Kerryman’s mobile ads firm fourth fastest-growing tech firm in UK – projects €100m revenues

25 Sep 2012

Kieran O'Keeffe

Enterprising Kerryman Kieran O’Keeffe’s mobile internet ad firm MobileWebAdz is the fourth fastest-growing technology company in the UK, it has emerged. MobileWebAdz aims to generate €100m per annum in revenue by 2015 and is tentatively exploring options for expansion of operations into Ireland.

MobileWebAdz displays 18bn adverts per month across mobile websites in more than 200 countries, positioning it within the to10 companies in the world in this market sector.

With a staff of 38 and headquartered in London, the company’s main markets include Europe, the USA, Southeast Asia, South America and the Far East.

The company was recently ranked as the fourth fastest-growing company in the UK, according to The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 which ranks the UK’s 100 private tech companies with the fastest-growing sales over three years.

MobileWebAdz has expanded rapidly, opening seven offices in Tokyo, Japan; Mumbai, India; Cape Town, South Africa; Manila, Philippines; Phoenix, Arizona; and San Francisco, California.

With revenues of about €30m for 2012 representing a fourfold increase in just less than two years, O’Keeffe is eyeing further expansion in Brazil and South Korea extending marketshare in South America and the Far East.

Smartphone revolution heralds explosion in mobile business

“We thought to ourselves we were doing well but it’s great to be told we are doing well. It has been tough getting to this point as we, like every start-up, had a number of lean years while we developed our technology.

“Our company has ridden the mobile internet wave that really started with the launch of the iPhone in 2007 and has been further spurred on by the increasing popularity of smartphones. Our aim now is to push on and hope to become one of Europe’s tech successes,” O’Keeffe said.

“The mobile internet is one of the fastest-expanding business areas in the world and capitalising on this sector has become a major industry. None of which is surprising when you consider there are four times as many phones in the world as PCs.

“Looking at the mobile advertising segment alone, Silicon Valley sources are projecting growth from a €5bn market in 2012 to €18bn in 2016. The fanatical response by consumers to the iPhone 5 is a ringing endorsement of the exploding growth of the mobile internet advertising market.”

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com