US fund Maverick Ventures enters India with $15 million investment in adtech firm Vserv

From the left: Dippak Khurana (CEO of Vserv) and Ashay Padwal (CTO of Vserv)

Maverick Capital Ventures, the VC arm of Maverick Capital, a US-based hedge fund with over US$8 billion under management, is entering India with an investment in adtech startup Vserv. With this latest round of of investment, Vserv has raised a total of US$18 million to date, including its first round of US$3 million from IDG Ventures India, says an announcement from Vserv.

Founded by Dippak Khurana and Ashay Padwal in 2010, Vserv recently pivoted from an ad exchange to a mobile marketing platform. Khurana explained to Tech in Asia a few months ago that the move was in tune with marketers wanting to target ads at only those users who are most likely to buy their wares. “Now, we deliver smart data led results to marketers,” Khurana told us.

To gather valuable user data, Vserv has partnered with key telecom companies across emerging markets – from Vodafone, Airtel, and Aircel in India to Globe in the Philippines, Indosat in Indonesia, and MobiFone in Vietnam.

It claims to have data profiles of over 120 million mobile internet users in India, using which it delivers marketing services to over 500 clients across sectors like consumer goods, ecommerce, financial services, and gaming.

“We are highly impressed with the rapid pace of Vserv’s growth, its smart data platform and management team. Vserv is uniquely positioned to drive the mobile internet ecosystem in India and South East Asia through their exceptional data assets,” says Matthew Kinsella, managing director of Maverick Capital Ventures.