Digital media advertising network Tyroo Media has now formally announced that its original seed investor, Yahoo! Inc., has sold its stake to growth stage venture capital firm Xplorer Capital.
VCCircle had earlier reported that Yahoo! has sold its 35 per cent stake in Tyroo to Xplorer Capital even though an officially statement has just been released.
In July 2007, Yahoo! Inc acquired 35 per cent stake in Tyroo Media Pvt Ltd, which was launched by Smile Interactive Technologies Group (Smile Group). The investment signified Yahoo!’s increasing focus on Indian online advertising networks and helped it reach out to small and medium-sized advertisers and publishers in India.
Tyroo has offices in Gurgaon, Bangalore and Mumbai and operates two types of business including Tyroo Direct which is a largest advertising network and Tyroo Audience which is a rich media advertising network that creates unique online advertising solutions for its clients. It reaches over 20 million visitors in India every month.
Tyroo connects publishers with advertisers through a self-serve technology platform and has added 100 new customers over the past year, including Michelin and Swift Tourism. Other key clients include Airtel, General Motors and Aircel. Tyroo co-founders include Mahendra Swarup, Harish Bahl, CP Singh and Manish Vij.
Commenting on the stake transfer Manish Vij, co-founder of Tyroo, said, “We are very excited to be part of Xplorer Capital. The partners of the fund carry a great amount of experience and respect in the global digital media industry. This change will positively impact our company’s growth and will further strengthen our position in India and as we expand in the APAC markets.”
Xplorer Capital is focused exclusively on investing in internet and digital media businesses in the emerging markets. Xplorer Capital is headed by digital industry veterans, like Keith Nilsson, who for over ten years ran both corporate development and the emerging markets operations at Yahoo!, reporting to the CEO.
Keith Nilsson, general partner at Xplorer Capital said, “We think Tyroo is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the online advertising growth in India, which appears to be hitting an inflection point, by providing advertisers with a compelling mix of products and services.”
