AdMob is a
mobile advertising subsidiary of Google, originally founded by the
Syrian entrepreneur Omar Hamoui. The name AdMob is a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. for "
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...
on
mobile". It was incorporated on April 10, 2006
while Hamoui was in business school at
Wharton School. The company is based in
Mountain View, California. In November 2009, it was acquired by
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
for $750 million.
The acquisition was completed on May 27, 2010.
Apple Inc. had also expressed interest in purchasing the company the same year, but they were out-bid by Google. Prior to being acquired by Google, AdMob acquired the company AdWhirl, formerly Adrollo, which is a platform for developing advertisements in
iPhone applications. AdMob offers advertising options for many mobile platforms, including
Android,
iOS,
webOS,
Flash Lite,
Windows Phone and all standard mobile
web browsers.
On May 16, 2013, Google announced a rebuild of the AdMob platform at their 2013
I/O using technology from their other platforms like
AdSense with the goal of helping app developers to build their business.
Recognition
In 2009, AdMob was listed among The Top Ten mobiThinkers 2009.
In 2010, AdMob received a Mobile Premier Award.
AdMob Mafia
The large acquisition price paid for AdMob, in fast appreciating Google stock, comparatively soon after incorporation (4 years), resulted in a generous distribution of the sales proceeds to its early hires. Many have since become prolific investors in technology startups, and are known in London as the AdMob Mafia, a reference to the well known
PayPal Mafia. In particular Chung Man Tam, Russell Buckley, Jules Maltz and Charles Yim have become very involved in investing and advising startups, with Russell Buckley taking a role advising the British Government on venture investment in the UK's technology ecosystem. AdMob VP of Engineering Kevin Scott went on to become CTO of Microsoft while Sr. Dir of Engineering Mark Schaaf became CTO of Instacart. CFO Cheryl Dalrymple moved on to become CFO of Confluent. GM Japan, John Lagerling became Senior Director of Mobile partnerships at Google Android. Former AdMob team members, Jim Payne and Nafis Jamal, went on to found MoPub, which was acquired by Twitter on September 9, 2013.
Notes
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Software companies based in California
Software companies established in 2006
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Software companies of the United States
2006 establishments in California
Marketing companies established in 2006
American people of Syrian descent