Word of the investments comes as US Internet giants Google, Yahoo and Microsoft battle intensely for market share in the increasingly lucrative global arena of marketing to people on their mobile devices.
San Francisco-based Amobee launched its first consumer trial less than a year after it was founded in May of 2005.
Amobee specializes in software that supports digitized ad delivery to "all mobile content and communication types" including games, video, messaging and Internet browsing.
Britain-based Vodafone uses Amobee in Greece, Spain and the Czech Republic, according the US firm.
"Mobile internet is fast emerging as a mainstream information, entertainment and transaction source for people on the move," Vodafone director of strategic marketing Frank Boulben said in a written release.
"We see a tremendous opportunity for brands to target segments that traditional media reach less efficiently."
Vodafone and Spain-based Telefonica join a roster of Amobee investors that includes Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and Globespan.
The moves are seen by industry insiders as an effort to establish a bulwark against Internet juggernaut Google and other online titans intent on seizing mobile advertising market shares.
Pyramid Research predicts that a billion new mobile phone subscribers will join the current base of 2.8 billion by the year 2010.
Industry tracker Informa estimates that worldwide mobile advertising revenues will rise to 11.35 billion dollars by 2011.
Source:http://afp.google.com
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