Softbank Pumps $200 Million Into Mobile Ad Network Company InMobi

InMobi, which bills itself as the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, has raised a whopping $200 million in funding from Softbank. The investment will come in two tranches: half this month, the other half in April 2012.

Softbank joins existing backers Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures as investors in the company, which recently acquired HTML5 ad builder Sprout.

Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO of InMobi, commented:

“The size of the investment and quality of investor validate the enormous potential in mobile today and strengthen our role in helping the industry evolve. We have already established ourselves as a leader in mobile advertising on every continent. This is just the beginning.

With a global leader like Softbank behind us, we are now well positioned to fully capitalize on the opportunity before us through substantially increased product innovation, deeper market penetration, and acquisitions across the mobile ad value chain.”

InMobi says its mobile ad network currently reaches 340 million consumers, in over 165 countries, through more than 47 billion monthly mobile ad impressions.

The company has raised $15.6 million before closing the $200m investment round earlier this week.