Mobile phone maker Nokia’s corporate venturing division has led the $10m series B round for Rocket Fuel, a US-based online advertising services company.
Nokia Growth Partners led the round, and was joined in the consortium by US-based funds of alternative funds manager Northgate Capital as the other new investor and venture capital firms Mohr Davidow Ventures and Labrador Ventures.
Rocket Fuel said it had raised $20m since its launch last year, although its only previous public disclosure was $3m in December from a group led by Mohr Davidow.
As part of the B round, Marc Theeuwes, a partner at Nokia Growth Partners and a consulting professor at Stanford University, will join Rocket Fuel’s board of directors. He said: "We have been active within the digital advertising space for a number of years focusing on companies in display, mobile and video. The display market is complex, the lines between online and mobile are blurring, and advertisers are demanding better return on investment."
George John, chief executive (CEO) of Rocket Fuel, said: "We chose Nokia Growth Partners because it has an excellent reputation among portfolio CEOs in Silicon Valley, a global footprint with offices in Europe, China, and India, and we trust Marc to be a thoughtful and helpful board member."