IDG Ventures India Invests in Ozone Media, India’s Leading Online Ad Network
Mumbai
July 2, 2008
Mumbai, July 2, 2008: IDG Ventures India, a $150 Million early-stage technology venture capital fund, announced today its Series A investment in Ozone Media, India’s leading online advertising network. As part of the investment, Manik Arora and Ritesh Banglani from IDG Ventures India will join the company’s Board of Directors.
As an ad network, Ozone Media provides advertisers who want to leverage the internet, access to websites in its database. It utilizes advanced behavioural and contextual targeting techniques to identify the most relevant websites for advertisers and further allows those advertisers to track performance of their campaigns.
Ozone differentiates itself in this space by providing better targeted solutions for industry verticals, and providing complete transparency and control over ad placement. Further, the company has accumulated a large volume of premium inventory, especially in regional language and video.
Commenting on the investment, Kiran Gopinath, Founder and CEO of Ozone Media, and a veteran in the online advertising space, said, “Ozone has acquired India’s largest publisher base with a focus on premium inventory, which has allowed us to grow rapidly by attracting advertisers. We are thrilled to partner with IDG Ventures to extend our leadership position, by leveraging their expertise and networks in internet and media across India. We plan to use the funding to reach out to a broader set of advertisers and expand our sales and technology teams.”
IDG is considered a domain expert in online advertising, having previously invested in market leaders such as Blue Lithium in the USA (later acquired by Yahoo for $300m) and Allyes in China (acquired by Focus Media for $300m). Manik Arora, Founder and Managing Director of IDG Ventures India, said, “Having successfully invested in ad networks globally, we are excited to partner with Ozone Media to rapidly scale the company. We are impressed with Ozone’s rapid growth and market leadership position, as well as the team’s deep understanding of online advertising.”
The Indian market for online advertising is estimated to be Rs. 450 crores currently, and is expected to grow to INR 2,000 crores over the next 3 years. Globally, ad networks account for more than 40% of display advertising spend on the internet, and help monetize the long tail of internet sites.
About IDG Ventures:
IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with over $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest IT media company.
By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, each IDG Ventures fund helps companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition.
IDG Ventures India manages a US$150 Million venture capital fund focused on helping entrepreneurs grow innovative companies on a global basis. IDGV India believes the market for technology products and services in India, the proven value of India as an offshore resource base and the entrepreneurial spirit and talent of its people, create an extremely bright future for venture capital investing in the country.
IDG Ventures India’s portfolio consists of Manthan Systems, Kreeda Games, ConnectM, iViZ, 3D Solid Compression, Perfint and Aujas Networks.
www.idgvcindia.com
Contact information:
Mr. Ritesh Banglani
IDG Ventures India Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
+91-80-4043-4836
ritesh_banglani@idgvcindia.com
About Ozone Media:
Founded by online ad veteran Kiran Gopinath in 2006, Ozone Media is India’s leading Internet advertising network with offices in Mumbai and Bangalore. The company has some of the largest online publishers in India as partners. Using Ozone Media’s reach, advertisers can reach out to Indian as well a
Mumbai, July 2, 2008: IDG Ventures India, a $150 Million early-stage technology venture capital fund, announced today its Series A investment in Ozone Media, India’s leading online advertising network. As part of the investment, Manik Arora and Ritesh Banglani from IDG Ventures India will join the company’s Board of Directors.
As an ad network, Ozone Media provides advertisers who want to leverage the internet, access to websites in its database. It utilizes advanced behavioural and contextual targeting techniques to identify the most relevant websites for advertisers and further allows those advertisers to track performance of their campaigns.
Ozone differentiates itself in this space by providing better targeted solutions for industry verticals, and providing complete transparency and control over ad placement. Further, the company has accumulated a large volume of premium inventory, especially in regional language and video.
Commenting on the investment, Kiran Gopinath, Founder and CEO of Ozone Media, and a veteran in the online advertising space, said, “Ozone has acquired India’s largest publisher base with a focus on premium inventory, which has allowed us to grow rapidly by attracting advertisers. We are thrilled to partner with IDG Ventures to extend our leadership position, by leveraging their expertise and networks in internet and media across India. We plan to use the funding to reach out to a broader set of advertisers and expand our sales and technology teams.”
IDG is considered a domain expert in online advertising, having previously invested in market leaders such as Blue Lithium in the USA (later acquired by Yahoo for $300m) and Allyes in China (acquired by Focus Media for $300m). Manik Arora, Founder and Managing Director of IDG Ventures India, said, “Having successfully invested in ad networks globally, we are excited to partner with Ozone Media to rapidly scale the company. We are impressed with Ozone’s rapid growth and market leadership position, as well as the team’s deep understanding of online advertising.”
The Indian market for online advertising is estimated to be Rs. 450 crores currently, and is expected to grow to INR 2,000 crores over the next 3 years. Globally, ad networks account for more than 40% of display advertising spend on the internet, and help monetize the long tail of internet sites.
About IDG Ventures:
IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with over $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest IT media company.
By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, each IDG Ventures fund helps companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition.
IDG Ventures India manages a US$150 Million venture capital fund focused on helping entrepreneurs grow innovative companies on a global basis. IDGV India believes the market for technology products and services in India, the proven value of India as an offshore resource base and the entrepreneurial spirit and talent of its people, create an extremely bright future for venture capital investing in the country.
IDG Ventures India’s portfolio consists of Manthan Systems, Kreeda Games, ConnectM, iViZ, 3D Solid Compression, Perfint and Aujas Networks.
www.idgvcindia.com
Contact information:
Mr. Ritesh Banglani
IDG Ventures India Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
+91-80-4043-4836
ritesh_banglani@idgvcindia.com
About Ozone Media:
Founded by online ad veteran Kiran Gopinath in 2006, Ozone Media is India’s leading Internet advertising network with offices in Mumbai and Bangalore. The company has some of the largest online publishers in India as partners. Using Ozone Media’s reach, advertisers can reach out to Indian as well as global audiences (including NRIs). With state of the art ad serving technology, Ozone Media strives to maximise ROIs on ad campaigns for advertisers and revenues for publishers.
Contact information:
Ms. Saritha
+91-80-2248-3007
saritha@prhub.com
s global audiences (including NRIs). With state of the art ad serving technology, Ozone Media strives to maximise ROIs on ad campaigns for advertisers and revenues for publishers.
Contact information:
Ms. Saritha
+91-80-2248-3007
saritha@prhub.com