Riding the wave....

As most companies and start-ups are bunkering down to ride out the financial crisis, one company, AdMob, founded by Omar Hamoui, is riding the wave that many are still trying to catch. Omar says that AdMob reaches more consumers on their mobile phones than any of the major Internet portals or search engines. A very bold statement one might think, but when you see that the number of ads served on a monthly basis have tripled to 4.6 billion in September coupled with more than 25 campaigns for brand advertisers including CoverGirl, Toshiba and Comedy Central, the company is certainly leaving foam in its path.

Despite the slowdown in consumer spending and tightening of credit that has led some advertisers to pull back, rather than retrench, Omar said he wants to move aggressively to capture market share. AdMob plans to use $15.7 million in Series C funding to hire employees in key markets in Western Europe, India, South Africa and Japan, to improve the technology that powers its mobile advertising marketplace and grow its sales and business development teams.

Sequoia Capital, one of companies leading Series C funding, is betting that AdMob is well-positioned to benefit from the exponential growth and stunning changes taking place in the mobile landscape. Sequoia partner Jim Goetz says "There are people out there who we do not think are insane who think the smartphone in the next decade will begin to replace the desktop PC."

Time will tell, but if you are well positioned to catch the next wave....you will certainly have a fun time riding it.

Australian Chris