SingTel Innov8 leads US$10M investment in Boston-based mobile ad exchange Nexage

Mobile ad exchange Nexage has received US$10 million of Series B funding led by SingTel Innov8, the venture capital investment arm of SingTel.

Prior investors Relay Ventures and GrandBanks Capital also joined this round, bringing the total raised by Nexage to US$14.5M so far.

Nexage will use the investment to build its products and technology, add sales staff and possibly expand its ecosystem of buyers and sellers. More than 300 publications and developers, as well as 150 ad buyers user Nexage’s real time bidding system to secure mobile display inventory.

“We’ve shown customer acceptance, we’ve shown success in the market, and we want to grow fast, and stay ahead of the market, and that’s what we’ll be using the funding for,” said Nexage CEO Ernie Cormier.

The company’s bid volume increased 70 percent a month in 2011, while ad requests have surpassed 100 billion.

Said Punit Chiniwalla, director of investment for SingTel Innov8, in a statement: “Mobile advertising has quickly shifted from an experimental market to being an integral part of the advertisers’ ability to reach and compel consumers. Nexage is well-positioned to be one of the winners in this rapidly growing market.”

SingTel, Singapore’s largest mobile carrier, has been actively trying to diversify away from the traditional telco business. It has made a series of acquisitions of digital companies, as well as investments through Innov8.

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