Nobot
NOBOT provides a mobile advertising service AdMaker, which is an advertising platform for mobile applications.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | JPY1.5b Valuation: JPY1.5b | Acquisition | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Nobot Inc. operated as a mobile advertising technology firm, primarily focused on the Japanese market. Founded in April 2009 by CEO Kiyotaka Kobayashi, the company established itself with its flagship product, AdMaker. AdMaker functioned as an ad optimization and exchange platform specifically designed for smartphone applications and mobile websites. The service enabled developers and publishers to manage and switch between various mobile ad networks, aiming to maximize their advertising revenue. Nobot's business model centered on providing this ad-optimization service, and it took a position as a key player by concentrating on smaller publishers who created localized content, a strategy that differentiated it from larger competitors like Google's AdMob.
The company's platform, AdMaker, aggregated multiple ad networks, including international partners like Smaato, ZestADZ, Mojiva, and BuzzCity, alongside domestic Japanese networks. This allowed developers to access a broad inventory of ads through a single SDK. By December 2010, the platform was reportedly serving approximately 350 million ad impressions per month, a figure that grew to 2.1 billion monthly impressions by July 2011. Nobot's growth attracted significant venture capital, securing a $1.3 million funding round in October 2010 from JAFCO and Nissay Capital. This investment fueled its expansion and solidified its market presence.
A significant milestone in Nobot's history was its acquisition in July 2011. Mediba Inc., the mobile advertising subsidiary of Japanese telecom giant KDDI, acquired Nobot for a reported 1.5 billion yen (approximately US$19.2 million at the time). This strategic acquisition was aimed at bolstering KDDI's position in the smartphone advertising space, with the combined entity expected to become the second-largest ad distributor in Japan after AdMob. Following the acquisition, Nobot's CEO, Kiyotaka Kobayashi, outlined plans for international expansion, including opening an office in Singapore to tap into the Southeast Asian market.
Keywords: Nobot, AdMaker, Kiyotaka Kobayashi, mobile advertising, ad network, ad optimization, ad exchange, smartphone apps, Mediba, KDDI, Japanese ad-tech, app monetization, mobile publishers, ad mediation, Smaato, ZestADZ, Mojiva, BuzzCity, JAFCO, Nissay Capital, mobile ad platform