Spain-based telecommunications company and broadband internet supplier Telefonica has teamed up with US-based private equity group Blackstone to launch a new mobile advertising venture that both companies hope will someday challenge Google and Facebook.
The result of the joint-efforts is a new UK-based company called Axonix that will sell advertisements in Europe, the US and Latin America on a platform based on technology developed by the now defunct MobClix, the assets of which were acquired by Blackstone earlier this year.
Axonix wants to challenge Google, Twitter and Facebook in gathering mobile data and selling targeted ads, and it will have funding to do so, according to its chief executive and former Google employee, Simon Birkenhead.
The exact amount of money that has been invested into the venture has not been disclosed but Birkenhead said: “There is sufficient investment from Telefonica and Blackstone, and it’s sufficiently stable and funded for the next two years”.
There will also be generous hiring packages to attract top talent, Birkhenhead said, adding that Axonix will not be looking for external VC funding.