Media, mobile ad company — consolidation begins
Updated
(Update: Separately, Nuance has agreed to buy VoiceSignal Technologies for $293 million, signaling further consolidation in the mobile voice search industry after Tellme’s acquisition by Microsoft.)
Time Warner’s AOL has gobbled up Boston-based mobile advertising startup Third Screen Media, signaling the beginning of consolidation in the industry.
Third Screen is just one of many start-ups founded in recent years, and intense competition between the players has caused some disturbing behavior, at Millennial Media for example. Other players… Continue Reading
Are the mobile advertising upstarts out of control?
Serving ads on mobile phones is a lucrative business, forcing companies with a stake in the game to engage in aggressive marketing — perhaps too aggressive.
Millennial Media, one of a handful of Young Turks targeting this market, is a case in point. The company, which recently raised $6.3 million, has just launched a marketplace for advertisers and publishers that has a fake ad counter on its home page.
In its fervor to stay up with aggressive… Continue Reading
AdMob raises $15M, in race for mobile ad crown
updated
AdMob, which says it has the largest ad platform for mobile phones, has raised $15 million in a second round of financing led by Silicon Valley’s venture firm Accel Partners, and including existing investor Sequoia Capital.
AdMob, of San Mateo, Calif., has served more than 1.6 billion ads in less than a year, and says that is more than any other player, including Third Screen Media, a Boston-based competitor that AOL is reportedly in talks to… Continue Reading