4INFO Gets $20 Million
Mobile marketing network 4INFO plans to announce Thursday that it has received $20 million in venture funding led by Peacock Equity, a joint venture between NBC Universal and GE Commercial Finance’s media, communications and entertainment business.
4INFO works with media companies including Yahoo, IAC/InterActiveCorp. and Gannett to provide weather updates, sports scores and other information via text messages that contain small ads. The Silicon Valley start-up sends more text messages in the U.S., by volume, than any other provider, according to Nielsen. 4INFO says it delivers more than 80 million user-requested text messages per month and that its network includes 16 million users.
While much of the mobile ad market has sputtered, 4INFO has had some success by selling marketers ad packages that link ads in traditional media, such as TV and print, to ads in text messages, the mobile Web and mobile video. The 70-employee company expects to be profitable by mid- to late 2009, says 4INFO CEO Zaw Thet.
